Hey, guys! Sorry this took forever. School play's this weekend, so I haven't had much time at all to write. Expect faster updates after this weekend!

Without further ado...

Wednesday

Kari did her best to stroll nonchalantly into the Inoue's department store, but she couldn't hide her excitement for long. She let out a short yip of celebration before stopping herself in the frozen food aisle to compose herself.

No matter how excited she was about contacting her team, they didn't know her and were going to be thoroughly freaked out if she acts so excited to see any of them. She took a deep breath and walked out of the aisle and to the register where she could plainly see a certain lavender-haired teen.

Putting on her warmest smile, she approached the teen.

"Hello," Yolei droned, "are you ready to check out, Miss?"

The formality made Kari want to cringe. In fact, everything about this girl bothered her. It was off; she was still lanky, still didn't want to work at her parent's store, still Yolei, big glasses and all… but somehow not.

"Actually," Kari said still sporting a cheerful smile, "I wanted to talk to you."

She suddenly looked embarrassed and for the first time, really looked at Kari. "Oh, uh… do I know you?"

"Good question, do you?"

"…I just asked you that."

"Right... You see, my name is Kari Kamiya, and I wanted to ask you a few questions."

"…okay," Yolei watched her expectantly with a look that showed how crazy she thought Kari was.

Just wait until she hears what this girl has to say. "This is hard to explain, but if you could just wait until the end that would be great." She took a deep breath and began, "It all started- well, for you anyway- four years ago on the first day of school. Somehow, you ended up in the computer room with a strange device-"

"I don't remember that," Yolei piped, and Kari withheld an eye roll and a smile. Typical Yolei who always has to give her two cents.

"I know you don't," she assured, "but go with it, alright?

"So it turns out that device was something called a digivice that can take you to another world called the Digital World where these things called Digital Monsters are-"

"Other worlds?" the purple-haired girl snorted, but Kari ignored her.

"You and me and some other kids found out there was evil in that other world, and together we defeated it and along the way grew to love that other world,"-Kari sighed deeply thinking about how important the Digital World used to be to them- "…but not everyone was so excepting of the Digital World and once they found out about ot, they didn't want anything to do with it, so powerful beings in the other world erased our memories, so they could live in peace away from us."

There was barely a stop between the end of Kari's speech and Yolei's words. "Why wouldn't someone want to be part of something as cool as another world?"

"Good question," Kari repeated. "Would you want to be part of this other world?"

She nodded her head vigorously. "Oh definitely, that is, if it existed of course. Thanks though, really entertaining story."

Kari frowned. "But it wasn't-"

"Sorry but it looks like there's other customers coming," Yolei explained while looking past Kari to an elderly couple walking towards the register. "You need to move out of the way."

"But I'm not done!" she exclaimed more forceful than intended.

Yolei looked at her in surprise for the short outburst, and Kari hung her head a little.

"Alright… I'll talk to you when you aren't so busy."

"Ew! Why would you ever put the cosmos by the geraniums?"

Sora hid her amused smile at her friend's forgetfulness. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe someone told me to?"

That made Mimi stop as she looked up from the register. "Me?" Sora nodded. "Oh no, see I'm forgetting everything now!" She put her head down in her hands prompting Sora to walk over and place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"No you're not, Mimi," she soothed.

"Yes, I am," the distressed girl shouted, throwing her hands up in the air and thereby forcing the comforting hand off her shoulder, "Izzy said I'm one of the ones losing my memory the fastest! I won't know any of you, and I'll go back to America, and I'll never see you again, and I'll spend the rest of my life alone!"

"Mimi, relax! Get a grip!" Sora commanded moving ever closer to her friend, visually worried and shocked from the unexpected outburst.

"A grip on what?" the girl snapped, "Everything's gonna disappear! What if I forget who I am? What's my name, Sora, WHAT'S MY NAME?"

"Mimi!" Sora exclaimed worriedly, grabbing her friend's shoulders and about an outburst away from slapping her. Her voice was brought down to barely above a whisper, and she was well aware that even though the store was empty now, a customer could walk in at any moment.

"You're alright. We'll still have each other. All we're supposed to forget is the Digital World."

"No, it's not! You heard Izzy! We're forgetting each other, what am I supposed to do without all of you? I'm a mess! Five thousand miles away from Earth! I need someone to pull me back down!"

"Mimi, sit down and calm down!" Sora ordered. Mimi had sprung up out of her seat while she was talking.

Sora's ears heard the tell-tale bell of someone walking through the door, and she automatically stepped away from Mimi and out onto the floor. She calmly explained, "We have a customer now, so you have to stay calm."

Mimi took a few deep breaths and messed around with her hair a moment before catching sight of her friend. "Sora, close your mouth. We're not trying to attract flies."

The redhead shut her mouth, but her eyes remained wide. "Look who just walked in."

Towering over the shelves of flowers was none other than Benjamin Mori.

"What is he doing here?" Mimi hissed. Sora merely shrugged, eyes never leaving the investigator.

He strolled to the register Mimi sat at, a twisted grin contorted his face.

"Hello, girls," he began with an eerily calm tone, "I told you we weren't finished, didn't I?"

TK sighed deeply to gather himself. He didn't even know what he was going to say.

'Hey, is Cody here? He doesn't know me, but we used to be friends!'

'Could I come in please? I need to speak to your son, Cody Hida, as soon as possible.'

'Cody. Talk. Me. Now.'

He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and took a small step forward. Well, less a step and more him dragging his feet closer to what might possibly be the conversation that'll get him locked up in a mental institute.

TK blinked while throwing a foot backwards, mind now completely focused on his last thought.

Mental institute? Sure, he was about to try and get Cody to believe in other dimensions and computer data with feelings, but the kid would never report him or his secrets…. He wouldn't, right? Even if he didn't know TK and didn't know about the Digital World, there had to be something inside him that had enough loyalty not to give away his secrets.

And then an even more unsettling thought than the mental institute: this won't be the Cody he knows, the Cody who's his friend, who eventually he became very close to. This will be starting over at day one with him.

He remembered the first time he showed up at Cody's door. He was pretty sure it was important. (Then again when you're a kid, everything's the biggest deal in the world)

Cody didn't want to let him in; he became very uncomfortable and fidgety. The kid never did have good social skills… or trusting skills. TK could remember just how much it took to get Cody to speak up and be comfortable enough with the team to voice his opinions.

"Hello?"

TK was hurtled back into the present. He blinked a few times trying to focus on the shorter, but not as short as he remembered, brunette standing in the doorway.

"Did you need something?" The young teen's voice was quite and monotone; TK wasn't sure if this made him sound timid or emotionless, but what he was sure of was that this was definitely Cody.

"Uh, yes actually," TK started, "mind if I come in?"

Cody's eyes (that had yet to meet TK's) traveled back behind the door he clung to. He avoided giving an answer. "Who are you?"

The blonde resisted the urge to facepalm. Introducing himself would've been a good way to start. "I'm TK. I live down on the fifth floor. You're Cody, right?"

"…Right."

"Right so I need to talk to you about… important stuff."

Maybe it was the pleading blue eyes, but something got Cody to agree. He still wouldn't let TK in his home and squeezed out from behind the door and into the narrow hallway finally allowing the other a good look at him.

Cody was definitely taller but most likely below average height for his age. His hair had grown out and lost its natural straightness, now a bit wavier and obviously flattened down, but his emerald green eyes didn't change one bit, still as unreadable as ever.

TK took a breath knowing that his best bet was the direct approach. He pushed all of the possible outcomes out of his head, and asked bluntly, "Do you think there are other worlds?"

Cody scrunched up his nose, and TK prepared himself to be sent to the funny farm. Oddly enough he was met with a look of shock mixed with curiosity.

"Do you?" the brunette asked in return.

TK paused; he hadn't anticipated him being the one to answer the questions. "…There could be. What would you think of it if there was?"

Cody took a moment to think it over which raised TK's spirits a little; he was actually interested in this other world. He mused, "Depends what kind of world we're talking about."

The blonde tilted his head. "What kind?"

"A good one or a bad one?" he clarified as if it was obvious.

A discreet smile found its way to TK. This was still Cody, seeing the world with as little gray area as ever. TK answered truthfully, "A good one with bad in it."

The younger never responded, and the elder wanted desperately to know what he was thinking. "…Why is there bad in it?"

TK hesitated but knew he had to be blunt and get it out there. "I'm not sure, but… it's up to us to find out."

"Huh?" The teen was thoroughly confused.

"You see, a long time ago we saved that world with the rest of our team, and now we have to do it again." Seeing Cody's reaction, he added, "Your memory was erased not long after the last time we did this."

"That's convenient," Cody muttered to himself.

"What?"

He explained, "If I 'don't remember' you could get me to believe anything. That's just too convenient for comfort."

"But- but it's the truth!" TK fumbled. He'd never thought about it that way, but he really did have the opportunity to tell Cody anything if he believed the memory wipe.

Cody shrugged calmly. "Maybe it is the truth, but you don't have any solid proof right now."

The blonde ran a hand through his hair. "Not right now…"

The younger nodded sympathetically and began retreating back to his door. "Maybe you can find me again when you have proof."

With that, Cody shut the door leaving behind TK who was already mulling over a new strategy.

"Hold this."

"Hold wha- oof!"

Just as he was walking into the Izumi's apartment, Matt was cut off mid-word by Izzy shoving a large stack of printer paper into his arms. He studied the paper on top that was plastered with screen shots of a centarumon.

"What is all this?" He asked apprehensively.

Izzy whipped his head at Matt then right back to his computer. "I've been doing some research-"

"Say no more," Matt interrupted not really wanting to hear a long explanation, "summarize."

He shot his friend an annoyed look before summarizing, "Due to the attacks in the Digital World against Tai, it can be assumed these digimon are after us meaning we're needed for something ergo we have to talk to Gennai and find out what 'something' is. I called you down here to help me because I'm not in Tai's well wishes at the moment."

"Yeah, what'd you do anyway?" Matt asked as Izzy gestured for them to walk into the kitchen.

"He hasn't told you?" That honestly shocked the genius. He knew Tai wasn't telling anyone about the pill, and it was all part of his plan to make him squirm, but Izzy expected him to at least tell Matt or someone instead of keeping it all to himself.

"Nope," Matt grunted while plopping the papers down onto the kitchen table.

"Oh well it's nothing… just, uh, creative differences." Izzy gulped. Trying to keep up his lies wasn't easy with the added pressure that at any moment Tai could decide to rat him out. What would the others think? They wouldn't be happy; that's for sure, and the anxiety and growing tension of waiting for his secret to get out that only he could sense were eating him up.

The blonde watched Izzy suspiciously. He was certain he wasn't being told everything but also realized if he wasn't, he wouldn't get it out of Izzy anyway.

"Right," he started, "so we'll talk to Gennai and then what?"

The redhead shrugged. "Do some investigating, fix the problem, fight some monsters."

Objections came rushing into Matt's head all at once. If they had to help the Digital World again, that meant possibly going back to a time like when it controlled their lives, when it took up all their time, and when it had caused his band to break up. He didn't want that; things were just getting back to normal!

Despite all of that, Matt couldn't stop himself from cracking the smallest of grins about returning to his childhood adventures. "So what I'm hearing is we're back?"

Izzy hesitated, battling within himself over whether he should say more. There was so much he wanted to say, so much that the others didn't know.

"… I guess we are."

So you can probably tell what gonna happen next to some degree?

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it!