Notes: I just make up the story as I go along, but I always include what I'm trying to say. It might not make sense, but I try to get my main idea across. This chapter is split into two characters' perspectives. The first being TK's. Just remember that he's stuck in an illusion. Other than that, things are pretty much clear if you've been reading.
~TAKERU~
I stared at my sleeping Rookie partner. He had digivolved so fast during the past few days. That was a good sign. It meant that my new crest was working. I was trying so hard to meet up to its standards.
I stared at the grey tag I was wearing. I smiled as I fiddled with it. Protection. That's what it was. To have the power to protect everything you care about. All I have to do is believe that I can protect Patamon and that he can protect me in return. That will give us the power to defend ourselves against my ex-friends.
I looked down at my homework. It wasn't important, but there wasn't much I can do right now. I picked up the pencil and looked at the math assignment given to me on Monday. It was due Friday and that was tomorrow.
I couldn't help but think back on what happened on the first day of school. I scowled as I thought about all those people trying to hurt my digi-egg. No one was going to hurt Patamon ever again. Not while I have my new crest.
After school was even worse. Did Hikari really think a new partner and my old crest was a good thing? I looked at it and saw evil. What was she thinking? I turned to see Patamon roll over in his sleep. I covered him in a blanket and petted his head.
They wanted to give me back my crest too. Or maybe they were trying to lure me in to take away my new crest. It was hard to tell what they were going to do. I used to be able to see things so clearly, but now, I'm confused as to what they want from me.
I thought back a little farther. To the day I ran away from where Angemon was destroyed again. I had run into forest, not bothering to turn back to where my friends would be waiting. I had gotten lost and taken out my digivice, but it malfunctioned. I cried out but only my loneliness answered.
"Patamon!" I fell down and began to sob. Not cry, just sob. I choked a little and lifted my head up. Everything had gone dark and the night air was cold. I didn't notice how fast the time had gone by.
TK… I looked around. Are you ready to return? I shook my head. I had nowhere to go. Home wasn't safe anymore since Yamato would be waiting to attack. I mentally kicked myself for tossing my tag. They had wanted it, hadn't they? They probably had picked it up and that was why Hikari wanted to give it back.
I stared back into the darkness and walked towards it. "Maybe I can. But the others…" They don't need you. You saw what they did to you. "Angemon… I have to get him back."
I had walked into the shadows and I was able to be anywhere in the Digital World I wanted. I found myself in the Primary Village. I saw Elecmon and was going to greet him. He didn't greet me in the same way.
"Intruder! Stop right there!" The small digimon crouched down.
"Elecmon, it's me, TK."
He didn't really hear me or something because he attacked. "I warned you! Super Thunder Strike!"
I jumped out of the way. I turned to run down the streets. I saw Leomon and he stared at me. I shouted to him. "Leomon! Hey, it's me! TK!"
He growled at me. "Elecmon! Do you need help with protecting the baby digimon?"
"Yeah! We can't have this place destroyed by that thing!"
I stared at the small digimon. "What? I'm not the enemy."
I cursed and ran around them and tried to look for the digi-egg that would be Patamon's. I tried to look around for it in the dark, but luck wasn't on my side today.
I felt the shadows guide me though. I followed them blindly. I turned back to see a very angry Elecmon chase after me. I stopped. "What do you want?"
He paused. "I'm trying to protect the village! What do you need here?"
"I'm looking for a digi-egg," I said calmly.
"Why?"
I didn't answer because I noticed a glinting light coming from the village. It was shining and I felt a little hope rise within me. It could be Patamon! I ran in that direction, leaving behind a very confused caretaker.
I ran and felt my breathing hitch as I stared at the marvelous egg. He was reconfigured! I reached out to take it, but the darkness held me back. Not yet. It won't hatch with Hope this time. You'll need a different trait.
I stared at the egg in dismay. "But, Patamon needs me." Take this Crest then.
I reached out over the egg and grabbed the grey tag. I felt the power surge within me as I placed it around my neck. I smiled when I realized the sense of Protection emanating around me. I reached for the Patamon egg and smiled.
"Don't worry, Patamon. This time, I won't fail you. It's just going to be you and me." Elecmon was nearing me, but I had vanished. To where I was staying at now.
I turned back to my homework to scribble down the answer to the final problem and packed up my work. I stared into the forest of the Digital World. I looked out the window of the castle I was in. This was a pretty nice place, but none of the digimon came close to this place. They had said it was haunted.
I climbed into bed and stared at the clock that ran on the time in the real world. It's going to be seven hours until I have to wake up. That's okay; I need sleep anyways.
I woke up with Patamon flying around the room. He seemed excited. "I get to see the real world today, right?"
I rubbed my eyes trying to figure out what he was talking about. I then remembered that I had made a promise to bring him to the real world once he was strong enough. "I don't know Patamon, you're still a Rookie. I was hoping I could get you to Champion so you can defend yourself."
"I can fight, TK! Why don't you trust me?"
I looked at my partner. He really wanted to go out. I could only comply; after all, I wasn't the one who had to be reconfigured twice. "Alright, buddy. Let me get ready first." I threw the covers off me and made my way to the bathroom.
After thirty minutes, I was ready. I was going to have to get school breakfast as I didn't have any food here in the castle.
I went into the familiar living room of the castle. I stared at the television in there. I went through the portal with Patamon behind me. I made sure no one saw me come from behind the tree near school.
"Okay, I have classes until a little after noon. I'll be out for lunch, okay?"
Patamon nodded. "I'll be out exploring. It's been a while since I was here, TK."
I waved goodbye as I rushed into the school building. I smiled as I entered homeroom. I took my seat next to Hikari and made sure to avoid eye contact with her or any of the other Digidestined.
The teacher came in and took role. He didn't have any news today, so he let the class do whatever we wanted. I decided to walk over to the window so I can try to find Patamon. I smiled as I saw the little guy fly around some of the trees.
I grabbed my backpack as class ended and noticed Hikari staring at me curiously. "You seem happy today, Takeru."
I frowned. "TK. Of course, I'm happy." I tried to walk away, but it was no good because we had the same first period.
"Are you going to give us a chance to explain, Takeru?"
"Stop calling me that. It's TK," I said. "Plus, I gave you a chance and you went ahead and tried to attack me and Patamon."
I took my seat next to Ken and scooted my chair back. Ken raised an eyebrow at me. "That wasn—"
"Mr. Ichijoui, Takaishi, and Ms. Kamiya. Class has started. Please work on your warm-up."
I nodded to the teacher. Hikari reluctantly turned around. Daisuke looked back at me. He frowned and went back to work. Ken took out a pencil and worked out the problem. He finished early and stared at me. I ignored it and turned my attention to the window.
I couldn't see Patamon, but I had a feeling he was doing alright.
~GATOMON~
Well, since Hikari was at school, I had to be in charge of watching the newly digivolved In-Training digimon. It wasn't like Tokomon couldn't take care of himself; it was just that Hikari didn't want TK overreacting if he saw his partner.
"Maybe you should take a break, Gatomon," the white digimon said.
I looked at him doubtfully. "I don't know. Hikari and Yamato want me to protect you."
Veemon smiled. "We're here. We can take care of anything that comes up."
Wormmon nodded. "It's been a few days since he digivolved."
"Tokomon can handle himself too," Armadillomon added.
Tokomon nodded madly. "I'll keep out of TK's sight." His face saddened.
"See? That's why I should stay."
Tokomon puffed up in defiance. "I can watch myself! I'm a little sad about TK, but I'll manage. You really deserve a break."
I sighed. No point with arguing him with the others behind him. "I'll be back before classes end then."
I climbed up a tree and thought about where I could go. I decided to visit the place Wizardmon died. It was the closest place I could be with my old friend.
I stood on the empty roof and looked out over Odaiba. I don't know why, but whenever I'm up here, I start to talk to myself. Or maybe it's to Wizardmon. Like I somehow know that he's still partly alive, listening to me. "What do you do when your friend dies, Wizardmon? If I was TK, how would I feel about watching the same friend die twice?"
I thought about what Yamato had said. Try to imagine Wizardmon die twice. I don't think I can ever try to imagine that. It's hard to even think about that memory. But it did allow me to digivolve.
"Mourning over a dead friend, Gatomon? I didn't think that you'd be the type to cry."
I turned around to face DemiDevimon. "What are you doing here?"
"Just roaming around before that kid gets out of school."
I got to my feet. "I was right! That was your egg!"
The stupid bat stuck his tongue out at me. "Just think! I can become stronger than you with the kid on my side."
I took a menacing step forward. "Knowing you, I bet you work for someone else. You're still the weak spineless bat you were before Myotismon destroyed you."
"Hah! I've grown a lot stronger since then. It's true I'm working for someone else, but it's alright." He flew up and sneered. "I mean, for the past week, I've been training with the kid."
"Do you even know his name?" I growled.
"Does it even matter? As long as he thinks I'm that other pig thing, I can beat you and all of the other Digidestined in one go!"
That's it. I jumped at him. "Lightning Paw!"
He flew out of the way and I fell off the building. My eyes widened as I grabbed onto one of the outcrops on the side of the building. He smiled. "Is that all? My turn! Demi Dart!"
He started throwing those darts and I dodged them. I managed to get down from the building and lure him down. I tackled him and he looked at a clock through a window.
"Whatever! Time for me to get back to that kid!" He flew towards the school and I chased after him.
"No you don't!" I pounced on him, but he slipped away.
DemiDevimon smirked at me. "What are you going to do?" He kept flying towards the school.
"Come back here!" I yelled.
"Gatomon!" I heard Hikari near me.
I prepared for one final strike. "Lightning Paw!"
DemiDevimon had stopped in midair and stared at me. He seemed confident. He wasn't even trying to dodge me. Then I knew why. TK was making his way towards us. He got in between me and my target. It was already too late for me to stop my attack.
My paw collided with TK and he was knocked over. His body shielded DemiDevimon's and I immediately backed away. His arched back slowly straightened as he took an even longer time to turn towards me.
"Are you alright?" He was addressing the bat.
"I sure am, kid." DemiDevimon smirked at me.
"TK! Are you alright?" Hikari stopped behind me. She knelt down to stop me from attacking the digimon.
TK glared at her. "Why would I be alright when my best friend's partner tried to destroy Patamon again?" He took a menacing step forward. "Any explanation?"
"That's not your partner, TK!"
"TK? You're still calling me that! It's Takeru! I hate that name! And I don't need to listen to your lies! Patamon is my partner and always will be!" His face was burning with anger. "I told you all to stay away from me!"
Hikari, being stubborn like Taichi, began to yell. "We're trying to help you, TK! And I'm telling you that's not your partner!"
DemiDevimon smirked. "I am his partner! He doesn't need you all bringing him down!"
TK turned to look at the sly bat. "Let's go back, DemiDevimon."
I scowled. Talking to his digimon directly made him call him by his real name, but he doesn't realize it. In third person, he calls him Patamon. That's too confusing unless you pay attention.
They turned to walk away, but I wasn't letting him off that easy. "TK! Do you really think what you're doing is right? We're your friends."
He stopped and looked down at me. "Friends don't kill each other willingly, do they?"
He turned around the corner and Hikari yelled out one last time, "TK!"
I turned around to see the others standing there. Daisuke looked away. Ken was holding back his anger. Iori just frowned and stared at where TK was. The digimon had formed a shield around Tokomon. The tiny digimon had seen TK and heard what he had said.
He crawled around them and approached a near crying Hikari. She looked down at him and knelt to pick us up. I instantly felt guilty for taking the break. Tokomon mouthed that he was sorry to me. I guess he felt bad for offering me the chance to relax.
I shook my head to tell him that it was partly my fault too. I looked back at Hikari who still staring at the corner. "Don't worry, Hikari," I said.
"TK will come back," Tokomon tried to say. "We just have to get him to see the truth."
Daisuke came up with Veemon. "There's no soccer practice today. Iori is free too. Do you want us to walk you home?"
Hikari shook her head. "I'll be alright. I just have to be alone to think."
Tokomon and I were carried back to her apartment. She let us down and we went to the television. Hikari went to her room and locked herself in there. I watched the door shut and sighed.
Tokomon stared out the door leading to the balcony. "I have to digivolve!"
I stared at the In-Training digimon. "But you can't. Not without TK."
He shook his head. "I'll find a way. I have to see TK as at least a Rookie!"
I doubt that he could digivolve. We still didn't know how he digivolved without TK. Maybe he did get help from TK. We just don't know for certain because we don't even see TK around Odaiba.
I answered the door when I heard some knocking. Koushiro and Tentomon came in. The genius smiled at us. "Is Hikari or Taichi here?"
Tentomon was buzzing in excitement. "We've got great news!"
"Usually whenever you two have good news, it comes with a set of bad news," I grumbled.
Hikari opened the door slightly. "Koushiro? What is it?"
Tokomon walked over to him as the boys connected the charger to his laptop. "Okay, I've been doing some research on the Digital World and I found a few places that aren't marked on the maps. TK's digivice has been inactive, but I found a few reports on digimon being attacked around there. Maybe it's TK fighting."
Hikari looked over his shoulder. "Why aren't they charted?"
Koushiro nervously glanced at us. "Those black places on the map are said to be haunted so no digimon ever goes there."
"What about Gennai?" I asked.
"Gennai says that he can't go near it without risking his life. There's also a force that keeps most of the strong digimon out."
"Can't we explore it ourselves?" Tokomon asked.
Tentomon shook his head. "There's no way to. We ran a test and all signals leading into the area never came back. If you were to go in there, you would have no map or guide."
"Besides," Koushiro added, "we need to narrow down the location on where TK might be. At least we know that TK's not staying here in the real world. He feels threatened by us. He only comes back every day for school, so he doesn't raise the suspicion of anyone outside of the Digital World."
"But he worries us by acting so strangely!" Kari cried out.
Koushiro flinched. "Calm down. I'm doing the best I can. You're not the only one worried, you know." He packed up his laptop and carried it under his arm. "Oh! I heard about DemiDevimon." He frowned. "I really thought we took care of him."
Hikari sighed. "Yeah, but what can we do now? Without TK, we don't have Hope."
Tokomon stared at her with a determined expression. "That's not how we should think! We can't give up on hope just because TK isn't here. If he were thinking the way he should be, he'd want you to believe in the best!"
Hikari stared at TK's partner. She thought about it slowly. She turned to Koushiro. He nodded. "He's right. We'll all have to want the best outcome. Oikawa didn't sacrifice his life for nothing."
He left the apartment and Hikari went back into her room. Before closing her door, she yelled out to us. "You're definitely right, Tokomon. If I can just hold up TK's Hope, we'll get through this problem."
I smiled. Tokomon did too. I managed to open the door to the balcony and we stared out at Odaiba. He stopped smiling after a while. "Do you really think that I was right?"
I shrugged. "Maybe, but who knows? What matters now is getting you to digivolve."
Tokomon stared intently at the school. "I don't really exactly know how, but I felt two sources of hope when I digivolved from Poyomon. Maybe Hikari and TK need to help me become higher leveled."
I partly understood, but then again, I partly didn't understand. I sat on the ledge just staring out into the open air. "I just wish we had something to show us exactly what to do," I muttered.
