This story is dedicated to Sim and Costas; the only people I know to share my insatiable love of animé, LOTR and HDM. Thanks for being great friends and allies in my obsession, boys!

Rumpleteasza: Good evening, crazy children. This is my first ever submission to ff dot net; subsequently, if ignored, I may well turn into a recluse.

sad violins

Koushiro: Oh God.

Rumpleteasza: Righto, disclaimer. (misty eyed) My very first disclaimer! I don't own Digimon – if I did, Izzy wouldn't just be sitting over there innocently eating my sherbet dipper.

Koushiro: What?

Rumpleteasza: Also, I wrote this fic about four years ago now, and I hardly knew anything about 02, we hadn't even got halfway through 01 by then. Hence the fact that Daisuke, Yolei and Cody don't exist (that'll teach them, the massive spadgers) and Mimi lives in Japan, not America. I had no idea the crests and tags would be destroyed, which is why they still have them. And a note about Izzy's parents – I wrote this before I knew they died in a car crash – in this fic they abandoned him and died years later of overdose. Bordering on the realms of bad taste there.

Koushiro: Yes, and I hope you're suitably embarrassed.

Rumpleteasza: I embarrass myself every day of my life, sweetheart; in fact I'm doing it now, making conversation with a 2D pre-pubescent scientific genius who, instead of hair, has what appears to be a small surprised privet bush attached to his cranium.

Koushiro: I wonder what it's like to have dignity.

Rumpleteasza: Yes, just imagine…

xxx

AURORA

Mimi's thoughts

It was late. The summer sky was a beautiful shade of peach in the west, fading into turquoise in the east. The air was balmy and clear. The sun had just set, but there were no harsh oranges or reds – only gentle pastels.

I crept up the stairway quietly and padded across the landing to my room. Easing the handle down, I stepped inside my softly lit room and closed the door with a quiet click. Crossing the floor to the bureau, I sat at the tiny cushioned stool and started to brush my hair with long, rhythmic strokes. I stared at my reflection. A pink-haired, brown-eyed face gazed blankly and emotionlessly back.

I realised I'd walked home in a complete daze. What was going on with me lately?

"Get a grip, Mimi," I whispered to my reflection.

No change.

Sighing, I replaced the brush and left the bureau to stand by the window. The view I had from my room overlooked most of Odaiba. I could see the tall apartment block where Tai lived with his sister, Kari. An office tower hid the little flower shop that Sora's mother owned, but I knew it was there. I could see the soccer field and the high school, and the place where Izzy lived with his adoptive parents. The lights of the Ishida residence and the Kido residence twinkled in the distance.

I knew there was something wrong with me. For the last couple of months I'd been walking around in a trance, going through the movements of each day as If I were a machine and not a person. Everything felt empty.

Pulling away from the window, I turned to look around my room. There's one thing at least which hasn't changed in the last six years – my love of the colour pink. It's clichéd, I know, but I am what I am. When I dyed my hair light pink when I was thirteen, I loved it so much that I've kept it like that ever since. My bedroom used to be full of flowery cutesy things, but I felt like being a bit more sophisticated and so now it's just solid blocks of sparkly colour. I love it; it's my hideaway from the world. I've been doing a lot of hiding away lately.

On impulse, I crossed the room to my wardrobe and opened the smallest door on the left-hand side. It only contained one outfit – the outfit I wore when me and the others were sucked into the Digiworld just over six whole years ago. I closed my eyes. It seemed like yesterday. Thinking about it gave me goosebumps.

Slowly, without really knowing what I was doing, I began to get undressed. I took the dark-pink fringed dress off its hanger and stepped into it, zipping it up at the back. I pulled on the gloves and settled the light-pink hat onto my head, tucking in all my hair except two long strands at the front. Of course when I first did this, my hair was brown and not pink. Still, it didn't matter. I took out the shoulder bag and settled it over my arm.

I walked to the mirror. The dress was getting a little small now, but I had a petite frame and it wasn't unwearable. Looking at my reflection I could almost hear our voices that day at camp. Tai kicking up the snow into showers and yelling "Hey, whatsyaname, Izzy! You gotta come out here and see this!" 'Whatsyaname', I ask you. There's no way any of us would ever forget eachother's names now. Matt running after TK and warning "Now TK, be careful!" and TK not taking a blind bit of notice. I saw Joe coming out of the hut, shivering and saying "I was hoping I wouldn't catch a summer cold here, but this is ridiculous!" I could see Sora rubbing her arms and looking out at the snow in bewilderment. I heard my own voice. I sounded so young. "Wow, why didn't I remember to pack my fluffy pink snow-boots?"

The voices died to an echo in my mind. Suddenly all I saw in the mirror was a sixteen-year-old girl wearing a dress too small for her, grabbing desperately for a few long-lost memories and seeming alien to the girl the Digiworld knew all that time ago. Face flaming, I replaced the clothes in the wardrobe and pulled on my top and skirt. Sixteen years old and I'm still dressing up in my old kids' stuff! "Get a grip," I whispered again. "Just get a grip."

At that moment the doorbell clanged loudly, echoing through the house like the voices that were echoing through my mind. I heard it but didn't register. I just stood like a zombie in the middle of the room. It was only when the bell rung for a second time that I shook myself and ran downstairs. I flung the door open to reveal a miniskirted blonde inspecting her nails.

"Mimi, honey! Whassup?" She flounced into the hallway and kissed me continental style on both cheeks. It's her new 'cool' thing, being a European exchange and all.

"Bobbi, hi." I gave her a false bright smile. She didn't notice it was fake. Me and Bobbi are just about the two most popular girls in school, so it's kind of like a rule that we have to be friends, but I know that we aren't really. She'd disappear in a flash if the going got tough. We don't dare to fight or get mad at eachother because we both know that if we do, one of us will stay popular and the other will be dropped completely, banished from the cool crowd. Neither of us is sure which one that would happen to, so neither of us risk it.

"You didn't call me last night!" Bobbi scolded, shaking her nail file at me and looking hurt. I shrugged.

"Sorry. I was busy."

"Yeah, whatever," she said airily, not appearing to care much that I didn't seem very happy. I began to feel a little annoyed with her. "Anyway, I have big news. There's a rave tomorrow night at Chaniko's and that divine DJ from Loveculture is going to be there! I'm gonna knock his eyes out. It'll be totally meticulous."

Just then I snapped. That did it. The stupid 'meticulous' thing did it. 'Meticulous' was the new word meaning 'cool' that the most popular guy in school, Yanji, used once this week. Like sheep, we all followed his example and started using it too, even though it was a stupid word that meant nothing. Suddenly I saw Bobbi for what she was, what I had always known her to be - what I was becoming myself. A vain, superficial trend-follower with no individuality or guts to question the system. Suddenly, being popular felt like a bane on my existence. Suddenly, I couldn't be bothered with the false, pretentious world I had always lived in. I didn't like Bobbi one bit, and couldn't think of one good reason to be friends with her.

"Whatever, Bobbi," I said coldly. "I think I'll pass. Look, I have stuff to do. I'd like you to leave now, if you don't mind."

Bobbi almost dropped the compact mirror she was pouting into. Her mouth fell open. "What is with you?" she snapped, glaring at me in disgust. "You've been a total space cadet for, like, weeks now! Are you totally, like, turning into a nerd or what?"

That stung. I have never, ever had that label before. But it didn't make me stop.

"I don't care what you think, Roberta. If you want call me a nerd, just to make your pathetic self feel better, then you go and do that. But before I throw you outta my house, I'd like to take my chance to tell you that I think you're a dumb, vain, superficial sheep and a total jerk." I pulled open the door. "Now move it."

Her mouth really was open now. She glared at me, jaw dropped, hand on a hip that was cocked to one side. "You are totally going down, Mimi Tachikawa," she hissed before slamming out of the house, banging the door behind her.

"Bobbi, drop dead and roll your measly corpse down an anthill!" I yelled furiously at the closed door. Grabbing a glass bowl full of pot-pourri from the hall table, I hurled it blindly, hearing but not seeing it smash.

Suddenly my anger dissolved as quickly as it had come. I felt faint. I slid down to the floor, drained of colour and my hands to my face. What have I done? I thought in shock. I've just thrown away my popularity! What the hell was I thinking? Numb, I dragged myself to my feet and stumbled up the stairs back to my room, closing the door behind me and pressing my back against it. I closed my eyes. My heart was hammering. Without thinking, I ran to my desk and yanked open the bottom drawer. Scrabbling through the junk inside, my fingers closed around a cool metal box. I grabbed it and fumbled with the catch. My hands were shaking.

The lid snapped open. I became still for a minute, gazing at what was inside. The tag and crest. My tag and crest. The Crest of Sincerity. Slowly, as if it would crumble if I handled it too flippantly, I raised it out of the box and let it dangle on the chain from my hand for a moment. I fastened it around my neck and brought the crest up to my face, staring at the familiar design.

Suddenly I closed my fist around it and clutched it to my chest. Then I was sobbing, rocking back and forth and crying. I swear I could hear my world crashing down around me. There was a roaring in my ears, and teardrops blurred my vision. My skin prickled as if thousands of tiny knives were trying to work their way through. There was one person that I just had to see, who I knew would understand everything. I felt as if a crushing weight was forcing me into the ground.

Still holding my crest, I stood up unsteadily and lurched towards the phone.

She was finally here with me, sitting at my desk as the story of what happened with Bobbi flooded out. She'd raced up to my front door five minutes after I called her. I didn't even have to ask, she just said "Hang in there, Mimi-chan, I'm coming straight round." And here she was now, waiting patiently while I poured my heart out.

"Something in me just snapped," I sighed, feeling a little calmer already. "I'm sick to death of it, Sora. It just feels so fake."

She didn't move to judge me, agree, disagree or offer any advice. She never does unless she's certain you need it. It's very reassuring when someone just listens objectively to what you have to say, without butting in every two seconds to say "You did what?" or "Now here's what you have to do…" Sora never does that. She knows that if you let someone talk it through and say it all out loud, they could be working out a perfectly sensible solution to the problem in their head that wasn't obvious before. Sora just lets you know that she's on your side, and she doesn't even have to say it. We all know it. I've learnt a lot by having her as a friend.

"So that's what happened," I told her. "And now I've thrown away my security blanket… being popular has always been something to fall back on, you know? I don't know what to do now I've lost it. I feel like I'm walking on a tightrope with no net underneath."

I'd finished, I wanted her opinion now. She could tell. She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.

"Mimi, I doubt very much that your opposing Bobbi will make you any less popular than you were before. If anything, I think it'll make you more so."

Well, I hadn't been expecting that. I didn't know what to say, so I kept quiet and waited for her to continue.

"Think about it. Most people at school – even Bobbi's so-called 'friends' – really don't like her, and quite honestly I don't blame them. You've given them the break they're looking for – who's going to stand by Bobbi when they could stand by you? You're not just popular for your looks, you know."

I felt like I had a load of wool stuffed down my throat. I couldn't speak. Could she really be right? I didn't quite dare to believe it, almost as if I would jinx it if I did. But it made sense.

"Oh sure,"Sora admitted with a sly smile, "there'll be a few slow-witted jerks that she'll be able to charm around, but I'll bet you anything they'll be concentrating more on her cleavage than on anything she has to say." I giggled. "Bobbi's pretty dumb, she's not likely to think up a good defense. And you're pretty smart, so you can. I don't think you have a lot to worry about."

"So you don't think this is the fatal end of my social standing, then?" I asked wryly.

She grinned. "Doubtful."

My smile faded. "You know, I'm not even sure if I'm glad about still being one of the cool crowd or not."

Sora cocked her head to one side, curious. "I don't follow. I thought popularity was one of the most important things in the world to you."

"It isn't," I whispered. "It isn't. I used to think so, but now… it's such a burden. Always keeping the pace that other people set. Being such a sheep. Having to put up with people like Bobbi."

"That'd put anyone off."

I smiled, but it passed in a moment. My mouth felt dry, as if I had a sore throat. "Sora…" I said hoarsely.

She looked at me.

"Do you ever feel like… I don't know, as if you're a traveller that's been all over the world and finally come home, but left a piece of yourself in every other place you've been…" I struggled to find the right words. I knew I wasn't explaining it very well. "I mean, like there's a sort of hollow part in you? A huge chunk of you missing? Like all you can think about is getting back to those other places – "

She interrupted me, something she almost never does. "You're talking about the Digiworld, aren't you?"

We sat there, staring straight through one another. The whole world seemed to have gone silent. An image clouded my vision. I saw Palmon and Biyomon and the other Digimon, the vivid, often unrealistically bright colours of the Digiworld. I saw us eight Digidestined, so close, such good friends. How we put out lives into eachothers hands so many times that I've lost count. Then it faded, and I was back in my pink room, familiar in a different, somehow duller and less exhilarating way to the images I'd just seen. The traffic was roaring outside, and music was blaring from a car stereo somewhere. I was still staring at Sora. I wondered if she'd seen it too. By the look on her face, I think she did.

"It's Elf-Land and Man's-Home," she said suddenly.

I snapped back to reality. "What?"

"Elf-Land and Man's-Home." She left the desk and sat cross-legged with me on the floor. "Medieval people in England used to call our world 'Man's-Home', because this is where the mortals live. They believed in elves and faeries and goblins, and they thought that they all lived in a special world called 'Elf-Land', which was full of riches and magic. They told stories of how the elves came out at night to play tricks on the mortals, and of how many people were lured into Elf-land to become slaves or husbands or wives to the elves. Most were never seen again. But occasionally…" she trailed off.

"Occasionally…" I prompted.

"Occasionally, a mortal would find his or her way back into Man's-Home. But they were changed. Even though they were happy to see their homes and families, they couldn't settle. They couldn't focus, they couldn't sleep. They were restless with an aching longing to return to Elf-Land – part of the magic of the elves. Almost all the stories told how wives would wake up to find their enchanted husbands gone, abandoned in the middle of the night. It was obvious that they had left to search for a gate to the Elf-Land. If they never came back, their families could only pray that they had found their way back and were at peace again."

I shook my head in wonder. When you first meet Sora, your impression is of a tomboy, even though she's actually very pretty, too. But as you spend more time with her, you begin to notice these little things. Initially she seems like a one-level, sensible, practical girl, but now and then when you talk to her you get the feeling that she's looking into you and through you to something unbelievably amazing beyond. Sometimes you just catch her on her own staring at nothing, and you know that she's miles away. She can tell what you're thinking and feeling. Sometimes she'll just come out with these wonderful comments, like the Elf-Land and Man's-Home story.

"Elf-Land and Man's-Home," I murmured, looking at her with the beginnings of a smile. "It's us, isn't it?"

"It's us." Her eyes glittered. "I think it's time for a Digidestined reunion, don't you?"

I burst into tears. I threw my arms around her. I love her, I honestly do. I wanted to tell her that she'd just said exactly what I'd been praying she would but couldn't quite get out. I wanted to tell her how much I missed the closeness I had had with my friends in the Digiworld. I wanted to tell her how lucky I felt to have a friend like her.

I didn't have to. She already knew.

Grinning from ear to ear, we both reached for the phone.

A table for five, with all five seats filled plus three extra pulled up to the table so we were all squashed round together. We were all here, all back together. The original gang, the eight Digidestined. Tai, Sora, Matt, Izzy, TK, Joe, Kari and me. Looking around at the faces, I thought about how we'd all changed and grown. Tai and Kari were the only ones a lot similar to what they had been, Tai still daring and lacking in consideration for the consequences, Kari still upholding her unfailingly optimistic outlook on life, although she's developed a bit of a mischievous streak when it comes to teasing TK. And I don't mean verbal teasing, either.

My eyes travelling around the circle, I glanced at Matt and TK. TK is also much the same, although I've noticed lately that he's become a bit more shy and withdrawn. Matt – well, to put it bluntly, Matt looked awful. Pale and wan. Looking at him reminded me of my own dazed state this afternoon before Bobbi's visit. Maybe he was feeling as zombified as me. Sora's story floated into my mind. 'Occasionally they would find their way back, but they were changed. Even though they were happy to see their homes and families, they couldn't settle. They couldn't focus, they couldn't sleep. They were restless…'

Matt was changed. And he certainly looked as if he wasn't getting much sleep.

Next I turned to Joe. He's had a rough time recently, that much I know. I say 'that much I know' because what with being in different years, going to different schools and having new opportunities and responsibilities, none of us have been seeing eachother as much as we'd all have liked. It was nice for the whole gang to be together again.

As I was saying, Joe's been going through a bad patch lately. Stress of school, exams and family pressure had really got the better of him, the worst time being about a year ago. He suffered from depression for a good few months, if not more. I was glad to see that being with all of us again, he seemed happier than I'd seen him for a while.

Finally I focused on Izzy. Talk about a transformation! Out of all eight of us, I'd say he's the one that's changed the most. If I went back a few years and told everyone how he was going to turn out, they'd look at me like I was nuts. Of course we all know he's the original computer genius, the child prodigy, the next Albert Einstein and Bill Gates rolled into one. But last year he decided to find his birth parents. After a couple of months applying to agencies and spending a lot of time on the phone, he found out. They were both dead and had been for about nine years.

Then he just went crazy. We couldn't believe it. He ditched his computer and went totally wild, crashed a load of parties, made out with a load of girls… I have to admit, one of them was me. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did. He can be kind of attractive when he makes the effort.

Anyway, he went even further downhill after that. He got drunk at every opportunity and bunked off school whenever he could. He actually failed a class. Izzy failing a class? Unreal! Well, one night he disappeared altogether. We were absolutely frantic with worry, not to mention his adoptive parents, who were racing round hysterically screaming something about him lying dead in a ditch, which didn't help at all.

It was Kari who finally found him after we'd been searching all night, in a run down old warehouse with a load of junkies, just looking as if he wanted to die right where he was. It was only Kari and Sora's combined efforts that got him out of there before anything happened. We were all scared stiff about him. I remember me and Matt sitting by the phone in his house in case he called, nearly out of our minds. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. I really thought we'd lost him.

When he finally realised what he'd done it must have been like a houseful of ice water right in his face. He just went back to his laptop and hardly showed his face outside the house again. We never talk about that time in his life. He can't bear to hear about it.

I looked around the circle again. The tension that had been in everyone's faces before had seemed to melt as soon as we all got together again. We were all laughing and joking with eachother, catching up on news, saying how great it was to all be together again. Even Izzy looked happy.

This was what I'd been longing for for months now, this was what I had been missing since we left the Digiworld. It was halfway to my dream. All I needed now was for this café to vanish and to be gazing up at a thundering, sparkling waterfall, or a high, rocky mountain, a lush jungle or a desert that stretched as far as you could see. To look around and simply not believe that it was all a program of data. To look down and see Palmon's big, green eyes staring happily up at me as we hiked along, all sharing something special and private that no-one but us eight kids and eight Digimon had any idea about.

I came out of my dream with a jolt as I heard Tai laugh loudly at something Sora had just said. I blinked, looking around and realising I was still in the café. I saw TK flash me his shy, adorable grin. Not as good as being in the Digiworld, no, but being with all the others again was one of two steps already taken. We were halfway there. I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer before opening them and returning TK's smile.

"Halfway there," I whispered to myself.

Yamato's thoughts

I swear there was a full-blown battle taking place in my brain. On one hand I wanted nothing more than to collapse across the table through sheer exhaustion, but on the other, this reunion was the last thing I wanted to miss. I was so tired I felt I would go mad if I had to endure another sleepless night. I have no idea what had caused me to turn into a helpless insomniac, but when I find it I'm going to crush it to bits. Provided, God willing, I have the strength to lift more than one finger at a time.

I looked around the table. Tai's eyes were locked onto Sora – big surprise there – and TK was joining in the conversation happily. Izzy and Joe were arguing cheerfully about some computer game. Actually, it was great to see them both having a good time again, what with all they've been through lately. Kari wasn't saying anything, she was just watching everyone talk with a kind of dreamy, contented half-smile on her face.

I caught Mimi's eye and for a moment I wondered if I looked at bad as she did. Of course, I don't think Mimi would ever be capable of looking actually ugly - I have a feeling she could carry off a binbag as if it were a Paris original - but she looked pretty pale and was watching her friends with a part happy, part longing and part dazed expression. I was so glad that she had enforced the reunion; it's just what I'd been longing for, but somehow I never could bring myself to arrange it. She gave me a small embarrassed smile, undoubtedly meaning 'God, I must really look a state'. I smiled back with a look that I hoped she'd interpret as 'Don't worry, I look worse' and not 'Yeah, you do'. I think she understood because she half-sighed and leant back, closing her eyes for a second.

Sora's hand brushed mine as she reached for the tiny jug of milk for her coffee. For one second, I had the most vivid déjà vu.

I remembered something that happened between Sora and me in the Digiworld years ago, something that we've never told another soul about. It was about a week after we'd finished off Myotismon, and TK had been having nightmares every night since. Naturally I'd stayed up with him until he'd drifted back off to sleep. For the last few times that he had the bad dreams, Sora would wake up too and she'd help me calm him down. Everyone else slept through it.

On the night just before TK stopped having nightmares, me and Sora were still up at two-thirty in the morning, and she'd just finished singing him a really beautiful lullaby to send him off to sleep. I'd never actually heard Sora sing before and I was really shocked at what a gentle voice she has. I remember her rubbing her eyes and looking really sleepy, and her hand accidentally brushing past mine, just like it had a couple of seconds ago with the milk jug. I don't know what it was; whether it was because it was late and we were both tired, or how grateful I was to her for being so wonderful to TK, or just having heard her sing the song, or finally being able to share the responsibility of looking after my brother; but for one moment I loved her so much that it almost blinded me. She looked up at me and we both leant across the sleeping TK. I gave her one kiss on the lips and it was absolutely perfect, the moonlight was bathing everything in milky blue, we could hear the waves lapping against the shore a few dozen yards away, and everything went completely hazy. It was so flawless that I felt like I was living a scene from a movie, something so unbelievably pure and immaculate that it just had to be a figment of my imagination, except that it wasn't. I've never felt another emotion in my whole life like that moment.

Nothing else happened. The moment passed, and we've not spoken of it since. But I've always treasured that memory. We never told anyone about it, and I've been particularly careful to hide it from Tai.

I jolted slightly as I realised I'd been dropping off to sleep thinking about that memory. I wish I could get a hold of myself. For the last couple of months I've been badly restless, but this week has been the worst. I think I've had a total of four hours sleep since Monday, and that was five days ago. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just can't find any peace. My grades are slipping, my parents think I'm ill, I get irritable and snappy and I find it hard to concentrate without slipping off into a daydream. I've had girlfriends but none have lasted. There's always something missing, they accuse me of being emotionless and distant, but I don't know how to stop it and I haven't been able to hold a relationship for more than a couple of weeks. I'm a wreck.

I realised I'd been biting my lip as I thought all this, and tasted blood in my mouth. Looking round at Sora's eyes twinkling and TK laughing with Izzy and Joe, I relaxed. I turned as I heard Kari speaking to me.

"You needed this, didn't you?" she whispered.

Seeing as TK and Kari are never very far apart, we've got pretty close, even more than when we were in the Digiworld. I nodded at her and gave her a smile. She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze.

I guess that's why TK loves Kari so much. You can always count on her to pick you up off the floor.

Taichi's thoughts

My mind was in a whirl as I strode through the town centre. At the reunion last night we all agreed to meet up today at Izzy's to do a lot more catching up, because it was pretty late and we only had about an hour together.

It was absolutely boiling hot. It wasn't sunny, just really humid and heavy. The air felt clingy and sticky, and it looked like there was about to be a bad fog in the next few hours.

"Tai, wait up, you're going too fast!"

I jumped a little and then realised that I'd forgotten that Kari was following behind me. I slowed my pace. "Sorry, Kari, I guess I'm just a little anxious to get there."

She smiled. "Me too. Isn't it great that Mimi and Sora arranged that meeting last night? We haven't all been together for ages."

"Yeah," I murmured distractedly. Since last night I haven't been able to stop thinking about how different we all are. Well, some of us, anyway. I'd say that Izzy, Joe and Mimi have changed the most. Thankfully Joe seems to be almost fully recovered from his depression and Izzy has finally settled in a happy balance between internet obsessive and total drop-out. It still makes my head spin when I think about what he did and how out of character it was for him. I remember when I walked into some party one of the guys at school had and saw him making out with Mimi. I couldn't believe it, I just stood and stared. They were both kind of drunk, but he was much more far-gone than she was.

On the subject of Mimi, I was really proud of her when I heard the way she handled that brat Bobbi yesterday. She looks kind of beat – she has done for a while. She and Matt look like they could use about three weeks of solid sleep each. Mimi told me about what she'd said to Sora about how she felt about the Digiworld, and the Elf-Land and Man's-Home thing. I had to shut my mouth and think hard about something else, like I always do when I hear about something else wonderful that Sora's done. I've tried facing up to those feelings more than once before, but I can't do it. I don't know what I can do about them; for the time being I'm just trying to ignore them, but I know I can't keep that up forever.

Thinking about Sora was making my heart lurch badly, so I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth and thought about something else. Being all together last night made me realise just how much I've been missing the Digimon. Agumon was one of the best friends I've ever had – he was my strength, my support, my protection, my faithful bodyguard, my loyal everything I could wish for in a friend. We were almost invincible together, and we're separated by a whole other world. It sucks. That's the bulk of it – it sucks.

I looked down to see Kari staring up at me. I had this weird feeling that she was mindreading me or something, she was gazing at me so steadily. She and Sora both do that – it's really intense and sometimes you could swear that they're listening to your thoughts. When Sora does it it has a crazy effect on me, my heart starts hammering, my palms sweat and I can hardly breathe. I feel like she's gazing right into my soul and I get so scared that she'll see what's there.

From the way Kari was looking at me I could tell she knew I was thinking about Sora. She's the only one I've actually talked to, but I know that the rest have their opinions and suspicions. I'm not sure how I'll handle it if Sora gets a boyfriend. I remember once in the Digiworld just after we wiped out that jerk Myotismon when Sora and Matt somehow seemed to be getting really close. That was the first time I realised that it wasn't going to stay how it was then for the rest of our lives, that I couldn't expect Sora to wait for me forever, especially as she had no idea how I felt and still doesn't seem to even now. That was when it dawned on me that things would change and we'd all meet other people and… well, grow apart. It shocked me, because I'd never considered that before.

Maybe Kari's right. Maybe I should just get it over with.

"Hell's teeth," I hissed, ignoring Kari's curious look.

Sora's thoughts

Damn it, I was late. I didn't mean to sleep in this morning, but I was shattered. Throwing on the nearest clothes to hand, I snatched my house key from the desk and shoved it into my bag as I clattered down the stairs. Sticking my head into the kitchen, I saw my mother at the table taking some oasis and a handful of dried flowers out of a bag.

"Going to Izzy's, Mama," I told her breathlessly. "Be back to help for supper."

"Thank you, darling," she murmured, not looking up. I dashed through the hall and downstairs into our tiny shop, settling my bag across my body on the way to the entrance and closing the door behind me with a cheerful bang.

I realised I'd forgotten to brush my hair. Never mind, Mimi's been bugging me to try out the 'just got out of bed' look for a while now – I'll just have to take it a little more literally than she expected. Racing along the street, I'd just passed the city park when I turned a corner and crashed headlong into someone standing stock-still in the middle of the pavement.

I let out a small gasp as my knee thudded onto the ground. Glancing up, I saw a pompous, vulgar-looking woman wearing a shapeless dress of an unfortunate colour of orange, with lipstick and eyeshadow to match. I winced slightly. She bore down on me.

"Watch where you're going, stupid girl! Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?"

I picked myself up painfully. A good deal more people were standing still by the road, but it wasn't me they were watching. A man pushed to the front of the crowd and regarded me angrily.

"Youngsters today have no consideration!" he snapped, glaring at me. "Young woman, this lady is my wife! You should be ashamed!"

I felt like saying "Sir, if this lady is your wife, then you should be ashamed," but I didn't. Instead, I apologised meekly and made a speedy exit to the back of the throng of pedestrians that seemed to be gathering by the roadside. Making my way to a bench, I sat down and rubbed my bruised knee. Looking up, my jaw dropped as I saw what was causing the disturbance.

"Aurora…" I breathed in awe.

Great swathes of incandescence trembled and parted like angels' wings beating; cascades of luminous glory tumbled down invisible chasms to dip and swing in fragile but vast waterfalls. I could almost hear it; a kind of dreamlike, ethereal swish from some unknown universe. Instantly Matt's words from that fateful day at camp echoed through my mind; 'The sky is, like, short-circuiting!'

I was frozen to the spot. There's no way an aurora could be possible this far south. The only other time it has ever happened before was six years ago, right before we were flung into somewhere we'd never forget…

I heard a familiar shocked voice behind me. "Hell's teeth, Sora-chan!"

I spun around. "Hell's teeth, Taichi-kun! Do you think…"

"I don't know. Either way, we could be in for something big."

I caught his hand. I felt his fingers tremble in mine. "This couldn't be the beginning of another dimensional rift, could it…?"

"Shh!" he hissed, tightening his fingers. "Not here! We have to get to Izzy's, quick!"

Kari appeared from behind Tai. She gave me a nod hello before we turned and bolted down the street to the Izumi's apartment. Tai gave me a sidelong glance as we raced up to the front door and rang the bell, and I bit my lip in response. If the events that happened six years ago were starting to repeat themselves, logically – as Izzy would say – there could only be one explanation…

The idea hovered and swam delicately like a soap bubble in my subconscious, and I dared not even look at it directly in case it burst. But I let it shimmer, looking away and thinking instead of something else as I felt Tai squeeze my hand.

Koushiro's thoughts

I wouldn't have noticed the disturbance outside if my computer screen hadn't started to flicker and the program I was working on unexpectedly crash. I suppose it should've been a warning anyway – after all, I have seen this kind of pattern in my computer before. The only thing is, I wasn't on Earth when it happened last time.

I shut off the monitor before I lost any more of my work and shoved back my chair. Crossing the room and flinging open the window, I felt a rush of heat as the cool air-conditioning in my house was sucked outside and replaced by a clingy, heavy humidity. I leaned as far out of the window as I dared, straining to look round the side of the house. I felt my heart leap as I set my eyes on the sky.

"Holy sh–"

"Izzy! Hey Izzy…"

I spun round and saw Tai crash into the room, followed closely by Sora and Kari. "Your mother let us in," Tai explained as he joined me by the window.

"I take it you've seen the unusual situation outside," Sora said grimly, kicking off her shoes and coming up behind us. I ducked back under the frame and turned to face them.

"I don't know about you, but I image there's a distinct possibility of our return to the Digiworld."

"Hey, don't go jumping to conclusions," Sora warned, reaching up to close the window, shutting out the stifling heat. "Not just yet. If we all get our hopes up and it turns out to be a false alarm, no-one's going to be very happy."

As soon as she said 'get our hopes up' I realised that was exactly what I'd been doing. I felt like dancing and laughing and crying all at the same time – what's to stop it happening? What if we all, as a result of some spectacular miracle, actually get back to the Digiworld, even if for only a few hours? It made my head spin thinking about it.

"Prodigious…" I breathed. Kari looked up at me with a huge smile.

"I haven't heard you say that in at least a year!" she said in delight. I laughed and grabbed her round the waist, giving her a tight squeeze while she squealed and wriggled.

In the next few minutes everyone else had arrived except Mimi. Matt and Tai had set up a video game and were having a tournament of Street Fighter against Sora. They both have to team up against her because she's such a shot at computer games, something which neither of them – having fragile egos – have ever lived down. I was listening to TK debate with Joe about the best thing to do after he left High School when Sora let out a yell and threw her arms into the air.

Taichi's thoughts

"Yess! Victory number nine!"

"No fair!" shouted Matt and me at the same time. I shook my head in disbelief. It's impossible to beat Sora at Street Fighter – she's a total whiz. I turned back to the computer sharply as Sora finished off my character with a round of explosions.

"Hey!" I protested. "Talk about kicking someone when they're down! You're heartless!"

"Sayonara, Taichi-kun..." she said slyly, perfecting another blast on the screen. Grabbing a pillow off the floor, I whacked her over the head with it. She shrieked and retaliated by picking up another pillow and swiping back at me, and soon we were running all over the room, laughing uncontrollably as people dived out of our way.

"Hey!" Joe yelled, hastily retreating to the window. "Watch it!"

Grabbing Sora's waist, I tackled her to the floor. She's quick and agile so it should have been easy for her to get away, but I'm stronger and managed to pin her to the ground with my weight. We lay there for a moment, quite breathless. I looked down at her. My heart rate quickened. She stared back at me, and I suddenly realised that my hand was in her soft auburn hair.

I moved away before I did anything I'd regret and we both sat up so suddenly that we nearly bumped into eachother. I hid my hands behind my back so that she couldn't see how much they were shaking. My knees had turned to water – I knew I was just seconds away from doing something really stupid, so I let her get up and throw the cushions back onto a chair. She grinned at me, still regaining breath. I smiled dreamily back, and then imagined what I must look like. Careful, Tai, I told myself. It's not like she's your girlfriend or anything.

I forced myself to come back down to Earth. When I did, it was with a big sickening thud that I swear jarred every bone in my body.

Koushiro's thoughts

I looked up indignantly from the floor, where Tai had tripped me. "You'll cause someone a serious injury one of these days," I warned him. He shrugged and grinned.

"You want me to show you some of those moves again?" Sora asked him, picking up her controller and pressing a couple of the buttons.

"Go on," Tai told her, scooting closer to the screen. "I guess I can brush up on my technique a bit."

Sora grinned and selected a character. Tai was watching her very closely, and I got the feeling that it wasn't just to improve his game. After sitting there for a while, he got up and knelt behind her, reaching his arms around her to hold the control pad, copying her motions as she moved the figures about on the screen.

The room had gone more or less silent. Everyone was watching Sora and Tai, almost willing something to happen. Even though he's never admitted it to us, it's so obvious how Tai feels about her. I don't understand how Sora doesn't seem to see it. It's absolutely infuriating – she doesn't accept how attractive she is. She thinks that no-one ever sees her as anything more than a friend. Of course Tai does, but Matt did for a while as well. She never realised that either. Even if someone tells her straight to her face, she won't believe it. It's almost like a complex. As much as I love her, it's the one thing that really annoys me.

The doorbell rang, making us all jump. I got up and thudded down the stairs. Pulling the door open, I was faced by a very pale and breathless Mimi.

"Izzy!" she gasped, looking up at the sky. "Have you seen – have you seen –"

"I've seen," I told her, reaching a hand out to steady her as she swayed a little. She looked about ready to pass out with tiredness. "Come in, you look shattered. I'll get you a drink."

"Thanks," she croaked, stumbling through the doorway. I closed the door and looked round at her, concerned. She took off her coat and hung it up, starting to climb a couple of stairs. But before she'd taken a few steps, she put a hand to her forehead and kind of slumped against the wall, crumpling onto the ground.

"Woah!" I cried, catching her arm and falling to my knees. "Mimi? Mimi!"

There was a scary moment when her eyes rolled back into her head, but she came round and bushed a strand of pink hair off her forehead wearily. "I'm ok… I'm ok. Really."

"No, you're not, Mimi. You're ill. You need to rest. You want me to help you upstairs?"

She grabbed my hand to steady herself as she got up. "No, really Izzy, I'll be alright. Thanks, though."

"Ok," I said, looking at her worriedly. "The others are in my room. Go on up, I'll make you a hot drink."

"That would be great… oh, wait!"

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

"No sugar – do you have sweetener? I'm on a diet…"

I had to grin. "Yeah, we have sweetener. Never miss a beat, do you, Mi?"

She gave a weak smile. "Never."

I laughed quietly as I walked into the kitchen. I'm glad that things are alright between Mimi and me now – after I acted like such an idiot last year I thought none of my friends would ever speak to me again. I still get pains in my stomach whenever I think about it. That night when I got so drunk that I lost it and found myself in a rat-infested warehouse being offered a syringe by a guy who looked like he was already dead. I started to sweat as I remembered it, and the cup I was holding shook in my hand. How the guy tied the tourniquet around my upper arm so the veins stood out like blue worms under the skin, how I was just about to stick the thing in the crook of my arm when Kari burst in, grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I don't remember much about that night – I was too drunk – but I remember her screaming at me, crying. It was bitter, blood-curdling, and I have to live with it until the day I die. I can't believe I ended up like that. I can't believe I alienated anything and everything that was ever dear to me without a second thought. I can't believe that in spite of everything I did to them, my friends all stuck by me. I felt tears prick the back of my eyelids as I always do when I think about how unconditionally loyal my friends are.

I've thought about it a lot, tried to sort out my head and get my emotions in perspective. I think it was just the sense of abandonment, being unloved, how I never met my parents and they never even made the effort to take any interest in me whatsoever. I felt so betrayed, so angry, and so guilty. Yeah, I felt guilty. I thought that I must not have been the kind of son they wanted, and so it was somehow my fault. Don't ask me why I feel that way, I just do. I know I was only two when they left me at a children's home, but it doesn't matter. I still feel guilty and that's that.

But it's not just that. I always felt like the odd one out in the group. I remember Tentomon asking me about it in the abandoned factory in the Digiworld, where we met Andromon for the first time. I was inside the huge battery that powered the place, trying to work out the secret of the Digiworld, and Tentomon said something that I'll remember for a long time. 'I admire the way you keep working while your friends are out having fun. Don't you ever feel sort of… left out? You mean to say that you'd rather spend your time with puzzles than with people…?'

It was true, I never felt like I fitted in. It was always Tai and Sora, Mimi and Joe, TK and Kari… and, well, me and my computer and Matt and himself. My crest title kind of bugged me, too. I mean, courage, friendship, love, sincerity, hope, reliability – they're all good qualities to have in a person. Knowledge is different. It wouldn't matter if I was the smartest guy in the world – if I wasn't a likeable person, I'd have no-one. Knowledge is more of a solidly factual characteristic, I don't know, like hair colour or eye colour almost. You can have it, but if you're not a nice guy then it doesn't make any difference.

I poured some boiling water onto the jasmine tea in Mimi's cup – I know jasmine's her favourite. Opening the cupboard and reaching right to the back, I found a packet ofsweetener and emptied it into the mug, stirring it for a while as I listened to the others talking and laughing upstairs. I set the spoon down on the counter. I had an instantaneous feeling of dêjà vu as I remembered how we used to chat together into the small hours by the campfire in the Digiworld. It brought a lot of memories back. Maybe – just maybe – it was possible we'd be doing it again soon.

"Prodigious," I whispered. Smiling to myself, I picked up Mimi's drink and headed back for the stairs.

Yamato's thoughts

I was setting up a rematch with Sora when Mimi crashed in, white as a sheet. She stumbled to the bed and sat down heavily, almost catapulting TK out of the window and making him yell out in surprise.

"Sorry, TK," she said, giving him a hug. Sora got up immediately from her game and went to sit by her.

"How are you, Mimi? Feel any better?"

Mimi slung her bag onto the floor. "Actually, yeah, I do. It probably doesn't look like it, but… have you seen the sky?"

"Yup."

"Thought so. Love your top, by the way."

Sora looked surprised. "Thanks," she said, sounding pleased. "I got it at Lipsy a couple of days ago. I'd have asked you to come with me, but you were with Bobbi."

Mimi made a face. "Don't even speak that name. I mean it. It makes me feel sick."

I laughed. "You handled it brilliantly, Mi. Everyone I know has been dying to get one over Bobbi for years."

She lifted her hand in a mock toast. "Here's to me, Miss Tachikawa." I laughed again and high-fived her.

The door opened and Izzy came back in carrying a steaming cup which he handed to Mimi. She accepted it with a grateful smile. "Sweet And Low ok?" he asked.

"Perfect." She sipped the drink slowly, pausing to blow on it now and then.

I leant forward in my chair. "I think we could all use a night out. Why don't we let go and go wild for one evening? I haven't been out in ages."

"Yes!" Mimi cried, sitting up and clapping her hands together. "I know! Bobbi said something about a rave tonight at Chaniko's – why don't we check it out?"

Sora raised one eyebrow. I've tried for hours in front of the mirror to do that, but I can't. I guess it's in the genes or something. "Do you really want to be within a fifty mile radius of Bobbi tonight?" she asked, looking doubtful.

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist. Come on, it's supposed to be really good at Chaniko's, especially as they're getting that new DJ from Loveculture there tonight. It'll be fun!"

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Tai asked her.

Mimi struck a pose. "Hey, have I ever, ever not had the energy to burn on the dance floor?"

Tai thought for a minute. "Well… no."

"There you are, then."

It did sound pretty good. "Ok, count me in," I said.

There were a few votes of agreement. Izzy, though, didn't seem too happy. Sora leaned across to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"It'll do you good to come out with us again, Izzy. You don't have to go back to the other extreme – just relax and have a good time."

He gave a stifled sigh, but we all heard it. "It just… brings back some unwelcome memories."

I realised that he was talking about his 'wild phase'. Tai plonked down beside him on the chair.

"Hey, we'll just have to generate some new good memories to cancel out the old bad ones, ok?"

"Ok."

"You never know, Izzy, something could happen at Chaniko's to change your life," Kari joked, pressing her fingers to her temples and closing her eyes. "If you don't come, you could miss something huge…"

We all laughed at her. Shame – we should have learnt by now never to dismiss anything Kari says. She definitely has the gift of second sight.

Jyou's thoughts

I ran a hand through my shoulder-length hair as I hurried down the steps towards the main plaza. I knew I was a few minutes early – I always am – but I hate being late. Being punctual is just another of my standards. The guys always teased me about things like this in the Digiworld – the way they teased me about a hundred other things – but I didn't mind, they're my friends and they're just joking around.

The humidity of this afternoon had cleared, and there was only a thin film of cloud covering the sky. You could see the stars twinkling through now and again. It reminded me of nights in the Digiworld – well, everything reminds me of the Digiworld. I wonder how Gomamon is? I owe him a lot, I never got to say thank you to him for helping bring me out of myself. I know that I've changed since that day at camp, I've changed almost beyond recognition. I've got tons of friends, I'm not so set on my schoolwork but I'm still doing well. The only problem is my dad.

My dad is the kind of person whose motto is 'Push a little harder, your best simply isn't good enough to make me proud'. I've tried. Oh, I've tried. I've pushed myself to the absolute limit in the hopes of gaining even one word of approval from him, but it's never worked. I don't know much about what he did as a kid because he's never thought to indulge me in a little friendly father-to-son conversation, but I know that he did screw a couple of things up in medical college. Maybe he thinks that if he drives me hard enough, I'll make up for what he blew.

I feel so alone sometimes when I hear about things that Tai and Kari or Matt and TK do with their parents, how they spent Christmas and birthdays with them, family reunions and stuff. I've never had that with my dad. I hardly know him. His role in my life seems to be shout-and-yell-furiously-until-that-boy-gets-the-message, while he carries out his other parental responsibilities by throwing a bowl of rice at me three times aday. The only person in my family that I'm close to is Jim, my brother. True, he does get less grief from dad but he always sticks up for me. If it hadn't been for him, I never would have got through my depression as quickly as I did. I was lucky. I still am lucky.

I checked my watch as I clattered down the last set of steps - nine on the dot. I could see the others in a group at the entrance to the club. My breath caught in my throat as I saw Mimi. She was wearing this incredible white chiffon top, which was backless apart from a criss-cross of ribbons to keep it together, with a pair of dark purple hipsters that set off her pink hair perfectly. I swallowed hard and reminded myself that staring was rude. There's always been something between Mimi and me, especially while we were in the Digiworld. It's too bad that it's faded since we left. Which, of course, was even more profound when she made out with Izzy.

I sighed. It was no good being petty. I know both of them were drunk. But I can't exactly help it if I feel jealous, can I? The most I can do is make sure nobody realises that I feel that way. And I think I've done pretty well, nobody seems to have picked up on it. Still…

My black cloud vanished as I saw Mimi smile, wave and start towards me. "Hey, Joe! Thought you'd never make it!"

I smiled at the joke. I scanned the group, and grinned widely when I saw Sora. I knew she'd gotten ready with Mimi, and I had to hand it to her; I don't know many people that could get Sora into a dress. A strapless scarlet 50s-style dress, to be exact, with little red dolly shoes. The two of them looked fantastic together. I've never seen Sora wear anything like that before; she's got quite a nice figure, must be all the sport… no, stop. Hormonal male I may be, but leering letch I am not.

"Tai and Kari here yet?" I asked Matt.

"No, or Izzy. They should be here in a min." He looked down at his watch, his blond hair flopping over his eyes. "They'd better get here soon, we're wasting valuable clubbing time!"

"You mean valuable drinking time."

"Au contraire, Joe. I mean valuable pulling time."

I chuckled softly. Typical Matt.

Taichi's thoughts

I strode through the town centre just as I had done that afternoon, but this time it was me who was trying to keep up with Kari. I knew it was because she wanted to spend as much time with TK as possible. Well, I couldn't blame her. True love, isn't it sickening…

"Come on, Tai, hurry up!" She turned around and gave me a mock glare.

"If you run anymore, Kari, your legs will drop off. And if your legs drop off, you won't be able to dance with TK. That should be enough of an incentive to slow down, for crying out loud!" Turning in to the main plaza, we hurried up to the group. It looked as if Izzy had only just arrived himself, because he was still panting a bit.

I waved at them cheerfully. "Sorry we're late, we…" I trailed off as Mimi moved casually aside, revealing Sora. My legs turned to jelly. My heart-rate increased a hundred-fold. My breathing became harsh and ragged and it was basically all I could do to stop my chin from hitting the floor.

I have never, ever seen her look so incredible. A dress! Who the hell got Sora into a dress? A really funky dress, too… all 50s-style with – oh, god, it's strapless. Completely bare back. I have never seen her show so much skin. I wish I had! Gorgeous, golden, smooth… stop it, Tai, stop it! Think of something else… how the hell can I, when she's standing there wearing that? Oh god, oh god, this is going to be more difficult than I thought…

Mimi gave me a sly smile. I shot her a murderous look. Trust Mimi! It had to be her that told Sora to dress like that. She's such a cupid! I can't believe her. As if I don't already have a hard enough time around Sora without having to deal with lust as well. Damn her!

I heaved a shaky breath and turned to go inside. I looked round to see everyone except for Sora staring at me with grins plastered all over their faces. I glared at them. "Well? Are we just going to stand here all night?"

Matt, still grinning, started towards the door. As he passed me, he whispered "Right you are, Kamiya. Just pick up your chin, put your tongue back in your mouth and push your eyeballs back in their sockets, and we'll be good to go!"

He yelled and broke into a run as I leaped for him.

Hikari's thoughts

I almost collapsed with laughter when Tai saw Sora. Mimi and her acute style skills had pulled it off brilliantly – Sora is usually so tomboyish that you wouldn't even begin to imagine her as sexy or alluring, but this just surpassed any makeover Mimi has ever undertaken. I thought Tai was going to faint! The funniest thing was that Sora didn't notice at all. I don't understand it. It's exactly what was happening now – she was strolling casually through the club chatting to Mimi as if she didn't even notice the dozens of guys that were staring at them.

Music pounded through the building. One of my favourite songs. I caught TK's eye and he grinned, his blonde hair tinged with the flashing coloured lights overhead. I smiled back, thinking how nice he looked tonight… probably I'm just looking at the whole world through rose-tinted glasses because I'm so happy that we're all back together. Still…

Finding a table with half a dozen barstools scattered around it, we all sat down. Matt dug out his wallet. "OK, my round. Who wants a drink? Tai, dude, whatcha havin'?"

"I'll have a lager. Thanks, dude. My round next. Sora, Mimi?"

"Martini and soda, please, Matt," Sora said, hopping onto a stool. Mimi shook her head.

"Margarita for me! I'm up for some serious dancing… how about it, you guys? Anyone game?"

"Uhhr… maybe later…" said Joe hastily. "Lager, thanks Matt."

"Aww, c'mon, guys!" Mimi pleaded. "Sora, you'll dance, won't you?"

Sora grinned. "Yeah, I will. You need a guy partner though, Mimi."

Mimi turned sweetly on Izzy, batting her eyelashes. He turned slightly pale.

"Uh… I propose a deal – I'm not inclined to indulge in any sort of physical activity until I am at least slightly intoxicated. Sound fair?"

Mimi blinked. "Huh?"

"Buy me a drink and I'm yours."

"Matt… here ya go." Mimi flicked a couple of coins to him and winked at Izzy, who shrugged and grinned. Mimi grabbed Sora's arm and pulled her out onto the dance floor as the opening notes to the New Radicals boomed through the building. Looking round, I strained across the table as I saw TK beckoning to me. Leaning forward, he said something, his blue eyes flashing in the ultraviolet light above the table, but the music was too loud for me to hear him.

"What?"

He put his mouth to my ear and shouted, but I still couldn't hear him.

"I can't hear you!"

Taking a deep breath, he leaned further towards me and yelled "I said, WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE WITH ME!"

Suddenly there was a gap in the music, and the room became relatively quiet for a few seconds. TK blushed and put his head down as the whole table turned to stare at him before bursting into laughter. Giggling, I grabbed his hand and led him through to the dance floor, weaving our way through the crowd. Someone standing at the bar caught my attention. I gestured to TK and pointed. "Hey, TK, your brother doesn't waste any time, does he?" I shouted. TK looked over to the bar, where Matt was trying valiantly to chat up the waitress. He laughed and shook his head.

The music changed to Duran Duran. Clubs and their 80s nights...TK looked at me, a little unsure. I gazed into his eyes. He really does have gorgeous eyes… deep blue pools, crystal-clear… I shook myself in bewilderment. What was going on? TK was my best friend, not some quick infatuation. So why did it feel like I had a crush on him?

But I won't cry for yesterday; there's an ordinary world

Somehow I have to find…

And as I try to find my way, to the ordinary world

I will learn to survive…

Still looking nervous, he held out his arms to me, almost asking my permission. I became aware of the couples slow-dancing around us. I started to breathe a bit faster. Smiling and trying to ignore the way my hands were shaking, I laced my fingers together behind his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I leant my head on his chest, not quite sure why I felt so weak. I could hear his heart beating through his shirt. The longer I rested my head there, the faster it got.

Must have been the loud music. Or the flashing lights. Or the heat. Or…

Yamato's thoughts

Well, I didn't manage to charm the waitress into free drinks. Too bad. I've really lost my touch these last few months. Balancing the drinks on a small metal tray, I made my way back to the table and handed out the glasses.

"Joe here's yours - Izzy - Martini for Sora… hey, where'd she go?"

Joe took a sip of his drink. "Follow Tai's line of sight and you'll find her eventually," he joked. I smirked and looked at Tai, but he hadn't heard. Obeying Joe's instructions, I followed his gaze and sure enough, there was Sora.

My eyebrows shot up. Sora was – dancing? I've never seen her dance. She's quite a mover… I noticed that Tai obviously thought the same, since his eyes were glued in her direction. I waved a hand in front of his face.

"Tai… hey, Tai! Wake up, dude!"

He started and looked round at us. "Uhh… sorry." He took a swig of his drink, turning back. I shrugged and grinned wryly at Izzy and Joe. Still, I had to admit that Sora and Mimi looked pretty good out there. People were stepping back to watch them dance. I laughed as I caught a glimpse of Tai's glazed expression. The music faded to Moby, Porcelain, and the girls smiled at eachother before starting back towards our table.

"Go for it, man. Ask her," I told him.

He snapped out of it and finally focused on me. "What? Ask who what?"

"Sora, you nut. Ask her to dance. Or are you just going to make eyes at her all evening?"

"Hey, I wasn't – " he objected, but Izzy cut him off.

"Go for it, Tai, your chances of receiving a positive result are highly promising," he assured him. "I mean, logically, what have you got to lose?"

"Yeah, Tai," Joe joined in. "She isn't going to say no, you've been best friends since you were little squidgelits."

Tai looked uncertain. "Just do it!" I said in exasperation, tipping him off his seat and pushing him towards the dancefloor. He stumbled forward slightly, but regained his composure, took a deep breath and headed towards Sora. Mimi slid behind the table as we all turned to watch him.

"Nice going…" Mimi whispered in my ear as we saw Sora smile and take Tai's hand. "Did you set that up?"

"Yeah," I grinned. "A little more practice and I'll be rivalling you for the matchmaker's crown."

"Hey, I wouldn't go that far. I mean, if you value your life."

I shrunk back in mock nervousness, hearing Izzy laugh shrilly behind me. "Matt, you know the rules – don't ever mess with Mimi-chan…"

He sounded strained. As I turned around to face him, I felt the blood drain from my face. "Izzy, man, what the hell is wrong? Izzy? Fuck, what the hell is up with you?"

His face was deadly pale. I swear there was no difference between the colour of his skin and the whites of his eyes, which were stretched wide. His glass fell to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Mimi cried out and leapt back, panic in her golden eyes.

"Izzy!" she screamed. We saw his eyes roll back into his head. He didn't slump or fall, he just sat there rigid, all pale, corpse-like, unearthly, his face just a sheet of white without a break, his mouth a black hole in the middle.

My head was swimming with nausea. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

Koushiro's thoughts

Bright lights… ultraviolet… strobe… loud music… it took me back for a second. I'm still so scared that I'm going to have a relapse and lose control again as soon as I start having fun. It's become such a deep veined norm in me now – sit still and be quiet or you're a sinner, get used to it… it's just all the memories, how one thing led to another so, so quickly, how I knew I could stop it if I tried but I didn't have the energy, the will, the motivation, I just let everything sweep me away, and before I knew it I was over the edge… hurting everyone I loved most...

Pounding beat... waves of heat, too overwhelming…

They were staring at me. They knew I was thinking about what I did last year. They knew I was going to crack.

Images… blurred… confusion…

The glass slipped from my hand. I couldn't have heard it smash through the throbbing music but I heard it in my mind, mirroring my thoughts, shrieking and splintering, shards flying through my head like white-hot knives… Mimi screaming at me to stop…

Images… memories…

Time slowing… vision fading…

Silence. Blinding white, silence.

I saw it. In one millisecond I saw it. One scene from one place in one fraction of time that I will never forget as long as I live. Serenity, a perfect creation, a flawlessly modelled invention, every tree immaculate, every stone irreplaceable, every drop of crystalline water incomparable. Every living thing a faultless design structure that no mortal could hope to replicate in an eternity. Where everything started, where I realised everything I needed to, where I was shaped into a person that was, is and would always be different to every other soul but for seven others.

It was gone. I didn't even try to detain it. One millisecond of pure perfection, a heavenly, aetherial vision to change every fibre of my being. Lost in time, immortal in dreams. Immortal is forever.

Then I was back. Mimi was holding my face in both her hands and screaming. I couldn't hear it, but her mouth was open wide and you could see the whites all around her eyes. My god, they were incredible eyes. Liquid gold…

Then it was over. Vision back to normal, hearing returned, sanity restored. Like nothing had ever happened. In fact, I felt amazing. Better than ever before. I took Mimi's hands away and smiled slightly into her scared face, seeming instantly to transmit a message that nothing was wrong. She leant back in confused relief. Something seemed to lift off of us, like throwing off a wet, heavy blanket. The air seemed purer, my thoughts clearer and crisper. Suddenly, what had just happened didn't matter. The mood switched before I even realised – suddenly everything was light-hearted and happy. It wasn't just me: I could see it in the other's faces, too. Suddenly everything but my one moment of perfection fazed into a hazy background blur, and it didn't matter. Is this what guardian angels do? I don't know. I didn't need to know, somehow.

We passed that minute of confusion by with no second thought. As soon as Mimi moved back, I was able to see the dancefloor behind her. My eyes widened.

"Holy- look, just look at that!"

Jyou's thoughts

I swung round, following Izzy's gaze to the dancefloor. And there they were. Tai and Sora. Sora and Tai. Tai had his arms wrapped firmly around her waist, and she was resting her hands on his shoulders, looking up at him as they laughed and talked. How they could hear eachother was a mystery to me – it was bad enough over here by the bar, let alone any nearer to the speakers. Mimi banged down her glass suddenly and leaned over the table, her attention riveted on them. Izzy and Matt sat forward slightly.

As we watched, they stopped talking. Tai wound his arms tighter around her. Sora reached up around his neck. They were staring at eachother unblinkingly, transfixedly. Mimi's eyes widened, and I heard her murmur "Go on, go on…"

The song slowed a little, sending a wave of dimness over the room. We saw them lean into one another helplessly, incredibly slowly.

Closer… closer…

"Come on…" Matt urged.

I held my breath.

Izzy bit his lip.

Mimi unconsciously clenched her fists, willing it to happen.

Closer… closer…

We saw Sora close her eyes. If it was possible, the pace of time slowed even more.

Tai gazed down at her, his expression totally powerless, before finally leaning in to meet her.

Closer… closer…

Centimetres apart…

Closer… closer…

Millimetres apart…

BANG! The fire door behind us crashed open so fast that I almost jumped out of my skin, and I heard Mimi shriek in surprise. A crowd of about twenty teenagers raced into the building, screaming hysterically, making their way across the room through the dance floor, ploughing through people right and left… knocking right into Sora and Tai, just before their lips would have touched.

I slammed my fist into the table, seeing them stumble apart. Godammit!

Mimi's thoughts

Nooo! No no no no! They were so close!

Yamato's thoughts

Oh, shit, shit, shit! Damn that idiot crowd!

Koushiro's thoughts

Of all the obstreperous, blasphemous, abhorrent, vociferous, ignominious….!

Taichi's thoughts

?£!£!"!1!

Mimi's thoughts

I couldn't believe it. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. They were so near, it almost happened! I looked around as a loud volley of curses and groans erupted from our table. Matt dropped his head into his hands.

"Oh, man… I really thought we had it sorted then…"

It was then that I remembered the crowd who had burst into the club. It dawned on me that they were still rushing about, still screaming at the top of their lungs. Exchanging a puzzled look with Joe, we got up to join Tai and Sora, who had come running over to meet us. Tai looked gutted. My heart went out to him. I gave him an 'I'm sorry' look, as soon as I knew Sora wouldn't be able to see. He shrugged back philosophically.

"What's going on?" Sora yelled over the music, grabbing my arm and pointing to the shrieking teenagers.

"Well, I for one am finding out," Izzy shouted back, spinning round and half-running to where the sobbing group were being calmed down by a team of security guards.

"Outside!" a blonde girl was crying, waving her arms frantically and almost knocking her companion off his feet. "We were just standing outside the doors, and… and… oh god, the sky just exploded in this huge tidal wave thing, it even sucked a lamppost in! Oh god, oh god, you have to make it stop! You have to…"

The guards exchanged glances, obviously deciding the girl was blind drunk. But, as I shared an amazed look with Sora, we both knew what was happening. My heart started to pound. It's happening… it's finally happening… we're going back…

I glanced across the crowd of people to see TK and Kari among the sea of faces, staring at eachother with wide eyes and shocked expressions. Matt yelled over the din to them.

"TK! Kari! Get over here!"

They didn't hesitate to obey. Racing out the door and onto the street, my mind screamed and my vision filled with light as we stopped dead and took in the scene before us.

A huge tear, a great rift, split the northern horizon from end to end. Light poured from the gash, bathing the entire night city in an eerie, bluish-white glow. Far more incredible than the sky, however, was the gigantic tidal wave vortex that gaped before us, creating a suction we could feel more than a hundred yards away. Staring hard into the centre, I could faintly make out the stem of the lamppost that had been ripped from its base and catapulted into the crevasse.

My crest and digivice, tucked away in my purse, began to glow and beep frantically. I could see the same happening to the others. Tiny, stuttering whines filled the air as one by one the digivices were activated.

My brain went into overdrive. My heart thudded in my chest. This was it. It was really happening. A wave of pure thrill washed over me, a sense of complete ecstasy.

I saw the change in the other's faces as soon as they set eyes on the rift. It was unmistakable. I'd seen it a thousand times before, most often when we were nowhere near Earth. I could see Sora's eyes sparkling in the corner of my vision.

"Join hands!" yelled Tai. His voice was different.

"TK!" shouted Matt, grabbing onto his little brother.

The force of the rift blew my hair over my face. I could taste the air from it, the air that I could tell without a single thought was from another world. Sora took my hand on one side. Izzy took the other. We stepped forward. My breathing became quicker.

This is it…

We moved closer and got ready for the leap. Sora was clutching my fingers so hard it felt like they were breaking. The air swirled around us and pulled us almost off-balance.

This is it. The last of the two steps finally taken. The silent prayer answered. The dream fulfilled. Elf-Land beckons.

"Prodigious…" I heard Izzy murmur.

I took one last huge, gulping breath.

We jumped.

fin.

xxx