Rediscovering Destiny

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or the song, "On the Way Down" by Ryan Cabrera.

A Hopeless Romantic: We'll see. There'll be some hints for both couples, though, I promise. Thanks for both reviews…

Inconnu: I think that's a school in my state, but I'm not too sure. Yeah, whatever happened to sweet, innocent little Takeru?

Crazyamzy: Where have you been? I haven't heard from you for a long, long time…she might, but probably not…

RW Grimm: Yep, you tell me what happened to Takeru, I'll tell you if Sora's pregnant. It sounds like a fair trade!

And thanks to: Tari Melwasul, noname, Kuroi Black Nigtingale, money makes me smile, Cherryblossom Sky, sorato-takari, and KoumiLoccness

Chapter 4: Goin' Nowhere

"This is it, Ken. All systems are ready. It's time to save both worlds, hopefully for the last time."

The teen nodded. "So, what all do I need to do." While Gennai had been prepping Ken forever about the logistics of this mission, he'd never once set out what it was the teen would have to do.

"I have a strong feeling you all will be separated upon arrival to the Digital World. You will somehow—most likely through your digivices—locate everyone and get the group back together. There is strength in numbers, and I'm almost positive you all will need to be together in the end. Put aside your differences as individuals and as a group. Only then will you be successful. I am unable to contact the chosen, with the exception of you. I'll give you instructions along the way, and it will be your job to pass the information along. When you all are together as a unified group, come to my house. It's disillusioned so that you'll only find it if you know where it's at or happen to stumble upon it."

Ken smiled. "Well, I know where it's at."

Gennai nodded. "It's up to you guys. Good luck. Hold up your digivice, Ken…it's time for everyone to come back."

Ken shakily held up the black object. He placed his hand in front of the computer and felt himself get very lightheaded. A huge flash emitted as the computer and digivice made contact. Here we go…


"Hey, Yagami! William's got a keg…there's this huge bash at his place tonight. You up for it?"

Taichi sighed over the phone as he poured himself a bowl of cereal. "I've got this killer Calc test tomorrow, Grant. Professor says if I don't get a B or higher, I'm failing at midterm."

"Dude, we'll get you home by at least five a.m. What time do you have Calc?"

The brunette snorted. "Eight a.m."

There was silence. "Well, then we'll have you back by four!"

Taichi groaned to himself. Easy for you to say, Grant. You'll have dropped out of school by the end of the semester.

Suddenly, Tai began to feel a bit queasy. What's going on? I really don't feel well at all. Grant was mumbling something over the phone, but he couldn't hear it.

Taichi dropped the phone, clutching his head in pain. What's wrong with me? I feel so dizzy. I haven't felt this way since…

"Yo, Yagami, are you there?"

Silence.

"Yagami? Yagami? Dude, you didn't just hang up on me…"

"Oh, my head! Where am I?" Taichi was lying in a heap on a fresh grassy patch. He rubbed his eyes. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm not in New York City anymore.

His eyes rapidly flashed around. The décor of the area had very much changed. No longer was he surrounded by a mountain of Calculus books. Now there was a huge snow-capped mountain stretching far off into the horizon. No longer did he look out his window, watching the little old lady fertilize her fake flowers. Now there were fresh lilies, daisies, and sunflowers dancing in the sun's rays. No longer was he in the concrete jungle. Now there was a jungle of trees, large and small, vibrant green fields of grass and flowers, and a peaceful serenity New York City could never offer. No longer was he in the real world.

Taichi's disheveled body stood shakily. He grabbed onto a nearby fruit tree to steady himself.

"Easy on the braches!"

The teen jumped back. "Excuse me?"

Taichi's mouth dropped as the supposed tree flashed around. He fell down to the ground in shock. "You look like you've never seen a Cherrymon before."

"Cherrymon?"

The tree glared down at him. "People these days; never respecting their elders. I'm outta here!" The tree started to walk off. "All I wanted to do was get a little sun, enjoy the clam breeze, have a little break—but no! someone goes out of their way to destroy the peace. You're lucky I don't let the Dark One know!"

What's up his butt? Wait, why am I debating about what a TREE said! Wait…the tree was talking? Am I stoned or something? This is all just a dream. I'll wake up and be home, cramming for the Calc test and talking to Grant. It's just an illusion. "Ouch!" The boy pinched himself. I'm still here. Why does this place seem so familiar? It's like I've been here and…wait, did he say Cherrymon?

BAM!

"Ouch!" Taichi clutched his head in pain. He had been carelessly wandering around, almost in a drunken stupor now that he realized where he was. He'd hit an obstruction, a moving obstruction in fact…

Daisuke Motomiya tumbled onto the grass while he was aimlessly traveling in this mysterious place he'd landed in.

He had absolutely no idea how he got there either. One minute he'd been getting yelled at by the soccer coach, thirty seconds away from getting kicked off the team, and then the next, he was here.

Suddenly he'd gotten really dizzy, shut his eyes, and well, it happened. He'd been transported here. But where exactly was here…

I know I've been here before. This place is so familiar. It could possibly be Japan or maybe, maybe it's…

And that's when he ran smack dab into a person from his past.

"Damn, that hurt," Daisuke rubbed his head. I'm going to have a bruise tomorrow. "Sorry about that,"

"Don't worry," a vaguely nostalgic voice answered, pulling himself off the ground. "I'm just glad to find another person here. Do you know where we are?" Though I'm fairly certain I do.

The younger teen looked up at the speaker. He was a bit taller than him with creamy brown eyes and short chocolate hair. Daisuke gasped as he saw a set of very familiar goggles. I…I bought those goggles for… "Ta…Taichi Yagami?"

Taichi, who'd been busy dusting himself off, finally got a good look at the boy. "Do I know…" Those used to be my goggles…"Daisuke Motomiya?"

He gave a nervous chuckle. "Last time I checked."

The original bearer of courage stood dumfounded. Here I am, one minute in New York, now here with Daisuke who I haven't seen in a long time.

"How'd we get back here?" They asked at the same time.

Daisuke shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the digital world again."

"You're telling me."

His digivice started to beep. How'd I get this with me? "I have a feeling many of our answers lie here. There's probably some reason we were transported here. If we managed to get here, do you think the others were transported here too?"

Do I really want to see those I've let down? "Who knows. I'd say, according to our digivices, the answer is yes. We should probably check it out." Taichi responded.

The older brunette held out his digivice, and they walked toward two dots that had appeared on the screen. Wanting to break the silence, Daisuke gave a light chuckle. "It's been a long time,"

"Yeah…"

"So where'd you go, Taichi? Why'd you leave?"

Taichi glared at the boy. "That's none of your business."

Is this really Taichi talking? The older teen began walking faster, eliciting a sigh from Daisuke. Well, he's in a great mood. This journey's going to be fun…


"You must not fall asleep. Boss is counting on you," Koushiro mumbled over and over again to himself, pouring his umpteenth cup of coffee.

The teen took a drink of the hot bitter liquid before hurrying over to his office space. I've got like thirty more minutes before he checks up on me. I've got to make some sort of progress or else I'm finished.

Koushiro's fingers flew across the keyboard. He furiously typed the algorithms into the computer, eyes glued ahead. His head was spinning; the numbers grew blurry at the speed he was typing. But something strange was going on.

Am I just hallucinating because I'm tired and going so fast? Koushiro stopped. The second he typed a command or inputted some data, the previous things would vanish. "What the…"

A large white flash jumped out of the computer, washing around the room and enveloped Koushiro.

When he awoke, the teen had to blink at the bright sunlight around him. Where am I? This definitely doesn't look like my desk back in Paris

He stood up and glanced around, unsure of the scenery surrounding him. The land he was standing on was parched and arid, a barren desert. Yep, this is not Paris. Koushiro was standing on the edge of a cliff, sand all around him. He looked straight ahead. The sand continued on for miles upon miles into the distance, and there was no sign of intelligent life anywhere. Great, I'm out in the middle of nowhere…

Turning to his left, the teen gasped. …in…in…the digital world! There was no mistaking the site before him, but even without it being there, things were starting to fall into place.

I assume I got pulled in through the computer. That would explain the bright light and all the mishaps with the computer system. Something's going on here; there's no other way I could have been brought back here.

Koushiro dug through his pockets, surprised to find his digivice inside. I wonder how this got in here.

The teen turned his attention back to the lone landmark. It looked the same as it used to be. Age had taken its toll on the large monstrosity before him, but it was still very recognizable. The Digimon Emperor's old base…

Ken rubbed his eyes. And Gennai didn't choose to tell me about the rough landing because... The teen rose to his feet, dusting his clothes off from the layer of filth and grime now coating him.

His eyes studied the area around him. There was a large amount of shot computer equipment covered in dust, all with huge holes through the screens. It appeared this place hadn't been touched in at least five years. This place seemed to be subject to a huge explosion. One look at the computers was enough proof for Ken as to where he had landed. Talk about irony.

Ken distantly recalled where the door was. He turned around; walking in the direction he was fairly certain it was located at. Fifteen minutes later, twenty some bruises on his leg from bumping into things, as well, he was there. Bad memories came to his head just from walking through the aisles, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of there. When he caught sight of the exit, the boy sprinted to it, and upon reaching it, forced the door open. He immediately shut his eyes from the sunlight, gradually opening them.

Too bad the place where our makeshift base is at couldn't be like this. It's always dark there, and the Dark One has spies everywhere. Ken looked around the area. The remote desert seemed infinite. He glanced next to him, spotting a cliff and a familiar person.

Though it had been a few years since he'd last seen or heard from him, Ken immediately knew who it was. He jumped up onto the cliff with ease, approaching the copper headed boy swiftly and silently. "Prodigious! Somehow I have my laptop! This is great. Maybe I can contact Gennai!"

It does not surprise me that Koushiro picked up that fast.

The teen had sat down on the ground, right behind the redhead who was eagerly pulling his laptop out of the book bag he'd found it in. "Wait, this isn't my normal computer. This…this is the one I had here years ago."

"We're not too sure why it allowed everyone to bring something from their past, but we're assuming it's going to help us."

Koushiro turned around and nearly dropped his yellow laptop in shock. He blinked furiously, eyes studying the new arrival. "Ken? Ken, is that you?"

"It's nice to see you again too, Koushiro."

The teen's mouth dropped open. "I'm really glad to see you! Do you have answers to all this?"

Ken patiently waited for the genius to stop rambling on. "That depends; do you have some answers for me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you leave the company you work for right away when you knew what they wanted you to do? Why didn't you come to one of us for help when your boss threatened you at gunpoint? Why did you forget all your friends?"

Koushiro's mouth dropped. Ken sat before him, calm as ever, as if this was something he could talk about any day. "How…how did you know about that?"

Silence.

"That's not the only thing I know either, Koushiro. Would you believe that e-mail virus you created for your boss seemingly is the reason Yamato and Sora have lost touch and are having problems?"

"Ken…Ken how do you know all this? What's going on?"

The teen sighed. "To find that out, we're going to have to get everyone back together and reexamine our past."

Koushiro was confused, something that rarely happened. I feel so guilty. How does he know so much about what's going on with me? Why is he so calm? The boy's digivice began to beep.

"There are others near us. We need to find them before the Dark One does. Let's go,"

The teen watched as Ken stood up, and he followed him. I need answers. And it seems you have them, Ken…


Yamato drug his tired body out of the shower, wrapping a large robe around himself and heading back into his room. He walked over to his walk-in closet and turned on the light. Not like it really matters what I wear. The stylist will force me to change clothes anyway.

"In more exciting news, TheWolves will be performing on Friday night at what appears to be the biggest concert Miami will ever see. I'm giving away two front row seats and backstage passes if you ladies can call in and tell me why you love Matt Ishida."

The blond groaned from the closet. Damn promotional gig. Yamato was sick and tired of the music industry. I need a vacation away from everyone and everything. He randomly selected a shirt to go with the jeans he'd already put on.

"Caller number one; why do you love Matt Ishida?"

"He's SO dreamy! His golden hair and ocean blue eyes make me swoon in delight. His rich voice brings me to tears of happiness every time I hear it…"

"Caller number two; why do you love Matt Ishida?"

"I know EVERYTHING about Matt! He wears a beaded necklace his little brother gave him for his fifteen birthday, his parents divorced when he was six years old, and he was cursed into a life of…"

She sounds like a stalker. Just listening to these girls is making my head spin. Yamato had to sit down on the bed to keep from falling over. What's going on?

"Well, I love Matt Ishida because he has very nice…assets, if you get my drift."

Those were the things he hated more than anything else; the people who worshiped him for his body and looks. Under normal circumstances, Yamato would have turned off the radio. But…Yamato was no longer there.

The blond cracked his back and sat up. What just happened? This isn't my condo. Something strange is going on. He looked around him and found himself in a…diner.

"How exactly did I get here?"

Great, now I'm talking to myself. "Hello? Is anyone here? Yutaka? Akira? Takashi?" Maybe this is where we're shooting our next video.

The teen stood up and began to stroll through this strange place he found himself in. This definitely isn't one of the cleanliest places I've ever been in my life. Whoever owns this better hope health inspectors never stop here. Yamato glanced from booth to booth. There was no one in the restaurant, and it appeared no one had been there for quite some time.

Why does this place look so familiar? The rock star decided to head back into the kitchen. Maybe there's some food. I'm famished; I haven't eaten anything for a long time. He pushed open the swinging doors and gasped. It…it can't be. I'll never forget what that kitchen looked like, Digitamamon's diner…

The blond stood in shock. How did I get back to the digital world? I thought it was virtually impossible. Why did I get brought back here? Are the…

CRASH!

Yamato looked up, hearing a sound coming from outside. He slowly crept towards the source of the commotion…

"I'm taking my break," Sora had told her boss, sick and tired of his comments about what had just been shown on the television.

"Suit yourself. But you'd better be back here in fifteen minutes. That's when the rush will come in."

The girl rolled her ruby orbs. "Yeah, whatever. I'll be back."

She took of the hideous brown apron she was forced to wear and headed to the girl's bathroom. Sora stared at the mirror in front of her, holding her head in her hand. Why can't I just tell him I quit? This job sucks.

Two girls, most likely in their early twenties, walked in, ignoring the girl standing by the mirror. "So did you, like, hear? Yamato Ishida has supposedly got this HUGE surprise for his concert on Friday night."

"Oh my God, yeah, I heard that!" The other girl shrieked, putting on more bright pink lipstick. "I like wonder what it is."

"I wish I could be there."

"Me too, unfortunately tickets are all sold out."

Her friend sighed. "That totally sucks. Maybe we'll be able to go to one of his concerts if he ever comes back here."

They walked out of the bathroom as fast as they had come in. Is the whole world trying to torture me about Yamato? She looked down at her stomach. This is ridiculous; why is it everywhere I go, he gets brought up even if no one knows who I am.

She looked into the mirror and held a hand to her head again, this time in pain. What's going on? I felt fine a minute before.

"There it is; I knew I left it in here."

"Where'd that chick go?"

"She probably left when we were getting a drink from the water fountain…"

Sora opened her eyes, unsure of where she was. Her eyes danced around, taking in the sights before her. Okay, this doesn't look like the bar or bathroom. How did I magically get from there to here?

She forced her body up off the ground, where she had landed in a heap. The girl spun around. This definitely is not my home or anywhere remotely near here.

The land was dusty and looked forgotten. There was trash all over the place, and it appeared no one had been there for quite awhile. Maybe there are some remnants that will tell me where I am. And maybe I'll be able to figure out how I got here.

Sora reached a hand up to brush a crimson bang out of her eye but found something on her head. She pulled it off and felt her knees buckle. My…my hat. I haven't worn this since…since the digital world.

The girl looked around her, and her mind's eye could picture this place back when it had prospered and been inhabited. She spotted a table with a bunch of crates around it. Walking over to it, seeing the spoiled, rotten potatoes, the girl fainted with a crash.

Yamato crept out of the building, looking for this sound. Maybe it was just a mouse, a very large mouse, maybe even a digital mouse… He searched around and was rewarded with a glimpse of red. That sticks out compared to the dull background.

It was a person. The teen sprinted over to where the person was laying and began to shake her. Her eyes flashed open, and when dark cobalt met inferno red, the two let out a scream.

"AHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHH!"

Sora sat straight up, hitting her head against Yamato's. They looked at each other, both reaching their hands up to see if the other was real. She blinked. He blinked. Their hands met each others, skin brushing up against the others, as if proving it wasn't an illusion.

Though he was fairly certain he wasn't dreaming, the blond wanted to be absolutely positive. He reached his face down to her and captured her lips, applying pressure to the kiss. Sora instantly melted, unable to think straight. She latched her arms around his neck, pulling them closer together. But the realization struck her as they both let out a moan of contentment. Her eyes opened, and she pushed him away from her.

"Sora?"

"Y..Yamato?"

"How did we get here?" He asked, standing up, coming closer to her.

She stood up as well but backed as far away from him as she could. "I don't know."

"Sora? Baby, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong, Yamato? What's wrong is that I haven't heard a single word from you since I last saw you four months ago."

His eyes narrowed. "I haven't heard from you either, so don't go blaming me for it."

"Did you think I didn't try?"

"Well did you think I didn't try? I e-mailed you all the time, but every single one bounced back. You never answered your phone, never responded to any of my letters."

"Letters? I never got any letters. I called you all the time and someone would answer, promising to leave a message with you but I NEVER heard from you at all."

Yamato took a deep breath. Apparently our communication got lost in translation. "Sora, let's both just calm down. Take a deep breath and…"

"Why should I take a deep breath, Yama. I needed you and I couldn't reach you!"

"Damn it, Sora. Did you think that I didn't need you? Do you know how many times I couldn't sleep because all I could think about was you? Do you know how many songs I wrote with you as the subject? Do you…"

He was cut off by a beeping sound. They both reached into their pockets and pulled out their digivices. "How did we get these?"

Yamato shook his head, reaching into his pocket once more as he felt another lump. He gasped. It was his harmonica.

Sora looked down at the device, seeing two dots and deciding she did not want to be alone with Yamato right now.

"Sor, where are you going?"

"Where does it look like I'm going? I'm off to find the others, and someone who cares about me."

That comment hit Yamato hard. "Did you ever doubt how much I care about you and love you?"

"Yes!" she yelled back, knowing there was no one around them and not afraid at all to be loud. "Do you know why you couldn't contact me? A virus ravished my e-mail account. My cell phone died, and I had to get a new one. Because of the block you have on your things, I couldn't reach you and let you know my new addresses. I never got any messages you left with other people, if you even thought to do this. I don't live in the same place I do anymore because…" she fought back the tears, "Mama and Papa were killed in a fire. I'm on my own now. You don't have my new address, and any mail for you is automatically dubbed fan mail. I would've gotten a forged fake signature if I tried to write you."

The blond softened his glare and stepped forward to embrace her. "Sor, I'm so sorry. If I would have known…"

"That's it, Yama! You didn't bother to find out. You could've called someone else and found out these things, but you didn't! It's virtually impossible to contact you, but it would've been easy for you to reach me. You weren't there for some of the hardest times in my life when I needed you more than anything."

"I understand, but…"

"No, I don't think you do, Yamato. My parents dying was bad enough, but I faced something even worse. Tell me, how would the media like to know that Yamato Ishida's girlfriend happened to be late on her period a few weeks after they slept together…"

His eyes widened from her comment. Oh God…

A/N: Please review! Undercover will be out before Easter, hopefully, should I not be dead from the start of soccer practice…please review!