Hey everyone! We are up to the third episode now and I know given the dire situation of the digital world that you guys are probably like: enough with the intros, when are they going to save it? Well, hold your horses because while this is mostly another getting to know the children chapter, it does lead into the plot as well. Thank you for everyone who gave me concrit – I truly appreciate it and please keep doing it so I can keep making each episode better and better for you. I would like to shout out a special thanks to Zero Slash One as well as my friend Sunshine-hime for all the help they have given me for this story. As well as one to my lovely readers and reviewers, ya'll are the best!

3. Separate Burdens

Having his twin sister's help who made everything so simple when she explained, Dai knew he was sure to get a good result in the exam. Honestly, he had no idea what he would do if he were an only child because Yuki, was a godsend. The two of them had come early because their mom had decided to wake them up, saying it was good to be early on the day of the test. Dai wasn't even properly awake yet! A yawn escaped his lips, and he was grumbling at the fact that he had to miss out on his beauty sleep.

"Niichan, stop complaining," Yuki sighed, as if reading her brother's mind which she probably had. How else would she always know what he was thinking?

Dai pouted at her. "But I'm still sleepy!"

"You're always sleepy!" MJ's voice interrupted as her and Kei joined them. "Honestly, Dai, it's a mid-term exam. Take it seriously, would you?"

Dai grinned at her cheekily. "If you take things any more seriously, your blonde hair will go grey."

MJ rolled her eyes. "At least I take things seriously. What would you do if your sister wasn't there to help you study?"

Dai widened his eyes innocently, batting them at her as he leaned his face close. "Ask you for free tutoring?"

MJ pushed his face away. "Right. No thanks. I like my sanity."

Yuki giggled at both of them. "Niichan, stop teasing her, ok? We need to focus." She waved at Tay as he went into a separate classroom with his best friend Makoto and Dai rolled his eyes. At least, his playful banter with MJ had woken him up slightly. He couldn't help it! It was just so much fun teasing her because of the way she reacted. He checked his watch. There were still 15 minutes left!

"Couldn't Mom have let us sleep 5 minutes more?" Dai huffed again. "I mean there's still 15 minutes before our exam starts!"

"Being early is always better Dai," Kei scolded him and Dai rolled his eyes at him. The boy was always such a stick in the mud – too much of a stickler for the rules in his opinion.

"This is Dai we're talking about, Kei," A bright voice interrupted them, and they all turned to see Hana and Kaito standing there, Hana with a bright smile on her face, matching her voice while Kaito just looked bored. Like he always did. Nothing new there.

"What is this? Pick on Dai day?" Dai huffed, crossing his arms and sulking. "Besides, Yuki helped me study! I'll be fine!"

"Isn't that the normal everyday routine?" Kei asked, raising an eyebrow causing Hana to chuckle a little.

"Play nice, Kei, he studied this time at least," Hana pointed out, eyes twinkling causing Dai to scowl at her. He thought at least his cousin would be on his side here.

"Sure, if you insist," Kei shrugged, returning his attention to his book, staring into it so deeply that Dai was sure he was trying to memorise even the commas and grammar of the text.

"Still though, Yuki how did you ever manage to find the patience?" Kaito asked Yuki dryly who swatted at her friend's shoulder.

"Be nice, Kai," Yuki said, although her lips were twitching. Great, even his sister was making fun of him, siding with Kaito of all people! That was so not fair!

"Yuki…" Dai half-whined, giving her a glare causing her to burst into giggles. "You're all against me seriously! If Sam was still here, he'd stick up for me for sure!" He frowned as everyone became silent at the mention of Sam. No one talked about him, but he had heard his parents saying once that he and Sam had been the closest out of all the kids before he had disappeared and all.

"Uncle Ken still misses him," Yuki said softly. "No one really knows what happened that night after all. Sam just didn't come home."

"He's probably not even alive anymore," Hana said bluntly. "I mean, they didn't find a body, but they didn't find him alive either right?"

"As long as a body wasn't found, there's always a probability that Sam may be still alive," Kei pointed out with a shrug, looking up from his book after having noticed how silent he had gotten.

Dai gripped a fist. "If he's alive, then one day Uncle Ken and Aunt Yolei will definitely find him! No matter where he is."

Kei gave a derisive snort. "I said there's a probability but this wish-washy hope that he'll be found that day isn't based on any logic. He has not been found, dead or alive in seven years. How do you deduce that they will find him now?"

"It's called having hope, Izumi," Dai said, a scowl forming on his face. "Try it sometime. It won't kill you."

Kei's nonchalant expression didn't falter at all at Dai's scowl or his words. "I'd rather not live in fantasies or illusions, Motomiya. It's a good way to get disappointed."

Dai was about to retort when they were called inside, and Yuki gave his hand an insistent tug and he bristled but followed his sister inside. Kei was so negative all the time and it frustrated him! What was wrong with having a little hope? Mirei deserved to know her younger brother better while Nao deserved to know his older brother. "I swear Izumi…"

"Leave it," Yuki said softly. "Please. You need to focus on the exam."

Dai sighed. "Right. Sorry sis." He sat down on his table and exhaled. He had prepared. He could do this.

Taysuke was glad he didn't have to worry about exams as much as his sister and their other friends. Even Kaisa had more to worry about than him. However, he did have school projects like right now trying to create a model of the solar system which was kinda fun actually! Although it seemed it was only fun for him because Makoto was struggling, and his Saturn kept falling off.

"Honestly," Makoto said pouting. "Why do we have to do this stupid project anyway?"

Taysuke laughed. "I think your glue might have run out. Here, use my one." He handed it over.

Makoto blinked. "But you still need it, Tay. Your project isn't finished yet."

Taysuke shrugged. "I'll just go home and do it. Mom will probably help me out with it." Besides, it wasn't like his planets, the ones he had already made models of were going to fall off. His best friend had a more dire need for it and all right now. Plus, Makoto didn't really have anyone at home to help him with his projects and stuff.

Makoto beamed, hugging Taysuke. "Thanks Tay! You're the best friend a guy could have you know that?"

Taysuke returned the hug happily. "So are you Mako! Hey wanna go play video games at the arcade tomorrow? It's the weekend and Neesan's gonna be out with Kaito anyway!"

Makoto's face fell. "I'd love to, but you'd have to sneak me out again…you know how my parents are."

Taysuke scowled unhappily. "They're a bunch of bullies that's what they are!" He did not like Makoto's parents. They weren't nice people. It was probably why Kaisa was always telling him to stay away from Makoto, but it wasn't the same! Makoto was nothing like his weird siblings or his mom and Dad. "I'll sneak you out for sure. You deserve to have fun, Makoto."

Course he wasn't sure he'd be able to do that without Kaisa's help. Kaisa was a lot better at sneaking than he was, and he hoped he could convince her for this because she wasn't as nice to Makoto as he was.

Kari Motomiya brought out noodles for her husband, Ken and Yolei while Mirei played with her little brother Nao. She watched the children for a moment before turning back to her friends.

"Another nightmare?" Kari said sympathetically. It hadn't been easy for Ken and Yolei since Sam had just disappeared since Izzy was convinced it had something to do with the digital world and recently, Ken had been haunted by nightmares of Sam in the Dark Ocean. This was rather alarming because the digital ports were still closed and not even the D-3s were working on them.

"Yeah," Ken admitted as Davis sat beside his best friend. "I don't know what to think anymore. Is Sam in the Dark Ocean or is he stuck in the digital world somehow? Or are these just normal dreams?"

"Dreaming of the Dark Ocean is definitely not a normal dream," Kari said frowning as she thought back to the time when she had first dreamt of the dreaded place. If T.K. hadn't come to help her and Yolei hadn't helped her fight it, she may not be here. As if sensing her thoughts, Davis grasped her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. This caused her to smile softly, and she took a small bite out of her food.

"But there's one good thing about this," Yolei said, and Kari knew her best friend was trying to find a silver lining in all the darkness. "If those dreams are a sign of anything bad, which they probably are, it still means Sam's alive and out there somewhere. There has to be a way to get to the digital world…maybe there's a new team or something and their new digivices may be able to help us."

Ken looked sceptical about this. "Sam may be alive but I'm not sure about the new team…I mean we would have heard something right? We did save the digital world once."

"There's nothing wrong with hoping that there's a way into the digital world," Davis said, squeezing Ken's shoulder. "Have hope Ken. We'll find a way and I'm sure Wormmon would be really happy to see you. I know you're looking forward to that."

A small smile graced Ken's lip. "You're right. Sorry. I guess not having hope has made me sceptical that anything will ever improve."

Kari smiled softly as well. "There's always hope. T.K. would agree too if he was here. I think maybe we should contact Izzy and the others although it'd have to be at a time when the kids are at school, so they don't ask questions." They hadn't told any of the children about the digimon or the digital world because it was such a touchy topic for Ken and Yolei and since the ports couldn't be opened anyway, there didn't seem any point.

"Kari's right, Ken," Yolei said firmly. "We can work something out. Not just for Sam, but for our partners too."

Ken took Yolei's hand into his own. "Yeah, you're right. There has to be a way to gather more information. We can't leave the digital world in Gennai's hands again even if we have forgiven him for his misdeeds."

Yolei huffed. "Yeah, well, forgiving doesn't mean forgetting."

"The digital world is our responsibility, not Gennai's," Kari said softly, thoughts drifting to what had happened when they had trusted Gennai to protect that world and how he hadn't done that. She had made Gatomon promise to stick close to the other digimon should anything like that occur ever again.

Davis nodded. "Kari's right. So, let's find out what's going on, ok?"

DemiDevimon looked hesitant. Gennai called him a Chosen digimon…he wasn't sure what it meant but most in the digital world didn't accept him, then why would a human see it any differently?

Mikemon observed him and gave a snort. "Most digimon like to regress into their own fantasy land thinking things as black and white. Don't fall for it. You were chosen because your human will understand you. See you like you are, rather than what you represent."

DemiDevimon blinked, not sure what she meant but looked at Gennai as well as the three digimon before moving forward, stepping into the emergency pod with Mikemon. "I hope I don't scare those humans…" He said this in a low voice, so Mikemon didn't hear but he was worried. Most creatures shunned him, and he honestly didn't see why this chosen human would be any different to be honest. But going to the human world might save him from more scrutiny. He tried not to wince in pain as the material of the pod brushed his injured wing as it lit up. He just hoped these humans could do something for his home.

He could feel himself disappearing from this place in the digital world as the pod spun in circles. He probably should have waited until he was completely healed but they didn't have the time to wait no matter how much he wanted to do so. As they appeared in the real world, he was in awe. It was so quiet, so much more peaceful than their own chaotic hometown. He looked around as he stepped out of the pod and held a small crest in his hand…Mikemon had told him it was the Crest of Hope and one of the Crests they had been able to save from Cthyllamon and Laylamon. It was there to help the Bearer of Hope believe that he wasn't the enemy, and it was pointing in a certain direction right now.

"Ok," DemiDevimon said quietly. "I'm gonna fly off then. You know where to go Mikemon?" He didn't want to leave his new friend alone after all.

Mikemon chuckled. "Course. The Crest of Light will guide me don't worry. Go on ahead DemiDevimon."

DemiDevimon nodded and flew off, determined to find the Bearer of Hope, and explain everything to him.