By the time there was a knock at the door, Yamato was in Takeru's room, trying to sleep. Koushiro and Takeru sat near the door, keeping an eye on him.

"That'll be Hikari," Takeru mumbled. "I'll keep watch. You answer it."

Koushiro managed a grin. "Still avoiding her? I don't think she's angry with you, somehow."

Takeru thought of the text she had sent, and felt a pang of guilt. He should have replied, he knew that. But what could he have said? What was he going to say?

"It's not that," he said, forcing the thought away. "I'm a bit of a sight at the moment, is all. I think you should go and explain, before she sees all this. Yamato is trying to sleep."

Yamato rolled onto his back, and stared at the ceiling. "Will one of you just open the door already? This is hard enough without all the muttering. Wait. Takeru, you go. Get any yelling over with."

"And to think I thought you cared about me," Takeru said dryly as he stood.

"Maybe I just want a good laugh before I go," was his brother's reply.

Koushiro snorted, and Takeru just shook his head. If his brother could joke, that had to be a good sign. He walked quickly to the door, and fumbled with the catch. The most recent batch of painkillers he'd taken were wearing off, and the soreness in his hands and arms was returning. It made him more wary of knocking the dressings on his hands. Particularly the two on his fingers.

After a few moments it clicked open. He held the door almost closed for a second before opening it fully. What was he supposed to say? Hey Hikari, sorry to worry you, I just started travelling to a nightmare world in my sleep is all. It was ridiculous.

Hikari gasped. Takeru's mind went blank.

"Takeru, what happened?" she cried. "Was it an accident? Or a fight?"

He gestured for her to be quiet.

"Yamato is trying to sleep," he said in a low voice. Great. The first thought to come to mind was as unhelpful as it was beside the point. He cleared his throat and tried again. "It's really complicated. Koushiro could explain it better than me."

Hikari frowned, but said nothing as she removed her shoes, and followed him to the living area. She did give Koushiro a strange look as they passed Takeru's bedroom. Koushiro didn't even notice. He was alternating between writing in the notebook, and keeping an eye on Yamato.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly when they were seated. "Why is Yamato trying to sleep in the middle of the day? And why is Koushiro watching him? More importantly, why didn't you tell me you'd been hurt? Was it on your way home?"

The sincerity on his face chafed at him. It was hard enough talking to Hikari about himself as it was, without having to look at that expression of honest concern.

He closed his eyes and sighed, looking at the floor. "I didn't tell you, because it happened in the middle of the night," he said at last. "I was having nightmares – and it turns out Yamato was having them too. Last night I woke up like this. Well. I didn't wake up with the bandages and dressings, that part was Jou. I called him up in the middle of the night, and he told me to go see Koushiro, and we think we know what's going on now, but not a safe way to get back, so Yamato is trying to sleep now so that we can test the theory and see if there's a way we can sleep safely until Koushiro works out a safer way back. But that means someone has to be there, to wake us up if it looks like we're going, which is why Koushiro is sat outside my bedroom door. It's honestly not as weird as it looks."

Hikari raised her eyebrows. "Well I'm impressed," she said. "You managed to tell me the whole story, without giving away anything relevant."

He looked up sharply. She was smiling, but the expression didn't reach her eyes. They were hard to read. It didn't look like anger, exactly, but it wasn't concern.

"I..." He faltered.

"Could you please be honest with me? For once? I feel as though every time we talk – really talk I mean – there's something you're not telling me."

Almost instinctively, Takeru's gaze flicked over to Koushiro. The older boy wasn't watching them, but that didn't mean he wasn't listening.

Closing his eyes again, he hung his head.

"I didn't want you to worry," he said after a moment, meeting her eyes. "For the last week or so I've been dreaming about a place that was a little like the Dark Ocean. All the while it was just a dream, I didn't tell anyone. And then last night I woke up covered in burns, after burning rain fell on me in the dream. That's why I called Jou, and Koushiro. And then when we told Yamato he told us he's been having similar nightmares too. Koushiro thinks it's another world, and it pulls us in for some reason when we're asleep. That's why Yamato is trying to sleep. We need to know if there's a way to wake someone before they get sucked over there, and he wouldn't let me be the one to try it out."

Hikari had gone deathly pale. Takeru groaned with frustration.

"Now do you see why I didn't say anything? I knew it was a bad idea. With everything you-"

"Takeru." Hikari's voice was sharp. "Those dreams. You and Yamato. Both of you dreamed of the Dark Ocean?"

Takeru shook his head. "It isn't the Dark Ocean. It has that same feeling about it, but it's too bright and colourful. And Yamato wakes up on the outskirts of a city. Koushiro thinks it's another world, and we both wake up in different parts of it."

"It's... it's real?" Hikari looked frightened. That scared him.

"I'm sorry Hikari. I know I should have told you. But Koushiro thinks we can work around it – it's more complicated than just going to sleep. It might only happen at certain times."

"What times?" she asked urgently. "I need to know."

He hadn't expected that response. "We- we don't know. That's why Koushiro and Yamato are testing the theory out now. Why? What's wrong, Hikari?"

She looked over at him, eyes wide. He wished more than anything that he could hold her tightly, and reassure her that everything would be okay. Never did he feel more protective than when something was upsetting her. But even leaving aside the terror he had of ruining their friendship, the blisters on his arms made it impossible. All he could do was watch while she fumbled for words.

"Taichi," she said at last. "He's been having nightmares too. He's woken up yelling every night for well over a week now. He hasn't said anything about it, but I can hear the fear in his voice. If... if it's the same thing, and he's going there, we have to warn him."

"He's been yelling loud enough to wake you?"

Hikari froze, the fear in her expression clear. "No," she said at last. "I hear him because the nightmares wake me first."

It felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. He felt sick. Why had he spent so long fussing over himself? He should have noticed. He should have known.

"You... you too?" he managed, after what felt like an eternity of struggling to make his vocal chords cooperate.

Hikari nodded. "I... I'm between a cliff and a forest. And the forest is too thick to get into, but the cliff has lots of caves. And everything's just so bright that I go into the nearest cave to get away from the glare. I thought it was just dreams, but that brightness – that's what you described too. And Taichi won't talk about what his dreams are, but how can it be coincidence? We can't all be having these nightmares unless it's connected somehow."

Takeru nodded. "You should call Taichi. I'll go tell Koushiro. He'll want to add it to his notes."

He walked over to the other boy. Koushiro held a finger up for silence, and then wrote something on the notepad:

I think he's almost asleep. Don't want to disturb him now.

Takeru nodded, then gestured for the notebook. Koushiro shook his head, and pointed to his ear.

"You heard?" Takeru mouthed, and sighed with relief when Koushiro nodded. The other boy started writing again, then held up the notebook to reveal a second message:

I'm still not entirely sure why the four of you are experiencing these nightmares, but I am working on a few theories. I will need to speak to the others, and make sure none of them are having them too.

Taketu peered into his bedroom. Yamato was lying with his back to them, and the light of the open door. He didn't move when Hikari's voice sounded, talking quietly but urgently over the phone.

Koushiro frowned, then looked at Takeru. He scribbled something quickly on the notebook

I think he may be asleep. Would you go and check? It's a little more appropriate, as you're his brother.

Takeru nodded, and crept into the room. His brother was indeed asleep. Frown lines that Takeru hadn't even noticed that morning had eased. He looked more at peace than he'd seen him in weeks. How long had Yamato been having the nightmares? He'd made it sound as though it were longer than a week, that was certain. Another surge of guilt washed over him as he tiptoed back to the door. If only he'd said something sooner. Maybe they could have spared Yamato some of those broken nights' sleep. He had to have been exhausted, to go to sleep so quickly while knowing the danger that potentially awaited him.

"He'll be okay," Koushiro murmured. "And so will you. Taichi and Hikari as well. We'll find a solution."

"Taichi is heading over here now," Hikari said quietly, making the two boys jump. Takeru hadn't noticed her join them. "What are you watching for?"

Koushiro sighed. "We're not sure. All we really know is that there's something more than just sleeping which triggers the transfer between worlds. My current theory is that it has some relation to time of day, based on the fact that Takeru and Yamato confirmed that they have consistently woken at the same time."

Hikari nodded. "That sounds the same for me. Taichi too."

Takeru looked at the clock. Half eleven. If this didn't work – if they couldn't work out what it was – how much longer could he stay awake? Koushiro seemed convinced that he was in the most danger, being the only one thus far who had been injured by his experiences.

"Hikari?" That was Koushiro. "How does your experience normally end?" Takeru wrenched his face away from the clock's face to look at her.

"There's something in the cave," she said, hesitantly. "Some kind of creature. It's too dark for me to ever see what it is. But it paces back and forth. I can hear the footsteps. And then I feel its breath on my face, and I turn and run. Just as I think it's about to catch up with me, I wake up."

Koushiro nodded. "It fits the pattern," he said, frowning. "I just wish we had some idea of what the pattern is. Why the four of you?"

"We might not be the only ones," Takeru pointed out. "We haven't called the others yet. And there's always the chance that it's not just something limited to us."

Hikari shook her head. "This is too similar to the Dark Ocean to be totally unrelated to the Digital world. I can't explain more than that, but I can feel it. There's a connection, of some sort."

Koushiro tapped the notebook thoughtfully with his pen. "Well, there's only one way to find out," he said, looking over at the sleeping Yamato. "We need to call the others and check. Don't get into a big conversation about it. We just need a yes or no, so that we know what we're dealing with. Explanations will have to wait until we have one. I'll keep an eye on Yamato."

11:55am.

Yamato slept on, Koushiro watching. Takeru and Hikari sat in silence at the table, a neglected textbook between them. It had seemed a good idea, to try and catch up on classwork. All the way up until the moment they had tried to focus on the subject, and failed miserably.

"I think the waiting is the worst," Hikari said. "And what's keeping Taichi? I thought he'd be here by now."

Takeru looked away from the clock, towards where Koushiro was still writing something down. He had a pile of paper next to him, and would reach down every now and then to pick up a sheet, and either discard it or reread it carefully. Never had a Saturday passed so slowly.

He stifled a yawn, and dragged the textbook back to himself. On his third attempt at reading the same paragraph, there was a knock at the door. Hikari immediately stood and went to answer it. Koushiro barely looked up from his note-taking.

Was it tiredness or fear that made the clock move more slowly than everything else? Takeru felt as though time was skipping. One moment there was the sound of the door opening; the next Taichi had appeared opposite him at the table, looking him over with the sort of shocked expression that he'd already gotten sick of.

"Hikari told me what happened, but seeing it is different to hearing it," he remarked, looking over at Koushiro. "I'm still trying to get my head around it. You've been having the nightmares for a week, the same as Hikari?"

Takeru nodded. "How about you?"

Taichi frowned, and shook his head. "More like two. I thought I was doing well at keeping it to myself." He laughed hollowly and gestured to Takeru's arms. "Maybe I'm too stubborn for my own good. If I'd said something sooner we might have been able to prevent that."

Hikari sat down next to her brother. Takeru shook his head.

"There was no evidence that it was a real world until my clothes got burnt," he pointed out.

There was a thud, as Koushiro dropped the notebook and stood, quickly. Takeru practically leapt out of his chair to join him in the bedroom doorway. His heart hammered in his chest. Koushiro put out an arm.

"He's still here," he said. "I just thought I saw something."

Takeru looked over the other boy's arm. Yamato was still there, sleeping peacefully. Nothing was different. Except...

"Koushiro, does it look darker in the room to you?" he asked quietly.

"Not the room," the boy replied, sounding worried. "But Yamato... I think we should wake him. This has gone on long enough. Something isn't right."

Takeru nodded, and rushed over to the bed, calling his brother's name. Yamato didn't stir. The closer he got, the more difficult it got to move; as though the air were getting thicker. Behind him, he heard Koushiro shout something. Then came Hikari's voice, high and panicked.

There was something seriously wrong with Yamato. His body kept getting darker and darker, as though it was being wrapped in shadows, even as the room around him seemed to brighten. Takeru forced himself onwards. He had to reach him. Had to wake him up. Shouting his brother's name again, he threw himself forward, planning to shake him awake.

The moment he touched Yamato, the world went dark. The voices of the others cut off as though they were simply a recording someone had paused. He just had time to start feeling worried before an overwhelming pressure swamped him, and he lost consciousness.

A.N.: Well, if you ever wanted evidence that characters are pesky things who don't do as they're told, here you are. While I was planning this section in my head, Takeru was definitely not supposed to go and disturb Yamato. As I was writing the scene though, it just sort of worked out differently. Oh well. I think this will make the next chapter somewhat more interesting. Let me know what you think!