Author's Note: I'd like to apologize for not updating this story for a while. I know it's a real popular one. Part of the reason for the delay is because I was a bit sick last week. Plus I've been working on this series for so long I wanted to take a break and start on some other stories. This was also kind of a long chapter and parts of it were a little hard to write, and I think I deliberately put off working on it a few times. But it's done now, and I'm sure you've all been waiting for this chapter. I should note though that future updates might be a little slower now that I have another story going. But I want to assure everyone that this story will be finished in the next month or two.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

Chapter 8: Reunion

The world of Tai and the other Digidestined had been turned completely upside-down. Before them was Team Excalibur, another group of Digidestined who somehow had the ability to Biomerge like the Tamers. Not only that, Kari, who they had long since given up for dean, and T.K., who they thought had become a wandering soul searching for something he would never find, were apparently part of this team. It seemed like everything they thought they knew was wrong. As Tai and the others looked at the team with shocked expressions, Arthur walked over to Davis, who was still flat on his back from when Kari punched him.

"You must be Davis Motomiya," Arthur deduced as he offered a hand to Davis. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Arthur Pierce, leader of Team Excalibur."

"Thanks man," Davis responded as he took Arthur's hand and got back to his feet.

Suddenly Davis felt a sharp, vice-like grip on his butt. The source of this grip were the jaws of Dorumon, and almost immediately Davis began running around in circles and flailing his arms, screaming and shouting various obscenities as he did so. Satisfied smiles appeared on the faces of T.K. and Kari as they watched the spectacle before them.

Rika chuckled and crossed her arms as she watched Davis run around with Dorumon clamped to his rear. "This just turned into a great day."

"I'm terribly sorry!" Arthur told Davis. "I think Ms. Gatomon's stories about you have given Dorumon a very bad impression!"

"Just get him the hell off me!" Davis shouted as he continued to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, with Dourmon clamped onto him all the while.

"Dorumon, release!" Arthur commanded, causing the dragon Digimon to let go and trot back to the side of his human partner. "Again, I'm dreadfully sorry. Dorumon may actually an ancient knight, but in his current form he has the mentality of a dog."

"Then put him on a leash!" Davis told him as he rubbed his punctured behind.

Meanwhile, Tai had since walked over to Kari. Again everyone fell silent as they prepared to watch what they thought was to be a touching reunion.

"Where the hell have you been all this time?" Tai shouted, surprising everyone. "Don't you know how worried sick I've been about you?"

At this point Kari slapped Tai in the face, shocking everyone even more, though perhaps no one was more shocked than Tai.

"Where the hell was I?" Kari asked in a low voice. "Where the hell were you? I was trapped in that rotting hellhole we call the Dark Ocean for a month surrounded by monsters that wanted to do horrible things to me! Every day I waited for you, for all of you to come and save me, not being able to sleep because I was afraid those things would burst into the room they were keeping me in and have their way with me! I waited and waited and nobody came! Nobody except T.K., Patamon, and Gatomon! The rest of you just left me there to die!"

At this point Kari was on the verge of tears, though T.K. managed to calm her down. Tai seemed to be left in total shock, while most of the other Digidestined had saddened expressions on their faces.

"…Yes, well," Arthur began after clearing his throat, "after T.K. successfully rescued Kari from the Dark Ocean they were brought to my home to recover from the experience. They have been there for the past month. As for why you were not contacted by them, it was the wish of the Harmonious Ones that their location remain secret as a sort of witness protection, until the time came for them to return to battle. And that time has finally come."

"So the Harmonious Ones knew where T.K. and Kari were the whole time?" Matt asked, sounding both surprised and a little outraged.

"Don't be so shocked Matt. This is just like the Harmonious Ones to not let any of us in on their big master plan," Ryo bitterly remarked. "This feels like the D-1 Tournament all over again."

"Okay, I think I sort of get why T.K. and Kari were hidden," Rika interrupted, "but just who're the rest of you guys, and how is it you can Biomerge?"

"We are an elite team assembled by the Harmonious Ones to fight the Seven Lords," Arthur answered. "As for our ability to Biomerge, that was something that old Gennai developed. I'm actually surprised you're familiar with it."

"Hold on!" Davis interrupted. "You said those jerks the Harmonious Ones brought you guys together to fight the Seven Lords. Does that mean you're replacing us?"

"Don't be absurd!" Arthur replied. "Your help is needed more than ever, now that Lucemon has been released."

"He's right about that Davis," Cody interjected. "You saw how Lucemon took down Imperialdramon in one blow, and that was in his Rookie form. He's probably even more powerful now that he's evolved."

"Which is why we must now proceed with caution," Arthur added. "I think for now we should take a moment to cool down and plan. My team has established a base in a nearby building. I suggest that we go there."

The rest of the group nodded, and they began following Arthur and the rest of Team Excalibur to their base.

"You think this would be a bad time to mention that T.K. and Kari got married before we got here?" Hagurumon asked Jason, though his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

The entire group stopped in their tracks upon hearing this news. Tai looked as if he was about to have a stroke, while Davis looked like he was rammed in the gut with a cattle prod. Matt meanwhile looked as if he was trying to say something, but couldn't quite figure out the words to use. The rest of Tai's group, except for perhaps Rika and Ryo, were left speechless.

Jason let out a heavy sigh. "You really don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?"

A few minutes later, the entire group arrived at Team Excalibur's base camp. Mimi and Joe were tending to the still unconscious Izzy, with Cindy and Artemis helping out. Everyone else had spread out all over the building. T.K. and Kari had gone to a rather spacious office to get away from everyone for a while. Though Patamon and Gatomon were with them.

"You sure slapped Tai pretty hard," T.K. commented somewhat hesitantly.

"He had the nerve to give me a lecture after what I've been through," Kari replied. "I've been gone for two months and that's how he welcomes me back?"

"Well you know how Tai can get sometimes. But I can understand why you reacted that way. And not just to Tai, but to everyone else too. I was pretty mad too when they told me they thought you were dead."

"And you never believed I was dead, did you?" Kari asked as she got up and walked over to where T.K. was standing.

"Not for a minute," T.K. replied as he wrapped his arms around Kari, and with that the two kissed.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, causing the newlyweds to break apart for a moment.

"Uh, come in." T.K. answered.

The door opened, and Matt and Sora walked in with their respective Digimon.

"Um, hi…" Matt greeted with an awkward smile.

"Hi…" T.K. greeted back, and immediately an awkward silence fell over the room.

"Look T.K., I'm sorry about…" Matt began.

"You don't have to say anything more Matt," T.K. interrupted. "The only thing that matters is that Kari is back. So let's just forget about what happened before I left."

Matt nodded. "Okay. So…how did you rescue Kari?"

"Well, it's a long story," T.K. answered. "For one thing Devimon helped."

"Devimon?" Matt and Sora said together as they blinked in utter surprise.

"Like I said, it's a long story. And it's not really one I'd like to talk about right now."

"That's fine," Matt replied.

Once again an awkward silence fell over the room. The four Digimon simply watched their human partners intently.

"So…you two got married," Sora remarked in an attempt to restart the conversation. "What do you guys plan to do now?"

"Well assuming we survive this thing with Lucemon, we thought we'd start by getting a new apartment here in the city," Kari answered.

Sora sighed. "Good luck with that. After one of the Seven Lords destroyed my apartment it was impossible for me to find a new place. Of course I ended up living with Matt, so it all worked out."

"Wait, why are you living with Matt?" Kari asked with a look of confusion. "Did you break up with my brother?"

"Not only that, Matt and I plan to get married ourselves soon. In fact in a few months you two are going to have a niece or nephew."

Both T.K. and Kari were very stunned by this news, as were Patamon and Gatomon.

"Wait Sora, does that mean you're…?" T.K. began to ask.

"Yep." Sora answered as she placed a hand on her stomach.

Kari went over and hugged Sora. Meanwhile gave his older brother a pat on the shoulder.

"So when's the wedding?" T.K. asked.

"Well we haven't really decided yet, but it'll probably be soon," Matt answered.

"Kari and I will be there, whenever it is."

In another part of the building, a furious Yolei was storming down the hall to where T.K. and Kari were. Yolei was angered that Kari had accused her, had accused everyone, of leaving her for dead. Not that the accusation wasn't entirely true of course. After awhile they had all given up on finding her, but to hear the way Kari talked about it, it was as if she had accused them of not even trying. The other thing that got to Yolei was how Kari never once contacted her or any of the others after she had escaped from her prison. Ken, Wormmon, and Hawkmon were trying their best to calm Yolei down, but they were having little success.

"Yolei, would you just stop and think about what you're doing for a minute?" Ken pleaded.

"For the last time, stay out of my way Ken!" Yolei shouted.

As Yolei continued storming off, Ryo and Cyberdramon stepped out from around the corner to block her path.

"You should listen to Ken," Ryo told Yolei. "Otherwise you might end up doing something that you'll regret."

"Get out of my way Ryo!" Yolei ordered.

"Why, so you can go yell at Kari?"

"I want to ask her why the hell she didn't contact us after she escaped from the Dark Ocean! And also how the hell she had the nerve to accuse me and everyone else of not even trying to look for her!"

Ryo sighed. "Look, I can understand some of what you're feeling. When I found out the truth about the D-1 Tournament I felt betrayed by everyone, just as you're probably feeling betrayed by Kari right now. But I'm sure that deep down Kari knew you did everything you could to find her. And the reason she didn't contact you after her escape was because she couldn't. If you go and yell at her about it, you'll probably just end up getting slapped like Tai was. Right now Kari doesn't need people yelling at her, she needs friends. I've said all I had to say."

With that, Ryo left, and Cyberdramon followed a moment later. Yolei stood and pondered what Ryo had just said, and after a moment turned around to go back to the room she and Ken were in originally. Ken, Wormmon, and Hawkmon all breathed a sigh of relief and followed her back.

Meanwhile, T.K. and Kari were trying to relax before the big battle that was sure to come soon. Patamon and Gatomon were still with them. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," T.K. told the knocker.

The door opened and in walked Rika, followed closely by Renamon.

Rika appeared a little nervous as she came up to the two. "Um…hello."

"Oh hi," T.K. responded. "You were in the battle weren't you?"

"Yeah, my name is Rika Nonaka. The fox there is my partner, Renamon."

At that moment Patamon flew off the table in the room and landed in front of Renamon on his hind legs.

"Hi!" Patamon greeted with a cheerful smile and a wave.

"Hello," Renamon responded. "You don't seem to be intimidated by me."

"Why should I be? We're on the same side, right? Besides, I've seen Digimon who're way scarier than you. No offence."

"None taken. But I am a little surprised. Most of the other Digimon I've met in this world has been a little afraid of me, even Agumon."

"Oh really," Gatomon spoke as she jumped down from the table to join in on the conversation. "Is Veemon very intimidated by you?"

Renamon chuckled. "Actually he seems to be the one who's the most afraid of me."

"Well that's just typical. Veemon talks big, but he's really just a showoff. He's not a real man like Patamon."

Gatamon's comment caused Patamon to blush. Kari chuckled at the display.

"So what brings you guys here?" T.K. asked Rika.

"Well, I mostly just wanted to meet you guys," Rika admitted. "This'll probably sound really weird, but I'm from an alternate version of Earth. One where you guys are characters in a T.V. show. And well…I've always been a big fan of yours. You guys were the coolest characters in the show. I mean Matt and Tai are pretty cool too I guess, but to me you two are the best."

"Well thank you," Kari told her with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "So do you want an autograph or something?"

"Actually I also came down here to tell you that when this finally battle with Lucemon comes, I'll back you up. Well, I'll leave you guys alone now."

With that, Rika left the room. Renamon followed her a moment later.

"She seemed nice," Kari commented.

"Yeah, and it's nice to know that we have more help against Lucemon," T.K. agreed.

Meanwhile in a supply room, Tai was busy sulking. Agumon was there to try and cheer him up, but the reptile Digimon wasn't having any success. Tai had come to the realization that he had screwed up as leader, and it was not just because Lucemon deceived him. He had made several other mistakes when the Seven Lords began attacking, and also let his anger get the better of him, even when Kari had returned. And then of course there was the failure to rescue Kari in the first place. Tai was so busy hating himself that he didn't notice Arthur and Dorumon walk into the room.

"Well, I see you're in a cheerful mood," Arthur observed somewhat sarcastically. "You know we all make mistakes, but you shouldn't get down on yourself because of them."

"I made some pretty big ones though," Tai retorted. "I've failed as both a leader and an older brother."

"Yes, that certainly wasn't the proper way to greet your long lost sister after two months," Arthur agreed as he took a seat next to Tai on a box. "You know if you wanted to yell at someone, you should've yelled at me. After all, I was keeping her at my place for the last month."

Tai sighed. "I don't know why I yelled at Kari like that. I've just been so mad lately, and I ended up taking it out on her."

"Mad at yourself I'm guessing?"

"Yeah. Mostly for not finding Kari when she vanished. Now I can't even bring myself to face her."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You did everything you could to find her. You were just up against a very ancient and dark power."

Tai shook his head. "That didn't stop T.K. from finding her."

"Well your sister and T.K. have a very special connection, one that seems to transcend all cosmic boundaries. Plus T.K. was helped out by an evil Digimon who attempted to claim the power of the Seven Lords for himself."

"…I guess if Kari was going to marry anyone, I'm glad it was T.K."

"Hopefully your father will soon see it that way as well," Arthur commented as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway Tai, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Your team is going to need your leadership very soon."

"How can I lead anyone after the mess I've made?"

"As I've said before, we all make mistakes. But we must learn from them, put them behind us, and move on."

"But what if I screw up again?"

"Then you do, but you cannot let that fear rule you. Always trust your instincts and do what you believe is right. And when you decide on a course of action, do it no matter what. That is what a leader does. And do not forget that your sister still thinks very highly of you. I'll leave you to think about that."

With that, Arthur got up and left. Dorumon trotted close behind him.

"…Hey Tai, you know everyone still believes in you," Agumon told his human partner after a moment. "I know I do."

Tai gave the little dinosaur a small smile. "Thanks buddy."

A little later that day, Davis was storming down the hall to where Kari was. Veemon was following close behind.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Davis?" Veemon asked. "I mean Kari wasn't happy to see you. She gave you a pretty good black eye."

"I don't blame Kari for punching me. I deserved it after what I did to her," Davis told Veemon. "But I'm worried that she's rushed into this marriage with T.K., and I have to tell her that."

Veemon shrugged. "Well I won't stop you. I'm just coming with you to see Gatomon."

"Dude, I just don't think you have a chance with her."

"Maybe I don't, but I'm not giving up yet. I heard from Armadillomon that Gatomon went into that storeroom right here. So I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay. Good luck man." Davis told him before continuing on.

Veemon opened the door to the room, expecting to find Gatomon alone. What he found was Patamon and Gatomon locked in a kiss, oblivious to the world around them.

"NOOOOOO!" Veemon shouted in a cry that could be heard throughout the entire building.

Meanwhile, Davis had reached the office that he heard that T.K. and Kari were in. He peeked in and saw that Kari was alone. Davis guessed that T.K. had probably stepped out for some reason, but he saw it as his chance to talk to Kari alone and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Kari called, oblivious to the identity of the knocker.

Davis cautiously opened the door the rest of the way and walked in. Kari's expression changed to one of utter fury when she saw who it was.

"You have five seconds to get out of here before I kill you!" Kari threatened as she picked up a desk lamp that just happened to be handy.

"I just came here to talk!" Davis told her as he raised his hands in surrender. "Can you just give me a few minutes?"

"…Fine, but be quick," Kari agreed with a sigh, though she did not put down her implement.

Davis took a breath to prepare to say what he wanted. "Look, I don't blame you for wanting to kill me. But I'm worried about you marrying T.K. I mean I guess I don't blame you for falling for the guy after he rescued you, but…"

"Just stop right there you moron!" Kari interrupted. "I didn't fall in love with T.K. just because he saved me. I had a lot of time to think about my life while I was trapped in that hellhole. And one of the things I've realized was that I've been in love with T.K. for years. And the reason we never admitted those feelings to each other before was we were afraid if we did it might ruin our friendship. Maybe if we did tell each other how we felt sooner it would've prevented this whole mess."

"Well…then what the hell was it that we had?"

Kari shook her head. "I'm not sure. At the time I guess I thought it was love, but now I don't think it was… Let me ask you something Davis, were you really in love with me?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I was! I still am!"

"Well if that's true, then why did you cheat on me three time?"

"I…don't know." Davis admitted as he slumped into a nearby chair. "I guess…maybe I was afraid our relationship was going too fast, like I was getting tied down. Maybe I wasn't ready for that kind of relationship. I'd be lying if I said I knew what the hell true love is, but I know you're the only girl I've ever been really serious about. I thought we had a really good thing going before Kari, and you have no idea how bad I feel for screwing it up."

"Well…whatever it is we had, it's over now."

"…Can we at least still be friends?" Davis asked, looking hopeful.

Kari sighed. "I don't know. I'm still furious with you for what you did…. I'll think about it."

Davis gave her a tearful smile. "I guess that'll do for now then."

A little later, Kari was walking through the halls of the building. She needed to let off a little steam after her talk with Davis. While walking, Kari encountered Yolei, who was surprised to see her.

"Hey Kari." Yolei greeted somewhat hesitantly. "…How are you?"

"Hi Yolei," Kari responded. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You look kind of angry right now."

"I ran into Davis a few minutes ago. Since then I've been walking through these hallways to cool down."

Yolei nodded. "I can understand that. Kari, I'm sorry we didn't rescue you. We searched everywhere we could think of to find you over and over again. But after awhile we gave up hope… I guess we should've tried harder, huh?"

"You're worried about what I said earlier, aren't you?" Kari asked, to which Yolei nodded. "Look, that was just me getting mad at Tai for blowing up at me like that."

"But we still shouldn't have given up," Yolei spoke tearfully.

Kari gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you did everything you could. The important thing is that I'm back now. So don't worry about it."

Yolei sniffed as she wiped away a few tears. "Okay. So those things that live in the Dark Ocean didn't…do anything to you…did they?"

Kari shook her head. "All they did was keep me locked in this dirty room for a month, though it felt like years. I couldn't tell when one day ended and another began… And all the time I was afraid those things would bust into my room and…well…"

"You don't have to say anything more about it," Yolei told her as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"…Anyway, what they wanted was to sacrifice me in some ritual. And they would have if T.K. hadn't saved me."

"So how're you doing now?"

"…I'm tired. I mean I got a lot of rest while T.K. and I were at Arthur's, and the two of us had a wonderful time while we were there, but I haven't been able to completely relax because this thing with the Seven Lords has been hanging over us. All I want to do is settle down and start a life with T.K., but I can't…not until Lucemon is dead. As long as that monster is alive, this nightmare isn't over."

In another part of the building, Izzy was still unconscious. Tentomon had woken up earlier, though the bug Digimon was a bit dazed. Mimi was staying close to Izzy's side in case he woke up. At last the genius of the Digidestined opened his eyes and slowly began to sit up.

"Izzy, are you okay?" Mimi asked.

"Well…I have a splitting headache," Izzy answered as he rubbed his temples. "Plus I think I discovered a way to mathematically prove the existence of God, but I can't remember what it is. Other than that I seem to be fine. Where are we?"

"It's a long story. For starters, T.K. and Kari are both back, and Lucemon turned out to be the leader of the Seven Lords."

"And right now he's on the loose in the Digital World," a voice interrupted.

Both Izzy and Mimi turned to see that Gennai had appeared in the room.

"What's Lucemon up to?" Mimi asked.

"He's attempting to awaken a power that will destroy everything," Gennai answered gravely. "You must get to the Digital World now, or else both this world and the Digital World will be destroyed."

Author's Note: Before anyone points out that I didn't resolve anything between Kari and Tai, I'm saving that for the epilogue. There was a lot going on in this chapter. I tried to mix in a little humor with the drama in places. The action starts up again in the next chapter. As I said earlier, it might be a little while before the next chapter is done, as I'm working on another story. But I'll try to have it done as soon as possible.

In the meantime, please review and let mr know what you think. Also, if you're a Tokyo Mew Mew fan, check out my new story: The Black Mew Mew