Intertwined Destinies

Previously in Intertwined Destinies:

Etemon has been defeated, but the digidestined weren't unscathed. Tai was almost fatally injured and was saved by Jade when she transformed into Phoenixmon, but instead of fighting Etemon herself, Phoenixmon allowed Tai and Greymon to fight first. Greymon digivolved to the Ultimate level and became Metalgreymon, and it was his attack that opened a dimensional rift. Etemon was sucked into the rift, but before the rift could close Tai and Metalgreymon were also pulled through. He was pulled into the Human World where he realised no time had passed since they were first sent to the Digital World. Despite how much Tai wanted to stay, he knew he couldn't and foundhis way back to the Digital World.

In the Digital World, the digidestined separated. Jade ran from them first and was finally reunited with her digimon partner who she calls Tom, no matter was digivolution he is in. In Jade's absence from his life, Tom went insane and destroyed the world that he ruled. It is also revealed that Tom was once a human, who tried to kill Jade when she was a baby, but when that failed his soul latched onto her. The shard was removed from Jade when she was first pulled into the Digital World, and that was how Tom was born.

Now Tai and Agumon are working towards finding the other children, because they need to fight together to win, or they would lose.

The next chapter of their adventure awaits...

Chapter 16: Inner Powers ~ TK

TK had been alone for weeks now. He had lost count as the digidestined had slowly fallen apart without Tai or Jade there to hold them together. He remembered waking up after hearing the digimon all yell out at the same time, and seeing Jade disappearing. She had transformed and flew up into the sky, but then there was a loud 'BANG' that made his ears hurt, and she was gone. He hoped that she was alright.

But it was like Jade leaving was the signal for everyone else to leave as well. Sora left a few nights later to look for Jade and Tai, and then the others thought it would be a good idea to split up to cover more ground. Izzy left next, then Mimi, and then Joe, until it was just him and his brother. Matt had stayed with him for a while, but he had gotten really quiet. Then they had arrived at an amusement park, it was empty but what kid didn't want to spend all day in an amusement park with no lines?

Then Matt had gone off on his own as well, and it was just TK and Tokomon. TK knew that he had worried his partner, but he was the youngest in the group and he really wanted his big brother to protect him.

Growing up with just his mother had been hard. For the first year he had missed Matt a lot, but when he realized that every time he asked his mother if his dad and brother would be coming home upset her, he stopped asking. He had been six when he realized that his parents didn't like each other anymore and didn't want to see each other. At first he thought that it was because of him, as they had only started to fight after he was born, and he supposed that in a way he still thought that it was because of him that his parents no longer lived together.

He was glad that he went to the same school as his brother, even if they couldn't spend as much time together as he had wanted. A cruel boy in his class had made fun of him because his parents weren't together, and since then Matt had managed to ensure that every lunch time they could eat together. Matt had helped TK learn that it wasn't his fault that their parents had grown apart. TK hadn't listened to his classmate again, even though he now had ammunition against him. Davis, the bully, had been kept back his first year because he had failed, and as such he was the oldest in their year.

But now it seemed like Matt had finally gotten tired of him and all those doubts about everything falling apart around him were coming back. It was like he couldn't do anything right and no one wanted anything to do with him. The thought only brought more tears to his eyes and the horizon became blurry. He was sitting on the pier a short distance from the amusement park, and he hadn't moved far from it for almost a whole week. Tokomon brought him food, but TK couldn't eat much of it. His stomach was twisted in knots and the thought of food made it twist tighter.

"TK? Please eat something."

TK didn't turn to answer Tokomon. Why should he eat if he was the one forcing everyone to leave him? It would probably be better if he just disappeared like Tai and Jade had. No one would worry about him then, and he wouldn't annoy anyone with all his crying. He pulled his knees closer to his chest and hid his eyes so that he wouldn't be able to see anything.

"Don't cry TK," Tokomon told him.

"He's gone, just like all the others," TK wept as more tears fell down his cheeks. "He said he'd be only a couple of hours, but it's been days! Why doesn't anyone like me Tokomon?"

"Don't give up hope," Tokomon tried to reassure him. Tokomon remembered what Jade had told them ages ago, when TK had gotten his crest. To make it glow, TK couldn't give up hope, he needed it. But even as Tokomon tried to help, he could feel a strange emptiness washing over him. He knew that TK's lack of hope was taking away some of his power.

"Hey! What's all that squawking about?"

TK and Tokomon looked up abruptly to see a new digimon they hadn't met before, though Tokomon had a feeling that this digimon wasn't a nice one. He was small, and greatly resembled a bat. He had creepy yellow eyes and a skull tattoo in the middle of his forehead. There was something about him that just seemed malicious.

"Demidevimon's the name," the new digimon continued. "Mind if I drop in?"

"Demidevimon?" Tokomon repeated. "I've heard of you, but nothing I heard was good."

"I admit it," Demidevimon began. "I used to be a bit of a wise guy, but that was only because I was working for Etemon. But now he's caput thanks to you guys, for which I'm eternally grateful. Personally I never liked the guy."

TK had an idea. As he was, Tokomon couldn't fly across the lake to look for Matt, but Demidevimon had wings and could do it for them. Then he would know for certain if his brother had abandoned him or had gotten into trouble and couldn't come back right away.

"Have you seen my brother out there?" he asked the flying bat. "He's in a boat."

"Oh, is that what's got you down squirt?" Demidevimon asked him. "Well you've come to the right digimon. What's his name, your brother?"

"His name is Matt."

"Got it! Let me see what I can do. Back in a flash."

With that Demidevimon flew away in the same direction as Matt and Gabumon had gone. TK stood up and watched him fly, and desperately hoped that he hadn't been abandoned. Tokomon walked closer to his feet and head-butted him reassuringly.

"Well, maybe he has changed," Tokomon told him. TK looked down and wondered what rumours his partner had heard about Demidevimon.

"You think?" he asked. Hope was blossoming in his chest, and he was almost dancing on the spot as he waited for Demidevimon. The little digimon didn't take long, it only took him a few minutes to return. TK was unable to keep the smile off his face as he spotted him in the distance.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Demidevimon told him.

"What about it? Did you find my brother?" TK asked him hopefully.

"Sure I did," Demidevimon told him. Something in his tone had Tokomon worried.

"Is he coming back?"

"Well, that's the bad news kid," Demidevimon said as flew in tight circles around them.

"What?" TK's tone was still hopeful, but dread was pooling in his stomach. He started to think that Matt was hurt, or Demidevimon had found his body where he had been killed.

"It kills me to have to be the one to break this to you, but your brother isn't coming back."

TK felt his heart fracture in his chest. He knew it, Matt had died.

"In fact, your brother never wants to see you again."

What? Matt was alive? He really had abandoned him?

"Said he was tired of babysitting a cry baby," Demidevimon concluded.

"No way!" TK cried. His heart wasn't just fracturing now, it was completely shattered. It hurt more than he thought it would and more tears flooded his eyes.

"It can't be true TK!" Tokomon told him, seeing the devastation on TK's face.

"He called me a–"

"-cry baby, yep, that's what he said," Demidevimon told him. There was just that little bit too much glee in his tone of voice to reassure Tokomon, and he knew that he was lying. Matt loved his brother, there was no way that he'd abandon TK like that.

"He called you some other stuff too, but I don't want to repeat it. Anyway, he's gone!"

That was the last straw for TK. All his fear were just proven true, and now more than anything he wanted to disappear. He wanted to go home, he wanted to curl up under his bedcovers and he wanted his mother. She had been right to separate them all those years ago, maybe she had known that Matt wouldn't like him and wanted to spare him the pain of knowing about it. He wished that he had never come to the Digital World in the first place, all it did was get people hurt.

He ended up running along the lake edge until he was far away from the amusement park. If Matt didn't want to see him anymore, then he would make sure that he was never found. He wondered if Tai would be his brother instead, he had never been mean to him, and he was fun to play with.

"Come on, Matt would never say stuff like that," Tokomon tried to reassure him as he threw small stones into the lake. He pretended that each splash was the rock hitting Matt's face. "Besides, we've been working on the crying thing and you're getting better, you really are. Don't believe that guy."

TK covered his ears, he didn't want to hear what Tokomon had to say. He couldn't keep lifting up his hopes only to have them crash to the ground. Maybe it was time to just stop waiting for others to help him, and do something on his own? He nodded to himself and stood up to go and get Tokomon. Maybe they could play on the rollercoaster or something before they left. He hadn't gone into the amusement park since Matt left, and he wanted to play. He walked off to where Tokomon had run off to, but before he could call out he saw his partner attack Demidevimon for no apparent reason.

"Tokomon! What are you doing?" he cried in horror as he ran up to see what was going on.

"What TK?" Tokomon asked him with a hint of attitude in his tone.

"I saw you take a shot at him," TK told him in disapproval.

"Don't be too hard on him TK," Demidevimon told him as he flew to rest just behind TK's shoulder. "I understand what the poor guy's feeling, it's only natural to be a little resentful that you've found yourself a new friend."

Tokomon was jealous? That's why he attacked the other digimon? That didn't sound like Tokomon, but he hadn't seen what started the fight. Still, when someone attacked another person, they needed to apologise. That's what his mum always said.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but I think an apology's in order."

"Well don't hold your breath," Tokomon told him. TK felt like he had been slapped. What was going on?

"Do it!" he ordered.

"I will not!" Tokomon snapped back at him. "If you like that flying rat so much, then maybe I should leave."

Leave? So, Tokomon wanted to leave him as well?

"If you won't apologize you have to leave," TK insisted. If Tokomon really wanted to stay with him he would apologise, and if he didn't he was going to leave him too.

"You really mean it?" Tokomon asked, and TK nodded.

"Yeah, sure! Go on!"

"I won't be coming back you know?" Tokomon warned him. TK knew it, he was making his friends leave. It was his fault. But he had told himself earlier that he wouldn't cry anymore, so he just pushed away the hurt and continued talking to his one-time friend and partner.

"You don't see me crying about it. And I don't want these stupid gadgets either," he said as he pulled his tag out from under his shirt and unhooked his digivice from his bag. He threw them on the ground and ignored the twinge of pain from his chest. "Come on Demidevimon, let's go ride the roller coaster!"

TK ran off, Demidevimon flying after him. From behind him, his small voice carrying on the wind, was Tokomon's last words to him.

"That suits me fine! Goodbye!"

His sobs hurt more than TK thought they would, but he just kept running.

Tokomon cried for ages. He wondered if this was how Agumon felt when Tai threatened to get rid of him when he was in that mood? It felt like someone had ripped out his heart and crushed it into oblivion in front of him. How could TK have chosen a digimon they just met over him? He had been deleted to save TK! There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep him safe. Did that mean nothing to TK?

"Tokomon!"

There was a new voice in the air, but Tokomon thought it was just his imagination and kept his eyes closed.

"Tokomon!"

And another voice. There were two new voices, and they were getting louder.

"Hey, what happened little guy? Are you alright?"

"Not exactly," Tokomon muttered as he opened his eyes. Someone had picked him up so he knew that he wasn't dreaming, but when his eyes rested on the person holding him he couldn't believe his eyes.

"You look like Tai," he said without thinking. Then he looked closer. "You are Tai! You're alive!"

Happiness crept back into his heart. If there was anyone who could get through to TK at the moment it would be Tai.

"Yeah, the last time I checked," Tai told him. Tokomon looked to the side and saw Agumon grinning at him. They were both alive, but something between them had changed. They didn't look any different since the last time they had been seen, except for the fact that Tai looked like he was wearing different clothes.

"I bet a Black Gear digimon got you," Agumon told him in concern. "Right?"

"No, if it was something simple like that I wouldn't feel so bad," Tokomon replied as he leapt from Tai's arms. Vaguely, he wondered when he had started to think of the digimon infected by the Black Gears as "simple".

"Where is everyone?" Tai asked him. "Where's TK?"

"I don't know," Tokomon muttered. "Probably off playing with his new friend."

"New friend? What new friend?"

"I think you'd better ask TK," Tokomon felt like crying again, but he still managed to stare up at Tai with enough intensity that the older boy looked alarmed.

"I would, but he's not here," Tai told him. "You are though, so start at the beginning and tell me everything that has happened."

So Tokomon did, and the two looked really surprised to find out that they had been missing for a long time. As he talked, Tokomon observed the way that Tai held himself, and the way that Agumon would look at him in concern when he thought the boy wasn't looking. He wondered if Tai was still hurt from the battle with Etemon. By the time he finished the story, Tai was standing up and staring at the amusement park in the distance. He was cradling his left arm across his body but he seemed unaware of his protective stance.

"You see Tai, we go away for a few days and everything falls apart!" Agumon told him. It was only now that he was believing what Jade had told them many times, and what the others had alluded to a few times. Tai was important in keeping them all together, and because he had disappeared, there was little holding them together.

"First let's find out what TK's up to," Tai decided, his eyes on the amusement park still. "And then we'll find Matt and the others. Take us to him Tokomon."

"You got it!" Tokomon cried happily. As Tokomon started to run off, Tai bent down and swiped the digivice and crest from the ground. He started to jog after the little digimon, Agumon at his side, and his attention focused on the gadgets in his hand. He was no expert, but they felt different to his own. They felt cold, and Tokomon looked tired and worn out. Was there something more that allowed the digimon to live?

"TK denied him," Agumon whispered so that Tokomon couldn't hear him. "I think we need to have a strong bond in order to do what we do. My ability to fight was greatly reduced in the colosseum when we fought."

"The trust between us had been damaged," Tai muttered. "You didn't trust me, and I didn't trust myself."

"TK threw away his digivice," Agumon continued. "And now Tokomon is slowly fading away."

"He's dying?"

"We're different to other digimon, all of us have noticed it," Agumon tried to explain. "We can sense the power of the digivice, but without it, it's like there's this hole in our hearts. You have no idea how much it hurt when Etemon hit you. I didn't want to believe it, but for a brief moment there I felt your death. You were healed so soon afterwards that I was able to erase it from my mind, but I felt weaker."

"But you wouldn't have died if I died?"

"I don't think so, but it would be like a part of me was missing, you know?"

"So that's how Tokomon feels now?"

"TK's not dead, but he as good as said that he didn't want to be with Tokomon anymore. Their bond needs to be restored."

"I can do that."

Agumon nodded and sped up a little. He had noticed that Tokomon was getting tired, so he lifted him so that he was sitting on his head. They continued to jog, and Tai slid the crest and digivice out of sight into his pocket.

The amusement park was huge, and despite the worry that was in Tai's mind, he couldn't help but think that Jade and TK would have had the greatest time in the world if they were together playing there. So many different rides, and no one to tell them that they were too short to go on them. As he ran, his digivice started to go off, similar to how it had done when they were getting closer to Tokomon.

"Why's it going off?" he asked.

"Could be trouble," Agumon told him nervously. "That's what it usually means."

"Never mind that now!" Tai told him, pushing aside the noisy digivice. "Look who we found!"

Sitting all alone at a table, looking miserable, was TK. Tai hated to see that look on anyone's face, especially on children. Children, in his opinion, should always be happy. To have that look of misery meant that they weren't being treated properly, and TK was still so young. Why was he left alone?

"TK!"

"Yoo-hoo!" Agumon added.

TK looked up curiously to see who was calling for him, and the misery on his face disappeared as he recognized Tai and Agumon. A huge smile lit up his face and he got off the chair he was on in order to run towards Tai.

"You're back!" he cried happily as he ran.

"Yeah, and are we glad to see you!" Tai told him as he bent down to catch the suddenly airborne boy. He laughed as he lifted TK into his arms, and while he didn't say anything about it, he noticed that TK was lighter than the last time he had lifted the boy. He clearly hadn't been eating.

"You were gone a really long time Tai," TK mumbled into Tai's clothes. "I was worried about you. We thought something bad had happened to you."

"Well I'm back again, and I'm all in one piece."

"Are your clothes different? You weren't wearing that before were you?"

"It's a long story," Tai told him. "And I'll tell it to you later, alright?"

"Alright."

Tokomon used that moment to jump off of Agumon's head and announce his presence. TK allowed Tai to put him back on the ground.

"Tokomon! You came back too?" TK suddenly realized Tokomon nodded. "So you finally admitted that you were wrong and you're going to apologize to him now?"

"I wasn't wrong and I won't apologize," Tokomon told him.

"Tokomon, what's happened to you?" TK asked. "When did you get to be such a brat?"

Tai and Agumon watched the interaction with wide eyes. They were beyond shocked at the behavior of both their friends that they were momentarily speechless. Tai shook his shock away and stepped between the two before more hurtful words could be said.

"Hey you two, knock off this bickering right now because we've got too many other problems to worry about. We've got to go and find Matt and all the others!"

"Not me," TK told him, turning away so that he wasn't looking at any of them. "Why should I? They're not nice, they left me behind. First Jade left, then Sora, then the rest, and then even my own brother Matt left me."

"Come on TK, it's not your fault they left," Tai told him in concern.

"They hate me!" TK snapped at him. "They think I'm a cry baby! Even Matt said I was!"

"Whoa!" Tai exclaimed before he could help himself. "I don't know what this new friend of yours has been telling you, but I happen to know for a fact that Matt does not hate you."

"Well you might not be saying such nice things about him if you knew that I wanted to keep searching for you but he didn't," TK continued. "It's true, he's really jealous of you Tai. Haven't you noticed that he gets all upset when you and me do stuff together? And he hates it when I talk about you. Do you think I could be your little brother instead?! Please!"

"I don't think it works that way," Tai tried as TK hugged him around his middle.

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't, that's all."

"You don't like me either?" TK moaned. Tai looked over his shoulder to Agumon and Tokomon. Both of them were staring at the two humans, gobsmacked, but that might have been due to TK's melancholy. Tai had no idea what to do.

Restore his Hope.

Jade? Tai thought in shock as her voice echoed in his mind. His eyes searched for her without him moving his body and he hugged TK tighter to his body. Jade had to be around somewhere, but why hadn't she made herself known?

I still have things to do before I can join you again, Courage. But I will always be watching out for you.

Tai nodded slightly and knelt down so that he was face to face with TK. The boy's blue eyes were still brimming with tears, but the most important thing that Tai had to do was make sure that TK had something to look forward to. He needed Hope.

"Do you remember, on File Island, when we were all separated, and you were in the Primary Village?" he asked. TK nodded, curious about what point was trying to make. "Well, I was with Matt and from that moment I knew how much he loved and worried about you because all he could think of was getting back to you. We got into a fight after I said something about fighting Devimon instead of looking for everyone, and he really let me know how much of an idiot he thought I was. Nothing else mattered to him, except getting back to you."

"Really?" TK asked, light shining in his eyes.

"Really," Tai reassured him. "I think he loves you more than anything, but doesn't quite know how to show it. He's probably gotten into some trouble on the other side of the lake, which means that we have to save him."

"You're not just saying that so that I don't want you to be my big brother, are you?" TK asked.

"No, but I guess it wouldn't hurt if I was your brother for a short while," Tai winked at the little boy. "So, I'll be your big brother temporarily, but just until we find Matt, okay?"

"Okay," TK chirped, now quite happy. Tai grinned as well before standing up straight again and looking around. Now that TK was happier, he could turn his attention elsewhere. Unfortunately, while he couldn't see her, he could hear her laughter in his mind.

Protect Hope, Courage, and then go looking for the others.

I will, Lady Sovereign, Tai thought back as he closed his eyes. Her laughter echoed again, and then she disappeared from his mind. Agumon was looking at him in worry, but Tai's smile of reassurance had the little digimon grinning happily.

"Look, it's Demidevimon!" TK cried, pointing up to where the bat-like digimon was flying with a basket of mushrooms in his talons.

"That's him?" Tai asked skeptically. "Not the most trustworthy guy I've ever seen."

Demidevimon flew down and placed the basket in front of the group. There was something about his eyes that Tai didn't like, and he rested his left hand on TK's shoulder protectively. Jade had told him to protect Hope, and TK's crest was the crest of Hope. He wondered why Jade was calling them by the crests, and made a mental note to ask her about it when he saw her.

"Welcome back Tokomon, how have you been?" Demidevimon asked, his eyes resting on Tokomon.

"Okay! What did Matt really say to you?!" Agumon demanded loudly. Demidevimon jumped, but Tai didn't even flinch at the demanding tone. He was wondering the same thing.

"Look buddy, just who are you anyway?"

"We're friends of TK's," Tai told him, "Real friends."

"Start talking, and it better be the truth this time," Agumon ordered. At their revelation Demidevimon looked slightly afraid and his eyes fastened on Tai's crest that was resting on the outside of his shirt. If Tai didn't know any better, he would have said that Demidevimon looked afraid.

"It happened just like I told TK," Demidevimon insisted. "Matt said he was tired of the little guy and didn't want to hang with him anymore. I told Matt that brothers really ought to stick together, but he wouldn't listen to me. It's the truth! Cross my heart!"

"If you've got one," Agumon growled.

"Hey! Why would I lie?!"

"Then you won't mind taking us to Matt so we can ask him ourselves," Tai told him.

"Not at all," Demidevimon replied instantly. "But I gotta warn you, he's far away."

"Let's get started then," Tai told him. His hand was still on TK's shoulder, and he really didn't like what Demidevimon was plotting.

"Fine, let's go," Demidevimon agreed. "But it's been a long day. Wouldn't you like something to eat first?"

"I am a little hungry," Agumon admitted, and so did Tokomon and TK. Tai still wasn't sure, but he hadn't eaten anything since the watermelon Kari had set out for him. Agumon hadn't eaten anything either, and Tai was very aware of the dinosaur's eyes on him as he decided what to do. In the end he nodded that they were to eat something, and TK cheered with delight. Tokomon was sniffing at the mushrooms when Demidevimon settled on the ground next to him.

"I picked these myself," he said proudly. "They're fresh and juicy."

Agumon reached forward to grab one, but in this area Tai was determined that if they were to eat, he would cook them first. As it was an amusement park, Tai was a little surprised to see that there were barbeques lined up around the eating area, but didn't worry too much about them because they were in the Digital World. He took the basket of mushrooms and under TK's watchful eyes he cooked up each mushroom so that they could be eaten. Agumon used this time to head to the bathroom, but Tai knew he'd be back.

"Okay TK," Tai said as he lifted up one of the mushrooms. "You're first. Tell me if it's too hot."

TK took his mushroom with a smile and licked it with his tongue. Evidently, it was much too hot as he cried out in pain as his tongue burned. Tai smiled at him and took back the mushroom to cool it down. He demonstrated how to blow on it without spitting on it, and TK took it back to follow his instructions.

"Do you want one?" TK asked Tokomon.

"I wouldn't touch it," Tokomon told him, turning his head away at the mushroom. Tai watched with concern, and wondered if it was jealousy or something more that had Tokomon insisting that Demidevimon was evil. TK popped his mushroom in his mouth whole, now that it was cooler, and he grinned happily.

"Don't eat the mushrooms! Don't eat the mushrooms!"

Tai turned to look towards Agumon in confusion. Agumon was running towards them as fast as he could, and his eyes were wide in alarm and fear.

"Put it down! Stop it! Don't eat it!" Agumon was begging as he got closer. Tai reached over and pulled TK's out of his mouth, noticing as he did that part of the mushroom had already been eaten.

"It's alright Agumon," Tai said reassuringly. "There are plenty of mushrooms for everyone."

"No! Don't eat any of them! They're poison!"

Tai's eyes went wide and his face went pale as he stared at the mushroom TK had eaten a bit of. His eyes rested on TK before he threw the mushrooms to the ground and put his hands on TK's shoulders. The boy looked scared and Tai had no idea what to do. He turned to Agumon.

"What type of poison?" he asked urgently.

"They're the Mushrooms of Forgetfulness!" Agumon cried. "Demidevimon wanted us to eat them so that we'd forget about each other."

"Oh no!" TK moaned. "I ate some."

"It was only a small bite though," Tai said. "How much would he forget if it's only a little bit?"

Demidevimon started to laugh. Agumon grabbed a hold of him and demanded answers while Tai tried to come up with an idea to prevent TK losing his memory.

"I'm scared Tai," TK admitted.

"Don't be," Tai told him softly. "Remember, always have Hope."

He pulled out TK's crest from his pocket and slipped it over TK's head. The little yellow crest began to glow and Demidevimon cried out in horror. The others watched as TK started to glow as well, and when he stopped he smiled brightly.

"My crest glowed!"

"Always have Hope TK," Tai whispered. TK turned to Tokomon and apologized for doubting him, and the two of them promised that they would always be friends. Then the two looked towards Demidevimon where he was still struggling in Agumon's grasp.

"I was so close!" he screamed. "Urgh! Who gave you the idea that that crest was yours anyway?! Hand it over you little squirt!"

TK recoiled as Demidevimon tried to charge at him, but Tokomon jumped in the way and attacked the other digimon. TK grinned and Tai handed over his digivice as well, just in time for Tokomon to digivolve into Patamon and chase away Demidevimon for good.

"You were awesome Patamon!" TK told him once he flew back down successful. "Now I feel even worse about the way I treated you."

"We promised that we'd always be friends," Patamon said. "And the first rule of friendship is forgive-and-forget. Let's forget it ever happened, okay?"

"Okay, I'll pretend that funny mushroom made me forget," TK told him. Patamon grinned and flew into his arms.

"That's cute," Tai remarked from where he and Agumon were hiding in the bushes. "And it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you, Agumon. How did you find out about those mushrooms anyway?"

"Ah, a voice in my head," Agumon admitted.

"Was it Jade?"

"No, have you been hearing her?"

"Yes, I think she was the one who kept TK from forgetting anything," Tai pondered. "She has always been there when we needed her."

"She's always been there when you needed her, Tai," Agumon added.

Tai blushed, but otherwise made no comment. He strolled over to the other two members of their team and suggested that they get a move on to find the others. TK wanted to have a go on some of the rides with Patamon first, and since it was getting dark Tai suggested that they leave when the sun came up. With joy TK disappeared into the amusement park, and Tai and Agumon followed with ideas on a few rides they wanted to go on as well.

Jade watched from the tree she was sitting in as Tai and TK ran off to have fun. Tomomon was on her lap, and he seemed disinterested in the two humans and their digimon.

"They are the digidestined?" he asked scornfully. "They don't look like much."

"You know that Gennai and the others only chose those who are worthy," Jade told him softly with a soft tap on his head. "They are still growing."

"The Protector of Hope is just lucky that he regained his hope before his memory was erased," Tomomon continued with a frown. "His light would never have shone without his memory."

"So pessimistic," Jade scolded. "Come on, I want to see what Demidevimon is up to. Someone must be behind his desire to prevent the lights from glowing."

Tomomon said nothing and just moved so he was resting on Jade's shoulders instead of her lap. She leapt from tree to tree, following the path that Demidevimon had taken, and spotted him by the lake's edge, grovelling on the ground. He was speaking to a black shadow that radiated darkness, and Jade knew that if her Tom wasn't acting as a filter for that darkness, she would probably be in a lot of pain. As it was, a light headache sprung up as the darkness washed over her.

"Forgive me Oh Terrible One!" Demidevimon was crying. "The crest of Hope has regained its light. I failed! But I'll make it up to you! I'll work overtime, and on Sundays!"

"Coward," Tomomon hissed almost silently.

"We need to follow him," Jade hissed back to him, just as quiet. "He's going to be looking for the other digidestined."

"Not that I care," Tomomon told her as Demidevimon flew away. "But why can't they look after themselves yet?"

"You do so care." Jade told him as she began to leap through the trees again. "And you're going to help me protect them because it's important to me. They are the defenders of this World, and they will need to become a lot stronger to defeat the evil darkness that has taken root here."

"Darkness is not evil!"

"No, but the darkness that is growing in this world has been growing for hundreds of years," she told him. "And this darkness is evil. It is poisoning this World, and needs to be sent back to where it can grow without causing harm. That's why the Shadow World exists, remember?"

"Fine," Tomomon sighed heavily. "Let's go and protect the Protectors."

Jade only laughed.

"Okay, listen up," Tai said later that night before they all settled down to sleep. "Izzy was totally right when he said that all the weird stuff going on here in the Digital World affects our own world too. I don't know how we're going to do it yet, but it seems to me we've gotta fix things in this world, before we can return to our own world. But if we're going to do that, we've got to work together as a team. Every one of us is important."

"Am I important too?" TK asked with wide eyes.

"Of course you are TK," Tai told him with a smile. "You're a part of the team. Now let's get some sleep so that we can go and find the others!"

TK nodded and curled up with Patamon, and a moment later was asleep. Agumon sat down next to Tai and fiddled with a couple of dried out twigs to create a fire. They said nothing for a long time, but eventually Agumon broke the silence.

"Is your arm any better?"

Tai looked down at his left arm. It had actually started hurting shortly before they found Tokomon, but he had tried to hide how much it was hurting him. He shook his head, marveling that Agumon could read him better than his own mother could.

"It's broken," he admitted softly so that he didn't wake the other two.

"How long does it take for broken bones to heal?" Agumon asked curiously.

"A few weeks if it's in a cast I guess," Tai mumbled. "I just have to make sure that I don't move it around too much."

"What's a cast?"

"It's a plaster that prevents the bones from moving."

"Will sticks and bandages work?" Agumon continued to ask. Tai thought about it.

"Probably, but I don't know how to make a splint," he admitted. "We'll have to wait until he find Joe. He'll know how to make one."

Agumon nodded his agreement, and silently hoped that they'd find Joe soon. He didn't want his friend to be hurting any more than he had to. Tai ordered him to get some sleep as he moved closer to the fire. Agumon would have, but he didn't want Tai to have to keep watch all night. He asked to be woken in a few hours so that he could keep watch, and after Tai's nod of agreement he curled up and was snoring shortly after. Tai waited until he could hear his snores before bringing his left arm closer to his body. It really did hurt. He swallowed another aspirin to take the sting off, but he knew that he needed to bandage the arm soon or he would do more damage to it.

His thoughts turned to how they had found TK. The boy's distress had taken him by surprise, as had his insistence that everyone hated him. Thoughts like that didn't appear overnight. It had taken Tai several months after Kari's accident to start thinking like that, however, he didn't know TK very well. Something must have happened to him when he was younger to make him think like that. That turned his thoughts to the other digidestined, and what he knew about them.

Sora didn't get to see much of her father as he was generally busy with work, and she didn't have a good relationship with her mother. She was a very domineering person, and she had made it her job life to look after those around her. It just so happened that Tai was her favorite person to mother. As her mother owned a flower shop, Sora had decided from a young age that she didn't like flowers.

Mimi loved pink, dolls, and clothes. She was a "girly girl", and just from listening to her Tai knew that she was spoiled rotten at home. He would even go as far to say that she was a "daddy's girl" as he seemed to buy her everything that she could possibly want. He thought that she had a little brother, but he wasn't sure as she didn't speak about him. She was also very innocent when it came to certain things, and wasn't used to the type of hard work that they'd undertaken since arriving in the Digital World.

There was nothing that Izzy couldn't do with computers, but beyond that Tai didn't know much about him. He had first met the other boy when he joined the soccer team he was on, though he hadn't lasted long on the team as he just wasn't a people person. He wasn't a completely hopeless soccer player, but he spent too much time thinking about what he could do, than actually doing it. It was also during this time that Tai started to call him Izzy, as he had been too lazy to call him Koushiro. "Izzy" was a shortening of his last name, Izumi. But during their adventures so far, Tai realized that despite how smart Izzy was, he was also just a scared little boy who didn't know how to relate to people.

Joe, for as long as Tai's known him, has been very high-strung and over-stressed. The previous summer had resulted in him being admitted to the hospital for some reason, and he hadn't been able to attend camp. He had never found out what had caused Joe to be admitted, but ever since he had been a pessimist and highly apprehensive. He was also overly prepared for anything and everything. There was a reason Joe had been the one to carry the bag of emergency supplies.

And then there was Matt. Yamato Ishida was that guy in school who spent more time worrying about his appearance and social life than his academics. He always seemed to be a part of the "cool" crowd, but off the top of his head Tai wouldn't be able to name the blonde boy's best friend. He was also overly protective of TK, though he thought it had something to do with what made TK so insecure about himself.

"I don't really know anyone," Tai muttered as he stared into the fire.

"Then talk about it with them when we find them," Agumon told him without opening his eyes.

"You should be sleeping," Tai told him.

"You're thinking too loud."

"I suppose you're right."

"You're exhausted Tai, you haven't been able to rest since before you arrived in the Digital World. I'll take over and wake you an hour or so before sunrise. You can take the last watch."

Tai nodded and flopped onto his back. Maybe if he slept everything would make sense to him in the morning.

Maybe.

To all my reviewers: You are awesome! I'm glad you like Tom, and yes, he will meet Voldemort eventually. It will be a while in the future (like after Jade is studying magic) but they will meet. Once again, thanks go to Okami Princess and lozzy161 for being awesome and putting up with me.

Liedral: Phoenixmon is slightly more powerful than a mega digimon, and that's mainly because she also has her magic. Tom is the same. It doesn't mean that they're immortal, you can still overpower a mega and defeat them, so if Jade and Tom were overpowered they could still be defeated. And Jade is weaker against dark attacks (like how Angemon's attacks are more effective against dark digimon)

Okami Princess: Yuuko may or may not find Tai's shirt before he returns again, and I do plan on having her and Guilmon meet at some stage. Teary reunion!

Cookie Spasms: Yes, Hogwarts will come around at some stage, though it won't be until after season 1 finishes.

Kage Hasu: Your wish is my command. I do intend to give back stories to the others, and hopefully I'll do it justice.

Next up in Intertwined Destinies:

Chapter 17: Inner Powers ~ Matt