Notes: Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while. I had a bunch of Chemistry work to catch up on. Okay, I don't own Digimon, but I do have a pretty good idea of how I'll change my finale for this story. I had to change it from my original idea of TK reverting back into his eight-year-old self. The story is about to end in maybe one or two chapters. It depends on how I want to set up my last few ideas.
~IORI~
I stared at the blonde as he read through my assignment. I glanced at Koushiro, who was glad that Yamato had a distraction. Ken was reading a book for Japanese literature. Sora stared at her boyfriend, concerned for his well-being. Yamato handed me back my paper.
"What seems to be the problem? The questions are pretty straightforward."
I looked at him and Sora signaled me to keep him busy. "I just have a little bit of trouble understanding the piece. English isn't my best subject, Yamato."
He smiled. He grabbed a pencil from his bag and immediately gave me hints on English grammar and vocabulary. "There are a lot of words in the language, but if you break them down to their roots they are much easier."
I smiled as I didn't have much trouble in the class. Everyone just wanted to get Yamato to stop asking whether or not Koushiro was ready every thirty seconds.
I tuned him out as he began writing down the key points of what he was trying to say. I grimaced at the memory of the weekend. Saturday wasn't really good because of the incident in the Digital World with TK. To make things worse for me, I went to the mall with Mimi and Miyako. It was fun, but I would have enjoyed it more without them being, I don't know, girls? I guess they can't help it.
Hikari was pretty much quiet. She ended up having to buy Taichi a pair of gloves. I also had to purchase a few new clothes as I was getting a bit taller every few months. No one really noticed but my mother insisted that I get new clothing to wear anyways.
Yesterday was the worst as Grandfather drilled me for five hours in kendo. I'm still sore today and I didn't do very well in PE because of it. But, Grandfather went easy on me. He kind of sensed that I was being distracted. "Distractions are good and bad, Iori. They keep your mind sharp, but they also cloud your judgment if you let them take over."
I smiled and heard Yamato finish his explanation. "Do you understand it a bit better now, Iori?"
I blinked at the notes Yamato had written for me. "Right. Thank you."
Yamato smiled at me. "No problem. I'm sorry if my notes are a bit unclear. TK is much better at the language than me." At the mention of TK, he turned his head back towards the computer genius.
He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off. "Yeah, Yamato. I'm ready." Koushiro finished typing in a few things and activated the portal.
I looked around for Armadillomon in the Digital World. I smiled as my partner came out of the dead forest that loomed in front of our small group.
"Is there anything different, Armadillomon?"
My partner shook his head. "I haven't seen TK or DemiDevimon. But, that's just the area I covered."
Ken stared out into the forest and frowned. "It's hard to believe that TK would be the one to actually stay in a place like that."
Koushiro's voice came from our digivices. "Well, you guys should start moving. I have a visual of the area, but there's a jammer stopping me from seeing over a certain part. It's in the red on my sensors."
Yamato and Sora came back from their scouting. "We're all set, Koushiro."
We entered the red zone Koushiro told us about and it seemed worst than the forest. Ruins lay on the ground and a tall black tower gazed over us. Sora gasped. "Is that a Control Spire?"
There were digimon around it. They were exhausted from carrying wood from the forest to the front of the Spire. Some could barely walk let alone lift up the burden by themselves.
Ken looked down at his partner. "Should we attack it?"
Wormmon shrugged. "We have to, don't we?"
Yamato was willing to attack it. Gabumon prepared his attack, but we heard shouting from the other side of tower. Sora and I went to check it out. Biyomon and Armadillomon went ahead to protect us.
TK was wearing his ridiculous armor and was yelling at the Gotsumon that were trying to stay awake. "Get up! I didn't authorize a break! I said that you'd be able to rest after the village is complete!" A few of the tired digimon brightened as they saw us. "What?" TK turned to look at us. "Oh, it's you. What do you want? I'm busy."
Sora knelt by the tired digimon. "TK, what are you doing? They're all tired."
"Tired? They wouldn't be so tired if they weren't fooling around!" He turned to the rest of the still working digimon. "Get back to work! Don't even think about stopping!" He turned back to us. "And if you really want to know, I'm building a village that will keep them all safe. Away from harm or whatever may come our way."
I frowned. The digimon were suffering and TK couldn't see that? "They're all exhausted. Why don't you calm down, TK?"
"TK again? I'm Takeru! The Protector of the Digital World!"
Yamato and Ken stood behind us. Ken crossed his arms. "You're doing a terrible job, TK. You're forcing them to build this evil tower."
"It's a part of the village. It's going to help spot danger and threats." His cold blue eyes flashed. "Like that digimon you have on your team." His voice was filled with hateful venom. He chuckled to regain his composure. "Tell me. Who's that digimon's partner?"
Yamato reluctantly approached his younger brother. "We were just trying to help, TK." He was picking his words carefully. Anything he might say can set him off. "We still don't have a partner for him. Would you like to be his partner?"
TK stared at all of us. "DemiDevimon? I don't know. Patamon doesn't like him much." He turned towards the tower. "What do you think though?"
An icy cold voice drifted out from the Control Spire. "It's probably a trick, Takeru."
TK relaxed and thought it over. "Yeah… Maybe you're right." He turned his back on us. "Leave now, or I will have you escorted out."
I'm normally solemn, but this wasn't the TK I had grown to admire. My DNA partner was always, in his way, polite; no matter how angry or annoyed he was. "TK! I won't be leaving without you, even if I have to force you." I looked down at Armadillomon and he prepared to digivolve.
The blonde looked back at me. "Then why don't you join me? I'm willing to make an offer. Do any of you want to help me rebuild the Digital World?"
Yamato clenched his fists. "Rebuilding the Digital World? It was healing already. You're ruining it, TK!"
"Shut up! You ruined me, Yamato! You always did! I don't need you watching my every move. This is all for the best of the digimon!" He turned to the Control Spire. "Get rid of them!"
Sora and Ken prepared for an attack. I immediately had Armadillomon Armor digivolve. "Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Armadillomon armor digivolve to…"
"Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge. Gold Rush!" He fired his drills at the growing shadow.
"Touch of Evil!" The shadow moved quickly as he slashed Digmon's drills in half. "I'll be glad to get rid of them."
TK smiled darkly. "I don't want you to have to overdo it. I'll send in backup. Of course, I don't think their crests will help much." He entered the dark tower and left Devimon to take care of us.
Sora had intended to have Biyomon attack the tower, but with TK in there, she was unwilling to go through with it. Ken stared at the devil-like digimon and looked down at Wormmon. "Try to help Digmon!"
Wormmon made sure to get within range for an attack. "Sticky Net!" The net barely did a thing to stop the incoming digimon.
Yamato looked between Devimon and the tower. He decided to take a risk. "Gabumon! I don't care what happens. I'm going in there and you're going to take down the Spire!"
Gabumon didn't have a chance to protest as the blonde ran towards the Control Spire. Sora couldn't stop him in time and stared at Gabumon in dismay. Gabumon didn't start attacking until Devimon went after his partner.
"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon's attack hit his target, but all of our attacks didn't seem to faze him.
Devimon still went after Yamato. Sora bolted after him to try to save him. Biyomon rushed to her side. "Sora!"
Sora turned to see her partner. "Biyomon! Try to digivolve!"
Yamato made it into the tower as Biyomon successfully digivolved. "Meteor Wing!"
Devimon had to divert his attention to the Ultimate. "That shouldn't be possible. Not unless you have your crests with you."
Sora stared at the evil digimon with a fire in her eyes. Ken immediately had Wormmon digivolve as I encouraged Digmon to stop Devimon. I stopped cheering when I heard some rumbling from the distance. I turned to look around and saw a stampeding herd. The Mammothmon made their way here quickly and I knew this was going to be trouble.
Devimon smirked. "The boy should be coming out right about now." His timing was pretty close because we saw Yamato tumble out of the Control Spire.
TK came out with an angry expression on his face. "I can't believe you would try to stop me, Matt. What? Your little brother can't take care of himself? Typical." He turned to face the herd. He waved his right hand. "Do whatever you want," his face became dark as he added on, "but don't destroy any of the construction. Devimon, let's go."
TK and his digimon reentered the Control Spire and I watched as the Mammothmon pummeled our digimon. Our partners put up a good fight, but the herd was stronger than normal. I could sense a strong dark energy coming from the tower.
Yamato picked himself up and glared at the tower. He reached for his Crest that was normally hanging around his neck. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Right when I need my Crest of Friendship, I don't have it! Gabumon!" He knelt down beside his fallen partner.
"I'm sorry, Yamato. I tried!"
Sora picked up a fallen Biyomon. "Don't worry, Biyomon. We'll try to stop them next time."
Ken and I looked at each other. This was a hopeless fight and we knew it. Ken called out to Stingmon. "We have to retreat!"
"Digmon! Let's go!"
Yamato and Sora turned around with us and Digmon and Stingmon covered our tails from any attack. We got to a small construction site that had to be a wall-in-progress. I turned back and saw TK outside watching us leave.
He noticed something was amiss and went to stare at the digimon that had stopped working. I turned away because I couldn't stand to watch TK yelling at the innocent. I sighed and looked at Yamato.
He glared at what TK was doing. He noticed me and calmed down slightly. Koushiro's voice came from the digivices. "Okay, I'm bringing you guys back. You can tell me about what happened once you arrive back. From the sound of Ken's tone, you guys had it rough."
I sat down at an empty computer once I arrived. "Koushiro, TK was building a Control Spire."
Koushiro went wide-eyed. "That's what jammed my signal?"
Ken crossed his arms. "Apparently, they work a little bit better than the ones I set up. They stop all evolution unless you're wearing your crest. They also give a dark boost to some digimon."
Sora stood near the distraught Yamato. "What do we do now?"
Koushiro sighed. He shut down the computer. "We'll have to tell the others for starters. All we can do for now is to take down as many of those Spires as we can. There are at least ten that I can find!" His exclamation caused Sora to instantly shush him. We all turned to see why.
Yamato had fallen asleep. I smiled because the blonde was then violently shaken by the red-head. He jolted awake and looked around. "Hey!"
"We have to get home, Yamato."
I stood up and picked up my school bag. "Yeah, I'll see you all soon. Come on, Armadillomon." I took out my emergency cell phone and called my mother. She would be here soon to pick me up.
I waved goodbye and left the classroom. Armadillomon walked next to me. "Iori? Do you think TK is purposefully doing all of those things?"
I shook my head. "TK isn't like that. He doesn't like the darkness. At least that's what Yamato told me. After spending all that time with him in the Digital World, I still don't understand how TK really thinks." I thought it over. Most of the time, he was happy and energetic. Other times, he'd be serious but still keep his hopeful demeanor. And rarely, he gets into that state where his only focus is to destroy the Darkness.
I shuddered when I realized that the Darkness suited him when he got into that rare train of thought. Armadillomon came closer to me, thinking that I was shivering because of the light breeze blowing. I frowned because I also knew that TK loves the Light too much to let it die. Maybe there was still a little bit of Hope still in him.
~TAKERU~
School really is nothing. It's all too easy for me. I can stay on top of class work and still beat the Digidestined without breaking a sweat!
I handed in my completed test and went back to sit down next to my assigned seat. I turned away from my seating partner. I didn't want to be pestered right now. I had plans to make for the rebuilding of the Digital World.
I took out a few papers and began my sketches for my next village. First thing to add was the guard tower. That's always top priority. Next was the village wall that would keep intruders out. How big this time? I remembered what Azulongmon told me.
"A bigger area would mean that it would be harder for us to protect. Try to keep it small. If it's too big, the walls can be bypassed and the danger will be in the city. We can't have that, TK."
I thought it out carefully and made it big enough to hold a hundred digimon. It was still small enough to keep the danger out. I looked at my map and smiled. Twenty-five villages perfectly created.
I dropped my pencil and turned towards my right. My smile fell. I had to be seated next to Hikari. I watched as she picked up my pencil and handed it to me. She smiled at me. A fake one. Or was it? It seemed genuine, but do I fall for it?
I nodded in thanks and went back to making my plans. I scowled. I had twenty-eight, but those three villages had fallen. I had been preoccupied at the moment at another village. I was trying to set up the gate that would have been the only entrance and exit to the city.
I frowned at my layout. I would have to put secret exits that would help me. I erased a few things here and there and finally perfected my design. I don't know how long I spent on the map, because next thing I knew Hikari was talking to me.
"Takeru, class ended."
I glanced up and saw that most of the students were leaving the school grounds. I quickly put away my things and left the English classroom. After school meant time to rebuild my fallen villages and improve my growing ones.
I walked past the school gates and saw something that I didn't expect to see. "Takeru! How have you been doing? I hope you have been eating okay while I was gone!"
I scowled and flinched at the words "Takeru" and "hope." I faked a smile. "I'm doing fine, Mother. You're back from your business trip?"
She nodded. "I'm sorry I took so long. There was a lot for me to get done. Let's go out to eat tonight."
I inwardly scowled. There went my plans. "Alright, but can Patamon come?"
"Sure thing, Takeru. Just make sure he isn't too much trouble."
I got into the car and she drove us home. I entered the apartment and noticed how clean it was. Yamato must've come back every once in a while to clean it. He wouldn't want Mother to worry that I was missing. I dropped off my backpack in my room.
I blinked at how dusty my room was. He never cleaned my room. Somehow I was annoyed and relieved at the same time. I would have to clean it up myself later on. There was no way for me to stay in the Digital World without my mother noticing.
I brought Patamon with me to the restaurant and things were quiet. They always were at dinner. Either I was alone by myself eating, or Mother would say things to me occasionally. Tonight was a little different because she was questioning me about Patamon.
"Takeru, why is Patamon a little different?"
I raised my eyebrow. "Different? He's the same as he's always been."
She still looked doubtful. "If you say so, son."
I could have told her that my "friends" had killed him. I decided not to because I didn't need her ruining my plans. She had already set me back today. I'll have to spend the weekend working double time to make up for this lost afternoon. Or I can spend tomorrow on quadruple time. Somehow, I liked that idea better. This weekend was supposed to be a chance for me to recruit digimon into my army for protection.
Things were even more silent after that. We finished dinner and she paid for our meal. Patamon didn't eat much. It wasn't that odd, or at least not anymore. He just didn't have a big appetite anymore. I guess it's because we're fighting against our very own comrades. I understand, but that doesn't stop me from trying to reach my goals.
I went back to my room once we got home. Patamon followed me and I locked the door. He looked slightly disappointed. "Weren't we going to the Digital World today, TK?"
"We're still going," I stated. I gripped my new Crest and felt us being pulled to the Digital World by a strange force. I still didn't understand how that really worked.
Azulongmon waited for us in his usual chamber. I bowed and looked at the great digimon. "You're late."
"I'm sorry, but my mother came back and wanted to spend time with me."
"That's okay, but that will mean that you will have to stay in the real world." I nodded. "I still require you to spend time here in the Digital World. Your new Crest won't work well when away from here for too long."
I bit the inside of my cheek. "Isn't there a way around that?"
"No! You have been chosen to guard the Digital World. You would sacrifice your very life for it, wouldn't you?"
"Of course!" I shouted. I felt warmth in my heart. It was an odd sensation. I remembered it once, but where was it from? The image of a small eight-year-old flashed in my mind.
"Then get started on your new plans. The other Digidestined have already started to attack one of the newer villages you started on yesterday."
I swiftly changed into the familiar dark armor I had grown accustomed to wear. I took off the ridiculous fisherman's hat and threw it aside. I glanced at Patamon and nodded for him to digivolve.
"Patamon digivolve to…"
"Angemon!" He carried me to a nearby village and I started on the changes immediately. The digimon were more obedient this time. They quickly got the job done and I didn't have to reprimand anyone for slacking off.
I smiled for things were going right. I had my own Crest and tag, Angemon, and the whole Digital World on my side. The only thing stopping me was the fact that the Digidestined weren't with me. I'll get them to see that this really is a good plan. Why can't they see how nice things are?
~HIKARI~
I walked alone to school. Normally, I'd walk with Iori, Miyako, and TK. But this school year, Miyako doesn't attend Elementary anymore and Iori leaves early. TK always arrived just before the bell rang. These past two weeks were different though because Yamato said their mother returned.
TK now walks to school, but he doesn't really acknowledge me when I walk with him. I stared at the boy ahead of me. He was walking slowly and he bumped into a pole.
"TK?" I called out. "Are you alright?"
He turned around to see me. "Hikari?" He turned to look at the pole. "Sorry, I'm just a bit tired."
I frowned but was relieved that he was talking to me. He held a granola bar in his hand. He had a water bottle in his backpack and he took a sip from it. He grimaced as he continued to eat.
I walked silently near him. I couldn't help but notice his extremely sluggish pace. "Are you sure you're fine?"
He nodded and looked at me. "Why am I walking and talking with you?" He frowned and opened the door that led into school. He offered to let me in first. Leave it to TK to still be polite to his enemies.
I walked with him for a little longer on our way to Homeroom. He seemed lost in thought as he sat down in his seat next to mine. "Hikari? Can I ask you something?" I nodded slightly. "Don't you want to save the Digital World? I mean, that's what I want. Why don't you join my side and help me build a grand kingdom? Doesn't that sound nice? A kingdom where all of the digimon can live and won't have to worry about attack?" His blue eyes shone with a determination only the bearer of Hope could have. I haven't seen TK like that in a long while.
I wish Daisuke and Ken were here, but there was an all day soccer tournament they were required to attend. I just stared at TK and noticed that he was expecting me to answer. "TK…" He scowled. I rolled my eyes. "Okay, Takeru…" That name sounded weird to me, but I continued. "Do you really know what you're doing?"
He smiled lightly. "Of course! I'm building guard towers and a wall surrounding the area I want the village to be built. Everything after that gets easier!"
I frowned. Koushiro sent his little camera program into the "villages" and had shown it to us. The guard tower TK was referring to was the Control Spire. The walls were meant to keep the digimon in and us out. I would point that out to TK, but I don't know what the illusion is doing to his head.
The bell rang and he left alone to think about it. He took out a sketchpad and began to draw designs in there. They were scaled drawings of his final kingdom. I felt curiously drawn to it, but then again, I was scared of what it might turn out to be.
Classes went past slowly and it was very noticeable that TK wasn't in top shape. He seemed to be forcing himself to stay awake, but he left me alone to collect my thoughts. It wasn't until PE when TK wanted an answer. "Do you want to join me or not?" His determined glare burned a hole into my mind. Iori had this period PE and he walked over to us.
He was certain that he wasn't going to speak until he knew what this was about. TK turned to him. "What do you think, Iori? A kingdom for all of the digimon! We'll be able to protect all of them!"
Iori frowned. He looked up at me. "That doesn't really sound bad, but are you really doing the right thing?"
TK frowned right back at his DNA partner. "I knew you wouldn't really understand, Iori. You're too young and you haven't been through what Hikari and I went through." He turned to me. "You understand though, right, Hikari?"
I nodded slightly, afraid to answer. How was I supposed to tell him that he believed a lie? I opened my mouth to speak, but the coaches wanted to begin class. TK jogged over to where our class was and I immediately whispered to Iori, "Maybe I should accept his offer to try to figure out what he's trying to do."
He looked at me worriedly. "Just don't do anything to get on TK's bad side." He glanced at TK. "He seems tired."
The two of us turned away from each other and I lined up with my class. I turned to look at TK. He was about to collapse, but he had dismissed thoughts of trouble from teachers by saying he was just tired. I think it was more than that; something with the Digital World.
We stretched and did our daily run. It was easy today because it was Friday. Every Friday, we were supposed to run the track that was outside. One lap and then more for extra credit. The girls went first and I was able to finish quickly. The Digital World helped with keeping in shape.
The boys lined up at the start and our coach blew his whistle. TK immediately began running. He was slower than the rest. Normally he would be first with Ken. Daisuke would try to keep up and would outrun him to impress the coach.
Everyone waited for the run to end and TK made it back. Coach looked at his basketball star. "Takaishi! Are you okay? You're normally not that slow! I'll send you to the nurse if you don't feel well."
TK smiled. "No need, Coach. I'm just tired. I had to stay up all night, working on a project." I didn't believe his lie.
"Okay, then." Our coach turned to us. "You all know what you can do now. Remember, no sitting or taking breaks. You're graded on participation!" He blew his whistle and TK came to walk beside me.
"Did you decide yet?" We walked the track and he made sure to slow down to my pace.
"Um, TK…"
He scowled. "Can you stop calling me that? Takeru." He held out his hand as if he were offering me a deal.
I didn't get a chance to take it, because a few boys in our class wanted to have TK play basketball. He turned to them. "I want an answer, Hikari." He went over to the courts and began to play.
I saw Iori finish up his class's exercise of the day. He smiled and saw that TK was playing basketball.
"Are you going to take up his offer?"
I frowned. "I don't really want to. He thinks that building those Spires is the right thing."
Iori looked at the two crests I was wearing. He turned to look at TK. "He's wearing a Crest, right?"
The two of us walked the track. I crossed my arms. "I don't really think it is a crest." I stared at the Crest of Hope. The gold shine often glowed brightly for no reason at all, but right now it was dim. The Crest of Light glowed softly. I thought about joining TK and it dimmed slightly. "No, I'm going to have to tell him that I refuse."
I turned back on the courts and TK looked like he was going to faint. He had the ball and was trying to dribble across the court. He made a shot, but as he tossed the basketball into the air, he fell backwards. Iori and I immediately rushed to his side.
"TK!" Iori looked around for a teacher and I helped the blonde up.
A teacher came over to check if he was alright. "Get him to the nurse!" Iori and I somehow carried TK to the nurse's office. He was very light and that somehow got me even more worried. Was he even eating?
Iori set him down on the bed as I talked to the nurse. "He just collapsed in PE."
The school doctor called for his assistant. "Jou! Our patient is suffering from extreme fatigue, a little bit of malnutrition, and dehydration. I'll need you to take him to the hospital."
I turned to see the older Digidestined come out from the office and stare at us. "TK! What happened, Hikari?"
Iori answered for me. "He collapsed in PE."
Jou looked at the school's doctor. "Can they both come with me?"
The doctor shook his head. "They have to be excused by their family."
I wanted to go to the hospital. I need to see if TK is going to be okay. "But Iori and I have lunch next period. Can't we go?"
The doctor sighed. "Fine, but only for lunch. You'll be in trouble if you don't come back for your last class. You'll have to get your parents to sign you out of school if you're going to miss it."
Jou had called an ambulance to get here. I climbed into the vehicle with Iori and Jou. We stared intently at TK. Jou questioned us about him.
"Did he eat or drink anything today?"
"Just a granola bar and a sip of water before school started. Other than that, I don't know how he is. We don't see him much, remember, Jou?"
He nodded. "Yeah. There is the Digital World aspect of this." He called our parents to let them know where we were.
We entered the hospital and Jou helped TK get a room. I waited in the lobby and Iori sat down. "Someone should be in there with him."
I agreed, but with us in there, the doctors would get distracted. I heard a loud yell from the entrance. "Where is my brother?"
Jou stopped Yamato from taking another step. "Calm down! We're in a hospital. TK will be okay."
He was forced to sit down. Taichi sat next to him. My brother smiled at me. "Good news, Hikari. You two were signed out." He turned back to Yamato. "TK will be alright, Yamato. Just breathe."
Yamato took deep breaths and waited for Jou to come back. When he did, he was instantly pulled back down to stay in his seat. I laughed slightly. Jou sighed in relief that he wasn't jumped by the blonde. "TK's okay. He's just really tired. He hasn't been eating or drinking a lot lately. He'll be fine as long as we don't bother him too much. Who wants to check up on him?" He stepped out of the way as Yamato charged into the halls.
Taichi and I followed. Iori stood with Jou to learn more. Yamato stood next to the bed TK laid on. The younger of the two was asleep. He seemed so angelic, but he was muttering in his sleep. "I have to get to the Digital World…"
Taichi stared at TK. "What is he talking about?"
Yamato shrugged and checked to make sure his brother was really okay. "Nothing wrong. But how do I get him to believe us instead of that bat?"
I sat down in a chair and sighed. "He wants us to be with him."
Taichi clenched his fists. "He wants us to destroy the Digital World?"
Yamato sharply turned his head to his best friend. "You can't blame TK."
Taichi was shocked by his attitude. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I know it's not his fault. But we have to decide on what to do."
Yamato and Taichi left the room to discuss a few plans. "Watch TK for us, Hikari," Yamato stated as he closed the door.
I walked over to the sleeping boy and frowned. "Why can't you see the truth, TK?" He took in a deep breath. "Everyone is pretty worried. I mean, you're working with Devimon. That's not like you."
He groaned a bit and was starting to sit up. "Where am I?"
I knew I should have gotten Taichi or the others, but I was extremely relieved to see that my best friend was okay. "TK! You're up. You're in the hospital."
He looked around. "Why?" He heard Taichi and Yamato starting to yell outside.
"No! We can't do that. Have you forgotten about that digimon that follows him around?"
TK stiffened as he heard Taichi answer. "But all of us can digivolve higher! One Champion against all of us!"
I backed away from TK as he got out of bed. "Let me out!"
I tried to help him back in bed but he made a motion that told me to stay back. "TK, you're still a little bit weak. You need rest."
"I need to get out of here!" He stood up and struggled to support his own weight. "I have to get back to the Digital World!" He used the bed to help him stand. He turned back to me. "Do you have an answer yet?" I didn't answer him. "No? Alright fine! I'll do things myself then."
I got the door before him. "You're not leaving, TK." I spoke loudly enough to let Taichi and Yamato know that TK was up.
TK glared at me. "A prisoner of the Digidestined?" He shook his head. "Either let me out, or I'll force you out of my way."
"I'd like to see you try, TK." I wasn't about to let him out when he was still weak.
He stood up by himself and got into a fighting stance. He didn't do anything though. He spoke mainly to himself. "Why can't I attack? Maybe because of her crest…"
The door opened behind me and Yamato grimly smiled. "TK, are you feeling better?"
The boy scowled. "Let me go!"
"I don't know what you're thinking, but we aren't going to hurt you." Yamato offered TK his hand. "Come on, TK."
"Again you call me TK. I'm not TK anymore! I'm Takeru! And I'm going to the Digital World!" The boy ran past us and got out the door.
Taichi was waiting outside and he tried to stop him. "Hey! TK!"
TK ran into my brother. "Let me past, Taichi!"
Yamato and I got behind TK so he couldn't turn back. TK turned to see us.
TK looked at us. "Fine, I'll have to do this the hard way." He took out his digivice. "Dark Digital Gate, open!" He flashed us an evil smile and disappeared into the Digital World through a dark portal that had appeared.
I would have gone after him, but Yamato stopped me. "We don't know what's there waiting for us, Hikari."
Taichi was fuming. He saw the portal close and looked at the wall clock. "Come on, Hikari. Everyone should be here by now."
The three of us went back to the lobby and all of the Digidestined asked us about TK. "TK went to the Digital World," I replied glumly.
Daisuke sighed and noticed something. "Hikari, your Crest. Or is it TK's. I don't know, but it's not shining anymore."
I immediately looked to see which one he was referring to. TK's Crest of Hope had faded out. I took it off and stared at it. Yamato held it up gently to see for himself. He choked back a yell.
Koushiro frowned. "Either we go immediately, or we wait until tomorrow."
Jou spoke up. "If we go now, we might make TK feel even more threatened. At least we can map out a plan that we can execute tomorrow."
Everyone seemed to agree. Yamato handed me back TK's Crest. "Let's go to my mom's apartment. I'll have to tell her where TK is so she won't freak out. We'll need all of the digimon too. That means to include Patamon." He looked at me.
I nodded to show him I understood. We left the hospital and went to our respective homes. Taichi threw his bags in his room and picked up his Crest of Courage. "I should really keep this with me from now on."
"I always wear mine, Taichi. You never know when you'll really need it."
Gatomon and Patamon came out of my room. "Are we going somewhere, Kari?"
I looked at them both. "We're going to TK's apartment." Patamon turned back to my room. "Patamon, you're coming with us."
"But what about TK?"
"He won't be there," Taichi said as he was trying to wake up Agumon.
Gatomon sensed that something was wrong. "Why do all of us need to go there?"
I looked at them sadly. "We're planning out a final attack against TK."
Patamon jumped up. "But we can't fight TK."
"He'll fight us though!" Taichi cried. "We have to plan it so we can get him out of those illusions."
Agumon sat up. "Why do we have to go to TK's apartment to plan against him?"
"Yamato suggested it. Plus, it's the only place big enough to hold us all," Taichi replied. That was true. TK had a large living room.
The five of us left our home and made our way to the apartment building Miyako and Iori lived. Taichi pulled on his gloves to make sure they were secure. He was extremely nervous. He doesn't realize that he gets fidgety whenever he thinks too hard.
We entered the apartment and Yamato smiled at us. "You guys are pretty early."
I looked around and sat on the couch next to Sora. She smiled at me. "Hey, Patamon. How are you doing?" She petted the digimon I held in my arms.
"I don't want to fight TK."
"We won't hurt him," Sora reassured him. "If you digivolve in front of him, he'll be able to see the truth."
I smiled as I had told everyone that he became Angemon by accident. We were in the Digital World the day TK's mom came back. Koushiro had us out pretty late, but we didn't mind. Somehow, Patamon digivolved and we were able to take out a Control Spire.
I looked down at Patamon. "Remember to not give up Hope, Patamon."
Patamon stared at the ceiling. "Somehow, it's hard for me to believe that. It's more like TK that's given up Hope."
I refused to believe that. The Digidestined arrived and we waited as Koushiro explained the most basic things to us. We immediately began to throw out ideas at the genius and Ken wrote them down. Jou took a set of notes of his own to make sure that actions we definitely wanted were in order.
At the end of the meeting, Daisuke excitedly stood up. "This is going to work!"
Patamon still had his doubts. "But what about TK?"
Mimi helped us all get over that. "TK will be fine. You digivolving will help him snap out of it. After all, you did risk your life to save TK. He won't ever forget that!"
Patamon became determined once again. "Okay! We'll save TK!"
