That was a nice chapter to write – somewhat of a breather chapter compared to the last one, huh? Too bad they can't all be like this.

Izzy: You do realise you're writing the story, right? You could easily make the chapters however you want.

Well, yes, but they're both needed for plot purposes!

Izzy: If you say so.

I do say so. Enjoy the chapter everyone!

11. Reclaim the Digital World

Landing in the digital world, Tai winced as he rubbed his elbow. While landings in the digital world had never been pleasant, this one was particularly uncomfortable. He landed on concrete, however, his heart suddenly caught in his throat as he saw Izzy. He was sprawled unconscious at a bad and his arm was bleeding. Crap!

No, no, no! Not to state the obvious, but this wasn't good. Ignoring the slight sting in his own ankle, he hurried over to his friend's side. He quickly grabbed a hold of Izzy's wrist and let out of a sigh of relief when he felt the pulse. Thank god. Ripping off the sleeves of his shirt, he turned them into a makeshift bandage, pressing on the wound against Izzy's arm.

Tai somewhat recognised the place they were at. It was File Island though it definitely did not look like the place it used to be. It was torn up and desolated. He would have been a bit more concerned about the condition of the place but right now, his focus was his friend. To his relief, Izzy did stir a little though, opening his eyes.

"Tai?" Izzy said, wincing a little as he spoke, attempting to get to his feet causing Tai to quickly reach out to ensure his friend would not topple over.

"Take it easy, Izzy," Tai said gently, looking around now that his friend was somewhat stable. Given everything, they had heard so far about the condition of the digital world, he didn't want to be attacked right now. Without Agumon and Tentomon, he was not sure they would be able to put up much of a fight.

Izzy seemed to be thinking along the same lines though due to the next words that he spoke. "We're too out in the open. I'm okay with letting you support me, but we do need to get moving. Find a place to hide, a cave, a hidden portion or something. We can't fight if we're attacked. Not like this."

Well, Tai supposed it was good to see that the fall hadn't made Izzy stop thinking practically about the situation at hand. He didn't dare argue either, doing his best to support his friend instead because he could also hear footsteps of something approaching…likely an evil digimon so he moved faster. It wasn't too hard to find a nearby spot – a small, hiding place made from a few broken tree branches, which were formed into a tent shape. There was someone already the tent though and he wasn't sure if they were friendly. If they weren't someone friendly, the two of them were likely screwed.

There was a familiar flutter of wings and the digimon that was hiding in there flew out in front of them, making to launch an attack but suddenly stopped. Even in the limited amount of lighting, they could see clearly who it was as Tai heard his friend gasp.

"Tentomon!"

Izzy's head spun as he stared at his digimon partner. Was this why he had landed in this location? Had he been able to subconsciously sense his digimon partner? While Tentomon did not attack, he also turned his body away from him despite beginning to speak.

"You're injured, Izzy," Tentomon said quietly. "Come inside before someone finds us. You're in no condition to fight."

They did not need to be told that twice. Izzy may have landed at a wrong position, but his hearing was very much still intact, and he could hear the footsteps coming in closer. Even once they were situated safely inside though, he could feel the distance between he and his Digital Partner.

Only two years had passed whilst they had been apart, but it felt as if it had been a decade. They were sitting only a few metres away from each other then why did it feel like there was more than just distance between the two of them? Why did Tentomon feel more like a stranger than his best friend? It made his heart tighten into a knot. He may have never been the most openly affectionate towards his partner – emotions were hard, especially since learning he was adopted at such a young age but if it weren't for Tentomon, he might not have been able to face them. He hated this – he hated the feeling that his best friend might not be the digimon he knew anymore but at the same time, he knew he would do whatever he could to make things okay between them again.

"Tentomon," Izzy began softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to take so long. Gennai locked the gates, and I wasn't smart or skilled enough to override that. I should have done more…I should have tried harder."

Tentomon was quiet for a moment before sighing. "I don't blame you, Izzy. I know you would have tried your best but…you don't know what we've been through in the last two years. It was only two years for you, but it felt like centuries for us. We felt like your local Earth criminals when they're on the run from the police. Especially Agumon, Gabumon, Veemon and Wormmon. To the point that the enemy offered us that if we handed them over, we would be able to stay free and not be enslaved. We would never do that – not in a million years. We tried our best to make sure they at least had safe hiding spots even if we couldn't find them."

Izzy's heart sunk. They didn't deserve all of this – Omnimon and Imperialdramon had come into existence, both to protect the human and digital worlds. And now that was being used against that – Gennai was turning their biggest strength into their biggest weakness, it was making them targets. He had caused them a lot of pain, but he also couldn't just blame Gennai. He wasn't good enough either – he had been too incompetent to be able to beat that, to find another way.

"It's my fault," Izzy said shaking his head. "If I had been smarter, if I had hacked into the systems, if I had done something, maybe I could have done more."

Tentomon frowned at this, but Tai spoke up before he could say anything in response.

"Don't be stupid, Izzy," Tai said in his usual blunt way. "If you used corrupted or illegal means to bring us here, it might have hurt Tentomon and the Crest of Knowledge more." He sighed. "Look, I hate that we weren't there either. Agumon's my best friend. He and Gabumon became Omnimon to save our world from Diaboromon. But I can't change what he went through no matter how much I want to. I can't think of what if's either, it'll just hold me back. Izzy can't change that either. But I want to be there for Agumon now. Tentomon, Izzy is here now. We all are. It might be hard for you to believe that we can do anything, but I need you to give us a chance, ok? We can save the digital world again and teach Gennai a lesson too while we're at it." He punched a fist into the palm of his hand, face crossing with anger as he mentioned Gennai.

Izzy felt a lot of his doubts disappear when Tai spoke. He was right, after all. They couldn't remain stuck in the past because that would not solve anything in the present. He turned to Tentomon, extending out his hand to his partner.

"Let's save the digital world together, ok?" Izzy said. Tentomon hesitated briefly but then grasped Izzy's hand with his paw and nodded slowly.