Hello! Sorry it took so long to post this, but there was a lot of things to consider going forward. Um, also, enter Mimi! Anyway, without further delay, please enjoy. Please review and thank you all so much for the last reviews. I love that you all are enjoying my story so much. I hope that you all continue to enjoy it.
Matt stared at his phone as it vibrated in his hand, this being one of the first times alone since T.K. had left, of course she'd choose now to call. He inhaled deeply before he pressed the answer button, slowly lifting the phone to his ear. "Hey, mom." He answered slowly.
"Hi honey. I just wanted to check in and see how things are going." Nancy's singsong voice rang happily over the phone, oblivious to the hell Matt had been going through all summer.
"Eh…" Matt hesitated. What should he say? The truth? What was the truth? Lie? Eventually he'd have to tell his parents something, right? "Things are going…"
Nancy chuckled. "That doesn't sound very enthusiastic. Is something wrong?"
Matt's mouth felt dry. He swallowed hard and took in another deep breath. "No. Nothing, not really… How are you?"
"What is it?" she asked gently. "Are you and T.K. doing all right?"
"Mom…" Matt cleared his throat, leaning forward he rubbed his forehead. "Did you tell T.K. about the reason dad divorced you?"
Nancy got quiet. "He found out from an old letter in my office. I don't even remember what his excuse for rummaging through my things without my permission was, but yes, I told him the truth when he confronted me."
"Why didn't you tell me he found out?" Matt's voice broke. "I…"
"Oh Matt, honey. I'm sorry. I honestly thought T.K. would have talked to you about it a long time ago. Did something happen?" Nancy's voice was growing more concerned.
"Yeah, I mean… not really. We just had an argument and when he told me he knew about all that, it took me off guard. That's all."
Nancy sighed loudly. "He didn't seem to upset by it, maybe a little surprised. But T.K. is good at hiding his feelings."
Matt let out a frustrated laugh. "You can say that again."
"Are you two all right?" her voice had gone quiet, sad even.
"Yeah, mom…" Matt sighed and leaned back on his couch, closing his eyes. "We're fine. At least, we will be." We will, won't we?
Matt could hear the smile returning to her voice. "I know you will. You two love each other so much. You should have seen how excited he was the day you offered for him to stay with you. He did all right in Hokkaido, but he wasn't thriving there. He couldn't wait to get back home."
"What do you mean?" Matt frowned. "Wasn't thriving?"
Nancy hesitated. "He wasn't making any friends, and he was putting in the minimum effort in school. He wasn't happy. When he heard he was coming home and he would live with you, it was like a switch had flipped and he was himself again."
Matt ran his hands through his hair, sighing loudly. "Heh…"
"Be honest with me, it was more than a petty argument, wasn't it?" She asked lightly. "Did you two have a fight?"
"Yeah." Matt admitted. "A pretty bad one."
Nancy tone filled with that loving nature, the one Matt always forgot how much he longed to hear on a bad day and with the last two months he'd had, he couldn't stop the tears that welled in his eyes. "You know, you boys always amaze me, and I'm not even talking about saving the world—twice, I'm talking about how you two still managed to be so close even though me and your father tore you apart so young. T.K. loves you more than anything else in this world, and that's hard for a mother to admit. I don't know what you two got in a fight about, but I can imagine, seeing the subject that came up, that it was bad. And it's probably one of your first actual fights. Am I right?"
Matt swallowed, clearing his throat again to keep his voice even. "Yeah, I guess it is."
"It's difficult living with an angsty teenager, is it?" Nancy laughed kindly. "I warned you, didn't I?" she sighed. "But he'll always need his big brother."
"I don't know that he does anymore." Matt scoffed, almost letting on that he was crying.
"T.K. will always need you, Matt. There's nothing that boy wouldn't do to have you in his life." Nancy let out another sigh. "Anyway, I left T.K. a voicemail a couple days ago, but I haven't heard back. Now I know why."
Matt opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Look, just talk to him. And, Matt, make sure when he talks, you're hearing him too."
"Mom, I…" Matt choked on his words. He buried his face in his hands, biting back the pain in his voice. "I gotta go, I'll make sure T.K. calls you soon. All right?"
Nancy sighed. "Let me know how things go. I love you."
Matt inhaled slowly. "Yeah, I will. Love you too."
He pulled the phone away from his ear and clicked the end button. He dropped his phone haphazardly on the coffee table in front of himself, burying his face in his hands. "Damn it…"
His front door open with a bang—giving him a jolt. He'd been leaving it unlocked for Tai and Sora to come in as they pleased. He turned, seeing a sandy blonde with arms full of bags and luggage spilling into his apartment.
"Mimi?" Matt stood, too surprised to move.
"Hey, Matt! Sorry to barge in, Sora said the door would be unlocked." She dropped her bags messily in his front hall and walked in, taking her sunglasses off and slipping them into position on top of her head. "I thought she'd be here…" her voice trailed off as she finally looked up to meet Matt's gaze—seeing tears falling down his face.
He saw her expression shift and realized why, lifting his arms up to wipe his face and turn away from her. "Oh yeah, she mentioned you were coming… I must have spaced that it was today. Sorry—"
Mimi rushed over to Matt and wound around in front of him, embracing him tightly. "Don't do that." She whispered.
Matt tried to take a step back, but she rested her head on his shoulder. "Mimi don't…" he murmured, lifting his arms up to push her away.
"You don't have to act all tough in front of me. I'm no one to impress, right?" She gave him a squeeze and giggled kindly. "We've seen our fair share of each other's tears over the years, no need to hold back now."
Matt inhaled shakily and lowered his arms, allowing her to hold on to him comfortingly. "You know, of all the people I know, you aren't the one that sticks out with the whole mothering instincts."
"Hmm?" Mimi smirked. "Not too bad, eh?"
Matt chuckled. "Surprisingly, no."
Mimi finally stepped back, keeping her hands on his arms. "Have we heard anything else? Since the other day?" She pursed her lips at his confusion. "Sora keeps me updated."
Matt shook his head. "No."
She sighed. "I just can't imagine what that boy is going through right now. Listen, I'm here for the next three weeks. Well, not here, here." She waved her hands around. "In town, oh you know what I mean. Anyway!" She took in a deep breath, smiling up at Matt, releasing his arms.
He gave her a soft, genuine smile. "Thanks."
She smiled brighter. "You can't let this get you down. T.K., despite what he may think right now, needs you."
Matt's smile faded, and he looked at Mimi thoughtfully. "Mimi…"
She continued to smile, though it grew into a sad smile. "He's strong, he's always been strong. All those years of fighting monsters and he cried less than me by the end of it all. He always tried so hard to be brave in front of you and Tai. But he always wanted his big brother. No matter what." She pointed her finger at him. "Even when he said he didn't."
Matt smiled at her again. "Thanks Mimi."
She smiled triumphantly at lifting Matt's mood. "So, since I got in on an earlier fight, I don't have a place to stay tonight, Sora said I could crash here until my hotel is ready tomorrow. Is that still all right?"
Matt shrugged. "Sure. You can use my room."
"I know it sounds like I'd throw a fit, but I'm perfectly fine on the couch for one night."
Matt gave her a look as she made to grab some of her bags. "Between me and Tai, there won't be much room out here for you."
She glanced up as she straightened, a bag in each hand. "That cannot be restful."
"Eh, yeah, hasn't been the best sleep I've ever had. But I don't think it'd be much better anywhere else, honestly."
His phone rang from its previously disposed location on the coffee table. If Mimi hadn't stopped to look at the device, Matt may have ignored it. It was never the call he needed it to be. It was never… "Izzy?" he frowned at the name that popped up on his screen.
Matt grabbed up the phone hurriedly and then hesitated, his thumb hovering over the answer button. He had gotten his hopes up, again. Mimi was there, Izzy was probably just calling about her.
He tossed his phone to the unsuspecting girl, who shouted a rather unladylike curse as she barely caught the device. "What the hell, Matt!" She hissed.
"He's calling for you, he just doesn't want to be obvious about it." He smirked, trying to cover that his heart was beating a little too fast.
She quickly recovered from the embarrassing statement, grumbling under her breath before answering. "Hello, Matt Ishida's flying phone." She jeered, sticking her tongue out at him. "Hi Izzy. Yeah, he thought you wanted to talk to me…"
Matt chuckled and turned around to pick up some trash that has accumulated on the coffee table.
"Wait, what? T.K.?"
Matt stopped, straightening he turned back to see Mimi staring at him, wide eyed. "Matt, they…" she frowned. "Kari did it. She got him. They're calling everyone to—"
Matt stopped, a rush of adrenaline coursing through him instantly. Suddenly Matt closed the distance between himself and Mimi so fast, she jumped from surprise when he snatched the phone from her.
"What happened? Is he all right?" He tried to ignore the fact that his voice broke or that his hands were shaking, and he couldn't tell if he was breathing as he waited for Izzy to talk.
"Gennai sent me a message—"
"Is he all right?" Matt snapped.
"I don't know the details." Izzy paused. "He said to meet them in the digital world. I have a gate open now. I'm just waiting for everyone to get here—"
"I'm on my way." Matt hung up and hurried for his jacket and keys, forgetting Mimi was standing behind him.
"Give me those." She held out her hand to him.
Matt looked up at her, barely registering what she was implying until she reached out to take his keys. "No! I don't have time for this!"
"Stop and look at yourself, Matt!" she snapped. "Your no good to him lying in a hospital bed, or worse…"
Between his heart thumping in his ears and his visibly shaking grip on his keys, he realized why she was staring at him so intensely. "I'm fine, Mimi."
"You'll get in wreck." She spoke firmly, holding her hand out for the keys again. "Now."
Where she had clearly surprised him earlier with her kindness, he was not surprised by the remarkably familiar glare she sent him. She was as fierce as always, keeping a watchful eye on those she cared about. Matt wanted to argue. He didn't have time for Mimi's antics. But he also knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer. Reluctantly, he placed the keys in her hand. "Fine, but we have to hurry."
She turned and nodded her head toward the door. "Then let's go."
Just as they turned to the front door, it slammed open. A panting, sweating Tai clung to the doorframe. "Did…" he groaned, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "Did Izzy call yet?"
Matt frowned at his friend. "Yeah, what are you doing?"
Tai took in another deep breath and slumped forward with his hands on his knees, coughing lightly. "Izzy called me right before I pulled into the complex, he didn't want you to be alone when he called you."
Matt blinked, surprised. "Oh." He understood why Mimi made that clear, but he didn't expect Izzy to have thought that through before calling him.
"I didn't… Ahh…" Tai groaned loudly again, straightening. "Damn I need to get back into shape, university is slowly killing me…"
Matt hesitated. "Tai?"
"I didn't want you driving…" he seemed to have noticed Mimi for the first time, seeing Matt's keys in her hand. "And you weren't… great. I just ran up a hundred flights of stairs for nothing."
Mimi raised an eyebrow at the boy, smirking. "Hello to you too."
"Thanks Mimi." Tai finally caught his breath. "Let's get going."
Mimi and Tai both stepped into the corridor, glancing back at Matt, rooted to his spot in the apartment.
"Matt?" Mimi questioned, worry growing in her expression. "What's wrong?"
Tai looked at him, confused, and then he realized. "Hey, give me a minute…"
Mimi wanted to argue, but closed her mouth and nodded, heading down the hallway hesitantly.
Matt's unfocused gaze and the tears welling in his eyes were enough to tell Tai exactly what was happening. "Hey…" he whispered.
Matt swallowed hard and shook his head. "Let's…" his voice shook, and he pursed his lips. "Damn it…" mumbled.
Tai watched his friend for a moment. "He didn't mean it." Tai spoke gently, but firmly. "You know that, right?"
"Yeah." Matt looked down at the ground.
"It doesn't look like you do." Tai said bluntly.
Matt rolled his eyes at Tai. "It's not that Tai, not entirely."
"Then what is it?" Tai questioned, unconvinced.
"I just… I didn't go after him. He needed me and I just sat here and waited…" Matt felt the tears brimming in his eyes slide down his face and he turned away from Tai. "Damn it."
Tai gripped Matt's arm tightly, pulling him back to face him. "I'm the one…"
Matt looked up, seeing the guilt on Tai's face. "Tai…"
"He will be all right." Tai said firmly. "We need to go so we can finally figure all of this out."
Matt nodded. "Right."
Tai watched Matt's back as he headed out the door. He'd know soon whether he had made the right decision, worrying deep in his heart that he had made the wrong one.
#
Wisemon paced back and forth in the shadows, whispering incoherently to himself, his eyes darting around rapidly.
"Master." Mephistomon spoke calmly, but confidently.
Wisemon stopped, raising his gaze to meet Mephistomon's. "It was tonight." He spoke hoarsely.
"I know, Master. But there is still time before the moon passes."
"He is in the presence of the crests now." Wisemon shook his head. "If you or I make a move now, we will fail."
"Master, the boy's broken. He kneeled before you in defeat. We can bend him to our will once more if only we wait for the chance. We can break him again. Allow me the opportunity to succeed where Sanzomon failed."
Wisemon stared into Mephistomon's eyes. "Before the first light of dawn."
"I will not rest until I have him." Mephistomon bowed down low. "For our King."
#
T.K. fixed his gaze on the cobblestone between his shaking hands. He could feel them staring at his back, waiting for him to move, to speak, to do anything. But he couldn't. He couldn't move, the adrenaline was fading fast and he couldn't face them. Everything had come to a standstill once Wisemon vanished. He wanted to stand up and just walk away. But, no matter how hard he tried to move, the throbbing, aching feeling in his chest wouldn't subside. He wasn't even aware of how uneven his breathing was, holding his breath between each inhale and exhale involuntarily.
"T.K. are y—" Kari stopped short, the sound of her voice in the otherwise deafening silence, made him flinch, violently. She waited a few seconds to see if he would look up at her. When he didn't, she continued, softer. "Are you all right?"
T.K. lowered his face, closing his eyes tightly. He felt hot, yet prickling chills still ran through his entire body at each breath. He clenched his jaws and swallowed hard. Still no words would form.
Gennai kneeled in front of T.K., speaking gently. "Just try to relax, you're safe…" he paused, knowing that wasn't the problem for him anymore. "You're all safe for right now."
T.K. didn't move. Didn't even try to acknowledge Gennai, because if he did, he may break down right there, in front of them all. They weren't safe, not for long, not long enough to let himself give in and chance watching them get hurt because of him.
Gennai stood up and directed his words at the others. "I want to invite you to come with me, so I may attempt to explain what has been happening."
"No." T.K. breathed, his voice inaudible.
Ken nodded. "What about the others, back home?"
"No." T.K. spoke louder, his teeth clenched, his voice shaking.
Everyone looked at him worriedly.
Gennai sighed. "I know your worries are still justifiable, T.K., but the time for fighting this alone is over. We have all the crests—"
"No!" T.K. screamed this time, his fingers scraping angrily against the broken stone beneath him. His voice broke as he choked down a sob. "This isn't what we agreed on!"
Gennai looked defeated. "What other choice do we have? Continuing as you have been is only delaying the inevitable."
"You say that like I haven't been doing it this way for a damn reason!" T.K. growled, finally looking up at the man, anger burning in his glistening eyes. "Don't act like this was a choice I made for the hell of it!"
Gennai stared at T.K. with pity. "I do not intend to diminish the effort you have made to protect yourself and your friends. Not in the slightest. But the facts are clear, you cannot win this battle alone."
"Then how do you take it out of me?" T.K. hissed.
Gennai grimaced. "I do not have that answer, yet."
An involuntary chuckle escaped his lips, shaking his head. "We're no better off now than we were two months ago. Nothing has changed."
Gennai shook his head. "You do understand all the complicated circumstances that occurred today, saved your life, right? And any of them, differing in the slightest, could have resulted in you being captured by Wisemon. You're only alive because of your friends."
T.K. pushed himself up weakly, ignoring Kari's grasp on his arm, pulling away from her as he stood. He completely ignored the others behind him. "Lucky me. Now what?"
"T.K.!" Patamon hissed weakly, having made his way over to stand in front of his partner. "Stop it!"
T.K. shook his head. "It's a losing battle. And now all you're doing is dragging in more casualties. How the hell is that going to help anyone?"
Gennai's voice rose slightly. "I don't intend for there to be any casualties, T.K., but keeping you alive is—"
"You aren't doing this to help me, you're doing this because you're afraid of what will happen when Wisemon gets his hands on me. Don't act like you care if I live or die. You don't care that you're putting everyone I care about in direct danger, as long as it's for the greater good, right?"
Patamon growled and shoved himself into the air, hovering in front of T.K. "What are our alternatives? Should you just end it? Like you've been contemplating for months? Or do we just hand you over and deal with the consequences that come with it? At least we won't be fighting each other anymore."
"I'm not trying to fight anyone! I just want everyone to leave me the hell alone!"
Patamon's anger was rising quickly. "And just let Wisemon take you?"
"At least no one else will get hurt!"
"You can't just give up!" Patamon screamed.
"Letting them help me is giving up!" T.K. shouted, his voice breaking.
Patamon's voice quivered. "That isn't true! Keep fighting! Keep hoping!"
T.K. closed his eyes in defeat. His voice barely above a whisper. "What's the point?"
#
Davis watched as T.K. unraveled in front of them all. His voice thick with animosity, pain and fear—he'd more than given up just moments before. Ken and Kari looked on, lost as what to do, which made Davis wonder if they knew more than he did, because they weren't saying anything. They weren't trying to talk him down.
Finally, Ken glanced helplessly at Davis, his eyes almost pleading with him. That confirmed it. He knew more than Davis and because of that, they couldn't do what they needed to. But he could.
Before Ken or Kari could react, Davis gripped T.K. by the arm and forced him to turn and face him. He almost lost his resolve at the pathetic whimper that fell from T.K.'s lips and how, despite the anger burning in his eyes, he didn't have the strength to stop Davis. But he held onto him and stared into his eyes determined. "What would you do if Kari was the one?"
T.K.'s expression faded, and a look of confusion furrowed his brows. Davis knew it hit a nerve because he watched as T.K. opened his mouth but couldn't form a response. Because the thought had not entered his mind until right then. What would he be doing if Kari or, honestly, any of them were in his position? He didn't have an answer.
Davis watched as T.K. closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Would you walk away from her? Would you listen as she begged you to turn away and let her die?"
T.K.'s fingers twitched at the thought and he glared back up at Davis, but this time it was full of frustration.
"Would you stand by and watch any of us go through what you're going through, alone?" He caught the tears welling in T.K.'s eyes and hesitated. "You know you wouldn't. So, don't act like we're not hearing you. We hear you, T.K. That's why we're here."
"I can't…" his voice broke. "I can't…" he closed his eyes, grimacing.
"T.K.?" If Davis hadn't already had a grip on his arm, he probably wouldn't have been able to stop him from collapsing. "Whoa!" He caught all of T.K.'s dead weight, but was struggling to keep him up, Ken and Gennai were quick to react and were helping Davis lay T.K. on the ground.
He hadn't noticed before, but now he saw the blood that was dripping from the corner of his lips and the way his body shuddered at each inhale he took. It was bad. His voice was quiet, but he knew everyone gathered around could hear well enough. "Ken, we have to get him to the hospital or…" he looked up at Gennai, whom he never met before, but had quickly deduced from the conversation before. "Or can you help him?"
Everyone looked up at Gennai in that moment.
"His body underwent tremendous stress because of using both the crest of hope and light simultaneously, but he will be all right with some rest. Please come with me."
Ken looked up at him questioningly. "Where?"
Gennai nodded. "My home. And to answer your earlier question, I have already informed Izzy to meet us with everyone else."
Kari couldn't take her eyes off T.K., tears freely falling down her cheeks. Davis shifted and touched her arm lightly. "He will be all right. We're not letting them take him." Kari didn't acknowledge Davis' words, just closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Hey…" he whispered softly, nudging her until she looked up at him. "You did it."
She smiled briefly; her eyes fixed on T.K. "Yeah…"
#
Matt felt his chest tightening as they appeared in front of Gennai's home. It had been years since they last had come, but it was frightening familiar. The last time they had been there, they were just children trying desperately to get home. The anxiety of the memories only added to the tension in his body.
He made to step forward but stopped, seeing Kari and the other younger group of digidestined sitting inside the wide-open room ahead, clinging to their partners. He stopped at the deep concern on their faces and the instantaneous fact that T.K. was not with them. A hand firmly gripped Matt's shoulder, and he looked over to see Tai. He gave him a look of encouragement. Matt nodded, acknowledging him, but when he didn't move, Tai gave him a firm push, making him move.
All he wanted was to see T.K., to see that he was all right. But the guilt that T.K.'s harsh words had brought up inside of him, made him sick. He kept hearing T.K.'s icy voice in his head, repeating those words.
What part of, 'I'm okay. I'll be back before school starts.', was hard to follow?
But I wondered where it'd fall on your priority list.
I'm sure that this has been a big inconvenience for you.
You have your own life.
I don't really consider it running away from home. I haven't had a real one of those since, what, three?
Yeah, well, it's kind of difficult to know how someone feels if you've never bothered to ask them.
"You've always resented me, Matt. You've always known I was the reason our parents got divorced. I split our family apart.
What? About the divorce or you hating me?
Once I found out, it was easy to understand why you treated me like nothing but an annoyance growing up.
At least it's out in the open now, we can both stop pretending we care about each other and just move on with our own lives.
…
"Matt?" Kari looked up as he stepped into the house.
He looked up at her, blinking. "Where…?" his voice shook, pausing on Patamon sitting beside Gatomon in Kari's lap.
They all knew what he was asking, but no one spoke.
Sora and Mimi didn't skip a beat, putting themselves on either side of the girl, seeing as she fought back fresh tears. Tai kneeling in front of her worriedly. "What happened?" his voice had gone weak. The confidence he'd spoke to Matt with earlier had vanished at the sight of his sister.
"Tai, I…" she looked away from her brother and inhaled shakily.
Gennai spoke, drawing everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming." He nodded his head to Izzy and Joe as they found a spot near the younger of them.
Matt refused to sit. "Where is he?"
Gennai stared into Matt's eyes and tried to give him an encouraging smile. "He's in another room. If you'll allow me a moment to explain T.K.'s situation, I can see if he has reconsidered."
"Reconsidered?" Tai asked, standing. "What does that mean?"
Ken spoke this time, drawing all the unwanted attention he could handle. "He's refusing to talk to any of us. Patamon tried to talk some sense into him."
Matt looked at the door that lead deeper into the house, shifting his body toward it. "He's inside?"
Gennai nodded. "T.K. has gone through a lot. He is not thinking clearly regarding his situation. He does not agree that it was time to include you all." He saw the concern growing on Matt's face as he refused to look away from the door. "If you try to confront him now, you will receive a very hostile welcome. I urge you to wait just a little longer, so I can answer the more essential questions, leaving the more poignant ones for T.K. when he is feeling more receptive."
Matt let out a deep breath and placed himself on the floor beside Sora, Tai sitting on his other side. "Fine, talk. What's going on with my brother?"
Gennai looked around at the eleven people around him, filling in much of the space. "Before we begin, I'd like to say that T.K.'s situation has been being manipulated by Wisemon for some time. Since first returning to Odaiba."
Matt shifted uncomfortably. "Why didn't T.K. tell us?"
Gennai sighed. "It wasn't clear what was happening until things had gotten into full motion. By the time we even had an idea, the motives and outcome were a mystery, and even now, the full facts are vague."
"So why involve us now, if T.K. is still against the idea?" Izzy questioned lightly, glancing over to ensure he was not out of line with Matt.
"Our crests…" Kari spoke lightly. "They've all returned."
There was a synchronization of gasps and murmurs from the older group.
Tai raised an eyebrow. "Wait, they all came back? What about that whole, give up the crests so they can shield the world from darkness, bull?"
"I do not know the inner workings of this world to answer that question, other than the digital world preparing for a darkness that it cannot protect against alone." Gennai's words lingered over the group. "Which is where T.K. becomes involved."
"Are you going to get to the point already?" Mimi grumbled.
"Mimi!" Sora scolded softly.
Gennai continued. "T.K. found his crest first, which was when I pieced together the anomalies I was sensing through the digital world."
"That was the day Patamon digivolved to MagnaAngemon to save Davis and Cody." Ken noted lightly, trying not to interrupt.
Gennai nodded. "Correct. Because of several coinciding circumstances, T.K. became the catalyst for the Crest of Hope."
"Catalyst? What does that mean?" Matt snapped.
"The crest is inside of him. Where normally the crest would remain in a physical form and use a tag or other material to send its power through to the digivice and then to the digimon." Gennai explained. "T.K. becoming the catalyst was likely manipulated by Wisemon." Gennai saw the look on Matt's face twist with irritation. "Wisemon is trying to use T.K., along with his crest, to open a gate to another dimension. One that, based on all evidence available, will bring an unprecedented evil to the digital world."
"And why are we just now being told?" Tai asked pointedly, knowing that was what Matt was biting his lip waiting to ask.
Gennai sighed, his gaze now wandering toward the doorway Matt had been so fixated on. "I advised T.K. against keeping this information to himself, for his sake and the digital worlds. However," He paused before looking at Patamon. "T.K. was adamant. He would have nothing to do with the thought."
"But why?" Matt almost yelled, his voice shaking. "An evil digimon is out to kidnap him and use him to open some gate, why wouldn't he come to us for help?"
Kari and Ken exchanged looked, which caught every else's attention.
Tai shifted so he could look at his sister. "You know?"
Kari looked up at Tai, only nodding after a few long moments had passed. "He told me earlier."
Matt shoved himself up from his spot. "Let me see him. Now."
Ken groaned. "If you go charging in demanding answers, you'll only make it easier for him divert. He's still trying to push us away." Ken glanced at Kari. "He has every right to after this morning."
"Wait, what happened this morning? How did you guys find T.K.?" Tai raised an eyebrow at his sister, glancing at the other four kids.
Kari shifted uncomfortably. "I…"
"That's not important." Davis grumbled. "We found him this morning and Kari and Ken finally got some answers. Now I'd like some."
"I don't…" Kari let out an exasperated breath. "He should be the one to explain it all."
"But he won't talk to us!" Davis hissed.
Kari slammed her hand on the floor next to where she was sitting, frustrated. "I know, Davis!"
"Someone better tell me something!" Matt snapped.
Gennai cleared his throat. "Some things are better left for T.K. to explain. But I will do what I can."
Matt gave a grunt and turned to glare disapprovingly at Gennai.
"We have two potential outcomes, and neither look like it will allow for diverting attention. You will all need to come here and stay until we resolve this, one way or another."
"One way or another?" Joe spoke up this time, worriedly pressing his glasses closer to his face.
"Either we defeat Wisemon now, or we will have a new evil to destroy."
Matt knew there was more to it than just that. "What happens to T.K. if they open this gate?"
Gennai grimaced. "He'll die."
Everyone froze. The look on Davis, Cody and Yolei's mirrored the older group's expressions—they had not heard this yet either.
"Wisemon needs three things to perform the ritual to open the gate. T.K., his crest and the ancient runes. They already have the runes and with the Crest of Hope inside T.K., he's a package deal." He saw the panic growing on Matt's face. "I feel you can surmise the reasons behind T.K.'s actions based on the information."
Matt opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was nauseous. He could feel his entire body going cold at the words. "Die?"
Izzy couldn't contain himself anymore. "Where does this gate open to? And why is it T.K.? Why not any of us and our crests?"
"It likely has to do with the fact that T.K.'s Crest of Hope may have a direct connection to the darkness. There are other theories, such as it leading to the abyss that MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny leads." Gennai's gaze fell to Kari. "Or even the possibility of leading to the Dark Ocean."
Ken and Kari both looked up at that, that was the first they'd heard of it by the expressions on their faces.
"It's less likely, but the possibility remains. Whatever they're trying to accomplish, if they succeed, two things are certain. Darkness will fall upon the digital world and T.K. will die."
"Then that makes the next step easy, right?" Tai said firmly. "We stop Wisemon before he can get to T.K."
Kari shook her head. "They'll use as to get to him."
Matt looked at her wide eyed. Everything was clicking in his mind. "I…" Matt inhaled sharply, trying to compose himself. "I need to see him. Please, just let me see him."
Gennai sighed and looked at him sadly. "He isn't himself right now."
"I don't care. I need to see him." Matt begged.
"There's something else that you should know." Kari spoke softly, but the tone in her voice made everyone turn to her worriedly.
Matt groaned, letting out an exasperated breath. "What else could there be?"
Kari looked at the others, who all shifted their gaze to the floor, all except for Davis, who was staring at her intently. "T.K. tried to kill himself."
Matt opened his mouth to shout, but nothing came out. He stared at the look on Kari's broken, defeated expression. No. It wasn't possible. He couldn't have.
Tai stood next to Matt, eyeing the boy carefully. "Matt?"
He shook his head. "He…"
Tai reached up to put a hand on Matt's shoulder.
"He was desperate." Patamon's voice quivered from his previously silent spot.
"Patamon…" Tears were welling in his eyes.
Patamon looked up at him regretfully. "I'm scared, Matt… I don't—" He stopped at the sound of glass breaking.