Mk: Yep! Here's the missing part!

k2: Yeah, it may just become a trend. But ya know…sometimes I just gotta do that, it makes things so much better.

Mk: (looks at the readers) you think she's right? (looks at K-chan, they both shrug)

k2: Oh, and sorry if this chapter is too long for you, the more I wrote, the more I couldn't stop. Do you know just how hard it is to write a good story, but not add in the boring parts? I hope this chapter isn't too boring, but like I said before. The genre is mainly Drama so…..yeah. Have fun reading!

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What now!

Rated: PG-13

drama/romance

Chapter-5 The Journey Begins

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"I don't understand."

I turned to look at Kari. She was hugging herself, scared and confused. She wasn't the only one. I watched as Sora pulled her in close, hugging her, and I felt Tai shift next to me, his hand leaving my shoulder. I didn't bother to look at him; I knew he was heading over to his sister. She needed him right now just as much as TK needed me.

Kari shook Sora away and continued.

"I don't get it. Why TK? Why did they take him? Isn't it the power of light they are after?"

"Yes." Gennai replied, "In fact you are their main priority Kari."

Tai flopped down next to Kari, his eyes narrowing fiercely, and he placed his hand on her shoulder protectively. "No one is even touching Kari."

"If it's Kari they want, why take my baby?" Mrs. Takaishi askeed

"Because he is the key."

The key? I didn't understand. Gennai was looking grimmer then I had ever seen him look before. I glanced over at Kari; she seemed to understand what Gennai was talking about. And maybe I did too, I just didn't want to think about it.

"The key to what?" Mimi asked

"To the light."

"So, in other words, they snagged TK to get to Kari?" Davis asked

"Yes."

"But why go through all that trouble?" Tai asked

"It's very simple." Gennai replied, "The darkness shies from the light. She is like anathema to them. TK, however, is the key to extinguishing that light. 'By bringing in despair, the light falls to darkness'." Gennai fell silent for a moment staring at each one in turn. "That was part of the message we received. We have an idea what it means, but we can't afford to jump to any random conclusions. I will only tell you this. If you fail to save TK then hope will fall to despair and light will slowly sink to darkness."

"Do you have to be so vague on everything!" I cried out in frustration, "For once can't you just speak plan Japanese?"

"Matt!" Sora hissed.

A hand fell on my shoulder and I turned to see my mom shaking her head. I lowered my eyes and clenched my fist. It was all I could do to keep my cool.

"There are some things you must discover for yourself." Gennai stated. "I cannot tell you everything, it wouldn't help. But I can give you direction."

"I am guessing that we must travel to the dark Ocean then?" Ken spoke up, "You said that it was involved, right?"

"Yes, in fact it is more then involved. But not just the dark Ocean, it is also the dark world. The ocean is no more then a coastline, one linking the digital realm to that of the dark one. That is all I know, all I can tell you. I'm sorry I can't help more."

Gennai had helped more then he thought. With this information we aren't blind. Unlike so many countless times before at least we know what we're going up against. But now there is only one little problem hampering us.

"How do we get there?"

Gennai slowly raised himself from the position he had been in for the duration of the conversation. I could tell he was still in pain, but I didn't know how to help him. I noticed, however, that Joe seemed to be watching him closely.

"You must enter the digital world." Gennai stated, reaching inside his robe. "And in order to do that you will have to open the gate at Heighten View Terrace, where the worlds are the closest in connection. There is no other way; the monitor gates have been completely shut down, as I am sure you have noticed by now. To help you I have a gift." When his hand came out again he held several necklaces, faintly familiar yet quite alien at the same time. They silver chains with pendants on each of them. No, not pendants…tags! "Your crest powers were returned enough for your digimon to digivolve to ultimate, but they weren't fully returned. I am giving you renewed crests, they will amplify your digivices ability to break through the natural barrier separating the two worlds and open a non-terminal to the digital world."

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Cold.

It was cold. His bare arms had goosebumps and he shivered every now and then. His captor seemed to be against any form of light so it was also still darker then night. And is eyes refused to adjust to the dimness. But then again, how do your eyes adjust to pure darkness? TK had a feeling that the darkness surrounding him was emanating off his host, that the very presence of the creature was driving light away and therefore his eyes couldn't grasp what wasn't there. No light. Pure darkness.

Kari.

If it was the dark he was facing then he had a gut feeling that Kari was a target. She was the opposite of the darkness and the darkness seemed to fear her.

Movement to his right caught his attention and TK glanced over. As usual there was nothing. TK was scared. He was helpless, alone, vulnerable. The only relief was that there was no one else there with him, that he was alone and he wouldn't have to be forced to see someone else suffer.

"Child of Hope, child of despair, your patience is amendable." The quiet raspy voice of his captor whispered from his left. TK kept himself from looking, knowing it wouldn't matter how hard he tried to see. His fear, which had started to dim due to the silence that had ensued for the past however long, started to come back as the unknown once again mocked him.

"What do you want from me?" TK asked softly, "Why do you keep me here and why am I strapped down like this? What is the point?"

"The time will come for you to learn soon enough. I just wish to thank you for the use of your device, the one that sends messages to your friends."

"What?" TK, startled by his pronouncement, turned his head to the voice, but it was nowhere to be seen, though he could still hear it. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just sent a message to your friends, letting them know what they were dealing with."

TK had the feeling that it was more like him mocking them just for the heck of it. That he was going to enjoy himself, playing with the fears of the others and torture them emotionally while he had his way with….

What is going to do to me?

Fear welled within him again and he suddenly felt more afraid then he had ever felt before. When he and the others fought malomyotismon TK had thought he would never feel that scared again, but this was far worse. Then he was more afraid of loosing Patamon then anything else. That if he fought he would lose and his friends would be gone. But this time…this time it was different. TK was alone. No one was here to get hurt. He wasn't afraid for anyone else. He was afraid of what was going to happen to himself. The only times he ever worried about that was when he was eight. When he'd been alone with Patamon. Devimon had attacked him but he had Patamon and Elecmon to help him then. And then the time when TK willingly went with Puppetmon to spare Matt from diabolical freak (not to mention proving himself capable as well). He had faced Puppetmon showing everyone he wasn't a baby anymore. But he had never bene strapped down, helpless like Matt had been that day, tied up and fearing what would happen to his baby brother.

But the incident with Piedmon was the worst.

Running for his life with Kari and Patamon. He wasn't alone then but everyone around him was being turned into key chains. Everyone he cared about, everyone he loved. His friends, the only family he had while trapped in the digital world. And in the end it came down to just inches away from death, Angemon defeated.

I overcame those obstacles. TK thought to himself, I will over this one too.

"I don't understand how you can do this."

"Do what, child?"

"Allow yourself to be overcome by darkness. Striving to control everything. Hurting your fellow digimon, all in the name of power!"

Silence for a moment then laughter. Soft hissing laughter that made TK's heart flip flop as cold shivers ran up and down his body.

"Fellow digimon?" It repeated, "Fellow. No, not fellow. For I am no digimon. I am far worse then any digimon, dear child, and it is time you found the true obstacle to peace."

TK blinked. What was just said didn't make any sense. If he wasn't in the clutches of some evil digimon then….

"What are you?"

"Your worst fears come alive. True evil in its purest form."

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Kari watched as Sora and Mimi went through an inventory of items taken from Mrs. Takaishi pantry to help sustain them while they were in the digital world. Tai and Matt were talking privately in a corner Davis and Ken, discussing what they had heard from Gennai. It seemed pretty serious until Davis began waving his hands defensively, but that didn't stop Matt from smacking him upside the head. Ken tried not to laugh while Davis pouted. Then they were serious again. Izzy, Joe, and Cody were talking with Gennai, probably questioning him for Matt and Tai. Yolie was talking softly with Mrs. Takaishi and Mr. Ishida were on the balcony staring out at the city below. It was painfully agreed that they would all wait until nightfall, only a few more hours away, to get started. There had been arguments, but the logic of the decision was obvious and everyone was forced to agree.

Even her.

She sat on the couch; huddled inside herself and trying not to think about what could be happening to TK. Deep inside of her she had conflicting emotions. She didn't know how to handle it and was afraid she was going to flip out at any moment. She desperately wished for Gatomon, at least then she wouldn't feel so alone. Deep within her she felt terror unlike anything she had ever felt before, but it wasn't her that was feeling it. She knew, now anyway, that is was TK. Whatever he was going through it must be horrible. TK was brave, one of the bravest people she knew. He was smart, intelligent, calm. He was the one that she could turn to in order to bring hope back into her heart when everything seemed desperate. He was her best friend, one of her three best. He had a place in her heart that no one else could ever, ever replace.

"Kari, want to give us a hand?" Kari looked up to see Sora and Mimi looking at her with concern. They must have just realized she had been left alone and, judging by their faces, realized that was probably not good. Silently agreeing with the thought she got up with a smile on her face.

I need to keep my mind busy. If I dwell on this I'll go insane.

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TK lay in silence. HE was alone with his thoughts, his captor having gone. The only reason he knew he was gone was because he heard a stone door open and close. The only thing TK could think about was what that creature had told him.

Your worst fears come alive.

Pure evil in its truest form.

But it wasn't just that. That thing had said more. It obliged TK, offering to answer questions. TK didn't understand why it was humoring him, but he chose that moment to find out a few things. At least now he knew where he was. And that knowledge made TK even more fearful. The dark world where he had rescued Kari. He had been taken there and he was trapped. TK felt an uncomfortable pain in his back and he tilted his head backwards a bit. It was difficult, staying in the same position on a rock hard surface for who knows how long. He had no cushion to speak of at all, not even a small something for his head. His neck hurt, his spine too. Where the shackles were on his body itched from sweat and he had a feeling they would begin to chafe soon. And then he heard the stone door opening again.

"Finally, finally." His captor had returned, but he wasn't alone. "Put it over by the child. Hang it where he can see it, a tantalizing offer just out of reach!"

"What's going on?" TK asked. He had just realized he hadn't had anything to eat for a while and wondered if the creature was going to hang food up just out of reach or something.

"Oh nothing." Was the reply, "I just thought you might be a tad lonely, that's all."

"Lonely?" His mind swirled. Please, not Kari! Please!

"Yes, you see, you weren't my only target. The other one has just arrived even though we managed to get our hands on him first."

Him?

"He was so hard to get too, he had help eluding us."

Fear welled within TK as he realized who 'him' might be. No! Not him! Please!

"And now that he has finally arrived I thought that you might like your little friend." And as he spoke the last word a cage was placed on an unseen hook beside TK's abdomen, a soft luminescent glow emanating from the bars illuminated the pale blue-clawed hand that hung it as well as the tiny brown and white creature that lay within. The unmoving, frail looking, vulnerable little creature that TK loved so much. And as he saw the still form of his best friend and partner TK's eyes grew wide and tears began to slowly brim them.

"P-Pata-Patamon?" He stuttered, emotions rising. He received no response. "P-Patamon!" He tried again, a little more urgently, a tear falling down his face. "Patamon!" TK whipped his head to the side, not caring if he couldn't see the monster before him. His fear was instantly replaced by anger, anger and hatred.

"You bastard! What! What did you do to him!"

"Mmmm! The purity of your feelings is so delightful! But as much as a delicacy as they are, a light snack is always what ruins the dinner."

"What are you talking about?" TK demanded, beginning to struggle with his bonds. He had to get free, had to get to Patamon! "Answer me dammit!"

"My, my. And just when did your mouth turn foul dear child?"

"I don't need a lesson in manners from the likes of you!"

Laughter followed, then it spoke again. "Fear not dear child. I did nothing to your little pet. My minions merely incapacitated him so they could bring him here. The illumination around the bars prevents him from gaining enough strength to blast his way out with that quaint little attack of his. Other wise he is perfectly fine."

"TK?"

"Patamon!" TK cried, turning his head around to his friend, "Are you okay Patamon?"

"TK. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I didn't listen to Gennai. I tried to help...I got captured... I messed up."

"No. No Patamon, it's okay."

"TK. I'm so tired."

"Patamon?"

"Now, now. The time for worrying about others is over. Now that he is here I can finally begin."

"Begin what?" TK cried, his head whipping around again. But before it finished its turn a jet of black shot out from the ceiling to hit TK square in the chest. Pain erupted inside, spearheading straight to his heart and spreading throughout his body, forcing it to go rigid. His back arched up and a scream forced its way out of his mouth as everything around him disappeared into a cloud of never ending, mind numbing pain.

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It was a bit of a tight fit, but we managed to pack ourselves into dad's wagon and we were now on our way to the terrace. No one had really wanted to leave Mom alone, though, and so Yolie had asked her older sister to stay with her until dad got back. She also told her sister to tell her parents she was staying over with Kari and not to worry. Somehow she had convinced her sister to agree to it and the others made similar excuses to their own parents. No one wanted to tell them what really happened, that they had to rescue TK from the clutches of some evil entity from another world. Especially after they believed everything was okay now, that all the bad stuff was finally over with. That we could all live peacefully and coincide pleasantly with the world that our partners belonged.

Then again that's what we had thought too.

It's tough when you realize the destiny you had been apart of for so long was over, then suddenly your thrust back into it again. Especially when you've been on hiatus longer then some members of the group.

I must admit, I am quite happy that we're part of it this time. It wasn't in my heart to see my little brother going off to save the world and leaving me behind, where I couldn't protect him. But I had known how strong he had grown and I couldn't let myself dwell over what I couldn't change.

Especially after seeing TK and the others in action by themselves.

But now….

I dunno. Now it's different. Now TK has been abducted by something far worse then a crazy human and things are….

I think I may be dwelling on this way too much. But how am I to do otherwise?

I fingered my pocket, feeling a need to relax. No one knew yet that I had developed my fathers' habit and I had to keep myself from whipping one out. Best to do it when no one was watching….

The car stopped and we piled out of it. Gennai was looking better, but still battered. We decided to make one final check of everything before we set off and I fingered the necklace in my hand. The silver chain glinted in the moonlight and I wondered why they bothered with the chain, seeing as how originally the tags were only on string. But it was a fleeting though; it faded as I stared at the crest within the tag. I was more curious as to how they managed to remake the crests and why? Had they been expecting something to happen, had they been waiting for a certain moment to give us new ones?

I refrained from sighing and continued to stare at the familiarity of the item, yet it truly was rather alien. IT seemed different somehow, I couldn't place it really but it was there.

The crests were all the same; they all had silver chains. Well, all except for Davis, Yolie and Cody. There's had a crest on either side of their tags, not just one. Davis had complained about wearing jewelry, but that didn't last long. Especially after I slapped him upside the head for saying Ken and I looked like girls.

When our triple check of everything was secure I stood up and stretched. It was getting late and I hadn't slept well the previous night.

"So now what?" I heard Davis ask. I closed my eyes in exasperation.

"We open the portal." Gennai replied softly. "You all remember what to do, right? If not, mimic the ones that do. I'll lend what I can."

"And leave yourself defenseless?" I asked, "I don't think so."

"Are you going to stop me?" He was amused with my comment, I could tell.

"I agree with Matt, Gennai." Tai stated, "You've already had several close calls during this whole fiasco. And you still need to locate this Arissa of yours, right?"

"Indeed."

"Then let us do our job and you do yours. But keep your energy, we have plenty with the amount of us that is here."

"I suppose you are right."

Okay, he's defiantly amused.

We gathered into a circle, just like we had done so many years before. I exchanged looks with Tai and we both pulled out our digivices. I looked around and watched as the others did the same, the younger kids pulling out their d-tectors a bit apprehensively.

"Ready?" Tai asked everyone. They all nodded, each one with a look of determination in their eyes. "Digivises up!"

We raised the palm-sized apparatuses upward and one by one a light shot out, each one a different color then the last. It was interesting to see the light out of Davis, Yolie and Cody's. One beam with two colors merging in the middle. It made a rainbow in itself and added color to ours.

I felt my feet leave the ground and, looking down, I watched my father became smaller and smaller as the world beneath me got farther and farther away. I closed my eyes and waited until me feet touched down again and the sensation of levitation left my mind just a tad light headed.

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Kari fell to her knees, her arms wrapped around her body as pain erupted inside her chest. Fear pounded her head as her thoughts focused on the only source she could think of, the only reason for her to be experiencing such a pain at this time. Tears fell down her cheeks as she prayed desperately for the pain to stop and she found herself crying out in desperation for TK.

A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality and she looked up into the face of her brother. Matt was standing behind him, his face paler then chalk as he stared at her.

"Kari, what is it? What's wrong?"

"TK." She murmured, "I feel it. I feel his pain. It hurts so much! My chest is burning, like it's on fire! We have to find him, have to save him! They're hurting him! We gotta do something!"

"We are doing something." Matt stated, "We're going to find him and rescue him."

"If what Kari says is true," Gennai replied sagely, "We may be to late to save him by the time we get there."

"I'll never believe that!" Matt shouted, turning on Gennai. "We will rescue TK! I'll bring him home even if it kills me!"

"That's what really bothers me." Gennai replied, "A promise like that is never to be taken lightly."

"Who said I was taking it lightly?"

"Matt!" Sora placed her hand on her boyfriends shoulder, her voice catching. "We are all in this together, you must never forget that. We will all rescue TK. And we will all get back home."

Kari wiped the tears from her eyes and, with Tai's help, managed to get up. She had to be strong; maybe TK would be able to feel something of her through the link. And if he did she didn't want him to feel weakness, it would only hinder his own struggles. If she were weak she would weaken him further, right?

I need to be strong for TK. If possible…lend him strength.

"I have one last gift for you all." Gennai pushed through Kari's thoughts. He pulled some folded up paper out of his robe and held it out to her and Tai. "A map, just in case. I know you could have used this before in the past, but at the time we did not have it available. This time, however, it's on hand."

Tai accepted the Map and turned to the others. "Right then. Let's go!"

"Safe journeys, my friends, and good luck."

"Same to you." Matt replied, "And watch your back."

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Pain. Aching sensations overwhelming his body. The world around him was dark and soundless but for the pain.

And then it was gone. The aching remained, but the solid pain that had held him for so long was gone. TK felt his breath return and he gasped for air. His throat was raw from the amount of screaming and it pained his lungs to be gasping for what little air he could receive.

And yet somehow he knew that he had not been screaming for a while now. He knew that the lack of breath was not from how much he had screamed, but that he had more then blacked out from the experience. He had….

"Dear dear, that was far too close a shave, don't you think?"

TK felt hatred like he had never felt before boil within his veins at the sound of his captor's voice. A rage so thick that his vision seemed hazed as blood red fury welled within him. He said nothing, did nothing. He waited, calmly.

"Yes, way too close indeed. I hadn't expected you to stop breathing, you had managed to last longer then I expected as it was beneath the darkness stone. I must start paying more attention, I can't have you dieing on me."

"And why is that?" TK asked softly, his breathing beginning to regulate itself.

"Oh, hohoho. Final found your voice, hm?" The soft rasping of the creature ground TK's nerves. It made him want to seize its voice box and wrench it from its throat. "I need you alive, child, because your destiny is far greater then you ever realized. And our goals are finally about to be realized."

"And I'm supposed to care why?"

It chuckled. "I see the stone is already beginning its work on you. Soon, very soon, we will be finished here."

"Stop playing with me!" TK shouted in venomous voice.

A whimpering near him brought TK's attention to the cage with Patamon within. The tiny digimon was looking at TK with a look of exhaustion, but within that exhaustion was horror as well.

"TK…."

TK blinked. Something was wrong. He felt so vile, so tainted. It felt as though he were someone else. He could see it in his partner's eyes.

"TK…something…has happened. Your eyes have…gotten darker…."

"Darker…."

Fear. Colder and sharper then he felt before TK finally realized what the intention of this darkness stone was all about. The energy being thrust within him, the purpose of abducting him was-."

"STOP IT!" TK cried out desperately, vainly struggling against his bonds again. "Stop it, please! You can't! Anything but that, I refuse it! I refuse!"

"Pathetic child." The voice had lost its mocking softness; it had suddenly grown hard. Cold. It had realized TK had caught on. "Your please will do nothing to save you now."

"I won't! This isn't going to happen!" TK cried, "I'll die first! I'LL DIE!"

"Hahaha! You can only wish! The choice is not yours, you shall be drained of every hope you have! Your soul will forever be consumed in darkness Takeru, and you will forever be mine!"

"Never!" TK's voice had gone shrill. The pronouncement of his name from the creature seemed to make a finalization of his predicament that spurred his greatest fears into action.

"And don't be so swift to call on death, Takeru, it won't save you, or the worlds. The war has started and there is no time for another to replace you. The moment of a death is the imminent victory for us!"

The dark energy slammed into TK once more and once more pain erupted within him. As his screams echoed through the room the shadow demon that tortured him slowly began to laugh, his voice, though raspy, growing with every sound until it was lost within TK's screams of agony.

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Calm, peaceful, utterly tranquil. The world around me seemed perfect, especially at night. Just the way it had been when we had first arrived that fateful day. But that always went to show you how deceiving appearances could be. The digital world may seem swell, at ease even, but when you get down to the nitty gritty you come to realize that in reality it is an ever changing, ever evolving world of danger. Especially when it is threatened. And while it doesn't appear as such right now I knew that the world was being threatened once again. That enemies roamed the land and the water, searching for Gennai and his friend Arissa. But the question is, do they know we are here? Are they watching our very movements the way so many of our enemies from the past seemed to be able to do? Are they waiting for the right moment to strike? Waiting for us to weaken, to loose our defenses and strike us at the most random of moments?

Stop being so paranoid Matt.

I ran a hand through my hair, tracing a line from my bangs to my neck, I wasn't entirely sure when the last time I had my hair cut was.

Maybe I should get a haircut soon, I thought to myself idly, though I kinda like the way it feels long.

I looked around the makeshift camp, Tai had wanted us to stay put while he scouted up ahead with the map (Tai had really been into the fact that we actually had a map this time and was using every opportunity to make markers on it). Mimi and Sora had taken the time to go over the inventory once more so they were bent of the bag Mimi was carrying. Ken and Yolie were making me a bit nervous, personally, and I felt it was a bad idea to let them alone for too long. Ken might be a gentleman, but Yolie was the furthest thing from a lady as she could get, and I had a distinct feeling she was the aggressive one in their relationship.

I sighed and looked up at the moons, their digital glow illuminating our surroundings far more then the single satellite back on earth.

"Feeling better Matt?"

I turned sharply to see Sora staring at me with concern, apparently finished with her inventory double check. She was worried about me and I understood why. I smiled at her reassuringly.

"Not better, no." I replied, "What Kari said has me more scared then ever. But I'm not going to let myself wig out if that's what your afraid of."

I saw Sora smile and I immediately felt better. I much preferred her smile to her frowns; she looked nice when she smiled. A frown just didn't suit her; it marred her facial structure and caused lines in her face. One of the main reasons, however, that I didn't like to see her frown was because it was usually my fault. Something I did, said, or whatever. And knowing that….

Her hand reached out and gently grasped mine. The warm touch calmed me more and I looked at her with a smile, squeezing her hand in added reassurance.

"So long as you're with me."

Sora lowered her head a little and then looked back at me that beautiful smile of hers. "I kinda wish Biomon were here. It's hard to be in the digital world and not have her with me."

"I know just how you feel." I replied as I thought of my own partner, "Gabumon and I have been through so much together." I grinned as a few memories flashed through my head and I nudged Sora playfully in the ribs with my elbow. "I'll never forget the time when Devimon separated us all. He and I landed in the middle of a blizzard and I had almost froze to death, brr." I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered at the memory and I found Sora's fist digging into my head.

"Oh, yeah, I remember you mentioning that before." Sora smiled a little wickedly, her arms going behind her back as she clasped her hands together, "You disregarded his wishes and went to look for TK on your own. What were you thinking going out there with no protection? All you had on was that stupid green turtleneck tank top thing!"

"Your worse then Gabumon, you know that?" I grinned at her, winking.

"At least I'm smart enough to stay inside a nice warm cave during a blizzard when I'm told to" she replied with soft, almost enticing voice I hadn't expected and we found our eyes locking together in a way they had never done before.

"Hey, guys!"

The sudden sound of Tai's voice tore our eyes away from each other and I found myself blushing hard. A quick glance at Sora confirmed for me that she, too, was blushing and I felt a seed of guilt rise inside me as I recognized the fact that TK was still out there, in pain, while I stood here and flirted with my girlfriend. A seed that began to grow, then, and a sick feeling entered inside me. What kind of brother was I? It used to be that nothing could stand in my way of finding TK, next to be being bound and gagged anyway.

I quickly focused back onto Tai who was huffing and puffing from running hard.

"What's wrong?" Yolie asked as the group gathered around him.

"I…(huff, huff), I found something!" Tai gasped, trying to get fresh air into his lungs again.

"What did you find?" Ken asked quickly

"A cave! It's blocked…by a boulder!"

"And what's so great about it?" Mimi asked skeptically.

Tai pointed to his crest, a big grin on his face, "It glowed. I need some help to move the boulder! If it makes the crest glow then it must be important! C'Mon!"

I exchanged glances with Sora and the two of us took off after Tai. When we reached the cave he was talking about, I noticed my crest begin to glow faintly. It wasn't anything big or noticeable, but it seemed to radiate a sort of warmth as if to get ones attention. Everyone else seemed to notice it as well.

"Do you really think it's that important?" I heard Davis ask right before I heard a hand make contact with his head.

"You are an idiot!" Yolie hissed.

I wonder why it's there." Izzy murmured

"Only one way to find out." Tai replied. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was grinning but I ignored it, and them, and walked over to the boulder that blocked the cave entrance. It was big and would take us quite some time to move it, but apparently it was placed there for a reason. Squaring my shoulders I set myself and rammed into the boulder only to fall through the boulder. I let out a shout of surprise, barley registering the frightened cry of my name from the others, and landed on a sloping surface that pitched my feet over my head and thrust me by way of momentum down the small hill. On the way my down my foot found a niche and secured it only to be twisted back out and I landed with a sharp thud at the bottom, my head, and every other part of my body, aching angrily.

"Matt!" Sora called, her voice filled with concern. I looked up slowly to see the boulder securely in place and found myself wondering exactly what happened. And then Tai was sliding down the slope followed closely by Davis and Ken. A shout of protest was heard from Mimi and then Sora was on her way down as well. Tai was the first one to reach me a look that crossed between amusement, exasperation, and irritation on his face. Sora, however, looked angry and frightened.

"I don't know what you were thinking man, but that was stupid."

"That was more then stupid!" Sora shouted, "Even if it wasn't just a hologram you could have busted your shoulder doing that Matt!

"I'm thinking he thought I was right there with him." Tai stated with a grin. Apparently amusement had won out and he was thoroughly enjoying Sora berate me.

"Yeah." I stated, "It was your idea to begin with!"

"Mine?"

"Yeah! You said there way sonly one way to find out, remember And earlier you sad you needed help to move it, so I got straight to the point!"

"You acted without thinking Matt!" Sora stated, "That's Tai's job, not yours!"

"Hey!" Tai cried, "I resent that remark!"

"You resemble that remark dude."

"Takes one to know one Davis." Ken stated.

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?"

As the argument continued I briefly caught the sound of talking behind me. I stopped arguing with the others and strained my ears, listening.

"Do you think we should stop them?"

"No way! It's to amusing!"

"Personally I would really like to get out of this cave. Now that they are here we can finally get some answers."

"I agree with Hawkmon, let's break up their little swaray, I wanna see Cody."

"I think Matt noticed us."

Gabumon? I thought. I slowly turned my head around to see bright luminous eyes glowing in the dark siloughettes of familiar shapes.

I faintly heard the arguing stop ad shifting on the ground told me the others had noticed what I noticed.

"Augumon?" Tai asked breathlessly.

"Tai!"

"Agumon!"

"Hey Davis! How's it hangin'?"

"V-Mon!"

"And wormon too!" Ken shouted, "They're all here!"

"Oh, ken, I've missed you so much!"

"Biomon!"

"Sora!"

"We're not all here." Gabumon stated as he walked towards me.

"We know." I replied. "Gennai told us everything."

"You saw Gennai?" Tentomon asked, "She said he was bringing you here, but she didn't say anything more then that."

"Whose she?" Davis asked.

"A woman named Arissa." Gatomon replied, "She brought us here to this cave and told us to stay here until help arrives. One by one we all wound up in here. All of us except Patamon. We were all expecting see him eventually but she never returned. Where's Kari?"

"And Joe?"

"And-."

"Up there." Tai interrupted Tentomon, "They're waiting for us to get Matt."

"This Arissa, she must be the one Gennai is looking for. But wasn't she protecting the eggs with Elecmon?"

"She mentioned when she found me she had to return to her duty soon." Palmon replied, "Before everything falls apart. But I never pressed the issue, I didn't think about it."

"It's her alright." I replied, "That means she's safe, Gennai will be pleased."

"What's taking so long down there?" Yolie called

"Come on down!" Tai called, "It's all right! Agumon and the others are down here!"

"Hawkmon!"

"And Gatomon!"

"All of them!"

"But be carful, there's a slope!" I warned.

And then the others were all sliding down the slope more careful and graceful then I did. When they all made it to the bottom they greeted their respective Digimon with open smiles of excitement until realization dawned.

"I don't get it." Gatomon said suddenly, "Where's TK? And how did you know Patamon wasn't with us down here?"

I looked quickly at the purple and white cat, realizing just how little they knew of what was happening, and felt a pain in my chest.

Apparently Gabumon noticed this.

"Matt, what's going on?"

"Kari? Did I say something wrong?"

I glanced at Kari and saw that she was on her knees again, but I think that may have been more to do with the fact that she had knelt down to Gatomons level. But as of now she was holding her crest in one hand, the other focused on her forehead. She glanced down at their digimon partner and smiled reassuringly, but I could tell she was having a hard time dealing with….

If she feels echoes of TK's pain then TK….

I looked away from Kari, my hand balling into a fist. I didn't want to think about it other wise I might do something stupid. Again.

"Matt?"

"Patamon…is with TK."

"Oh, good!" Gatomon said, "I was beginning to worry by the way you were all acting!"

"It's not good." Kari stated, "It's horrible."

"What do you mean?" Biomon asked

"TK has been taken."

"But we're getting him back!" A stated, "Him and Patamon. We'll get them back and well save them. I don't care what Gennai thinks, I refuse to give up."

"So long as the my chest hurts, it's not to late." Kari murmured, "that's not al to of comfort for me, but I will do everything in my power to help him. Even if all I can do is endure what I feel and stay strong. I just hope TK can feel me as I feel him, otherwise…."

"Don't worry Kari." Tai stated, placing a hand on her shoulder, "that link works both ways, I'm sure of it."

"Right." I stated. Placing a hand on my knee I stood up, determined to get things underway, only to hiss sharply and sit back down, my hands flying towards my ankle.

"Matt!" Gabumon cried, "What it is?"

"I think I know." Sora stated as she knelt next to me. Her hands wandered over to my ankle, moving mine out of the way. "Can you take a look at him Joe?"

"Of course."

I watched as Joe knelt down to take a look, finding the whole thing more then a little redundant. Joe wasn't even officially a medical student yet and Sora was acting like he could diagnose and cure minor ailments, something I found quite ridiculous. But when Joe finished he had an amused twinkle in his eye that made my blood boil.

"Well?" I asked.

"It appears, Matt, that you succeeded in giving yourself a minor sprain. Normally I would suggest that you stay off it and let it rest, but seein as how we don't have the time I'll suggest that you keep pressure off it. Not to mention informing you that you really need to be more careful."

I refrained from asking him who made him the expert. With my luck he'd answer me.

"So now what?" Davis asked, "How do we search for TJ-."

"It's TK!"

"With Matt's ankle sprained?"

I glared hard at Davis who was looking at Tai, but if I didn't know better I'd have to say Davis glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. It was a quick movement, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was. My anger died down to be replaced with perplexity.

"Joe said it was only a mild sprain." Tai said, "And he said that so long as he didn't put to much pressure on it he was fine to walk."

"I can lean on a stick or something." I stated

"Kari!" Gatomon cried.

My head whipped around to see Kari swooning a little. Tai was suddenly by her side again and he helped her stand, allowing her to lean on him.

"We need to get a move on, now." I said flatly, "I don't even want to think about what TK is going through."

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k2: Well, I suppose I should mention this real quick, it is rather important. The void master, whom I had originally called the Dark One (talk about cheesy!) is not the 'main' bad guy per say. He is the 'current' master. There have been many, believe me. He is not the avatar that was spoken of by Gennai, just the current head of operations. I am only saying this to stop any confusion that may happen along the way. I realize I may have bungled this part, but not mentioning it in the story is bound to happen. The guy has a major ego problem, as you can see I am sure. He is not; I repeat NOT evil in its purest form. That is the avatar's job. You will not, however, come across the avatar until the end of the entire series, which means if I ever make a third and or fourth story he will be there. OR she. With that said…..

Please review!