I'm slowly getting things written for you guys. I appreciate all the love I've received so far. This story was always written for me so I never expected anyone to read it. It's a very nice surprise. Now, onto the drama!

The pain was too much to handle. Yuzuki grabbed her ankle as her toes began to numb and her leg began to spasm. Ladydevimon flew quickly and quietly into the night, periodically looking down at her partner with worry in her eyes. Reaching the backyard of the brick building, Ladydevimon hid under a tree before looking again at her partner.

"Are you going to be ok? Can you walk?" She whispered. Yuzuki quickly nodded as the digimon let go of her. Flinching upon making contact with the ground, Yuzuki held her hand up, signaling that she was fine, and quickly slid her other boot off her foot. Limping toward the front of the building, Ladydevimon quickly returned back to BlackTailmon and followed her.

Slowly, Yuzuki took her keys out and unlocked the door. As she slid it open, a webbed hand grabbed her arm and dragged her into the apartment. She fell onto the wooden floor with a bang.

"Yuzuki!" BlackTailmon yelled, running to her partner's side. Yuzuki looked up to find multiple pairs of red eyes staring her down. The closest Scubamon stepped forward to speak.

"I warned you that there would be consequences for failing to fulfill your mission" it croaked. Turning to look in the direction of the door, BlackTailmon felt two Scubamon grab her arms as a third walked up to Yuzuki's leg. It quickly reached and grabbed for her glowing tattoo. As its grip tightened, Yuzuki yelled and began to thrash. Multiple Scubamon held her limbs down. As the pain traveled up her body, Yuzuki fought to stay conscious, knowing that blacking out would send her straight into the depths of hell where their master resided.

As black dots invaded her vision, she stopped resisting. Before closing her eyes completely, she saw a flash of light, almost like fire, and felt the Scubamon let go of her. Drifting off to sleep, she feared she would wake up in a world of grey.

When Taichi heard the yelling, his determined walk turned into a full sprint. Reaching her building, he saw the door was cracked. Putting his full weight on the wood, he thrust it open completely, knocking a few Scubamon out of the way. Agumon was not far behind him, sliding past Taichi he hollered "Pepper Breath" and immediately knocked the Scubamon away from Yuzuki. BlackTailmon quickly shimmied out of the grip she was held in and began attacking the remainder of the enemy.

At the sight of the two digimon, multiple Scubamon backed away into the kitchen.

"We'll leave for now, but do note that the master will make an appearance eventually." One croaked as they disappeared.

Taichi was at Yuzuki's side instantly. Thankfully, old reliable Jou made sure all the chosen could perform simple medical tasks like checking for pulses and CPR. Feeling her neck, he felt a pulse. Her breaths were short and erratic, but she seemed stable enough to move. He felt her flinch when he hooked his arms under her and gradually stood up.

He turned to BlackTailmon. "I don't care what happened earlier. She needs help so I'm helping her. You're free to come, but know that we're gonna need some answers." His voice sounded cold, but his eyes were full of worry. BlackTailmon nodded and followed him out the door, locking the apartment as they passed. Walking down the steps carefully, Taichi looked up to see a car parked along the road, lights still on. The driver side opened up the door to reveal a surprisingly calm Jou.

"Yamato gave me the address. I had a feeling you could use my help." He spoke as he walked around to open the backseat. Sighing with relief, Taichi placed the girl carefully in the vehicle, BlackTailmon hopping in right after. Jou turned toward the girl to check on her. After feeling for a pulse and checking for any broken bones, Jou turned back to Taichi.

"She should be fine. It seems she passed out from stress. If she doesn't wake up by morning, then we'll take her to the hospital."

Taichi visibly relaxed his shoulders and climbed into the passenger side. Agumon jumped in the back with BlackTailmon. Jou climbed into the driver's seat side and reached for the keys. Before turning them in the ignition, he looked toward Taichi. The brunette was an absolute mess, hair matted to his face from sweat and eyes wide with worry. Staring straight at his knees, it looked like at any moment he would snap.

Deciding it was best not to talk, Jou started the car and headed toward the apartment where everyone else resided. The silence was suffocating; it made the drive feel much longer than 8 minutes, but Taichi couldn't will himself to talk. He was still processing the night's events. He was so in his thoughts he didn't hear the car stop. It wasn't until Jou grabbed his shoulder that Taichi was aware of their arrival.

Quickly getting out of the car and picking up the unconscious girl, Taichi headed into their building. Walking toward the elevator, he cradled her closer into his neck. She seemed so fragile right now. He knew Jou said she was physically fine, but she looked so helpless and miserable. It made Taichi's heart ache.

When the elevator opened up, Yamato was waiting in the hall for them. Turning toward them, Yamato's eyes widened. Taichi looked like he was on the brink of tears carrying a clearly unconscious Yuzuki. What was even more worrisome was how calm Jou was. Jou has three levels depending on the seriousness of the situation: mild panic, anxiety overload, then the worst of all, complete calmness. If Jou was calm, then there was something to worry about.

Quickly opening the door to their apartment, Yamato ushered them in. Taichi looked straight ahead as he whispered "I'm going to lay her down in my room." before completely ignoring the other 9 people and digimon in the living room and heading toward the back hallway. BlackTailmon looked around defensively before running after him.

Jou collapsed in the nearest armchair and graciously took the cup coffee Sora offered him. Taking a sip, he noticed that all eyes were on him. Setting his cup back on the table he sighed. "I don't know what happened. Taichi won't tell me anything. I pulled up to the apartment and he came out with her in his hands. Hasn't said a word since."

Walking up behind the armchair, Yamato added "I don't think he's going to until she wakes 're all welcome to stay if you'd like to wait. I'll order some takeout." He quietly walked toward the kitchen.

Everyone stayed silent until Hikari spoke up, carefully petting a sleeping Tailmon in her lap. "I just can't shake the feeling that she and I are connected in some way. Did you notice her partner? It was a Tailmon. And with her tattoo…I.. I just wish there was a way to help her."

Wrapping his arm around Hikari, Takeru noticed the collective worry for their friend. Thinking quickly on his feet, Takeru yelled "Aniki, come here!"

Yamato appeared behind the counter with a look of confusion. Receiving a mischievous smile in return, Takeru inquired "I remember hearing about a secret tattoo, well if you don't mind, dear Aniki, I think we would all love to see it."

Glaring at his "precious" little brother, Yamato opened his mouth to reply, only to notice everyone else in the room staring at him. Cheeks tinting, he huffed as his fingers lifted his shirt. Ending right above his rib, everyone looked to see the thin blue lines decorating his body. It was simple, a circular shape with two points on the end, followed by what looked like Gabumon's pawprint. To the naked eye it meant nothing, but to them it perfectly captured their longtime adventures.

"The crest of friendship, it's very nice Yamato. Why didn't you want us to know?" Hikari asked.

Rolling his eyes, he lowered his shirt. "Taichi and I celebrated getting our own place together by going out, I woke up to this. Taichi vaguely remembered suggesting it, but he fortunately was clean of ink. It's not like anyone would see it, so I didn't bother talking about our drunken escapades."

A collective chuckle could be heard around the room, only to be interrupted by the sound of running down the hall. Taichi appeared out of the hallway.

"Jou, she's waking up" he said between pants. Jou quickly stood up and followed Taichi, leaving a room filled with worried looks behind.