Kizuna comes out today so I thought I'd push through with this chapter quickly! I hope you guys enjoy it!

oOo

"What's even… the plan… when we get Guilmon to Kai's place?" Tk asked between breaths, panting desperately for air as he shoved all his weight into pushing the Guilmon suitcase, Takato on the other side pulling.

"I didn't… think that… far." Takato responded, stopping for a moment to wipe his forehead, leaning on the bag. It was so much more humid on the island, and it made the entire ordeal even more sticky and unpleasant. "Hide in my room, I guess?" The sun beat down on the pair, and involuntarily - exhausted from both pushing the bag and the special kind of tired one gets from being in an airplane for too long - both of their eyelids began to droop.

"Should we take a break?" TK asked, caving into the exhaustion that had wormed its way into his person. Takato gave a wearing nod, helping to put the bag into the shade of a nearby tree, the pair leaning up against the bark.

"I used to have a partner." TK said softly, staring up at the sky. Takato had reached over and unzipped the suitcase a bit, enough that Guilmon could poke his head out and get some fresh air. He couldn't recall if he had told Takato about Patamon before, but suddenly his chest felt so heavy from the distance between him and his partner. The desire to talk about it to someone was like a stone in his throat. How he missed the others. Takato just nodded at TK's words.

"What happened?" He asked, and TK worked his jaw for a moment, waiting for his thoughts and words to settle onto his tongue.

"I lost him. Or he lost me. Back when we were together, dealing with digimon was different." He tried to explain. "But after we finished dealing with them, in order to keep the balance of the world, the way to them was sealed." TK clenched and unclenched his hands.

Takato closed his eyes, trying to picture behind his eyelids a world without Guilmon. Even though they had only been together for a few months, it felt like part of him was now kept inside of Guilmon. To lose Guilmon would mean to have that piece of him gone forever. Takato moved his hand over and covered TK's shaking fist, trying to provide comfort.

Slowly, he felt himself relax, in the hot summer sun, melancholy rising in his chest, and by the time he realized he was falling asleep Takato was too exhausted to want to do anything about it.

oOo

The soft tones of a shamisen drifted through the air as TK woke up. The house instantly reminded him of Cody, or maybe of Rika's home. Traditional style with paper wall panels and dark wood. He shifted under the layers of the blanket that covered him, trying to dispel the heavy cloud of sleep that hung over him. Looking around the small room he could see Takato slumped down asleep, his hair a mess and a small amount of drool coming out of his mouth. Both of their bags were tucked neatly off to the side of the room, and someone had been considerate enough to take off their shoes.

He should have been alarmed to wake up in a strange place, but TK just couldn't find it in himself to feel threatened or afraid. It was clear that whoever had brought them here was kind and thoughtful, and nothing about the situation rose any alarm bells. He even checked in his pocket, happy to find his digivice right where he had left him.

"Hey, Takato." TK leaned over and gently shook Takato's shoulder, the boy emitting a small groan. Rubbing his eyes Takato sat up, looking around curiously. "Do you know where we are?"

"Oh, I think this is Kai's house. Oh geez its been so long since I was last here." Takato let his gaze wander around, doing the same surveyal of their situation that TK just had. "Oh, oh no!" Takato stood up suddenly, and TK felt the rest of sleep leave him, suddenly on edge at whatever it was that had spooked Takato. "Where's the Guilmon bag?"

TK glanced around the room again, shocked that he had let himself forget about easily the most important cargo they had.

"Oh dear…" Takato said, walking over to one of the panels that was open. The scent of an ocean breeze wafted in, the view of the beach so close to the house they were in. Walking up the sand was the dark tan figure of Takato's cousin, and trailing behind him, stopping every few steps to step and smell something was…

"Guilmon." TK breathed, alarm bells ringing in his head. Takato took off down the beach in an instant, and TK hurried behind him, although he wasn't sure what good rushing would do. There wasn't exactly hope for damage control.

"Kai, I can explain!" Takato started, but Kai interrupted him.

"Takato, I didn't know Digimon were real! This is awesome!" He exclaimed, and Takato was clearly taken aback. TK found himself in a similar state of surprise. If everyone was that obliging when it came to Digimon the world would be so much simpler.

"Wait, you know about Digimon?" TK asked, reeling a little.

"Duh, who doesn't know about Digimon? You know, besides my grandpa." He said and Takato looked about ready to pass out. They four of them walked back up from the beach, and now TK could get an appreciation for the small house from the outside. Simple and traditional looking, TK wouldn't mind having a house like this some day. The beach in such close proximity, away from other people, letting the sound of waves lull you to sleep every night…

"Interesting looking dog you have there." Kai's grandpa spoke up as they rounded the corner to the backyard. He sat on the back porch, and didn't pause in his shamisen playing.

"It's not a dog, grandpa, it's a Digimon!" Kai said it with such exasperation TK had to wonder how often this argument had risen since TK and Kai had arrived.

"Looks like a dog to me." His grandpa persisted. Calumon chose then to enter the scene, gliding through the air to land on TK's golden hair.

"Well what was that, a flying dog?" KAi asked, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm. His grandpa looked at Calumon for a second before simply turning his head the other direction. Takato and TK couldn't help the small laugh that bubbled up and escaped through their mouths.

oOo

The morning brought with it a beautiful sunrise and a calm breakfast on the beach, watching the waves lazily lap the shore. Pink and yellow and orange tones mixing in with the cool blue of the ocean. Already the day had taken on a gentle and relaxed tone - even Guilmon was surprisingly lethargic, laying out and taking in the sun in such a way that TK couldn't help but to compare him to an actual lizard.

TK let the shore waves lap at his feet as he walked back and forth along the edge of water and sand, eyes scanning for shells or sand dollars he could add to his sandcastle. The calm of the day seemed to have worked its' way even into his tense muscles and stressed nerves. He hadn't been so sure about tagging along on this trip, but now that he was here TK thought that maybe it was exactly what he had needed.

The past few weeks, months, however long it had been, had begun weighing heavily on TK. the longer he went without finding the other digidestined the more he was worried that he was, for some reason, the only one sent to this time or world or whatever it was. Like home but through a funhouse mirror. But someone had triggered his digivices' location program the other day, so he had to believe they were here. And on the beach, with a gentle breeze blowing through his hair, TK suddenly felt refreshed and knew that once he returned home he would be ready to take up the search once again. For all he knew the others were just as lost and uncertain as he was.

A scream pierced through the salt air.

All relaxation was gone in a moment, TK instantly on high alert. From up further on the shore TK saw Guilmon jolt up, and he had been around the digimon enough by now that he knew his eyes must be those thin, scary slits, the red form of the digimon sweeping his snout every which way as he tried to locate the source of the noise. Whatever Guilmon had caught a whiff of, it couldn't have been good, because his figure turned predatory and he let out a low growl, loud enough that TK could hear from where he was, slowly stalking in the direction of the ocean.

Out on the water was a small boat with a simple motor, a girl the only occupant on it. It was coming towards the shore at a high speed, the water behind it rough, pumping up the sea spray in a cloud that hung in the air after her. Suddenly a giant, slick, serpentine head came out of the water and let out a loud shriek, exposing rows upong rows of sharp teeth. It snapped at her boat, missing it by only a few fet.

"We have to help her!" Takato exclaimed, and Kai was already beginning to push one of his families fishing boats into the ocean. TK hurried over to help shove it out into the water, all four of them hopping, Kai staying back for only a second to give it one last firm push away from the dock. The engine started, choking only once before it rumbled to life. Ahead of them, the boat the girl was it exploded into splinters, and the girl disappeared into the waves.

It felt like the water was closing over TK's own head as memories flashed behind his eyes. Back to when Odaiba was under attack and all he had was Joe. And then suddenly, as he had was the water pushing at him from all sides. The feeling of water flooding into TK's lungs and through his nose, his hands and feet flapping and kicking uselessly on what seemed to be nothing, those things hadn't been fast to leave him. Almost without even thinking, TK leapt off the boat. Kai leapt off at the same time, and the two of them swam in the direction where the girl had disappeared, desperately searching for some proof of where she was, that she hadn't been completely swallowed by the waves.

There was a spray of water and loud sounds as Guilmon fought whatever digimon that had been - A Tylomon perhaps - but TK didn't let himself get too distracted. Instead he followed Kai's lead, diving under the water to try and find a trace of the girl.

Splashing came from TK's left and his head turned sharply to see pale hands and brown hair before they dipped under the water again. After their first adventure had come to a close, Joe had been determined to teach TK how to swim, and he tried to summon all he had learned in that time to the forefront of his mind, pushing through the water and reaching below the waves, managing to grab what felt like an arm.

"Kai!" He called. "I need help!" The boy was at his side faster than TK had any hope to ever swim in the water, and with their combined efforts they got her head above the water, and with Kai's help were back to the side of the boat in a few powerful strokes. Takato leaned down and helped to bring the girl up, gently laying her down on the seats as if she was made of porcelain. The second that Kai had swung himself back onto the boat he rushed to her side, and while TK was no expert he assumed Kai knew what he was doing as he made movements to try and make sure she was breathing.

The water had transformed from chaotic to eerily calm, and Takato anxiously looked over the edge, trying to discern if the dark shadows below were friend or foe.

"Guilmon?" He asked hesitantly.

"Takato-mon!" Guilmon called as his head broke through the water, waving cheerfully. Takato waved with equal amounts of cheer, tears on his face already beginning to dry.

The boat was back at the dock as quick as possible, and Kai carried the girl piggy back to the house with a swiftness reminiscent of Tai or Sora. Up the small hill they disappeared into the house, Takato and TK lagging after them. She was laid down on the back porch, where the sun wouldn't shine directly on her but hopefully was still warm enough that it would help her dry off. Kai quickly explained that he was going to go and find him grandpa before taking off further into the island, leaving Takato, Guilmon, and TK to watch the girl.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Takato asked softly. He damp girl was sticking to her face, and there were deep bags under her eyes. Whatever she'd been through, it looked like it had taken its toll on her.

"She'll be okay." TK responded with confidence that wasn't entirely his. "Is this hers?" He gestured to the brown bag that was lying in the sun, waterlogged and sad looking. Takato asked. TK stepped forward and began to take things out of the bag and lay them out in the sun to dry.

"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Takato asked anxiously, and TK paused.

"I mean, it probably is, but what if one of these things is really important to her? I don't want it to be ruined." He argued, and slowly Takato nodded his head, helping him take out the items.

TK reached in and felt his eyebrows raise as they came in contact with something hard. When he pulled out his hand he found a laptop encased in a waterproof bag, clearly put in with care. Slowly, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Bark!" A V pet looked back at him.

oOo

"This is stupid! Why did Henry had to leave with Terriermon?" Suzie complained, crossing her arms in frustration as she stared at her computer. A V pet barked back at her happily, but she just frowned as it incorrectly solved a math problem. "Not even Daddy's home yet." She pouted.

"Ruff!"

"Okay, fine, I'll feed you." She muttered.

oOo

"Hello?" A man with fluffy brown hair picked up his phone lazily, eyes scanning over a computer in front of him. He wasn't as quick to translate the number as his friend, but it was better than nothing. Static was his only reply from the phone and he leaned forward, ready to hang it up, before a deep, double layered voice came from the other side.

"I… Need… You…" The man's eyes widened and the phone nearly slipped out of his hands, which seemed to spasm with his shock before he held it close, pressed it against his face desperately as if through will power alone he could force himself to the other side. He had managed stranger things before.

"Is that you?! It can't be! How are you talking to me? What do you need me for?" But his questions went unanswered as the line went dead. He stood there, numb, in his apartment for several minutes, eyes blankly looking at the screen in front of him.

oOo

Let me know what you think! - Review give me motivation. Thank you for reading!

"Omnimon?" Yamaki whispered, replying to the voice that had echoed through the phone, resonating with his memories. A ghost from his past rising again to haunt him. The line was dead, and there was no reply. No hope of the Digimon on the other end hearing him.