Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Beast Within ❯ The discovery ( Chapter 6 )

*******Back in the real world*******

The group was still in the lounge, but some positions had changed. Matt and Mimi were now sitting with each other on their own couch, Joe and Sora were near by on another and T.K., Kari and Catherine were sitting together. The digimon had been sitting with them, but had left to find more food like substances in the kitchen. Mimi was trying to convince Sora not to worry, while Matt and Joe were speculating on what the thing could have been. Catherine was getting a bit of background on the members of the group.

"Joe is actually a year older than the rest of the group, so he's at university now. Izzy is a year younger, but he got moved up a year because he was so smart," T.K. explained.

"Really! He's lucky, I'd love to miss out on a year of school," Catherine replied.

"Well, you've had your own sort of luck, I've always wanted to travel the world,' Kari replied.

"Not the way I have, I always moved place to place, never really having good friends. I thought I had, they always say, 'oh we'll keep in touch' or things like that, but they never do."

"Well, you've got some now," T.K. said.

"Yeah, and you're stuck with us for a while," Kari added.

"Thanks guys. But tell me more about Matt and Mimi, they seem pretty close."

"They sure are, they've been together the longest of the whole group," T.K. answered.

"Yeah, they got together at the beginning of last year, then it was me and T.K., and finally, after a lot of pushing, Tai and Sora got together," Kari continued.

"Wow, no wonder you're close, most of you are seeing each other," Catherine responded.

"Yeah, it seems like that, it also helps us keep in contact, but we try to get together once a fortnight anyway," T.K. explained.

"So how long have you two been together?"

"About three months actually," T.K. answered.

"How did you get together?"

"Well, I asked her out. We'd known we liked each other for a long time and I eventually decided to ask," T.K. said.

"Oh, but why did you wait?"

"Um, I think you'd better ask Davis about that, I don't feel right telling you," Kari replied.

"Yeah, it's not to be rude or anything, but he should tell you," T.K. added.

"Alright, I'll ask him sometime."

"But now the question comes to you, you seem to like him," Kari said slyly.

"Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy, I'm glad I ended up with him hosting me."

"Come on, that's not what I meant and you know it," Kari questioned now in an interrogational tone. As she finished her question a bright light came from Izzy's room.

"Hey, that must be them, I'll go see," Catherine aid jumping to her feet. Kari looked a little disappointed.

"Nice try, she got lucky, this time," T.K. said.

Sure enough that was them arriving back. Tai still had a small pain in his neck, but everything else was gone. There was a small red patch about the size of a small coin (A\N I refer to an Australian five cent coin, the smallest one, if you're American think of the dime, everyone else, uh, just, think small, but not too small… sorry, I can't explain it better.). he was able to hide it with his jacket, the collar was large and could conceal it quite well. His clothes however, were full of dust.

Catherine walked in and saw the dirt on Tai. She walked right over to Davis, "What happened?" she asked.

"Ask him," Davis replied.

"I fell over, that's all."

"Oh, as long as you're okay."

"Let's get out to the others," Izzy suggested.

"Right," Tai replied.

They walked out into the lounge, Sora immediately jumped to her feet.

"I'm fine Sora, just a little dirty." She rushed into his arms. He closed them around her. "What happened?" she asked in a uneasy tone.

"Nothing, I told you. I tripped, it was silly really," Tai replied leading her to the seat. They sat down on the empty couch, and Izzy took Sora's old spot. Davis and Catherine squeezed in next to T.K. and Kari. The digimon heard the commotion from the kitchen and also entered the room. They had decided to bring a small feast with them, these discussions usually took a while and when digimon want to eat, they eat.

"So explain, what did you find?" Matt asked.

"Well, we arrived and headed right to the site of the rift. As expected it was not there, but the entire forest was silent, it was kinda eerie," Tai started. This is when all the digimon, even Agumon, stopped eating. Only for a while, just until the important bits were over.

"Then Izzy and I headed off, while Tai kept watch. We were looking around in the forest for signs of the rift," Davis interrupted.

"How would you know?" Mimi asked.

"It's a program I have, that's why I needed the laptop. I designed a program to search for signs of dimensional uncertainty, in the times of the dark ocean world, but I could never test it. It works on a theory that when a dimension opens up in another, it leaves a sort of energy residue. It has no effect on our senses, but I designed a program to pick up this residue using the map of the digital world from Davis's D3."

"Did you find any?" T.K. asked.

"Loads of it. I mean I never expected it to be that high, especially because an entire day had passed. The reading was the right size for the description, and there was a severe concentration near the cliff. Almost like the rift was still open."

"Well Tai was there, did you see anything?" Davis asked.

"Nothing, I mean I thought I heard something, so I got up to check. I walked a few steps toward the path down the cliff, and that's when I tripped. But really, I saw nothing, everything was completely normal."

"Okay, I suppose we have never used it before so we didn't know what to expect. But what do we do know?" Sora asked.

"Well, I have a few friends from online that are totally into this other dimension stuff. I'll give them the data I got, and we'll see what they can find," Izzy explained.

"Sure, just make sure they don't get anywhere near to finding out about the digital world," Tai said heavily.

"Don't worry, they've come close before, but I did, uh… a little fiddling, and they have no idea," Izzy replied.

"I hope it was all legal," Tai said almost sarcastically.

"I wouldn't do anything like that," Izzy replied in the same manner.

Everybody was left hanging, this was not the answer they were looking for. Seeing as the important bits were over, the digimon continued there snack.

"Hey, where did you get all that?" Izzy asked looking at the large amount of food piled on the coffee table.

"Well, we opened the fridge, and there it was," Tentomon replied.

"Yeah, some was even in your cupboards," Patamon replied

"How could you just raid Izzy's fridge like that," Tai started in an angry tone, "You didn't tell me, and I can carry so much more than you guys," he finished lightly, leaning over and grabbing a chicken leg. Soon everyone was enjoying a mouthful of Mrs Izumi's home cooking.

"but what do we do now?" Kari asked.

"Aside from eating, what can we do?" Tai posed rhetorically.

"Yeah, I'll contact you tomorrow, when I know more," Izzy added.

The group stayed and talked for another hour. Everyone was full, including the digimon. But it was now getting late.

"I think I'd better head home," Davis announced.

"I guess that means I'm going too, but it was really nice to meet you all. And thank you again for letting me sit in."

"Anytime," Tai replied.

"Yeah, we'll see you soon anyway," Sora added.

"Come on Veemon," Davis called. His blue digimon hopped to his feet and walked over to him. They said goodbye and left.

Once down on the street they found the weather had changed for the worse again. They decided it would be a brief walk home. Catherine and Davis were again holding hands.

"Hey Davis, thanks for helping me today," Catherine said out of the blue.

"No problem," he replied. He knew she would be talking about the intro, and probably taking her hand.

"Can I just ask you one thing, and I don't mean to intrude and if you don't want to answer you don't have to."

"Go ahead."

"Well, I was talking to Kari and T.K. about the relationships in your group, and I asked how those two got together, and why it took so long, she said that I should talk to you."

"Oh…" Davis went quiet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, you haven't done anything wrong," Davis said interrupting her, "Kari was, she was my best friend for a while, back in sixth grade. We hung out together all the time, and that's how I met Tai. I had heard of him before, but that's how I got to meet him. Anyway, when we started seventh grade we were in the same class. I was so happy, because by then I had a huge crush on her. Then T.K. showed up. I had no idea who he was or what he meant to her, she had never mentioned him. You see, after the original digidestined had their first adventures he moved away. But they were so in love, they just didn't know it… and neither did I. She seemed to just ignore me sometimes, I was so bummed I began to say some stupid things, and I didn't even give T.K. a chance. I was really crude and I totally jeopardised up our friendship." Davis stopped for a breather, he needed it. He could feel a tear coming on but he forced it back.

"Eventually I was able to let her go, she was totally in love and I could soon see that, but it took a long time for me to come to terms. I put that out of my mind and soon T.K. and I became friends, and I was able to patch up with Kari. We never talk about it, but it was my fault."

"How can you say that, you didn't know. I know I would have felt exactly the same. I mean she was one of your first friends and she just forgot to mention this really special friend of hers, so this could be expected."

"No, I don't blame her, I can't. She was crushed when he had to leave, and she repressed. Anyway, a few months ago I confronted them. They were still too shy with each other to admit they loved each other and it killed me to see them like that. So I apologised for how I had acted all those months ago and told them to stop fooling themselves and to be good to each other."

"You did that!"

"I had to, it was all a part of me finally letting go of my feelings for her." Both Catherine and Davis were quiet. Catherine did not know what to say,

"That is such a sad story, thank you for telling me, it couldn't have been easy for you."

"Don't worry, I've accepted it, and moved on, but she'll always be my friend. I can tell you that meeting Veemon was a real blessing. He filled in as my best friend, and he still is," Davis looked down at his digimon.

"And I'm not going anywhere either," he replied.

"Wow, you guys are really good friends, I wish I had someone like that," Catherine was now feeling very lonely.

"Give it time, I think you've found someone who's willing to fill the role," Davis said changing his gaze to her direction

"Thanks, I really hope so." The wind began to blow and in the sky the clouds were threatening to rain.

"Davis, we'd better get home, it's going to rain," Veemon said looking into the sky. Davis looked up and came to the same conclusion.

"Yeah, thanks buddy," he said. They continued the walk back to his apartment as a quick one.

*******Motomiya residence*******

They arrived back in the apartment just as the downpour started. Although it was now snow season the day had been warm so it was only rain. Once inside Davis noticed that there was no one home. He inspected all around the house, he even dared to knock on Jun's door, but there was no one.

"I guess we're alone for the evening then," Davis announced.

"Looks that way," Catherine replied.

"Great, I can roam around," Veemon said walking over to the couch in the lounge. He hopped up and made himself comfortable.

"Glad I could accommodate you," Davis said sarcastically. He decided to check the kitchen for dinner. He found a note on the fried that read:

Davis, we have gone out for the evening, Jun decided to visit some friends so we have left you some dinner in the microwave. They are only TV dinners, but I had no time. You and Catherine are welcome to order out some desert or something else for dinner if you would prefer. Tell her I am sorry for being so inhospitable but it was your fathers spur of the moment decision.

Davis decided to investigate the microwave to see what exactly was to be for dinner, even after the feast they'd had at Izzy's. he opened the microwave door and found two microwavable lasagnes. He closed the door and left the room. Upon entering the lounge he found that Catherine had also taken a seat. He sat down next to her.

"My mom left a note on the fridge, looks like their gonna be out all night and she apologises for it. She also left some dinner in the microwave so when you get hungry just say so."

"Oh, that was so nice of her, but I think I'm gonna shower before dinner."

"Okay, I'll just be in here if you need me." She nodded then stood up and left the room, "Don't have too much fun without me," she said as she left.

"So, you two seemed awfully close today," Veemon said casually.

"I knew you would say something."

"Of course I would, I gotta enjoy your relationships if I can't have one of my own."

"Hey, I thought we talked about that."

"I know, but until then, tell me more." Davis was now surprisingly shy. This is the first time any person, or anything, had made him this way. Veemon picked up on it very easily, and it was his job to give Davis a hard time about it. But he also wanted to help him. Davis was not the kind to bottle things up inside, especially emotions and Veemon knew that Davis had to talk about this or it would adversely affect him, so he pursued.

"Come on, it's me, I won't tell anyone."

"Well, I saw how nervous she was and took a chance," Davis said reluctantly. "It was like rush hour in my head, and all I could here was 'take her hand' so to make it stop I did, and to my surprise she didn't pull away."

"What are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know, I'll probably do something stupid again and mess this up too."

"Come on Davis, you're being too hard on yourself. Besides, what you said was really deep and intense. You shared something really special with her and I think she liked it."

"But I don't know if I liked it. When I said I'd worked through my feelings, I'm not sure if I have, I lied to Tai yesterday. I don't know why I lied, but I did."

"Well, I'd say it's fairly obvious how you feel."

"Why?"

"Because if you didn't' feel something for her, you wouldn't have been telling yourself to take her hand, and you would have never shared that story with her, so far I'm the only one you've told."

"I suppose."

"It seems to me that you're thinking too much with your head. Look deep in your heart and ask yourself how you feel, and go with your instincts, just like you did today and I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

"Alright, I'll do that."

"Good, and if you need to talk to someone, I'm always available." They went quiet for a while. Davis stood up and was going to go get changed. He was almost out the door, but he turned round and said, "Hey Veemon, thanks buddy, you really are a good friend."

"I'm just returning the favour," Veemon replied. He hopped off the couch and followed him to his room.

Davis walked over to his cupboard and rummaged through for some sleeping shorts and a shirt. He was not worried about the cold weather as the building management had decided to turn the heating systems on early. He came up with a pair of red satin boxers and a plain white shirt.

"These'll do," he announced.

"Uh Davis, maybe you should put something on over those, you aren't alone you know," Veemon said.

"Oh… right." He rummaged around again and polled out an old pair boardshorts (A\n Boardshorts: a common Australia term for a pair of shorts used for swimming in, I have no idea of any international equivalent term, sorry).

"Much better," Veemon said giving a definite nod of his head. Davis threw a shoe at his door and it slammed shut.

"Was that really necessary?" Veemon asked.

"Sure was, I didn't want to go all the way over there," Davis replied humorously He pulled off his shirt and slipped on the white one, then slipped off his shorts and replaced them with the boardshorts.

"How about some dinner?" Davis asked.

"Did you really have to ask," Veemon replied excitedly. They left the room and went to the kitchen.

Davis walked over to the microwave and hit the defrost button. He set it for five minutes and hit start. The light came on and the meal began spinning. He walked over to the counter and dropped back so he was leaning against it. Catherine walked into the room, she was wearing a sleeping shirt and a pair of long tracksuit pants. She looked over at Davis and saw that he was also dressed more conservatively than usual. They both felt exactly the same on the issue, uncomfortable. Davis would usually just walk around in his boxers and Catherine in her sleeping shirt, but with the both of them there, it wasn't going to happen.

"Hey," Davis greeted.

"Hey, whatcha doin'?" she replied, then walked over and leaned next to him.

"Cookin'," Davis replied.

"Yeah, it's finally dinner time," Veemon said excitedly.

"How can you possibly be hungry, we just ate." Catherine said, looking down at Veemon with a shocked expression on her face.

"Uh, I'm a little hungry too," Davis said sheepishly.

"What, you too. I see you guys are just alike."

"Well, what else can you expect from destiny." Davis finished just as the microwave began to beep.

"Yay, it's ready," Veemon said excitedly.

"Yes, if you want cold, uncooked lasagne," Davis replied as he hit the cook button and set it for another five minutes.

"Ahh."

"Don't worry, it won't be long," Catherine consoled the hungry digimon. Davis returned to his position against the counter. As he hit the counter the phone rang.

"You can take that out when it finishes," Davis said to Veemon as he left the room.

He picked up the phone from the coffee table. It was amazing how their phone managed to have any battery at all. From being left in Davis's room for nearly a week, and going from table to couch to table again, it never seemed to see the recharge pad in the kitchen. He hit the answer button and spoke, "Hello."

"Hey Davis." Davis immediately recognised the voice on the other end of the phone, it was Kari.

"Hey Kari, what's up?" as Davis spoke he began walking back to the kitchen

"Nothing, we're just hangin' around at home."

"Same here, actually, we're about to have dinner."

"Dinner! How can you possibly be hungry?" Davis was now back in the kitchen. Catherine was searching through the cupboards for some plates, while Veemon waited anxiously below. Davis pointed to an elevated cupboard in the corner of the room.

"Well, I guess I just am. So why'd you call?"

"No real reason, we were just board."

"It's going around."

"And the whole rift in the digital world is not making this any easier, we can't do anything."

"I know, all the older guys have that exam on Monday, so we can't expect them to do anything tomorrow."

"That's right, but how about we do something."

"Like what, we don't know anything about it."

"No, I mean like in our world."

"Oh, anything in particular?"

"That's another problem, neither T.K. or I could come up with something." They were silent while they thought.

"I'll ask Catherine, hang on," Davis took the phone away from his face. "Hey Catherine, is there anything you wanna do tomorrow?'

"I can't say, I have no idea what's in this area."

"Right, well, I'll think of something." Davis put the phone back to his ear, "Nah, she doesn't know what's around here."

"Maybe we should just meet then."

"Yeah… hang on, I heard about this new place."

"What, what are you talking about?"

"It's an indoor rock climbing centre, how 'bout it?"

"Hey, that sounds great, where is it?"

"I, um, don't know, but I can find out, just meet in the park, as usual."

"Sure, we'll be there."

"Cya tomorrow then."

"Cya." Davis decided that seeing as he was in the vicinity he should put the phone on recharge. He walked over to the pad and placed the phone on it's connector.

"I'll take it that was Kari?" Catherine asked, while she took three plates out of the cupboard.

"Sure was, we're gonna go indoor rock climbing tomorrow, to take our minds off this stuff."

/Should I tell him? No, I can't, I don't want to ruin everything for them\ "Sounds great," Catherine replied. She was busy taking the lasagne out of it's wrapping and putting it on the plates she had just found.

"That looks good, but we'd better divide it three ways, I don't want to break Veemon's heart by telling him that mom only left two meals." Veemon was out of the room, he had decided to go and wait at the table, the smell of food was getting to him.

They walked into the dinning room with three plates of warm lasagne.

"Ooh, food, I love food," Veemon babbled.

"I hope there's enough," Davis said.

"Yeah, this should be fine. It turned out the there was quiet a large amount in each packet, so the three of them ended up with just under a full serving. They didn't wait for anything and dug right in.

*******Kamiya Residence*******

Everyone was sitting in the lounge, Mr and Mrs Kamiya had decided to take an early night so the digimon were allowed to roam free throughout the apartment. Tai was laying on one couch, his head just barely upright, and T.K. and Kari were next to each other on the other. Agumon had been sitting quietly on Tai's legs. The two very rarely did things like this, but he was worried for Tai, and Tai was only too happy for the comfort. The pain in Tai's neck was now mostly gone, but the mark remained visible, so he was still concealing it with his jacket. Agumon was very worried for his friend, because he was hungry, and they had appetites of the same size so Tai should also want to eat. Tai was also being very quiet, and was not his usual lively self. As for Patamon and Gatomon, they could be found in there usual positions, Patamon on T.K.'s head and Gatomon on Kari lap. They had not eaten and were just sitting talking quietly.

"So, what did Davis come up with?" T.K. asked.

"He said that there was a new place that had just opened and that we should try it out."

"What kind of place?"

"An indoor rock climbing centre."

"That sounds good, where is it?"

"He forgot, but he says he can find out."

"Typical Davis. As long as we don't end up going around in circles, it should be fun." The hunger finally got to Agumon.

"Hey, how about some dinner," he said optimistically.

"Nah, too tired," Patamon replied.

"Mmm, likewise," Gatomon said drowsily.

"Yeah, we just ate Izzy's," T.K. added.

"Just like Davis and Veemon, I don't know about you sometimes," Kari replied.

"So, how about it Tai, you and me?" Agumon said, looking at his partner. Tai did not move much, he gathered up some energy, "You go ahead, I'm not hungry," he replied as spirited as he could. Agumon was disappointed, but he did not expect him to say yes. As for T.K. and Kari, they were shocked.

"Did you just say no?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, are you feeling okay?" T.K. added.

"Maybe it's nerves, I'm just not hungry," Tai replied.

"Come to think of it you don't seem like you're self," T.K. said.

"Like I said, I'm feeling kinda nervous about this exam," Tai reiterated.

"Don't worry, you'll ace it," T.K. answered.

"Yeah, you've worked too hard to do badly," Kari said.

Agumon jumped off of Tai and onto the floor, "I'm gonna get me some food," he said as he left.

"I'll go with you," Tai said. He mustered some energy, stood up, and walked into the kitchen area.

"So what are you after?" Tai asked. Tai's speech was quiet and he sounded tired.

"Dunno, something low on sugar, it's too late for that."

"Yeah, good thinking, how about a banana?"

"That'll be good." Tai handed one down to him, he peeled it and took a lage bite. Tai went over to the fridge and grabbed the milk. He popped oped the carton and was about to take a mouthful, but reconsidered, remembering the last time Kari saw him do that. He got a glass from the shelf and poured the milk into it.

"Sure you aren't gonna have a coffee?" Agumon asked.

"No, I'm gonna go to bed now, so I don't need the caffeine."

"Right, like the sugar."

"Exactly. Do you want a glass?"

"Sure." Tai reached for a second glass and poured the milk. He handed it down to Agumon. He downed it all at once, and Tai took the glass back. They re-entered the lounge area.

"Hey, we're turning in for the night," Tai said.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Kari said.

"Yeah, I'll be as quiet as I can when I come in,"

"Thanks." Tai and Agumon left the room and went into Tai's bedroom. He dropped his pants and took off his shirt and jacket. He climbed into bed and Agumon hopped up.

"Tai, I'm worried about you."

"What, I'm fine. I told you it's just nerves."

"Come on, you really expect me to believe that. You weren't nervous when we went in against Peidmon, so I don't think a maths exam is going to scare you."

"Fine, it's not the exam, but I really feel fine, I'm just a little tired."

"Oh really, then let me see your neck." Tai sat up a bit and Agumon moved over. The spot on his neck where the spine had gone in was a pale red, but the size had gotten a bit smaller. Agumon pocked it softly with one of his claws, Tai drew back.

"Fine huh."

"Come on Agumon, it's nothing, I must have hit my neck when I fell."

"Tai I was there, I saw that thing go into your neck, I saw you scream out in pain and I saw you almost paralysed on the floor. Don't lie to me," Agumon had taken a definite stern tone. Tai looked ashamed, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what to say, I don't know what it was."

"That's fine, just please don't lie to me," Agumon had returned to his usual friendly tone.

"All I know is everyone has there own problems, this is mine. Besides we have a maths exam."

"Fine, but I want you to make a deal with me. If that mark is still there, and you don't feel one hundred percent after this exam, you're going to tell someone. And if anything weird happens, you'll tell someone, regardless of the exam."

"Okay, I promise. Now how about we get some rest?"

"Sure." Tai lay back down, and Agumon crawled under the covers. They were not as lucky as the people in Davis' building, as their superintendent refused to put the heating on until it was 'winter'. So for a while digimon and humans were partnering up and sharing their beds. Tai again did not mind as he needed the comfort.

It was not long until T.K. walked in. he quietly shut the door behind him. Patamon flew over to T.K.'s bed.

"It's okay, I'm not asleep yet," Tai said softly.

"Alright, well I won't be long." T.K. changed into his sleeping gear and climbed into his bed. T.K. was lucky, as Patamon was a lot smaller than Agumon and subsequently took up a lot less room.

"Don't you wish they'd turn on the heating," T.K. said softly.

"Mmm, it's kinda cold," Tai replied.

"You sound smashed, you okay?" (A\N: More Aussie slang, Smashed: how you feel the day after a 'night out')

"Yeah, I'm just really tired for some reason."

"Okay, I won't keep you awake any longer."

"It's okay, I don't mind talking for a while."

"Nah, I'm actually kinda tired myself."

"Alright, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Sure, night Tai."

"Night."

T.K. woke suddenly. He slowly opened his eyes, there was darkness all around him. He looked over to the clock radio on Tai's desk, it was one thirty am. Patamon was sound asleep, and Agumon was snoring, but Tai was still. It seemed odd to T.K. for some reason, but he soon shook the feeling. He quietly slipped out of bed and creeped over to the door. He gently opened it and left the room. He pulled it so that it was almost closed. He went into the kitchen and over to the fridge. Out of no where there was a flash of light, T.K. was startled and jumped round so he was facing the lounge area. Then a crack of thunder came, T.K. let out a small sigh of relief. He turned back to the fridge and opened the door. He got the milk and poured himself a half glass, that's all that was left. He took a large mouthful and swallowed. T.K. was a little uneasy, he never woke up in the middle of the night. Like Tai, it usually took a semi trailer crashing to wake him involuntarily. He drank the last of his milk and decided to return to the room, it was rather cold.

He opened the door slowly and found Tai was tossing and turning rapidly. He was also moaning softly. Agumon had evacuated and was now sleeping on the floor, covered with a spare blanket. T.K. crept quietly to his bed and got in. Patamon was still sleeping soundly, so T.K. moved smoothly and slowly. Tai was still tossing, more violently now, and T.K. was getting worried. /Maybe I should wake him? No, he'd probably ask why I woke him at this hour.\ T.K. rolled over and put his head down. Tai's moaning got loader. /I can't leave him like that, what would Kari say, he sounds like he's in pain.\ T.K. sat up and pulled the covers away so he could get out, when Tai suddenly just stopped. T.K. sat still, just in case he started again, but he did not. T.K. got back under the covers and drifted back to sleep.

T.K. woke again, but this time he knew it was morning. Through his eyelids he could see it was light, and could here Tai's voice, "Come on Agumon, before anybody sees you down there, " Agumon jumped up, but T.K. had opened his eyes.

"No, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?" he said as he sat up.

"T.K.!" Tai said.

"Yeah, what's going on?" he asked, making it sound like he didn't know.

"Well, I rolled out of bed sometime last night," Agumon explained.

"Yeah, I didn't want him to be embarrassed," Tai added.

"Oh, I see. Here I was thinking it was the wild tossing and turning you were doing in your sleep that scared him out?" T.K. said half smugly. Neither Tai or Agumon knew what to say, but Tai spoke first, "What makes you say that?"

"I saw it happen, I woke up late last night and decided to have some milk. I left the room and when I came back you were throwing yourself around the bed and moaning, and I saw Agumon on the floor next to you. So how about you tell me what's going on, because that's not the behaviour of someone who was 'really tired' the night before?"

"I don't know if I should," Tai said.

"Come on Tai, at least be honest with him," Agumon insisted.

"Alright," Tai pulled the covers away from his neck and sat up, "This is what's going on," he said.

"What?" T.K. asked, he didn't see anything. Tai pointed to the spot on his neck. It was now mostly gone, and you wouldn't even notice it unless someone showed it to you.

"What is that from?" T.K. asked.

"Yesterday when we went into the digital world, something happened. When Izzy and Davis left me on watch, I didn't fall over because I tripped."

"Well, what happened."

"I'm not sure, I was hearing voices, calling my name from the bottom of the cliff, I got up to take a closer look and something hit my neck. The screaming they heard, it was legit, I was in so much pain. It was like a burning all over my body, but extremely concentrated in my neck. I really don't know what it was." Tai's voice was quiet, he didn't want anyone to hear.

"Weren't you going to tell us?"

"No, everyone has enough problems, I didn't even think it was related to this rift thing, until Izzy said there was a concentration around my area."

"So you lied to us."

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I had to."

"Why, what could possibly make you lie?"

"Everything. All the older guys can't help, except Izzy. But we all have a maths exam, the most important one, and they don't need to be worrying about me."

"But Izzy could still help, I mean he hardly has to study."

"But he has enough to research for the time being, and I didn't tell you guys because Kari would only worry, and Catherine would have been totally freaked. I really don't want to put her off the digital world, for Davis's sake and her own."

"I suppose you're right, but what if something happens to you?"

"Agumon made me promise that if anything strange happens I would tell someone, and then after the exam tomorrow, I'd tell you all. But until then you can't tell anyone, you too Patamon. Got it?"

"Alright, I won't tell anyone," T.K. replied.

"How did you know I was listening?" Patamon asked while coming out from under T.K.'s covers.

"I didn't, you just told me," Tai replied.

"Ah, and I fell for it. Okay I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you guys, I wouldn't ask if I didn't need you to, I know it's a big secret to keep."

"But it felt good to tell someone, didn't it?" Agumon said from the floor.

"Yeah, I suppose it did, but you don't have to sound so smart," Tai joked.

"I'll try not to make it a habit," Agumon replied sarcastically.

"Well, there's no sense in worrying about this now, how about some breakfast?" Tai said, changing the mood in the room.

"Sure," Agumon and Patamon replied, but T.K. said nothing.

"Come on T.K., lighten up. Let's just eat breakfast, you can go out and enjoy yourself and when you get home this evening I'll still be here and you can worry tomorrow when we can do something about it."

"Yeah, you have a point. Let's go.

They entered the kitchen, but Kari was not there, neither were Tai's parents. Tai looked over to the clock on the wall, it was ten thirty.

"I guess they left," Tai said.

"Yeah, I'll go check if Kari is in the shower," T.K. said. He walked out of the room and found the bathroom door closed, he could hear water running. He returned to the kitchen. Tai was cracking a few eggs into a large bowl.

"Hey Tai, Kari's in the shower, I'm gonna let Agumon and Patamon out."

"Sure thing." Tai began rummaging through one of the kitchen drawers. He pulled out an egg beater and placed it in the bowl. He began turning the handle wildly, but he made no mess. T.K. walked back into the room, Patamon and Agumon in tow, they sat down in the lounge. T.K. grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He flicked over to the weather. It was expected to be sunny in the morning, but snow by the evening with the possibility of another storm,

Kari walked in not long after. She walked into the kitchen are, while Gatomon went into the lounge, she hopped up onto the empty couch and curled up.

"Hey, you're making omelettes, what's the occasion?" Kari asked.

"Breakfast," Tai replied. T.K. heard Kari's voice from the lounge and got up. He walked right over to her and kissed her on the cheek, "Morning," he said.

"Hey, you're up too," she replied.

"Yeah, just looked at the weather though. They say fine in the morning, with the snow later this afternoon."

"Oh, that's alright," Kari replied.

"Hey, hand me the milk please," Tai asked. Kari opened the fridge, but there was none there.

"Sorry, we're out," she said.

"Yeah, that was me last night."

"Don't worry about it," Tai replied.

"Emergency supply?" Kari asked.

"Yup. We always have a carton in there for emergencies like this, it's long life so it can stay in there for a while," Tai explained. Kari dug right to the back, she slid open a small compartment and there it was. She handed it to Tai. He poured about half of it into the mixture, then gave it back. This time Kari put it on the door. Tai then reached over for the pan and turned on the stove.

Tai was a master chef when it came to omelettes, but he didn't make them often. He made them with grace and elegance, like an art, and he did this at quite a pace. In no time at all the six of them were enjoying a large, delicious omelette. They devoured them quickly, but in a civilised manner. After they had eaten, T.K. and Tai went to get dressed, while Kari cleaned up. T.K. wore his shoes with the best grip, a t-shirt and some shorts. He even took the offensive gym sock to the wash basket in the bathroom. He grabbed his hat and readied himself to leave.

They both left the room and returned to the kitchen.

"Hey Patamon, we're going out for the day, but you're gonna have to stay here with Tai," T.K. said.

"Alright, I suppose it's better than hiding in a bag or something all day."

"Yeah, that goes for me too," Gatomon replied.

"Thanks, we'll see you then," Kari said she opened, and walked out of, the door.

"Take it easy Tai," T.K. said as he left, he shut the door behind him.

*******Motomiya Residence*******

"Bye mom, we'll be back tonight," Davis said as he left the room.

"Bye honey, don't forget you're curfew," Mrs Motomiya replied. Davis and Catherine left the apartment. Veemon was with them, he had also snuck out of the house while no one was looking. They walked to the elevator and hit the ground floor button. Davis's curfew was never really a problem, seeing as it was one a.m. He was wearing a sleeveless vest, a pair of long pants, and a black jacket with red panels similar to his digital world one (A\N It's featured near the end of the season, he wears it all the time). Catherine wore the most suitable clothes she could find. She was wearing full length pants, a sleaved top, and a warm jumper.

They reached the streets and they were crowded as usual. They were already late, and were going to stop by the Kamiya's apartment and leave Veemon there, he didn't want to be by himself at home, plus he would have to hide somewhere. This was just the safer alternative, they knew that Tai's parents would be out so that he could study in peace. They were walking at a rapid pace, and the people didn't really mind letting them through, Veemon was a little out of place. One person had actually stopped them and asked what he was. Davis had to think quick, but he could only come up with him being a prototype robotic pet. The man insisted that he order one so Davis gave him a fake phone number. They rushed through and eventually made it to Tai's building. They ran into the elevator and hit the eighth floor button. Catherine held the elevator while Davis went to drop Veemon off.

Davis knocked on the door and tried to open it. Sure enough it opened and Davis rushed inside, Veemon wasn't far behind him. Tai was still in the lounge and was surprised to see Davis.

"Davis, what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be going out with T.K. and Kari?"

"Yeah, but everyone is at home and we can't take Veemon with. But then I remembered that you would be home alone so I was hoping he could stay here today, so he's not alone and doesn't get found."

"I don't really have a choice."

"Sorry."

"Nah, I'm just kidding, he's always welcome here. Now go, you're already late."

"Thanks Tai, I owe you one." Davis turned round and went straight for the door.

"Don't worry, I stopped counting ages ago," Tai shouted as Davis left. Davis ran back to the elevator and they went straight down to the street.

See, extra long, but for the inane chatter you'll have to look at the end of the next chapter.

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