Authors note: phew this chapter gave me difficulty but here it is all in one piece. And thanks so much for taking the time to read it if I could I've give everybody chocolate crocodiles!

Chapter 5: Realisation

"From what I saw from the skirmish I believe that eerie mask is what's giving that man those inhuman like abilities. He wasn't happy at all when WarGreymon damaged it. Those pulses we saw were certainly an influx of the masks raw power, without it he was unable to command his abilities efficiently." Koushirou observed. He, Tai, Mimi and Joe were sitting at the table discussing what course of action they should take.

Jim had been forced to leave due to his parents demanding him and Joe return home. He had left in such a hurry that they were both extremely concerned for their welfare, though he had managed to appease them enough to allow Joe to stay he had been forced to return.

Tai voiced his opinion "Okay so all we have to do is destroy that stupid mask, WarGreymon almost managed it this time so when Yama has recovered and MetalGarurumon joins the fray we should be able to stop him no problem!"

Koushirou seemed to mull over this for a second, pinching the ridge of his nose and scrunching his face in concentration. "Perhaps. The only problem with that plan is that there are too many variables. What if that man has reinforcements? Or worse yet that man could have been holding back, we still know far too little to just rush back into the digital world."

"This is getting frustrating. That man this that man that! Let's name him something. I'm tired of listening to it." Mimi interrupted.

"I vote Bastard; in fact I bet that's his real name." Tai proffered, an evil smirk spreading across his face.

"Oh it suits him so well." Mimi clapped in agreement.

Koushirou gave Tai and Mimi an exasperated look before speaking. "Ok then. All we know is Bastard…" Tai smirked at Koushirou's use of the designated name. "…wants Yamato and Sora for unknown reasons. The only clue we have is that they were both rejected by the barrier."

"Guys Yamato's up! He seems fine now." Sora declared as she entered the room, they all offered her relieved looks.

"Just in time! We have some things we need to discuss, come on people lets go congratulate Mr sleepy head." Tai rose up from his seat at the table as he spoke, leading Sora and the others back into Yamato's room. Takeru and Hikari were already there, Takeru taking up Sora's previous position on the bed with Hikari at his side. They were all chatting amicably; Patamon perched himself on Takeru's head while Gatomon appeared to be discussing something with Biyomon.

"Well look who's up, slept long enough did you?" Tai beamed at Yamato who raised an eyebrow at him.

Yamato yawned with obvious exaggeration before countering "Actually now that you mention it I could sleep for another millennia or two, don't wake me."

"Yeesh I knew you were lazy but my god." Tai cooed, crossing his arms and leaning toward Yamato.

"Glad you're up, you seem to have recovered. We were just discussing how we should proceed. I was wondering if you had any idea why Bastard needs Sora and you, or why your reaction to the barrier was his method of determining who he was after. What exactly do you and Sora have in common? Did you get a chance to speak with him?" Koushirou asked.

"Bastard?" Yamato queried.

"It's his name!" Mimi chimed.

"Hah fits him perfectly." Yamato scoffed. "Sorry I didn't get any information out of him…I've been trying to figure it out but I've been drawing blanks."

"Maybe its cause you're both so feminine." Tai was punished for his guess by finding his vision clouded in white as Yamato threw a pillow at his face.

"HEY! I'm more beautifully feminine then you can handle and he wasn't after me!" Mimi interjected.

Koushirou silently slipped out of the room while Mimi attacked Tai, who was epically failing to defend himself as she repeatedly hit him over the head with the pillow. Koushirou sat down at Yamato's computer in the living room, he was trying to get in contact with Gennai; since he had actually been there he was trying to establish a permanent connection to Gennai's home but it still wasn't working. Koushirou tapped the mouse impatiently when the screen flashed; the bright light almost caused him to fall off the chair, instead he managed to stay upright watching with growing dread as the screen turned black. He could have sworn that for a split second he saw two deep red glows in the depth of the murky darkness before the actual screen began to quiver. A thick viscous black fluid bubbled out the sides of the screen as though a torrent of the substance was applying great pressure to surface from the other side, forcing its way out. A small amount spilled onto the back of hand his hand before he rapidly withdrew it from the keyboard, he stared at it with odd fascination before he realised the entire area the liquid had touched had turned deathly numb. No not numb…it was as though the section of his hand were simply gone. He leaped into the air as the substance began to pour out in thick, steady streams coating the keyboard and dripping off the side of the desk forming large black pools at the foot of the chair. Cradling his injured hand he ran for Yamato's room crying out in warning.

"Koushi! What the hell…what happened to your hand?" Tai stuck his head out the door so Koushirou had to skid to avoid crashing into him.

"We have to get out of here! An unknown substance is coming out of the computer and I can tell you from experience you don't want to touch it." Koushirou proclaimed as he pushed past Tai. His laptop was still plugged into the charger were he had left it so he sat down typing away with only one hand since his other proved useless. Mimi grabbed his afflicted arm, holding his hand up to inspect it. The substance had adsorbed into his skin turning it dull grey making her scowl anxiously. Tai had left the room, heading for the computer. His gait was halted however as the viscous liquid gushed out into the hallway flowing in a large wave toward him. He doubled back quickly, pushing Agumon back into the room and slamming the door. The liquid began seeping under the door towards them; the room was crowded with digimon and human alike trying their best to get as far from the ooze as was physically possible. Unfortunately due to the size of the room that wasn't very far and Tai's eyes widened as the liquid almost came into contact with his foot.

"Anytime now!" Tai pressed.

Koushirou was struggling to type due to the amount of bodies being shoved against him trying to avoid the dark matter seeping into the room and the fact that he was only able to use one hand. A small bead of sweat dribbled down his face as he entered the final code. To his amazement, without any prompting from him to let her know he was finished, Mimi pressed herself against his back extending her digivice towards the screen "DIGIPORT OPEN" She yelled. Koushirou was impressed at the lack of hesitancy or fear in her voice. The bright light enveloped them all just as the door gave way flooding the room with the dark ooze.

"What was that stuff?" Tentamon buzzed as they all got to their feet.

"I don't know." Koushirou stated.

"Ahhh! The digiport!" Joe yelped, pointing a shaky finger at the portal they had just used. The screen had turned the same black colour it had just before it had started to release the noxious slime-like substance.

"Pepper breath!" Agumon destroyed the portal on Tai's command, the screen melted before making a puttering sound and powering down.

"Our way back…" Hikari murmured.

"Sorry I couldn't think of anything else." Tai looked apologetically at his team; Yamato placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him lightly. "You had to do it; it's not your fault."

"Okay. No laptop no way back and no idea where we are. Could be worse I suppose." Joe sighed. "We could be dead instead of just waiting to die."

Gomamon rolled his eyes "Come on Joe cheer up, we're all together right? We'll protect you just like before! And I'm sure we'll come across another portal sooner or later."

"Why didn't we come out of the same portal as before, the one near Gennai's?" Sora questioned.

"Apparently that code I've been using has a random setting." Koushirou stated. He didn't want to voice his silent fear that whoever sent him the code might be able to decide the destination. He nursed his hand; it was extremely unsettling to feel like he was stroking air instead of flesh. Mimi clutched his hand in both of hers, he couldn't feel it but he certainly wished he could. "Does it hurt?" She asked. He shook his head, delicately prying his unfeeling hand out of her grasp, holding onto her by the tips of her fingers with his still normal hand. "It doesn't. It feels like it's gone."

"Gone…? Like numb?"

"No…Like it never even existed. It's the oddest sensation I've ever had the misfortune of experiencing."

"We've got to get back to Gennai's, maybe he can help." Tai announced.

Yamato could almost feel the tension in the air, the place they had landed was completely unfamiliar. The sky had darkened even further since there last visit, shedding bleak light across the ragged landscape. He could faintly see what he assumed was a hill or mountain of some sort in the distance, to his left he made out a small forested area.

"Bastard might know we arrived this way. I say we wait in that clearing over their, if he does come we can hopefully spot him before he sees us and land a surprise attack. Not to mention none of us have been able to rest for very long back home and I don't think we can go very far in this light." Tai declared. No one objected as they followed him toward the ominous looking trees, sticking close together so as not to loose one another. Just beyond the clearing there was a small groove in the ground, the ridges on either side were high enough to conceal the group from view should anyone come to inspect the portal, though if they were found inside they would be sitting ducks. Still it seemed better then the alternative.

"I'll take first watch, I got to sleep remember? Hopefully night in the digital world won't last too long." Yamato offered.

"Sounds good to me, I can't believe you would offer in light of just how lazy you are." Tai sneered light-heartedly.

"Come on Tai you're always late whenever we meet up and you have the gall to call me lazy." Yamato countered.

"Hey now I carried your sorry ass all the way back home when you took your little nap. Oh yeah you still haven't thanked me, I will accept nothing less then a heartfelt letter of thanks detailing just how grateful you are to me, your saviour!"

Yamato lifted his eybrows before placing his palm against his chest, dropping to one knee, throwing his arm against his forehead and closing his eyes in mock anguish. "Oh my dear saviour I cannot possibly express in words how exceedingly grateful I am!" He opened his eyes in a feigned look of earnest, grabbing Tai's hand in his. "No-one else could have preformed such a noble and heart-warming deed as this, except for perhaps a mule, so I am eternally in your debt!"

Tai blinked before they both erupted in laughter, it proved to be infectious as it rippled through the group. The light sound lifted the once heavy atmosphere as they settled down for the night.

"Yamato…can we talk?" Sora came up behind him startling him slightly. The others had all fallen asleep, used to staying in uncomfortable areas thanks to their previous trials. Takeru was sleeping in a sitting position against the wall with Hikari leaning on his shoulder. Koushirou and Mimi lay facing each other on the floor, his injured hand held by her since she refused to leave it alone. Tai was snoring lightly which was a first for him near where Sora and Yamato now stood and Joe was sleeping peacefully against the far side of the ridge.

"Sure what's the matter?" He asked. For the past hour he had been resisting the urge to wake her in order to speak to her alone, after that pretty obvious declaration of love he had realised they hadn't had a chance to express it in words. Were they together now? Or did she let him kiss her in a momentary lapse of judgement? Was she mad? She wrung her hands together as he waited for her to speak.

"It's just…I'm really worried. Bastard needs us and we have no idea why…I'm…afraid. I don't want to lose you." She cast her gaze away from him as she spoke, apparently finding a patch of the ground awfully interesting.

"I know how you feel. I'm terrified of what Bastard's going to do next. I keep jumping at shadows. But it will be ok…it always is." He closed the distance between them as he spoke reaching out to tilt her head upwards. He leaned in brushing their lips together before planting a small kiss; he withdrew only to find himself being forcefully pulled back as she gripped the back of his head with both her hands pulling him down to her level. He returned the kiss with gusto, wrapping his arms around her waist bringing his hand up to push against her shoulder blade. He ran his other hand along her spine before settling it into the small of her back, she moaned into his mouth deliciously as he did so. He closed his eyes savouring the feel of her form against him; they broke apart slowly to catch their breath but she closed the gap again almost as soon she breathed in, she almost seemed afraid he would disappear if the contact was broken for too long.

"Tai told me what to say in these situations…what was it? Oh yeah! Get a room you two!" Agumon interrupted their embrace causing them to push apart, both blushing intensely and seeming to be unsure of where they should put their hands.

"Wha…? Come on mom I was on time yesterday just give me five more minutes…" Tai mumbled behind them causing them both to jump before he rolled over and settled back into dreamland.

Yamato turned away from her before spotting a light in the mountainous area he had seen before. The inky black light that had flowed around the plains was turning into a bright grey as the apparent night became day though no sun shone in the sky. Still the small glittering light continued to beckon to him. "Wake the others up Gabumon, I thing we have a lead." He instructed. Gabumon, who had been silent during their kiss so much so that Sora had forgotten he was there nodded and proceeded to wake the group.

"It looks like a digiport." Tai observed as they came within running distance of the light. They had decided the small source of light was there only option since they still didn't really know where they were. They were close enough now to see it was an old TV set, flickering through static. In order to get to it they were going to have to pass in front of the cavernous opening of the now confirmed cave. Yamato glanced at it, wavering before he got near, the others didn't seem to notice him as they darted toward the digiport. Gabumon looked up at him with a perplexed expression. The darkness of the opening seemed almost unnatural, more unnatural then the black trees or rocks which he stood beside, so unnatural but vaguely familiar…

Then it hit him, so fast and so hard that it felt like his heart had dropped into his stomach. Ice spread through him as the blood drained from his face causing him to let out an audible gasp. Koushirou's question echoed. What does he and Sora have in common? What does everything in the digital world reflect?

The black trees and rocks, the black substance creating nothingness, the grey landscape and clouded sky that sheds light devoid of all colour.

Something he never thought he'd have to dwell on again.

The deep blackness.

Something he and Sora both suffered from and conquered.

The darkness.

"STOP!" He yelled. Sora, who was bringing up the rear of the group, whipped her head around to look back at him just as Bastard miraculously appeared before the terminal, stopping the rest of the groups in their tracks. Tai slid to a halt mere inches from Bastard, close enough to see the small barely visible line of repair on the mask which was once again smiling.

"So nice of you all to fall into this obvious ploy oh so easily, I've been waiting." Bastard jeered.

More author stuff: Big humongous cookie to anyone who guessed what they had in common correctly! I don't think it was too difficult to figure out but I gave being mysterious a good go hehehe