Kari, T.K., and the two digimon landed in a heap on the ground, limbs and wings hopelessly entangled. Though they were used to these ungraceful landings, it took them several minutes to pry themselves away from each other.
The first thing Kari noticed when she was finally exposed to the air was the cold. But when she shivered, it wasn't as much from the temperature as it was from the memory of being cold during her last visit.
She leaned forward to lend T.K. a hand in standing, but as she did so, a shadow shifted behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. T.K. stood next to her and had no sooner placed a comforting hand on her shoulder when Piedmon's familiar cackle erupted from the darkness surrounding them.
"What a pity," he cooed. "All dressed up and no place to go."
The two humans both instinctively gripped their D-3s and turned towards their digimon, preparing to fight for their lives. However, the same force that seemed to be interfering with the digi-portals seemed to be hindering Gatomon and Patamon's ability to digivolve.
"What do we do now?" Kari cried, trying her best not to panic.
"We run!" T.K. answered, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the evil digimon.
Weaving between the menacing trees and dark undergrowth did not allow for as quick a pace as T.K. had expected, but that turned out to be a good thing for Kari, who was deciding that running in heels should be a new Olympic sport. They had been on the run for very long when they reached the familiar clearing where their previous encounter with Piedmon, Devimon, and LadyDevimon had occurred.
T.K. hesitated, unsure whether it was safer to cut across the clearing or to keep hidden in the trees and move around it. But, while he was still deciding, they heard Piedmon's evil laughter again, from very close behind them.
It was all of the motivation T.K. needed. He gripped Kari's hand again and the four of them took off through the clearing. As luck would have it though, when they were directly in the middle of the field, the heel of Kari's shoe snapped, causing her to fall face-first into the dirt.
A second later, T.K. was by her side, trying to help her stand up. His hands were on her hips, holding her upright as she pulled of her shoes and flung them away. She was just about to continue their hurtle when Piedmon's figure appeared out of the trees.
"Clown Trick!" he cried out, and bands of rope appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around them, preventing them from moving.
Gatomon ran forward to cut through the bindings, but every time she got within two feet of them, she was thrown backwards as if repelled off an invisible wall.
Still unable to digivolve, the two digimon hopelessly tried to take the ultimate level villain on their own. As it would seem, Patamon's Boom Bubble Puffs, and Gatomon's Lightning Claws had almost no effect on Piedmon, as he brushed them away.
Piedmon took a step towards the two humans, as Kari finally allowed panic to settle in. She looked up at at T.K. and said, "Come on, we have to think of something. It can't end like this!"
Realization struck T.K. as he stood bound in the middle of the clearing, holding Kari in his arms. "Kari, I'm sorry," he whispered.
"What? You're sorry for what?" she demanded, quite confused by his proclamation.
"I'm sorry for not telling you that I love you. I should have told you every day, and in case this is the end, then I just wanted you to know that I love you. I love you. I love you."
Piedmon was getting closer, and Kari didn't know whether to cry or laugh. "You're timing sucks," she whispered back to T.K. "But I love you to." And even though certain death awaited them, he kissed her, and she kissed him back with all of the passion that she'd always felt for him.
T.K. and Kari hadn't noticed it, but as they touched, Kari's light once again illuminated the darkness of this section of the digiworld. However, the light that came from the two lovers was not just the bright pink of before, but interlaced with ribbons of shining gold.
Instinctively, Piedmon raised his arms to shield his face, and the both the cords around T.K. and Kari, and the barrier preventing digivolution broke away. A second later Angewomon and MagnaAngemon were back in action.
A Celestial Arrow and a trip through the Gate of Destiny later, Piedmon was once again out of their lives. T.K. and Kari, still lip locked in the center of the clearing, were oblivious to the clearing of the skies, and the return of life to the region.
What finally broke the couple apart was the crash in the trees as Garurumon, Exveemon, Stingmon, Aquillamon, Ankylomon, Kabuterimon, Matt, Davis, Ken, Yolei, Cody and Izzy came thundering into the field. Kari laughed, if they had been just seconds faster, they could have actually helped.
Hearing her laugh, T.K. wrapped his arms back around her and kissed her again, despite their enthusiastic audience. This action led to wild cheers from Yolei, who threw her arms around Ken and kissed him hard. Matt rolled his eyes, while Izzy and Cody turned away in embarrassment. All of them were excited for their friends, even Davis (who had always known it was going to happen), but of course they were all much more excited about the fact that Piedmon was gone and that T.K. and Kari were safe. This meant that they could now return to Japan for a night of celebration.