Time never seemed to move so slowly. Davis felt like he was living his entire life in that one moment. He expected to see his life flash before his eyes, like all those people in the movies he had seen. Instead, all he could see was Kari's reflection as she started running towards him. The reflection was marred when his hands shot into the pool.

At first, everything was fine. Even though the sound of sizzling was just beginning, Davis felt nothing. Luckily, his gloves were what were sizzling at that moment. Davis wondered if perhaps that would be enough. Unfortunately, he couldn't see into the pool, and it was tough to move quickly when your hands were fighting water.

Then, he felt it. When he first felt it, it was like his hands had fallen asleep. Both his hands were tingling like he had fallen asleep on them. For a split second, Davis' lips were curled into a smile. He was finally doing something TK hadn't done. If he weren't so determined to find Gatomon's egg as soon as possible, he would have turned around and gloated to the young Takaishi.

In the time it took a thought to move, the tingling changed into a painful burning feeling. Davis remembered feeling like this when he had touched the stove while Mommy was on the phone. He remembered calling her that when he was that age- about five, he thought. When she heard him scream, she dropped the phone and ran into the kitchen, where he was bawling his eyes out and holding his wounded finger. Davis had asked her to kiss it all better, but she used some bandages to help. He didn't mind.

The burning feeling grew stronger, and Davis still couldn't feel Gatomon's egg. Never had he felt something this painful. By now, he had started screaming, but he was so focused that he could barely hear himself. He realized something was tugging on his right arm, but he easily ignored it. Whoever it was, they weren't strong enough to pull him away. Davis took a millisecond of his time to guess it was Kari. It must have been the first time the boy had ever ignored Kari.

Davis thought he felt something with the fingers of his left hand. He wondered if he had any fingers left, but he quickly stopped thinking about that. If he thought about it, he might have backed down. It was too late to back down, and he definitely didn't want to try this a second time. As quickly as he could, he clasped the object he felt with both hands. He wasn't sure if he succeeded or not. At that moment, he couldn't feel his hands. He could see some vague outlines of them, so he knew they were still there. He remembered hearing in school that there were three kinds of burns, and that the third kind was the one you couldn't feel. He must have reached that point. Despite how slowly everything seemed to be going, it had actually only been a few seconds. This was definitely some strong stuff, Davis thought.

It was now or never, he told himself. Whatever was in his hands would have to come out now, or else he wouldn't have any hands left to pull it out. Using all the strength he had left, he pulled with all his might, causing himself and the person tugging on his arm (he found that he had guessed right) to fall on their backs. Davis saw Kari screaming in slow motion, and saw TK trying to pull her from the spraying acid that Davis had accidentally splashed. Good old TK, protecting Kari like he promised. The acid splashed mostly on Davis, which he barely felt due to the shock to his system from his earlier feat. The rest hit the ground where Kari was moments before, while some droplets hit TK on his left arm and leg. Luckily, they weren't any worse than what happens with touching a hot stove for a second. He'd be okay.

As blackness overtook Davis, he couldn't help but smile. The last thing he saw before the pain overwhelmed him was a large, white egg falling into the brush behind Ken and the others. His reverse soccer pass hadn't quite hit his mark, but it was pretty close, he thought with satisfaction. It didn't matter if he hit or missed; what mattered was that Gatomon was safe, and Kari was going to live. He had done it.

It was the first test in his life that he passed with flying colors.

****

"Davis! Davis!!" cried Kari from where TK had dragged her. She ran over to where Davis' still body lay. TK and the others did the same, and all had the same looks on their face- horror and dismay. TK touched the boy's smoldering jacket. Instantly he swore and pulled his hand away quickly as he was burned.

"Get his jacket off!" TK ordered quickly. Veemon complied, and easily he tore the jacket off his partner's body. The digimon easily ignored the pain that the burning fluid caused him, and proceeded to get his shirt, covered in the same liquid, off the motionless boy as quickly as possible. When this was done, he was about to roll Davis over, but stopped when he saw what was hidden underneath the boy's chest.

"My...god..." said Ken softly when he saw what Veemon saw. Nobody else was at the right spot to see this, luckily. Ken looked up at them and shook his head. "Don't turn him over."

"Davis, get up!" yelled Kari, shaking the boy by his free shoulder. "Davis!!"

Ken looked to the others, but Cody and Yolei didn't look like they would be any help. They were having trouble keeping themselves under control after seeing such a grisly scene. Ken looked at TK, and the other boy nodded.

"Go get Gatomon's egg," TK ordered Kari and the other two. Cody and Yolei immediately obeyed, but Kari protested.

"But-"

"Kari, please," the blonde insisted. He looked down at Davis, then at her again. She did the same, and slowly she accepted his suggestion. She stood up and walked over to where the other two were, and they were quickly joined by all the digimon except Veemon. Once they were out of sight Ken and Veemon turned Davis' body over, revealing the horrible wounds lining his torso, the lower half of his arms, and what used to be his hands. At this point, all that was left were two bone-white masses of flesh in the vague shape of a hand. How much was bone and how much was flesh couldn't be easily determined.

"Oh man..." muttered TK as he tried not to vomit. Veemon just stared at the body, his eyes full of pain and grief. Ken managed to suppress the feelings inside him, and calmly lay his tilted head on Davis' chest. The other two remained completely silent.

"I hear something," said Ken finally, "but it's very weak." At that moment, Davis' eyes snapped open, and he looked up at the three faces surrounding him. He breathed slowly and in sporadic bursts, but other than that he seemed deceptively calm.

"Davis..." Veemon managed to say.

The goggled boy looked up at his digimon partner, and smiled. "Is Gatomon..."

"Her egg is free," Ken answered. "You did it, Davis."

Davis smiled weakly. "Guess I won't get a chance to celebrate."

"Don't say that!" said TK forcefully. "You're going to be fine!"

The wounded digidestined tried to look at his hands, but the strain of doing so wasn't worth it. He just accepted it on faith that it looked bad. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt now." Davis' breathing stuttered momentarily, and anyone who saw him could tell he was having difficulty keeping his breathing constant. He wasn't going to last much longer.

Davis looked straight at TK, and said seriously, "T...P..."

"Close enough," he answered with a forced smile. Davis smiled as well.

"Looks like Kari finally picked one of us," he said softly. "Take care of her." TK couldn't answer, so all he did was nod sadly. Davis' eyes started to close, and as his breathing slowed to nothing, he managed to say "Bye...Ka...ri..."

Veemon's eyes widened as shock was replaced with alarm. "Da-vis!!" The digimon fell on his friend and cried into his chest. "Da-vis, come back!!"

"No..." said TK as he started to cry also. Ken shut his eyes as he grew teary-eyed as well, but he had the strength to get up and leave the grim scene. Slowly he walked over to where the others were supposedly looking for Gatomon. He found them, waiting quietly in a group down the path that had lead them here. When the others saw him, they looked at him hopefully.

Ken looked straight at Kari, and slowly shook his head. Seeing Kari's resultant expression broke down the last barriers in Ken's heart, and he started crying as well. Yolei did the same, and the two held each other as they wept. Finally, even the resilient Cody broke down, and the digimon weren't far behind.

****

The light slowly replaced the darkness. It was a bright light. A very bright light. A painfully bright light.

"Aghh..." groaned Davis. The boy sat up quickly so as to get the white light out of his face. Remembering what had happened moments earlier, he quickly looked down at his hands. He was surprised to find them intact, and colored normally. Whatever pain was there before wasn't there now.

Welcome back, said the familiar voice that had guided Davis the whole time. Davis realized where he was, and looked up towards the darkness where the voice seemed to echo from. Davis remained in the area designated for him. Well done.

"What am I doing here?" the boy asked. "I should be...well, I don't know. I don't feel dead."

How would you know what death feels like?

Davis shrugged. "I don't know. I was kinda hoping I wouldn't have to listen to you though." The voice laughed warmly. Davis wondered if this was indeed the same guy from before.

I'm just here to tell you that you succeeded far beyond what I expected from you. Heh...Gennai was right all along. You are a worthy child.

Davis sighed. "I'm happy to know that. But if I'm dead...what good does it do?"

Don't be so quick to assume, Davis, said the voice as the spotlight around the boy widened to encompass a much wider area. The entire environment around them seemed to shift, becoming a vast plain of green grass much like what Ken saw in his vision. In the darkened skies above, Davis saw the last thing he expected to see- a draconian serpent surrounded by clouds and chains.

"Azulongmon?!!" he exclaimed. The monstrous digimon laughed at Davis' surprise.

I guess I'm a better actor than I thought, he said in his booming voice. I must apologize to you for how I treated you during our time together.

Davis was still blinking in surprise. "I'm just glad you didn't fight me like I wanted." Again the digital spirit laughed.

It was necessary to hide my identity from you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have believed that this was real.

The digidestined looked at the digimon quizzically. "What?"

Azulongmon seemed to smile. You'll see. He took a deep breath, and blew a stream of billowy white clouds down at Davis. It wasn't an attack, so much as...something much less threatening. Wake up...

Davis started to feel light-headed, though he wasn't sure why. "What's...happening? Hey, wait!"

Wake...up... *Flash*

Davis awoke with a start, and was instantly blinded by the morning sun. The boy looked around, totally confused and barely conscious. He wiped his eyes free of all the gunk that had accumulated during the night. Eventually he realized what that meant if he could do that. He looked down at his two hands, and as before they were totally normal.

Don't tell me... that was all a dream. Davis groaned and fell back on his pillow. I need to stop watching scary movies or something. He stared up at the ceiling, and quietly got his bearings. He had to be sure he wasn't dreaming. Of course, if his dream had caused him so much pain that he had "died", how could he tell if he was still sleeping?

"Davis..." whined the other occupant of the bed. Davis looked over at Demiveemon, who judging by his awkward position was still asleep. The digimon seemed to be dreaming about something rather disturbing, since his face was filled with a painful expression. Davis sat up and watched this for a little while.

I wonder what he's dreaming about, mused Davis. Deciding not to wake him, the boy quietly got out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. When he had washed up to his satisfaction, he walked out to the living room and turned on the TV and his video game console.

"Davis, what're you doing?!" yelled Jun as she walked out of the kitchen with some toast.

"What?" he asked indignantly. "Whatever it is I didn't do it!"

"Don't you have a game today?" she asked. "Don't tell me you slept in!"

Davis remembered that today was the real Saturday (it was his third Saturday in a row), and slammed the ground with his fist. "Oh man!" Davis grabbed his bag at the base of the couch (where he had left it last week), and ran over Jun on his way out the door. "Out of my way, sis!"

She groaned as she picked herself up. That's what you get for disturbing my beauty sleep at three in the morning, dear brother.

****

Davis ran as fast as he could from his building to the playing field, trampling over several older ladies and nearly getting ran over by one or two cars. Unfortunately, his effort was for naught. By the time he reached the field, everyone had already left. Not a soul was left on the field.

"Aww, geez..." he muttered as he caught his breath at the field fence. "This just isn't my day, and it hasn't even started yet." When the boy had relaxed sufficiently, he decided to not waste the trip and went to a nearby fast food place for some early lunch. He had enough for a combination meal, so he treated himself to a sizeable lunch. When he was satisfied, he started walking home.

Man...I just can't get over that dream. It was so real...and painful. I'm surprised I didn't die for real. ::shiver:: I'm glad it was just a dream. That means I still have a chance with Kari. Davis saw an empty can up ahead and spontaneously started kicking it around like a soccer ball. He weaved it in and out as he walked down the sidewalk, and generally fooled around. After doing this for several minutes, he punted the can down the concrete walkway towards what he knew to be a park bench that the guys often hung out at. He watched it slide to a halt as it the feet of someone sitting there. Davis cringed.

"Sorry about that..." he looked up all the way, and saw the person he had hit do the same. When their eyes met, Kari gasped happily and charged at Davis, nearly bowling him over with a hug that he wasn't prepared for. For a second he thought she was trying to choke the life out of him, and consequently pleaded for his life as best he could. Gatomon giggled from where Kari had left her on the table, trying to maintain her guise as a doll.

"Davis!" she said as she cried into his shoulder.

Davis grew worried. Oh no...this isn't another dream, is it? Davis uneasily held Kari, and as he did so he noticed the other digidestined children and their digimon (posing as stuffed animals) coming from the vending machines further into the park. They saw what was happening, and ran over to join them.

"Davis!" cheered Ken, nearly hugging him as well. "You're safe!"

"Well...yeah, of course I am," he said uneasily as Kari finally let him go. "What makes you think I wouldn't be?"

They all looked at each other, then TK spoke. "Don't you remember, Davis? Don't you remember what happened?"

Davis blinked. "What're you talking about?"

"That dream we all had," he continued.

"What?!"

"Davis, we all had the same dream!" Yolei said. "We found out when we met at the game today. When you weren't there, we thought you might have...well, you know."

"Why didn't you tell us you were alive?!" said Kari as she tried act angry.

Davis put his hands up defensively. "I'm sorry! How was I supposed to know that we all had the same dream?" Davis looked at Ken. "You mean you dreamt about Yolei and your brother?"

Yolei looked at the purple-haired boy, who blushed and looked down nervously. "Uh...yes."

"And you dreamed about the Digimon Emperor?" Davis said toYolei. The girl nodded. Davis looked at Cody and TK. "And you really had your dreams too..."

TK nodded. "It all happened...at least, in our minds."

"How do you know about all that Davis?" Cody asked. "Were you watching us?"

Davis nodded slowly. "Yeah...before I met up with you guys, I had to see everything that you guys saw. The voice...I mean Azulongmon wanted me to see what made you guys who you are, so I could be a better leader."

"Azulongmon?! He was behind all this?" exclaimed TK.

"Why would he do something like that?" Ken said. "I thought he was proud of us."

"I think it was just me he was concerned with the whole time," said Davis. "The only one he thought didn't belong in the group was me, so he pretended to be someone else so that he could test me. Luckily, I think I proved to him that I can be one of the digidestined."

"So you saw...everything?" asked Kari eventually. Davis nodded slowly. He knew what she meant by "everything". In mild disbelief, she asked "...And you still saved me?"

Davis shrugged. "It was only a dream, Kari. It wasn't real."

"It was real enough," she said seriously.

Gatomon managed to get over to the group without drawing attention. "I didn't know you had it in you, Davis. I owe you one."

"Uh...don't worry about it," he replied. Gatomon looked at Kari, waiting for her to say something, but the girl didn't. She looked like she was ashamed of something.

"What's important is that we're all okay," said Upamon happily, "and that bad dream is all done."

Davis yelled. "Oh no, Demiveemon! He's probably worried sick about me!" Davis ran past the others. "I'll see you guys later!" With that, the boy ran as fast as he could the rest of the way home.

TK noticed Kari's discomfort. While the others let their tension out with the sodas they just bought, he lightly touched her shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

Kari looked up at him, but she didn't give him an answer.

*Ring*...*Ring*...

Davis picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi."

"Hi Davis."

"Kari? What's up?"

"...Nothing much. I called because I want to ask you something."

"Really? Okay, shoot."

"...You know when you said you saw everything that happened during the tests?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I...I want to say I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything."

"...I kissed TK."

"I know."

"But it wasn't a normal kiss, Davis. It was a real kiss."

"I know that too."

"And after seeing you die for me...I feel really bad about it. I'm really sorry."

"Kari, you don't have to apologize."

"But, why? Aren't you hurt?"

"*sigh*...of course I am Kari," he said softly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You see? That's why I'm apologizing. I don't want to hurt your feelings."

"Don't worry about it, really."

"[A long pause] Davis, this isn't like you. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just something Azulongmon told me."

"...What'd he tell you?"

"He reminded me that you and TK have been through more together than I ever will go through with you."

"You two talked about me and TK?"

"We talked about you guys, a lot. Basically, he showed me why you would always be closer to TK than me."

"..."

"Kari?"

"Davis...I'm sorry. It must have been painful for him to tell you that. I know how much you like me."

Davis felt his sadness once more, but he took a moment to force it back down. When he could speak again, he simply said "Yeah."

This seemed to make Kari feel guilty once again. "Davis, no matter what happens from now on...I just want you to know that I care for you too. Nothing can change that. Not Azulongmon, not fate, not even TK."

Davis smiled slightly as he started to feel comforted once again. "...Thanks, Kari," said the boy, his voice heavy with emotion. "Hearing that makes the whole thing worthwhile." At hearing those words, Kari seemed to feel the same comfort on the other end of the phone.

"I'm glad you're okay with this. I'm sure TK'll be glad too."

"Um…you know I'm not going to give up on you and me just because of what happened," warned Davis.

Kari giggled. "I know. I don't expect you to change. In fact, I hope you never change."

Davis smiled, and happened to glance up at the time. "I'd better go. I'll see ya later Kari."

"…Alright Davis. Good night, and sweet dreams," she said softly.

"…That shouldn't be a problem now," he replied. He wondered if Kari was blushing on the other side of the phone. Sadly, he would never know.

*click*

---THE END---

Seth's Thoughts: I'm not going to complain or praise myself, or anything of that nature. I just want to thank everyone who read this story. I only hope to offer you more as my skill develops. ::bows::