A/N: This is a bit late, and I am apologetic for that. I got really weird this weekend. Also, I worked on some bits of the story that are ahead of this one. So. Yeah, that happened. Also, there are a few new titles up on the series page for this one. Mostly for fics that are already planned. I think I have only a few left in the verse to work out if they're happening or not so until then that thing is still left incomplete.

Ah well, that all said and done, here goes with the start of arc 3. Please do drop a review at the bottom of the page if you feel so inclined and keep me on alert! My updates are as random as I am!

3-1

"Wake up!"

Takeru stirs with reluctance at the voice. His head and chest are aching and he feels his eyes twinge.

"You can't sleep here, wake up!"

He swears he knows that voice.

"Takeru!"

Takeru snaps his eyes open. "Tokomon!"

"Takeru!" His partner is on top of him within seconds, nuzzling his face and almost in tears but it's a testament to how bad everything is gotten that he is not crying. "You're okay! That light hit us and it hurt so much and you were screaming. I'm glad you're okay!"

Takeru has never been so happy about hearing his partner babble in his life. He sits up and winces, the pain back. But he ignores it, desperate to figure out where he is. The ground is damp under his fingers and he regards the silent trees warily. He knows there should be wind, but it's nowhere to be found. Takeru puzzles through this in his head and in that moment decides he shouldn't stay here. Trying to stand sends a shock through his system and he falls backwards and yelps.

"You're injured, stop moving!"

Takeru turns towards the voice and stares. "Wizarmon-san?"

The Digimon nods, looking around them as if someone will come running and slice their heads open. At this point, that wouldn't surprise Takeru very much, considering they were being attacked by anything anyway…

"What are you doing here?"

The man sniffs, ducking his head behind his upturned collar. "I followed all of you, of course. But when you fell in, I flew off course. i'm lucky I found one of you."

Takeru nods, rubbing his eyes. "Where are we?"

"Forest Sector," Tokomon pipes up. "Pinocchimon lives here, Wizarmon and I heard some Floramon talking about him. He's kind of mad."

Takeru shivers. He remembered Pinocchimon staring at him, looking awful proud of himself "Are any of the others here?"

"Just you that we've found," he says. "And now that you're awake, we need to get moving and see if we can find the others before they get hurt."

"Before Hikari-san finds them," Takeru says aloud, guessing what he's actually saying. "She's not trying to kill us," he murmurs, looking at the sky he realizes hasn't shifted once, not even the clouds.

Wizarmon shakes his head, looking almost disheartened. "It's not your friend making those actions anymore. She's trying… but there's no stopping the infection once it starts. None that we have while the world's like this."

"We're still going to try," Tokomon says, high-voice stubborn.

Takeru doesn't say anything, just begins to take slow, painful movements towards walking.

He isn't sure if there is a way to stop every evil thing in the world, but he doesn't want anymore days where the bad guys win.

He's so tired of losing.