Disclaimer: I do not own digimon.

Ok, so I am really excited about this chapter and I totally had a blast writing it, especially the latter part of the chapter. It is one full of different revelations, love, hidden feelings, traumas, and action. I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it, and, as always, please review and let me know how good/bad of a job I am doing! Also, I see this story going on for another eight chapters maybe? There's obviously a lot of stuff going on that needs to be solved, and it's going to take a while to get to the ending (a happy or sad or in-between ending, I haven't decided). So, keep reviewing and giving me the motivation to finish, and also check out my other story Tainted if you want! Be happy and make sure you smile today! :)

Chapter 12:

Millions of ideas and new hypothesis formed in his head. He could almost see the different calculations his mind was making appear on the ceiling of Gennai's place. True, he was supposed to be asleep right now, but there was too much he had to figure out, and he was going to be the one who had to figure it out; the others were depending on him.

Ever since their first adventure here in the Digital World he had been the brains of the group. When they came across Factorial Town, he was the one who had to be dragged away from his work of decrypting the different marks on the wall. And then he was also the one who had to figure out what exactly the Digital World was and then explain it to the others in simple terms they could understand. Whenever there was a problem, such as a portal not working, he was the one to call for; Izzy always knew all the answers.

But not only did all the others count on him figuring everything out, he expected of himself to always be able to identify the problems and provide benefitting solutions. Recently, however, he had been unable to do so. He wished he could figure a way to open the portals back up. He wished he had an explanation of what this 'World of Sacrifices' is, or even how he could tap into the power of his new crest. And lastly, he wanted nothing more than to figure out why this girl was sleeping next to him with her head resting peacefully on the crook of his arm.

The girl was Mimi, of course, and ever since they defeated Vikemon, which had only been a couple of hours ago mind you, Mimi had started acting really clingy. She never wanted to leave his side, she was trying to cheer him up constantly, and it seemed like she could never take her eyes away from his or stop smiling that beautiful, cheerful smile that made him blush just thinking about it. If he had any sense, he would tell Mimi to back off and stop acting foolish, but a part of him kind of joined the extra affection from the girl. Could it even be… no. Mimi was in love with Michael. Wasn't she? Besides, yeah he and Joe had always joked about which of them would end up dating Mimi, but none of them actually thought they would end up liking her. She was a 'Princess' after all, and he was just some geeky computer kid.

Agh, why was he thinking about this when he should be trying to figure everything else out. Like where did Gennai go? He remembered him saying something about having to work overtime with these other people since the Sovereign were destroyed. But what were they doing? Gennai said it was to keep the worlds apart? What worlds though? The only worlds he knew about were the real world and the Digital World. No, that wasn't true. There was the Dark Ocean they had went to when they battled Dragomon and Piedmon. And then there was this World of Sacrifices. Could this be yet another world existing in the universe? If so, then what was this world like? Or, more importantly, how many other worlds are out there?

His brain started to ache from all of the thinking he had been doing. Plus, hearing the heavy breathing of the others around him as they enjoyed their rest took their toll on him and his eyes started weighing down. And again realizing the girl lying next to him, his body relaxed and before he knew it his vision became dark and he lost consciousness.

She couldn't help but feel uneasy. Resting, relaxing, and enjoying the night was what she should have been doing. She even had Davis who had his arm around her- though she wasn't sure if that was good since he snored like a cow. She should've been able to relax, but she couldn't. Not when he wasn't there.

Of course she knew where he was, TK that is. She had seen him stick back with Matt to keep watch and she told the others where TK was so they didn't worry. Not that they would've worried as much as she would've. For some reason, ever since that time in the Dark Ocean where they had… you know. Davis wasn't comfortable with that memory, that was for sure, but for some reason her mind couldn't forget about it.

Her cheek burned hotly and she felt a stinging sensation where TK had just slapped her. She was more hurt from being hit by her friend than she was from the slap. Well, she hadn't actually been much of a friend to him since he had miraculously returned. She never talked about it much, but ever since their first adventure in the Digital World she had felt some sort of… connection, with TK, and it wasn't just because of their crests either. He was the only one her age the first time. And who had it been that stayed with her through thick and thin when she got sick not too after entering- returning for the others- to the Digital World after defeating Myotismon? Who had protected her when Piedmon was running after them and she didn't have Gatomon with her to protect her? And who had saved her from the Tyrannomon not too long ago when Gatomon first digivolved into Nefertimon? TK, TK was the answer to all of these. After they had defeated Apocalymon, she finally felt like she had a real best friend, a best friend for life. But too quickly that had ended.

Looking back on it, it was unfair of her, but she had blamed TK for moving to France. As if a little eight-year old could prevent his mother from moving. Nevertheless, she never took that blame off of TK's shoulders. How could she when TK had left her feeling so betrayed, unloved, and, worst, alone. Those feelings never left her and she never opened herself up to any other close relationships like the one she had with TK. That was until Davis showed up. Davis, ever since the epic breakup he had with that Kristi girl, had been literally drooling over her. He always trapped her at her locker after school, always was trying to make her laugh all the time in math class, and then, once he became a digidestined, he was always trying to protect her and be by her side. Yeah, at first she had thought it annoying, but it felt really good to actually be wanted for once. With Davis she never felt like he was going to betray her or leave her. It was because of Davis that she had finally been able to open up to others again. Without dating Davis, she never would have been as close of friends with Yolei. He had done so much for her and had made her forget TK and all that he had made her feel when he left. She never again wanted TK back in her life, she never had the need for him anymore now that Davis was in her life… but then TK came back.

When she had first heard that TK was in trouble she had been surprisingly happy about it. 'Good,' she told herself, 'He gets what he deserves.' But then as time went on and TK went through more trouble, her heart softened to him. She finally realized that it wasn't TK's fault that he had left. Of course she had felt awful for the way she had hated him for so long, and she still was hard on herself about it, but she had finally chose to 'forgive' TK for all the feelings she had felt when he left. It was then she realized that the driving force of all those negative emotions was a deep desire for TK to be back in her life. When he had left she had felt empty inside, completely, no pun intended, hopeless. But when she heard that he was still out there, she wanted nothing more than to find him and have her hope restored. Not too long after she stopped blaming TK, he had saved her from the Dark Ocean. That was a confusing scene. When she had saw him standing before her, she felt an overwhelming relief envelop her and she felt… love?

And now after all that has happened, TK was finally back with them. Yeah, she had been distant towards him as there were times that guilt crept inside her. There was also the fact that she loved Davis and couldn't leave him, even if she had felt some little warm feeling when TK had saved her from the Dark Ocean. She felt like the only way she could stay loyal to Davis was by avoiding TK at all costs. She was so happy that he was back, though, and she had no intention on losing him again.

Now, though, TK had been tricked, controlled, or something by Dragomon and Piedmon. He was standing beside the two said digimon, and they were surrounding Patamon. The digimon were telling TK to give the word and they would destroy Patamon. She couldn't take this anymore. This was not TK. If she were in TK's position she knew TK would get through to her somehow. He had been there for her all these times, and now it was her turn.

She ran as fast as she could. TK was already starting to speak, though, as he glared daggers down at his partner. She had to reach him before it was too late. She had to stop this. She had to save her hope.

"TK NO!" she screamed as she sprinted for the blonde. TK turned around, a sharp expression formed on his face. He was being controlled, he had to be, this wasn't TK.

When she finally reached TK, she pulled him into a tight hug. She could hear Dragomon and Piedmon nearing her, but she didn't care. She pushed back a little from the embrace and said quickly but with as much sincerity as she could muster, "This isn't you. You can break through this, whatever it is. We all care for you and want you and Patamon back with us! We all…" she stopped, but then whispered quietly, "… I love you."

Compulsion drove her next move as she closed her eyes, tilted her head, and brushed her lips across TK's.

That kiss, that dumb kiss, confused the heck out of her. That and she had told TK 'I love you.' That wasn't true though. She loved Davis! Davis had been really down after the fight with Dragomon and Piedmon and thought that they were going to breakup, but she had reassured her boyfriend that she still loved him and that she did what she had to in order to save their lives. She wished she could believe that.

Still, Davis bought it and she was happier than ever with him. Or at least she had been. Lately Davis had been acting strange. Ok, Davis always acted a little strange, but he was being weirder than normal. She didn't think Davis knew, but she saw the way he always stiffened up and shot daggers at TK whenever he was around. It was clear that Davis was intimidated by TK because he must think that TK is trying to steal her away from him or something, but TK wouldn't do that! She only felt a strong friendship, like a brother-sister relationship, with TK, and Davis should know that. Why couldn't Davis believe her and just leave TK alone? But, then again, she wasn't even sure if she even believed herself. Who was she up worrying about after all?

But still, she felt so comfortable in Davis's arms, even if he snored a bit too loudly. She knew she loved Davis, but she also knew that she loved TK. She didn't want either of them to ever leave her life, and she thought she knew which kind of love she felt towards each of the two boys. Right now in this moment she felt like she was where she belonged, lying right next to Davis, her arm crossing around his stomach. She felt safe. But then again where was her mind going? Who was the one she was up worrying about? Who was the one she never could take off her mind anymore? Agh! Boys are just too confusing!

All the others were asleep. He could tell by their heavy breathing and loud snoring… well, only Davis was snoring, but he just figured the others were all asleep. Still, he couldn't manage to escape into dream world.

Daemon was after him. Those dark spores in his head… they were still there. They couldn't be alive anymore. He had defeated them a long time ago when Neomnimonwas defeated and when Wormon, his own digimon partner, sacrificed himself to give MagnaAngemon the power he needed to triumph over his creation. The dark spores that had caused him to gain super intelligence, obtain a super athletic skill set, and develop a completely crappy, no-good behavior no longer had any control over him. He knew that when the dark spores were working, they continued to grow inside their victims, but now that they were no more, they had stopped growing. And they should've gone all together? But, since he had a vicious, evil digimon after him, he didn't think that was true.

And those little things packed quite a punch. Look at MaloMyotismon. That digimon had been able to form because of the dark spores. If a digimon could become as strong as MaloMyotismon was with the dark spores, he could only imagine how powerful they would make a digimon who already was strong enough to defeat the digimon Sovereign on his own. He shivered at the thought.

Maybe he should just leave. At least his… friends… would be safe from harm. It was hard for him to call the others surrounding him his friends. Davis, Kari, Cody, Yolei, TK, and even Willis were definitely his friends. He loved them so much for accepting him and bringing him into their group, but the others had always been so cold to him. Not that he blamed them; he had been the Digimon Emperor after all, but those times were long gone, and surely he proved himself enough since then for him to gain their trust. Still, they never treated him, or any of the younger digidestineds, but him especially, like they belonged. Yet he cared for the others. They were the ones who had been able to stop him from ruling the Digital World. It was with their help they had been able to stop MaloMyotismon. And it was with them that they had defeated Vikemon just… was it really only that evening? No, he couldn't let them be in danger because of him.

He shifted his position as he was just about to sit up as quietly as he could when he felt someone grab his arm. He quickly turned his head to the left to see that Yolei was looking up at him, sleep still in her eyes, but worry was still prevalent.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Yolei, I…" he couldn't find the words. She was just… looking at him, and it made him speechless. Her shining brown gems for eyes were twinkling in the starlight that sneaked its way into Gennai's house from above. He suddenly found himself lost as he kept staring at her eyes. He never wanted to leave this spot, ever… but then he realized what he was just about to do.

"I have to leave Yolei."

She instantly started shaking her head as she sat up, a little too noisily for his liking. It wouldn't do well for the others to wake up and see him trying to leave; they would only stop him, that was certain.

"You can't leave! What would we… what would I do without you? I need you here Ken!"

That took him by surprise. No one had ever needed him before. Everyone always treated him as if he was scum of the Earth. When his time as Digimon Emperor had been finished, he had returned to the real world only to realize that most of his classmates and teammates hated him. He been such a jerk to them, and they didn't realize that he had sort of been controlled and couldn't help how he was acting. They still thought he was the same Ken, and when the perfect, spectacular Ken Ichijouji was no longer a superstar in sports or academics it only increased the jestering and teasing he received. As far as he was concerned no one wanted him around except for him and his digidestined friends. And even then, as he said before, the older ones still treated him coldly.

"What are you talking about Yolei?"

"Ken… I don't know how to say this. Please don't make fun of me, but…"

It was then that he realized what all the butterflies in his stomach meant when he was around Yolei. After he had turned good, she had always supported him, always cheered him up. He was always happy whenever he was around her, and her beauty along with her company always seemed to give him peace and give him joy. It was love.

"I love you," he finished the girl's statement. It was true. He wanted to be with Yolei; he felt like he was home when he was with her. She made him feel so much better than any other person could make her feel. Why had it taken him so long to discover his true feelings for this beautiful girl sitting next to him? At least now he understood.

"Ken… I…?"

"Hmm?" he encouraged, only hoping he would hear her say the three words he desperately wanted, needed to hear.

"I love you too"

His heart jumped a few beats and instincts drove his next move as he leaned over and wrapped his arms around the violet haired belle that sat next to him. She returned the embrace for a second before she drew away from the hug. He was confused, but then she said, "Is that all that you got? How about this...?"

Before he could blink, Yolei had smacked her lips across his. Fireworks went off in his heart as he felt his pleasure senses go into overdrive. He returned the passionate embrace and dared to whisk his tongue lightly across the girl's lips. She then threw her own tongue out and the two wrapped around each other in different swirling motions. He never wanted this moment to end, but after what seemed like an eternity in heaven- which had really been at least thirty seconds if not a little less- their lungs were short of air and they needed to draw back to breathe. Their faces remained nearly mere inches away from each other, and both of them smiled and laughed under their breath as happiness emanated from both of them. After a while, Yolei finally spoke up.

"So.. um… what were you about to do?"

Guilt then overcame him as he realized that he was about to leave Yolei, this girl, this wonderful, beautiful girl that he loved, behind. He wanted to refuse to tell her, but he felt compelled, like he had to. And even as he talked, he felt like he knew Yolei already knew his intentions.

"I… I was about to leave Yolei."

"But Ken, you know we're to protect you. We won't let Daemon hurt you."

"Oh come on Yolei, you and I both know and can feel that Daemon is strong. Stronger than us, at least till we figure out how to use our crests. And right now that is no one, so we have little chance. I can't bring such a risk to the others just because Daemon wants me!"

"Ken…" Yolei started, but he knew that whatever Yolei he said he was going to take worth a grain of salt. It wasn't that he didn't care about what Yolei said, it just was that he knew leaving was the only way he could protect his friends.

"Then I'll go with you."

That caught him off guard and he instantly rebelled.

"You will not!"

"Ken, listen. Either you leave and I go with, or you stay with all of us. Listen, I love you. I don't want to leave your side. You can't leave me; I won't let you."

As he heard those words, he knew they were true. He could leave, but then Yolei would be with him and he and the girl he cared about most in his life would be in danger. He could stay, and Yolei would stay with him, but then everyone would be in danger. Still, they had a better chance as a group then he and Yolei had all alone. He couldn't risk that chance.

Defeated, he reluctantly uttered, "Fine."

He then lied back down on his back and sighed. Then, as he was staring up to the roof, his vision was blocked by Yolei's face, hovering right above his own.

"Thank you," she said before ducking her head down to his and brushing her lips against his once more. She then lied next to him and he put his arms around her shoulders, her head rested in the crook of his arm. Although he still wanted to leave and keep his friends safe, he did not want to leave this moment. It was perfect. And he couldn't be any happier with who he was spending it with.

Snoring filled the room. These people were so dumb. Why was he even still here? The only ones he really cared about here was Mimi and Willis. They had been his best friends for what seemed like forever, but now they were betraying him. Willis seemed to be upset at him for some reason, and Mimi…

He paused his thoughts as he experienced a million different emotions as the name appeared in his mind. Mimi. At first he felt love, happiness, joy; that was supposed to be his crest right? He felt joy when he was with Mimi. He looked around to see if he could spot her despite the blackness of Gennai's place. Unfortunately he did find Mimi, but she was lying with her body on Izzy and the boy had his arm wrapped around the girl. His girl.

It was no secret that he had a crush on Mimi. Willis had always teased him about it because Mimi constantly said that they were just friends. At that time he didn't care about the jesters because his love didn't falter, but now all the negative emotions he felt towards Mimi returned. If she had only thought of him as a friend, then what had that almost kiss been? Was she trying to trick him? Trying to make him feel like she loved him when she really didn't. If she was trying to make a fool of him, then she was doing a good job. Ever since they got to this damn Digital World she had distanced herself from him. She didn't want to go with him to free her friends from where they were tied up by MarinDevimon. No, she wanted to stay with the other dumb blonde and fight. When they had defeated Vikemon, even then she didn't say a word to him. Didn't even give her a glance. Didn't even see if he was ok or tell him thank you for saving her friends.

He wouldn't have saved the others either if it wasn't for Mimi. He loved Mimi- loved, mind you, past tense- and because of that he tried to love her friends, the other digidestineds. But they wanted nothing to do with him, just like Mimi didn't want anything to do with him now. They only cared about themselves; even the younger digdestineds seemed to be left out from the older ones since they were the 'original' digidestineds, the pioneers. Why would they accept new members to their club when they were happy with themselves and only themselves? He was just an outsider, a nobody no one cared about. He even got less attention than Ken, the one who had been the Digimon Emperor! Ridiculousness, that's what that was.

He deserved more. He deserved to feel happiness, to be joyful; not be all down and depressed, angry, and bitter like he did now. Heck, if it weren't for him then the others wouldn't have had a chance defeating MarineDevimon, Vikemon, whatever. He was a valuable member to this team… ha! Who was he kidding? These people around him now didn't need him. Then didn't even want him! Mimi and Willis included.

His realization dawned on him a revolution. So why not go off on your own? Why not prove yourself to the others? They don't need you, and, you know what Michael? You don't need them either. You were going to be the one who got them out of this pickle. He was going to be the one who defeated Daemon. He was going to be the one who opened the portals back up. He was the one who was going to bring joy and light not only back to himself but back to the others as well. They're going to see just what he can do, and when he's succeeded, they're going to give him the respect and care he deserves. Mimi is going to return to him and Willis is going to go back to being his best friend. If he wanted things to be they were meant to be, he had to do this. He and Betamon were going to defeat Daemon.

He planned out the rest of his plan of action and tiredness from the previous day started creeping up on him. When he closed his eyes, he was smiling. He was going to leave them. He was going to show them he was worth something. He was going to defeat… and with these thoughts in mind he drifted off to sleep.

Things were finally starting to seem like they were returning to normal. She couldn't help but feel as if she was on their first adventure again. They had spent so many nights in the Digital World, never in a place as nice as Gennai's, but still. They had been together. They had been happy. They had been close friends. They loved each other. And now, after bitterness and anger had ruled them for too long, it finally seemed like love was returning.

Yet she still was uncomfortable, as if there was something in the air causing her to feel off. No, things were better! She and Tai had returned to being together again and she had kissed him earlier that day for the first time in a while, and it felt good. It made her insides cheer with joy, and she even felt a release from all of her own bitterness, as if Tai's lips were brushing away all the negativity inside her. She no longer felt angry, or down, or upset anymore.

The others seemed to feel a lot better too. TK and Matt had shared a touching moment and returned to being good brothers again. That had been a major relief. Tai and Matt were even back to being close friends again, which made her extremely happy. Izzy, she had seen, was sleeping next to Mimi, so Mimi was getting what she had wanted and Izzy seemed pretty content with it too. Unfortunately she had spotted Ken and Yolei making out. She only wished Tai and her were not as gross when they made out. But, nevertheless, she was happy that those two finally realized how they felt about each other. Joe was back to his old self, being the reliable, cautious one everyone could count on. Kari and Davis were happy together. Willis and Michael, she wasn't too sure about them, but then again she didn't really know the two very well. They had saved them from MarineDevimon, though, so she was really grateful that they were around and she wanted to get to know them better. TK was… confusing. He had a way of always getting involved in everything, and it wasn't his fault. Evil digimon just seemed to be really attracted to him particularly. But at least the young blonde was safe now and with his friends again. Everything seemed to be going so well.

Why couldn't she shake off that bad feeling she had, though? It felt like someone was in danger. Or that they all were going to be in big trouble really soon. Plus, it didn't seem like all of them were as happy as she thought they were. It was as if all of the others' distress sat in the air, being breathed in by everyone else, and then filling the air again as they exhaled. It made her really uncomfortable. Things just couldn't be peaceful for once, could it? There was always something going on, someone getting hurt, someone getting angry, someone acting irrationally.

She sighed. Right now there was nothing she could do to help. And that bothered her, but she didn't know what she could do about it. All she knew is that at least some of them were getting a well deserved nap, and the digimon were able to take a load off and recuperate from the recent battles. Daemon was going to be a struggle, and she didn't know if her unease was solely because of this mysterious digimon or not, but she knew that they would defeat him. They had to; they were the digidestineds after all.

There was a noise of something moving across the wooden floor of Gennai's place, and she lifted herself up by her elbows to look around. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell it was Tai who made the noise because she saw his wild hair rise up as Tai stood up to his feet. She could see Agumon beside him, and they walked towards the door and exited Gennai's place.

It was about time he went out there to take his turn to watch. It already was late into the night and Matt was probably getting really tired. Still, she wished Tai didn't have to leave; it only made her feel more uncomfortable, more insecure. But everything was going well right now for the most part. And despite her unease, she laid down again on her back and closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. It didn't take long before her tired body overcame her mind and she fell into a deep sleep.

"Tai? Tai!"

He was reluctantly pulled from his sleep as two clawed hands grasped and shook him. He opened his eyes mumbling "Huh? What?" before he finally came to his senses. Agumon was standing over him. The first thought that came to his mind was that they were in danger, but he then realized all of the others were still sleeping and Agumon didn't look worried.

"What is it Agumon?" he asked, annoyed by being woken up, "It's the middle of the night!"

"I know Tai, but I think it's our turn to take watch."

"Oh, I forgot."

He did forget. Matt had been keeping watch the whole night and they had agreed to switch halfway through. Although he couldn't tell what time it was, he sensed that he was a little late on starting his shift.

As quietly as possible, he got to his feet and maneuvered around the bodies scattered across the floor of Gennai's house as they all slept peacefully. Well, Davis wasn't very peaceful; he didn't know how he had been able to sleep with Davis's snoring. Opening up the door slowly, he and Agumon walked out of the house, shutting the door behind them, and then walked towards the stairway that led to the surface. Fish were swimming around, not paying him any attention as they went about whatever fish did in the middle of the night. He was watching a school of rainbow colored fish when he yawned a big yawn and then tripped on one of the stairs. Luckily he caught himself before he fell completely, but it had been close. Screw waking up early.

His muscles ached and his mind was compelling him to close his eyes, but he willed himself to keep on moving and he eventually made it to the top of the stairs. A cool, gentle breeze pushed his hair back and helped wake him up a little bit. He closed his eyes, feeling refreshed, and then sighed.

Once he opened his eyes he realized that it was a lot darker than what it should've been. Yeah, it was the middle of the night, but there was usually some light coming down from the Digital World's equivalent of the moon. But he couldn't see a thing. It was a struggle just to see his digimon partner who was standing right beside him, or at least he thought Agumon was standing there.

"Agumon? You here?"

"Right here Tai!"

"Why's everything so dark? It's like someone turned all the lights out?"

"I think it has to do with Daemon. But Tai! Look!"

He couldn't see which way his digimon partner was pointing, but it didn't matter. Off in the distance was a fire, but the fire was very dim and just about done burning. Maybe that's where Matt had kept watch.

Together he and Agumon made their way to the fire that wasn't too far away. Agumon led the way and he followed behind his partner because he couldn't see the ground and Agumon didn't want him to trip or fall or something. Maybe that was a bit overprotective of the orange dinosaur, but Tai didn't mind. He was always the leader, the one everyone expected to lead the way and take charge, and because of that Tai felt like he had to protect everyone. He often forgot to take care of himself, especially when they were in some intense fights, to protect the others. He had almost failed, what with TK being gone for like forever and then Kari, his own sister, going to the Dark Ocean, and… No, he couldn't think about those times. Yeah, there had been some troublesome times back then that he hadn't been prepared for, but he was ready now to take on the challenge of protecting all of the others, even what's-their-faces, Michael and Willis? Sounds about right. Still, it felt pretty nice knowing that Agumon was always looking out for him.

"Oooofff!"

Tai heard a loud thud as his partner groaned in pain. He crouched to the ground and put his arms out in front of him to see where his partner had landed.

"Agumon, you ok?" he asked as he continued trying to find his partner and his hands finally found… not Agumon. He was holding another arm, he could tell by the faint light the fire was casting in his direction.

"Yeah, but…"

"…Tai?"

He nearly jumped as a new voice, strangely weak, entered the air, but he recognized the voice.

"TK? Is that you?"

The boy struggled as he tried to sit up but then groaned in pain.

"Yeah… it's me."

"Don't get up TK! Just stay there. Hold on a second."

He looked around for something that could help him, but he couldn't see a thing in the darkness surrounding him. In fact, he barely could make out his friend's figure even though he was kneeling right over TK. He had to see what was wrong with TK though and help him. The fire was probably his best chance.

"TK I need to get you to the fire. Do you think you can get up and walk that far?"

TK groaned again and managed to sit up. Tai got to his feet, Agumon, he could tell was right beside him.

"Yeah, but… Matt..."

Matt! How could he forget about him? Matt was the one who was keeping watch. And… wait a second. What was TK doing out here in the first place? No, that could wait. Right now he had to worry about helping TK and then he needed to go find Matt.

"Don't worry about him. We got to get you to the fire and then you're going to tell me everything that happened."

"Alright…"

Tai cupped his hands into TK's and pulled the young blonde to his feet. TK's legs shook as they threatened to give out with the weight they had to bear, but Tai put the boy's arm around his shoulder so as to support TK. They made their way slowly to the fire and when they finally made it he set TK down to the ground gently. By now the fire was only a few sparks and almost all light was gone.

"Agumon, could you do the honors?"

"Sure thing. Pepper Breath!"

A ball of fire shot from his partner's mouth and hit the remaining pieces of firewood. They were mostly scorched and useless, however they still fueled much more fire than what it had been. With the new light he saw a couple of trees not too far away.

"Agumon, could you go get some more firewood?"

"On it Tai!"

Now that Agumon was gone, Tai turned his attention towards TK. He now could see that TK was not alone, he was holding a scratched and beaten Tokomon who was either sleeping or unconscious, he wasn't sure which. Now that he had a good look at TK, he saw that TK was also beaten up pretty bad. He was bruised and battered, and blood had dried up around some cuts on his face and arms. Then he nearly fainted as he saw a big gash on TK's right side. Something had cut him badly completely ripping his clothes to shreds on that side revealing a deep cut stretching from right under TK's armpit all the way to below his waist. Blood was still seeping from the wound, which dripped to the ground because the little bit of clothing near the wound was absolutely soaked in blood. TK's hands were covered in blood as he must have tried to apply pressure to stop the wound from oozing blood, and because of that Tai's hands also had red streaks of blood all over them.

"TK?" he asked in horror, "What happened?"

The young blonde bit his lip to refrain from whimpering in pain and he started recounting what had happened while he was down in Gennai's sleeping.

"It… it came out of nowhere. Matt… I was sleeping but Matt woke me up. I didn't know what was going on… MetalGarurumon and Tokomon tried to fight… but it wasn't enough. He… he almost got Tokomon… but I dove and… this happened. I… I failed… Matt…"

TK was losing the strength to speak. The boy was much more pale than any human should be, and tears were forming around his cerulean eyes.

"TK, where's Matt?"

"He… he took them."

"Who? Who took them TK?"

"GranKuwagamon"

TK then passed out as he uttered those last words. For a second Tai was afraid TK was dead, but TK was still breathing. He wasn't sure if TK was dying though or not. Joe. TK needed Joe. But what about Matt? What if Matt and Gabumon are in worse condition than this? He needed to go get them! But TK. Agh, he couldn't do this alone, but he had to protect the others. It was his job to protect his friends, and he was failing more and more with every second that passed by. What to do. What to do!?

"Tai, I've got more firewood!" Agumon announced. The dinosaur had a pile of un-burnt twigs and logs in his arm and he set them down next to the fire. At least TK wasn't going to die of hypothermia or something.

"T… TK? TK?" something squeaked. He turned to see Tokomon freeing himself from under TK's arm and was standing on his partner's chest looking at TK's face. The little digimon started to cry as he kept uttering his partner's name over and over again, hoping to see those bright, blue eyes one more time.

"Tokomon!" Tai exclaimed.

Tokomon turned around quickly. Once the digimon saw who was with him he weakly asked, "Tai? Agumon? Is that you?"

"In the present!" Agumon piped in.

"I… is TK…?"

Although Tokomon didn't finish his statement, Tai knew what the little puffball was going to say.

"No, he's not dead Tokomon. But he may be dying. He needs Joe to look after him right away! Can you go get Joe and the others and tell them to hurry?"

"Whatever I have to do to save TK!"

"Good, and, before you go, do you remember anything from earlier?"

Tokomon closed his eyes and shivered, as if remembering a very bad memory. "I… when I finally woke up TK was sleeping and Matt and Gabumon were sitting by the fire talking to each other. They told me what had been going on, but then we heard a noise. Gabumon digivolved, ready to attack, but when GranKuwagamon came out of the forest, he easily beat Gabumon. In the fuss TK woke up and GranKuwagamon tried to go after TK and I tried to protect him but he swatted me away as if I was nothing more than a pathetic house flymon. The last thing I remember is GranKuwagamon getting closer to me and TK running to save me. I… I won't be able to live with myself if something happens to TK!"

Tokomon was again on the verge of tears, but Tai quickly spoke up to prevent that from happening.

"You were really brave trying to take on this digimon in this form Tokomon. There's nothing you could have done. Now, do you know where that bug took Matt and Gabumon?"

"No. GranKuwagamon is also called the Demon of the Deep Forest, though, so my best bet would be in there somewhere," Tokomon said, nudging his head towards the tree line. Demon of the Deep Forest? That definitely didn't sound good. And if this digimon had beaten MetalGarurumon so easily he didn't know if he and Agumon had a chance of saving his friends. No. They were going to save Matt and Gabumon. Somehow, someway, they were going to succeed. He needed to protect his friends, and everyone was counting on him.

"Ok, we're going to go after GranKuwagamon. But you have to go and hurry and get the others. I don't know how much longer TK has left."

Tai took one of the twigs Agumon had brought over and lit it.

"Alright, you guys be careful. GranKuwagamon is really strong but I know you guys can do it. We always counted on you, Tai, and Agumon too to be there for us in the past and you never failed before and you won't fail now. Be safe!"

He gave Tokomon the lighted twig, which resembled a pretty small torch, but it worked well enough to give at least some light. They pointed Tokomon in the right direction and the little guy ran off as fast as he could towards the stairs that led down to Gennai's place. He prayed that the others would get there in time and that TK would be ok. But right now he had a mission to accomplish. Tokomon was right. Everyone was counting on him and he couldn't fail. No, he wasn't going to fail, if only because things just had to work out. He had to save Matt and Gabumon. Together, with Agumon, they were going to defeat GranKuwagamon and save his friends.