Hiya! I meant to have this out sooner. Had some computer problems.

Since I had computer problems, I wrote something fun on my phone and uploaded it from my phone onto here! It's short and just a little Ken/T.K. friendship fluff-a prequel to my next Digimon fic I'll start once this one is concluded. It's called "Where Darkness Hides" check it out let me know what you think.

Without further delay, enjoy. Please review!

T.K. stared at the unscathed cathedral, it was amazing, pristine and untouched by shadow. It wasn't until Kari's gentle voice whispered his name shakily, that he realized something was wrong.

He whirled around in shock. "Kari?" his eyes wide. "What are you…?"

She looked too surprised and perhaps relieved, to even worry about where she was. She darted across the space between them and threw herself into his arms haphazardly, nearly knocking him down. "It is you. You're really here… It's not another dream."

"I…" T.K. knew something was wrong. Patamon had been fighting, right? And… the cathedral was a ruin—this place was intact and untouched by darkness. "How are you here? What's happening?"

He pushed at her, but she gripped him too tightly—this didn't feel like a dream. "You're alive…" she whimpered into his chest.

He tugged at her more gently. "Kari?" he swallowed hard; his eyes downcast to the floor. "Kari…" he breathed in her scent, his resolve faltering so much easier than he intended.

She finally pulled back, just slightly, her hands gripping his sweatshirt with a death grip. "You are… aren't you? This isn't…" she choked on her words. "…another dream, right?"

Turning his face, T.K. hid his eyes from her as she glanced up. "I don't know what this is."

She exhaled slowly, having been holding her breath. "Your injuries?"

T.K. hesitated. "Which... what injuries?" he quickly changed his words—he was hurt, wasn't he? Just now? Wasn't that feeling sharp?

"Your arm?" She said, her brow furrowing deeper.

T.K. shifted and looked down at his arm. "I'm fine." No signs of his other injuries as he inspected himself briefly. He was hurt, right? Why was it so hard to remember?

She reached her hand up to his right arm, but hesitated, worried she'd hurt him if she touched it. "Davis said it was bad…" her eyes were still glossy with tears, but she was regaining her composure.

"Kari…" T.K. pursed his lips. "You have to stop."

She looked at him fearfully, her eyes widening at his words. "Stop what?" her lips shook lightly.

"Stop chasing after me." He tried to keep his voice even but looking into her eyes made him waver. "I need you to stop."

Kari suddenly became irate. "How can you ask me to stop?" she yelled. "I can feel it, T.K., I can feel the danger you're facing and it's terrifying!"

T.K. gaped at her, blinking hard. "Kari…"

She reached a hand up to his face, resting her palm on his cheek. "Stop saying my name and just tell me what's going on." She begged.

T.K. shifted, trying to pull away from her, but she wouldn't allow it. "I don't need…" he paused. "I don't want anyone's help. Especially yours."

Kari couldn't hide the hurt in her eyes. "Don't do this alone."

"I am alone, Kari. That's just how it is. I was the one who left." T.K. was finally able to pull her hands from him, but she gripped his wrists instead.

"No." She shook her head. "T.K., listen. You're not. You're not alone. I'm here. I want to be here for you."

T.K. grimaced. "… Stop."

"T.K.!" Kari gasped—blood.

T.K. was suddenly lightheaded. He looked down to see blood smeared over his palms and the deep cut on his wrist, crimson pouring from between her fingers, over onto the floor. The bright red blood looked thick against the white marbled floor as it splattered unforgivingly at their feet.

"Why?" she tightened her grip painfully. "How?" she looked up at him, her brows furrowing even deeper.

Before T.K. could stop her, she had her other hand near his temple. He reached up and pulled her hand down, on her fingers was more blood.

T.K. frowned, the pain like a background sensation he'd not noticed until right that second. "What…?" he shook his head, his vision growing hazy suddenly.

Kari's voice seemed much further away now. "T.K., what's happening?"

He tried to open his mouth to respond, but he winced—again, the pain not fully present yet, but the weakness was. He knelt, more blood. "What?"

"T.K.!" Kari knelt beside him, reaching for him.

#

Kari's eyes opened and she cried out, sitting up in a panic, her heart beating rapidly—it had been so real. Fresh tears fell over her already dampened cheeks.

"Kari?" she looked up, forgetting that they'd all, save for Cody, spent the night on Ken's bedroom floor. Davis was kneeling next to her worriedly. "Whoa, slow down. What happened?"

"What?" She reached up to wipe the tears that were coating her pale skin, but as she lifted her hands, she stopped, staring horrified—bright red, fresh blood. "T.K…" her voice shook. Her hands began to tremble.

Davis noticed just seconds after she had, grabbing her wrists and pulling her toward him. "Kari!" his voice rose to an octave Kari wasn't sure she'd ever heard him reach before. "Where are you hurt?" he quickly saw that her hands and fingers were unscathed and ripped at the throw blanket that she had borrowed.

"What's wrong?" Yolei and Ken's voices hollered from another room. The smell of breakfast cooking explained where they were.

"Kari's bleeding!" Davis growled, his hands touching her from her stomach to thighs for sighs of injury.

Yolei's voice was frantic. "What you do mean!?" her padded footsteps could be heard coming toward them.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not." She could barely make her voice louder than a whisper. "It's T.K…" she managed to choke out a little louder, stopping Davis from his frantic search.

"What? That's not…" he paused. "How do you have T.K.'s blood on your hands?" Davis' voice the farthest from calm she'd heard in a long time.

She shoved Davis back and hurriedly reached for her phone. She didn't care that she was getting blood all over it as she opened the screen and searched her contacts, finding his name. Clicking on it she waited for it to start ringing. "T.K., please, please, please…" she begged. Nothing.

"Kari, was this another dream?" He had to grab her shoulders and make her look at him. "What happened?"

She swallowed hard and hung up, staring up at Davis in shock. She was starting to feel her chest tighten with each breath. "We were talking and then suddenly he was hurt all over. I don't know why or how…" she felt the initial panic begin to return.

Yolei was suddenly shoving Davis out of the way, her eyes wide and her open mouth left with unsaid words as she saw the blood. "K…Kari." She started to regain her composure. "You need to calm down."

She shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. "I can't. I have to go. I have to go."

This time Ken was kneeling in front of her, Yolei had disappeared. "Breathe. You're starting to hyperventilate."

She hadn't realized how hard it was becoming to breathe. She swallowed hard and tried to take a deep breath, but every time she glanced down at her hands the panic washed over her all over again. She struggled, but managed to stand, despite Davis and Ken's loud protests. "I have to get to him."

Ken shook his head. "Do you know where he is?"

She stopped. "A church? Maybe… it was big… bright. I don't know for sure."

The hope that had flickered through Ken's expression faded and he frowned deeply at her. "Then you don't know." She knew the exasperated and stressed filled groan that came wasn't intentional. But it had, nonetheless. His frustration. His worry. His hopelessness.

"It looked like we were in a church or something…" she looked down at the blood on her hand, which was certainly now on her face and clothes. "He started bleeding, but I don't know why."

"His arm?" he asked worriedly.

"No… it wasn't." she tried to even her breathing. "New ones, his head…" she tried to make her voice louder but found she could only whisper. "His wrist…"

"Kari, he's going to be fine." Davis tried to insert.

"His blood is on my hands!" she screamed.

A loud beeping sound pulled Ken's attention from Kari and he moved, but as he did, Yolei replaced him, keeping Kari in place. "Hold on." The older girl pressed a warm wet hand towel over Kari's hands, trying to wipe away the blood.

"No, we don't have time. We have to get to him." She pulled away shakily, he was hurt and the drying blood on her fingers all the motivation she needed.

Yolei's calm voice and firm grip stopped Kari from moving. "What happened?"

"I just…I had a dream. I…I think. I…T.K.…" she stuttered. "But it wasn't…it wasn't a dream."

"Kari, calm down." Yolei looked at her friend worriedly.

"We don't have time—"

"We can't rush in unprepared. We need Cody too. He's on his way. And until we know where to go—" Yolei stopped, Ken interrupting her loudly, but Kari couldn't make it out, her mind ablaze with panic.

Finally, after a second, it registered. He had shouted. "I found him!"

"Wait, you found him?" Her heart beat loudly, erratically. She found herself frozen in place.

"His digivice, I found the signal." Ken confirmed, his voice both hesitant and excited.

Davis stared at Kari worriedly, reaching up he wiped the blood that had gotten on her cheek away. "Let's go get him." He tried to give her an encouraging smile, but the blood and her panicked expression didn't allow him to put much heart into it.

She swallowed hard. "T.K. is hurt, his blood is on my hands and I can't spend another second standing here!" She pushed past Yolei and Davis and unsteadily made for Ken's computer, on the screen was a flashing dot. It wasn't near a digiport, but there was one close enough.

"Kari, our digimon aren't even at the gate yet, how are we going to help him?"

"I'm going!"

"Together!" Davis yelled back, grabbing her shoulders, gently, but forcefully. "You're not going to be able to help him alone!"

#

Tai sat on the chair next to where Matt had unwillingly fallen asleep on the couch, at some early hour of the morning. Matt was having another nightmare. His eyebrows twitched in pain, gasps and moans followed his shifting body. Muttering T.K.'s name, sweat and tears moistening the blanket Tai had tossed over him during the night.

Tai rested a hand on Matt's leg, not waking him, but pulling him from the dream again. It was like this every time he would involuntarily doze off. It wasn't always as intense, but it was distressing, nonetheless.

A bzzt from the arm of the chair made Tai jerk, he leaned back and glanced at the screen—it was Izzy. It was 7 in the morning. He hadn't slept hardly at all. He grabbed the phone and read the message, his eyes widening and then closed with frustration.

Izzy

I know what we decided, but I wanted to let you know that T.K.'s digivice signal appeared again. What do you want to do?"

Tai's hands shook as he opened his eyes to read the message again. It'd been almost a month, and this was the first sign that T.K. was still alive. Would this send Matt spiraling or give him some hope, knowing T.K. was alright.

Sora's hand rested on his shoulder suddenly—she was staying there too but had opted for the bed option. "Tai?" she peered down at the bright phone screen in contrast to the dim room.

"He's still…" Tai's voice caught.

Sora saw the tears welling in his eyes and grabbed the phone from him and set it down, giving him a hug. "Shh…" she hummed in his ear. "It's okay." She whispered.

"I can't." His voice broke. Tai pushed her away and swiftly made his way to the front door, not caring to put his shoes on, and as quietly as possible ran out the door.

Down the hall he finally stopped and slumped down next to the stairwell, burying his face in his hands. "Damn it."

Sora was next to him all too soon, he had no way to regain his composure. "Hey." Her voice was caring, understanding and everything he hadn't realized he needed. "You can't doubt yourself now. Trusting T.K. isn't wrong."

"What if it is? What if something happens to him because I convinced everyone to leave him alone?" Tai couldn't stop the tears running from his eyes and continued to try and hide his face from Sora.

She took his wrists and pulled his hands from his face, making him look into her eyes. "Tai, you really think Matt would be sitting in his apartment, instead of searching for T.K. if he didn't believe it was the right thing to do, too? It's T.K., he'd be ripping the digital world apart if he had any doubt."

"That's not it. He trusts me!" Tai clenched his teeth, trying to keep his lips from quivering. "If it weren't for me, he would be tearing the digital world apart!"

"He's not wrong to trust you!" Sora spoke firmly but kept her voice calm.

"Sora…" he closed his eyes tightly. "I don't know what I'm going to do if he doesn't come back. I… I don't know. I don't know."

Sora pulled Tai into a tight hug. "He's going to come back, Tai."

Tai let himself melt into her arms, slowing his breathing and calming his raging nerves. "Sorry." He whispered.

She shook her head. "Don't be. I'm surprised you held out this long."

Tai chuckled dryly. "Oh, thanks."

Sora pulled back. "You don't hold your emotions in all that well, you know."

Tai smirked. "Heh, I don't think I'm that bad at it."

Sora gave him a pitying look. "You used to be pretty close to T.K., I'm guessing it's a mixture of feeling guilty for not really seeing him since he got back and feeling that horrible dread that you may never be able to make up for it."

Tai swallowed hard, but it didn't settle the lump that was making it too hard for him to respond.

"But he will come home and you will be able to. He's like your little brother, in some ways as much as he is Matt's. The bond you created with that 7-year-old." She smiled brightly. "That amazing, strong, 7-year-old. It was a deep one that he needed when Matt couldn't be there for him."

"I thought, at first, I couldn't imagine what I'd be doing if this had been Kari." Tai wrapped his arms around himself, and sunk into himself, lowering his face and pulling his knees up to his chest. "But, the fact that it's T.K.? It makes me sick to my stomach."

She nodded. "T.K.'s doing this for a reason."

"He is." Tai agreed.

Sora pulled at his arm. "Tai, you need to sleep."

Tai shook his head. "No. I…"

"Tai, please."

Tai finally looked up at Sora and gave a slight nod, allowing her to guide him back to his feet. "You really are perfect."

Sora blushed this time, but hid it with another chuckle, turning and guiding him back toward Matt's apartment.

#

T.K. felt the moist, sticky ground under his face—he didn't remember lying down, he couldn't really remember anything, for that matter, which made him open his eyes—blood. Blood and blindingly bright rays of light were all he could comprehend. He jolted up; his head throbbed. He reached up and felt a cut on the side of his head, near his temple. "Damn it…" he muttered, trying to remember what had happened, his hearing and vision, muffled and blurred.

He looked down at the rip in his black jeans, a deep gash, but it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't move. He swallowed hard as the bright surroundings continued to disorient and muddle his memory. It wasn't until he shifted his legs and heard the crunch of broken glass and felt that sharp hot pain in his left wrist and the dull aching pain that ran up the inside of his arm, that it all came back—almost too quickly. He froze, looking toward the other side of the cathedral. It had been wrecked and Mephistomon was standing over Patamon, surrounded by rubble and settling dust.

He hadn't been out long—and now he was having a considerably hard time remembering what he'd experienced while unconscious. Surely, he hadn't really been with Kari. She didn't know he'd… he wrapped his hand over the cut on his wrist, he'd lost a considerable amount of blood, but not a dangerous amount. It'd felt deeper, hurt worse… he grimaced, nothing felt as painful as it had before, the crest of light, it wasn't a secret that it had rejuvenating properties. He'd seen it done to digimon on several occasions. Light wasn't the same as the other crests. Mysterious, immense…and powerful.

He shook his head. He didn't have time for this. He sat up, and this grabbed Mephistomon's attention. His head hurt, his vision was blurry, and he wasn't sure he had the strength to stand. However, once T.K. and Mephistomon had made eye contact, and the digimon chose to turn back to the unconscious and beaten little rookie at his feet, instead of coming for T.K., he knew what was about to happen and he was instantly up on his feet, running forward. "No!"

The digimon reached out his hand toward Patamon, a black aura forming around his claws. It wasn't a threat, he was aiming a full attack right at the defenseless digimon, without doubt or hesitation. A second longer and he would have unleashed it, point blank, but T.K.'s shaking form dove over the target and he pulled his hand away from the partners.

Silence.

Mephistomon shifted, the debris of the cathedral crunching under his feet. T.K. tilted his head enough to peer up at the digimon, for someone who was so defenseless, he was surprised to see the resolve in the young boy's eyes—he was ready to die if it meant to save those he loved.

"I wonder…" the digimon spoke, his deep voice just above a whisper. "Is that the look you'll have on your face when Wisemon does as he intends with you?"

T.K. lifted himself up slightly, not daring to expose Patamon's frail, quivering form. "What does he intend to do with me?"

Mephistomon tilted his head curiously at him, ignoring T.K.'s question. "What would you do, to save him?"

T.K. knew his expression faltered, but not because of his resolve, he was determined, but because the threat of losing Patamon was so imminent if he made a wrong move. "What do you think?"

"I think you're going to offer yourself to me, to save him." He straightened. "You'd willingly walk to your death, for his sake."

T.K. grimaced, partly because he was right, but also because the pain from his wounds were beginning to throb and burn. "If I thought it would actually save him? Yeah." T.K.'s voice shook. "But you're not here for me, are you?"

Mephistomon smirked. "Clever."

T.K. winced, gasping—the pressure from Patamon evolving to ultimate was coursing through him suddenly, but it wasn't Patamon, he was still lying underneath him, out cold. "What…?" T.K. gasped again, grapping at his chest, blood falling between his lips freely, making him cough.

Suddenly the cathedral was glowing in a soft white and Mephistomon was looking at the entrance uncertainly. "I wasn't expecting uninvited guests so soon."

T.K. finally looked up at the opening at the front of the collapsing building—Angewomon was standing, arrow drawn and aimed at Mephistomon with deadly intent. "I'm warning you." Her voice resonated inside the cathedral like it was still whole, echoing with reverence. "If you touch them, it'll be the last thing you ever do."

T.K. suddenly realized it was her—Gatomon had been able to evolve because of him, all the same as Patamon. The crest had activated. "Shit." That mean Kari had to be close, right? He looked around, peering outside as best he could, he didn't see anyone else.

T.K. coughed again, and scooped Patamon into his arms. "Patamon, please, wake up." The digimon seemed to stir lightly, but not enough to regain consciousness. It was enough, T.K. knew he was going to be alright if nothing else happened to him.

Suddenly the two ultimate digimon clashed. Again, Mephistomon's speed was surprisingly quick and he was able to dodge the loosed arrow before slamming his large fist into her abdomen. She was shoved back into the clearing outside the ruins, but just as quickly, she was flying back toward the digimon, sending them both flying toward the back of the Cathedral. Her legs kicking off the digimon's chest just as he hit the wall, allowing her to fly into the air unscathed as the wall and remaining stained glass window crumbled down onto the digimon.

She dared a glance back at T.K. and Patamon. "Get out!" she hissed. Turning back, she barely leaned backwards far enough to dodge the claws coming at her, razor sharp, slicing through the very ends of her golden hair as she pulled away.

T.K. tried to stand again, but between the wounds and the pressure of allowing Angewomon able fight he couldn't find the strength to stand. He whimpered as he pulled Patamon closer, burying his face in Patamon's fur. "I'm sorry."

He swallowed hard and set Patamon down in front of his knees, he grimaced, seeing he'd gotten blood on Patamon from the wound on his hand and wrist. He looked down at his wrist. There wasn't much time left. If he could just… but then Patamon and Gatomon would be unable to fight Mephistomon without the power of the crests… he swallowed hard. The decisions overwhelming him. He couldn't breathe.

Suddenly Angewomon and Mephistomon were on the ground beside them, a glowing arrow penetrating Mephistomon's shoulder and his claws holding her down against the broken marble floor.

T.K. closed his eyes, shielding himself from the dust and debris that wafted toward him as they impacted. "Damn it." He inhaled shakily, trying to focus on the feeling in his chest, on the Crest of Light pulsing inside of him.

A wave of energy burst from Angewomon, and she shifted and kicked Mephistomon off her, sending him flying across the building. She looked to T.K., clearly unsure what was happening, but she knew now, for certain, it was because of T.K. "What's happening?"

T.K. shook his head. "I have the Crest of Light…inside of me."

Angewomon gaped, stunned. "How?"

"Don't…" T.K. coughed, more blood spewing out over the ground in front of him, barely catching himself as he heaved forward. "Don't digivolve any further. My body…"

She understood all too quickly, and the thought of devolving crossed her mind. "T.K., am I hurting you?"

"No." T.K. lied. "You're saving us." He almost laughed. "Can you stop him?"

She nodded, dodging the dark waves of energy that shot toward her, flipping into the air and diving back down and ducking she was able to dodge them all. "I understand." She sprinted forward, but just before reaching Mephistomon, she took to the air and called out. "Heaven's Charm!"

The blinding light that coursed through the area made T.K. wince and even though some of his pains were eased, others seemed to intensify. It took him a moment to realize that the crashing sound wasn't an attack, but Mephistomon running away in a crazed rampage, to escape the prismed aura that was showering down on them.

Angewomon landed seconds later, at T.K.'s side. "T.K.!" A glance around the area, confirming that the threats were gone, allowed her to devolve in a flash of light.

T.K. moaned loudly, the sudden lack of pressure forcing him to relax involuntarily. He rested on his side, Patamon still clutched in his bloody, shaking grip. "Shit…" he said it again. Where were they? Close by, certainly.

"T.K.!" Gatomon's worried voice sounded muffled. "You're both hurt badly. I'm going for help—"

T.K. lurched forward, his vision and hearing clearing from the renewed sense of panic, grabbing Gatomon's paw. "Don't—!" T.K. winced again and fell back down, rolling onto his back. "Please, Gatomon, please…" tears ran down his face as he begged her.

Gatomon knelt by Patamon, checking to see his condition. "He's not hurt as badly as you." She spoke quietly. "But you're a mess."

"It's fine. I'm fine." T.K. tried to put some strength into his voice, but he knew it was futile. "How did you find us? Where are the others?"

"I sense it. The Crest of Light. And then I sense you and Patamon. I don't know where Kari and the others are. But if this fight pulled up on their radar, I'm sure they're not far off."

"Damn it." T.K. whispered. "I have to get out of here."

"How do you have Kari's crest?" Gatomon narrowed her eyes. "You have yours too, right? Is that how Patamon evolved all those months ago? Is that when this all started?"

"Before that." T.K. spoke honestly. "This has been going on since I came back to Odaiba. I'm handling it."

"Not well." Gatomon snapped. "Can you even stand?"

T.K. shook his head, a weak laugh escaping his lips. "No. I don't think so."

She sighed glancing over T.K., assessing each of his injuries. A cut on his leg, it wasn't bleeding anymore, a raw looking cut to his right palm and a cut on his left wrist, which her gaze lingered on longer than the others, the implications of the wound raising more alarms in her mind than anything else she had heard about T.K.'s disappearance thus far, and then the gash on his forehead, it was still bleeding, but she could see it was slowing. Finally, her gaze stopped on the most concerning thing—the blood that was dripping down the corner of T.K.'s lips.

"When you said the crest is inside you…" Gatomon closed her eyes, a nauseating feeling washing over her. "The raw power of the crest…"

T.K. muttered a quick response, a simple yes with a nod that made him groan lightly. "It's a bit much for me to handle. But, I'm alright."

Gatomon opened her eyes, but only stared at the ground. "Tell me what's going on, T.K."

T.K. pursed his lips. "I can't."

Gatomon's ears twitched with irritation. "Yes, you can!"

"If I tell you, Kari will be in more danger." T.K. finally found the strength to push himself up, his arms shook under the weight of his upper body. "If I tell you what's really going on, Kari won't rest until she finds me, and she'll put herself and me in even more danger."

"How?" Gatomon hissed. "How? You could have died right now!"

"No." T.K. looked at Gatomon, tears still falling from his eyes. "Not at their hands."

"T.K.?" Gatomon said his name firmly.

"Patamon would have died. But they need me alive, for now. If they get a hold of anyone I care about, I'll have to… I'll never let them get hurt…because of me… I can't…" T.K. felt his chest tightening again, each breath he took became more difficult. "Gatomon, please…"

Gatomon was at T.K.'s side, gripping his arm tightly. "Calm down. Let us help you, T.K.!"

"Kari will be in danger. You can't…" he gasped. "You can't let her keep chasing after me. Please. If I…" he shook his head. "If Wisemon gets me, it'll all be over."

Gatomon shook her head. "But T.K., you can't expect me to just walk away from you."

T.K. smiled, that smile that she knew well. "Would you choose me, over Kari?"

Gatomon scowled at him. "I'd choose you both."

T.K. laughed. "You would say that." He exhaled shakily, trying to compose himself. "But you can't. It's one or the other. Right now, if you want to choose Kari, you'll have to pretend this never happened."

"And if I refuse?" Gatomon asked darkly.

T.K. shifted slowly to face her. "You'll be putting Kari's life at risk and simultaneously signing my death certificate."

"There has to be another way. T.K., we can overcome anything together. Just think of everything we've been through."

T.K. shook his head, his gaze falling on his wrist. He pursed his lips. "Do you think that Patamon would agree to… this, if he didn't trust me?"

Gatomon shook her head. "He's your partner, of course he trusts you. He'll do whatever he can to help you do things the way you want."

"He wasn't going to. Not at first." T.K. looked up at the sky through the broken ceiling. "But he finally agreed. So did Gennai."

Gatomon's eyes widened. "What?"

"For now, anyway." He amended.

Gatomon shook her head. "You've been in contact with Gennai?"

T.K. pushed himself up onto his feet, staggering as he turned. "Yeah. He's been helping me since…" he grimaced thinking back that far. "For a while now."

"Can he help you now?" She knew that he'd lost far too much blood.

T.K. shook his head. "He's unavailable at the moment."

"You're hurt too badly—" T.K. raised a hand to stop her.

"You helped me a lot, actually." He showed her his palm. Not only had it stopped bleeding, but it had started to heal even. "Between the Crest of Light and your Heaven's Charm…" he tried to hide the pain that radiated through his chest as he knelt to scoop Patamon into his arms. "Well, at least I'm not bleeding anymore."

"What if Mephistomon comes after you again?" Gatomon growled. "With that state of you two… This isn't a game, T.K.!"

T.K. lifted his left arm up, gazing tiredly at the partially healed cut on his wrist. "I know, Gatomon."

Gatomon opened her mouth to object, not being able to fathom the thought of leaving someone she cared about in such a state. But as she did, Patamon stirred.

"T.K.?" Patamon whimpered sadly.

T.K. smiled genuinely, both his and Patamon's eyes full of tears. "Hey, buddy."

"I'm sorry—I dedigivolved involuntarily when the Crest of Light went into you…I was powerless to stop Mephistomon after that."

"Shh…It's fine. Luck was on our side today. Guess you got your wish, for a minute anyway."

Patamon looked down and saw Gatomon. "Thank you…" his voice shook weakly.

"Don't thank me, just tell T.K. to come home and explain what's going on!"

Patamon grimaced. "Don't you think I tried? But T.K.'s right, Gatomon."

"No!" She protested.

A commotion outside stopped everyone. The first voice that reach their ears was Davis', calling for Kari. "Wait for us!"

"He's in there!" Kari's voice sounded much closer than Davis had.

T.K. took a step backwards and turned to run, stopping when he saw a gaping hole in the wall where Mephistomon had made his escape. "Gatomon. Please. Protect Kari. Choose Kari."

"Patamon?"

"I won't lose again." He gave her a look that made her gaze fall to the ground and she closed her eyes, nodding.

"T.K." Gatomon said his name mournfully. "Don't die. I'll never forgive you for doing that to Kari. You hear me? She…" she stopped short.

"Goodbye, Gatomon." T.K. turned and started walking away steadily.

"She needs you." Gatomon had tears in her eyes. "She—"

T.K. stopped at her words, looking down at the ground. "Don't…" the words caught in his throat.

"T.K.!" Kari's voice came from just outside the cathedral. Gatomon turned to see Kari sprint into the cathedral, out of breath, tears running down her face. "T.K.!"