A/N: I'm seriously trying to work on this. I really am. I'm sorry for always being so late on updating. This part of the story is almost over. I think they'll be two more chapters after this one. So thanks for putting up with my slow updating and writing. School has been taking over my life and it's miserable.

There's a bunch of people I need to thank for following, favoriting, or both! ... auroranrose, KuroYuki 34, Ben10gobad, Natura, Child-of-Strength, Zexiroth15, SaMiLuCaS1954, Ahntanya's-Hope, and Rise Von Sanz! Sorry if I missed anyone... my email's a bit messy and I haven't updated since March 11th? Omg I AM SO SORRY!

Child-of-Strength: Sorry for the long wait! I'm glad you like the story so much. It means a lot to me :)

Digi-fanCatt: I'm glad I was able to clear things up :) Sorry for the confusion before!

Chapter 17: Not Done Yet

"It ain't over till it's over."
Yogi Berra

Haru hugged Chirinmon tightly as she watched the last of Spiral Mountain disappear. She was so happy that it was finally over. She could go home with Tai and the others. And Kudamon could come home as well. She couldn't wait.

"Good riddance!" She heard Tai yell making her laugh gleefully. Her energy had almost completely returned. Upon hearing her laugh, he ran over and tackled her to the ground in a giant hug. "I'm so glad you're okay..." He mumbled hugging her tightly.

Haru suppressed a groan as she felt some pain come from where Joe had wrapped bandages around her burns. She didn't want to worry him. "I'm fine." She promised hugging him back. She looked up and smiled at Kari and Sora showing them she was really okay.

However, Joe had other plans. "She's not fine." He stated making Tai lean off Haru and really looking at her.

He saw the slight grimace on her face before she hid it with a smile. "Rue..." He frowned and Haru knew she was in a great deal of trouble. He looked her over and noticed the bandages on her wrists, ankles. The one on her stomach covered by her shirt. "What happened?"

"You're just now noticing?" Sora said with a slight sigh. She would have thought that Tai would have looked her over before he decided to jump on her like that.

"She has a few burns," Joe explained.

"But really I'm fine," Haru insisted.

"But you almost had a panic attack..." Izzy said lowly with a frown.

"But now I'm fine," she was trying to emphasize the fact that, yes, she may have had a little meltdown earlier, but she was completely fine now. "It's just a couple of burns. I think I'll live." She smiled more at Tai. "I came back, didn't I?"

Tai frowned and it looked like he couldn't decide whether to be happy or angry. "How?" He pressed again.

This time Chirinmon stepped forward. "Haru used her strength to connect Matt's thoughts to T.K. when the young one was in trouble. The rings Piedmon forced on her tightened around her resulting in the burns." He nudged his partner gently with his nose in a sign of affection. "Haru and I have a strong connection, and I can promise you that she is, in fact, not in any danger."

"Thanks Chirinmon." Haru beamed brightly at him.

"Are you sure?" It was Izzy that was pressing the topic this time. He looked very much worried, but it probably had something to do with the fact that she had grabbed his hand so tightly when she was panicking and it was up to him to calm her down.

"Yeah..." Haru whispered as she looked down and noticed that he was cradling his hand slightly. "I am..." She looked up at him and mouthed "sorry" and hoped she looked as apologetic as she felt for what she did, but she didn't want to worry the others by bringing up that event. She was surprised that Joe wasn't already bringing it up. As much as she loved his sarcastic moments, his pessimistic behavior was not something she liked.

Tai stood and wiped the dirt from his clothes even though the dirt never really left the fabric. "Alright, fine then. I'll believe you." He said, but the look in his eyes told Haru that this wasn't over and he was probably going to be keeping an eye out for her to make sure nothing else happened. "Come on," he held out his hand and she quickly took it. He hoisted her to her feet, and she, as well, tried to dust off her clothing. "I want you to meet a few of our friends before they leave."

Tai practically dragged Haru over to where the group's friends were. They were quite the odd group, and they consisted of many different types of Digimon that it surprised Haru. It made her wonder just how many different Digimon lived in this Digital World, and how big a place like this world must be. She'd only seen such a small and rather distorted part that she felt a little like she was missing out on so many experiences.

Tai went through their friends and Haru had such a hard time remembering them all, but she figured she'd get more time to get to know them. "Guys, this is Haru! Another DigiDestined." He said proudly.

Haru was bombarded by many questions. A couple even gave her hugs. She felt slightly overwhelmed.

"So you're a DigiDestined?" Ogremon said looking her over as if trying to determine the extent of her power.

"Yes!" She said with a smile. She pulled out her crest and tag though the crest was imprinted on her chest. "I'm the DigiDestine of Strength." She explained.

The group immediately stopped and stared - making her feel rather uncomfortable. The silence was deafening. They all seemed surprised. They looked at her as if she was lying almost. And then the strangest thing happened... a few of them bowed their heads to her.

"It is an honor to meet you, Haru." Frigimon said with the utmost respect.

"Um... What?" She said with a slight laugh.

"There are legends dedicated to the One of Strength." Elecmon explained.

"There's even a shrine dedicated to it on one of the islands..." Gekomon began bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "But... I can't remember which one..." He said shrugging.

"Is... is that so..." Haru said not sure of what to expect.

"Sounds like you're pretty interesting!" Tai said wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Sorry guys, I have to take her now. You can get her autograph later. She needs to meet the rest of the group properly." Tai joked as he steered her away from the stares of their friends.

"So?" Tai turned to her expectantly.

"What?" She asked confused.

"How do you like our friends?" He smiled brightly.

Haru laughed loudly. "They are definitely an interesting group!"

"Guys!" Tai called everyone over. "I want you to officially meet one of my best friends, Haru Bianci."

Tai shoved her forward and she bowed to them. "It is an honor to really meet you guys under nicer circumstances."

"Likewise." Matt said with a nod.

"We're just glad you're okay!" Mimi said hugging her tightly even though she'd never said a word to the girl prior. It must have something to do with her sincerity.

Haru smiled warmly at them, and they all felt a sort of peace wash over them. However, it only lasted a few seconds. "I'm glad we are all okay." She said when Mimi let her go.

"So you were the one that gave me all those ideas against Puppetmon?" T.K. asked making Haru smile brightly.

"You bet!" She laughed. "But I just helped out a little. You, T.K., were the one that really did all the work. If you weren't as strong as you are, even my ideas wouldn't have helped." She said seriously.

T.K.'s expression seemed to swell with pride. "Really?" He asked.

"Really." Haru said with a nod of determination. She was surprised her comment had such a big impact on the boy. She liked that she was able to make a difference.

She talked to a few of them about her time as Piedmon's keychain, but eventually she managed to get away from the group. She just wanted to rest and build up her strength. She leaned her back against Chirinmon's shoulder. He was sitting on the ground resting as well. "It's been an eventful day." He commented as she closed her eyes.

"Mm..." She hummed as she really enjoyed the feeling of being free. As she became more aware of her body, she noticed just how much the burns ached her. She hoped they wouldn't last for too long. Her body, perhaps from being trapped inside the keychain for longer than the others, was extremely stiff and a little sore. "Hopefully everything is over."

"Haru?" Haru opened an eye to see Izzy and Joe standing in front of her.

She smiled, but it faltered when she noticed their concerned faces. "What's wrong?" She asked as she sat up.

"We just want to check up on you," Izzy explained.

"And I want to look over your bandages." Joe said as they both sat down next to her. Chirinmon watched on curiously. Joe began to undo the bandage on her wrist to look at the wound.

"Haru..." Her attention moved to Izzy. "I know you don't want to worry the others, but are you sure you are okay?"

"I'm fine..." She waved the hand that Joe was not looking at dismissively. "Really, don't worry about me. I'm just sore, achy and tired."

Izzy didn't seem to believe her, but nodded and accepted her declaration. He looked over at Tai and Mimi who were conversing with their other digimon friends. Haru drifted over there as well. "You guys have a lot of really good friends," she commented.

Izzy laughed. "That's an understatement." He noticed the look she was giving the group. It was full of longing. "You know they are your friends as well."

Joe was moving onto different bandages. He was so engrossed in his task that he had completely tuned out the conversation the two were having. "Yeah... but I can't help but feel a little left out you know?" Izzy looked at her sadly. "You guys have been through so much together and I feel so different from you guys. Even my crest is different."

"It doesn't matter," Izzy said immediately. "You're still one of us. You're still a DigiDestined."

The serious look in his eyes surprised Haru. "You're right." She smiled brightly.

"I know Tai said you were supposed to be at summer camp with us. Why weren't you?" He asked curiously. It was his desire to understand that made him ask the question.

Haru knew that, but it didn't mean she had to like the question. She hadn't even told Tai yet. She hadn't told anyone about what happened, and the thought of doing so made her tense. She was scolded by Joe who told her to relax. "It's... It's complicated." She gave him an apologetic smile.

Izzy could tell that she didn't want to talk about the topic, and let it drop for now. He could see the sadness behind her eyes. "You know..." He began which made her look at him curiously. "When it comes to interpersonal relationships, I'm not very good." Haru bit back the smile that threatened to form. "But I think I'm a good listener. If you ever want to talk about something, I'm always available."

Haru smiled brightly at him, and Izzy thought he could physically feel her gratitude wash over him. "Thank you, Izzy. I'll remember that," she promised him.

Izzy nodded as Joe looked up at her. "I reapplied the medicine," Joe said. "Please be honest, Haru. How do you feel?"

Haru shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I feel energetic, but my body feels a bit sluggish."

"And the burns?" Joe pressed.

Haru looked down at her wrists. "They ache, but I don't think it's anything I can't handle."

"You'll come talk to me if anything feels worse, right?" Joe gave her a stern stare that reminded her of her father.

"Yes..." She said defeated and Joe looked content. "How long do you think this will take to heal?"

"I'm not sure..." Joe said placing his hand on his chin as he thought it through. "It might be a few weeks to a few months." He said honestly. "It all depends on how quickly your body goes through the healing process."

"Thanks Joe." Haru smiled.

"No problem," Joe said as he stood. Izzy waved to her as he went over to look on his computer.

"Hey Joe?" Haru called out as he turned to follow Izzy. He looked at her confused. "When we go home... um... do you think you could keep checking how I'm healing?"

Joe frowned slightly as he listened to her request. "You should probably see a real doctor when you get back..."

"But how am I supposed to explain this?" She lifted her arms for emphasis. "It looks like..." Like she was being abused, but she didn't want to say those words.

Joe nodded in understanding. "I'll talk to my older brother. We'll figure something out for you."

"Thanks again Joe." She smiled and let him walk over to Izzy.

"We have good friends..." Chirinmon commented as Haru began to stretch out her body in hopes relieving the aches she felt.

Haru looked over at the ground as she stretched out her legs. "We really do," she said with a smile.

"Perhaps, we can spend some more time with everyone," Chirinmon offered as he looked at their friends.

"That would be nice," Haru smiled happily.

"We have email from Gennai," Izzy called to everyone.

"Gennai?" Haru asked as she walked over to Izzy as she squatted beside him to look.

"What's it say, Izzy?" Sora asked as she stood near him along with T.K., Kari, Joe, Mimi, and Matt.

"Not now," Tai complained as he walked by with his hands behind his head. "I need a nap."

"It's coming in now," Izzy stated as he waited for his computer to bring up.

"Is he congratulating us?" Tai asked as he closed his eyes.

"Gennai says here... that the Dark Masters aren't the real enemies!" Izzy exclaimed as he read what was written on his screen.

"Huh?!" Tai shouted in surprise. The statement quickly pushed away his tiredness.

"There's someone else out there besides Piedmon?" Haru asked as she unconsciously rubbed her wrists. "Is that even possible?" She whispered.

Izzy glanced at her and noticed her reaction. "It says here that the real enemy is an evil force that's very existence warps the Digital World and created the Dark Masters." Joe also noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "So according to this, I don't think we're out of the woods quite yet." Izzy looked up at Tai with a slight sweat appearing on his brow.

"I don't want to fight anymore..." Haru whispered quietly, but it was drowned out by Tai's outburst.

"Wait a sec!" Tai said seriously. "If it's not the Dark Masters then who do we fight next?"

However, before anyone could answer the question, the ground beneath them began to shake. Tai yelled out as he lost his balance. The shaking intensified and the ground began to disintegrate beneath them.

"What's happening?" Mimi shouted as they all fell down into a dark abyss.

I have read this over so many times, but I still feel like I missed some errors. Or maybe I mixed up some names from my other stories... I am guilty of that some times, but I think it's fine. There was a lot of talking in this. I tried to make it as close to IC as possible but I apologize for anything that's off.