Rediscovering Destiny

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

Okay, I updated this at 2:30 today, but the link would only show up on my computer. So I'm trying things out again. Hopefully they work out. To those of you getting story alerts for this, I'm sorry if I'm bombarding you with them--I just want to get this chapter up!

I never realized there are so many physics fans out there. And they're all reading this story. I'll try to tie some more of that kind of stuff in here, once I understand it for myself. To shadow's song, yes the title's are based off the song "On the Way Down" by Ryan Cabrera.Please review everyone!

Book 1 - "Rediscovering"

Chapter 11: The Way You Loved Me

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Okay, so it probably wasn't the best of times. Agumon strained his eyes through the dark, trying to see everything around him. Being located here, in this dark, cramped, mossy abyss wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. It had been weeks, months, maybe even years since he and the others had last seen the light of day and the freedom they'd once enjoyed. And he'd started to believe he'd never witness the phenomenon of light and goodness again.

While he couldn't see the others around him, he knew they were present from the constant breathing and moving in a pointless attempt to get situated in a somewhat comfortable position. Yep, it was pointless alright. All of it was. He'd long since given up believing Taichi and the others would jump in and rescue them, bringing everything back to the way it had been.

Agumon didn't know what to think anymore. He and the other chosen digimon had compared stories from the minute they realized there was no escaping from this prison and their partners apparently didn't give a whim for them anymore. Each story was shockingly similar. All were minding their own business, participating in the normal comings and goings of the digital world, when it happened.

First a bolt of electricity. It was no ordinary bolt; ordinary lightning strikes don't hit your heart, plummet into your soul and elicit your greatest fears and terrors right before your eyes. The pain was numbing. You couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do much of anything.

But you didn't die.

It was meant to be barbarically torturous. Pain and distress were the symptoms. You wanted nothing more to die, to end your life from the worst experiences you'd ever had, but death escaped you.

Then came the vanishing. One moment you were surrounded by light and goodness; you were full of energy and full of life; you could do anything you set your mind to and overcome any obstacle life threw your way; you were in your element, surrounded by those closest to you and your best friends; you were free and immune to any threat of darkness.

But that isn't the case anymore. Now you are fighting claustrophobia and the urge to scream; you want out but can't find the exit; you crave some sort of light or beam to enlighten anything around you; you can feel the hope and optimism float out with every breath you take; you are trapped in a hole of darkness that is swallowing your very being…and you just don't care anymore.

And the darkness. It was captivatingly destructive. It eats you up, condemning you to a life full of loneliness, fear and distress. There was nothing more, nothing less.

It is definitely the worst of times.

Agumon didn't need to ask the others if they were in the same boat he was. It was simply inferred. He didn't know what had caused this imprisonment. It was like all good had simply disappeared from the face of the digital world in a series of fleeting seconds. There were seven of the other chosen digimon already present when he had arrived. Three more joined them, making up the whole crew.

Except one. . .

By process of elimination, it was obvious to see that Wormon had somehow escaped the clutches of darkness and remained out there somewhere, hopefully putting up a good fight. That was one of the few hopes Agumon had managed to carry with him over the period he and the others had been here. He let out a long sigh. . .

"…I can hear one of you breathing. Stop."

The idea of a guard seemed a bit contradictory to Agumon. As it was pitch black and there seemed to be invisible barriers chaining the digimon inside it, there really was no need for a guard. In Agumon's eyes, putting Deputymon as a guard was another way to keep a worthless flunky occupied.

If only there was…what's going on?

Agumon found himself looking at Deputymon. Actually looking at him. He squinted, trying to adjust to the sudden sepia-tone light that had somehow found its way into the depths of darkness. The power source, whatever it was, was coming from the far corner. He glanced over at the corner, and the others around him were doing the same thing. It was obvious where the source was coming from. But just as soon as it had appeared, it was gone, ridding the cage of one of its occupants. . .

"JUNK CRUNCHER!"

Sweat poured down her face, mixing with the steady rainfall. Sora ducked down as she leapt over a fallen tree branch and narrowly missed the attack the Garbagemon threw her direction. She brushed fallen strands of hair out of her eyes as she glanced at her surroundings. Takeru was out in the lead, obviously in the best physical condition. Yamato straggled behind—doesn't surprise me—but was still close enough to the other two.

"We have to find a way to lose them," she panted out.

"Thank you Captain Obvious,"

Takeru turned his head briefly to look at the two. "Can you at least control your bickering until we find safe ground?"

"Well this rate," Yamato paused, dodging a flying pellet, "it's not looking like we're going to find anywhere safe."

Sora fought back the urge to snicker. "Ever the pessimist, huh Yamato?"

"More like the realist."

"What part of stop arguing don't you two understand?"

Takeru hadn't fallen into the category of leader over the past few years, but he wasn't going to let his brother's and Sora's arguing hinder an escape. Teamwork was the last thing on his mind; it hadn't kept them together so what were the odds it would help them now. It's a dog eat dog world out there; every man for himself.

With a burst of speed, pushed on by his want to continue his life until at least the age of eighteen and the realization that the Garbagemon—albeit slow individuals—were keeping up quite well with the three of them, Takeru took off sprinting.

What's he playing at? Yamato was well aware he wasn't in the greatest shape; there was no question about it. But he was keeping a decent pace, as was Sora. He'd better not think about leaving us behind. We're not going to get out of this place alive again if some of us die today.

"Takeru, get back here!" Sora apparently had the same idea. "We have to stick together!"

Rain poured down harder, and visibility was a thing of the past. Knowing that they were right and grudgingly admitting it, Takeru slowed down a bit. But it was like the blind leading the blind. While this heavy downpour continued to hinder the three chosen, it was at least proving to be a blind spot for their pursuers, as well.

"Are they still following us?"

"I don't know," Yamato wheezed out. "But this is getting ridiculous. We have to find somewhere to hide."

"…which is obviously what we've been trying to do this whole time," Sora couldn't help but say. If looks could kill, the digidestined would have been defeated there on the spot.

"Again with the whole fighting thing," Takeru cautioned.

Yamato didn't want to put up with this anymore. "Look, let's just find someplace and then we can yell and scream all we want to." He started to walk, stumbling over a branch as he staggered off in an unknown direction towards an unknown destination.

The other two, not wanting to be left behind, tried to follow the eldest of the group. "Ouch!"

"Ouch!"

"Jeez you two!"

Takeru faced his brother. He didn't like the cold; he didn't like the rain; he didn't like the constant bickering; and he most assuredly did not like being stuck here with the two people in whose company he found himself in. So they were greeted with his anger. "Well if some idiot wouldn't have stopped in the freaking middle of nowhere, we wouldn't be in this predicament!"

"Do you really think I stopped just so I'd get crashed into by two people, who I might add are not the lightest when put together? There's something down here; it's like a hole or something built into this hill. I think it's a house of some sort."

"Friend or foe?" Sora posed the question on each mind.

Takeru could hear the sounds of confused Garbagemon in the distance. "I don't think we really have the time to debate that question." It's amazing what teamwork will do for you; hard to believe I'm thinking it about these two.

"I think there's only one thing we can do." Yamato squinted under the continuous rain, looking back and listening for the tandem of Garbagemon in the distance. "We're going to have to chance it. If worse comes to worse, we'll have to make an escape. But if we don't go in, we're going to have to keep running. Our footprints will be left visible once we leave this grassy area, and though they're not too smart, I bet the Garbagemon could put two and two together. If we pass up this opportunity, we may miss a temporary sanctuary."

I'd forgotten how reasonable he could be. Sora wouldn't admit what she just thought to anyone, not that any of the others—should they find them—would listen to her. Yes, Yamato could be a brash, cold-hearted jerk at times, but the Yamato she had fallen in love with years back was a strong individual, always caring and looking out for the ones around him rather than himself.

"What are we waiting for then?"

"Ouch,"

Three times. Takeru couldn't help it that he was tall. It seemed this underground house, or whatever kind of place it was, was meant for someone much shorter. His brother didn't seem to be coping much better, but Sora wasn't having much of a dilemma. It was dark in here, but refreshingly lighter and drier that outside. Through the occasional, sublime windows that had been, it appeared, hastily crafted, he could still see the rain hit the ground though he could no longer hear it.

It was hard to imagine what this place was used for, exactly. From the looks of things, this place had been recklessly abandoned and left deserted. Sora found a candle and some matches lying discarded on a makeshift table, lighting one and illuminating the apparent meeting room. There were tree stumps, probably brought in for seats. Blankets of some type of wool were littered in one corner and clumped up in a large ball. Must be the only way whoever was staying here could keep warm.

All in all it was a rather homey, welcoming room. Sora touched one of the walls, backing away as she realized there was a blood smear. "Apparently whoever was here last put up a struggle and didn't want to leave."

Yamato nodded while walking one more time around the whole room. "Looks that way. I'd say it's probably safe to assume there's no one here, and the former inhabitants happened to be on "our side"."

"Do you think we'll be safe here for the night?" It was odd; Takeru still hadn't comprehended the fact he was working with the two individuals before him. His only brother, one of the people who had abandoned him for his own shot of fame and the closest person to a sister, who had left him alone for her own ambiguous reasons, now were his allies. While a bit odd and hard to believe, there was something refreshing about it as well, like a small token of the old days when they never worried about being enemies of each other.

"I'm not sure," Sora was the first to speak up. "It seems like finding this shelter was a little bit too good to be true. Maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid, as we ran across our last shelter with no problem, but maybe it has something to do with the fact we were just pursed by a bunch of digimon who were throwing trash at us."

"I think we need a guard of some sort."

Takeru raised an eyebrow. "You want one of us to be like a human bait or something? Probably not one of your more ingenious ideas, Yamato."

The animosity was back. It wasn't as bitter as the times before, but the stench of it was still very evident in the air. "That would be a bit foolish, don't you think? I think one of us should stay guard in here, preferably by the door."

"I take it I'm not the only one who sensed something peculiar about it, then." Sora gestured in the direction of the dirt door, frowning at the sight. "I can see it perfectly well from here, but it was like we almost completely missed it from the outside. And, it looks like…what's that?"

The two males, uncertain as to what her cry was about, stepped forward protectively. Now, it seemed like they were stepping back into their old ways, wanting to make sure Sora was safe even though they knew she could take care of herself. That's just what friends do. The irony was not lost on Yamato as he warily approached the door.

"Sora, what did you just. . ."

She shushed him, walking up to the door and pulling out what looked to be a hinge that held the door together. "I don't believe it." The hinge, once pulled out, was revealed to be quite different. Sora opened it up all the way and a tube-like, telescope mechanism appeared. Placing her eye on the whole, the redhead let out a gasp. "I was right; it's rather crude and thrown together, but it's a periscope that shows what's going on outside. This is how we're going to stand guard tonight."

"It seems like whoever was here before us had the same idea."

Takeru looked down at his watch or, rather, the thing that used to be his watch. "Apparently this thing wasn't waterproof. Do either of you know what time it is?" His two companions shook their heads, and the youngest there knew better than to look outside to figure out what time of day it was. "So…what do we do now? We're sitting ducks here."

"We wait," Yamato abruptly turned to face them. "That's all we can do. Pull up a blanket and get some rest. I have a feeling we're going to be in for a lot in the next few days. May as well be well rested."

"What about you?" Sora asked, uncertain if he was just saying it so they wouldn't have to talk with one another or if he was generally concerned for everyone's well being.

"I'm going to take the first watch."

Five hours later. . .

Sitting around and waiting had never appealed to Sora. She classified herself an insomniac, unable to sleep or even pretend to rest up when everyone else around her could shut and eyelid and be off to dreamland. Takeru fit that category. With a smile on her face, though she didn't know it, she remembered their earlier adventures and the tiny snoring the boy was prone to do. I guess he's grown out of it. There's so much I don't know about him anymore. Or Yamato.

While his brother was in what seemed to be a fitful slumber—as he had awoken nearly every half hour—the older blond sat before the periscope, eye trained in the direction of the outdoors and mind probably off somewhere that wasn't in this small safe house. And wasn't around her.

How did everything get so screwed up?

Just watching him, actually looking and observing him and hoping he didn't know reminded Sora of the reasons she had fallen for him in the first place. There was no denying he was gorgeous; even those who cursed his music vouched for that fact. But she had been drawn to something more; something she couldn't explain; something that had, in fact, developed from their time spent in the uncertainty of their first digital adventure.

The air around them was suddenly filled with the soft hum of a harmonica, slipping the lone female into a stronger state of nostalgia and longing. Her ears perked at the song. There was something peacefully familiar about it. As the rather melancholy melody quietly floated through the room, she put her finger on it. . .

Flashback

Standing watch was not anyone's favorite job. But it was a routine job of being there, as normal to the schedule as looking for food, cleaning up the temporary camp and answering Takeru's and Hikari's endless stream of incredibly difficult questions. Sora didn't mind doing it; she certainly didn't like it, though.

It was particularly a burden on nights like these. The late shift was the graveyard one, the one that seemed to be as infinite as the darkness of night. Silence surrounded whoever was on guard, and it seemed almost too peaceful, like something was going to sneak out and spoil this apparent perfectly calm night.

Sora shivered as the wind nipped at her skin. Piyomon moved closer to her, and the two huddled as they sat out the night guard. Guarding from anything like this was a tough job for someone so young. She had a feeling that by the time they escaped from this world and had tied up all loose ends for good, the chosen children would be wiser and more mature than even older teenagers and adults. Their childhood had been inadvertently ripped away. Sure, this adventure had had its high moments, but the lows, at times, could pull one to depression. It was like all innocence on the part of the older children had vanished once they'd been sucked even deeper into this battle. They'd seen things even those five times their age had never encountered and with each of these battles and struggles to survive, had lost a bit of their youthfulness and optimism. Sometimes they viewed the world through cynical colored glasses and wondered why they even put up a fight.

But there were other times, times Sora liked to reflect on when she was dutifully playing guard, that made everything more worthwhile. There was always a chance they could defeat whichever digimon they encountered next. Light and darkness weren't always equally proportioned in this or any world. Both existed concurrently, though; there was always a bit of light left out there no matter how dark a situation was. Something stuck her about that comment, like it was something she should remember because it would affect her later on in life, but she pushed it to the back of her mind for the time being.

She glanced to the ground off to her right where the remnants of her group were sleeping, hopefully peacefully. Sora tried not to laugh as Taichi and Agumon traded off snores. With all the work they did and all the effort the two put in leading this little band every day, Sora knew they deserved a well-earned sleep as often as they could get. Hikari and Gatomon were on his right side. The cat digimon possessed very strange sleeping patterns. The redhead couldn't figure out if it was just a cat thing or if it had something to do with her time spent on Myotismon's side. Takeru and Patamon slept on the other side, adopting the snoring habit they had each recently developed.

Sora smiled to herself, thinking about how the group as a whole had grown to be like a family. They all had their odd quirks and idiosyncrasies, but everyone brought a little something different to the team and gave their own unique input to every situation. Too bad the whole team isn't all together anymore. But Gatmon's right; we will be. Someday. . .

"Sora," Piyomon's ears perked up, and she turned to the western part of camp. "Did you hear that?"

The bearer of love faced the direction her partner was gesturing to, listening closely. At first, there was nothing to be heard. There was a light breeze around them that night, but it wasn't causing any significant noise around them.

And then she heard it.

It was a light rustling sound, like there was someone or something there. Analyzing the situation and waiting to hear the sound a few more times, Sora realized it couldn't be something too big. If we were back in our world, I'd brush it off as some small animal. But here, even some of the smallest creatures can be feared.

The sound continued in an inconsistent pattern. Piyomon tugged at her partner's sleeve. "Should we alert the others?"

"No," the girl slowly answered, "I think we'll be okay to investigate this one on our own. It doesn't sound like anyone or anything big is causing the noise. But we can turn around immediately if things are worse than they seem, and we can get the others."

Her partner wasn't particularly convinced it was the right thing to do, but Sora's gut told her this wasn't something to be afraid of. Quietly, almost hesitantly, they approached the brush on the western edge of camp. Their footsteps were lighter than feathers, and they tiptoed around the clump of small trees and grasses, approaching the creature from behind.

Sora pulled back a large branch, hiding herself in the darkness but still able to reveal the creature. Or, rather, creatures. She let out a gasp. . .

"You never answered my question."

"What's there to say?"

"You're dancing around the topic again."

"Even if there was something to say. . ."

"…it would serve you best to tell me, Yamato. I'm not going to tell anyone anything you say. Your secrets are safe with me."

He looked at her, sitting across from him by the fire, the moonlight shining brightly around them. Their partners had taken up Sora's guard station, quietly conversing together and leaving the two humans to their own matters.

Yamato didn't know what to think of the girl before him. He usually had a good idea of the others' thoughts of him, but she was a bit of a mystery. The two of them really never talked before this adventure. He found her to be a bit of a tomboy, really close to Taichi, but, as he learned early on in this journey, still was a kind-hearted girl within. She never tolerated his crap; in some odd way that his eleven-year old self didn't understand, he liked that.

As the time in the digital world went on, he found her a casual acquaintance, one of the easier people to talk to whenever he felt like putting in his two cents. Sora was one of the most reasonable there, and Yamato found himself generally agreeing with her whenever decisions had to be made. But most importantly to him, she didn't judge him because of his past and present faults, which kind of surprised him. It was like she picked up on something more that no one else could see about him, even himself. And I thought I was the only silent observer.

But no matter how much he had come to respect the girl sitting across from him, he couldn't open up to her. Gabumon, his closest friend here—besides his brother—didn't even know some of the things within Yamato's heart. They were private battles, stemmed from things in his past and a feeling of unworthiness in his life. Yamato knew he'd have to eventually overcome these obstacles. Truth be told, he wanted to get over the barriers and rejoin the group. He just couldn't; there was no tangible reason why. It just wasn't his time yet. And his heart told him that although Sora probably could relate to some of his fears, she wouldn't be the one to make them go away.

"So. . ."

Yamato glanced at the girl. "What?"

"Why did you leave the group? That's not too much to ask, is it?"

"I told you all when I left. I need to discover the meaning of friendship. And it's something I need to do on my own. I appreciated all your suggestions on splitting the group up, but I just know I have to do this alone."

"But surely there's something more to this. It might do you some good to open up to someone instead of keeping things to yourself."

She was persuasive. For someone of such a young age, she'd developed quite the questioning skills and convincing arguments. "I just. . ."

"…you can't or you won't."

Her comment was rewarded with a small smile. "It's complicated, Sora. I know you're only trying to help, but I just can't explain it."

"I understand," Her eyes were full of reassurance. "But if you ever do want to talk about something like this, Yamato, I'm here to listen. I don't know what all you want to sort out, but I can tell you for sure that I can relate," she slowly stated, remembering her own struggles with her relationship with her mother and wondering if his were along the same lines. "But I'm not going to force you to do something it you don't want to. It's not fair or polite."

Yamato nodded his head in gratitude, and silence overtook the two. Sora wished he would tell her more to fill in the holes, but she wasn't going to prod in his business. That was one of the things she had come to accept about Yamato over the course of this adventure. While they'd never really talked or anything while in school, they'd started to here. He just kept surprising her.

Sora could see how fiercely loyal he was to his brother and Gabumon, and, though she knew he probably didn't realize it yet, the rest of the team. It seemed like he was always looking out for them, even now when he was usually far away. Look at the way he took on Puppetmon.

His anger bursts didn't classify him as a mean, violent person, at least in her mind. She knew there was more to the problem than he let out. Perhaps he had some problems with his family just as she had. From the way he behaved at times, it certainly seemed that way. Although she wanted to help and wanted him to come back to the rest of the team, Sora could understand his reasoning for leaving. Let's just hope he decides to come back permanently very soon.

They sat together in a comfortable silence, seemingly coming to a silent conclusion on things. He was a bit more calm and comforted that she actually had discovered him. He hadn't meant for anyone to do so, but the more he thought about it, the better he felt. It was surprisingly a bit helpful talking to someone, even if the responses back and forth were as ambiguous as the attack of the next Dark Master. She was happy he chose to confide in her, even if it was only a little bit. One of these days he would come back and realize the meaning of friendship was in him all along. And Sora had a feeling the two of them would have a strong friendship in the future.

"Do you ever. . ." he paused, blue eyes scrutinizing her, "do you ever feel like you're standing in a center of a really crowded room? Everyone around you is talking at the top of their lungs, and no one can ever hear anything you say? Or maybe no one cares?"

She hadn't expected him to say anything, especially along those lines. "I have plenty of times." It began to dawn on her. "Is that how you feel sometimes?" He shifted in his seat, and Sora could tell it wasn't a subject he really wanted to discuss. Her mother often commented about men refusing to discuss their feelings, settling instead for a tougher exterior that concealed the things they should have been talking about.

"Just forget I said anything." He stood to leave. "I'd better get going. We've probably been here long enough. Please don't tell anyone I was here, especially Taichi or Takeru."

She took a long breath out, biting her lip in thought. "Alright," she quietly relented, wondering if it was really a good idea. "Be careful, Yamato. And remember…we do care about you. Come back soon." She wondered if she should've added the last part.

He had paused at the last statement. Slowly he turned to face her. "Take care of Takeru. I know he can hold his own, but just watch out for him, Sora. And all the others, as well."

"Of course. Is that why you came back tonight, Yamato?"

It wasn't supposed to be like this. While he was glad she had discovered him checking up on everyone, now he was a bit irritated. Did all girls ask these kinds of questions?

"This isn't the first time I've come back. I just want to make sure you guys are alright. Just…please don't tell anyone. I don't want them to know. I didn't want anyone to know."

She took the hint. "I promise I won't tell anyone. Your secrets are safe with me," she sincerely added.

He nodded again in thanks, motioning for Gabumon to come follow him. "Bye, Sora, Piyomon."

"Bye," the two watched the blond and his partner walk off into the distance. "Be careful, Yamato."

Sora resumed her watch post, knowing Taichi would soon be up to take over so she could get some sleep. Her ears perked up again, and she was heartened to hear a sound coming from the direction Yamato was in. It was a rather lonely melody played on his harmonica yet while it was a bit sad, it was also, in her opinion, rather optimistic. I have a feeling this isn't the last we'll be seeing of him. . .

End Flashback

"How'd we get to be so screwed up?"

Yamato glanced up, confused to see Sora standing by and addressing him. "Excuse me,"

She sat down next to him. "Why are we all playing these games? We used to be so close and had such unbreakable bonds. Now…we just let distance and stupid stuff divide us and look at what we've become."

"Why are you saying this all of a sudden? I'll admit I'm happy you're talking to me again, but I'm a little bit uncertain as to why."

In her time lost in her memories, the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into alignment. They were broken as a team once before. Yamato had left on his own, wanting to find himself on his own terms. Mimi and Jyou remained behind, as well. Sora often wondered if things could ever be right between the eight.

Her mind moved to things they'd managed to accomplish together upon being reunited, and how they even adopted four new members into their little "club" of digidestined and made things right after saving Ken from the dark spore. No matter what the situation brought, no matter how dark, hopeless or unchangeable something appeared, they had always conquered the obstacle. Together. Why was this any different?

"We made some mistakes, Yamato. But didn't we overcome all our old problems when we were here the first time? Didn't we manage to get through all these things together? How is this situation any different? Sure it's a completely different scenario, and it'll probably take along time for our relationship with each other to ever rival the one we did have, but why can't we forgive and forget? Why can't we at least try? Let's not start over; let's just have a new beginning. That goes for all of us and all our severed relationships. We've made individual mistakes that have hurt each other, but what better time to realize everyone made these mistakes. Why not try everything again?"

"Can I talk now?" He had patiently waited, wanting to cut in a few times, but knew what she was planning to say was important. "It seems kind of simple. Do you really think everyone is going to consent to something like this? Not everyone is going to see things the way you do. Not everyone is so hopeful."

"Including you," she dared to venture into those waters.

He gave a ghost of a smile. "Did I say that? Sor, you can't imagine how much I want us to be the way we were before. But. . ."

"…things aren't going to magically be the way they were, Yamato. I don't want to jump back into your arms and have everything perfect. I know I still love you—I never stopped. But we have to learn about each other all over again. We have to realize what made us fall in love in the start and fight to keep it alive. And we'll have to discover all the things about each other that we missed over the past years. It won't be easy, but I want to give us another shot. Do you?"

"I'd pull you into my arms and kiss you right now, but I know that wouldn't be greeted well," Yamato answered. "I'm willing to give us another go, Sora. You know I love you; I think I've made that pretty clear. But I'm not so sure about the others." He glanced at the sleeping form of his brother. "I don't know if all mends can heal themselves. I know things are going to be difficult. I have a feeling the two of us are going to find this process more trying than we ever thought. "

"We have to try if nothing else. Before we can go back to being lovers, we're going to be friends. Maybe our friendship will show the others it is possible to work things out, that things can be fixed. I'll help you out and be with you all the way. You can count on me and my friendship. I promise. . ."

A glow cut off her words before she could say anything else. The two shielded their eyes from the bright red light, wondering what was going on and if they'd been discovered. The light ceased, and Sora thought she was going to faint.

"Piyomon?"

"Sora?"

The reunion was entirely expected, but Yamato still wasn't prepared for the amount of joy and love between the two. Their light emanated across the room, and Yamato was struck with the same feelings. Maybe things won't be as bad as I thought. Time will tell. . .

Across the room, Takeru had watched things unfold while pretending to be asleep. He rolled his eyes at the sap surrounding him, wondering how they could so readily forgive one another and try to make amends. But while his despair was still the primary feature in his heart, another more foreign emotion was trying to gain its rightful place where it belonged: hope. . .

A/N: Finally done! Finally done! One mended relationship (or at least the beginning stages of it) and more to come! Okay, some notes about the chapter:

1) It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. From A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Pretty good novel, though a bit predicable at times, particularly the end. The opening line, stated above, refers to the differences between England and France during the late 1700's (mainly the years of the French Revolution). A Tale of Two Cities is set in both countries with England representing safety and order and France standing for death and terror.

2) Sora's memory takes place between the time Yamato and Metalgarurumon defeated Puppetmon and "The Crest of Friendship" storyline. Yamato refers to her as a casual acquaintance rather than a friend because at that time he had yet to have his realization in the cave of darkness with Gabumon.

3) Yamato's line: "Do you ever feel. . ." is sort of a paraphrase of Rose's line in Titanic. It just seemed kind of fitting.

4) Some gender psychology from my speech class: men speak in report talk. That is, they are more competitive, more likely to interrupt each other and tend to disregard feelings in conversations. When women tell them about something, they'll get all the facts but usually ignore all emotions. Women are the opposite. They speak in rapport talk, centering on building relationships, addressing feelings and women take their turns when they talk.

5) This chapter was based off the song "Hear Me" by Kelly Clarkson. If lyrics could be included, they would definitely be in this chapter.

6) This chapter marks the start of "Book 1" of this story. Book one is going to focus on, as the title said, the rediscovery of the team unity and individual traits needed to defeat Daemon. "Book 2", the final chapters, will focus on destiny.

Hope you guys liked this chapter. Hopefully Undercover will be up next week, maybe by my birthday. I'd like to say things have settled down, but my school's girls' basketball team qualified for state, and we play on Tuesday night. If we win, we play Thursday night, and we could end up playing in the championship on Saturday. And I've got like six scholarships due on Wednesday, along with a band concert, and I need to write an informative speech about something. Anyone have some ideas? Well, please review and tell me what you thought of things.