Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter!

SUB/DUB NOTE: Out of personal preference, I'll be using 'Veemon' not 'V-mon'. Apologies to anyone who prefers the hyphenated version.

THE FIRE OF COURAGE

It took Daisuke a while to get used to walking without seeing, and it took Hikari a few minutes to figure out how best to guide him over a terrain she seemed to know so well, but eventually they managed to figure out a system that kept Daisuke from tumbling too often and he felt a small but notable change in their pace. He had questions – so many questions – but none of them seemed to want to form themselves in to any kind of actual sentence, and so he followed in silence and tried not to focus too much on how soft and small Hikari's hand felt in his.

Daisuke couldn't even guess how long they'd been walking for when he felt the ground level out underfoot, changing from soft, springy grass to something harder and firmer as the air around them began to cool. Daisuke felt a chill as the sun disappeared and soon their footsteps began to echo. A cave of some kind, Daisuke guessed. They stopped several times, and sometimes Hikari's hand would disappear before he would hear the scraping of stone against stone, but then her hand would be back and she would gently guide him forwards. Finally they came to a halt, and Daisuke shivered as he felt Hikari's fingers rummaging through his hair to untie the blindfold.

It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust, and out of the darkness he could pick out a faint beam of light that pierced through the ceiling, catching something small in the centre of the cave and making it sparkle. He heard Hikari moving around him, her footsteps whispering across the floor as something shifted across the cavern. Daisuke turned towards it instinctively, only to be blinded by a flash of sparks. He reeled backwards with a startled yell and felt something hard collide with the back of his head. Hands grabbed him as his legs gave out beneath him, keeping him from collapsing completely, and as Hikari lowered him to his knees a small fire roared to life on the other side of the cave.

"Are you all right?" Hikari asked. She was kneeling in front of him, holding his hands tightly. The firelight cast half her face in to shadow and lit up the hair around her face like a halo, and Daisuke felt his voice wedge in his throat. He'd never been this close to a girl before (well, there was his sister Jun, but most of the time when they were this close it was often followed by some kind of pain). Hikari's eyes were wide, studying him closely, and when he continued to sit and gawk like a goldfish her fingers reached out towards him, running through his hair. The feeling sent shivers down his spine until she found the growing bump on the back of his head and he grimaced with a hiss. She snatched her hands back with a gasp. "I'm sorry! Here, come in to the light, let me take a look."

Slowly she coaxed him back to his feet and brought him closer to the fire. Her hand never left his, and Daisuke wondered if she knew about the burning in his cheeks. He thought Tailmon might; there was something in her sharp eyes that made his stomach twist unpleasantly, and he rubbed at the graze on his chin.

"I don't think your pussycat likes me very much," he muttered as Hikari helped him sit down near the fire. Tailmon hissed.

"She's just… We're just being careful," Hikari said softly. She knelt in front of him and started unfastening a small leather bag. "It's been a long time since we've seen a human who wasn't… Well, it's been a long time since we've seen another human."

"So you live here all by yourself?" Daisuke asked. Tailmon growled.

"What am I? Old sushi?" she hissed.

"We're not the only humans," Hikari answered, tipping the contents of the bag between them, "but we just haven't seen each other for a while. I don't really know how many of us were left, but there's at least one other besides the Kaiser. At least… there was…" Her gaze drifted down to the items scattered between them. A bundle of rope next to a small leather canteen embossed with a strange, angular flower-like symbol. The firelight glinted off a small gold pendant with a square pink gem on a delicate golden chain that was wound around a battered blue harmonica. She reached for a bundle of white cloth and made her way over to the fire where Tailmon had set a small kettle of water boiling. Hikari silently steeped the bandages for several minutes before wringing them out in to the dirt and bringing them back to Daisuke.

"Hold still," she instructed, holding his jaw lightly. She dabbed at the graze on his chin gently and he did his best not to wince. Crying over a little cut was not going to win him any points with the beautiful girl that was pressed so close to him. She smelled of earth and adventure, and her large eyes flickered in the firelight as she cleaned the graze. Her gaze met his and he choked on air, lowering his eyes with a hastily murmured apology. She leant back, setting the bandages to one side.

"Turn around," she said. His eyes bulged and his breath caught in his throat until she added: "I need to look at the back of your head."

"Oh." It took a moment for his body to respond, and after a moment he finally shuffled awkwardly around until his back was to the fire. He felt her settle in behind her – blocking the heat from the fire and leaving his left side chilled – and he tried not to shiver as her fingers found his hair again.

"So what's your name?" she asked.

"It's Dais- ah!"

"Sorry!" she squeaked, snatching her fingers away. "I didn't mean to hurt you!" Daisuke gritted his teeth and forced a grin.

"You didn't hurt me," he laughed. "That's… That's my nickname. Dais-ah! It's… uh… It's foreign." He turned to face her, rubbing the back of his neck (and trying not to wince when he brushed the bruise). Hikari was staring at him, her eyes wide and her hands clamped over her mouth. Tailmon remained unmoved, and her narrowed eyes told him that she didn't believe his 'nickname' for a second. He swallowed thickly. "But, uh, my real name's Daisuke." Slowly Hikari lowered her hands, and she composed herself again, a small (and very pretty) smile sliding in to place as she tilted forwards slightly in a small bow.

"It's nice to meet you, Daisuke. I'm sorry we weren't properly introduced earlier. I'm Hikari, and that's Tailmon." Tailmon lifted her chin and murmured a quiet 'nice to meet you' through gritted teeth. Her fangs flashed in the firelight and Daisuke hoped Hikari hadn't seen his smile falter.

"So where are you going to stay tonight?" Tailmon asked pointedly. Hikari twisted with a glare.

"Tailmon!"

"What? He can't stay here."

"Of course he can," Hikari countered. "I'm not going to just leave him out there alone with a partner." Tailmon turned her glare on Hikari then as her tale swished angrily behind her.

"You've kept this place hidden for years," she said, her voice low. "We agreed that we couldn't risk the Kaiser finding it, and suddenly he gets a free pass? Just because he looks like Taichi doesn't mean-"

"Stop," Hikari snapped. Then, softer: "Please, stop."

A tense silence settled over the cavern, broken only by the low popping and crackling of the fire. Hikari gathered the dirty bandages and the bowl and busied herself by the fire, soaking the rags and wringing them out into the dirt. Daisuke knew that he was staring but his mind was too preoccupied to care. Taichi... Daisuke's thoughts drifted to the Kaiser and his goggles. Sure the Kaiser wore his over his eyes, and his were gold and black and not as round, but it wasn't exactly like goggles were a common accessory. It was the only similarity Daisuke could think of; the goggles and their spiky hair.

Could she have meant… Taichi wasn't exactly a common name. Daisuke only knew one Taichi, but he knew at least five kids named Haruto (two were in his year at school). He glanced between Tailmon (who was staring at Hikari) and Hikari (who was pointedly avoiding her gaze), and he figured his hunch was worth a shot – if only to break the thickening silence.

"Taichi?" he asked. Tailmon's tail flicked and Hikari's shoulders tensed. "Yagami Taichi?" Hikari's head snapped towards him and the firelight danced in her eyes.

"How did… Do you know him?" Daisuke grinned and nodded.

"Sure do! He's my soccer coach!" He sat up taller; if there was one thing he could talk about, it was Yagami Taichi. "He's the most amazing player on the team. He goes to the middle school but he still plays with us, and our team is the best it's ever been. Last year he got us in to the junior league; we came second, which is really good for a first-time entry, so now this year we're going to be playing against Tamachi who haven't lost in forever-" He took a breath to continue but it caught in his throat as he noticed Hikari. Her beautiful lips had spread in to a sad smile, and her eyes were wet and sparkling. "Do… Do you guys know him too?"

"He's my brother."

Daisuke felt his jaw drop open. In all the years that he and Taichi had played soccer together, Taichi had never once mentioned a sister. (He'd never really mentioned any of his family, now that Daisuke thought about it.) Hikari hurried back to his side and took his hands in hers. Daisuke's breath hitched and he tried not to splutter.

"How is he? Is he okay?" Hikari asked. Daisuke swallowed thickly.

"H-He's fine," he answered. Hikari's laugh was a half-sob and she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"What about his friends? Takenouchi Sora? Or Izumi Koushiro? What about a boy – a blond boy – Takaishi Takeru?" Daisuke leant back a little, uncertainly. She was close to him – really close – and once he'd realised just how close she was it became difficult to un-notice it (Hikari, on the other hand, didn't seem to care that her face was mere inches from his).

"S-Sora… Sora…" he repeated until the familiar name finally clicked. "Ah – Sora! Yeah! She used to play for the girls' team but I think she's into tennis now. Sometimes they hang around with this computer ner- kid. Computer kid from their school. I think his name is Iz… Izzy… Iz-something…"

"Izumi?"

"Yeah! Maybe… I don't think I've ever seen him hanging out with anyone blond though. What was his name again? Takahashi… um… or Tadashi Daikeru or somethin'?" Hikari shook her head, wiping away another tear before listing more names. Daisuke couldn't say any of them sounded familiar, but it didn't seem to matter to Hikari who finally sat back on her heels with a tearful laugh. (Daisuke sucked in a deep breath. His head was spinning.)

"They really did make it home," she whispered, looking over at Tailmon who shrugged.

"Agumon told us they got in the trolley car," Tailmon answered.

"But now we know they made it through the gate," Hikari breathed. Suddenly she sat up tall, struck by a sudden thought, and she leant around Daisuke to rummage through the items on the blanket. Her hands lingered over the harmonica, and after a moment of indecision she slowly unwound the delicate gold chain. She pressed the pendant in to Daisuke's palm. "Can you give this to him? Please? And a message?" Her touch was electric. Daisuke didn't think a girl had ever touched him so much before (at least, not willingly) and it was making it difficult to focus.

"S-sure. What should I tell him?" Hikari curled his fingers around the pendant in his palm.

"Show him this. And the digivice – yes, that's it," she added when he fished the little blue gadget out of his pocket. "Tell him that the Digital World is in danger. It needs him, and so do we." Her eyes were so warm and hopeful that Daisuke couldn't refuse even if he'd wanted to, but he instantly stumbled across a problem.

"I don't know how to get home." Hikari sat back and chewed her lip thoughtfully with a frown. After a moment her eyes darted down and she reached for Daisuke's hand, curling his fingers around the blue device. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak Daisuke's stomach let out a deep growl that echoed through the cavern. Heat rushed to his cheeks as he ducked his head with an embarrassed apology. Hikari giggled.

"Let's get you something to eat."

While Hikari and Tailmon rummaged through their supplies, Daisuke stood to work the aches from his legs. He stretched and twisted and stifled a curse as his back cracked painfully in several places. His left foot had gone dead from sitting cross-legged, and he hobbled around the cave to try and restart the flow of blood to his toes.

The cave was pretty bare, and mostly empty aside from the handful of possessions set near the fire opposite the cavern's entrance. Several small hollows had been carved in to the smooth stone walls, housing twigs and feathers and bundles of twine. A pile of dull blankets had been laid out for a bed – Hikari's no doubt – with two small nests of cloth nearby. One was covered in white fur (Tailmon's, if he had to guess) while the other was fur-free but singed in several places and littered with fragments of orange-gold that glistened in the firelight.

Slowly Daisuke hobbled away from the fire (the blood had returned to his foot, along with a searing wave of pins and needles that left him biting his tongue to stop himself swearing). He glanced up at the high domed ceiling, picking out the small hole that pierced through the rock above, and his eyes travelled down the beam of light to the thing that had first caught his eye before Tailmon had blinded him with the fire. It was shaped kind of like an egg, decorated with flames, and at the top a jagged silver spike jutted up in to the air. The painted flames almost seemed to be dancing, as though the egg had a fire of its own, and Daisuke felt something weird in his chest. It felt like something was pulling at him, reaching in to him and dragging him closer-

"Are you okay?"

He tried not to scream at the sound of Hikari's voice over his shoulder. He hadn't heard her move at all. His heart was hammering in his throat and he swallowed thickly.

"Yeah," he answered with a strained laugh. Then, before she could ask any more questions, he asked: "What's that?" She turned her eyes towards the egg and sighed a little.

"We don't know. It's my brothers; at least, we think it is."

"You don't know for sure?"

"There's a mark – right here, see?" She crouched down and reached out a finger, pointing towards a small orange mark beneath the silver horn; two orange circles ringed by eight small triangles. Daisuke thought it looked kind of like a sun. "That belongs to my brother, so this must be for him. We were hoping we might have found some way to get it to him by now, but so far... no luck." Daisuke crouched down too, holding his chin and frowning at it. The weird pulling feeling was back; it made his stomach churn like it usually did right before a big game. Scared and excited all at once.

Daisuke…

He jumped at the sound of his name, but it wasn't Hikari's voice. Wasn't Tailmon's either. Hikari was giving him a weird look and he laughed a little.

"Well… What if I took it back with me?" he suggested. "If I can figure out how it get back home then maybe I could give it to Taichi. Y'know, if we can find out how to get me home." He laughed a little but the joke fell flat as Hikari pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I don't know if you'll be able to." Daisuke's smile fell a little and he reached out towards it.

"Well you should at least keep it off the floor-"

"Wait!"

Hikari and Tailmon's voices echoed around the cavern as Daisuke plucked the egg out of the dirt. He straightened and dusted the grit from the bottom of the egg before realising that Hikari and Tailmon were staring at him wide-eyed. Hikari slowly straightened, her eyes never leaving the egg.

"How did you-"

Fiery orange light exploded from the floor. Daisuke yelped in surprise and ducked behind his arm to keep from being blinded. After a moment the light began to fade, withdrawing in to a pillar that burst up through the ceiling, and Daisuke saw a small shadow forming inside the beam. It twisted as it grew, sprouting arms, legs, slaws and a tail. Finally, when the tiny being was fully-formed, it opened its burning eyes and fixed Daisuke in its sights.

"Yahoo!" it cried as it burst from the light and threw itself onto the ground. The creature was cobalt blue from head to toe with the exception of its belly, muzzle and claws which were brilliant white. A small golden 'v' sat between the creature's blazing eyes, and when it opened its mouth in a wide grin Daisuke saw the creature's fierce teeth.

"Free at last! Free at last!" it chanted as it ran circles around Daisuke's feet. Daisuke jumped back in shock, staring at Hikari for help, but she was staring at the small creature with wide eyes. Finally the creature came to a stop before Daisuke and it blinked up at him with a bright smile. "Boy have I been waiting a long time to meet you!" Daisuke balked and shook his head, waving his hands frantically.

"Whoa there, buddy! I think you've got the wrong guy-"

"Nope! I know it's you, because you're the only one who was able to move the Digimental of Courage!" the creature replied. "Pleased to meet ya – the name's Veemon!"

"Vee…mon?" Daisuke repeated. The creature grinned and nodded his head eagerly. "But… what are you?" Veemon tilted his head to the side and turned to Tailmon.

"Is he for real?" he asked, jerking his thumb towards Daisuke over his shoulder.

"I don't think he's seen a digimon before today," Hikari answered. She crouched low, wrapping her arms around her knees as she studied the creature – the digimon – with a friendly smile. "You came from the Digiegg?"

"The Digimental, and I sure did!" he said proudly, planting his fists on his hips and puffing up his little chest. "I'm here to protect Daisuke!" Tailmon stood next to Hikari and arched an eyebrow, her lips curling in to an amused smirk as she glanced from Veemon to Daisuke.

"I'm sure you'll do a great j-"

A thundering rumble echoed through the cave. Tailmon's head snapped up and Hikari's followed a split second later, both of them staring at the ceiling. A shadow passed over the hole and they both leapt in to action.

"Tailmon-"

"I'm on it!" As Hikari dove for her bow and arrows, Tailmon turned her attention to their blankets and belongings. With practiced ease she rolled the bedding in to a tight bundle and threw it over her shoulder before securing the blankets in place with a satchel that had been used as a pillow. The ground trembled and Daisuke glanced up at the ceiling; several cracks had begun to spiderweb through the stone, and Daisuke's breath caught in his throat as the dust falling from the ceiling turned to pebbles and rocks.

"Don't worry, Daisuke!" Veemon said with a grin. "I'll protect ya!"

"Not from a cave-in, you won't," Tailmon retorted. She threw a bundle of blankets to Daisuke. "We need to move."

"Let's go!" Hikari called from across the cavern, throwing a small bag across her shoulders. She skirted the fire to run towards them, passing under the ceiling seconds before it crumbled completely.

"Monochromon!" Tailmon gasped. Monochromon was larger than the monster Daisuke had seen earlier. Its body was white with grey stripes, and his head and back were covered with thick, dull grey armour streaked with red. Glowing crimson eyes stared at them from either side of its armoured horn, and when it tossed its head from side to side to shake the rocks from its shoulders Daisuke saw a ring of spikes on its back and a thick black band wrapped around its waist.

"Run!" Hikari hadn't stopped to look back, and as she passed Daisuke she grabbed his wrist and tugged him back through the mouth of the cave. Monochromon roared and stumbled after them as Hikari and Tailmon led them down a narrow passageway. Veemon easily kept up with them, and after overtaking Daisuke he began to run backwards.

"Daisuke, you have to let me digivolve!" he said.

"Digi-what?"

"You can't," Tailmon called over her shoulder. "The Kaiser has this whole area under his control. Nobody can digivolve."

"Maybe not normally," Veemon answered, "but the Digimental of Courage has a special power inside of it. I'm sure it'll work!"

"Let's just get outside!" Hikari cried as the walls around them began to fracture. Daisuke swallowed thickly and picked up the pace. Something was barrelling towards them from behind, and as Daisuke dove in to the sunlight it was just in time to avoid a burst of fire. He stumbled over a nearby rock and tumbled in to the dirt, and as he rolled on to his back he saw Hikari drop to her knees, knocking an arrow and training it on the mouth of the cave.

The rocks exploded as Monochromon emerged with a furious roar. His red eyes settled on Hikari and he rose up on to his hind legs. Hikari released her arrow, but the attack hit the black band around the creature's stomach and clattered into the dirt. Monochromon huffed and his eyes narrowed dangerously at Hikari as he pawed the ground.

"Hikari!" Daisuke cried. He tried to scramble to his feet but Veemon tugged urgently at his sleeve.

"Daisuke! You have to let me digivolve!" he pressed. "I can help!" Daisuke stared at him; Veemon barely came up to Daisuke's knee, while Monochromon was easily the size of a bus.

"But… But you're so small." This only seemed to make Veemon's smile wider.

"Have courage, Daisuke!" said Veemon. "You have to open the Digimental so I can get stronger!" Daisuke glanced to Hikari who was aiming another arrow. Tailmon leapt from a nearby tree, her claws gleaming.

"Lightning paw!" she cried, striking Monochromon across the snout. He huffed in annoyance and swung his head at Tailmon, catching her with his horn and sending her flying.

"Tailmon!" Hikari cried. Monochromon turned his attention back towards her and he opened his mouth to release a deafening roar that knocked Hikari off-balance. A small flame ignited at the back of the creature's throat, and Daisuke felt a burning in his gut. He tightened his fingers around the fiery egg in his hand and thrust it in to the air.

"Digimental up!"

Whilst he couldn't say where the words had come from, they seemed to be the right thing to say. The egg erupted with the same fiery orange light from the cave that formed a beam of light. It lanced out, striking Veemon in the chest, and Daisuke cried out as Veemon was completely engulfed.

"Veemon… Armour Evolve…"

The light became a wall of fire, and when the flames cleared Veemon had become taller than Daisuke. His blue limbs were longer and his body was wrapped in flaming armour. His face had become chiselled and fierce, and his large eyes were protected behind a deep maroon mask that bore the same jagged metal spike as the egg. The Digimental.

"Fladramon!"

Daisuke's heart skipped a terrified beat as he stared up at the looming monster, but then a fiery eye winked at him from behind the mask and Daisuke found that he wasn't scared any more. There was a fire in his chest – wrapping itself around his heart – and as Fladramon surged forwards Daisuke heard himself cheer. He darted beneath the Monochromon's jaw and closed it with a swift punch, leaving him to swallow his own fire as Hikari rolled to her feet and sprinted towards Tailmon who was staring at the fight.

"Fladramon!"

"He evolved…" Hikari exclaimed. Her face lit up with a smile. "He evolved! We can fight back!"

Fladramon rushed at Monochromon with fire on his claws. He held Monochromon's shoulders in each of his burning hands and pushed the monster away from the mouth of the cave, putting more distance between the fight and Daisuke.

"Vee- Fladramon!" Daisuke hollered. "Be careful!" Hikari giggled, her eyes shining as she watched Fladramon draw Monochromon further away from them.

"Don't worry," she said, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "I think he'll be just fine."

Fladramon kept up a series of attacks as he led Monochromon through the trees. Daisuke followed as close as he dared, ducking and diving this way and that to avoid stray fireballs or low-flying debris. Eventually the ground levelled out and the trees thinned, and as Monochromon began to charge across the grassy plain Fladramon leapt in to the air and surrounded himself in a blanket of fire.

"Fire rocket!" he cried. Monochromon reared up on to his hind legs, ready to defend himself, but Fladramon planted a flaming fist in the creature's gut. The fractured ring encircling Monochromon's waist shattered like glass before disappearing, and Monochromon let out a bellowing roar as he collapsed to his knees. Fladramon landed gracefully on the ground nearby, and after taking a moment to study the fallen monster he nodded to himself and began to glow. The orange light appeared again, covering Fladramon from head to toe before arcing back towards Daisuke and hitting the screen of the small blue device. It shuddered in Daisuke's grip and emitted three short sharp beeps before falling silent. Daisuke wasn't given much time to consider it as he felt his pocket grow heavy, and when he plunged his hand inside he found a small, hand-held computer. Curious, he flipped open the lid to find the Digimental of Courage floating on the display.

The world span. He blinked and dropped heavily to his knees, barely able to avoid falling on his face. He was tired… so tired… Someone was calling his name, and when he looked up it was just in time to see Veemon barrelling towards him.

"Daisuke!" he cried. He launched himself at Daisuke's chest, knocking Daisuke on to his back, and he sat on Daisuke's stomach with a triumphant grin. "Did you see me? I did it! I got big and strong because of you!" Daisuke had to fight to keep his eyes open, and he forced a grin.

"You did great, buddy!" he cheered, though his words were slurred. Veemon's smile fell and he leant forwards, resting his chin on Daisuke's.

"Are you okay?" His breath tickled Daisuke's nose and he wheezed a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired." Veemon looked a little sheepish then, and he gave Daisuke a lopsided smile.

"Oops, guess I musta taken a bit more of your energy than I should've," he said with a shrug. Daisuke frowned and propped himself up on his elbows.

"My energy… Wait! Is that what you meant when you said you got stronger because of me?" Veemon grinned so hard he had to close his eyes, and he nodded his head so vigorously that Daisuke thought he was going to fall over.

"That's right! I couldn't've done it without ya!" Daisuke sat up all the way then. The haze over his mind was clearing, and the lead in his limbs was starting to lighten. He scratched his head and readjusted his goggles as he glanced around, hoping Hikari hadn't seen him so close to passing out.

(He wished she'd warned him. Then again, she hadn't seemed to even know what the Digimental was, so she probably had even less of a clue of what it was going to do.)

He spotted her several feet away, standing next to the defeated Monochromon, and his heart leapt to his chest as she reached out towards its gleaming silver horn.

"Hikari! Be careful!" he cried, scrambling to his feet (Veemon let out an indignant yell as he fell to the floor). Hikari and Monochromon both turned to stare at him. After a moment Hikari smiled and reached out to place her hand against Monochromon's snout.

"It's all right," she said softly. "Monochromon was just telling us about the Dark Rings; it's the Kaiser's way of controlling digimon." Daisuke took in the deflated digimon with wary eyes, and the monster stared back. His red eyes had faded, and were now the colour of a cloudy sky. He slowly lumbered to his feet, and when he was standing again he dipped his head towards Daisuke.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you," the digimon rumbled. "The last thing I remember, I was on my way to help Elecmon with the protection of Primary Village, and then I was here. I'm in your debt." Veemon grinned and basked in the compliment.

Monochromon stayed a little longer, apologising several times for destroying the cave. Hikari only smiled and said that it was time for them to move on anyway. Daisuke couldn't imagine being that calm if he'd lost his home, but then again everything Hikari owned seemed to be either on her back or Tailmon's. After his offer to help them find new shelter was politely turned down, he left each of them with a bow and a promise to come to their side if they found themselves in trouble.

"So it's not permanent," Hikari said as they waved goodbye to Monochromon. "The Kaiser's control doesn't have to be the end."

"And with Fladramon on our side, maybe we'll even have a chance of defeating him," Tailmon added with a decisive nod. Daisuke stared between them both in confusion before looking at Veemon. The little creature returned the look with a shrug. Hikari slung her bow over her shoulder and collected an arrow from the dirt nearby.

"We should find shelter," she said, dropping the arrow in to her quiver and looking up at the sky. "It'll be dark soon."

"We'll need more food, too. We weren't expecting company."

"Yay! Food!" Veemon exclaimed. He leapt towards Tailmon who watched him carefully as he ran energetic circles around her. "What are we gonna eat?" Tailmon's claws kneaded the dirt as she arched an eyebrow at him.

"Whatever we can catch." Daisuke wasn't sure if that had been some kind of threat, but Veemon didn't seem to notice. He launched in to a barrage of questions as they set off (What was Tailmon's favourite food? What did she normally eat? Where were they gonna eat? When were they gonna eat? Could they eat that? Or that?) and Daisuke quickly fell in step beside Hikari.

"So this is what you do?" he asked. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and he grinned. "Runnin' around, fightin' bad guys?" Her smile fell a little and she turned her gaze forward, staring after Tailmon and Veemon.

"It wasn't always like this. It used to be peaceful until the Kaiser showed up." Her fingers tightened around the leather strap across her chest. "At first he was just controlling digimon using his dark digivice, and Tailmon could evolve then so we could fight back and free them. But then he found a way to stop anyone evolving without his permission, and now he can control digimon all across the continent." Her expression was grim, and Daisuke flashed her his best smile.

"But with me and Fladramon, now you can fight again! We'll show the Kaiser who's boss!" The smile that lit up her face made his heart soar.

They crested a small hill as the sun began to set, and beyond Daisuke was surprised to see a desert that seemed to stretch on for miles. The blades of grass suddenly gave way to waves of sand, and as they moved from one terrain to the other Daisuke felt a cool breeze dance across the back of his neck. Something was glimmering in the distance and the digimon veered towards it, coming to a stop several paces away.

"Is that… a TV?" Hikari asked.

It was, but it looked like an old one. It was a big black box – the kind that Daisuke's grandma still had because "those new-fangled flat displays are too confusing". The bulbous screen was flickering like static, but as Daisuke stared he thought he saw an image taking shape.

"It looks like the computer lab," he muttered. He slipped through Veemon and Tailmon to step closer, and the image grew a little clearer. With every step he took, he could make out more detail until he was certain that he was in fact looking at his classroom.

He didn't realise he'd been leaning so far forwards until he found himself suddenly tilting. He let out a surprised yelp, throwing his hands out to keep from falling face-first in to the sand, and he was quickly enveloped by a bright white light. His breathing stopped, his heart restarted, and his elbow exploded as he collided with something hard. Voices were calling his name but they were muffled and tinny. Slowly he sat up, rubbing his elbow with a stream of curses.

He was back in the computer lab.

Realisation hit him like a brick and he scrambled to his feet, darting back to the computer. He saw Hikari, Veemon and Tailmon peering at him through the screen.

"Daisuke!" Hikari called. "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay," he answered. "What happened?"

"You got sucked in to the TB!" Veemon exclaimed.

"T-V," Tailmon corrected, before adding: "It looked like your digivice was able to open a portal and take you home." Daisuke frowned.

"My… digivice? Oh!" He glanced down at his hand to find he was still holding the blue device. "That's this thing, right?" Tailmon nodded. "You must have one too, right? You should come through!" Hikari sucked in a sharp breath, but after a moment she unclipped something from her waistband. Her device didn't look like Daisuke's; instead it was small and white all over, barely bigger than the palm of her hand. She held it out towards the screen and Daisuke held his breath, but nothing happened.

"Maybe only you can pass through," Hikari suggested, putting her digivice back on her waistband again.

"Then I'm coming back through," Daisuke said firmly. "Stand back, Veemon, or I'm gonna squish you." Veemon let out a yelp and scurried behind Tailmon who rolled her eyes.

"No, Daisuke, you need to stay there for now," Hikari countered. "Do you still have my crest? The necklace?" Daisuke reached in to his pocket and withdrew the pink and gold charm, holding it out for her to see (he wasn't sure where exactly the camera was, but he seemed to do a good enough job because Hikari was nodding). "Find my brother and show it to him. Tell him we need his help." Daisuke tightened his grip on his digivice and the crest as his smile fell.

"But… what about you?" he asked. "If the Kaiser comes back-"

"We know how to keep out of his way," Hikari answered. "Now that you have the Digimental, we don't need to stay in the cave anymore. We'll look for somewhere to stay tonight, and then we'll head out in the morning."

"Head out?"

"Now that we know it's possible to destroy the Kaiser's dark rings, we have to spread the word and try and rally all the free adult digimon that we can."

"Plus we need to check on Primary Village," Tailmon added. "If Elecmon's calling in help, it might mean the babies are in trouble." Hikari nodded, and when Daisuke remained unconvinced she offered him another smile.

"Are you gonna be all right?"

"We'll be fine," Hikari answered with a smile. "Besides, the Kaiser doesn't come out at night. It's the safest time for us here." Daisuke knew that he probably should have believed her (they'd managed without him up until now, of course) but that didn't stop him from locking eyes with Veemon.

"Keep them safe, buddy." Veemon grinned and stood tall.

"Sure thing, partner!"

Final thoughts, review responses and sign-off will go here.