Takeru was tired of being cooped up indoors. Yesterday had been entertaining with Taichi and Daisuke's crazy idea of spying on their friends' double date. He suspected that the real reason they had taken him along was so they could use him as an excuse if they got caught ("No, Mimi, we weren't following you. We just were getting Takeru some fresh air and we just happened to be in the same area…this is purely coincidence, nothing else."). But it had been fun until Taichi abruptly decided to take him back home. He didn't know why Taichi had been so worried; he had only been dizzy for a second, after all, but his reaction was almost as bad as Yamato's would have been had his older brother been there. So now he was back at the apartment, forbidden once again to go outside, not that he really had anywhere to go besides the fact that it was freezing outside.

Then he remembered he had other options.

He went over to the computer and pulled up the Digital World. He locked onto Patamon's signal and was delighted to find that his partner was in a section of the Digital World that was neither cold nor covered with snow (because with the Digital World, you never knew; it could have been either one and not just both). He found the nearest portal, thinking that no one could really complain if he went to get some fresh air in a place that was warm and not nearly as hazardous to his health (giant evil monsters notwithstanding). He pulled on his shoes, grabbed his D-Terminal, and used his D-3 to go to the Digital World.

Using his D-3 as a guide, he quickly located Patamon. The little orange Digimon was ecstatic as usual to see him, flying straight into his chest while crying out his name. Takeru laughed and hugged Patamon tightly to himself as his face broke into a wide smile. There was something about the little guy that couldn't help but cheer him up. All it took was Patamon's eyes to go wide with concern and the question, "What's wrong, Takeru?" before he began to tell Patamon about the past few days; all about his illness, the strange dreams he had been having, and everything else.

"I don't know what to do, Patamon," he finished. Sometime during his speech, he had sat down on the ground and Patamon had taken his usual spot on top of Takeru's head.

"You should tell Yamato and Taichi," Patamon said. "They always fix everything."

Takeru chuckled softly. "Usually whether I want them to or not," he added.

Suddenly he felt something that could only be described as a call. It was like someone was reaching out to him, and it felt almost familiar, like something from a forgotten dream. He cautiously reached back, not sensing anything malicious in the call and not really sure exactly what he was doing, since he had never done anything like this as far as he could remember. He felt something answer briefly and if he had to describe it, he was say it was like a small light in the darkness that answered.

Moments later he saw a pillar shoot into the air that was about half-white and half-black shooting up to the sky not far from where he and Patamon were. Takeru stood up in alarm and he felt Patamon take flight off from his head. "What is that?" he asked out loud.

"I don't know, Takeru," Patamon answered. "It kind of looks like what happened when you opened a portal in the summer, but the one you opened was all white."

Takeru frowned in confusion. He had opened that portal from the Dark World. He wondered if that meant someone had just come from the Dark World. Knowing that he couldn't let something evil wander about the Digital World and not try to do anything about it, he decided to go check it out. He cast a glance at Patamon, deciding on whether to use Pegasusmon or Angemon to get over there. Riding Pegasusmon would be more comfortable than being carried by Angemon, but Angemon was more effective in a fight against dark Digimon, not to mention he had quicker access to MagnaAngemon, in case a quick power up was needed. He came to the conclusion that comfort came second; he asked Patamon, "Are you ready to Digivolve?"

Patamon nodded before calling out, "Patamon Digivolve to…Angemon!"

Takeru smiled, basking in presence of his partner. He loved Patamon; he adored his little Digimon more than anything else. But there was something about Angemon that went beyond that; an extra feeling of comfort and safety when the Angel Digimon was around that he always loved. Angemon picked him up and they flew to where the pillar had appeared which just so happened to be a flower covered meadow. Takeru saw something on the ground in the center of the field. Angemon landed at the tree line, on the edge of the meadow, far enough away to err on the side of safety, but close enough to walk. When they landed, Angemon didn't revert back to Patamon. Takeru was thankful for the precaution without him having to say anything. If something had come from the Dark World, it was really better to be safe than sorry.

As they got closer to the figure in the field, Takeru found that it was a girl, probably around the same age as he was, lying on the ground. Her eyes were closed, but Takeru was unsure if she was merely asleep or unconscious. He glanced around for her Digimon partner, but didn't see one immediately. He supposed it was possible the Digimon had wandered off to find help, if the girl was indeed unconscious. He had never known a human to come to the Digital World without having a Digimon partner.

His desire to help overcoming his common sense, he ran over to where the girl was and knelt at her side. He reached out and brushed some strands of her long brown hair back from her face. Two thoughts brushed his mind almost immediately. The first was a thought of how pretty the girl was, while the second was a hope that they could become good friends. Before he could dwell too much on those thoughts, all of the medical information that Jyou had told him about treating victims raced across his brain. He wondered exactly what he could do, since he couldn't very well call for help or an ambulance. Not that he wouldn't necessarily be surprised to find an ambulance somewhere in the Digital World, though he doubted if he did find one that it would have the same use here as in the real world.

"Do you know her, Takeru?" Angemon asked bringing Takeru back from his thoughts.

Takeru shook his head. "I've never seen her before, but she has to be a Digidestined, right?" He looked her over and didn't really see any injuries. He knew he shouldn't move her (Jyou had iterated that so many times), but he checked her pulse and her breathing and found them normal. He shook her slightly to see if she would wake up, and when she didn't, he came to the conclusion that she was in fact unconscious and not just asleep.

"I've never heard of a human coming here that wasn't Digidestined," Angemon said. "What should we do with her?"

"I don't really know," Takeru said. Not knowing what else to do, he reached into one of the pockets of the zipper sweatshirt she was wearing, searching for something to give him an indication of who this girl could be. He frowned when he felt an oddly familiar shaped object. He pulled it out and frowned deeper at the pink D-3 he now held in his hand. As far as he knew, there were only five D-3s in the entire world and they belonged to himself, Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, and Iori. So the question now came of how this girl had one as well. He wondered if she could be a new Digidestined and perhaps that pillar had been her being pulled into the Digital World for the first time, rather than coming from the Dark World.

A soft groan emitted from the girl's lips and her eyelids fluttered briefly, but her eyes did not open. Takeru set the D-3 down, figuring he could ask Koushiro about it later, once he's taken care of the girl. He placed a hand on the side of her face, hoping that she would wake up soon and give him more of an idea of what he could do for her. Suddenly, her hand reached up to cover his, then her eyes slowly opened to reveal a warm cinnamon color. "Hey, are you all right?" Takeru asked her softly, once her eyes focused on him.

Her reaction was not exactly what he was expecting. She began to scream and pulled away from him, sitting up and pushing away from him. Her eyes were full of fright and panic as her gaze flickered between him and Angemon.

Takeru reached out a hand, intending to comfort her. "It's all right," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you." He scooted closer to her, but didn't get much closer than a few feet before she screamed again. This time she threw her hands out in front of her. Black beams streaked in pink light shot from her hands at Takeru.

Takeru threw up his hands defensively in response as his golden shield appeared just barely in time to block the beams from hitting him and Angemon. The girl stared at her hands with disbelief and shock etched into every inch of her body. Takeru looked at Angemon and found that he was shocked as well. Takeru didn't know any other Digidestined that had special powers in the Digital World like he did, but here was this girl that clearly did. Though judging from her shocked look, she had no idea what she did. Takeru let the shield drop, because he didn't think she attacked him on purpose and wasn't really necessarily a threat to him. She just seemed lost and confused to him.

Tears began to stream down her face. She pulled up her knees to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them and hid her face in them. Her body began to shake slightly, and Takeru thought that perhaps she might be sobbing.

Takeru stood up and took a step toward her. "Takeru, are you sure that's a good idea?" Angemon asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "She did attack us."

"I don't think she meant to," Takeru said. "She needs our help, Angemon," he added earnestly. The two of them stood there for just a few seconds, until Angemon nodded and took his hand away. Takeru was glad his partner trusted him enough to let him do this. He had to help this girl. He took another cautious step forward, not wanting to be attacked again, but desiring to comfort her and let her know that he wasn't an enemy, but someone who could be her friend. When she didn't even react, he took the final few steps it took to reach her.

He knelt back down next to her and softly put a hand on her shoulder very slowly, trying not to alarm her as much as possible. He whispered a soft, "Hey." She gasped and looked up at him with eyes red from crying, but still full of panic. Takeru smiled at her and could see her soften just a little. "It's all right," he repeated to her. Since she didn't pull away, he placed his other hand on her other shoulder. "You're safe with me," he assured her.

It was a few seconds before she really responded, after just staring at him with wariness in her eyes. Finally, one of her hands reached out and grasped the fabric of his shirt in a light grip. She leaned forward slightly, just enough for him to take it as her acceptance of him.

He didn't know what exactly made him do what he did next. Perhaps it was the strange, fierce desire he held to protect and take care of this girl he barely knew. Perhaps it was just an impulse, a spur of the moment, something that just happened without him having to think about it. But he pulled the girl up into his arms and wrapped his arms around her small frame, not holding her too tightly, in case she wanted to pull away.

She stiffened almost immediately, but she didn't pull away. He hugged her just slightly tighter to himself, wondering where exactly the feelings of needing to protect her came from. He wondered if those strange dreams he been having the past few days had anything about it, but his thoughts were cut short when the girl relaxed into his embrace. Her arms flew around him as she buried her face in his chest and she held onto him almost like her life depended on it.

When she began crying again, he just held her and whispered comforting words into her ear as his hand stroked through her hair. Soon, he could feel her body relax even more as her grip around him slackened slightly. Her breathing became more even. He knew that she was going to sleep, hopefully a peaceful one. He sighed slightly, wondering what exactly he was going to do with her.

She didn't know anything. She didn't know who she was, where she was, or how she had gotten there. She didn't even know the boy that held her so gently, so comfortingly in his arms, though there was something that was peculiarly familiar in those bright blue eyes. She didn't know how she had attacked him with those black beams and if she was being honest, she wasn't sure that she wanted to know about that.

But she did know that his smiles brought a joy to her that she could hardly explain.

She knew that he would help her. She let herself relax in his arms. She liked the comforting words he was whispering in her ears and she liked the feel of his hand stroking through her hair. She wondered at herself that she didn't try to stop him, but somehow, it felt right to be there, right as she was. As the tears stopped, she closed her eyes and let sleep come to her because somehow she knew that nothing would happen to her as long as she was with him. Her final thoughts drifted across her mind before she succumbed.

This felt safe.

This felt warm.

This felt like…home.

Gatomon stood with Wizardmon at the edge of a field of flowers, watching the two Digidestined and Angemon that were in the center. Her eyes quickly flicked around to find the second Digimon that would be partnered with the other Digidestined, but couldn't find one. She wondered where it was, but didn't dwell on it long. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the brown haired girl that the blond boy had on his arms. She had watched the whole scene, having not been far away when she and Wizardmon saw the pillar. They had arrived to investigate just before the boy had flow down with Angemon. They had stayed hidden, deciding to be merely observers to the whole affair. She had heard rumors of Digidestined having powers like Digimon, which she had found extremely odd, but it was the first time she had seen it for herself.

When her eyes first saw the girl, she had felt something; she had no words to describe it. She was even uncertain of whether what she felt was good or bad. "Do you know who they are, Wizardmon?"

"I remember the blond boy," Wizardmon replied. "His name is Takeru; he was part of the prophecy that I heard from Azulongmon this past summer. He and his partner are a powerful team. It was his Angemon that destroyed Phantomon during the first battle with Myotismon, don't you remember?"

Gatomon nodded slowly, sort of remembering the arrival of Angemon into the battle, vague memories of a small boy in green passing through her mind. She could hardly believe that the boy in the field was the same person. Humans certainly changed a lot as years passed. "What about the girl? Do you know who she is?" she asked Wizardmon with just a hint of desperation in her tone. She felt something in her seize up, in a tense anxiety of what his answer might be. She didn't know why it was so important to her; she was certain she had never seen the girl before. But something in her had to know.

"I've never seen her before," Wizardmon answered. "There are quite a few more Digidestined than the original seven that I met before. Other than the four new ones that I met briefly this summer, I'm afraid I do not know them all. But she has to be a Digidestined. It seems Takeru knows her. Why do you ask?"

Gatomon looked up at her friend and saw quiet kindness in his inquiring eyes. "I'm not sure," Gatomon said. "It's just…when I saw her I thought…" She trailed off, not finding the words to explain what she felt.

"Do you want to go talk to them?" Wizardmon asked.

Gatomon thought for a moment before flicking her tail and turning away from the field to begin walking away. "No," she answered as Wizardmon followed her. "What purpose would it have?"

"As long as that is what your heart tells you," Wizardmon said.

Gatomon stopped for a moment at his words, her eyes flicking back to the group in the field. She didn't really know what her heart was telling her or where her answers would be. She was certain that what she was looking for wouldn't be with some human Digidestined. She turned back away and scampered off back into the trees with Wizardmon flying behind her. This time, she didn't look back.