Well, thought I'd post just to update you all on how everyone's doing.

Enjoy!

Scattered

It was cold, grey, humid, and everything else that made the Dark Ocean so terrible. The trip there wasn't all that pleasant either. Instead of just closing her eyes and being whisked away, she had been grabbed by some creature appearing from the ground beneath her. There had been a small struggle, but in the end she was powerless. Just like every other time where she had to be the one rescued. It was getting kind of old.

Kari stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking a small closed off section of the beach. It was a little cove, complete with surrounding crags restricting access in or out. The only way to get to the sandy beach was a narrow inlet of water leading to the rest of the ocean.

No one in their right mind would use that entrance. As Kari looked over the cove, she noted that there was nothing down there that looked of any significance. No caves leading into the cliff. No whirlpools in the water. No strange creatures or clouds of darkness. She stared off into the still, black ocean. It was strangely similar to her first visit. The sudden awareness of a dark presence behind her told her she wasn't alone. She didn't want to turn; she didn't want to find out. But it was only a matter of time.

Kari gasped loudly as two huge hands clamping down on her shoulders confirmed the sensation. She waited for something else to happen, but the creature holding her made no other move. Her breath was shallow and her heart beat frantically as her body began to slightly shake. There was a faint snicker behind her and she built up just enough courage to speak.

"What do you want?" Kari almost winced at how weak her quivering words came out.

A deep and guttural voice replied, "Nothing of importance. It's what my Master wants that matters."

"Your…Master?" She had met these minions before. Was their master the same undersea king that she had heard of last time?

"Yes," the creature responded, still holding onto her shoulders. "Don't worry, child. You will meet him soon enough."

The Shade had tightened its grip at that last sentence, and finished by giving Kari a shove. She screamed, calling her brother's name as she found herself beyond the edge of the cliff and falling down into the cove. Kari didn't remember even hitting the ground.

"How close to TK do you think we are?"

"I have no idea, Wormmon. It's not like I've ever explored the world of darkness before."

"I know, but I thought that we may be able to sense him. You seem to be very sensitive to the darkness. Maybe something similar can happen here, like being able to sense the light."

"Perhaps, but I just don't know if I can." Ken sighed. They had been walking alone the dark shoreline for hours, and the atmosphere seemed to be lightening. It was morning, undoubtedly. They had managed to live through the night, and Ken took some comfort that TK may have had the same luck.

The day was well underway when the pair came upon tracks in the sand. Ken examined them closely. There were two distinguishable sets, one large and flat, and the other smaller with a familiar shoeprint. Ken traced the prints back to their starting points. The smaller ones stood closer to the water's edge, the others standing two yards behind them.

"The smaller footprints are definitely TK's," Ken said. He scratched the back of his neck and gestured to the larger tracks. "I don't know whose those are. But they're definitely a digimon's. Or something else."

He noticed how there were no tracks leading to the spot on the beach, making it seem as if the two that had walked here earlier just dropped out of thin air. The difference was that the larger prints walked to a certain spot before disappearing, the smaller ones continued down the beach. Ken decided to follow. He had no idea that he would be tracking TK like this, but at least it was a stroke of fortune.

There came a point where there seemed to become sort of struggle that ended with TK fleeing the waterline. He hurried on his way, not wanting to meet whatever the boy before him had met.

Ken and Wormmon eventually came to a spot on the shore where they found a large group of rookie digimon chained to the sand. It was a curious sight. TK's footprints ranged all over the place, one time coming right up to an Otamamon. Ken noticed the black ring binding it, and his face grew dark with anger.

"After all this time these are still doing damage?" He looked at all the greying digimon moaning around him. He was filled with sympathy for their suffering and turned to his own partner. "Can you help them?"

"If you let me digivolve."

"Go for it."

"Wormmon digivolve to…Stingmon!"

The insectoid digimon brandished his glowing pink blade and made his rounds, going to each of the captive digimon and breaking their bonds. Ken looked around in satisfaction, but hesitated when he noticed the rookies weren't returning to their normal states. They were morphing. Mutating. And they seemed to be enjoying it.

Stingmon flew over to his charge. "Ken. This doesn't look right. We should get out of here."

Ken paused, not quite ready to abandon what he once thought were digimon. They were strange creatures, their moans of agony blending in with cackling snickers. They were beginning to surround the two, and Ken knew now was not the time to sit around. He finally recognized them as he jumped into Stingmon's arms. The champion took to flight, leaving the beach and flying to the nearby town. The boy glanced behind them, watching them slowly follow. He had seen them last time he had come to the Dark World. They had tried to kill Yolei and capture TK. Ken began to wonder if they had gotten to TK yet. He hoped it wasn't so.

Stingmon didn't stop at the town, being that the two could feel the potent presence of darkness permeating it. They went straight to the cliffs, pausing at the cave that lay in the middle of the rock face. A crash of boulders resounded somewhere inside, and though going into the black hole was the last thing Ken wanted, the noise was a clue they couldn't afford to pass up.

Yolei was losing her mind. A second visit to the Dark Ocean in a week was more than she could bear, and it wasn't as if they were nicely escorted there either. She and Sora had been dragged roughly under, and were dropped into the middle of a crater in the Dark World. It was the same spot where she was attacked only a few days before. Sora was with her, but that didn't do much for her nerves. What she wouldn't do to have Mimi here as well. Still, Sora was doing her best to console her. They sat next to each other, the three digimon scanning the area sceptically. The older girl was hugging Yolei around the shoulders, rubbing her arms. Even so, the younger one just cowered there, feeling small and helpless, blubbering and sobbing, though not really crying. She just felt hopeless, and the impending sense of doom seemed to loom before her.

Meanwhile Sora, though she was trying hard to keep Yolei from utter panic, was struggling with her own fears. An old feeling of being overwhelmed had come upon her, messing with her mind and mixing up her thoughts. She couldn't seem to focus on any one thing, let alone figure out what they could do about their predicament. Yolei's whining didn't help either. It was hard for Sora. She had to keep Yolei safe. She had to find Kari and Ken. She had to rescue TK. But what could she do?

In their despair, the two girls didn't notice the deepening of the atmosphere around them.

Matt never considered himself claustrophobic, but this was unbearable. He only had enough space to move his head around, but even that leeway was lessening. The claw that had grabbed him and MetalGarurumon was slowly crushing the two; he was already having difficulty breathing. He had long given up struggling, and was now trying to encourage his partner. The mega squirmed with all his might, but the powerful Grace Cross Freezer attack was not brought into action. It would be too powerful, and could potentially harm Matt who was close by. So the pair settled for a wrestling match against the giant claw. Matt almost chuckled at that thought. Finding that he could no longer move his head in the narrowing space, he let out a cry of exasperation, knowing that the pressure would not lessen.

Then, to his surprise, it did. Matt sucked in a gulp of the stale air, stretching his limbs out. He looked around wildly, not seeing the claw anywhere. He only spotted MetalGarurumon, looking just as baffled as he was. What had caused their captor to release them?

The environment in the Dark Area was strange and uninviting. Matt found that he was still hovering, being that there was no place to stand. The area was hollow. Big, but seemingly empty. He gazed deep into the dark, slightly purple-hued atmosphere, trying to make out anything. Matt picked a direction and began moving forward, aided by his partner. They presently came upon what seemed to be a black tunnel. Moving towards the entrance, they found the interior resembling a rocky cave.

"This look familiar?"

"Very," MetalGarurumon replied, dedigivolving to rookie. "Do we go in?"

"It's probably the clue we're looking for. I'm willing to go," Matt said, taking a step in. He glanced back at his partner who was still standing outside the entrance. "It'll be okay, Gabumon. It's not like I'm walking straight into depression again."

"Well," the rookie sighed, following. "It's just not a very good memory."

Matt patted Gabumon's head. "Hey, we'll be fine. You'll see."

The digimon nodded in reply and the two walked on in silence for some time. The atmosphere was definitely dark and foreboding, but at least there wasn't a negative attitude emanating from Matt this time. The boy was walking in determination, not dejection.

No less than ten minutes passed before the scenery changed. Instead of grey, stony, jagged walls there were black, smooth halls. For several moments the place seemed like a dungeon, and then a maze.

"This place kind of seems familiar too."

Matt started at Gabumon's voice coming from above him. He looked to see his partner standing on the ceiling. "Hey, Gabumon, how'd you get up there?"

The rookie glanced around frantically several times before looking up and seeing Matt. "How did you get up there?"

Matt was about to protest about the digimon's disorientation, but then checked himself. They had been here before. "Gabumon, I think I know where we are."

I know, I didn't mention TK...I just thought he deserves a chapter of his own.

Now that we have all our players on the board, it's time for the real party to begin! hee hee, this ain't even halfway over...

Until next time, cheers!