Davis Motamiya eagerly ran ahead of the group. He stopped for a second, turning around and waving to the others. "Come on, guys!" he called. "Don't be so slow!"
A few more days had passed, and with little, if any, progression for Ken Ichijouji's condition: still plenty of questions and confusion in his head. However, he'd have to set that aside… for now anyway.
It had been Yolei's idea to meet at the beach and play around in the ocean, build sandcastles, talk- whatever anyone felt like doing. They'd all agreed to it, and it was a perfect day for the occasion. The sun was out and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.
TK, Kari, and Cody quickly chased after Davis, while Yolei and Ken kept going at their leisurely pace, purposely staying a bit behind.
"It's such a wonderful day," Yolei pointed out.
"Sure is," Ken agreed.
"Good day for a swim too," she added.
"Mm-hmm."
"This is gonna be so much fun, huh, Ken?"
"Yep."
The others were already in the ocean. "Yolei! Ken!" Davis shouted. "You're taking way too long! Hurry up!"
Yolei started running. "Ken," she said, "they're waiting for us!"
Ken ran behind her and they swiftly approached the ocean. However, when they got to its shore, Ken stopped abruptly. He stared at the ocean.
After wading in a little ways, Yolei realized that Ken was no longer behind her. She turned around, looking to him. "Ken…?"
A wave rolled across the ocean then, gently. Ken's eyes widened and he stepped back. He bit his bottom lip, taking another step backward. Something wasn't right.
Yolei came up to him. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Aren't you going to swim with us?"
"Yolei, something's wrong," Ken told her.
"Huh?"
"I want to wait a while," Ken decided. With that, he seated himself on the ground. He stared blankly out at the ocean.
Yolei sat next to him. "I don't get it," she said with a shrug, "but ok."
They sat there quietly for a long time. Yolei watched the others:
Davis sneaked up behind Cody, then quickly dunked the kid underwater. When he came up coughing and sputtering, Davis laughed uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Kari splashed a clueless TK. He turned around, exclaiming, "Hey!" and she started to giggle.
Grinning, TK splashed back playfully.
Yolei looked to Ken. "TK and Kari sure are cute together, aren't they?"
"I guess."
"How come you won't swim, Ken?"
Ken hung his head, then stuck a finger in the sand, sort of drawing circles in it. "I dunno," he mumbled.
"You can tell me."
"That ocean…" Ken looked into her eyes, stammering, "I'm-I'm afraid, Yolei."
"What?"
"I can't go in there."
"Why?"
Ken didn't say a word. He continued to watch the ocean. "I can hear the waves," he muttered.
"When we came here, you wanted to swim," Yolei said. "What happened?"
"I… That ocean… I have this feeling that's it's just going to come up on me and consume me. It's going to swallow me up and leave me in darkness." He looked to Yolei worriedly. "It scares me. Is there anything that happened in the past that could've made me this way?"
"Maybe it's because you fell off the ship," Yolei suggested. "That's what gave you your amnesia, and you could've drown, so…"
"No, it's deeper and darker than that." Just then, a big wave crashed down upon the shore. "Yolei," he whined. "Yolei."
"Ken?"
Ken shut his eyes tightly. "Don't let it take me, Yolei!" he pleaded. "Don't let the darkness take me!"
Darkness. He kept saying that! Yolei didn't get it. But then a memory from their adventures in the digital world came to her: Once, she, Kari, and Ken had been taken to another world, and there had been an ocean there that both Ken and Kari feared terribly. Of course! The powers of darkness were Ken's greatest fear. Now, as he stared out at the ocean before him, he must've been seeing…
"I'm gonna go get Kari, ok?" Yolei asked. "I think she could understand you better than I can."
As she stood, Ken looked up at her, his eyes wide.
Yolei soon returned with Kari at her side. "Tell her what you're feeling," she ordered Ken.
"I'm afraid," Ken started nervously. "I feel like the ocean's going to take me. It's going to engulf me in darkness." He looked at Kari, frowning. "Am I crazy, Kari?"
Kari sat next to him, putting an arm around him. "No, Ken. No, you're not. You must be thinking it's the Dark Ocean."
"The Dark Ocean…?"
"Something from your past," Kari explained. "You've always been scared of it. I've seen it as well, and I'm afraid too. But the ocean in front of us isn't what you think it is. Look out there, Ken, and you'll see. Davis, Cody, and TK are in it, and they're perfectly fine. They're swimming and having fun. The ocean hasn't taken them; it's not going to."
Confused, Ken questioned, "What is the Dark Ocean?"
Kari thought. "It's hard to explain, but it really doesn't matter. The Dark Ocean isn't part of you anymore. It's gone. Trust me Ken, what you see before you isn't darkness. Everything is perfectly fine." She took Ken's hand and helped him to his feet.
"Kari, I don't understand," Ken said. "You didn't tell me what the Dark Ocean was. Why was I so afraid of it? Why has this come back to me? Why am I bothered now?"
"You've been through a lot in your life, Ken," Kari told him. "You really have been. The Dark Ocean is somewhere you and I have both been. Knowing the power it has over us, it's understandable that- seeing this ocean- your fear would come back to you. But, please, come with me. The ocean isn't what you think! It's not dark and it's not going to take you."
"Go on," Yolei urged.
Ken followed Kari and they slowly waded into the ocean. He held onto the girl tightly, unsure if she really knew what she was talking about, unsure if she really understood how he was feeling, unsure if the ocean was really safe…
"Heads up, Ken!"
In an instant, a splash of water struck his face and Davis Motamiya was beside him, laughing.
"Don't do that!" Kari scolded.
"What?" Davis asked. "All I did was…"
"No, it's alright," Ken insisted, and splashed Davis forcefully.
And with the clear sky above and the sun beating down on them, it was indeed a perfect day at the beach.
The phone was ringing.
Kari rushed to get it. TK was supposed to call her that evening, but when she answered the phone, the voice coming from the other end wasn't his.
"Hello? Kari?"
The voice was, though, all too familiar to her. "Ken…?"
"Yes," came the reply.
"What's up?" Kari questioned casually.
"I wanted to talk."
"Oh?"
"Do you think you could meet me at the beach?"
"What?" Kari paused, looking up at a clock. "When?"
"Now; or as soon as possible."
"But it's getting late!" Kari exclaimed. "It's starting to get dark out. Plus, we were already there earlier today."
"Please, Kari. I need to talk to you."
"Well…"
"Please."
"Well, alright. I'll see you there. Goodbye."
"Bye."
With that, Kari hung up the phone. She sighed heavily, a bit disappointed that she was going to have to break her rendezvous with TK, but, on the other hand, Ken needed her. That, she figured, was more important at the moment.
When she arrived, Ken- with a wistful look about him- was there, sitting in the sand, close to the shoreline.
"Ken," she said, seating herself next to him. "What is it?"
"You have no idea how scared I was today, and what's worse is that I was scared of something that wasn't even there," Ken said to her. "What was wrong with me? I saw something dark, Kari. Very, very dark. Was I hallucinating?"
"Yes, I think it was an illusion in your mind," Kari answered.
"Tell me, what is the 'Dark Ocean'? You said that's what I was seeing. Well, if that's the case, then tell me what it is."
"I already told you."
"No," Ken protested. "You didn't. I know there's more that you're keeping from me. Give me the truth."
"I… I can't."
"Why can't you?" Ken asked. "It's not like it's some kind of big secret, right?"
"Just trust me on this one."
"I've never felt anything so terrible. As I looked out there today, I could've sworn that ocean was evil; it wanted me. But when I actually got in it, everything was fine. I have to know what the Dark Ocean is so I can understand what I was feeling and why."
"Let me just tell you that the Dark Ocean is something… well… otherworldly."
"Otherworldly? But how?"
"Ken, you would never understand; not in the state you're in."
"I wish you wouldn't hide things from me," Ken snapped.
"Sometimes it's best to leave stuff unexplained. Some things are better left unknown. If you just give it time, your memory is going to come back to you and all of this will make sense."
"Whatever," Ken mumbled.
"Please don't be this way," Kari begged him. "I'm only keeping this one thing from you to save you from even more confusion."
Ken looked up at the dark sky, muttering, "Everyone is hiding things from me."
"Ken…"
"This whole time, these long days; everyone has been hiding everything from me." He sighed. "I'm tired of not being able to remember," he said ruefully. "I'm tired of not understanding. I'm tired of being confused. I'm sick and tired of this, Kari."
Kari gave him a quick hug. "I'm here for you," she said, "and so are the others: Davis, TK, Yolei, Cody; we're all here for you. Never forget it."
The boy was quiet, still gazing at the sky.
"If there's one thing I've learned from my own encounters," Kari went on thoughtfully, "it's that darkness can never get to you…" She paused, smiling, "…as long as you have light."
"Thanks," Ken said.
"No problem. I'm glad we had this talk, Ken."
"Yeah. It seemed like you were the only one who could sort of understand what I was feeling. Yolei didn't get it, and I just knew the others wouldn't have either. I guess you know the darkness too."
"I do," Kari assured him, nodding.