As it turned out, I couldn't really stay away from finishing this part up. It actually was originally the first chapter before I got serious about actually putting stuff up and adding the four prologue chapters.

Two in a day! I hope you'll let me take a day or two break after this? No? Fine then...

Familiar Sensations

The day wasn't unusual for most. The school still had its incidents, like a chalkboard going missing, or the new coat of white out on the girls' bathroom stalls, or kids playing soccer with a football since their soccerball was blown to bits in the name of science. Of course, the most random things, or the biggest adventures, come out of ordinary days like these. But it didn't feel like anything special could happen this day for kids like Kari Kamiya as she sat through science class. She didn't understand the lessons as well as, say Izzy would, but she was doing far better than her brother Tai had when he was her age. One of the reasons was because she tended to actually read the textbook instead of completely ignoring what was going on with the day's lecture. That's what she was doing today as the teacher droned on.

"In Latin, there is the word "ferrum," which means iron. And just like that, Fe is the symbol representing the element for iron. Same with lead. Pb is short for the Latin word Plumbum, which, you guessed it, means something along the lines of lead, pipes, water works, or any other thing that we apparently use lead for."

Just like any boring lesson, Kari's mind began to drift, and her thoughts wandered to the digimon. Gatomon was probably asleep in the tree where she waited for school to get out. Kari looked around the classroom passively. Davis was leaning heavily on his hand propped up on the desk, looking as if he would fall out of his chair or let his head drop any minute.

TK was sitting at the opposite side of the classroom, gazing at the chalkboard, but apparently not seeing or hearing anything. Kari noted the unpleasant expression on his face, and remembered that he had come to school looking more tired and worn than she could ever remember. She had asked him what in the world he had done that weekend before class started, but didn't get a direct response. Come to think of it, TK hadn't given his full attention to anyone at all that day.

Kari then noticed a slight change in his expression, a subtle drawing together of his eyebrows in worry. The room grew suddenly cold. None of the other kids seemed to notice it, except Davis, but he merely shook it off. Only TK's face showed any signs of recognizing the change in the room. Kari tried not to attract any attention, but the cold grew stronger, and it seemed as if water had begun filling her shoes. The wet sensation began to slowly rise, like waves washing past. It didn't come up any farther than her knees, and Kari slowly ventured a look down to check, but saw no water.

She knew the feeling. It came just before she found herself in the Dark World, in the middle of that terrible ocean. The colours began to grey around her, but still, no one seemed to notice. Davis apparently had been shaking the sleep off of him instead of the cold. What confused her was the lack of water. By now, the way the colours looked, she should have been in the middle of the ocean. TK was obviously aware, his tired eyes wide. She drilled him with a questioning gaze, but he didn't look her way. His eyes shifted all around the classroom, seemingly seeing something other than everyone else. Kari shivered. She definitely felt the cold of the darkness, but the headache that had come the first time, nearly blacking her out, didn't show up.

What Kari was confused about the most, however, was TK's expression of fear and pain.

She was in the dark for several moments, but the reality dawned on her when she noticed the edges of his form were growing fuzzy and flickering like static. Hadn't this happened to her before? What did he do to bring her back?

"TK?" She said, rather loudly and attracting the attention of the room to the two of them. "TK, are you all right?"

He blinked and slowly turned his gaze in her general direction. Slowly his eyes began to focus on her, and then he grimaced. Kari let out a small breath of relief as the colours and warmth began to return. The sensation of water receded. The suddenly stern voice of the teacher came back, saying.

"Takaishi. What's the problem?"

TK turned his attention to the man, rubbing his forehead. "Headache. I'm fine."

The teacher cocked an eyebrow and gave Kari a sceptical look before returning to the lesson. Davis exchanged a look between the two, and also lifted a brow at her before returning to his slouching position. It was several minutes before Kari decided to venture another look at TK. She sighed quietly when she saw his expression had returned to being tired and dazed. At least that was a bit more normal than panic.

"6 to 2! C'mon Sora, what's wrong? You usually beat me right out!"

"I'll be okay, really!" Sora Takenouchi, the auburn-haired athletic teenager, reassured her tennis opponent. "I don't think I warmed up enough, that's all."

"Well, you better get into it quick, 'cause I'm not letting up. After all, how often do I actually get to beat you?"

Sora smiled at her friend and got into position. Just as the girl on the other side tossed up the serve, Sora shuddered suddenly, and wasn't prepared for the ball as it soared by her.

"7 - 2! Come on, get into it, girl!"

Sora frowned and focused all her concentration on the game. The tennis ball flew over the net like a rocket, but Sora leapt aside to get a good shot at it. Perfect. "7-3! I'll catch up in no time!"

Sora served next and got an ace.

"7-4!"

The next play had more of a volley to it. The two girls knocked the ball back and forth, until her friend finally got the score.

"8-4! Don't think I can't hold a lead, Sora."

In the middle of the next exchange, that same feeling came upon Sora again, and her swing came awkwardly. The ball flew off to the side of the court. She gazed after it while her opponent got another tennis ball. She held up her hand and tried to stop it from shaking. A shiver ran down her back.

"You ready, Sora? This is game! 9-4."

Sora only managed to hit the tennisball, but it merely bounced off the edge of the racket and sailed in a lazy arc, hitting the net on her side.

"10-4! I win!" Her friend didn't celebrate for too long before she stopped to say. "Don't worry, Sora. I'm sure it was just a day thing. Sorry I had to take advantage of it. Let's see how you do tomorrow, kay?"

"Sure," Sora said, then added with more enthusiasm. "You're on! See you later!"

She waited until her friend was out of sight before she went over to the bench where her bag was. Sora sat next to it, looking at her quivering hands for several minutes. What was her problem? She hadn't been shaking this much in a while.

Calming herself as best she could, Sora prepared for the meeting with the others at the younger kids' school.

A young man strolled easily down the sidewalk. He was alone for the moment, and having just gotten out of the band practice that he had after school, was still in his uniform. A guitar case was slung over his shoulder by the strap, and he walked with his hands in his pockets. He had a good amount of blond hair that fell loosely around his face and complemented his pensive blue eyes. He was taller than a lot of kids his age, and often found himself more popular than he would care to be. His thoughts had wandered, as they frequently do, to a friend, waiting somewhere for him to come and the two of them reunite. The wondrous adventures he had with this companion along with others were more than just memories. They defined him, Matt, the Bearer of Friendship.

The Ishida boy was more than halfway home before something stopped him short. A shiver ran through the core of his well-built body and he caught a breath. A familiar saddening and despairing feeling began to come over him, obstructing his thoughts and drawing his attention and gaze back to the school. Matt recognized the sensation right away and frowned in concern, even though he had only felt it once before. It had been years since his last encounter, and he had thought that it would be gone for good. Perhaps it had been too early to make that assumption. Something was about to happen, and it wasn't going to be enjoyable. His first thought told him he needed to meet up with Gabumon as soon as possible, which fortunately happened to be what he was planning on doing that very day.

He hurried on his way to get back to his house.

His father wasn't home, but Matt already had a key, and didn't waste any time in finding a practical set of clothes for travel in the DigiWorld. Leaning his guitar case against the wall, he began rummaging through his things in hasty, shaky preparation. The feeling was still there, unnerving him, making it slightly hard for him to concentrate. Matt finally emerged from his house a little over five minutes later, dressed in a black short sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, digivice in pocket, D-Terminal in hand, already sending an email to Izzy, checking to see if the trip to the DigiWorld was still a go. It was.

But Matt knew deep inside that this would be no pleasure trip.

To be continued soon...thanks for the replies! Keep em coming!

Btw, TK, Kari and Davis are in eighth grade. Do kids learn about the elements by then? I can't remember...