Tai felt stiff. He felt restricted and his leg jerked slightly as he tried to move.
"Tai careful." He heard someone speak but he couldn't see. Everything was dark. He squeezed his eyes and slowly opened them. He could see his sister watching him.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked in a quiet voice. Tai wasn't sure he could answer her question. He turned his head to the side and felt pain in the back of his head. His head was pounding. He winced,
"Ah, my head." Tai mumbled and Kari squeezed his hand.
"I'm gonna go get Hank." Tai felt his sister release his hand. He wondered who Hank was but then his head pulsed and he suddenly didn't care.
"Tai here I'm gonna give you some water." Tai felt his head being lifted and someone gently poured a cup of water into his mouth. Tai began to drink desperately only realizing how thirsty he was once the water hit his lips.
"What happened?" Tai asked and he spat out some water and coughed. Kari came into view,
"You hit your head. Hank nursed you back to health." She informed him and Tai was confused.
"Who's Hank? Where are the others?" Kari frowned.
"Tai I don't want to overwhelm you." Kari started and Tai felt more coherent.
"Just tell me." Tai breathed out and he rested his head back on the table.
"You fell into the water- er..." she stopped and sighed.
"I mean you ended up in the river and you hit your head against a rock. We were taken down stream by the current and I couldn't carry you. Hank came and carried you here. He bandaged your head and has food ready for you." Tai tilted his head back. He saw a man standing over him.
"Hello Tai." The man said and Tai looked back at his sister.
"I want to get up." He told her and Kari quickly stood and nodded. He felt two sets of hands help him sit up. He took a minute now sitting on the table. He put his forehead into his hand and then inhaled,
"Okay I think I can stand." He looked up and saw his sister bite her lip. He felt someone gently help him off the table. He stood. His head felt heavy and his vision was wonky for a moment. He then took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The room didn't move. He turned his head and looked at his sister.
"You okay?" She asked and Tai slowly nodded. He squinted noticing a bruise on his sisters cheek.
"Where'd you get that?" He asked and he pointed at her cheek. Kari's eyes went round and she quickly turned away,
"Come on Tai. There's a couch over here. You might feel better if you sit." Kari instructed. Tai followed his sister and allowed her to help him sit. He still had a headache but the more he moved the better he was feeling.
"Here. Eat." The man, Hank, handed Tai a bowl. Tai peered down at it and was delighted to see soup. He slowly started eating. Kari sat next to him and Hank sat in a chair across from the siblings.
"What can you remember Tai?" Hank asked and Tai paused his eating.
"I was keeping watch. Everyone was sleeping. That's it." His stomach twisted, he felt uncomfortable not sure what had happened between then and now.
"Who are you?" Tai asked Hank and Hank nodded,
"Hank. I'm a sort of protector of the peace." Tai took a bite of soup and furrowed his brow,
"Like Gennai?" He asked and his sister then started speaking.
"Gennai isn't our friend anymore Tai. His data has been altered. He wants to destroy us. Hank is here to help us maintain the peace. He doesn't want Gennai and his new world order to win. Gennai and Pythmon want to destroy any human or digimon associated with humans. They think we're evil." Tai was shocked. His mouth hung open a moment and then he growled,
"Well we have to tell them we're not!" He yelled and Hank shook his head,
"It's not that simple. They're corrupted the only way to defeat them is to destroy them." Tai shook his head,
"But Gennai's our friend!" Hank then spoke,
"Was, he was your friend. The Gennai you knew is long gone. The only way to ensure the safety of the digidestined and their digimon is to destroy Pythmon and Gennai." Tai scowled, he couldn't believe it was that absolute. They had always found a way to bring back friends who had turned to darkness. Tai looked at his soup and didn't feel hungry anymore. Kari tapped on his bowl.
"Eat please Tai. Look Hank said he could help us get you better and then find TK. We find TK we find Agumon and the others." Kari she and Tai looked at his sister. He was still foggy on how he ended up in a river,
"So we're we attacked?" Tai asked hoping to regain memories from earlier. Kari sighed,
"Not exactly." She mumbled. Tai put his soup in the table in front of them.
"So what happened?" Kari looked at Hank. Tai growled.
"Kari? Tell me." He demanded and Kari looked at him. She looked scared. She then looked at her lap.
"You, you weren't yourself." She started and Tai squinted.
"You we're heading towards Matt. You looked angry. I've never seen you look so angry. There was darkness around you. I had to stop you before you hurt someone. I tried to knock you over, get Matt's attention so he could help. I pushed you to the side and you started sliding down towards the water. I tried to pull you out but I wasn't strong enough. We both fell in. Then you snapped out of it. You looked normal. That's when you hit your head." Tai was stunned, he couldn't understand why he would want to hurt Matt. He thought about the darkness. Izzy and Sora has said he was covered in darkness before. These blackouts were becoming a problem. He looked at Hank and then his lap.
"I can't remember any of that." Tai admitted. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to will the memories. He could remember Agumon calling him. But he couldn't make out what his partner was saying. He could remember walking away from the factory. He remembered threatening Izzy. He stopped. He looked at his sister. Things were coming to him. He couldn't pin point the why but he could remember what he did. His heart beat quickened and he looked at Kari's cheek.
"I punched you." Tai breathed and Kari shook her head,
"It was an accident-" Tai's jaw dropped and he interrupted Kari.
"I did it on purpose. I punched you." He repeated and Kari bit her lip. She waved her hands in front of her face.
"Tai! I'm fine! It was an accident!" She tried but Tai stopped listening to her. He had wanted to harm Matt. He hit his sister. He stood. He then clenched his hands into fists.
"Is there a bathroom?" Tai asked in a low voice. Hank pointed towards a hallway and Tai walked over towards it. He went inside and shut the door. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had a white bandage wrapped around his head. He looked at his body. His clothes were damp and wrinkled. He had bruises on his arms. He hung his head and looked into the sink. Something was wrong with him. He didn't trust himself anymore. He needed to find the others. He needed to rescue the digimon and reunite them with the others. He would do that. He would get his sister and Agumon to the digidestined. Then, Tai decided, he would leave. He hurt his friends, he hurt his sister. He needed to be far away from them. So far away he would never harm them again.
Kari rubbed her hands together. She was anxious for her brother to come back into the living room. She looked at Hank who looked calm. She wanted to go knock on the bathroom door. She wanted to demand that her brother not feel guilty. She didn't do any of that. Instead she sat quietly fiddling with her hands trying to stay calm. After what felt like an eternity. Tai came back into the living room. He sat in a chair away from Kari and Kari didn't like him being distant.
"So where are we now?" He asked. Hank breathed in.
"It's my place. It's set up like a hiding tree so you can't see it from the outside. It just looks like a forest. I moved out here when Gennai turned against humans. I realized I wasn't safe." Kari was confused,
"But, can he hurt you? I don't mean to sound insensitive but aren't you digital data now?" She really hoped Hank didn't take offence to her question. Hank smiled,
"I might be digital data but I still function as usual as any other human here. I can feel pain in other words. If I am destroyed, I don't reconfigure. I'm gone for good." Kari's lips parted. She felt a little dumb asking him that question. Hank smirked,
"It was a good question Kari. Now about your digimon." Kari saw her brother perk up.
"I told Kari that you eight are linked through your crests. You can sense one another. Even help each other. Same goes with your partners. There is a way for us to find your partners." Hank told Tai. Kari nodded and added,
"And TK." Hank nodded,
"Yes if he is with your partners then I can help you." Hank stood and looked at Tai a moment.
"Do you want more rest?" He asked and Kari watched her brother stand and shake his head. Kari didn't like that. She wrapped her left hand around her right wrist.
"No I'm good. How do we find our partners?" Tai asked. Hank motioned for the two to follow. Tai started walking quickly behind Hank. Kari stood and felt a coldness from her brother. Like he was avoiding her. She sighed and tried to ignore it. She wanted Gatomon. She wanted to find her friends. She followed Tai and Hank through the house. Hank led them into a room and turned on a light. The room had a couple of monitors. It had a control panel and Kari once again wished Izzy was with them.
"Jeeze Izzy would love this." Tai commented and Kari smirked.
"I was just thinking that." She told her brother. Tai didn't look at her and Kari felt her smile fade.
"This is an invention that Piedmon had originally made for when he captured your crests and digivices. Of course he was unsuccessful so he never did get the chance to try this out." Kari studied the panel confused,
"What is it?" Tai asked and Hank smiled,
"It's pretty miraculous. You see this here?" He pointed to a slot and Kari and Tai moved to look at it. Kari went wide eyed and Tai spoke,
"Is that for our digivice?" He asked and Hank nodded,
"Yes." Tai brought his out of his pocket. Kari then grabbed his hand.
"Wait Tai! We don't know what it does." She warned and Hank put a hand up.
"It won't hurt you. This slot here," he pointed where the digivice would go,
"Your digivice fits in here. And then you would put your crests somewhere... over here." Hank moved along the control panel and pointed to another slot that was smaller but had the same shape as their crests.
"Now you put them both in and it would show where the digimon and the digidestined were on these screens." He pointed above them at the blank screens and Kari frowned.
"We don't have our crests anymore." Tai informed Hank and he nodded,
"Yes I am aware. You see there is another function for this machine. It can work with just a digivice so long as a digidestined is here as well." Kari gripped her hand against her chest,
"How?" She asked and Hank stepped towards them.
"If you place your digivice here and try to tap into your crest, I think you'll be able to generate the power to show you your partners whereabouts on the screens." Kari's jaw dropped,
"Wait what?" Tai asked and Kari felt her brothers disbelief.
"Just give it a try. Tai place your digivice there." Hank stepped back and once again Tai brought his digivice into view. Kari watched him closely. Tai eased his device into the slot. The panel lit up and the screens turned on. There was nothing on the screens but snow. Hank then nodded,
"Okay Tai close your eyes. Think about Agumon." The adult instructed. Kari watched Tai close his eyes. The panel lit up some more. She watched Tai concentrate and then the screen blinked and Kari could see Agumon on the screen.
"It worked!" Kari yelped and she grabbed her brothers arm to get him to look at the screen. Agumon was leaning against a wall. He looked weak. TK then slid into view and sat next to Agumon. Kari gasped and put a hand over her mouth. TK had a cut lip and bruises all over his face.
"TK." She mouthed and she watched her friend praying he was going to be okay.
"What can you feel Kari?" Kari slowly looked away from the TV towards Hank. He was watching her and Kari was confused,
"I don't understand." Hank shook his head.
"Think about it. You can see him there. Can you feel his crest?" Kari wasn't sure she understood. She looked down at her stomach and slowly shook her head. She looked back up at the screen. TK looked exhausted. She needed to save him. She closed her eyes and a soft yellow glow appeared in the far corner of her mind. Kari opened her mouth and then slowly opened her eyes.
"How is that possible?" She asked in almost a whisper. Hank smirked and nodded,
"Like I said, you are connected." Kari saw her brother look at Hank and then her confused.
"I don't understand. What just happened?" He asked and Kari dropped her hands to her sides.
"Grab your digivice Tai. I know where Agumon is." Kari felt determined. She felt useful. She knew where TK was, which meant she knew where the rest of the digimon were. She gave a final glance to the screen as Tai grabbed his digivice and the screen went black.