Chapter Eighteen

Going Home to No Home

"Minna, Gennai-san sent us an email." Koushirou's voice called to them. Cabbi, as they dubbed her, was already at his side, wearing his green jacket.

"What did he say?" Daisuke asked.

"I don't know. I haven't opened it yet." Koushirou said.

They gather around the laptop and looked at the screen.

"Hello Chosen Children. I just got back to my home beneath the lake. You could've at least warned me! Puke and blood all over the place. Had to clean it up by myself."

Ken and Chidori turned a light shade of green.

"After that mess was finally gone, I got back to a more pressing matter. You will not have time rest, I'm afraid. Keep on your toes, Diaboromon is still alive and licking his wounds."

"That's not very sanitary." Jyou muttered.

"Good. Maybe he'll get an infection or something." Eri frowned angrily.

"Also, the second part of the Prophecy will follow soon. Prepare yourselves. I know the situation right now is bad-"

"Iie, honto? I thought having Yuu-chan turn into a Digimon was good." Tsumi snapped.

"-, but the battle gets worse. His power is getting stronger because he's feeding off Lowvell's soul. He may be in his HyperMega stage when you fight him next. Train diligently with your new Guardian."

The email ended and Gennai's little form disappeared.

"Okay then, ev'rybody! Time to train! You aren't stopping until the sun goes down."

"Are you kidding? I'm not even a Chosen Child." Tsumi whined.

"So?" Cabbi's ears flicked. "You're going to help with the battle, aren't you? Now, we'll start with neck stretches and work down."

Koushirou continued to type away on his computer as the others, even Chichi and Wormmon, followed Cabbi.

"Come on, Knowledge." Cabbi urged. Koushirou shook his head.

"I'm trying to track down Diaboromon and put a fire wall in our Digivices in case Diaboromon finds another method of tampering with them." Koushirou explained.

"Maa, okay. Love, be careful. You almost hit Biyomon. Don't jump so high."

"Okay. Gomen, Biyo."

Koushirou watched 'her' from the corner of his eye. His fingers flew rapidly over the well-worn keys, shiny with use. Her voice, her body, her hair, even her clothes had changed. Not even her lovely brown eyes had remained. By now, he had already deduced why they had been changing green before. Ever since learning her destiny, Yuuta and Nekomon had been merging, creating a whole new personality. When ever that personality became particularly strong, her eyes would change color. Her eyes always had those tiny flecks of green because Ultimate Cabbimon had been sleeping dormant within her since she was born, awaiting 'her' turn to awaken. Both Nekomon and Yuuta were gone, merged into one being. But still, little quirks that reminded them of Yuuta or Nekomon sometimes became relevant. Like the way Cabbi often teased Tentomon and calmed him down. The way she blushed and purred around Taichi or Daisuke easily. How she had a quiet determination when she knew she had to help, but the person didn't want it.

The way she still looked at him with adoring eyes and lay by his side every night. Her quiet purr was the only thing keeping him from closing his eyes tight and pulling her close, pretending 'she' was Koku again.

& & &

"The portal to the Human World is nearby. We should arrive in approximately two days if we keep our current pace." Koushirou announced as the exhausted Digimon and Partner alike flopped on the ground.

"Oooo, wow, the Human World? What's it like?" Cabbi asked excitedly snuggling next to him.

"It's full of people and Digimon."

"Wow. Full of beings? Of real breathing beings? I can't wait. It will be sooo lonely here." She nuzzled his shoulder. "Will people like me, Knowledge?"

"I don't know. Nobody's like you." His voice was soft. Even though she was no longer Koku, he couldn't be annoyed or push her away. Her ears fell flat against her head.

"Oh. Nobody? Nobody at all?" She whispered. Taichi plopped down on her other side and scratched her ears.

"It means you're special, duh. And they'll all like you, we already do." Taichi grinned.

Her purr echoed in her throat and she tilted her head back leaning towards Taichi.

"Hey, stop flirting with kitty!" Daisuke cried.

"I'm not kitty, I'm Ultimate Cabbimon!" She rubbed her head against Taichi's shoulder. She yawned and curled around Koushirou, resting her chin on his thigh, and dismissing Taichi with a flick of her ear.

The girls giggled. Koushirou blushed slightly and continued typing on his computer.

"I thought you were blocking our Digivices from Diaboromon?" Iori asked suddenly.

"Oh? I must have forgotten to inform you. I've already completed that. The attempt was successful."

"What about tracking Diaboromon?" Patamon asked. Everyone looked darkly at him. "Nani? You all were thinking it."

"That attempt was a failure." Koushirou murmured. A long ear flicked upward.

"Don' worry, Knowledge, you'll find him." Cabbi rubbed her nose with a paw and snuggled against his thigh.

"I think she likes you." Miyako ventured wryly. Koushirou smiled thinly, without humor.

"Digimon don't love, not the same way." Koushirou turned back to his computer.

All the Digimon looked at each other and down sadly.

"You don't have to say it like that. We do love." Gotsumon whispered.

"You're comprised of digital matter. Technology doesn't have emotion. You're similar to an A.I., and are programmed to express emotion, but you don't process it with complete understanding." Koushirou droned. "May you please leave me to my work?"

"Just because you're upset about Yuu-yuu-ch-"

"Tachikawa, when you had to choose between Michael and saving the world, do you remember what it was like to finally lose him and see him again only to know you can't have him? He is well into his seniority. Imagine not being able to choose. Not having one chance, unable to find another way, and, then, seeing him everyday without being able to be with him." Koushirou monotonously drew out for her.

Mimi's chestnut eyes looked at her hands entwined with Alan's. "Koushirou-san, gomen nasai."

He typed without a word.

& & &

Taichi wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Daisuke walked up beside his, goggles fitted over his eyes. Sand whipped into everyone else's eyes.

"Oh, I feel so helpless! I'm your Guardian, but I can't even help protect your eyes against sand!" Cabbi cried sadly.

"It's okay. The sand's getting into your eyes, too." Hikari said.

"Yeah, but…Light…" Cabbi frowned and then smiled. "I know! I'll see how far away the temple is! See you in a second!" She leapt away.

"Ultimate Cabbimon!" Koushirou tried to call her back.

"Maybe if you called her 'Cabbi' like the rest of us, you'd get her whole name out." Miyako snickered. She started coughing abruptly as sand punched her in the face.

"She'll be fine anyway. She is a Digimon." Eri said. She, Chidori, and Tsumi exchanged sad looks. "Gomen…" she whispered to them. Hands reached out and grasped tightly.

The group continued walking through the desert.

"Where's Kitty!?" Daisuke yelled. He coughed a mouthful of sand.

It had been at least an hour and still she hadn't returned. Koushirou had noticed a long time ago, but refrained some saying anything.

"I don't know…she doesn't have a Digivice so we can't track her that way!" Taichi stared into his own Digivice anyway. "Maybe she got lost!"

"No way! She is basically tied to each and every one of us. If she was lost she could easily find us through that connection!" Gatomon explained.

"How do you know that?" Hikari asked.

"I'm a Digimon, and because she's tied to me, too, I can sense it. Humans can, but you don't know how to look for it." Gatomon explained.

"Can you find her through the connection?" Iori asked.

"No. We're not the Guardian and not created to protect her. She protects us, which is why she was created with that ability."

"That reeks." Eri snapped.

"She is the Guardian. She is able to sufficiently defend herself. When we arrive at the Temple, we'll conduct a search for her." Koushirou finally yelled.

"He's right. We can't even see two inches in front of ourselves." Yamato shouted. Everyone nodded, even though they couldn't see each other doing it, and continued forward.

"Thank god, we made it!" Miyako cried throwing herself onto the grass. The wind was howling eerily behind them.

"I have a ton of sand in my hair!" whined Tsumi.

"Me too!" Mimi started shaking it out.

"My head feels like a sandbag's on it." Taichi complained shaking his own head.

"You probably could hide a sandbag in there." Yamato muttered pulling out a comb.

"I heard that!" A brief Yamato-Taichi-war started.

"We should look for Cabbi." Chidori whispered, her own eyes frantically searching the grounds around the Temple.

"I found her tracks." Gabumon called. Everyone rushed towards him. Surprisingly, Chichi was the first one there, with Wizardmon at her side.

"What do you make of them?" Wizardmon asked Gabumon.

"Her footsteps just stop. There aren't anymore." Gabumon frowned, perplexed. Agumon looked up.

"Do you think someone could have gotten her from the trees?" He asked, pointing a claw to a large leafy canopy.

"That's a very sound hypothesis. She's a Digimon, though; couldn't she have sensed an ambush?"

"Digimon aren't perfect, Izzy. She was probably tired from running through a windy desert and stopped to shake the sand off." Tentomon pointed out. "I know I feel uncomfortable with all this sand under my shell."

"I'll help with that, Tentomon." Koushirou took his partner's hint.

"Then, what happened? Takaki is still with Gennai-san, right?" Ken asked.

"Hai. Gennai-san said he'd be safer under the lake than in the human world." Miyako nodded.

"Wait, Miyako, I hear something-" Hawkmon stopped talking when he realized no one was listening. Everyone was putting in their own input about who it could have been or what had happened. Hawkmon sighed and flew into the trees.

A little while later, Miyako turned to yell at Hawkmon. The 'conversation' on what to do had turned into a full-blown war. She blinked.

"Hawkmon? Hawkmon!" Miyako leapt to her feet.

"Nani, Hawkmon's gone?" Hikari also rose.

"I can't find him!" Hawkmon! And he's not answering me! HAWKMON!"

"Calm down, we'll find him!" Hikari grabbed her shoulders.

"We can't even find our Guardian! How're we-"

"Did you need something?"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Miyako and Hikari screamed. They turned to the voice behind them.

"Koku!" Koushirou exhaled jumping up. "Where did you go?"

"Koku?" Cabbi tilted her head to the side and one ear flicked upwards.

"Cabbi was getting food and water. I tried to tell Miyako, but she was yelling at everybody again." Hawkmon explained.

Everyone looked down at the fruit and strange plants filled both Cabbi's arms and Hawkmon's talons. They blushed.

"I heard the water I figured she went there to wash off and get us something to drink when we arrived."

"Exactly!" Cabbi nodded her head enthusiastically. "I would've come back to tell you, but I knew you were just fine and on the right track. I thought I'd surprise you."

"Thank you, Cabbi." Sora whispered, facing Cabbi's voice, though a little too far right. Cabbi beamed.

"It's the least I could do. I would have brought water, but I had nothing to put it in." She gently put her hoard on the ground. Hawkmon quickly followed suit. "I took so long to meet you because I was trying to figure out how to do it anyway." She took a few of the strange foods to Sora and put them in her hand. "It's really good, trust me!"

"It's the least I could do, Cabbi." Sora said sadly with a smile. Cabbi's ears drooped. She quickly turned to the others and smiled.

"Eat up! I'll wait until you're done."

"We couldn't possibly-" Hikari cut off as Cabbi disappeared again.

"I guess we can possibly." Yamato smirked. Hikari sighed.

"Well, you heard her! Eat up!" Armadillomon dived for his favorites.

"Sora-chan, you should cheer up." Taichi elbowed her.

"Nani?" She wiped at red juice on her chin.

"You're making Cabbi sad. You know how she is, she hates it when one of us is sad. That's why she lets Kou-kun stay on the computer."

"Nani?" Koushirou coughed on his purple and yellow papaya-thing.

"You know, when she makes us train and spar and lets you stay on the Pineapple?" Daisuke chimed in through a mouthful of food.

"She does it because she knows the computer makes you happy…or at least not sad." Jyou added.

"You didn't notice?" Eri asked.

"Iie. I just thought the reasons why I remained on the computer were adequate." Koushirou finally managed to get out, gasping heavily.

"You're blind and stupid sometimes, Koushirou-kun. I thought you were a genius." Mimi shook her head. Koushirou blushed.

"I have an I.Q.-"

"Yeah, yeah, very high I.Q., whatever. You're stupid when it comes to girls." Taichi waved his hand. Koushirou turned redder and glared.

"Like you should talk, Yagami. You're gay! 'She' is not a 'she', anymore. Have any of you caught onto that yet? She. Is. A. Di-gi-mon. They don't have genders! I'm a human! I have one! I'm not going to "pair up" with a Digimon! I'm not going to turn her back human anytime soon either!" Koushirou got to his feet and walked away quickly.

"Oh…my…" Mimi sighed.

Sora wrapped her arms around her legs and cried against her knees. Mimi quickly went to her side, Biymon and Palmon with her.

"Does this seem kind of familiar?" Tsumi asked Chidori and Takeru.

"Yeah." Takeru nodded sadly.

"It's not as bad, though. All of the Chosen Children are strong enough to overcome this, I know." Chidori wrapped an arm around Takeru's and squeezed comfortingly. He grinned down at her.

Koushirou settled under a tree and stared at the papaya-thing in his hand. He liked papayas, so he thought he'd like this. It tasted like a strawberry. With a sigh, he chucked it into the river and leaned back against the tree.

"Knowledge?" His eyes flew open to see Cabbi perched in another tree nearby.

"Hai?"

"Who's Koku? Is she that Yuuta girl, too?'

"Yes."

"Well, who is Yuuta then? Was she a Chosen Child?"

"Hai." He looked quickly at the rushing waters. He heard her shifting up the tree.

Cabbi swung her legs back and forth, biting her lip and thinking how to form this next question.

"Knowledge?"

"Hai?"

"Did you love her?"

"Hai."

"But I thought you said you loved me?"

Green, purple-pupil eyes searched his face even from her high perch in the tree next to his. He seemed so sad, so pale. He stared at the water without a word.

"You're wearing her Tag." He said suddenly.

"I am?" She looked at her collar, or at least tried to.

"Hai. I think she liked you. I do know she wasn't afraid of you. I'll like you for you a little more now."

"For Yuuta?" Cabbi asked.

"Hai." His smiled relayed no happiness.

With a bending of the branch, Cabbi leapt silently to the ground and walked over to him. She knelt by his side and nuzzled his cheek. For the first time, he softly stroked her ears. Even though he didn't meet her eyes or glance her way.

"Domo arigatu. I'm sure she still loves you even though she was deleted."

"Iie…she doesn't." He whispered.

"Demo I still thank you."

"Domo."

"Knowledge…that didn't make any sense."

& & &

"Time to go to the human world, ne?" Cabbi said.

Everyone glared at her groggily.

"Did you have to wake us at dawn?" Miyako grumbled.

"I so didn't sleep eight hours." Tsumi grumbled.

"I wanted to go home looking good, not sleepy." Mimi pouted.

"Oh shut up." Eri snapped. "Drama queens, really." She rolled her eyes.

"I think I'm on their side, however." Jyou yawned.

"I just thought you wanted to go home…you've been talking about it so much." Cabbi's ears dropped and her face was crestfallen.

"Aw, I don't mind. They're just a bunch of wusses." Taichi messed up her hair and made her ears flop all over. She grinned up at him, fangs glinting.

"Domo, leader-sama!" He blushed slightly and scratched his cheek.

"You don't have to call me that."

"But she's so kawaii!" Daisuke glomped her sending them sprawling on the ground.

"Daisuke-chan! Get off of her!" Takeru laughed.

"But she's so soft and fluffy! And she purrs! See!" He nuzzled her cheek and she purred happily.

"You're going to squish her!" Takeru tugged at Daisuke's shirt.

"While they're fighting…how about we finish off the food Cabbi gave us last night?" Jyou suggested.

"Great idea, Jyou-pin." Yamato sleepily kissed his cheek and grabbed a random fruit. Jyou glowed.

Breakfast ended and they turned to the tower of stairs with apprehension. Cabbi helped Sora onto her back and bounded up the steps. They stepped into the large, barren, stone room. Silence and tension blanketed the air. As Cabbi's feet touched the Crest inlaid on the floor, light flared around her and her tag shook.

"Wha?" Cabbi's eyes widened. "It feels weird!" She quickly set down Sora. As if she was being punched, she doubled over her stomach and then flew backwards. Sora shrieked and cried out as she collided with the floor, Cabbi on top of her.

"Wh-what happened?" Sora gasped as Cabbi rolled off of her.

"Are you all right, Love?" Cabbi sniffed her quickly, ignoring the blood that fell down her bottom lip.

"Hai. What happened?"

"She was flung away." Taichi whispered.

"Doushite?" Sora squeaked.

"Oh, I can't come. That thing in the floor won't let me pass." Cabbi smiled past the blood.

"We're not leaving without you." Koushirou whispered dangerously.

"You have to. Your home is there." She rose and shook off.

"I'll stay with you! I want to be with Momiji anyway. Dozo, let me stay!"

"Sora!" Biyomon cried.

"Gomen." Sora closed her eyes.

"No go home…all of you. I'll be here. The Digital World…is my home…" Ultimate Cabbimon looked away.

Home isn't home without you, but…I can't go…and you can't stay…She thought sadly.

"Sayonara." She leapt out of the room.

"Iie-" Koushirou's voice was cut off as the room filled with light after Ultimate Cabbimon's leaving.