Sorry it took me so long to post this! I guess I was kind of scared by all the great reviews because I'm not sure if this story will actually live up to all of your expectations! LOL!
Anyways, here's chapter two (the Tamers make an appearance so yay!). I think it's kind of slow moving and it's taking awhile for stuff to happen; this, I think, is mainly due to the fact that I have such a large cast of characters (twenty or so) that I'm trying my best to have all be involved in the storyline because I really love all the characters and don't want to put one over the other. I think doing the Tamers side of the story is slightly easier as of now because there are lesser characters than 01 and 02 (considering their kind of together) and in Tamers, the story was a lot more focused on Takato, Rika, and Henry as compared to the other Tamers, so I don't feel as bad focusing primarily on them whereas in 01 and 02, the characters were much more balanced. That's also why, I think, the Tamers parts tend to be shorter than the 01/02 ones because there are less characters to deal with, so sorry about that! Anyway, I'd also like to apologize for this story being kind of moving slow as of now, but hopefully it will pick up eventually once I can first get all the characters introduced into the actually story (all twenty of them) and stuff...sigh...
Also, some of this (I believe the latter portion of this, particularly Tai and Mimi's conversation) is taken from another one of my Digimon fics, Dark Waves, which I may have mentioned when I posted chapter one of this story. However, it's altered in some parts and the scene isn't placed where it was in the original storyline, so...
Anyways, here goes for chapter 2! Again, I'm kind of nervous now because all of your reviews were so nice and filled with such high expectations and I don't know if this story will turn out as great as you all expect, mainly due to the fact that, as of now, it really is moving along slowly because of all the characters involved. But I still hope (and pray) you all enjoy chapter two as much as you did chapter one!
Chapter 2
"Terriermon!" Henry Wong called out as he walked down the hall of his home. "Terriermon!' Growing a bit concerned, he asked, "Hey, Terriermon, where are you?"
As he entered the living room, where his father sat on the couch, he asked, "Hey, Dad, have you seen Terriermon?"
Looking up from his paper, Mr. Wong turned to his son with much confusion. "Terriermon? What's that?"
Henry let out a laugh. "Very funny, dad. But have you seen him?"
Mr. Wong frowned. "I'm sorry, Henry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."
Crossing his arms and growing a bit frustrated, Henry answered, "You know-big floppy ears, says momentai a lot. That Terriermon."
"Henry, are you sure you're feeling all right?" Mr. Wong now asked as he placed his newspaper on the coffee table and stood up.
"I'm fine, dad," Henry answered. "But this really isn't funny anymore. Now, where is Terriermon hiding?" His eyes scanned the room.
"Henry, he isn't hiding anywhere, at least not that I know of," Mr. Wong answered. "Now just what or who is this Terriermon anyway?"
"Dad, you already know what Terriermon is; a digimon."
"A digimon?" Mr. Wong questioned, still completely baffled. "What on earth is that?"
"Oh, come on, dad! You're just the one who created them!" Henry exclaimed with a laugh, but Mr. Wong frowned.
"I'm really not sure what you're talking about, Henry, but maybe you should sit down…" He went to take his son by the arm, but Henry pulled away, suddenly growing very worried as he looked up at his father's sincerely confused eyes.
Shaking his head, Henry pushed past his father, calling out, "Terriermon! Terriermon, where are you? Terriermon!"
Mr. Wong took a step forward. "Henry-"
"Terriermon! Terriermon, I'm being serious! This isn't funny anymore, so answer me! Terriermon!" Henry's voice started cracking with his own fear when his sister came running into the living room, tears flinging from her eyes.
She clung onto her brother's leg, sobbing frantically, "Henry! Henry! I can't find Lopmon! I don't know where she is! Henry! Henry!"
And his new revelation sunk deep into his heart.
"Takato! Phone call!" Takato Matsuda's mother called up to him as he lay on his bed that late Sunday morning drawing.
"I got it, mom!" he called back down the stairs and then got up to pick up the phone on his desk. "Hello?…Oh, hi, Henry…Guilmon?…No, I haven't…no, not today; why?…What? Are you sure?…All right, I'll go to the park now, Henry…all right…don't worry, Henry; I'm sure there's some…all right. I'll see you soon. Bye." Takato hung up the phone and immediately headed to the park.
"But how can he not be here?" Takato questioned in horror, clutching onto the bars and looking into the little home that he had set up for Guilmon in the park to see that Guilmon was no longer there.
"I don't know, Takato; I just don't know…" Henry answered, clenching his fists in his own pain and trying to hold back his fear and tears.
"But…where are the holes he dug up?" Takato asked. "It's like he was never here at all." He then dropped his hands from the bars and lowered his head, tears starting to fall from his eyes.
"Never here at all," Henry repeated. "That's what dad acted like. He didn't even know who Terriermon didn't even exist!" He hit his hand against one of the tree trunks in his anger.
Takato, lifting his head and wiping his eyes with his arm, asked, "But what do we do, Henry? What can we do?"
"I don't know," Henry answered, shaking his head in his own despair. "I have no idea what to do at all."
"Maybe we should call Rika. And then the others," Takato suggested, his voice trembling as were his hands.
Suddenly hearing footsteps, both boys looked up to see Rika Nonaka suddenly standing there, her lavender eyes wet and grim. "Guilmon's isn't there, is he?" she questioned sharply, her tears getting caught in her throat. "I couldn't find Renamon this morning. I looked everywhere. And when I asked my mom and grandma if they knew where she was, they had no idea what I was talking about. So I came here to see if Guilmon was still here…and to see if Renamon was with him."
The three stood there for a long time in silence, only the wind blowing past them making any sort of sound in the park. Then, Rika finally decided, "We have to call the others."
"And tell them what?" Henry questioned angrily. "That we have no idea what's going on? A lot of good that will do. And the others probably have figured it out already, anyway."
"We should still call," Rika firmly repeated.
Takato frowned and then tried to suggest, "Maybe we can try and talk to Mr. Yamaki-"
"If my father doesn't remember anything about digimon, what makes you think he will, Takato?" Henry interrupted and Takato frowned even more, looking to his feet.
"He doesn't know anything either?" Rika asked and Henry just looked away. "So that means just us Tamers know, right?"
"That's what it seems like, anyway," Henry muttered. "And none of us are scientists or doctors; we don't know enough about digimon to actually figure out what's going on."
"Well, maybe we could go to the digital world and get some answers," Takato offered.
"But we don't know how to get there and back home on our own, either," Henry rebutted. "My father and the others were the ones who helped us do that."
"All we need is a digital gate, right?" Takato asked.
"But isn't that a little bit dangerous?" Henry questioned.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Takato admitted, and his eyes fell back down to his feet.
"It doesn't matter, anyway," Rika the spoke up. "I was by the tunnel looking for Renamon and there was no longer a gate there. And, by the looks of things, there doesn't seem to be one here either anymore."
Takato looked to Guilmon's home and shook his head. "No; everything's just gone. Guilmon, the digital gate, maybe the whole digital world even. How is that even possible?"
Henry did not answer, but instead let out a frustrated sigh. "This is just great! Just what are we-" Henry was cut off, however, by the sound of Rika gasping. "Huh?"
"What's wrong, Rika?" Takato asked worriedly, noticing the frightened distress now on Rika's face.
"Ryo. Ryo was in the digital world, and now it's gone, does that mean that he's…" she trailed off, unable to finish and both Takato and Henry looked at each other with frightened eyes, unsure what the answer was and fearing what it could be.
"I'm sure he's fine, Rika," Takato tried to assure her as well as himself. "He has to be…he's one of us, right?" But all three seemed very doubtful.
"And he's probably the only one out of the eight of us who would have even the slightest idea what was going on and what to do about it," Henry pointed out bitterly.
"Maybe one of us should go to his house and see if his father knows where he is," Takato suggested. "Maybe he came home before…"
"I'll go," Rika immediately answered before the suggestion was even agreed upon. "You two can go get Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta. We'll meet back here as soon as we can, all right?"
And there was nothing else for the boys to do but agree.
Rika arrived at Ryo's apartment building as noon was nearing. Something was uneasy in her as she stepped in front of the door, as if something was unfamiliar about the home. Still, she knocked anyway and waited.
To her dismay, no one answered. She knocked again, and still no answer. However, unwilling to give up, she went to the neighboring apartment and knocked on the door.
A woman she didn't recognize answered the door. "May I help you, miss?" the woman asked a bit puzzled.
Rika, with a frown and pink cheeks, asked, "Um…yes…I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for Mr. Akiyama. I'm a friend of Ryo's. My name's Rika and-"
"Ryo? Who's Ryo?" the woman inquired.
"Oh, um, Ryo Akiyama. He's Mr. Akiyama's son. Anyway, Mr. Akiyama lives in the room right next door to yours and I was wondering if you've seen him around lately or if you know when he'll be home. It's kind of important."
The woman now frowned. "I'm sorry, miss, but no one by the name Akiyama lives in this building. And I don't know anyone by that name, either."
"You don't?" Rika asked in her own despair and the woman shook her head. "Well, maybe they moved-"
"Well, it must have been a long time ago, then, since no one's lived in that apartment for the last fourteen years. It's been completely vacant"
"The last fourteen years? Are you sure?" Rika asked in shock and the woman solemnly nodded. "Oh, well, then…I'm sorry to bother you…"
The woman then closed the door and Rika began down the hall with a fearful look in her sorrowful eyes and a frown. However, when she just reached the end of the hall, the woman's door opened again and she called out, "Wait, miss!" Rika turned around in surprise. "My husband says that a boy about fourteen years old or so came around early this morning, around eight or so, asking about the apartment next door. He said his name was Ryo Akiyama."
Rika now grinned. "Thank you, ma'am! Do you know where he went at all?"
The woman shook her head and said, "No, but he left a note with my husband and said to give it to anyone who came by asking about him." The woman held a letter in her hand.
"A note?" Rika questioned and walked back.
"Here, take it," the woman told her and handed her the letter. Rika nodded and accepted it. It was in a plain white envelope that only had the name "Ryo" written in script, by none other than Ryo himself. "Thank you, ma'am. Goodbye"
"Goodbye, miss, and good luck finding him. I'm sure he couldn't have gotten too far" And then Rika started off down the hall and then down the stairs. She stared down at the letter and Ryo's name in both wonder and bewilderment, but, above all things, her hope was restored; at least she knew that Ryo still existed.
"Don't you remember? Don't you?"
"She's the Master of the Crests."
"The Master!"
"Master of the Crests?" Kari wondered as she stood in the strange dark void listening to the strange whispering voices. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and shivered. "It's so cold…"
"That's who you are, isn't it?" a deep voice spoke then and Kari looked up with a gasp to see a figure standing a few yards in front of her, masked in shadow and eyes glowing red. A chuckle escaped his lips. "The Master of the Crests."
"I…I don't know," Kari answered, taking a step back as she tried to hold in her fear of the creature that stood before her.
"You are the only one I need; kill the others and gather the crests for me."
Kari's eyes widened in horror and she shook her head. "Kill the others? I'd never-"
"But it's your destiny, Kari. You are, after all, their master, and I, in turn, am master over you."
But Kari just shook her head again, crying, "No one's a master over me!"
And the whispering voices came again to her ears: "She is the Master of the Crests."
"Their master-"
"And she has to find the others."
"There are more?"
"Give them all to him-to her master."
"And kill the rest."
"More of what?" Kari questioned in her confusion as she looked around trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. Then, she cried as she looked to the stranger in shadows, "Who are you?! Who are all of you?!"
The voices continued whispering, growing louder in her ears and more chaotic until she could not make out what they were saying anymore. She let out a groan, covered her ears, and closed her eyes, her head starting to throb. "Please…please, go away…" she begged as she felt herself begin to sob.
"Not until you kill them all, Kari," the stranger in shadow boomed over the whispering voices. "Kill them all, except for-"
Suddenly, both the creature and the whispering voices were silent, as she felt the presence of someone standing behind her. And a female voice said into her ear, "Don't listen to the whispering voices; they tell more lies than truth."
Kari lifted her head with a gasp. However, when she did, she found herself sitting in the auditorium during the graduation ceremony, the girl beside her shaking her shoulder. "Kari," the girl whispered. "Kari, they just called your name."
"Huh?" Kari looked toward the podium where the principal was standing, holding her diploma.
"Kari Kamiya," he repeated, growing slightly nervous.
"Oh!" Kari cried, quickly smiling and jumping to her feet, although her face was bright red. She quickly rushed up and got her diploma, shaking the principal's hand with a gracious smile.
"Good job, Miss Kamiya. Congratulations," the principal told her with a warm smile.
"Thank you, sir," she said and then released his hand. But as she headed back to her seat, she frowned, no longer concerning herself with the diploma she held in her hand. Instead, she wondered to herself, "Did I just nod off? Was that just a dream or was it…?"
"Smile and say cheese!" Yolei exclaimed, Ken and Cody behind her, as she raised Kari's camera to her eye. Kari, TK, and Davis. meanwhile stood in the hall, posing for the picture, Kari in the middle and both boys' arms around her, and each holding up their diploma.
"Cheese!" they exclaimed as they all grinned.
Yolei smiled and took the picture. "Great picture, guys!" she exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you three!"
"Thanks, Yolei," Kari said as she took her camera back. "And thanks for taking the picture."
"Oh, don't mention it!" Yolei said.
"So we're finally junior high graduates!" TK exclaimed excitedly, holding up his diploma to look at.
"It's about time!" Yolei added. "Now you just have all of high school to get through."
"Well, let's just worry about the summer now," Kari said with a smile.
"Ah, the summer!" TK said with a smile. "A whole two months without school!"
"Yeah, isn't it great?" Yolei agreed and the others nodded.
"Hey, guys, what's a glutton?"
"Huh?" The others turned in confused surprise to see Davis frowning in perplexity, still pondering what had been bothering him since before the ceremony.
"A glutton?" TK asked curiously. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, some guy called me a glutton for…uh…something, and I KNOW that I'm not one-I just wanted to know what it was, though," Davis explained and the others frowned.
"But how can you be sure you're not a glutton if you don't even know what one is?" Ken pointed out innocently and Davis frowned, face growing bright red.
"Well…"
"Hey, guys!" Tai's voice came to them and they all turned to see him coming down the hall.
"Hey, Tai!" Kari greeted him with a grin and an excited wave. "Look!" She held up his diploma for him to see. But, noticing that Tai's face was very serious, Kari frowned, asking, "Tai, what's wrong?"
"Come on," he ordered when he reached them. "I'll explain on the way; we have to meet Izzy and the others outside."
"But-" Kari went to protest, but stopped with a frown, not knowing what to say as her brother turned around and started back down the hall. And so the six, exchanging worried glances and frowns, followed their leader.
"Doesn't exist at all?" Joe Kido questioned Izzy as he, Sora Takenouchi, and Matt stood outside the school, Izzy sitting on the grass, while parents and graduates stood excitedly only a few yards away. "But that's not possible, is it, Izzy?"
"I don't know, Joe," Izzy answered honestly. "According to my data…"
"But there's got to be something we can do," Sora reasoned as optimistically as she could.
"But how can we do anything when we have nothing to work with?" Matt asked and Joe nodded.
"Matt's right; we can't get something from nothing, you know. And right now all we have is, well, nothing." Sora and Matt frowned and looked to Izzy for some hopeful rebuttal that never came.
It was then that Tai arrived with the others. "Hey, Tai," Sora greeted him half-heartedly. "Hi, guys."
"Did you tell them?" Izzy asked. Tai nodded.
"It can't be really gone, right?" Davis now worriedly asked, stepping forward the Izzy. "I mean, maybe we just lost it or something."
"Lost it, Davis?" Yolei questioned. "How do you lose a whole world, Davis? Even you aren't that absent-minded."
"I don't know! But it can't just be gone!" Davis argued stubbornly.
"Now calm down," Tai ordered and the two were quiet as were the others. "We just have to think this thing through." He looked to Izzy. "Now, did you figure anything out yet, Izzy?"
Izzy shook his head. "No, not yet, Tai." Tai frowned, but said nothing.
"You don't think…" Joe began hesitantly, "That the digital world's been completely destroyed, do you?"
"Don't say that, Joe!" Sora cried out, despairing at the mere thought.
"Well, if someone did destroy the digital world, they did a pretty good job of it," Izzy remarked bitterly. "They didn't even leave any remains."
"So it's more like someone erased it?" Matt inquired, a bit puzzled as were the rest.
"Do you guys even know what you're saying?" Davis now angrily questioned with narrowed eyes. "You're all giving up before we've even tried!"
"Davis is right," Tai agreed, seeming just as frustrated at his friends. "Now, come on! You're all acting like it's completely hopeless, as if we've already lost or something! We can't know for sure that the digital world's really been destroyed; maybe it is lost, like Davis said, or someone hid it or took it from us or-I don't know! The point is that we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions just yet!"
"It's kind of hard not to, Tai," Matt argued. "I mean, you heard what Izzy said; there's nothing left."
"Well…" Tai trailed off and frowned. After a pause, however, he suddenly exclaimed, "I know! Our crests!" He then pulled out his own crest from under his shirt. "We still have that left, don't we? So that's something, right?"
"You may have a point…" Izzy noted as he began to ponder the idea.
"Crests…" Kari then whispered to herself, and then, with her sudden recollection, addressed the others, "Oh, that reminds me! During graduation-"
"Kill them all," her memory whispered into her head and Kari stopped with a gasp.
TK, concerned, placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What's wrong, Kari?"
"I…" She trailed off as her eyes scanned the others. She thought to herself, "Kill the others? What if they really think that I'd-"
"Kari?" Tai now asked, stepping toward her.
Kari immediately let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck, fibbing, "Oh, it was nothing! I forgot."
Tai let out a sigh as the others fell back into their dejected states. Matt then asked, "So, now what?" They all turned to their leader.
"Well…did you call Mimi again, Izzy?" Tai asked, not knowing what else to say.
Izzy now cringed. "Yeah, but…"
"Well, what did she say?" Tai persisted anxiously.
"She was kind of being…difficult," Izzy explained as best as he could.
"Difficult? What do you mean difficult?" Tai questioned in annoyance. "She's coming, right?"
Izzy winced and hesitated, "Um…maybe you should call her, Tai."
And Tai frowned in puzzlement.
"There's got to be SOME way you can get here, Mimi!" Tai exclaimed as he stood in the phone booth inside the junior high school, which was still flooded with students, parents, and faculty.
Mimi scowled as she stood in her living room in New York and retorted, "It's not that easy, Tai; these things cost MONEY."
"I KNOW that, Mimi, but-"
"And what's going on anyway? Why can't we get in contact with the digital world?"
"Look, Mimi, we don't have time for this-"
"But I want to know what's going on!" Mimi interrupted for a second time. "Izzy said-"
"Mimi, would you forget about that now and just get here!" Tai exclaimed with a frustrated sigh.
"I'm trying, Tai, but the least you could do is tell me what's going on!" Mimi argued. "I'm part of the team, too, just for your information, even if I am-"
"That's exactly my point!" Tai cut her off. "You are part of the team, and that's why I need you to get here as soon as possible!"
"But I don't know how to!"
"Well, then, think of something!" Tai snapped and there was a long silence. After a moment, Tai exhaled and calmed his voice, saying, "I'm sorry, Mimi. I-I didn't mean to snap. It's just that-"
"Just tell me what's going on, Tai," Mimi told him.
"We really don't know what's going on, Mimi," Tai answered honestly. "Izzy says it's as if the digital world's been completely erased…or something. There's nothing left, as if it's never existed."
"Never existed?" Mimi asked worriedly. "But how? Why?"
"We don't know," Tai said quietly. There was another pause. Tai then asked, "So, can you find some way here, Mimi?"
"I don't know, Tai," Mimi replied with a frown. "Like I said, I don't exactly have the money…"
"Well, can't you just explain to your parents that there's an emergency with the digital world or something?" Tai offered hopefully.
"You know, now that you mention it," Mimi began, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. "It was the strangest thing! After Izzy called, I went to talk to my parents about it-just in case I did have to go to Japan-and they acted like they never have even heard of the digital world!"
"What?!" Tai questioned, nearly shouting. Then, noticing that people were staring at him, he lowered his voice and whispered, "Why on earth didn't you say anything, Mimi?!"
"Oh, I don't know. It didn't seem like a big deal, really," Mimi began and then let out a chuckle. "You know how my parents are always loopy like that!"
"Mimi!" Tai exclaimed in his frustration. "They're not THAT loopy!" He let out an annoyed groan, placing a hand to his head, feeling a migraine coming on.
"Well, maybe they were just kidding around then?" Mimi suggested with a frown.
"I-"
Tai was cut off by his mother knocking on the glass of the phone booth. She then opened the door and said, "Tai, what are you doing on the phone? And where on earth is your sister? Your father and I haven't seen her at all since before the graduation ceremony."
"Mom, do you know who Agumon is?" Tai asked her urgently.
Mrs. Kamiya blinked in surprise. "Agumon? What's an Agumon?"
Tai gasped, his eyes widening at his new realization. Mimi, who was growing impatient, now called loudly into the phone, "Tai! Tai, are you there? Tai, answer me?"
Snapping out of his daze, Tai quickly turned from his mother and whispered into the phone, "I've got to go, Mimi. I'll call you later. Bye!"
"But, wait, Tai!" Mimi protested, but Tai hung up the phone.
Tai got of the phone booth then and brushed past his mother. "Wait, Tai; where are you going?" Mrs. Kamiya questioned in confusion as she watched her son start down the hallway. "And what about your sister?"
"I'm sorry, mom, but there's something important me and Kari have to do now!" he called back to her as he ran down the hall. "But don't worry; I'll take her home sometime this afternoon!"
"But, Tai!" Mrs. Kamiya protested, but it was too late for Tai had already disappeared into the crowd.
Anyways, here's chapter two (the Tamers make an appearance so yay!). I think it's kind of slow moving and it's taking awhile for stuff to happen; this, I think, is mainly due to the fact that I have such a large cast of characters (twenty or so) that I'm trying my best to have all be involved in the storyline because I really love all the characters and don't want to put one over the other. I think doing the Tamers side of the story is slightly easier as of now because there are lesser characters than 01 and 02 (considering their kind of together) and in Tamers, the story was a lot more focused on Takato, Rika, and Henry as compared to the other Tamers, so I don't feel as bad focusing primarily on them whereas in 01 and 02, the characters were much more balanced. That's also why, I think, the Tamers parts tend to be shorter than the 01/02 ones because there are less characters to deal with, so sorry about that! Anyway, I'd also like to apologize for this story being kind of moving slow as of now, but hopefully it will pick up eventually once I can first get all the characters introduced into the actually story (all twenty of them) and stuff...sigh...
Also, some of this (I believe the latter portion of this, particularly Tai and Mimi's conversation) is taken from another one of my Digimon fics, Dark Waves, which I may have mentioned when I posted chapter one of this story. However, it's altered in some parts and the scene isn't placed where it was in the original storyline, so...
Anyways, here goes for chapter 2! Again, I'm kind of nervous now because all of your reviews were so nice and filled with such high expectations and I don't know if this story will turn out as great as you all expect, mainly due to the fact that, as of now, it really is moving along slowly because of all the characters involved. But I still hope (and pray) you all enjoy chapter two as much as you did chapter one!
Chapter 2
"Terriermon!" Henry Wong called out as he walked down the hall of his home. "Terriermon!' Growing a bit concerned, he asked, "Hey, Terriermon, where are you?"
As he entered the living room, where his father sat on the couch, he asked, "Hey, Dad, have you seen Terriermon?"
Looking up from his paper, Mr. Wong turned to his son with much confusion. "Terriermon? What's that?"
Henry let out a laugh. "Very funny, dad. But have you seen him?"
Mr. Wong frowned. "I'm sorry, Henry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."
Crossing his arms and growing a bit frustrated, Henry answered, "You know-big floppy ears, says momentai a lot. That Terriermon."
"Henry, are you sure you're feeling all right?" Mr. Wong now asked as he placed his newspaper on the coffee table and stood up.
"I'm fine, dad," Henry answered. "But this really isn't funny anymore. Now, where is Terriermon hiding?" His eyes scanned the room.
"Henry, he isn't hiding anywhere, at least not that I know of," Mr. Wong answered. "Now just what or who is this Terriermon anyway?"
"Dad, you already know what Terriermon is; a digimon."
"A digimon?" Mr. Wong questioned, still completely baffled. "What on earth is that?"
"Oh, come on, dad! You're just the one who created them!" Henry exclaimed with a laugh, but Mr. Wong frowned.
"I'm really not sure what you're talking about, Henry, but maybe you should sit down…" He went to take his son by the arm, but Henry pulled away, suddenly growing very worried as he looked up at his father's sincerely confused eyes.
Shaking his head, Henry pushed past his father, calling out, "Terriermon! Terriermon, where are you? Terriermon!"
Mr. Wong took a step forward. "Henry-"
"Terriermon! Terriermon, I'm being serious! This isn't funny anymore, so answer me! Terriermon!" Henry's voice started cracking with his own fear when his sister came running into the living room, tears flinging from her eyes.
She clung onto her brother's leg, sobbing frantically, "Henry! Henry! I can't find Lopmon! I don't know where she is! Henry! Henry!"
And his new revelation sunk deep into his heart.
"Takato! Phone call!" Takato Matsuda's mother called up to him as he lay on his bed that late Sunday morning drawing.
"I got it, mom!" he called back down the stairs and then got up to pick up the phone on his desk. "Hello?…Oh, hi, Henry…Guilmon?…No, I haven't…no, not today; why?…What? Are you sure?…All right, I'll go to the park now, Henry…all right…don't worry, Henry; I'm sure there's some…all right. I'll see you soon. Bye." Takato hung up the phone and immediately headed to the park.
"But how can he not be here?" Takato questioned in horror, clutching onto the bars and looking into the little home that he had set up for Guilmon in the park to see that Guilmon was no longer there.
"I don't know, Takato; I just don't know…" Henry answered, clenching his fists in his own pain and trying to hold back his fear and tears.
"But…where are the holes he dug up?" Takato asked. "It's like he was never here at all." He then dropped his hands from the bars and lowered his head, tears starting to fall from his eyes.
"Never here at all," Henry repeated. "That's what dad acted like. He didn't even know who Terriermon didn't even exist!" He hit his hand against one of the tree trunks in his anger.
Takato, lifting his head and wiping his eyes with his arm, asked, "But what do we do, Henry? What can we do?"
"I don't know," Henry answered, shaking his head in his own despair. "I have no idea what to do at all."
"Maybe we should call Rika. And then the others," Takato suggested, his voice trembling as were his hands.
Suddenly hearing footsteps, both boys looked up to see Rika Nonaka suddenly standing there, her lavender eyes wet and grim. "Guilmon's isn't there, is he?" she questioned sharply, her tears getting caught in her throat. "I couldn't find Renamon this morning. I looked everywhere. And when I asked my mom and grandma if they knew where she was, they had no idea what I was talking about. So I came here to see if Guilmon was still here…and to see if Renamon was with him."
The three stood there for a long time in silence, only the wind blowing past them making any sort of sound in the park. Then, Rika finally decided, "We have to call the others."
"And tell them what?" Henry questioned angrily. "That we have no idea what's going on? A lot of good that will do. And the others probably have figured it out already, anyway."
"We should still call," Rika firmly repeated.
Takato frowned and then tried to suggest, "Maybe we can try and talk to Mr. Yamaki-"
"If my father doesn't remember anything about digimon, what makes you think he will, Takato?" Henry interrupted and Takato frowned even more, looking to his feet.
"He doesn't know anything either?" Rika asked and Henry just looked away. "So that means just us Tamers know, right?"
"That's what it seems like, anyway," Henry muttered. "And none of us are scientists or doctors; we don't know enough about digimon to actually figure out what's going on."
"Well, maybe we could go to the digital world and get some answers," Takato offered.
"But we don't know how to get there and back home on our own, either," Henry rebutted. "My father and the others were the ones who helped us do that."
"All we need is a digital gate, right?" Takato asked.
"But isn't that a little bit dangerous?" Henry questioned.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Takato admitted, and his eyes fell back down to his feet.
"It doesn't matter, anyway," Rika the spoke up. "I was by the tunnel looking for Renamon and there was no longer a gate there. And, by the looks of things, there doesn't seem to be one here either anymore."
Takato looked to Guilmon's home and shook his head. "No; everything's just gone. Guilmon, the digital gate, maybe the whole digital world even. How is that even possible?"
Henry did not answer, but instead let out a frustrated sigh. "This is just great! Just what are we-" Henry was cut off, however, by the sound of Rika gasping. "Huh?"
"What's wrong, Rika?" Takato asked worriedly, noticing the frightened distress now on Rika's face.
"Ryo. Ryo was in the digital world, and now it's gone, does that mean that he's…" she trailed off, unable to finish and both Takato and Henry looked at each other with frightened eyes, unsure what the answer was and fearing what it could be.
"I'm sure he's fine, Rika," Takato tried to assure her as well as himself. "He has to be…he's one of us, right?" But all three seemed very doubtful.
"And he's probably the only one out of the eight of us who would have even the slightest idea what was going on and what to do about it," Henry pointed out bitterly.
"Maybe one of us should go to his house and see if his father knows where he is," Takato suggested. "Maybe he came home before…"
"I'll go," Rika immediately answered before the suggestion was even agreed upon. "You two can go get Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta. We'll meet back here as soon as we can, all right?"
And there was nothing else for the boys to do but agree.
Rika arrived at Ryo's apartment building as noon was nearing. Something was uneasy in her as she stepped in front of the door, as if something was unfamiliar about the home. Still, she knocked anyway and waited.
To her dismay, no one answered. She knocked again, and still no answer. However, unwilling to give up, she went to the neighboring apartment and knocked on the door.
A woman she didn't recognize answered the door. "May I help you, miss?" the woman asked a bit puzzled.
Rika, with a frown and pink cheeks, asked, "Um…yes…I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for Mr. Akiyama. I'm a friend of Ryo's. My name's Rika and-"
"Ryo? Who's Ryo?" the woman inquired.
"Oh, um, Ryo Akiyama. He's Mr. Akiyama's son. Anyway, Mr. Akiyama lives in the room right next door to yours and I was wondering if you've seen him around lately or if you know when he'll be home. It's kind of important."
The woman now frowned. "I'm sorry, miss, but no one by the name Akiyama lives in this building. And I don't know anyone by that name, either."
"You don't?" Rika asked in her own despair and the woman shook her head. "Well, maybe they moved-"
"Well, it must have been a long time ago, then, since no one's lived in that apartment for the last fourteen years. It's been completely vacant"
"The last fourteen years? Are you sure?" Rika asked in shock and the woman solemnly nodded. "Oh, well, then…I'm sorry to bother you…"
The woman then closed the door and Rika began down the hall with a fearful look in her sorrowful eyes and a frown. However, when she just reached the end of the hall, the woman's door opened again and she called out, "Wait, miss!" Rika turned around in surprise. "My husband says that a boy about fourteen years old or so came around early this morning, around eight or so, asking about the apartment next door. He said his name was Ryo Akiyama."
Rika now grinned. "Thank you, ma'am! Do you know where he went at all?"
The woman shook her head and said, "No, but he left a note with my husband and said to give it to anyone who came by asking about him." The woman held a letter in her hand.
"A note?" Rika questioned and walked back.
"Here, take it," the woman told her and handed her the letter. Rika nodded and accepted it. It was in a plain white envelope that only had the name "Ryo" written in script, by none other than Ryo himself. "Thank you, ma'am. Goodbye"
"Goodbye, miss, and good luck finding him. I'm sure he couldn't have gotten too far" And then Rika started off down the hall and then down the stairs. She stared down at the letter and Ryo's name in both wonder and bewilderment, but, above all things, her hope was restored; at least she knew that Ryo still existed.
"Don't you remember? Don't you?"
"She's the Master of the Crests."
"The Master!"
"Master of the Crests?" Kari wondered as she stood in the strange dark void listening to the strange whispering voices. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and shivered. "It's so cold…"
"That's who you are, isn't it?" a deep voice spoke then and Kari looked up with a gasp to see a figure standing a few yards in front of her, masked in shadow and eyes glowing red. A chuckle escaped his lips. "The Master of the Crests."
"I…I don't know," Kari answered, taking a step back as she tried to hold in her fear of the creature that stood before her.
"You are the only one I need; kill the others and gather the crests for me."
Kari's eyes widened in horror and she shook her head. "Kill the others? I'd never-"
"But it's your destiny, Kari. You are, after all, their master, and I, in turn, am master over you."
But Kari just shook her head again, crying, "No one's a master over me!"
And the whispering voices came again to her ears: "She is the Master of the Crests."
"Their master-"
"And she has to find the others."
"There are more?"
"Give them all to him-to her master."
"And kill the rest."
"More of what?" Kari questioned in her confusion as she looked around trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. Then, she cried as she looked to the stranger in shadows, "Who are you?! Who are all of you?!"
The voices continued whispering, growing louder in her ears and more chaotic until she could not make out what they were saying anymore. She let out a groan, covered her ears, and closed her eyes, her head starting to throb. "Please…please, go away…" she begged as she felt herself begin to sob.
"Not until you kill them all, Kari," the stranger in shadow boomed over the whispering voices. "Kill them all, except for-"
Suddenly, both the creature and the whispering voices were silent, as she felt the presence of someone standing behind her. And a female voice said into her ear, "Don't listen to the whispering voices; they tell more lies than truth."
Kari lifted her head with a gasp. However, when she did, she found herself sitting in the auditorium during the graduation ceremony, the girl beside her shaking her shoulder. "Kari," the girl whispered. "Kari, they just called your name."
"Huh?" Kari looked toward the podium where the principal was standing, holding her diploma.
"Kari Kamiya," he repeated, growing slightly nervous.
"Oh!" Kari cried, quickly smiling and jumping to her feet, although her face was bright red. She quickly rushed up and got her diploma, shaking the principal's hand with a gracious smile.
"Good job, Miss Kamiya. Congratulations," the principal told her with a warm smile.
"Thank you, sir," she said and then released his hand. But as she headed back to her seat, she frowned, no longer concerning herself with the diploma she held in her hand. Instead, she wondered to herself, "Did I just nod off? Was that just a dream or was it…?"
"Smile and say cheese!" Yolei exclaimed, Ken and Cody behind her, as she raised Kari's camera to her eye. Kari, TK, and Davis. meanwhile stood in the hall, posing for the picture, Kari in the middle and both boys' arms around her, and each holding up their diploma.
"Cheese!" they exclaimed as they all grinned.
Yolei smiled and took the picture. "Great picture, guys!" she exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you three!"
"Thanks, Yolei," Kari said as she took her camera back. "And thanks for taking the picture."
"Oh, don't mention it!" Yolei said.
"So we're finally junior high graduates!" TK exclaimed excitedly, holding up his diploma to look at.
"It's about time!" Yolei added. "Now you just have all of high school to get through."
"Well, let's just worry about the summer now," Kari said with a smile.
"Ah, the summer!" TK said with a smile. "A whole two months without school!"
"Yeah, isn't it great?" Yolei agreed and the others nodded.
"Hey, guys, what's a glutton?"
"Huh?" The others turned in confused surprise to see Davis frowning in perplexity, still pondering what had been bothering him since before the ceremony.
"A glutton?" TK asked curiously. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, some guy called me a glutton for…uh…something, and I KNOW that I'm not one-I just wanted to know what it was, though," Davis explained and the others frowned.
"But how can you be sure you're not a glutton if you don't even know what one is?" Ken pointed out innocently and Davis frowned, face growing bright red.
"Well…"
"Hey, guys!" Tai's voice came to them and they all turned to see him coming down the hall.
"Hey, Tai!" Kari greeted him with a grin and an excited wave. "Look!" She held up his diploma for him to see. But, noticing that Tai's face was very serious, Kari frowned, asking, "Tai, what's wrong?"
"Come on," he ordered when he reached them. "I'll explain on the way; we have to meet Izzy and the others outside."
"But-" Kari went to protest, but stopped with a frown, not knowing what to say as her brother turned around and started back down the hall. And so the six, exchanging worried glances and frowns, followed their leader.
"Doesn't exist at all?" Joe Kido questioned Izzy as he, Sora Takenouchi, and Matt stood outside the school, Izzy sitting on the grass, while parents and graduates stood excitedly only a few yards away. "But that's not possible, is it, Izzy?"
"I don't know, Joe," Izzy answered honestly. "According to my data…"
"But there's got to be something we can do," Sora reasoned as optimistically as she could.
"But how can we do anything when we have nothing to work with?" Matt asked and Joe nodded.
"Matt's right; we can't get something from nothing, you know. And right now all we have is, well, nothing." Sora and Matt frowned and looked to Izzy for some hopeful rebuttal that never came.
It was then that Tai arrived with the others. "Hey, Tai," Sora greeted him half-heartedly. "Hi, guys."
"Did you tell them?" Izzy asked. Tai nodded.
"It can't be really gone, right?" Davis now worriedly asked, stepping forward the Izzy. "I mean, maybe we just lost it or something."
"Lost it, Davis?" Yolei questioned. "How do you lose a whole world, Davis? Even you aren't that absent-minded."
"I don't know! But it can't just be gone!" Davis argued stubbornly.
"Now calm down," Tai ordered and the two were quiet as were the others. "We just have to think this thing through." He looked to Izzy. "Now, did you figure anything out yet, Izzy?"
Izzy shook his head. "No, not yet, Tai." Tai frowned, but said nothing.
"You don't think…" Joe began hesitantly, "That the digital world's been completely destroyed, do you?"
"Don't say that, Joe!" Sora cried out, despairing at the mere thought.
"Well, if someone did destroy the digital world, they did a pretty good job of it," Izzy remarked bitterly. "They didn't even leave any remains."
"So it's more like someone erased it?" Matt inquired, a bit puzzled as were the rest.
"Do you guys even know what you're saying?" Davis now angrily questioned with narrowed eyes. "You're all giving up before we've even tried!"
"Davis is right," Tai agreed, seeming just as frustrated at his friends. "Now, come on! You're all acting like it's completely hopeless, as if we've already lost or something! We can't know for sure that the digital world's really been destroyed; maybe it is lost, like Davis said, or someone hid it or took it from us or-I don't know! The point is that we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions just yet!"
"It's kind of hard not to, Tai," Matt argued. "I mean, you heard what Izzy said; there's nothing left."
"Well…" Tai trailed off and frowned. After a pause, however, he suddenly exclaimed, "I know! Our crests!" He then pulled out his own crest from under his shirt. "We still have that left, don't we? So that's something, right?"
"You may have a point…" Izzy noted as he began to ponder the idea.
"Crests…" Kari then whispered to herself, and then, with her sudden recollection, addressed the others, "Oh, that reminds me! During graduation-"
"Kill them all," her memory whispered into her head and Kari stopped with a gasp.
TK, concerned, placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What's wrong, Kari?"
"I…" She trailed off as her eyes scanned the others. She thought to herself, "Kill the others? What if they really think that I'd-"
"Kari?" Tai now asked, stepping toward her.
Kari immediately let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck, fibbing, "Oh, it was nothing! I forgot."
Tai let out a sigh as the others fell back into their dejected states. Matt then asked, "So, now what?" They all turned to their leader.
"Well…did you call Mimi again, Izzy?" Tai asked, not knowing what else to say.
Izzy now cringed. "Yeah, but…"
"Well, what did she say?" Tai persisted anxiously.
"She was kind of being…difficult," Izzy explained as best as he could.
"Difficult? What do you mean difficult?" Tai questioned in annoyance. "She's coming, right?"
Izzy winced and hesitated, "Um…maybe you should call her, Tai."
And Tai frowned in puzzlement.
"There's got to be SOME way you can get here, Mimi!" Tai exclaimed as he stood in the phone booth inside the junior high school, which was still flooded with students, parents, and faculty.
Mimi scowled as she stood in her living room in New York and retorted, "It's not that easy, Tai; these things cost MONEY."
"I KNOW that, Mimi, but-"
"And what's going on anyway? Why can't we get in contact with the digital world?"
"Look, Mimi, we don't have time for this-"
"But I want to know what's going on!" Mimi interrupted for a second time. "Izzy said-"
"Mimi, would you forget about that now and just get here!" Tai exclaimed with a frustrated sigh.
"I'm trying, Tai, but the least you could do is tell me what's going on!" Mimi argued. "I'm part of the team, too, just for your information, even if I am-"
"That's exactly my point!" Tai cut her off. "You are part of the team, and that's why I need you to get here as soon as possible!"
"But I don't know how to!"
"Well, then, think of something!" Tai snapped and there was a long silence. After a moment, Tai exhaled and calmed his voice, saying, "I'm sorry, Mimi. I-I didn't mean to snap. It's just that-"
"Just tell me what's going on, Tai," Mimi told him.
"We really don't know what's going on, Mimi," Tai answered honestly. "Izzy says it's as if the digital world's been completely erased…or something. There's nothing left, as if it's never existed."
"Never existed?" Mimi asked worriedly. "But how? Why?"
"We don't know," Tai said quietly. There was another pause. Tai then asked, "So, can you find some way here, Mimi?"
"I don't know, Tai," Mimi replied with a frown. "Like I said, I don't exactly have the money…"
"Well, can't you just explain to your parents that there's an emergency with the digital world or something?" Tai offered hopefully.
"You know, now that you mention it," Mimi began, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. "It was the strangest thing! After Izzy called, I went to talk to my parents about it-just in case I did have to go to Japan-and they acted like they never have even heard of the digital world!"
"What?!" Tai questioned, nearly shouting. Then, noticing that people were staring at him, he lowered his voice and whispered, "Why on earth didn't you say anything, Mimi?!"
"Oh, I don't know. It didn't seem like a big deal, really," Mimi began and then let out a chuckle. "You know how my parents are always loopy like that!"
"Mimi!" Tai exclaimed in his frustration. "They're not THAT loopy!" He let out an annoyed groan, placing a hand to his head, feeling a migraine coming on.
"Well, maybe they were just kidding around then?" Mimi suggested with a frown.
"I-"
Tai was cut off by his mother knocking on the glass of the phone booth. She then opened the door and said, "Tai, what are you doing on the phone? And where on earth is your sister? Your father and I haven't seen her at all since before the graduation ceremony."
"Mom, do you know who Agumon is?" Tai asked her urgently.
Mrs. Kamiya blinked in surprise. "Agumon? What's an Agumon?"
Tai gasped, his eyes widening at his new realization. Mimi, who was growing impatient, now called loudly into the phone, "Tai! Tai, are you there? Tai, answer me?"
Snapping out of his daze, Tai quickly turned from his mother and whispered into the phone, "I've got to go, Mimi. I'll call you later. Bye!"
"But, wait, Tai!" Mimi protested, but Tai hung up the phone.
Tai got of the phone booth then and brushed past his mother. "Wait, Tai; where are you going?" Mrs. Kamiya questioned in confusion as she watched her son start down the hallway. "And what about your sister?"
"I'm sorry, mom, but there's something important me and Kari have to do now!" he called back to her as he ran down the hall. "But don't worry; I'll take her home sometime this afternoon!"
"But, Tai!" Mrs. Kamiya protested, but it was too late for Tai had already disappeared into the crowd.