Hello friends, so sorry for the disappearing act. Things have been very busy and I am still not able to have consistent access or time to a computer at this time to update as regularly as I would like, however I do believe I'll be able to post this chapter and one more before I go possibly go MIA for a bit again. I do hope to have a new computer in about a month. *Crosses Fingers*

I've worked pretty hard on the chapter and have actually revised it several times. I can't say I'm 100% happy with it, but it's finally satisfying enough to post.

Thank you to everyone who is still following me on here and continues to review this story. You are truly the biggest motivation I have for writing this fic.

Izzy couldn't comprehend what had happened at first. The cuts and bruises on his right arm and leg stung and he lay flat on his back, staring at his dark apartment ceiling.

"How did I…?" Izzy pushed himself up slowly, seeing Gennai propped against his desk.

"Are you hurt?" Gennai sounded winded.

"What?" Izzy felt panic rising in his chest. "What happened? Why are we here?"

Gennai grimaced. "If I hadn't used a portal, we'd be dead right now."

Izzy swallowed hard. "We were attacked?"

Gennai nodded. "Mephistomon aimed his first strike at me, knowing that the others would be trapped without my help."

Izzy's frown deepened. "You said we were safe there."

"I didn't think Wisemon could break the several layer firewall system. It was a misjudgment on my part."

Izzy pushed himself up, ignoring the burning feeling in his right shoulder, running to his computer. "We have to get back."

Gennai nodded. "It's likely that my connections and your laptop are destroyed."

"Then we'll open a gate as close as possible to the lake." Izzy's fingers were tapping profusely on his keyboard.

"Izzy, it won't work."

"Why not?" Izzy snapped.

Gennai straightened, a pained look on his face. "Wisemon will be waiting outside of my barrier."

"Then we'll—"

"It won't work, Izzy." Gennai groaned.

Izzy slammed his fists on his keyboard. "We can't just abandon them!"

Gennai shook his head. "We're not. But if we just dive in and try to get them out, we'll die along with them. We need help."

Izzy frowned. "We need the others and our partners before we can go back."

Gennai nodded. "The others, who came home earlier, we need them to meet us here immediately and we need to find the closest gates to your digimon."

Izzy felt sick to his stomach. "But we don't have time for all that!"

Gennai grimaced. "I would open another portal if I thought it'd make a difference."

"Then open it!" Izzy shouted.

Gennai slammed his palm against the wall. "I can only open it one more time. If we waste it and get trapped down there with them, what help is that?"

Izzy's eyes widened. He looked Gennai up and down, seeing his body quivering. "The portals take a toll on your body?"

Gennai nodded, grimacing. "Call the others. Now."

#

"Magnum Crush!"

Davis watched as the Mephistomon shot back in a burst of golden light—the strike was hard and quick. It didn't take long for the massive digimon to follow up with another attack. "Twister Saber!" The two large blades on his arms lit with a golden light and then slashed toward the still recovering Mephistomon.

Davis' heartbeat was growing rapid with fear and excitement all at once—ExVeemon had reached ultimate. But the excitement was fleeting as he heard T.K. groan beside him. He blinked and looked down at his friend, who was clutching his chest and taking in short, shallow breaths.

"AeroVeedramon!" Angemon shouted from behind the large digimon. "Stop!"

Angewomon grabbed Angemon by the arm. "We finally have the upper hand, and you want him to stop? We weren't winning before if you hadn't noticed."

"But T.K.!"

Angewomon snapped. "This may be our only chance!"

Angemon clenched his jaw. "What good does it do us if he dies in the process?!"

"And what happens if we lose? At least this way he stands a chance at making it through the night!"

T.K. suddenly took in a deep breath, fighting back a cry. Davis took hold of T.K.'s shoulder, trying to steady him and he took in a few more deep breaths.

"Are you going to be alright?" Davis found his voice weak, unable to fight the fear he was feeling.

T.K. gave a single nod.

Davis glanced at Kari, who was kneeling at his other side, holding his arm tightly. She looked so defeated, tears running down her cheeks.

Davis look backed toward the digimon, his heart wavering at the sight of his partner. This was the tipping point, either they won, or they didn't… T.K.'s life hanging in the balance with either outcome.

Suddenly AeroVeedramon glanced Davis' direction—this monstrous digimon giving him a confident nod before turning back toward the battle.

"Please, hurry." Davis breathed.

#

Ken was watching as Yolei slept beside him, the comforter on their bed too plush and warm for him to sleep. Though he was exhausted he couldn't close his eyes without seeing blood and the look on T.K.'s face.

In the deafening silent of their apartment, a soft vibration from the living room caught his attention. He'd forgotten his phone, Yolei had it and had left it in her purse most likely. He pushed himself up, trying not to disrupt her, slowly making his way out of the bedroom. It took him a few minutes of looking around the dark room to find Yolei's bag and rummage through it to find his phone. As he pulled it out, the first thing he saw was his bloody fingerprints scattered across the screen. He started to look away, but the name of the missed call caught his attention. A deep, gut-wrenching feeling came over him, making him feel hot and cold all at the same time.

He wiped the dried blood off the face of his phone and pressed on Izzy's name.

"Ken!" Izzy's strained voice came before the phone could even ring a second time. "You need to get to my apartment. Now."

Ken couldn't talk. The feelings welling inside him threatening to swallow him whole.

"Ken? Yolei is with you, right? We need both of you."

"What…?" Ken's voice caught. "What happened?"

Izzy's hesitation was brief, but long enough to make his hand start trembling. "We were attacked. They came for him."

"No…" Ken felt his chest tighten. "What do you mean attacked? T.K.—what happened!?"

"I don't know. Gennai and I would have been killed if he hadn't brought us back. I don't know what happened to anyone after the first the strike. That's why you need to hurry—"

Yolei was suddenly at Ken's side, taking the phone from him. "Ken, what is it? Who's on the phone? Hello?" She pressed the phone to her ear. "Izzy? What happened?"

Ken turned and ran for the bedroom, throwing on a shirt and a pair of jeans haphazardly, grabbing his digivice from his nightstand. He turned around almost running into Yolei. "Give me a second to get dressed." She tossed him his phone and proceeded to change out of her pajamas. "Izzy is still waiting on Joe and Cody to get there too."

#

As soon as the golden light hit T.K.'s vision, his breath caught—the pain felt like firecrackers surging through his body. Vision blurred, lightheaded, suffocating. He could hardly breathe.

The surge of power it took for ExVeemon to evolve to ultimate for the first time made the pain from Angewomon and MagnaAngemon feel like a mild annoyance. But the pain only lasted a few horribly long moments before it faded to a dull ache. He inhaled deeply, coughing roughly from the release of pressure, while not gone, much less severe.

"T.K." Kari's voice drew both his and Davis' attention. Her hands shook as they clung to his arm, if he'd been in any less pain, he'd have felt her nails digging into his skin. "I'm sorry…" her voice trembled as she spoke, tears freely falling down her cheeks.

T.K. closed his eyes with a subtle half laugh. "Kari, I don't even know how to respond to that. Honestly…"

Kari opened her mouth, but suddenly the ground shook and drew their attention back to the battle.

AeroVeedramon slid back, his claws digging into the ground to stop himself from sliding into the other end of the barrier.

Angemon and Angewomon landing roughly on the ground just ahead of AeroVeedramon. They looked relieved as they watched a billowing cloud of dust in front of them.

"Did they do it?" Davis stood, his body tense as he took a step forward.

As the cloud dispersed Mephistomon stepped out, an eerie glow surrounding his trembling, weakened form. "I will not fail him."

Angewomon gasped, turning toward the children she hollered. "Run!"

T.K. couldn't take his eyes off Mephistomon's glowing form. The aura radiating off him too powerful to describe. He felt Davis try to drag him to his feet, a surge of strength pulsed through him, making him stumble out of surprise.

Another shudder pulsed underfoot as Mephistomon burst into a flash of darkness, sending a shockwave of black smoke over their enclosed space.

T.K. closed his eyes and lifted his arm to shield his face, the force knocking him and the others down. He felt Kari's grip ripped from his arm as he hit the ground. The shockwave deafening, all he could heard was a torrent of whooshing before everything went still. A ringing in his ears and darkness.

#

T.K. opened his eyes, everything around him dark and hazy. He pushed himself up taking in a deep breath…no pain—he looked around panicked. Patamon, Gatomon and Veemon lay in a heap in front of Mephistomon…no, that wasn't Mephistomon, was it? T.K. stared at the new digimon, the new form of the digimon in front of them, not an evolution, something darker, more sinister.

T.K. slowly stood, looking back he saw everyone lay behind him unconscious. His gaze landing on Kari's hand just to his left, blood smeared across the ground beneath her open palm. Just like in the nightmares. He couldn't turn to confirm the worst, instead he closed his eyes and turned back to Mephistomon.

Numbness swept over him as he opened his eyes and stared blankly at Mephistomon, completely defenseless now.

Mephistomon towered over their partners, lifting his hand, large purple spheres made of iridescent light appeared, swirling above their incapacitated digimon.

"When I heard them telling me that I shouldn't give up yet… I think I held on to this false hope…" his voice caught. "And now they're all…"

Mephistomon smirked, a dark chuckle escaping his lips. "You can't do anything to stop his will."

T.K.'s expression didn't change as he shook his head and his gaze fell to Patamon. "That's not true…" A powerful surge pulsed through his body, a cold sweat hit his body as his insides burned, the taste of blood coated the inside of his mouth. "Forgive me, Patamon…"

Mephistomon's eyes widened as he followed T.K.'s line of sight. The glowing spheres shot a solid purple beam of light down onto their partners in an instant.

T.K. could feel the power coursing through his body, so strong and overwhelming it didn't even hurt anymore. He could feel himself losing consciousness slowly.

"T.K.!"

A voice… who… T.K. turned back to see Ken and Gennai standing behind him, a portal opened just behind them, the others rushing through and stopping in horror at the scene they walked into.

Gennai's eyes met with T.K.'s, disappointment and pity filled his expression. He knew what T.K. had done. He watched as each of his friends' gazes lifted to the sky behind him. He looked back up and saw a bright purple glow blindingly bright hovering over Gatomon and Veemon. His vision faded, voices yelling in the background, muffled and distant, a dull thud and then nothing.