TK

I took a protective stance in front of Kari. She grabbed the back of my shirt in a death grip. Angemon floated above us, ready to go.

"Show yourself, Devimon. I'm not afraid of you."

I was lying, but I refused to show fear in front of Kari. I didn't want to worry her more than she already was. Devimon was something Kari and I never talked about, other than when I finally told her what had happened a couple years ago. But, I never told her about the nightmares. I didn't tell her how much it had affected me, and I wasn't going to let her know now.

A black mist was spreading across the area, slowly engulfing us. I shielded my eyes, preparing for the worst.

"Kari, I need to digivolve!" Gatomon said, looking at her partner with a pleading look.

"You can't," she said. "My digivice won't work."

Gatomon's ears fell back. "What are you talking about?"

I turned to Kari, instantly noticing the tears in her eyes. "My digivice-"

I grasped her hands, stopping her. "Try, Kari. Please."

She met my gaze. "I'm sorry, but I don't want Gatomon to suffer if the digivice is damaged."

The black was starting to creep into her eyes again. This may partly have been Kari's fear, but I could tell he was amplifying it. I had to stop it before it got worse.

"Kari, fight the fear," I said. "Nothing bad will happen to Gatomon as long as you have faith. Don't let the fear win."

Black mist soon gave way to reveal the source of my nightmares himself. I was wrong about the not being afraid of him part. I was terrified, and he probably knew that.

He chuckled again. "You amuse me. I know you're still plagued by nightmares about the last time we met. Do you remember, or do you need a refresher?"

I glared at him. "I won't let you hurt Kari."

"Ha! You think you can protect her from me? Foolish child, you should be more worried about protecting yourself."

"Kari, now!" Gatomon pleaded as Angemon flew in front of us.

I grasped Kari's shoulders. "Kari, please!"

The darkness had now taken over half of her eyes. She pushed me away. "I won't do it."

"He's controlling you, Kari. You need to fight it!"

Devimon laughed, sending a chill down my spine. "She can't fight what's already inside her. Everything she had done was solely of her own free will. She didn't do anything she didn't already want to do." He laughed again. "I'm sure you just love hearing that, don't you?"

Kari had stiffened, panic etched into her face. "TK, I-"

I shook my head. "Later. Right now, Gatomon needs to digivolve. Try it, please?"

She looked down, tears flowing down her cheeks. "If something happens to Gatomon-"

"Kari, if she doesn't, something could happen, to you, to her, to Angemon, to me . . . . Please, Kari. We need you. Fight the fear."

Kari reached into her pocket, but then she gasped. I didn't get a chance to turn around but sensed something coming toward us. Angemon sent an attack of his own, stopping Devimon's.

Devimon laughed. God, I was getting sick of hearing that.

"Angemon, still protecting these worthless humans. Come to this side of the fence and you might actually amount to something."

Anger gripped at my chest and I let go of Kari, turning toward the fight. Angemon had taken a defensive stance in front of us. From behind me, Kari took my hand.

Devimon fired another attack, but this time not at us or Angemon. A bright light shone from Kari's hand, and Gatomon lept into the air, just missing the attack as she digivolved.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Angewomon took her place. All of Kari's fears were for nothing, and now we shouldn't have had any problems getting rid of Devimon.

"I told you it would be okay," I told Kari, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Just stay with me."

Devimon smirked. If he was at all worried about his odds, he didn't show it.

"You're not going to hurt either of them, Devimon. Not as long as we're here," Angewomon said.

Devimon's smirk grew as held up his hand. Everyone braced themselves for the attack, but it never came. At least, not from the direction we thought it would.

Black light shot from Kari's digivice, striking Angewomon from behind before I could even process what had happened. She groaned and hit the ground.

"Angewomon, no!" Kari cried, pulling away from me, but I gripped her hand tighter.

"Kari, stay here," I said. "She's going to be okay."

"But-"

"Just stay here," I repeated.

She stopped fighting me but moved from behind me to my side. "I knew something bad was going to happen."

"Another angel I get to destroy. This will be fun."

"Hand of fate!" Angemon sent the energy toward Devimon. He staggered back a few feet, but it barely looked like it phased him.

I kept my eyes glued to Kari's digivice. This time, Devimon didn't raise his hand. The black light started to emerge again.

"Angemon, move!"

He moved left, just barely missing it. The black light disintegrated. But, before I could feel relief, Devimon's arms extended, catching Angemon.

No.

"Celestial arrow!"

I hadn't even noticed Angewomon had already gotten up, but I was grateful.

The attack struck Devimon's hand, and he released Angemon. Maybe we actually did stand a chance.

I didn't notice Kari's hand slip from mine. I also didn't notice her digivice flying through the air until it hit the ground, sliding closer to Devimon.

"Kari, what-"

"I told you it was damaged, TK!" she cried, tears filling her eyes. "This . . . everything . . . it's my fault."

Angewomon made a move like she was going to grab the digivice, but then it hit me.

"Leave it!" I said. "If he uses it again, you can see the attacks coming."

"You really think it's that easy? You really think you have me figured out, don't you?" Devimon chuckled. "This is only the beginning."

Clutching her head, Kari dropped to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. Immediately, I dropped to her side, wrapping my arms around her.

"Kari, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer me. Her eyes were completely black. What was he doing to her?

"Kari, snap out of it! Whatever he's doing, it's not real!"

"She can't hear you," Devimon said. I wanted to just wipe that smirk off his face. "Funny how easily the light can be taken over by total darkness."

"You won't get away with-" Angewomon was cut off white light surrounded her. Dread filled my stomach when she was replaced by Gatomon.

No.

Gatomon looked as confused as I felt, but I thought I understood what happened. Kari's current state, whatever he had done to her, caused this.

I got the best grip I could on Kari's shoulders, frantically trying to snap her out of it. I tried to talk to her while Angemon dealt with Devimon. Gatomon came toward us.

"Kari, you're stronger than this. Fight it, please! Come back to me," I repeated multiple times, but it seemed to have no effect. I refused to look away from her, but I heard the grunts from Devimon and Angemon as they fought, and I had seen several of the beams of black light come from Kari's digivice. They seemed to be growing with each one, as what was happening to Kari worsened . . .

I looked at Kari's lips as an idea came to mind. Talking wasn't working. I needed to make her realize I was here.

I pressed my lips against hers as forcefully as I could, hoping it was enough. After a moment, her shaking stopped, but as an extra precaution, I plunged my tongue into her mouth. This wasn't how I imagined the first time we did this would go, but it didn't matter anymore, not when there was a chance we may never do this again.

After a moment, her eyes opened wide, and I pulled away, smiling at her. "Welcome back."

"Kari, quick!" Gatomon said. "We need to do something!"

I whirled around to the action. Dread took over my stomach once again. Angemon was on the ground, not moving, as a barrage of black lights struck him from Kari's digivice. How had he ended up there?

I watched the black lights. They were losing intensity now, which was a small relief.

Taking Kari's hands, I helped her to her feet. Gatomon darted toward the digivice. "Kari, I need to digivolve! Angemon's in trouble!"

Kari's hands still trembled, but I held them, doing my best to calm them.

"It's okay, we can do this. Everything will be fine," I whispered.

She was looking past me, her eyes wide with horror. Before I could turn to see what the problem was, Gatomon yelled, "Move!"

As hard as I could, I shoved Kari to the ground off to the side. I turned around, just as I was engulfed in black light.

And that's a wrap . . .

Just an FYI: I hate writing fight scenes. They are my greatest weakness. I can usually barely handle writing a normal fist fight. This took a lot out of me, so I'd especially appreciate feedback on this, whether you liked it or not, even if it's just to send me death threats for this chapter ending.

There's only one chapter left (could be two, we'll see what I decide), but I'm working on a sequel. My goal is to post the last chapter no later than Tuesday, then I'm going on vacation and I'll start posting the sequel when I come back.

Anyway, thanks for reading :)