You may be glad to know that this is by far the longest chapter so far - nearly 3000 words instead of an average 2000.

Took it long enough...

Chapter 21 – Crash and Burn

The first things Gatomon saw when she opened her eyes were flames. Flames and the strong smell of fuel…

She drowsily got herself up and scrambled away from the flames, and tripped over something.

Looking down, the digimon saw that she had tripped on a clawed foot.

"Bla…Blackagumon? Are you all right?"

Blackagumon moaned and growled as he got up, "What happen?"

"I think we crashed…"

"No shit?" He looked around and stopped, suddenly transfixed with something, "You smell that?"

Gatomon looked at where he was looking, "What? The fuel? Yeah, but wh…" it finally struck the digimon what Blackagumon was looking at.

The cockpit.

Correction, the flaming cockpit.

"That can't be good. We gotta find the others and get out…what are you looking at now?"

Blackagumon was looking straight up, "Found them."

Gatomon also looked up, "You have the great ability of being one step ahead of me, don't you?"

Patrick and Kari were still in their seats – except upside down. Their limp arms were dangling in mid air.

The reptile digimon walked over to the side hatch, "Lets get this open. Get some air in."

A drop of liquid suddenly fell on Gatomon's back. She swung round, but couldn't find the source, but couldn't find anything. Shrugging it off, she went back over to Blackagumon, who was tugging at the handle to no avail.

"Allow me – Lightning Paw!"

The lock broke right off and the hatch swung open.

"Great…now what?" Blackagumon asked.

"I got it!" Gatomon jumped up onto the ceiling (or floor?) and reached for Kari's buckle.

"WAIT!"

"What now?"

"Tell me, what's gonna happen when you unbuckle her?"

"Errrrr…" Gatomon jumped back down (up?) again, "Guess I never thought of that."

"We need to get this thing right-side up again," Blackagumon pointed to the upside-down Patrick, "Could you get his digivice?"

Gatomon looked up, "Sure, I guess so."

She jumped up onto the rail beside Patrick's seat and snatched his D3 off his belt, "Here you go," and dropped it into Blackagumon's waiting claws, "Thanks. Now watch this."

He immediately ran outside into the desert. Gatomon jumped down and stared at the digimon, "Watch what?"

"This!" He held the Digivice up, "Independent Digivolution Activate!"

"Blackagumon digivolve to Darkgreymon."

"What the…how'd ya do that without Patrick?" Gatomon looked at the huge digimon in amazement.

"Little thing he's been workin' on. I can digivolve anytime as long as I'm in contact with his digivice."

"Well…I think you should be able to move this thing now!" Gatomon jumped out onto the desert as Darkgreymon flipped the Blackhawk back up.

"Now get them out."

Gatomon jumped back in and started unbuckling Kari. When she started dragging her out she stood in something wet. Her head snapped down to the small puddle forming at her foot. To the naked eye, it was a random liquid, but Gatomon's nose told different.

It smelled like kerosene.

And it was trickling towards the cockpit.

"Uh oh. Not good. Time to get out!" The cat digimon hurried to get her partner to safety.

Darkgreymon grabbed Kari when she was out side, "Now get Paddy."

"The fuel is leaking into the cockpit!"

"Then get him out faster!"

Gatomon jumped onto Patrick's lap and grabbed his buckle, "Come on, time to go."

Just as the digimon had Patrick on the ground the hold filled with flames, "Too late!"

Darkgreymon quickly reached into the hold and grabbed both of them, also managing to knock a crate out of the hold too, "Running time!"

He started running into the desert away from the chopper.

The flames followed the trail of kerosene straight to the source – the fuel tank.

With explosive results.

The already flaming chopper exploded violently, even managing to fling Darkgreymon off his feet and into the sand.

Once the explosions had stopped and everything settled, the two digimon got up.

"Are you ok?" The large digimon asked.

Gatomon jumped up and shook the dust off, "I'll live. Now lets find some shade."

Darkgreymon picked the two humans up, let Gatomon onto his head, and then ran off into the desert.

"WHERE IS KARI?" Davis went into one of his rages again. Once everyone had a good night's sleep they called an emergency meeting in the computer room. Everyone was present except Mimi, who was still in America, and Ken, who was still down with the flu, and Joe, who was looking after Emma and Declan.

"You want the truth?" Yolei asked.

"Yeah, of course!"

"Well then," the girl smirked, "She's currently about fifteen years in the future. I'm sure you could find some way to come to her rescue."

"Well…of course! There must be some way," he looked over Yolei's shoulder, "…right Izzy?"

"Actually…no." The red head admitted.

"WHAT?" Everyone chanted simultaneously.

Izzy threw up his hands, "Look guys we're talking about Time Travel for crying out loud! With today's technology it's just impossible."

"Then would you care to explain where the hell MY SISTER IS EXACTLY?" Tai shouted.

"Wait, let me re-word that. I agree she and this 'Patrick' guy are probably in the future but I have no real way of getting there. It is most indefinitely invented in the future so without this futuristic technology I have absolutely no hope of getting there," Izzy sighed, "I'm wish there was something I could do…but there isn't."

"So you're telling me that you can't take us to the future because you don't have the right stuff?" Matt summarised.

"In a matter of speaking, yes."

"But we have the technology, don't we?" Cody asked.

Everyone looked down at the boy, "What you talkin' about Cody? He said future technology, remember?" Davis scolded.

Cody ignored Davis, "I'm assuming the portal you used to get there is still intact…" he trailed off as Izzy thwacked his head of a nearby wall.

"Oh my God…you're right…use the method to return as the one you used to get there in the first place!" He swung round and immediately started typing on the nearby computer.

'I can't believe I got outsmarted by someone half a decade younger than me!' Izzy thought.

"OK guys," He grabbed his Pineapple laptop from the bag at his feet and hit one final key, revealing the digiport on the monitor, "Looks like you're going back to Ireland."

Kari's eyes fluttered open as she slowly but…painfully…regained consciousness. Getting herself up, she looked around. It looked like she was in a cave of some sort.

Blackagumon and Gatomon were sitting at the entrance with their backs to her, looking at the sunset, when the cat digimon sensed Kari's awakening.

"How you feelin'?" She asked as she jumped onto her partner's lap.

"Alive…if not a bit stiff," She lay back, stretching, "By the way, where's Patrick?"

"Scavenging the crash site," Blackagumon said bluntly, pointing to a large column of smoke rising into the red sky.

"Crash…site?" Kari slowly started to remember the memories of the last few hours.

She remembered Gatomon saving her from Ken…or what was left of him. Then Patrick took her away in a big helicoptor…but he wasn't the pilot…it was…

"Oh my God…where's TK?" she jumped up, throwing Gatomon off her lap.

No response.

"Blackagumon," she walked over the dark digimon, "What happened to TK?"

She noticed the digimon had his eyes closed, but after an awkward few moments of silence, he looked Kari directly in the face.

"Died on impact."

Kari's body froze. It took a few moments for it to finally sink in, "He's…gone?"

Blackagumon turned his head back and closed his eyes, "Can't see why you're so worried. You've still got your version of TK safe and sound at home.

"Yeah...but...never mind," There was so many questions she wanted to ask him. After settling slightly she sat down beside Blackagumon.

Little did she know, was TK was safe for now, but not for long.

Tai, Izzy, TK, Matt, Davis, Yolei and Cody were all back at Patrick's school, along with their digimon, walking past the blood-drenched rooms and body-filled corridors. Penguinmon had also insisted on coming.

"How you doing Teeks?" Matt asked, motioning towards his brother's arm, which was covered in bandages.

"Still a bit sore, but I think I'll make it."

Matt shook his head, "Wait 'till I get my hands on that Patrick guy…he'll pay for putting you in danger!"

The group finally reached the Gym, and the two newbies (They being Matt, Davis and Cody) were horrified by the sight.

Dead bodies were piled in every shape. Blood grease the floor making it extra slippy. The stench of death filled the air, only slightly ventilated but the rather large space missing in the front wall and a few broken windows.

"Actually, Matt, you should be thanking him," TK said.

"What?"

"This is amazing…I mean look at it!" Izzy completely ignored the countless bodies and pointed at the portal machinery, "How much fun me and Jim would have analysing this and learning the secrets of time travel!" It was unusual to see the redhead this giddy.

"Me and Izzy will work on the portal," Yolei said, "You guys…well…"

"Dump your firearms somewhere," Izzy said as he weaved his way through the red stained floor, "Last time I checked it was illegal for minors to posses weapons back home."

"Fair enough," Yolei and Tai took off their holsters and thew them on the ground. However, TK didn't. Not immediately.

Instead he walked over to a small lump of concrete and stared blankly and the ground beside it.

"What were you talking about, bro?" Matt asked as he approached him.

TK pointed at a small bloodstain on the concrete and muttered, "That's Kari's blood."

"Oh…" His brother was speechless. He just didn't know what to say.

TK removed the USP in his holster and examined it, "You see…you were right about Patrick putting us in harm's way…but…"

"But what?"

TK looked up at his brother, "I enjoyed it…every second of it."

Matt was taken aback by this statement, "What do you mean?"

"It's just that…for the first time I was the one doing the fighting, I was the one killing people…destroying lives. I had power over life and death."

"Don't let it get to your head."

"I'm not. But…It's had to explain…but you know on TV you see those Marines or SEALs or anyone else who uses a gun. They know how to use it and do so perfectly. Until a few days ago, I never thought I'd ever need to fire one, never mind shoot to kill!"

"You enjoyed senseless killing?" Matt was starting to get afraid of his little brother.

"No. It wasn't senseless. We were killing for a purpose. To save someone. And I think we did just that. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that Patrick taught us how to use any manner of firearms, and we used them to perfection. Until now."

"You're not makin' any sense, bro. So he taught you to fire a gun, so what?"

"Matt I've completely forgotten everything Patrick told me. How this gun works, how to load it, un-jam it, aim it, everything."

"What are you getting at?" Matt was getting suspicious.

"Look, I don't know what I'm getting at. Nothing makes sense anymore. All I know is that last time I was here, in this room, I was firing this…errr…USP, that's it. And I was hitting them. And once I came back through that portal, I forgot all about it."

TK finally removed his holster and set it down by the bloodied block, "And I don't intend on re-learning."

"Guys, we got a problem," Izzy said to the room.

"What now?" Tai asked.

"I've analysed the directional transponder and cross referenced it with the data on that disk Patrick's 'future' self gave you and was able to locate the position in the future where it goes to."

"And?"

"Can I ask, where did you end up when you went through that portal?"

"Errr…hey remember that strange little room we were in?" TK recalled.

"Oh yeah! That was dark!" Yolei remembered.

"Just as I thought. That was a sort of open firewall port that allows people to enter the digital world from other times or dimensions. I'm guessing you went through a digiport then?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Tai asked.

"That would be it signalling you were entering the digital world and why there was no way back. I've bypassed it and reached the castle you were in."

"Great! Lets roll!" Yolei jumped up onto the platform.

"So what's the problem?" Cody asked.

"The portal in the castle doesn't exist anymore."

The group froze in horror, "But then…how will they get back?" Tai asked.

"Well…" He was cut off when Penguinmon walked over to them, "Uh, guys, I don't mean to interrupt or anything…"

"You don't have to be shy around us, we're you're friends," Yolei said smiling.

"Well in that case I'll be frank," He pointed towards the hole in the wall, "There's a B52 Stratofortress coming straight for this school – and it does not look friendly!"

It was just before the sun set completely that Kari noticed the outline of Patrick on the horizon. When he made it to the cave in the cliff wall, he set down a rucksack and collapsed on the ground, "Shouldn't have used all my frickin' energy dragging that half way across the desert just to get sunset," he grumbled, "If I'd been thinking straight I would of gone at night."

He sat down and started to prepare a fire for the night ahead.

"What did you find?" Blackagumon asked.

"Loads of stuff actually. A crate fell out of the hold. It was full of M4s, frags, an M203 and get this - a TOW missile launcher! Might be a bit knocked up but I can work on it tonight. You'd be amazed at how many magazines I found! Only got about three TOWs though."

"Well, I guess we both better get a good night's sleep," Kari yawned, "You must be exhausted."

"And more, but someone needs to keep watch."

Kari cocked an eyebrow, "Watch? For what?"

"Blackagumon?" Patrick motioned to the fire.

"Sure thing, Pepper Breath!"

The fire erupted and it wasn't long before the marshmallows were out.

"Were did you get them?"

"Been in my pocket since the last night we camped out. Don't worry, they're safe," Patrick munched a few before answering her previous question, "Do you realise that everyone under the Dark Master's control is probably after us, considering we destroyed half a prison complex and contributed to the destruction of an entire airbase?"

"Well now you put it like that…by the way, what happened to the base? Why did we crash?"

"Operation Last Stand, Matt and TK told me about it before the crash, is a failsafe protocol installed in every single installation in this world. If the base is taken over, the commander issues the order and they…well…blow it up."

"They would destroy themselves rather that be taken over. That's stupid!"

"No. It's not. Ever heard of the saying, 'If I can't have it no one can?'"

"Now and then, why?"

"It's more or less the philosophy behind the whole thing. Hey, did you know that back in the Cold War, there was an American protocol that dictated that if the US was ever invaded and overthrown as a superpower, that the President would order the detonation of every Nuclear device under their control? That would obliterate the entire continent of North America and send the entire world into a nuclear winter!"

"That's crazy!"

"Crazy, but true. Tell me, did that guy ever tell you why he was kidnapping digidestined?"

The girl shook her head, "No. But I did here Davis mention that I wasn't supposed to be the target. That everyone else was."

The boy thought about this before he stretched and yawned, "Well, time to get to sleep. There will be another question and answer round in the morning, kay?"

"Ok, goodnight." Kari lay down by the fire and was asleep in no time. Gatomon soon went and curled up beside her.

"You better get some kip too, Blackagu," Patrick said to his partner, "We may need Warmarinedramon tomorrow."

"True. Night." As if he'd been waiting for Patrick to tell him it was okay, he fell over backwards and was asleep within a minute.

Patrick looked over the camp. Kari and Gatomon were sound asleep by the fire and Blackagumon was snoring on the other side. He smiled, and then shivered in the cold.

It was going to be a long, cold night.