“There it is Takeru,” cried Patamon, flying ahead to the cave. The forest was dark, only the light from the moon helped illuminate their path.

“Don’t go too far without me Patamon!” Takeru shouted, feeling fear rising of being alone in the forest.

“We’re right behind you Takeru,” Pamon said, running next to Takeru. Mimi was panting as she drew closer.

They were silent as they entered the dark cave. All they could hear was the sound of footsteps and the fierce beating of their own hearts.

“How are we supposed to see where my oniican is?” Takeru asked, as he felt Patamon clinging onto his shoulder.

“Taichi said that Gabumon is going to be guarding his partner,” explained Palmon.

“How would we know it would be here?” Mimi asked.

“We don’t,” Palmon replied, cocking a smile which was barely visible in the dark.

Due to the darkness, they bumped and tripped a lot in the cave. Besides their noisy entrance, they all heard a faint noise as though something was scratching the ground, but they didn’t think too much about it.

Mimi began to complain about the lack of light and earned a “oh Mimi” sigh from Palmon.

“We should have brought a torch light! Or a firefly!” wailed Mimi.

“Mimi?” a voice called from within.

“Gabumon!” the small group cried in unison, pleased that their search brought results.

“What are you guys doing here? Didn’t Taichi tell you all to stay away? It’s unsafe here!” Gabumon replied, sounding slightly angry.

“Gabumon, could you please give us some light?” Patamon asked.

“Why?” Gabumon asked, evidently suspicious.

Patamon sighed. “So we can at least find our way back later. It is quite dark.”

Tapping of feet, shuffle, then a cry of power unleashed as blue light sparked red flame. The blue light disappeared, and they could see more clearly with the aid of the flame burning on a few pieces of sticks.

“Well, what do you want? It is dark, you came here without Taichi or Agumon, I am sure there is something you want to do or ask me?” Gabumon asked on his guard.

“Why are you treating us like strangers?” Mimi asked angrily before Palmon could stop her. “We all here are great friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes… yes….” Gabumon replied, but he was unable to relax. “Sorry about that… but I feel restless....”

“Why don’t you leave this cave?” Takeru asked, thinking that the darkness of the cave made Gabumon restless.

Gabumon sighed. “It’s not that. After all, this place is ideal to stay, considering we are surrounded by acres of forest. Now, what is it that you want?”

“We just want to return these to my brother,” Takeru said, taking out the Crest of Friendship and the harmonica.

Gabumon looked at the items. “Why?”

“It’s his and it should stay with him!” Takeru said determinately.

“It’s his identity!” Mimi added, taking the Crest of Friendship and shoving it in front of Gabumon’s face to emphasize it.

“He does not want it,” Gabumon said firmly.

“What?!” cried Mimi as Takeru looked perplexed.

“You may leave it here if you do not want it either,” Gabumon sighed, as he rested his head on his paws.

“Here, I’ll leave it close to Yamato-kun,” Mimi said as she placed the Crest of Friendship on what appeared to be recently covered-up soil. Takeru followed suit with the harmonica.

If they had just left by then, then maybe no evil would have happened. However, Takeru felt grounded to the soil, wanting to know more about his brother - a person he was supposed to be close to, a person he was supposed to know and understand.

“Why doesn’t he want his harmonica and crest?” Takeru persisted with the questions.

“He didn’t like them anymore,” Gabumon said, his red eyes seemed distant. Disturbing memories seem to run through his mind. Discarding the thoughts, he focused back again at the current situation, frowning, regretting on what he disclosed.

“Why?” Takeru choked, tears forming at the side of his eyes, disbelieving what he had just heard. His brother had his harmonica back to the time when he was a little toddler. As for the Crest… he had gone through difficulty in attaining it and it was sacred during battles. Now….

“Takeru?” Patamon whispered, breaking the young boy from his train of thoughts. Patamon was beginning to become extra concerned about his partner as he had never seen Takeru to be lost in thought for so many times before. Mimi and Palmon were whispering to each other.

Suddenly, Mimi let out an ear-piercing scream. The rest, shocked fell back. Palmon covered her aching ears as she hurriedly staggered away.

“What’s wrong?” Patamon quickly asked Palmon.

“I don’t know! I just said digimon normally don’t bleed, they just disappear into bits and pieces of data!” whined Palmon, apparently as confused as Palmon and Takeru.

“Murderer!” screamed Mimi, shaking in rage, pointing her accusing finger at the wolf digimon. Her other hand was clutched tightly, as if an attempt to control herself.

Gabumon crouched, alerted. His eyes narrowed, all expression of friendliness was gone, replaced with the cold look.

“Mimi-sempai, you must be mistaken, it can’t be Gabumon!” Takeru cried, as he hurriedly tried to defend his brother’s digimon.

“Really?” Mimi asked, as if mocking him. Then catching herself, she bit her lip. However, she was determined to prove that her claims were right.

“Palmon - no wait, Patamon, tell Takeru what Taichi-kun had told us all about Yamato-kun’s death,” Mimi said hurriedly, as though anger gave her energy.

Hesitating for a moment, Patamon forced himself to speak. “The leader said that Yamato fought against an evil Wizardmon…..”

“And where did the battle take place?” Mimi asked Gabumon.

Gabumon acted as though it was a trick question. “Right here, in this very spot.”

“Show me any proof of mark that Wizardmon was here,” Mimi said, not a smile or warmth shown in her face.

Gabumon did not object, and let them do as they will to search the place. He watched them like a patient warrior. Takeru felt sick that Gabumon, his brother’s digimon should be subjected to such attention. He believed that Gabumon was loyal to his brother, and there was no way Gabumon would have done anything treacherous.

The others obeyed Mimi without question, seeing her wild side. They wondered why the kind girl was not herself tonight. Through the search, Mimi eyed Gabumon with the look of daggers that could stagger a passerby. It was as though Mimi was anticipating that Gabumon would pounce on them and rip them to bits if she took her eyes off him.

Taking the small torch, Patamon flew towards the cave ceiling. Palmon and Takeru looked around the ground and the walls.

Stained blood, wolf’s claw prints, and a small darkened, burnt patch on the walls. Nothing in here showed any proof of Wizardmon being here.

“Well, what do you have to say Gabumon?” Mimi asked in a cruel fashion. The words seem to dig deep into Takeru more than it did to Gabumon.

What’s wrong with her? Takeru wondered, his heart pounding against his eyes. Don’t tell me that some evil digimon has just infected her mind like how Pikodevimon tricked me in to leaving Patamon.

“Mimi, what happened to you?” Gabumon asked, as if he had read Takeru’s mind. He said it so calmly that Takeru couldn’t help but admire the digimon.

“And you Gabumon. I don’t know why you would take Yamato-kun, but he’s gone because of you. I know it, I can feel it. Admit it,” Mimi said, in a soft, dark tone. The dimming of the fire added to eeriness that shrouded the cave.

Gabumon wouldn’t say anything. His face was expressionless, like a dark guardian of the night. He refused to obey Mimi or deny her claims.

“Takeru, maybe we should get going,” Patamon said, sensing tension brewing.

Clutches from the abyss of darkness came. At the atmosphere of the darkness that came, Takeru knew what it was. He had felt its presence when he followed his brother and Jou to save Sora from the dark cave. It was the Dark Wave.

It was coming to consume Mimi.

Urgency rose. “Mimi-sempai, let’s go,” Takeru pleaded, hoping to see Mimi move. It was useless.

From Palmon’s eyes, it appeared to look at a distance, trying to recall all that she had seen. Then it hardened, Palmon somehow seemed to understand and accept Mimi. Their breath was the same; they were linked, through a hyper level of understanding.

The Dark Wave gave them that power.

“Mimi….” Takeru whispered, Patamon clutched onto Takeru’s shoe, feeling the sickening power of darkness filling up the cave. Fear had to be suppressed, lest it consumed them too. He remembered his brother’s words to remain calm. He embraced it, not wanting to disappoint his brother even after death.

All of the sudden, Palmon lashed out at Gabumon. Gabumon jumped back, dodging the poison ivy attack. He seemed to expect it.

“Puchi fire!” The blue blast of fire knocked Palmon a few steps backwards.

“Palmon!” Mimi cried, her crest of purity seemed to be shrouded by the darkness. It mutilated the power that she held, bestowing her new powers.

A portal seemed to open, transforming Palmon into a dark Togemon.

“How is it that Mimi-sempai’s Crest of Purity works?” Takeru asked Patamon, completely baffled, as he and Patamon witnessed the fight from a distance.

“It could be because Mimi really believes that Gabumon is the one who is wrong,” Patamon answered, his voice shaky. He looked down on his small paws, not wanting to continue to watch the fight. They dared not leave, and they weren’t completely sure who and when to help.

“Chiku chiku ban ban!” roared Togemon, as prickles shot out at the rookie digimon. Gabumon rolled over, trying his best to avoid getting hit. Dust splashed around, putting out any left out fire.

Darkness.

Throughtout his life, he had never heard his breathing so loud before. “Patamon,” he gasped, crouching down even more to feel his digimon.

“Takeru,” Patamon returned the call, his voice equally soft. Takeru felt his brain freeze, he was afraid. He never felt so weak, only comfort was Patamon by his side. It was black everywhere; he couldn’t tell what is happening in the fight.

Blasts, sand flung harshly at Takeru’s face. Screams, Mimi’s screams. Occasionally a small blast of blue fire illuminated the place for a few mere seconds.

“Kill him!” Mimi screamed.

Words shot Takeru mercilessly; he could feel the hot tears running down his eyes. He held tight to Patamon, needing the support of this partner. Mimi was supposed to be the one who objects to any fights, getting upset to even witness one.

“Gabumon wouldn’t be able to win,” Patamon whispered urgently. “Yamato isn’t here to give any energy to help him digivolve.”

Takeru had not thought about that. He bit his lip, trying to think of what to do. He didn’t want to worsen the fight, not to mention the chaos it would cause in the darkness.

“Patamon… can you help Gabumon?” Takeru asked warily, feeling horrible that he was not supporting Mimi. They were all friends, and loosing any one of them will be terrible for him to handle.

“Are you sure Takeru? I--,” Patamon’s words was cut off with a loud thud sound beside them.

Gabumon had landed next to them, getting dangerously close to the audience.

“Yamato… help me, I have done all I could….” Gabumon breathed, sounding very weak.

“Gabumon,” whispered Takeru and Patamon, concerned. Hearing Gabumon speak thus made Takeru feel more confident over Gabumon’s loyalty.

When Gabumon heard Takeru’s voice, his energy seemed to be regained as he sprinted off to continue the battle.

“Protect, Patamon, don’t kill, please,” begged Takeru.

“I’m sorry, I cannot see in the dark,” replied Patamon regretfully, stating the obvious. Takeru sighed, worried, trying to think of a solution.

“I’ll try to fly over to Mimi,” Patamon said, knowing that they should at least try to stop the fight somehow.

Without waiting for approval, Patamon flew off.

Takeru was on all fours, feeling around to somehow get away from the fight that seemed to be drawing closer and closer. The air was filled with the stench of evil which made Takeru feel dizzy.

His hands touched something metal. Rectangular. Yamato’s harmonica, he immediately realized. He felt around a bit more. There, he could feel it, it must be the Crest of Friendship. He was crawling on his brother’s grave.

Thump. Takeru jumped a little, shocked. Thump. Thump. It was the sound of something in the grave wishing to be free.

His heart pounded wildly. Should he just dig up the grave? How long can a person survive under the soil? Maybe that isn’t even his brother, but something else.

If his brother was buried alive, he should not be wasting any more time. Quickly, Takeru used his bare hands to scrape the soil away. So what if it wasn’t his brother hitting the floor? The point was that if it was his brother, he must be released immediately. Nothing else should matter.

The burial was not very deep; maybe Gabumon was hurriedly trying to bury him when he heard their clumsy footsteps entering the cave.

With his fingers, he felt he touched the blond locks of his brother’s hair. There was no movement or sound that he could hear, now that he is so close to his brother. Wasn’t he supposed to be moving, struggling to survive like when the soil had covered his brother?

A familiar feeling washed the cave. It was the splendor of the portal opening, bestowing power onto a fellow digimon for their battle.

“Gabumon shinka…. Garurumon!” cried the wolf digimon. The transformation stunned everyone. Garurumon seized the advantage and attacked Togemon with his fox fire.

“Is he… alive?” Mimi whispered, staring straight at nothingness.

“Mimi, if Gabumon could digivolve, the bond between them must be strong until now,” Patamon said, trying his best to convince Mimi to stop Togemon from battling.

She breathed, a sigh, the darkness leaving her. The Dark Wave spilling out from her and Togemon, taking back all the dark energy that was given. Togemon reverted into Tanemon, a form lower than Palmon.

Mimi fell to the ground, weakened. The dark energy had claimed its feed of malicious feelings and left, contented. Her one slip of thinking something else than her anger and hatred had the Dark Wave to desert her and find a new victim.

The battle had ceased, Garurumon did not persist in a battle that he did not really want to partake. He transformed back into Gabumon.

The girl tried to lift her hand, it felt heavy. Dizziness and confused thoughts emerge because of her fatigue. She closed her eyes to rest.

The cave seemed to be brighter, Takeru could see a little more clearly the corpse of his brother. He pushed the soil out of the face and gave a sharp gasp as he fell back. His brother’s face was half-eaten, bite marks of an animal.

Takeru was hyperventilating; he shook his head, trying to get the image out of his mind.

“No….” Takeru whispered, his hands covering his head. “No… no… no….”