Hello everyone! I have decided to use the term 'DigiDestined' as opposed to Chosen Children because they're not exactly children anymore. Please continue to read and review! Thank you and enjoy! Thank you to the lovely 'Sweet Cari' for leaving me a nice, shiny review.

2. Within Our Heart

Izzy had been a DigiDestined for a long time, and he liked to think he knew how to gather enough information to be able to guide the others. But right now, he was at a complete loss. He could practically feel the anxiousness radiating off Tai as his best friend clenched a fist, shifting from one side to the other on the bed. His fingers flew across the computer, trying to analyse the Crests with the original digivice but nothing. He was waiting for the others to get here and Mimi promised she'd make time for a video call, as did Davis, Ken and Cody. Yolei, unfortunately, wouldn't be able to make it as there had been no response from her.

"Anything, Izzy?" Tai asked again, for the umpteenth time since he had gotten here.

"The digivice isn't responding to me," Izzy admitted. "I was hoping Kari or T.K. would get here so I could see if the D3 responds any better to the Crests of Hope and Light if they're faded away as well. If not, we need to find a way into the digital world, no matter what I have to do for it."

Being good with technology, he did know the dirtier tricks he could use to get them into the digital world, but just the thought of that made his stomach churn. He didn't feel like using his knowledge of this would bring his Crest back to full strength, but he was slowly running out of options. He had tried every normal method to get into the digital world. Getting there is the most important…right? The thought didn't really feel as certain as he would have liked it to be.

"You mean…you're going to try to well, hack your way in?" Tai said, staring at Izzy as if he had grown another head, not that he could blame his friend for thinking that.

"If there's no other way in, we may have no choice but to use that method to get to our Digimon," Izzy admitted, staring down at the floor. It was a method he had used in emergencies before, but he had never liked the thought of it. Especially given the fact that they did not know what had happened to the digimon. It may as well make things worse.

"No," Tai said firmly and stood up, placing his hands on Izzy's shoulder, forcing him to look up. "Izzy, you've always done things the right way, using your brains and if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten out of some of the worst jams in the digital world. I know you think you might not be able to get us there if you stay honest, but you're one of the smartest people I know. I know you can find a way, even if you don't think so right now. You don't have to use your knowledge to hack into the digital world, you…no, we can find another way."

"Tai's right, Izzy," Another soft voice interrupted before Izzy could even find the words to reply and he looked up to see Kari at the door before she walked in and sat down.

"I'm sorry, your Mom let me in so I couldn't help overhearing," Kari said softly, her own burnt Crest wrapped in several cloths and she was wearing gloves to hold onto it. "I know the condition of the Crests is worrying, but we're the DigiDestined, right? We can't lose ourselves otherwise we won't be able to help the Digimon."

Izzy knew his friends were right, his heart lightening at the faith they had in him. But he couldn't let Tentomon down even further than he possibly had by using the wrong methods to find a way into the digital world. It took about an hour before the others, at least most of the original DigiDestined, minus Joe, who rarely had the time arrived there.

"Izzy, have you been able to work out why our Crests have faded away?" Matt asked, posture tense, even as Sora took his hand into her own, biting her lip. However, he pulled his hand away from her, causing her to frown but she didn't say anything.

Izzy shook her head. "Not yet. But I was hoping through T.K. and Kari's D-3s, I might be able to get something done. May I?" He held out his hand for the D-3s.

T.K. immediately handed over his D-3 to Izzy, his heart sinking as he thought of the image of Patamon drowning in an ocean of despair. His partner had been one of the most positive Digimon he had ever laid his eyes on so what had changed? What had made his best friend give up hope and not even try to contact him? He knew the gates had been closed but their bond had always been stronger than that. He tried to ignore his own questions to focus on what Izzy was doing.

"While I'm working on this," Izzy said glancing at them. "Davis, Ken and Cody messaged me back, saying they wanted to be involved on a video call in this meeting since they were concerned when they heard about the crests. Mimi was busy but she's too worried about Palmon not to come on the video call. So, can you guys contact them?"

"I'll contact Mimi," Sora said softly, pulling away from Matt momentarily to do so from her phone.

T.K. got out his phone, silently video calling Cody as well.

"I've got Davis, Kari, can you contact Ken?" Tai said, making to do so as well. This shouldn't be happening.

"Guys," Davis said immediately when Tai contacted him. There was a slight static, but it wasn't enough to make Davis's voice sound too unclear even if it did cause some disturbance. "What's going on? Why did the crests fade away and lose their light? I mean, we were able to get the actual Crests back for Tai's team and Ken with the Sovereign power, right? Veemon and the others…they're ok, aren't they?"

"No," Izzy said, loudly and clearly before anyone else could as a series of zeroes and ones could be seen on the computer screen. "The digimon are not remotely close to being alright. T.K., Kari, thank you for giving me your D-3s, it has assisted me in discovering information I was unable to find before."

"Izzy, what's going on?" Mimi asked. "You're making us all worried."

"I can't be certain of the exact details," Izzy admitted. "But I will say this much. The Digimon no longer possess the qualities of our individual crests. Us having the physical forms of the crests means nothing because the crest power has always been within us and within the digimon. However, something has happened or has placed them in a situation where they have lost those traits that give them the strength to digivolve and become stronger."

There was silence in the room and normally, Tai or Davis would find something to say to help everyone think positive but neither of them spoke. T.K. couldn't blame them – given what Izzy had just said made a dozen scenarios fill inside of his mind, each one worse than the one before. It would take Patamon a lot to lose hope – he had even had hope when all the Digimon were down and Devimon tried to kill T.K., his friend genuinely believed despite the odds being stacked against them that he'd be able to win. He had encouraged Veemon not to give up after stopping him from being crushed under MetalGreymon's foot, not soon after the threat of being enslaved. Then what could it be now? His head was spinning as he tried to keep track of the conversation going on around him.

"Izzy, what are we going to do?" Sora asked softly, her grip around her phone tightening slightly. It had been seven years since the digital world needed their help but somehow, she could feel over the past few months that something was wrong. Dismissing it as a gut feeling, she now wished she hadn't done that. It also wasn't the only thing to worry about – especially because Matt was withdrawing from her. Okay, so the two of them had not been together long but something was wrong – she could feel it.

"We have to go," Izzy said firmly. "We have to find a way into the digital world."

"But how?" Matt asked, a frown etched onto his features as some frustration seeped into his tone. "I mean, you've been trying to open the gate for a while now and it's not working."

"It's okay," Tai said before Izzy could reply to Matt. "I know Izzy will be able to find us a way into the digital world, so we have to believe in him and let him work ok?" He could see where Matt was coming from, he really could but he also wouldn't let his other best friend lose sight of himself. That wouldn't help them, nor would it help Izzy or Tentomon.

"I'm going to attempt to get a hold of Yolei," Ken finally spoke up in a soft voice, face slightly pale. "As well as try to take a few days off to come to Japan. It won't be easy, but this qualifies as an emergency." He could feel his own heart racing, but he managed to not show that to the others. It was a good thing he was behind a computer screen so Kari wouldn't be able to see his fists clenched in his lap as he kept his facial expression carefully composed. How could Wormmon lose his kindness? His best friend had been the one to remind him of his own kindness, after all.

Cody also nodded. "I'm going to apply for special circumstances myself. I want to be there for Armadillomon."

"Yeah!" Mimi agreed enthusiastically. "Palmon comes before anything and I wouldn't have even gotten into the media field without her help. So…" Her voice cracked slightly. "If my best friend has forgotten how to be sincere, I want to come back home to remind her."

"Wait for us, ok Izzy?" Davis added, clenching a fist. "Keep working on it though and we'll definitely find a way in. Besides, the more of us that go the better right?"

"In this case, there is safety in numbers," Izzy agreed. "Mostly because this was as much as I could find and this was after, looking into it quite deeply. So, we are unsure of what to expect when we get there."

Kari had been quiet, taking everything in and from the look on Ken's face, she could tell he was doing the same. It was a lot to understand and take in, her own eyes stinging with tears as she thought of everything Gatomon had been through before she had met her. She didn't want her best friend to give into the darkness, not after how much she attempted to remain closer to the light. I won't let Gatomon fall back into the darkness, no matter what happens or how risky it is.

Joe had gotten Izzy's message but to be honest, his Crest fading away had not come as too big of a surprise because he was putting in everything in being a Doctor. That also meant not answering his friend's calls or messages, something which made his heart clench inwards but what was he supposed to do? Medicine wasn't easy and it wasn't like it allowed him to have a lot of free time. Why was everything so much easier, even studying when Gomamon was here?

Somehow, with his Digital Partner by his side, nothing felt as challenging. Every exam – every assignment, he felt like all he had to do was put in the effort and stay up to date. Gomamon would cheer him on in the background and it would be almost as if he were the one evolving and becoming stronger with his best friend's enthusiasm. He did wonder sometimes if this was how the Digimon felt when they digivolved due to their own individual strength that they gave them to help them digivolve.

He didn't have long to ponder in these thoughts because suddenly, his computer turned on, a bright light coming out of it. It was so bright that Joe had to shield his eyes for a moment and when he could move his arm away, his eyes widened as he saw Gomamon sprawled in front of the computer. His body was a mix of red and brown, making it hard to distinguish his actual colour. Joe felt almost as if his heart had stopped for a moment, before he went into work mode, moving closer to his best friend.

He gave a quick visual check-up to see whether it was safe to move the other but then decided to tend to him first, getting out his first aid box, working through the injuries and deciding to wrap a few bandages around them. It was at least safer to move him now. Leaving Gomamon in his room, he quickly went to get a glass of water, however, this wasn't the best idea because as he was heading back to his room, the sound of a crash came. This caused his feet to move even faster and he hurried forward.

"G-get away from me, don't take me away please," Gomamon's voice sounded quite panicked, breathing heavily even as Joe returned to the room.

"Gomamon," Joe began but it was as if Gomamon couldn't even see him at that moment then and there.

"Please…I'm not as strong as Omnimon or Imperialdramon, please don't," Gomamon said and those words cracked at Joe's heart. He knew humans had panic attacks, but he didn't know Digimon could have them as well, despite how alike the two species were. His brain wracked at what he could do but then walked over and opened the drawer, taking out his digivice. He had read that physical objects were a good way to bring someone back to their reality, so he gently placed his digivice in front of the obviously panicking Digimon, however, what he did not expect was the digivice to give off a soft glow.

"Gomamon," Joe spoke softly. "I don't know what happened but you're safe now. I promise, nothing is going to hurt you here."

Are you sure about that? A voice nagged in the back of his mind, but Joe pushed it away. No, he couldn't be sure, he could never be sure about it, but he didn't let this show especially as Gomamon stopped shaking.

"Joe?" Gomamon asked meekly. "Is it really you?"

Joe smiled gently. "Yeah, of course, it's me. You're here, in the real world."

"Joe," Gomamon's voice cracked and he slowly shifted in closer to Joe. Joe, seeing this reached out in return and Gomamon cradled into his arms. His heart wavered as he felt his partner shaking. Gomamon had been one of the most optimistic Digimon he had ever met, often encouraging him when he got too down on himself. Izzy's message ran through his mind and another question came to mind, one that made his heart sink. Could it honestly be possible that his Crest had not stopped shining because of him but due to whatever was going on in the digital world?

"Gomamon," Joe began softly. "What happened? How did you get here? Did something bad happen in the digital world?"

Gomamon flinched a bit, looking away and Joe mentally berated himself. Joe, would you get a grip? Your friend is obviously scared right now, don't toss a dozen questions at him. No matter how old he got, his habit of worrying too much had only increased instead of becoming less as it should have.

"Sorry," Joe hurried to apologise. "You don't have to explain anything right now."

"Joe," Gomamon said softly. "Is it really important to know why? Can't I just stay with you and never go back?"

Joe was stumped at this and opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him. Gomamon was the Digimon of Reliability and while he understood wanting to be with him, having experienced those same feelings, the other Digimon weren't here, at least as far as he knew.

Still, he wasn't going to get any answers like this. He cradled his friend closer, heart sinking into his stomach even worse at whatever had happened, texting the group.

Guys, Gomamon is here with me at my house. I just wanted to know if your Digimon are with you as well. Regards, Joe. PS: He's really different from what we all remember.

"Do you want something to eat, Gomamon?" Joe asked, slowly pulling away and smiling at his friend. "I mean, you seem really tired and it might help you sleep better."

"I just wanna sleep," Gomamon admitted honestly, eyes already closing as he said this. "Joe, don't abandon me like Gennai and the digital world did." Those were the last words which the little Digimon uttered out before passing out to sleep.

Joe gently stroked Gomamon's head, more questions in his head than answers but he knew one thing for sure. Gomamon was worth setting his medical school duties aside to find out what was going on. That was the only thing he knew for sure.