Hikari rocked gently back and forth, wavering tan eyes half-closed and filled with obvious concern. In her lap, Chibimon squirmed uncomfortably and looked up at her sadly, not knowing what he could do to cheer up the young girl.

A sullen silence had fallen over the entire group of children and digimon, in fact: each lost in their own thoughts and concerns as they waited with baited breath for any word from those who were absent.

Jyou was naturally the most anxious-looking of the members: the eldest Digidestined was all but pacing back and forth in a futile attempt to relieve his apprehension. He continually fidgeted with his digivice, attempting to get a steady lock on any other digivices in the surrounding area so that he might keep an eye on his friends' actions even from a distance. His glasses kept slipping down his nose, forcing Jyou to keep pausing long enough to nudge them back into place.

His partner's mood was even beginning to affect the normally cheerful Gomamon, and the white seal digimon's attempts to distract Jyou – or any of the others, for that matter – were so far not meeting with a lot of success. The typical wisecracks and puns just didn't seem to be getting through to anyone…

Jun huddled next to Jyou, primarily because the eldest Digidestined wanted to keep an eye on her wounds – the last thing anybody wanted was for the girl's injuries to become infected. The frizzy-haired girl was curled up into a ball, knees pulled up almost to her chest, arms wrapped around the small bundle resting in her lap.

Tsunomon still had yet to stray far from Jun's side, and was currently half-asleep in her lap. The orange In-Training's thick horn rested gently against one of the girl's cheeks, something she oddly appeared to fail to notice. Then again, it was possible that she was also nearly asleep: after all, neither had recovered fully from their nightmarish ordeal… one that wasn't anywhere near finished yet.

Wallace had actually managed to fall asleep, curled up on his side with Gummimon and Kokomon on either side of him. The boy's arms were resting gently beside his partners, and he absently hugged them a little tighter as he stirred briefly in his sleep.

Wizardmon was sitting directly by the stairs to the platform, head bowed, absently turning his staff over in his hands as he continually scanned the group. His gaze tended to drift primarily toward Hikari, and while he appeared lost in thought, the others were certain he was prepared to help protect them should the need arise…

Ken, Takeru, and their respective partners Minomon and Patamon were sitting together, the digimon sleeping in their human's laps. Takeru was gripping the Crest of Friendship tightly in one hand, while the other rested on where the Crest of Hope hung round his neck. Ken gazed at the piece of jewelry for a long moment, before looking up at the blonde's tense face, violet-blue eyes shining with understanding.

"I'm sorry about your brother," he murmured, causing Takeru to look over at him in surprise.

"Wh…what are you talking about?" he sniffled, smiling at the darker-haired boy. "Ma…Matt'll be fine, you'll see! My big brother's a survivor… always has been…"

Takeru blinked back the tears in his wide blue eyes and forced a grin for Ken's benefit, only to see the other boy sigh and turn away. Confused by this, and wondering for a moment if Ken hadn't been convinced by his act, he almost missed it when the newer chosen child mumbled something under his breath.

"…Osamu was a survivor too…"

"…O…samu…?" repeated Takeru, blinking as he turned the unfamiliar name over in his mind.

Ken stiffened, and swung to stare at Takeru with wide, horrified indigo eyes. The stark expression of sorrow on his face combined with the way he had been acting caused a thunderbolt of abrupt understanding and comprehension to explode in the bearer of Hope's mind. For a moment, all the blonde-haired boy could do was stare at Ken, the surprise in his wide sapphire eyes soon transforming into sympathy. Ken winced at the look on Takeru's face and bowed his head, allowing his dark navy bangs to fall over and cast shadows over his pained expression.

"…Ken…" Takeru stared, trailing off as he wondered what he could possibly say.

Words eluded the bearer of Hope, however. The realization that his newfound friend had lost somebody close to him – paired with the fact that Takeru himself was faced with the terrifying possibility of facing the same sort of loss – effectively rendered the youngster mute.

How could he comfort Ken when he was currently praying that he didn't end up in the same situation…?

"…Ken…" he repeated, feeling a need to say something, anything to the other, even if he couldn't soothe the pain the other was undoubtedly feeling.

"………"

Ken avoided the blonde's eyes, absently stroking Minomon's forehead as he gazed at the In-Training sleeping in his lap. The tiny larva digimon stirred at his touch, dark eyes fluttering open slightly.

"…Ken-chan…?" he cooed, gazing up at his partner through sleep-blurred eyes.

Ken glanced down at Minomon and managed a smile, though it was painfully obvious to anyone who could see his face clearly that it was false. However, the little In-Training's mind was still fogged by exhaustion, so the fake expression soothed him back into slumber.

As soon as Minomon's eyes closed again, and he felt the tiny body relax, Ken raised his head slightly to meet Takeru's steady gaze halfway. The boy's dark bangs still covered most of his face, yet his indigo eyes spoke volumes for him in place of his voice.

Before the awkward scene could continue any farther, however, a clatter directly beneath them caused both boys to jerk and stare with wide eyes down towards the entrance of the warehouse. They were not the only ones who started at the commotion: Hikari sprang to her feet, Chibimon still clutched tightly in her arms. Jyou was also on his feet in an instant, Gomamon at his side, and Wizardmon stood at the stairs ready to fire his attack, should the intruders turn out to be unfriendly…

A tense silence, broken only by the sound of the warehouse's doors creaking open. Jyou's onyx eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he strained desperately to make out any clue to the identity of the new arrivals…

"Careful, don't make such a racket!"

"Well, sorry! When's the last time anyone oiled this door's hinges, anyway? How is anyone supposed to turn this into a decent hideout…"

"Quit yapping and get in before someone spots us!"

"Are you sure this is the right place…?"

"Trust me, it's the right spot alright!"

Jyou heaved a mental sigh of relief, feeling as if the huge burden he felt he carried had just been lightened a bit by the mere sound of the familiar voices. Behind him, Hikari squeezed Chibimon a little tighter, and the blue In-Training glanced up at her in concern.

"Hey, Hikari, why are your eyes leaking?" he queried, concerned.

"I'm just happy," assured the girl, smiling down at her companion, before she raised her voice to call out, "Taichi!"

"Hikari!"

A rapidly ascending clatter of footsteps on metal, and soon a crest of wild brown hair rose into view, capped by a pair of goggles. Chibimon almost recoiled from the unexpected sight, yet Hikari seemed oddly overjoyed. The girl dashed forward, the blue In-Training still in her arms, and into the waiting embrace of the strange newcomer. Chibimon squirmed, finding himself caught in the middle of the siblings' reunion.

"Taichi, I'm so glad you're alright!" cried Hikari, burying her face in her brother's chest.

"You too, Hikari…" was all Taichi could think to say, wrapping his arms round her shoulders and pulling her close to him.

Behind the pair, Sora climbed onto the platform, followed closely by Biyomon with Koromon held protectively in her wings. Seeing the two siblings holding each other, the cinnamon-eyed bearer of Love smiled and absently placed one hand over her crest.

Koushirou and Tentomon arrived next, and the child of Knowledge offered a helping hand to the person behind him, pulling a reluctant Miyako up. Jyou instantly noticed the new arrival, yet chose not to make a comment right then, instead merely shaking his head at her appearance.

He did react, however, when Iori climbed up with Armadillomon. Dark eyes widening as they glimpsed first the digivice clutched in the younger boy's hands, then just how close the previously aloof Rookie was standing to the newcomer, Jyou shot an inquiring glance at Sora, who nodded her head in silent affirmation.

Then the blue-haired boy's breath caught in his throat, for the final two members of the new arrivals had climbed into view. Mimi helped Palmon make the last few steps onto the platform, then turned and noticed the child of Honesty and Reliability watching her. She paused, blinked wide caramel eyes, then smiled and brushed a few loose strands of strawberry blonde hair back into place under her pink cowboy hat.

"Hey. Sorry it took us so long to get back here," she offered, along with a placating smile.

Her gaze shifted to the others gathered around them, and the reassurance and apology in her eyes faded to confusion as she noted several unfamiliar faces.

"Uh… How much have we missed…?" she asked uncertainly, blinking.

"Oh, I'd say we've all got a few stories to tell," replied Jyou, readjusting his glasses as he cast a meaningful glance toward where Miyako and Iori were standing.

Noticing and understanding his look, Sora nodded agreement and added, "I think introductions are in order, everybody…"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Taichi agreed, finally loosening his grip on Hikari.

A faint coughing noise caught his attention, and the bearer of Courage looked down to see a pair of huge garnet eyes staring back up at him. The tiny blue digimon they belonged to gasped for precious air, then blinked twice before refocusing his intense gaze on the boy's face.

"Uh…Why don't we start with you, little guy?" offered Taichi.

"Oh, right," and Hikari stepped backward, pulling the In-Training back with her. Supporting the little blue digimon carefully, she began, "This is Chibimon. Gennai sent him to us after you and Yamato left, saying he's partners with one of the lost Chosen Children…"

"Not…yours…?" asked Taichi slowly, just to confirm.

Hikari shook her head, hugging Chibimon a little tighter as she replied sadly, "No, he belongs to another Digidestined that we haven't quite managed to locate yet…"

"Yeah, and we've found a whole bunch, too," chimed in Takeru, waving one arm in Ken and Minomon's direction. "Jyou and I met Ken here when we were trying to find you guys…"

"So we could give Hikari-san her crest," added Wizardmon from where he stood on the edge of the group. "We also came across Jun-san on the way back…"

"Jun-san?" echoed the girl in question, blinking at the title.

"Jun?" Taichi cried at the same time, whirling to stare at the girl.

Jun looked over at him, getting her first real good look at the boy's face since his arrival in the warehouse, and let out a gasp.

"Hey…" she pointed at him with one trembling hand, while hugging Tsunomon in a death grip in her lap, "You're the boy that was with Matt-sama when we were escaping!"

"You're that girl that wouldn't let go of Matt!" shot back Taichi at almost the same moment. Seeing Tsunomon in her arms, the bearer of Courage goggled at her and blurted out, "What are you doing with his partner?"

"What happened to the other kids?" Jun asked urgently, missing Taichi's question. "Did you get them to safety alright?"

"What happened to you?!?" they demanded in almost perfect unison, practically matching each other's worried and confused tones.

The rest of the group just glanced around at each other. Lost and confused expressions graced the faces of every child and digimon present. Finally, Wizardmon stepped between Taichi and Jun and held his hands out as if to separate them, cutting off their volley of unanswered questions.

"I think Sora-san was correct… We need to get this sorted out," he told them, as calmly as he could manage. "One at a time, please…"

An obliging silence fell, as all eyes turned to the cloaked digimon for guidance. Wizardmon resisted the overwhelming urge to sweatdrop at the feeling of so many people paying attention to him, and took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Taichi-san, perhaps you could start us off by explaining how you happen to know this young lady…?" he offered, turning toward the goggle-wearing boy.

Taichi took a deep breath and nodded, bronze eyes flicking briefly to where Takeru was sitting and watching him intently.

"Okay… I guess this all started when Yamato and I decided to try and free some of the hostages…"

* * *

Wavering cobalt pools cracked open, their dull, half-focused gaze shifted from the cracked concrete below to the shadow-wreathed ceiling above as Yamato tilted his head back.

"Save your energy," a female voice ordered from somewhere nearby. The voice sounded used to giving commands, yet something about the tone suggested a genuine concern for the boy rather than the icy cruelty detachment one in his position might expect.

"W-wh…" he struggled to reply, finding his lips refused to shape the words.

"Save your energy," repeated the same voice firmly. A sigh followed, as she murmured, "Trust me, you're going to need it…"

"…Ga…tomon."

Yamato craned his neck slightly toward where he had heard the voice, and was not surprised to see the feline Champion sitting in a cage some distance away. He had known for some time of her presence – ever since he had been first brought in here and suffered through the attentions of Myotismon's guards. After all, she had shouted at them to stop – a command that had fallen on deaf ears.

For a moment, however, he had failed to recognize her voice, drifting as he was between the horrors that of consciousness brought and the sweetness of painless oblivion…

Gritting his teeth as he nonetheless fought to retain awareness for the time being, Yamato shifted as best he could, attempting to turn despite his bonds. Recognizing his primary reason for straining himself in this manner, Gatomon caught the corner of his eye and nodded.

"The kid's alright," she reassured him. "They haven't bothered to touch him…"

Yet was the single, unspoken thought that passed through both minds, even as Yamato allowed his battered body to relax a bit at the feline's simple statement.

The subject of their short conversation was curled up in a shadowy corner of the room, a tightly wrapped bundle of arms and legs. Gatomon could see that the boy's piercing auburn eyes were closed for once: despite the growing hopelessness of their situation the mysterious child was at least managing to get a bit of sleep.

Neither Yamato nor Gatomon had been able to puzzle out the reason for the dark-haired child's being locked in the same prison yet. Myotismon had thankfully failed to lay a single finger on the stranger since throwing him in with them; he lay forgotten in the shadows while the vampire taunted his two seemingly more valuable captives with threats of what their fellow Chosen would face once they fell into his clutches.

Sapphire eyes hardened slightly as a familiar spike of anger coursed through the blonde-haired boy. Maybe the strange child's presence was meant to serve as a reminder of his own little brother. The kid was the same age as Takeru, after all…

However, the surge of rage-fueled energy passed all too quickly, and Yamato let his head fall back down upon his chest as a shallow sigh passed his cracked lips. No matter what Myotismon's game was, there was little the child of Friendship could do about it now. He had screwed up, allowed himself to fall right into the vampire's hands – at this point, all he could do was hang on and hope for even the dimmest chance that his turn might come up again.

From behind the twisted bars of her cage, Gatomon watched in grim silence as the child of Friendship allowed himself to slip back into a semi-coma. As the pain-dimmed sapphire eyes drifted closed, the feline Champion shook her head in disgust. It ached to think that the only way they could survive was to succumb to the pain, accept its presence in their miserable lives, but…

If it were just me, I wouldn't waste a second in finding a way to bust out of here and pay Myotismon back for all of this. But with these kids…

The irony was all too apparent to her: now that Gatomon was no longer being tortured by her captors – at least, no longer in a physical sense – she was able to rest a bit, regain enough strength to try making a break for it. But those beatings had been shifted to Yamato, making it impossible for the child of Friendship to be anything more than a liability. If she ran, there was no way she could take him with her. She dared not leave him alone, knowing full well that if she did manage to escape, Myotismon would take it out on his remaining captives – and Yamato would never survive the punishment the enraged vampire would inflict upon him.

Then there was the other boy, the mysterious child. Gatomon had no doubt that he would also be a target of Myotismon's vengeance should she make a break for it – unless she attempted to sneak him out as well. Again she sighed: trying to get a little kid currently determined to pay his captor back in any way possible was not a task the feline believed she could fulfil successfully.

In truth, the presence of the two human children – as well as all the other hostages Gatomon knew her former master had taken – bound her here more firmly than the walls of her cage ever could.

A frustrated snarl curled her lips, and deep blue eyes seemed to glow faintly in the dim light as Gatomon balled her gloved paws into fists, clenching the bars so tightly that her claws began to dig a bit into the cold metal.

Myotismon would pay. Gatomon would see to it that the haughty vampire died for his sins – even if it meant her own deletion. She would gladly die if only given the chance to glimpse her former commander's fall before her final breath…

* * *

Jun shifted from side to side nervously, fully aware of the fact that Taichi was staring at her again. The bearer of Courage had watched her intently as she related the tale of what exactly had happened, with Tsunomon chiming in to fill in the blanks, especially when it came to the digimon they had encountered. Jun was far less experienced when it came to dealing with digimon, after all, and the little In-Training could give his fellow chosen details she simply couldn't even begin to remember.

A tiny shiver ran down the frizzy-haired girl's back, and she pulled her knees a bit closer to her chest.

Why am I even here? I'm not like the rest of these… Digidestined… I'm not… chosen…

Wavering brown eyes glided from side to side, resting briefly on each pair of partners. Almost all of the other children present had a digimon with them; one even had what appeared to be twins currently fighting for space in his lap. Only five of those present were without partners: Tsunomon, Chibimon, Wizardmon, Miyako, and herself.

A concerned frown twisted Jun's face as thoughts of Yamato pushed back into her mind, brought forward by the thought of poor little Tsunomon. The orange In-Training had strayed from her lap for a while, going over to join the bouncing pink head the others called 'Koromon'. From what she had been able to understand of their conversation, that little rabbit-eared thing was supposed to be the same hulking dinosaur that had helped Taichi and Yamato bust them out of their prison…

Jun shook her head. Shape-changing creatures that were both invading her home and attempting to save it, talk of vampires, chosen children, digivices and crests… It all seemed so strange, so alien. If she hadn't become involved in this, she would have thought they were discussing some sort of video game plot.

And where do I come into all of this? Am I just a bystander, a victim…? Was I not meant to know about all this stuff going on…?

Why am I here…?

Another cold shiver ran through the girl as she huddled into a smaller ball, as if trying to shrink out of sight, to be forgotten, ignored. Certainly the 'Digidestined' did not appear to be paying much mind to her at the moment, as they attempted to sort out their stories and figure out what to do next.

Not that she could blame them for not paying a lot of attention to her. After all, she wasn't one of them. She didn't have a digimon partner to protect her and help in the fight against this… Myotismon.

Her only tie to their group was that she had promised Matt-sama that she would protect his partner and crest… a promise she had somehow managed to keep thanks to the intervention of some of his friends. Beyond that, what role could she play other than that of unfortunate victim – a living reminder of what their enemy had done, splitting up her family and taking everything she knew away…?

Tears began to brim in Jun's eyes, and she buried her face in her arms, biting the inside of her lip as she fought the urge to weep. Her parents were gone, her younger brother was still in that demonic bat's clutches, and there was nothing she could do about it other than plead with those who might be able to make a difference…

Her near-silent struggle to withhold her emotions did not go entirely unnoticed. Miyako shot the older girl a look of concern; she had chosen to sit next to her while the 'chosen' discussed their next move, since neither had any digimon partners. After pushing her slipping glasses back into place with one finger, the purple-haired girl placed a comforting hand on Jun's shoulder, causing the other girl to raise her head just enough to look over at her.

"Hey…What's wrong?" she asked, immediately regretting the words the instant she spoke them. Silently, she berated herself: What's not wrong right now, Miyako? We've both been pulled into something way over our heads. Fighting horrible monsters from another world with nicer monsters…?

"…I-I…" Jun paused, took a deep, shuddering breath, and blinked to clear some of her tears away as she softly declared, "I want a digimon partner too."

"…What?"

Miyako stared at the frizzy-haired girl with widened caramel eyes, not even noticing when her glasses slid down slightly again. Surely she couldn't have heard right…!

"I want a digimon partner of my own," repeated Jun, more clearly and firmly this time. Looking back down at her knees, she continued, "I can't stand thinking about my poor little brother Daisuke, back in that prison… I want to save him, but I can't, 'cause I'm not… chosen…"

Unaware of the fact that her words had attracted the attention of the others, Jun sniffled once, and rubbed her nose with the back of one wrist. She closed her eyes, feeling moisture seep through her eyelashes, and stubbornly wiped her tears away.

"I just want… I wish I could help him, and find my parents, and have everything back the way it was again," she went on miserably. "But I can't do anything…! I'm not… special enough, to be able to help anyone…"

Miyako continued to gape at her open-mouthed, temporarily too stunned to even protest the notion that not being one of the Digidestined meant she was somehow robbed of all real worth. The chosen children looked equally stunned by this frank emotion, as several of the elder members looked at Jun sympathetically.

"She can't think she's worthless just because she doesn't have a digimon, can she?" Wallace asked Sora in a whisper, unconsciously holding his twin In-Trainings a little closer.

Sora just shook her head in dismay and started to get up, intent on going over and sorting Jun out. She was obviously not the only one with this idea, as Jyou, Koushirou and Takeru also moved to stand. However, another member proved to be quicker than all of them.

"Hey, come on Jun, don't be like that!"

Jun stifled a gasp and snapped her head up sharply, staring over at the Digidestined wide-eyed. Taichi shook his head and locked eyes with her, holding her gaze as he stood up and adopted one of his regular, confident stances.

"If it weren't for you, Myotismon would have Tsunomon and the Crest of Friendship right now, and we'd be even worse off! So don't act like you aren't able to make a difference!"

"………" Jun blinked rapidly, then shook her head, saying, "But I couldn't save Matt-sama, or my brother… I can't save anyone…"

"You saved me, Jun," Tsunomon piped up, hopping over to the girl's side. Gazing up at her with soulful bronze eyes, he went on, "That Hawkmon would have deleted me if you hadn't rescued me."

"………"

"I know it hurts that you had to leave Yamato behind like that. Believe me, I know," sighed the orange In-Training. "But I'm afraid it just couldn't be helped. Instead of focusing on what we couldn't do then, we have to try and think of what we can do now…"

Jun sniffled again, but didn't look away from Tsunomon, obviously thinking over his words. Focused as they were on what was playing out before them, nobody else noticed that Taichi was also staring at the digimon of Friendship, his face awash with conflicting emotions.

Finally, Jun glanced away and murmured, "But what can I do? I don't have the power to save my brother or anyone from this… Myotismon…"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

Again Jun's gaze turned toward Taichi, as the bearer of Courage flashed her a determined smile and declared, "Remember what I told you before, okay? I promised that we've gonna rescue everyone, including your little bro and Yamato!"

"You mean it…?" Jun asked, her voice cracking a bit.

"Of course!" and Taichi grinned in his confident manner, winking as he added, "We're the Digidestined! There's nothing we can't do together!"

Jun managed a shaky smile, while Sora, Koushirou, Jyou, Mimi and Takeru exchanged a knowing look.

"Now that's the Taichi I know," commented Mimi softly, smiling in relief at the reappearance of the courageous personality she knew so well.

"All right!" Koromon cheered, bouncing up and down and rejoicing.

Taichi beamed at the sight of his partner recovering from his wounds, even as a slight burst of pain silently twisted within him as he noticed Tsunomon hopping alongside the pink In-Training. The knowledge that he had screwed up so badly and allowed a friend to fall into Myotismon's clutches still rankled deep inside him, but he couldn't let that show right now. He'd wallowed in self-pity for too long, and it was time to try actually doing something to help make up for his mistakes.

This was his true calling, after all. He was supposed to be the leader of the Digidestined, and it was high time he got back to what he did best: defeating evil digimon and fighting to save both worlds.

The eyes of his friends and fellow chosen were all upon him, familiar faces joined by the new recruits they had stumbled across. That was one advantage they had gained right there: they'd come to try and find one lost Digidestined only to discover several. Myotismon was only expecting a single new member who was currently without her digimon, not a team that had just increased by more than half their original number.

"Myotismon had better get ready," declared the child of Courage, clenching a fist in front of him and grinning confidently. "That vampire's about to find himself up against the new and improved Digidestined!"