Hey, I got sick. This chapter should have been out already. Oops. Having the flu sucks. Don't recommend.

Trigger Warning for people sensitive to the topic of suicide. It's nothing graphic, it's just mentions of.

Hope you enjoy - PLEASE review :) New chapter after some reviews come in.

Kari stared at her unanswered texts, tears sliding down her cheeks every so often, the bitter chill of the evening was settling in, despite the warmth of the summer day. She had walked out on everyone shortly after Ken. She was done playing this game, allowing T.K. to push them all away and die fighting alone. She looked up from the park bench she was sitting at, very near was a small playground, with a simple set of swings and just beyond that, a small basketball pad and hoops.

Before T.K. had moved, this was where she would find him on bored afternoons when he wouldn't answer her messages. She'd watch him practice for a while before walking up to make a comment on how dedicated he was to his sport of choice, teasing him in one way or another, he'd take a break and they'd sit on the swings for a little while and talk about anything and everything. She admitted, she had always found herself wanting to be around him. How had she been so blind not notice how she really felt? After T.K.'s unexpected confession, Kari had to go back over their years together, analyzing and rethinking every memory they'd shared. She wasn't sure if she had somehow subconsciously pushed the obvious signs away, maybe because she didn't think she deserved his affection, or maybe out of fear of ruining their friendship? She couldn't be sure, but she was certain the feelings had been there, for both of them, much longer than she realized.

A memory that stood out, far more prominently than others, was the first day the Dark Ocean had swept her away. He had said the words, he cared about her. But she had been so lost in what was haunting her that day, she pushed it aside. Later, relieved and thankful to her rescuer, she told him she cared too—like she cared about all her friends, maybe a little more, but it wasn't in the same way T.K. meant it, she knew that now.

Kari inhaled deeply and leaned her head back, looking at the blue sky that was just beginning to fade lightly into a golden sunset.

Davis sat next to her, starling her. "Hey." He spoke casually.

Kari looked at him in surprise and turned her gaze back to her cellphone in her hands. "I'm sorry."

Davis was clearly fighting an angry response, but inhaled slowly and ran his hands over his face with a little moan. "I wish you'd stop saying that."

She had to smile at the gentle look he gave her, but it quickly faded. "I'm going after him."

Davis scrunched his nose a little, but nodded. "I know you are." Davis sighed loudly and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "He's going to say things to you, too. You know?"

Kari caught his sideways glance. He was trying to protect her, prepare her for what she knew was already coming. "I know."

"And…you're sure you want to hear what he's going to say?" Davis pressed lightly, like he was concerned she didn't understand how cruel T.K. had become.

She nodded, determination in her soft expression. "I'm not going to hurt him again, especially by buying into his deceitful words."

Davis closed his eyes and spoke softly. "What happened between you two?"

Kari shifted awkwardly. "It's not easy to talk about."

Davis lower his arms, resting them at his sides. "You don't have to, but…" he sighed. "It's uncomfortable, I know. I don't want to know, believe me. But I still love you, and knowing he hurt you, just makes it…"

"He didn't." Kari spoke quickly, trying to wrap her mind around the words he'd just said—he'd said them before, but not in a very long time, and not quite that intimately.

Davis shook his head. "Knowing that he hurt you, makes it so hard for me to run in there after him, again." He ignored her reply and didn't seem to care that she didn't address his little admittance of still loving her.

Kari frowned. "Davis?"

"I'm going too." He looked at her, resolute. "Even though I'm pissed, for several reasons—if Tai's right, he really is sacrificing a lot to try to keep us all safe."

She closed her eyes to try and stay the tears that she'd been trying so hard to not to shed since he'd sat next to her. "I'm the one who hurt him."

Davis sighed, looking at her exasperatedly, begging for more of an explanation. "You love him?"

If his question caught her off guard, she didn't show it, her expression resting on a mixture of sadness and newfound determination. "Yes."

Davis' eyes widened for a second, but his expression remained unchanged, he was a little surprised, not by the answer itself, but that she answered him so composed. "And him?"

Kari opened her mouth, but stopped before she could form any words. There it was, the hurt washed over her face instantly and her determined expression broke.

Davis shook his head. "I knew it…"

She pursed her lips, she didn't care if they shook and her voice bent in unnatural ways, she had to say it. "He does, even though I don't deserve it."

"I want to argue with you so badly right now, but I'm not going to." Davis reached over and grabbed her hand, looking at her sadly. "I'm sorry I didn't bring him back, but I'm not going back on my promise."

She closed her eyes and turned her face away from Davis, trying to wipe her tears away. "Davis, please, don't…" she tried to pull her hand away, but he grabbed it with both hands tightly.

"Look at me, Kari." Davis' voice was firm.

She clenched her teeth, tears fell down her cheeks as she looked back at him, their eyes met. "Davis, I don't deserve you either. And I don't feel the way—"

"Kari." Davis said her name sharply. "I know you don't love me the way I love you, and yeah, it sucks." He let out a deep breath. "It really sucks." He gave her a soft, teasing smile, letting her know it didn't matter.

She couldn't help but smile back lightly, a laugh catching in her throat, making her turn away to cough lightly. Looking back up at him, she saw that his smile, while sad, was still genuine. "I don't want to hurt you, Davis. I don't want to say something I shouldn't, or worse, not say something I should." She squeezed his hand lightly. "You're an important person to me, but I don't want to lead you on."

Davis allowed her to slip her hand back, shaking his head. "You've always been pretty clear about how you've felt about me. I was immature and I let my jealousy really kick my unfiltered ego into gear when it came to you. I thought, if he won't say it, I will, I'll get the girl by saying how I feel and not letting her slip away."

Kari's heart beat loudly in her ears. "What do you mean?"

Davis laughed at her question. "You'd have to be pretty dense not to see the way he looked at you when we were younger, because he was always looking at you." Davis' smile faded a little at her expression. "T.K., I mean. Every time I glanced jealously your way, you'd be walking side by side and he'd be staring at you." He paused again. "You didn't noticed?"

Kari wanted to laugh, but she settled for an embarrassed smile. Davis's description of T.K. felt like he was an open book about his feelings, but it had taken T.K. confessing, for her to notice. "I guess, maybe, I wasn't trying to?" she looked at Davis' confused expression. "I mean, I just wasn't focused on those kind of feelings back then, we had the digital world to worry about." His expression lightened and then he finally looked away from her.

Davis' phone vibrated in his pocket, he continued their discussion without pause. "When we bring T.K. home." He spoke confidently, answering a quick text at the same time. "I'm going to punch him in the face. Again."

Kari's eyes widened, with both a question of why and again? But before she could respond, he looked back at her seriously.

"I told you, if he made you cry I was going to hurt him." He gestured, quite exaggeratedly, at her. "This still counts as him making you cry, and I know it won't be the last time."

"Davis." Kari scolded.

He shrugged, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly. "I may not have won your heart, but the guy that did better get ass in line or he'll have to answer to me. No way am I going to let him or anyone else treat you less than you deserve. You're a goddamn princess!" he spoke loudly, his old unfiltered ego peeking out proudly.

Kari wanted to hide and laugh at his little outburst all at the same time, hiding a light smile and a giggle behind her hands, which still held her phone tightly. Tears still clung to her eyes, but she genuinely felt the pain in her heart ease, even if it was only for a quick moment. "Davis, stop." She begged, reaching out to grab his arm, stopping him from standing up, surely to continue on his rampage, seeing that it was lifting her spirits. "Enough."

He let her yank him back to his seat and sighed. "Made you laugh." His sincere smile shone in his gaze more than his lips. "I won't forgive him for causing you so much pain."

Kari's eyes dropped. "That's not—"

"There you are." Yolie groaned, slightly out of breath. "You could have been a little more specific." She fell at Davis' side, making him shift closer to Kari.

"Hey, watch it." He snapped.

"I parked us waaay over there!" she exclaimed, waving her arms. "You could have said, by the swings, or near the basketball court, at a bench! Any of those." She was purposefully loud.

Kari didn't know if she'd heard anything that was said between her and Davis, or if the looks on their faces told her enough, but she was aiming to be interruptive.

A few seconds behind Yolie, Cody came walking over slowly—the look on his distraught face was more than evident that he'd just heard what was going on with T.K., and was still trying to sort through his own feelings.

"Well, what's the plan, Kari?" Yolie leaned forward to look around Davis, and even though she was bright and cheery, her eyes showed sympathy.

Kari shook her head. "I'm going after him. I can't ignore what's happening and hope it turns out."

Cody stopped just a few steps away from the others. His gaze lifting up to Davis and Kari, questioningly, perhaps hoping they were going to tell him Yolie was pulling a very elaborate joke or had thrown things completely out of proportion.

Davis leaned forward and then pulled himself up off the bench. Resting a hand on Cody's shoulder. "We'll get him back." He proceeded to pat Cody's back as he walked away from the three of them, his hands shoving deep into his pockets.

Yolie, Kari and Cody all looked up toward where Davis was heading, everyone just then noticing that Ken was sitting against one of the Basketball hoop polls, facing away from them.

Yolie sighed with relief. "I told him we were heading this way, but he didn't respond. I bet he was close by."

Kari watched as Davis bent down next to Ken, she couldn't see his face, but she knew he was talking to him quietly. "Ken will try to stop me, won't he?"

Yolie shook her head. "No. I don't think so. I think Ken's working through something a little deeper than you realize."

Kari tilted her head. "The things T.K. said to him?"

Yolie's eyes were on the two boys now. "Well, yes and no. Ken already felt guilty about something that was going on between them, and I guess that T.K. shoved those exact things right in his face." She looked at Kari. "He blames himself. He's convinced that this is all his fault. He believes that words he said in anger, made T.K. choose to bear this burden alone."

Kari felt every word Yolie spoke, like it was stabbing into her heart like knives. "He can't take all the blame." Fresh tears stung at her eyes, her jaw tightening to keep her composure.

Cody watched and listened to Yolie and Kari, trying to make sense of what was happening. He wanted to focus more on worrying about T.K., but the feeling of being left out of everything and hearing all that's been going on around him without his knowledge only made him angrier than he'd already been.

Kari watched as Ken and Davis stood, she saw the pain in Ken's expression, but Davis gripped his arm tightly, stopping Ken from walking away. Their voices rose, loud enough for them to hear, but not quite enough to clearly make out what they were saying.

#

"Ken, listen to me!" Davis wouldn't release his grip on Ken's arm. "Get out of your head, what is your gut telling you to do?"

Ken tried to pull away, growling at Davis. "It doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't!" Davis snapped. "What if he gets killed because we sat on our asses and hoped for the best?"

Ken stopped fighting Davis' grip, dropping his gaze guiltily to the ground. "Don't say that!" he hissed.

"Stop it." Kari's voice was sharp and loud. Neither boy realizing she'd walked over until she was in front of them. She stepped uncomfortably close to Ken, Davis released his grip and took a step back. Ken and Kari's eyes locking.

"If it were you, you would have done the same thing, right? Pushed us away, tried to protect us all on your own?" Her voice came much stronger than she thought it would.

Ken narrowed his eyes, but kept contact with Kari's, her words clearly hitting a nerve. "If I knew that it was the best option to protect the people I care about?" Ken's voice became firm. "Without hesitating."

Kari's stern expression lightened, but her frown remained. "But, Ken." She reached out and grabbed his hand, not allowing him to pull away. "Davis and Yolie would probably be tearing the digital world to shreds right now, trying to find you."

Ken finally broke eye contact with her. "You don't get to lecture me about what I should be doing for T.K." He closed his eyes, and tried to turn away, but Kari's free hand reached up and grabbed his jacket to keep him in front of her.

Her eyes locked back onto Ken's, as he sent a glare her way. "You're stuck on putting yourself in T.K.'s position. What do you think T.K. would be doing in yours?"

Ken opened his mouth to argue, but he paused, his frown deepening as he slowly closed his mouth, visibly swallowing down a lump that Kari's words had formed in his throat. Finally he gathered his thoughts. "I hear what you're saying, but are you even trying to understand why T.K.'s working so hard to push us away? If you know him at all, you'd know that if he was the reason for any one of us getting hurt, he'd never be able to forgive himself."

"T.K. always puts others before himself." Kari replied assertively. "He always has. You're forgetting I've known him a lot longer than you."

"T.K.'s heart is already heavy with a guilt that he'll never recover from." He saw Kari's eyes flicker with uncertainty, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, his voice a whisper. "What do you think it would do to him, if something happened to you because of him?" He saw her close her eyes tightly. "Damn it, Kari, you know it would kill him."

Kari took a step back, this time she turned her gaze to the ground. "So, it's okay for him to get hurt for our sakes, but not the other way around?"

It was evident that Ken was struggling internally, his eyes giving away the immeasurable doubt. "You don't have to say it like I don't understand. I get what he's doing and I hate it. I don't know what to do!"

Davis finally broke into what had become their own little private battle. "But doing nothing isn't the answer."

"Then what, Davis, do you think the answer is?" Ken asked exhaustedly.

Yolie spoke up this time. "Let's all take a breath, go put some food on our stomachs and then come up with a plan." A silence fell over the group.

Cody looked at his exhausted, anxious friends, finally gathering his thoughts enough to speak his opinion. "I kind of feel like I don't belong in this conversation, since I haven't been involved as much as the rest of you…" he paused, realizing a mixture of concerned and confused expressions were staring back at him. "…but, I think that if we allow T.K. to shoulder this problem alone, he may break under the pressure."

Kari gave Cody a look of confusion. "Break?"

Cody nodded, Ken's expression telling him that he knew exactly what he meant. "I've seen him start to lose himself in the face of darkness—it scared me on more than one occasion. With that in mind, I'm uncertain what tackling something that has him this frightened, alone, might do to him. Even if he succeeds and comes back physically unscathed, that doesn't mean he'll come back the same person."

Ken looked from Cody back to Kari, a look of defeat on his tired face. "I'm not agreeing that it's the right choice, but if you're going to go after him…" he pursed his lips, trying to find the right words. "I will support you…"

Kari inhaled slowly, feeling a weight to Ken's words. "But…?" she pressured.

Ken looked at her, so much resentment in his eyes. "He needs his best friend back. Not this, timid, shy stranger that can't look him in the eyes. He needs that girl he couldn't hardly keep a secret from, not that girl he's been tiptoeing around for months, worried a wrong glance her way might shatter her into a million pieces. He needs a version of you who isn't stuck on that day. You get that, don't you?"

Kari hadn't realized that tears were running down her face again, or that she'd been holding her breath, not until someone touched her shoulder, breaking her eye contact from Ken. "Kari?" Davis spoke softly. Kari took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

She gave Ken a light nod, everyone saw the resolve in her eyes as she opened them. "I'm not going to let him walk away from me again, not without telling him how much he means to me."

#

T.K. rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head to block out the light. He gripped the loose sheets underneath him and closed his eyes tighter, attempting to stop his mind from clearing enough to fully wake. He frowned after failing to drift back to sleep. The feeling of the thick blankets draped over his body was unfamiliar—both from home and from the blindingly white room where he was slowly remembering being last.

He pushed himself up, the blanket falling down off his head and shoulders as he did. He was in a small room with only a bed, a small table and a lamp. It looked like a traditional Japanese home, with wooden sliding doors and one single window, which pooled in warm golden morning sunshine right toward the bed.

T.K. slid his legs in front of himself, his bare feet touched the chilled wood flooring, softly. He was almost too disoriented to notice that he was in nothing but his shorts, and a bandage wrapped around his arm, which still had a sharp ache to it. He narrowed his eyes, taking a closer look around the room, was he in the real world or… "Oh." His eyes sparked with a sense of familiarity—"Gennai's house." He spoke softly, his mind clearing. The house under the lake. The one that they first met Gennai face to face at. Squinting toward the sunshine soaked opening, he could see why it was so blinding now, reflecting through the water held at bay by some magical force.

He stood, allowing all of the blankets to slide from his body, the bitter morning air making him painfully aware of his lack of clothing. He looked around, hoping to find something, anything, to cover himself with.

T.K. was surprised by the clarity of his mind and the strength in his movements as he knelt to peek under the bed—much to his relief there were neatly folded garments and his shoes. T.K. quickly pulled on the black denim jeans, they felt a tad loose, but were comfortable enough, and slipped his arms into the plain white, short sleeve button up shirt, leaving the top few undone, straightening the collar the best he could without a mirror to check. He hadn't felt this good in what he realized, was months. However, he was painfully aware that his mind was on the brink of falling into a cloudy turmoil—not forgetting the words he'd spoken to Matt and his friends and the distressing texts from Kari, barely keeping the overwhelming thoughts at bay.

A light knock on the door gave T.K. a slight jolt, his hands falling to either side of himself, his gaze fixated on the shadow of the man on the other side of the thin paper. "I'm awake." He wasn't sure if his voice was audible enough, but the door soon slide to the side, revealing Gennai.

"It looks like you've recovered quite a lot over the past few days." He gave him an encouraging smile.

T.K. almost laughed, frowning like he'd just heard a bad joke. "Days?"

Gennai's expression did not give T.K. any relief, he wasn't making a joke. "It's been three days since we arrived here, and we were at the facility where I treated your initial wounds for two days."

Five days. He'd been unconscious for almost 5 days straight? He shook his head. "No. I couldn't have…" he trailed off. No wonder he felt so well rested. He frowned, irritated. "You kept me sedated?"

Gennai sighed. "Patamon said you'd angry, but I did."

"This whole time?" he glared, trying not to let his anger get the better of him.

"The first two days and again right before we came here. I didn't want the transport to my home to wake and startle you, but that was the last time I gave you any sedative. It depends on when the sedative had cleared from your system, but you've been sleeping of your own accord for at least the last 48 hours."

T.K. inhaled slowly, running his hand through his messy blond waves. "How did we get here?" he decided to stop focusing on his anger and just fill in the missing pieces over the past few days.

"Similarly to the way we went to my medical facility." He gave T.K. a soft smile, making sure to add. "I have a limited ability to create portals to certain places. It's not easy, and sometimes it takes an enormous amount of energy that leaves me incapacitated for days, depending on the distance and amount of time its opened for."

T.K. gave him a skeptical look. "So you can't just swoop in and save me whenever it's convenient?"

Gennai pursed his lips. "I've come to your aid twice. The first time, in a very dangerous manner, and only because I had no other choice. And this time, well, I didn't know much of what was going on aside from the frantic sounding emails I was getting from Izzy. It took me a long time to pinpoint you…" he frowned. "What did you do to your digivice?"

T.K.'s eyes suddenly averted, his fists clenching tightly. "I figured out how to make the GPS malfunction, two years ago." He paused. "So when I came, the others wouldn't know."

Gennai narrowed his eyes, a curious smile lifting one corner of his lips, crossing his arms loosely across his chest. "I'd expect that from Izzy, or Ken and maybe even Yolie. But not you."

T.K. feigned offense. "That hurts, you know." his voice returned to normal. "I used some cleverly worded questions to ask Izzy about how were able to track each other. After some trial an error, I figured out how to hide my signal." He frowned. "At least I thought?"

Gennai nodded. "You're wondering how everyone has been able to find you."

T.K. returned the nod. "Maybe I did it wrong this time?"

Gennai shook his head. "No. But your method of hiding your device signal doesn't work during points of heightened power—digivolutions, activating mysterious runes on ancient walls…" he pulled T.K.'s phone from his pocket. "I apologize, but Patamon mentioned you had taken pictures of the runes, I hope you're not too perturbed."

T.K. took a step forward, reaching out and taking the phone from him, avoiding lifting the phone to his gaze—he didn't want to see the screen flicker open and remind him of all the missed messages waiting for him. "So, how did Davis and Ken find me?"

Gennai laughed lightly. "Well, I think it's quite evident that Davis has been graced with an abundance of dumb luck… it's debatable it's the only thing he's been graced with, but that's a different discussion."

"And you?" he pressed.

Gennai shook his head. "Ken and Davis' devices were very visible, and they had been stopped in one place for a rather long time. I went from there and it didn't take too long to locate you."

T.K. hadn't thought of that. "Right." He glanced behind Gennai, curiously. "Where's…" his voice trailed off, his question left unfinished.

Gennai shifted and stepped back, gesturing for T.K. to follow him. "This way." He answered knowing who he was wanting to see.

As they started down the hall, Gennai spoke lightly, but there was a seriousness to this tone. "How is your arm feeling?"

T.K. shifted his arm lightly. "It still hurts, but not like it had before."

He nodded, not looking back at T.K. as he led him forward. "It's been healing nicely, but…" he trailed off.

T.K. slowed, raising his eyebrow at Gennai. "But?"

Gennai turned to T.K., his gaze fixed on his arm, the bandages visible just a few inches past the length of the short sleeve. "I did what I could, but there isn't really a way to be sure that there won't be lasting pain or mobility issues. I'm sorry."

T.K. shook his head. "It's nothing for you to apologize for, it's far better off than being left completely untreated."

He sighed. "It's not fully healed—too much strain could cause it to reopen, exponentially increasing the chances of permanent damage to the muscle tissue."

T.K. looked down at his arm. "I'll try to take it easy and be more careful until its better healed."

"Please do." Gennai smiled and turned, clearly please he hadn't had to say it. "This way."

It was a short walk through a couple of hallways to reach the small sitting room, Gennai waved toward the door politely and turned, leaving T.K. standing in the hall. Patamon was on a large cushion, asleep in the sun. On the table sat some light pastries, biscuits and tea, his stomach was suddenly gnawing at him, forcing him to admit how hungry he was—he didn't even care if he threw it back up, the thought of biting into food sounded amazing.

T.K. sighed heavily, walking past the food and kneeling down next to his partner. He hadn't seen Patamon this peaceful in a long time. His brows furrowed and he lowered his head, his hair falling across his eyes—worry, sadness, anger… those were the array of expressions Patamon had been limited to since he'd first encountered Wisemon, each time they'd seen each other after that, they only deepened. He was putting so much pressure on Patamon, it was unfair. "I'm sorry." His voice barely audible.

Patamon's little ears twitched lightly. He squinted through drowsy eyes. "Mmm?" his gaze landed on T.K.'s hands that were wringing each other in the boys lap. "T.K.?" Patamon's eyes blinked open with surprise, looking up, he smiled, but it was quickly replaced with shock, seeing tears running down T.K.'s face uninhibited. "T.K.!" Patamon shouted worriedly, grabbing at T.K.'s arm.

T.K. bit his bottom lip forcefully, regaining some of his composure. "Hey." His voice shook lightly.

Patamon looked down at T.K.'s hands again, still pulling and pinching at himself like a nervous child. "I'm glad you're awake." Patamon spoke happily.

T.K. nodded. "Mm." he was afraid to speak, his voice too quick to betray him.

Patamon was silent for a long time, his gaze fixated on T.K.'s fidgeting hands. Finally Patamon gently slipped down from his sleeping spot, and pressed his hands onto T.K.'s hands, settling their anxious movements. "Are you mad at me?" His voice was disheartened.

T.K. tensed at Patamon's question. "For what?" he cleared his throat, reaching one hand up to his face, at first he attempted to wipe his tears, but ended up leaving it near his eyes to hide that he was still crying.

Patamon gave T.K. a quick incredulous glance before turning his gaze off to the side. "For defying you and allowing Gennai to help us."

T.K. let a slow, trembling breath escape his lips before he looked at Patamon. "I'm not mad at you." He saw Patamon's expression soften, but he was still sullen. "I'm sorry that I'm putting you through all this."

Patamon took a step back from T.K., tilting his head. "I get it, you know. I really, truly understand now." He saw T.K.'s eyes close, overwhelmed with guilt once more. "I hate to even admit this, but I felt myself losing faith in you."

T.K. caught his breath, clenching his jaw tightly. He didn't want to look betrayed, but Patamon's eyes told him he did.

"I know I said I would always follow you, no matter what. And I wanted to mean it. I wanted to be at your side, steadfast to your every need. But…"

"…But I wasn't acting like myself. I was ignoring you. I was angry. I was pushing everyone away. It was like I…"

Patamon grimaced. "You were self-destructing. I didn't know if quietly complying was just enabling you to kill yourself."

T.K. laughed. "You know, there were a couple of times, that I…" He tried to suppress the distressed laughter, it wasn't funny at all, but he couldn't stop it. "That I thought to myself, why didn't I just kill myself? Instead of trying to fight through all this. Hurting my friends, hurting you, hurting myself."

"T.K.!" Patamon panicked at his words, his eyes widening. "Don't—"

"And then…" T.K.'s spoke over his partner. "When Gennai told me about being the key to opening a gate to an unpredictable darkness that would hurt all the people I've been so desperately trying to protect, into another digital world disaster, I thought to myself, what do I do now? What can I do? My existence was putting everything at risk. What could stop Wisemon in his tracks? What would undisputedly keep, you, Matt, all my friends and the digital world safe?" The suppressed laughter ceased and he leaned forward, palms against the floor, his fingers scraping across the wooden floor as he started clenching his fists. His voice was even and calm. "Beat Wisemon to the punch."

"Stop it!" Patamon screamed, tears stinging his wide, terrified eyes. "Stop it!"

Tears fell off his face onto the back of his hands. "It's better than fighting this losing battle. What's the point? They'll eventually get their hands on me and then I'm dead anyway, and it leaves a disaster for everyone else to clean up."

"Enough!" Patamon growled. "What the hell am I supposed to say to that?"

Finally, he'd said it aloud. It was scary that it didn't sound as crazy out loud as it had all the times the thought had crossed his mind. It was the only sure way to stop Wisemon and protect his friends.

Patamon's little form shook. T.K. thought it was from crying at first, but he realized he wasn't crying. T.K. lifted his face, not bothering to wipe his tears, or hide the distance that had grown in his gaze. "Patamon…"

Patamon looked up at T.K., his eyes full of anger. "I guess I deserve that. I lost my faith in you, so you losing faith in me is only fair, I suppose."

T.K. shook his head. "Having faith in you has nothing to do with—"

"You don't think I'm strong enough. You don't think I can protect you." Patamon glared angrily.

T.K. slammed his fists on the floor, his voice raised. "As long as I have this damn crest inside me, you can't!"

"That's not true!"

"You refuse to digivolve, Patamon!"

Both of them went silent. Neither daring to look at the other for what seemed like hours. T.K. had ended up leaning against the far wall, staring into space, lost inside his mind—appetite lost once again. Patamon had moved spots a couple of times, fidgeting frequently, clearly restless.

The midday sun was brighter, it didn't have that golden morning glow anymore, and the wood floor where T.K.'s gaze had fixed itself was blindingly white. Patamon's voice, soft as it was, had broken such an overwhelming silence that it made him flinch.

"I'm sorry." Was all the little digimon could muster, but his tone made it evident that he was still mad.

T.K. blinked, trying to recover from having stared at the bright light for so long. "Me too." He didn't want to look up, fearing his eyes would meet Patamon's.

Patamon was suddenly very close to T.K. "Is it okay, if I say something?"

T.K. gave a slight nod, focusing on his hands as he traced circles around the bruises on the back of his hand, so that he wouldn't look up at Patamon.

"I don't want to fight anymore. You're already hurting so much and I don't want to be another source for your hurt." Patamon sounded like he was desperate for T.K. to make eye contact with him, but T.K. remained focused on his hand. "I know this doesn't help, but I don't want us to give up… I don't want you to give up. Not yet. Please?"

T.K.'s head hurt. "I don't want to fight with you anymore either. I don't know what you want me to say, Patamon. Even if you ask me not to give up yet, it doesn't change the fact that I already feel like I have."

Patamon opened his mouth, hesitating, he closed it and turned away from him, realizing that his words would only start another argument.

T.K. swallowed hard, his mouth had gone dry. He closed his eyes tightly, irritated.

"I want to fight for you. I want to digivolve and destroy Wisemon. I want you to go home and repair the life you've begun unraveling. I want to show you that I'm still your partner, and I will support you unwaveringly."

"Then, if I ask you…" he almost couldn't say the words, hesitating, still avoiding Patamon's eyes. "…to kill me, will you?"

T.K. couldn't handle the silence, he lifted his eyes toward his partner, expecting him to be staring angrily at him. He wasn't, and it almost broke him to see Patamon's tear filled eyes, downcast and regretful. His eyes that had dried from hours of numbing silence, stung with tears again.

"T.K.," his digimon's voice was weak and defeated. "I could never…" his blurring gaze lifted and met with T.K.'s.

"I know that I'm making an impossible request of you." T.K.'s eyes didn't lower. "But, I'm not asking you to kill me today, but someday soon, when we're faced with an even more impossible choice. When you know that we've reached end game and there's no other moves to make. Checkmate."

Patamon blinked away tears and nuzzled next to T.K.'s leg. "How can I say yes?"

"I don't want to die…" T.K. sighed shakily. "But, if it comes down to it either being you, or Wisemon, the answer is obvious."

Patamon's heart sank. He couldn't even fathom the thought of striking T.K., but he wasn't speaking out of hysteria, he wasn't overreacting, he was accepting that this was one of the possible outcomes ahead of them and knew that it was something that needed to be agreed upon. "I'll do it."

T.K.'s eyes widened, he looked down at Patamon, whose face was still buried between his leg and the floor. "Patamon…"

"But, I want you to know…" Patamon lifted his face and looked T.K. in the eyes. "I'm only agreeing to this because I know it won't come to that."

T.K. saw the determination in his eyes, filling him with a little warmth. "Thank you, Patamon." He reached down and pulled him into his arms. "Forgive me."

"I won't." Patamon grumbled, but indulged in the embrace.

Another vibrate sent a scowl back to T.K.'s face.

"Gonna look at any of those?"

T.K. shook his head. "No."

"Then turn it off?" Patamon questioned lightly.

T.K. shook his head. "If I take it out, I'll see the messages. I can't… right now."

"It's been five days since they saw or heard from you last." Patamon noted. "They're seeing through your plan, it's not stopping them from looking for us."

T.K. shook his head. "No, it's working." He sighed. "There's just one more person that I have to confront."

Patamon nodded. "Kari?"

His silence was confirmation.

"Haven't you two barely spoken, lately?"

"Knowing Kari, that'll be all the more reason for her to come after me. She'll blame herself." His voice was soft as he spoke. "I screwed everything up, and she's still trying to come to my rescue."

There was a light knock on the doorway, making both T.K. and Patamon look up awkwardly.

Gennai peered in, seeing the food untouched and the tea gone cold. He let out an exasperated sigh. "You need to eat something."

T.K. grimaced.

Gennai walked in, relocating the tea pot onto what looked to be a warmer and sat on the floor on the far side of the little table, crossing his legs. "I have some more things to discuss with you before you continue your journey." Gennai didn't have to say the words, T.K. and Patamon shuffled to the table and sat across from him. "Eat." He pressured, sliding the plate of biscuits toward him.

T.K. bowed his head in gratitude and reluctantly took a small bite. He instantly regretted not indulging sooner, but was careful not to eat too quickly, hoping to keep his food down.

Gennai made sure T.K. had taken a few bites, before bringing the tea back to the table and pouring him a small cup. "So, one of the reasons I wanted to come here, was I had some old research I wanted to look into, that I thought may help, regarding your current situation." He stopped to take a sip of his own cup of tea.

T.K. lacked any urgency or enthusiasm he'd had the days prior. "Did you find out for sure where the gate leads?"

Gennai was watching T.K. carefully. Taking his time in continuing the conversation. "No. Nothing about that—I've exhausted my resources on that subject, until more information comes to light." He paused. "It's about your body not being able to withstand the crest's power. Consequently, it has led me to believe that there may even be a way to separate you and the crest."

T.K. frowned, looking up from his second biscuit, blinking. "Separate?"

He nodded. "Meaning that even if Wisemon were to capture you, you would remain relatively unharmed until they locate the crest. Separating the crest and hiding it will buy you the time you need to find and stop Wisemon—with your friends."

"They'd still be in danger." T.K. argued.

Gennai nodded. "But once we hide the crest, Patamon will no longer be able to digivolve past champion—you would no longer have the ability to face Wisemon and his allies, well, not and win."

T.K. was conflicted, but he couldn't help but feel a warmth touch his chest. Hope. "I wouldn't be the one to defeat them, but…" he almost smiled. "If they capture me, as long as the others find a way to stop Wisemon before they find my crest, then…"

"Precisely." Gennai saw it too, the hope must have reached his eyes. "Your fear of them using your friends to capture you becomes, while still not ideal, less grave."

T.K. inhaled slowly, a flicker of disappointment crossed his expression. "But you don't actually know how to do it yet…"

Gennai saw the hope leaving his eyes. "No. Not yet." He admitted. "But I have some leads I will be following. It may not be long before I find the means to do it."

T.K. set down the half eaten biscuit and shook his head. "You're talking about possibilities, you may never find a way."

"I'm very confident, T.K. and I did find a way to help you withstand the crests powers. At least, enough to allow MagnaAngemon to battle if the need should arise, before we move on to the primary plan."

T.K. and Patamon both looked at Gennai curiously.

Patamon's little body humphed onto the table. "It won't put his life in danger if I evolve?"

Gennai saw the seriousness in Patamon's eyes and nodded. "At least not at the ultimate level, anything beyond is still very likely to kill him."

Patamon glanced back at T.K., an encouraging smile. "I knew something would happen! I knew it!"

T.K. tried to smile for Patamon's sake, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's really going to stop the pain?"

"Yes." Gennai answered confidently, T.K. noticed the difference between that answer and the one he gave Patamon. "You will still feel some level of discomfort, but you shouldn't feel anything near the level of pain you have so far."

"How…" T.K. pushed the real question to the side, not wanting to alarm Patamon. "How does it work, exactly?"

Gennai reached into his pocket, holding out a metal bracelet, it was made up of three curved sections, thin but strong. "You will have to have this on. It's made out of similar material to the tags with a few other added properties. Essentially it acts as a stabilizer for the power as its running through your body into the digivice." Gennai handed the dainty looking accessory to T.K.

He held it gingerly, raising an eyebrow at it skeptically. "A bracelet? It looks like it'll break easily and like it'll slip off easily too…"

Gennai laughed. "It's a fully integratable digital band, and it's a lot stronger than it looks. It was made with your DNA and will form comfortably to your wrist, you won't even feel it. It will have a subtle glow when it's activated, so you know that it's doing its part." He watched as T.K. stared skeptically.

"Does it really work?" the boy looked up, almost desperate for the right answer.

Gennai gave him a soft smile. "When you get done eating, we'll go and try it out."

T.K. gave a nod and started to hand the band back. Gennai shook his head. "It won't hurt, I promise. Put it on."

T.K. hesitated, unsure of the flimsy device. Slipping it over his right hand, he watched as it glowed lightly and did just as Gennai had said—it shrunk around his wrist, not too tightly, but enough to ensure it wasn't going to slip back over his hand, feeling almost weightless against his skin. He twisted his wrist and moved his hand around. "Wow." T.K. was impressed. "I guess it doesn't cramp my style too badly, either."

Patamon looked at T.K. bewildered. "Did you just…"

T.K. saw the look on Patamon's face and frowned. "What?"

"Make a joke?" Patamon gaped.

T.K. rolled his eyes at Patamon, pursing his lips slightly miffed. "Ha, ha." He mumbled.

Gennai smiled and stood. "When you're ready, come out to the east end of the house. We'll test it out in the gardens." He stood, making his way toward the door.

T.K. finally pulled his eyes away from his wrist. "Thanks." He spoke just as Gennai was about to exit the room.

Patamon smiled at T.K., a proud look on his face, like he'd been the one to solve their immediate and primary problem. "What are you so smug about?" he took another bite of food and leaned back to stare at his friend skeptically.

Patamon's expression faded, but his smile remained. "I'm just happy Gennai was able to finish it in time."

T.K. inhaled slowly. "You knew he was working on this?"

Patamon nodded. "Well, I didn't know about the other part, separating you from the crest, but I knew about the band." He paused. "We just weren't sure you'd stick around long enough for him to finish if he hadn't by the time you woke."

T.K. closed his eyes in thought. "I don't really know what I was going to do, honestly."

"Well, you eat up, okay?" Patamon grabbed two more biscuits, handing one to T.K.

He took it and sighed. They were a nice light weight food that was easy on his gnawing stomach. "If this thing works, I want to get out of here today."

Patamon ate away like he hadn't heard him, once he'd swallowed he peered up at him. "Where to?"

T.K. shook his head. "The city still, and I know what you're thinking." Patamon looked up at him curiously. "Gennai has the same integrated network connection that Andromon has access to and staying here would be safer."

Patamon looked away and nodded, taking another bite.

T.K. agreed on some level, but he couldn't stay there. "If I'm forced to just sit here and wait, I'm going to lose it. I won't be able to stop thinking about the easy way out of this, and the fact remains that as long as the others are still trying to find me, they're in danger."

Patamon sighed. "I wish you'd be more worried about yourself."

T.K. looked at his friend sadly. "I don't have to be, you worry enough for both of us. Besides, I feel better, knowing that you have my back, and you'll do the right thing if the situation calls for it."

Patamon grimaced. "Part of me is worried that you want to be in harm's way, that you want to create that impossible scenario."

T.K.'s expression darkened. "No, Patamon. I told you, it's not like that. The thought of dying is terrifying. But the thought of being killed by Wisemon and my friends being hurt in the process or afterwards is even more terrifying."

"I'll lose everyone too, you know." Patamon was calm, but there was a sharpness to his words. "The others won't understand or forgive me. I'll be all alone."

T.K. shook his head, standing up he looked down at Patamon sympathetically. "If they know the circumstance and that I'm the one who decided, they may be upset at first, but not at you. They'll be mad at me for not giving them the chance to help." He reached his arm out to Patamon, inviting him to jump up into his arms.

Patamon accepted and proceeded up onto T.K.'s shoulder. "Time to digivolve!"

T.K. laughed a little. "Let's go see if this thing works." He rose his right wrist and glanced at the shiny metal.