A.N.: It has occurred to me that just putting timestamps on the sections where I skip ahead/backwards could be a little confusing. To avoid this confusion, when I skip I'm going to add the day of the week as well, to help keep better track of when things are happening. I am going to use Earth time throughout, despite the fact that day/night is reversed in the other world.

I'm not going to skip backwards more than a few hours at a time at any point, so I don't feel the need to put an actual date in as well, but for anyone interested, this chapter takes place on the 30th May, 2004. Just a little fluff there. And please do let me know what you think, or if you have any questions. I've not been so good at replying before now, but I am endeavouring to do better!

Sunday, 3:00am

It was good that she had her D3 and Terminal with her. Quite aside from giving Tailmon the ability to digivolve if they got into any trouble, it meant that she was able to keep track of time. There certainly wasn't any other way to. The canopy overhead obscured the sun, and the path they followed had so few distinguishing features that it was easy to just fall into a rut of walking.

Unbidden, her mind went back to when she had been just eight years old, and trekking through the Digital world for the first time. What she wouldn't give to be with the others right now. Koushiro had told her that Taichi made it safely home, but Yamato and Takeru were still in this ridiculous, eye-watering world. She hoped they were okay. From what Koushiro had told her, Yamato was heading to explore an apparently abandoned city. No one had heard from Takeru.

No. She wasn't going to allow herself to follow that train of thought again. He was safe. He had to be, or he would have been thrown out of this stupid world, and Koushiro would have told her.

"You're worrying about Takeru again," Tailmon said. Hikari almost tripped over from whirling around to look at her partner.

"What?" She could feel the heat in her cheeks. How did she keep doing that?

Tailmon shrugged. "I'm worried about him and Patamon too you know, but right now you need to keep your thoughts here. Or we might miss something in this forest which could lead us home."

"And what makes you think I was worrying about Takeru?" She leant against a tree and folded her arms, trying to look as casual as possible.

Tailmon blinked slowly and innocently. "You really think I haven't noticed? Besides. He's the only one who we haven't heard from, and he was injured before he got here. You scarcely took your eyes off him all afternoon, by the way. If you're really going to insist on still not saying anything, then you might want to be a little more subtle about it."

"I… I…" She stood up sharply, and turned to keep walking. "I don't know what you're talking about," she managed at last. Turning her head, she saw Tailmon start to follow her, smiling. "What's so funny? You do realise we're still stuck in a strange world with no idea where we are and no way home, don't you?"

"Of course," Tailmon replied, serious now. "But we've come through greater dangers than this. And it always amuses me when you remind me of your brother."

Hikari stopped in her tracks. "Wait, I remind you of Taichi?"

"Only when you're being as stubborn as he gets sometimes."

They lapsed into silence. After a minute or so, Hikari started walking again. It wasn't the first time they had ended up having this conversation. She knew from experience that Tailmon would drop it if she just ignored her. Things were simpler for Digimon; they didn't have to worry about ruining friendships with unwanted honesty. Hikari often envied her partner.

The wind picked up a little, making the branches above their heads creak. "Do you think it might rain?" Tailmon asked.

"I don't know," Hikari replied. "I really hope not. It-" She was interrupted by a bleep from her D-Terminal. Grabbing it from her pocket, she flipped it open.

:Hikari, you need to be on your guard. Something might have happened to Yamato. Until I say, don't message anyone but me. It could be dangerous.:

"Oh no," she whispered, letting the hand holding the D-Terminal fall to her side. Tailmon reached out and took it, then blanched as she read the message too.

"You need to ask Koushiro for more information, Hikari. If there are more dangers here, we should know what they are."

Hikari nodded. Taking the D-Terminal she tapped out her question, then looked along the path they were following.

"We should keep going," she said. "We need to look for answers, still. If Yamato is in trouble, Koushiro is going to want as much information about this place as he can get. This path has to be here for a reason. It's too well looked-after."

Tailmon nodded. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until a bleeping announced Koushiro's reply.

:Yamato sent me a message to say he was hiding from someone or something, and that I should not message him. I didn't warn the pair of you to stay quiet, so Takeru had no way of knowing that, and tried to contact him. I don't know if Yamato was found, and I can't risk contacting him to find out. But we know now that this world you are in is inhabited by someone or something. Keep alert.:

"That's not good," Hikari said, looking around her. "Perhaps it's time we got off this path."

Tailmon shook her head. "We're just as likely to get in trouble in the middle of the woods as here, Hikari. And… we can't be certain that Yamato's in trouble. He might just be too busy to reply."

Hikari nodded, although she wasn't convinced. "I doubt Takeru will see it that way," she said after a moment. "He must be worried sick."

"The best that we can do for both Takeru and Yamato is to find out as much about this place as we can, Hikari. Koushiro is right - there has to be a reason the four of you were chosen."

On and on they walked, sometimes talking, sometimes falling silent. After a time the ground began to slope upwards slightly, until they reached the crest of a hill. From somewhere further ahead was the sound of water. Pushing past her growing weariness, Hikari kept up with Tailmon as she ran forward. Both of them sighed with relief when they found a clear pool, fed by a spring. Water flowed away downstream over a series of small waterfalls.

They stopped only to nod once at each other, both racing forwards to drink. It had been a long walk. The water was cool and fresh. Hikari splashed her face after she had drunk her fill, hoping to wake herself up a little. The long walk, on the back of a stressful and emotional day, was starting to catch up with her.

"I think we need to find somewhere we can rest safely," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Maybe if we follow the stream a bit, the ground will level out again?"

Tailmon shrugged. "It's that or go back the way we came. And nowhere behind us looked all that good a place to sleep."

Hikari nodded, getting to her feet. "I can keep going a little longer."

They didn't have to go far. The ground sloped steeply in front of them, and after just a few minutes they found an opening in the hillside. It was an overhang more than an actual cave; one side of it was coated in a thick vine which bloomed with tiny, bright pink flowers.

Hikari rested a hand against the plant. It was surprisingly soft, and seemed to be growing downwards. The bottom of the plan snaked partway across the floor of the hollow like a carpet.

"Well, this seems as good a place as any to sleep," she said. "I know we should gather wood for a fire, but.."

"Don't worry about it Hikari. I'm not as tired - I can have a look around while keeping you in sight. You should rest now."

Hikari was too tired to argue, or to protest as Tailmon handed her the last of the fruits they had picked on their trek through the forest. After eating, she laid down on the carpet of greenery. Despite her talk of finding firewood, Tailmon sat down beside her.

Her eyelids grew heavy. She blinked slowly, and was on the verge of sleep when she remembered that she ought to send a message to Koushiro. Groaning, she sat back up and reached for her D-Terminal.

:Need to sleep. Found a safe spot in the forest. Tell Taichi I'm sorry I couldn't get back. Don't worry, I'm fine. Found water as well as food.:

Hitting send, she slumped back down again. "Wake me if you get tired, Tailmon?" she asked.

"Sure," Tailmon replied, in her most insincere voice. Hikari smiled tiredly at her. She ought to have known that it was a pointless thing to ask of her partner.

The last thing she remembered was Tailmon's expression turning from amusement to surprise - and fear. There was a sound like grating stone behind her, and a rustle of leaves. Something brushed past her shoulder to press against her nose and mouth, and everything went black.

It was night when Takeru awoke. What he presumed to be starlight filtered through the dusty windows. It was enough to give him a greyscale view of the room. For a moment he wondered where he was - nothing looked even remotely familiar. Then Patamon flew in front of his face, and he flinched, yelping as the motion disturbed the burns on his arm.

"Takeru! You need to wake up! Your D-Terminal keeps beeping. I think it's important!"

Gingerly, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and braced himself before sitting up. How long had he been asleep? He felt far more rested than he had in days, that was for certain. The sole advantage to being stuck in this strange world seemed to be the absence of any nightmares, although he half remembered some pretty strange dreams. Memories which started to fade as he reached for his D-Terminal. Even the last shreds were gone as soon as he read the first message:

:I don't have a good way of telling you this, but I think something bad has happened to Yamato. The last word I had from him was that he was hiding from something, and he has not checked in since. I'm certain he would be pulled back if it were serious, but I cannot rule out his being in danger.:

The timestamp read not long after he had gone to sleep. His stomach clenched with fear and guilt. There was no need for Koushiro to spell it out - it had probably been Takeru's message which had caused Yamato to be in danger. The next message was stamped around an hour later.

:Takeru, I don't know when you will get this, but Hikari has messaged me to say that she is safe and going to sleep. I have not yet had any word from Yamato.:

He closed his eyes. Something had happened to Yamato. Opening them again, he felt as though the bottom were falling out of the world.

:When you get this I need you to contact me. Tailmon just returned without Hikari. She says something came out of a rock face and grabbed her. Before she could help, she was pulled back here. You're the only one left in that world until at least midday:

It was timestamped not two minutes after the previous message. Nothing else had been sent by Koushiro, although there were still two messages unread. The clock on his D-Terminal proclaimed it to be a few minutes after midday. He brought the messages up - to his surprise they had been sent by Miyako.

:Takeru, please reply ASAP. We need you to take Pegasusmon up and see if you can describe the lay of the land. Taichi plans to return at midday and look for Hikari and Yamato.:

:WAKE UP TAKERU. This is URGENT. Taichi just got sucked back, with Agumon. Tailmon went too. They need to know where you are. I need as much information as you have. Before he went to sleep, Koushiro said you were scouting with Pegasusmon.:

He was about to reply when another message flashed up from Miyako.

:Sending this to everyone but Hikari and Yamato. Need help at Yagami residence. Koushiro won't wake up and he has shadows all over him. FREAKING OUT NOW HELP:

He stared at the screen. How had he thought that just the first message was awful? They all read like a series of the worst news he could imagine. He scarcely heard Patamon's insistence that he be told what was going on. Instead of replying, he showed his partner the D-Terminal.

"This is bad, Takeru," Patamon said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Really, Pata? I hadn't noticed!"

Ignoring the aches and pains, he got to his feet and looked around for the door. It was disorienting, to wake in this unfamiliar room in the dark. As creepy as it had looked during the day, now it was far worse. The silence was smothering him, and the faint light from the windows cast long, menacing shadows.

The door was on the far side of the room. Clutching his head - it had started throbbing as soon as he'd stood up - he fumbled his way past the chairs and debris towards it. Patamon flapped nearby.

"Where are you going, Takeru? It's really dark outside."

"It's darker in here," he replied, then cursed as he banged his shin on something. "Can you digivolve? Miyako says that Agumon is here with Taichi this time. Tailmon too. Maybe we can make some sort of signal. A beacon. If we could find each other, this would be a lot easier."

He reached the door at last, and wrenched it open. Clear, fresh air met his face, cutting through the ache in his head at least a little. The sky was clear still, unmarred by clouds, and the same foggy white veil lay over the stars as he had seen from the window with Yamato. It was light, really. At least as bright as a full moon on Earth, although he couldn't see any kind of moon in the sky.

The station area was still. No breeze stirred the leaves and debris on the ground, and the trees which surrounded the clearing were motionless, too. He itched for daylight, to explore the other buildings. Surely there had to be something around here to tell him where he was?

Patamon landed a few feet away from him, and started nosing at a pile of what looked like discarded bicycles. They appeared to be rusted together.

Focus. He had to focus; push past the throbbing distraction in his head and think. Taichi was somewhere out here, with Agumon who could digivolve -and Tailmon, who was strong even without digivolving. If they could find each other, they ought to be able to find Hikari and Yamato. First things first then. He had to make sure Taichi was looking for his signal. Grabbing his D-Terminal, he tapped out a message. After hitting send, he returned to Miyako's messages.

:Am awake. Is night here, so am going to try and signal to Taichi. Messaged him already. Pegasusmon and I looked around earlier. We could see mountains past this forest, and there is a chance we saw where Yamato is too. We can look for them together.:

It sounded confident, at least. Maybe it would be easier to feel that way after he got in touch with Taichi. While he was waiting for the older boy to reply, he started to poke around the other buildings with Patamon. There wasn't a lot to see. One of them was some sort of engine shed. Using his D-Terminal as a makeshift torch, he could see the outlines of what he assumed were train parts, all looking at least somewhat rusty. Creeping vines snaked their way over parts of them, and across the windows. It was far more unnerving a place to be in the dark than it had been during daylight.

They had explored the engine shed and what seemed to be an old coal store, and were heading over to a third building when Takeru's D-Terminal beeped.

:Just got shot of the creatures. MetalGreymon and I are in the air now with Tailmon. Looks like we're on some sort of island. If you're going to signal me, now would be a good time.:

Takeru looked over at Patamon, and nodded at the question in his partner's expression.

"It's him. You up for this?"

Patamon huffed. "Of course! We're a team, aren't we? Let's go find Taichi!"

Once more Takeru had to close his eyes and turn away as his partner digivolved. In this too-bright world, the glare hurt to look at. He didn't waste time when the light faded - the sooner he and Taichi found each other, the sooner they could rescue Hikari and Yamato. And he had seen an island that morning, or night, or whenever it was. The reversal of day and night in this place made his head ache even more.

There was no point in worrying about it as Pegasusmon took to the air. They struggled for a moment to get their bearings - at night the forest seemed to stretch on forever in every direction.

"We need to go higher," Takeru called. "And to make some sort of light. I hope Taichi and MetalGreymon have thought of that too."

As if in answer to his question, a gout of flame lit up the night some several miles away to their left. In response, Pegasusmon sent out a beam of energy from his forehead. Takeru winced. With his eyes used to the lower light levels, the attack had left spots on his vision. They hovered for a minute or so more before Pegasusmon tried again, circling high in the air.

:I see you. You're a ways off, but we have a direction now. Good work, you two:

Takeru couldn't help but smile. That was Taichi all over. Even in the midst of this chaos he took a moment to encourage them. He'd grown up a lot since their first encounters with the Digimon.

"We should stay up here a little longer," Pegasusmon said, circling the air above the station. "They seemed a long way off. They might need me to signal again."

Takeru nodded, and then realised that in the dark it was pointless. "Sounds good. Although we might need to go down at some point. It's pretty cold up here. Hey, look over there! To the right of where Taichi and MetalGreymon are. Can you see that?"

He pointed to a bright glow on the horizon. It was almost a line, although not a clear one.

"I see it, Takeru."

"Can you go higher? We might be able to see what it is. It… It could be that city where Yamato is." Takeru clenched his hands into fists. He had been to that part of the world, albeit briefly. For so long his brother had been there to protect him. Now the roles had been reversed, and he wasn't there to help.

"Hold on tightly Takeru. It's a long drop if you fall off."

Pegasusmon soared higher still. It was impossible to make out any more than a blurry glow on the horizon. As they flew back down, Takeru sighed. Still. It was something. He had to believe that he would find his brother. And at least they had a possible direction to search for Yamato in. Hikari promised to be a lot harder to find.

A few minutes later, they sent out another beam for Taichi and MetalGreymon to follow. Takeru shivered, but said nothing. He could get warm later. The cold wasn't so bad yet that he needed to go back down. As he leant forward, something clipped his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and cluched Pegasusmon as his partner whirled in the air.

A dark shape loomed in the sky - a bird of some sort, with vast shadowy wings, and a figure perched on its back. Pegasusmon immediately returned fire, sending stars shooting from his wings to plough into their foe. The thing screeched, and wheeled around, the shape on its back shrinking as it clung on tightly.

Something whistled through the air nearby.

"Pegasusmon, you can't see its attacks!" Takeru yelled. "You have to take it out and fast!"

There was a surge of pressure as Pegasusmon bunched his wings and flew higher, then launched another cluster of stars. Moving in closer, he fired his silver blaze. The beam stuck the creature on its back, and knocked the mysterious figure from its perch. It screamed as it fell; an awful, inhuman voice. With no pilot, the bird circled once more, then, as Pegasusmon fired another shot, soared away into the night.

"Takeru, I… I'm too tired," he said, starting to glow.

"What! Pegasusmon, no! We're too high up! You need to fly down!" Takeru clutched at his partner, his voice raised in fear. They had to be at least three hundred feet in the air still. Probably more.

It was too late. With a blinding glow, he felt the form of Pegasusmon beneath him vanish. As he started to fall he snatched at Patamon and grabbed him, pulling his partner against his chest. For scant seconds he saw the clearing beneath them and realised they were above the engine shed, before he started to turn in the air. The speed made everything blur. He didn't see the ground rushing up to meet them, or watch his life flash before his eyes. He was going to die, here with Patamon in this messed up, back to front world.

He screamed as the wind whipped at his body, buffeting the pair of them. It tugged at Patamon, and he clung harder, determined not to let go. Something loomed in front of them - the ground. Darkness swamped him entirely.