Chapter 8: Down the Rabbit Hole

Melissa was waiting for Jack to get back. She had decided that she wanted a couple answers to her questions right now. Normally you didn't flip out when somebody you've never seen before got high, then drop a bunch of people at a carnival in your hometown, only to vanish for an hour.

Melissa watched a familiar Volvo pull in, and when Jack got out she walked over. "What's the deal?" she asked as Jack opened the trunk to let the digimon out.

"The deal with what?" he asked coolly as he set off for the carnival with Skullmon perched on his shoulder. Patamon fluttered down onto Melissa's head.

Melissa grabbed Jack's shoulder and yanked. Jack spun on his heel to face her. "What did you really just go and do?" she demanded.

Jack looked her up and down as if gauging her worth with his eyes that, like always, were hidden by sunglasses. Melissa realized that she had never seen him without them on. Abruptly he opened his mouth, apparently she was worthy enough too know what he had done. "Izzy got high off a new experimental kind of herbal painkiller." Jack explained, "I know the man who was keeping said painkiller, all of his stores are now sleeping with the fishes."

Melissa nodded and started to walk past Jack, but he stopped her. "I answered a question of yours," he told her, "now answer one of mine." He took off his glasses. Melissa realized that she couldn't tell what color they were, but there was a power and a madness behind them that bored into her. She hated those eyes in an instant. "Who are you," he asked, "who are you really?"

Melissa looked uncomfortably from side to side. It wasn't as if she actually cared whether people thought she was TK's cousin or not. It was just really hard to say that she was Melissa Drake, whose parents were some of the richest bastards in the country. She didn't want to be treated specially; she just wanted to be normal.

Jack put the glasses back on. "Tell me later," he told her, "we have company."

The others were coming. Kari and Izzy were leading and chatting amiably, they were followed by Gatomon, and at the rear was a rather dejected looking TK.

"Have fun?" Jack asked as they got closer. Izzy shrugged, but Kari and TK both scowled at him.

All of the sudden Izzy's laptop began to beep wildly. He took it out and looked at it; the colors on the screen were swirling around in a whirlpool. A second later the whirlpool of color exploded out from the laptop and consumed them. After that it shrunk back but the laptop, people, digimon were gone. The swirling vortex of colors imploded upon itself and vanished with a soft pop. No one noticed anything.

Izzy was the first one to awaken. The first thing he realized was that something was poking him. Then he realized he was upside down. It took a few moments more for him to piece together that he was in a tree, in the digital world, and that Tentomon was poking him.

As Izzy was climbing down Kari woke up in a very embarrassing position. When she had first tried breathing she had found it difficult. Upon opening her eyes she discovered why. TK, still unconscious, was lying atop her, and her hand was in a very inappropriate place.

TK slowly opened his eyes. "I love you." he murmured and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Kari blushed and slapped him with her free hand knocking him off of her. "I guess this isn't heaven." he commented.

Kari rolled her eyes at his stupidity, "Why would you think we were in heaven?" she asked. "What even makes you think you'd get in?"

"Your hair is brown again." TK told her with a smile ignoring the second question. Kari looked at her hair, sure enough it was brown. "I guess that means we're back in the digiworld." TK said as Izzy, Tentomon, Gatomon, and Patamon came over. The Americans were nowhere to we found.

Jack and Melissa woke up in a dessert. Their clothes had changed on their trip there. Jack was now wearing a trench coat which, judging by his lack of sweat, must have had an air conditioner in it. Melissa was sporting an over sized teenaged wolves shirt and a pair of old jeans. She also had a tongue piercing which she spent a good fifteen minutes extolling the virtues of.

"Where are we?" Jack asked Bonemon who had digivolved while they were out of it.

"I'm not sure," the diminutive skeleton began, "but I think this is part of the digital world."

Jack looked around the sandy landscape glad that he had his sunglasses. "I guess we should try to find the others." he suggested.

Melissa looked around, "This way." she said choosing a random direction. The other two followed; there wasn't a better way to go.

Across the dessert a digimon watched them in a crystal ball. "At last," he said, "The Bonemon has finally come. Now my lord Dragoramon, soon you shall be revived." With that the digimon left its cave.

An hour south of the carnival Richard was looking at the sky. Little Kari, it seemed, had flown the coop. No matter, he would get his pet back. Normally he didn't care much for a girl once they had been used. Kari however, was a different story. Never before had he lusted after a girl after he had taken her. He craved the feel of her skin, the fear in her eyes, her screams and moans, the way her body responded in ways her mind didn't want it to. The only problem was this Takeru she had called out to at the climax. That however was an easy remedy, and when he gained the kingship he so deserved she would be his queen. He fiddled with the small device in his palm; it was almost time.

In Los Angeles a blue haired man was lying in bed with a pink haired girl. "That was excellent." he cooed to her.

"Do you think TK found Kari, Joe?" the woman asked.

Joe kissed her forehead lovingly, "Don't worry Mimi." he said, "Those two are meant to be together forever." Mimi smiled up at him glad that he wasn't being pessimistic for once. "Are you ready for another round?" Joe inquired propping himself up with one elbow. Mimi happily spread her legs and reached for Joe's manhood.

In Chicago Tai and Sora were on a park bench watching the stars. "So when do you plan on going back home?" Sora asked.

"I was thinking in a week or so," Tai said, "Right after Matt's concert. Is that all right with you?"

"Yeah that's fine." Sora said with a nod. Her mind wasn't on this evening though. She was thinking of times gone by and a pair of people who had grown up loving each other. Pity TK and Kari had broken up. Pity no one knew why. Pity the Kamiyas had moved away. Pity TK had no chance in New York. All in all, the world was a pretty pitiful place.

She was brought back to reality when Tai planted a kiss on her lips. Inwardly she smiled as she returned the kiss; maybe the world wasn't so bad after all.

Halfway around the world Yolei and Ken were on the balcony of their shared apartment. "You think it was a good idea to support TK?" Yolei asked.

"For the millionth time Yolei: yes, yes I do." Ken said while massaging his temples.

"Are you okay?" Yolei asked. "You've had that headache for awhile."

To her complete surprise Ken got down on one knee and pulled a black box out of his pocket. "You probably expected this to be more romantic," he began, "but I couldn't think of a better or more meaningful place to ask. Yolei, will you marry me?"

Yolei took the ring, it was a simple gold band with a simple diamond, but to her it was the most beautiful thing ever. "Yes," she murmured, "yes I will."

Matt was in Washington DC at that time. He absentmindedly wondered if TK was at the Kamiya's yet. He thought about he thought about his brothers chances in getting back together with Kari, and decided they were negative. He'd need a lot of luck to pull that off, hell it'd probably be enough to put him in for a crest of luck. He wondered if Kari was okay and if Jack was doing his job.

Two people, a guy and his girlfriend, were only a few yards away. People called the guy 'Big T,' his real name was Thomas and he was six feet eight inches tall. His girlfriend was 'Shorty' a five foot two inch tall super feisty girl half a year younger than him.

"So where do you think Jack is?" she asked him.

Big T looked down at the shorter girl. They had met back when he was a sophomore and her a freshman, she had been sleeping with Jack back then. Big T was still leery about the two of them. Jack was also his best friend. "He said he was being forced into babysitting that girl he brought back stage in New York." he told her.

Shorty snorted in laughter, "Jack must be in heaven!" she declared, "He's being paid to get in fights and get laid." Her beliefs on Jack's ability to charm the girl were obvious; of course she knew Jack's abilities firsthand.

There are two other people concerned with this tale who haven't been mentioned. The first was in her home, a mansion in Chicago, the second, her husband, was on a plane to Seattle to close a business deal. They were Vanessa and Otto Drake. Neither one noticed their daughter was missing, nor would they for quite some length of time. It was no wonder Melissa referred to them, her own parents, as rich bastards.