Author-y type notes: Here's part two, she's a longy! Anyway, as replying to feedback, I cut down on the swearing and stuff, not that this is ever going to be a G fic and everyone will be glad to know that the other Digi-Destined are in this part...You just need to be patient! BTW, this is getting cornier by the minute. Look for a mega- cheezy ending to this sucker (;

4-5 hours later...Yep, we're still in the mirror maze

Tai collapsed in an exhausted heap on the ground and looked up fearfully at Matt, "Still think this is fun?"

Matt shook his head nervously as he gazed around, "Nope."

"I need out, Yamato, I'm losing my mind." Tai said, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Tai, you never HAD a mind." Matt answered.

"You're not making it any easier, Matt! I'm trying to get out and you're making dumb jokes! Is hat all you can do?! Can you for once in your life HELP me instead of make fun of me? I try to be a good leader Matt, but it's kind of hard to do when a certain person keeps telling you how horrible you are at it."

Matt blinked, surprised by the show of emotion, "Now you're getting all sentimental. How touching."

Tai slapped his hand to his forehead, "Forget it. Just forget it." Then, to Matt's utter shock, Tai stood up and rammed his fists angrily against the glass mirrors, "I WANT OUT!!! LEMME OUT!!"

"Tai!" Matt said, as Tai continued to scream in panic. The kid was right, he WAS losing it. "Tai, stop it!"

"SOMEBODY GET ME OUTTA HERE!!" Tai cried again, this time viciously kicking the glass with his foot. Strangely, the mirror didn't even crack. "HELP!"

Matt annoyed already by Tai's yelling tackled to boy to the floor, "Stop it NOW!"

Tai struggled furiously, even landing a few blows, "Get away from me!! Leave me alone!"

Matt grabbed Tai by the head, "You want me to leave you alone? Here? In this maze, all by yourself? Is that what you want?!"

Tai shook his head no, and for a second he looked a lot like T.K. The other's brown eyes shone with fear and confusion, "Please don't leave me."

Matt sighed, "I won't, I swear. Now, are you done your little tantrum?"

Tai nodded again, eyes falling to the floor, "I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I'm going kind of loopy myself. If that's even remotely imaginable..." Matt said, helping Tai up, "You're not going to wig out on me again are you?"

"I don't know. I feel weird."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Never mind."

"Uh, Tai, dude?"

"What?"

"Your crest is glowing."

Tai looked down at the crest of Courage hanging from his neck and saw that it was, indeed, glowing. "Hunh?" He asked as he watched the light grow stronger. The beams seemed to reflect off the mirrors around him, forming the huge sun pattern of the crest in front of him. They watched in wonder as it hung there for a few milliseconds, then it flew outwards engulfing the room in light. As this happened, the mirrors shattered in a rain of glass, and as the light faded Tai and Matt were left in front of a massive door.

Matt smiled ironically, "So, *that's* how you get out."

"Yeah, No problem. Like that was so easy." Tai agreed.

"Shall we see what's behind door number two?" Matt asked, reaching up for the huge handle.

"Oh let's!" Tai said, sarcasm heavy in his voice, "It can't possibly be better than the hall of mirrors."

"Actually," Matt said, sticking his head through the door, then swinging it open. "It is."

Tai walked through and gazed around. It was the huge hall of a mansion or castle or something to the same token. It had two grand staircases leading to higher levels and a massive chandelier. The only problem was that the place looked as though it hadn't been used in few millennia. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. "Heh, go figure, Frankenstein's castle is in DigiWorld."

Matt nodded in distinct agreement, "What are the odds?" Then the door they had just walked in from the maze slammed shut with a loud, resounding bang. Matt rolled his eyes, "This is beginning to get annoying."

Tai ran a finger along the top of a table, and looked disgusted at the dust that came off, "Tell me about it. I see Martha Stewart hasn't visited this place yet. You think anyone lives here?"

"Tai? Does it LOOK like anyone lives here?" Matt asked, climbing the stairs and gesturing to Tai to follow.

"Good point. Still, this sure is strange. How many mansions have we run across here?" Tai wondered as the reached the top of the staircase and continued down the hall.

"We found a Convenience Store under water, Tai, not to mention phone booths and a trolley car on a beach. This mansion isn't really a stretch." Matt retorted.

Tai shivered involuntarily as they walked past a huge stone cast of a gruesome looking griffin, "It still gives me the creeps. Hey! Maybe Agumon and Gabumon are here!"

"I hope so," Matt answered, "I don't think you and I could really take on a rabid Seadramon or whatever and actually win."

As the end of the hall came into view, Tai found himself frowning in confusion, "Hunh? This makes no sense." He mumbled, staring blankly at his surroundings.

"Whaddya mean?" Matt asked from beside him. The other boy lowered his blue eyes from the ordinate ceiling to Tai's point of view and blinked in shock. "HUNH?"

"Who would build a hallway to a dead end?" Tai wondered, pointing at the plain grey wall in front of them.

"Probably an architect who was dropped on his head a few too many times," Matt cast a look back to the stairs and snagged the younger man by the arm, "C'mon Tai, let's get out of here. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Much to Matt's surprise, Tai nodded in agreement, "Yeah, me too. Let's leave...now."

As the two boys turned to make a mad dash from the building, another gray wall snapped up out of nowhere in front of them, blocking their path from the hallway. Matt, who still had a firm grip on Tai's arm, dragged the boy to the left where they met up with yet another wall. Finally, the last wall slid in place behind them sufficiently boxing them in. Both boys cried out in fear as they heard the distinctive sound of the heavy lock on the door clicking shut.

Tai growled, "If ONE more door locks on me again today I SWEAR I'm going to hurt someone!"

"Yeah, well, don't hold your breath," Matt muttered, pulling at the steel door without success, "I think we're trapped."

Tai groaned and panned the walls. There was nothing. The room surrounding them looked to be pure concrete, specially created to keep something in. Unless Matt had a handy sludge hammer lying around they weren't going anywhere. That is, of course, until whatever had them came around. It could be worse though, they WERE alone...for the moment.

"Sand." Matt said suddenly, breaking Tai out of his reverie.

"Uh, sand?"

"Yeah," Matt answered, his finger quivering slightly as he pointed to the rear of the room where six small panels high up on the wall had opened and were now expelling large amounts of white sand at an alarming rate, "Lots of sand."

As the sand started to gather around his ankles, Tai's groggy mind began to comprehend the situation. The sand was rising. The sand only had so high to rise to. He and Matt happened to be in the way of that rising. Tai swallowed heavily, "Matt, we're in trouble aren't we?"

Matt nodded, "Oh yeah, we're in REAL big trouble."

Blue eyes met brown eyes and the two boys exchanged a long, terrified glance at one another.

"HELP!" Two voices echoed through the empty house.

**************************************************************************************************

"Izzy?" Came a voice from somewhere deep in the light. It was the aliens!! They were finally here! Hunh? Why did the aliens sound like Sora Takenouchi?

"Izzy? Wake up!" Wake up? Was he sleeping? He certainly didn't remember falling asleep. Wasn't he was supposed to be on watch?

"Allow me, Sora." Came the very familiar voice of Tentomon buzzing around in the sky. Suddenly, the once dim lit view from behind Izzy's closed eyes lids exploded in light as he was filled with an intense electric shock from his Digimon friend.

Izzy had to hand it to his friend, although highly unorthodox, it was successful. The young computer whiz was now wide awake and rubbing his backside in remorse. "That was incredibly unnecessary, Tentomon."

"Maybe, but it worked." The Digimon answered.

From beside them, Sora smiled, "‘Morning Izzy."

"Mornin' Sor--OH MAN! I left my laptop on last night! I probably lost all of those data files I was trying decipher!" It didn't take longer than a few seconds for the brown haired boy to be tapping desperately at his computer again.

"Uh, Izzy?" Sora ventured again.

"Yep?"

"Where's Matt?"

"OH! MATT!" Izzy said, sighing in relief as he realized his files were indeed intact, "He went off into the woods this morning to look for Tai. He hasn't come back yet?"

Sora shook her head, "No. And neither has Tai. Izzy, I'm worried."

Izzy frowned and looked around, Sora didn't look like the only one that was worried. T.K was gazing off into the forest, clutching Patamon and trying to hold the tears in. Joe and Gomamon, spoke in whispered tones with Mimi and Palmon, all eyes once and awhile drifting to the lush wilderness.

"How long have I been asleep?" Izzy asked.

"A while. But don't worry about it. Yesterday was a long day, it happens to the best of us." Sora answered quietly. "Um, what exactly did Matt say to you?...Before he went off, I mean."

Izzy shrugged, a look of frightened apprehension filling his gaze, "He woke up in the middle of the night, I think he felt unpleasant after that argument he had with Tai yesterday because he was yelling Tai's name in his sleep. I asked him if he was okay, and he said yeah and he was wondering if Tai had returned yet. I said no, and that someone should go look for him. He thought I was telling him HE should go and I told him yes, he was the one who scared Tai away and he was the one who should go look for him..."

"YOU WHAT?" Joe cried, eyes wide behind his thick glasses.

Izzy blinked, surprised to find the others were now listening in. The boy automatically went on the defensive, "I didn't know he would actually go! I mean, seriously, it's MATT and TAI! I figured logically, that Matt would go and be back with Tai by morning...I don't know why they're not back yet!"

"Maybe they killed each other." Joe muttered darkly.

"That's not very funny, Joe." Mimi said, her eyes watching the woods as if they were going to rise up and attack her.

"Agumon and Gabumon are with them. What could possibly go wrong?" Joe wondered.

"Well, let me see," Tentomon said, "They could have been attacked by yet ANOTHER giant evil Digimon, not to mention all the habitat dangers, then again, maybe Myotismon captured them."

T.K sniffled, and finally unable to keep it in any longer, started to sob. Biyomon frowned at Tentomon, "Tentomon! Now look what you did! You scared T.K!"

"What?" Tentomon cried, "It's not my fault!"

The insectoid Digimon continued it's defense but it didn't matter anyway, because Sora had stepped dutifully into her big sister mode and had taken a step up to the crying boy to console him. "Don't worry, T.K, we'll find Matt."

T.K's tears abruptly ran dry and he raised shiny blue eyes to Sora, "Promise?"

Smiling warmly at the boy's innocence, Sora nodded, "Of course." But her mind echoed the word her heart was feeling. Somehow

Mimi, as usual, just looked anxious, "Do we really have to go into that creepy, old forest? I mean, if Matt and Tai didn't come back out, who says we will?"

"You pose a very good question, Mimi." Izzy replied, sifting through computer files in search of something helpful for their upcoming search.

"For once." Joe snickered. All this succeeded in doing was eliciting an indignant ‘humph' from Mimi who whirled away from the group at the insult.

"Can we stop arguing and start looking, guys?" Sora asked, a hint of impatience entering her voice.

"And we can use my computer to track the signals on their Digi-vices...No problem!" Izzy agreed, already working on picking up the devices on his screen.

"Yeah, no problem until we find out what...or who...is keeping them so long." Joe said, voice starting to quiver slightly at the mere thought of running into another whacked out Digital Monster.

Sora's eyes found their way slowly to the forest where the two boys had vanished and squelched her rising fear. If Matt and Tai were in trouble, they had to save them, there was no question there. So why did the sight of a little forest keep getting her so worked up?

"A-HA!" Came a victorious shout from Izzy's general direction, "I've picked them up!...Hey wow, they're a fairly great distance from our location. I wonder how they got so far out?"

"Let's forget how and get going before it's too late!" Sora suggested, then she smiled, "Uh, Izzy? How about you lead?"

"I suppose since I DO have the computer, it WOULD be logical for me..."

"Great! Let's go!" Sora said, pushing the group towards the nearby trees.

As the small band of children and Digimon entered the woods, only Joe's voice could be heard winding endlessly through the trees, "Is it too late to say ‘I have a bad feeling about this'?"

**************************************************************************************************

Agumon blinked open his large green eyes and found himself staring at a grotesquely dirty ceiling. Which the little Digimon thought was odd. Wasn't he outside before? He could have sworn he and Tai were in the woods...

Tai!?

Agumon's claw went flying, reaching beside him to the usual area where he would find his DigiDestined child curled up. Much to his dismay, all he felt was hardwood floor. The Digimon's heart leapt. What if something had happened to Tai? He'd never forgive himself! He was supposed to be protecting the boy!

Suddenly, a voice drifted to the yellow dinosaur-like creature from nearby, "Matt?"

Finally able to roll onto his side, Agumon found himself face to face with the wolf Digimon, Gabumon, who looked about as worried about Matt as Agumon was about Tai. A quick once over of the room had clearly stated that neither of the boys were anywhere in sight.

"Gabumon?" Agumon said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," The other replied, "Matt and I were searching for you and Tai in the woods, we found Tai, but where were you?"

Agumon opened his mouth and closed it again, "I don't remember. One minute I was with Tai, the next I was here."

Gabumon nodded in understanding, "The same thing happened to me," Then the Digimon frowned, "I do hope Matt is alright."

"Well," Agumon said, rising to his feet, "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can find them."

"So where ARE we?" Gabumon wondered as they made their way out of the small, vacant room and into the hallway they discovered outside.

"I have no idea," Agumon answered, "This place doesn't look at all familiar to me."

"What do you think happened to Matt and Tai?" Gabumon asked, surveying the huge mansion with worried eyes.

"Maybe they're back at the forest," Agumon answered, attempting to make his comrade feel better. Truthfully, the Digimon knew how Gabumon felt. He hated the feeling of not knowing where Tai was, and whether or not he was alive. "I'm sure they're okay. They're pretty smart...for humans."

Gabumon laughed a weighted laugh, "I do hope you're right."

Agumon nodded, "Me too." He whispered under his breath.

"Agumon? Do you smell something?" Gabumon asked, nose in the air.

Agumon sighed, "Not this again!" But he took a whiff anyway, just to humor his friend. Then, to his surprise he picked up a very familiar scent, one that he had come to know and trust, "TAI'S HERE! I smell TAI!"

"So much for the forest idea." Gabumon replied, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, "Matt's here too. I can feel it."

"They're together?" Agumon said, trying to pick up the scent once more, "Is that really a good thing?"

Gabumon didn't answer. Instead the other Digimon's ears perked up as if he were listening to something a great distance away. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"There it is again!" Gabumon said, sounding more positive this time.

Agumon gave his friend a dubious look but listened anyway, trusting Gabumon's senses...and that's when he heard it. Faintly at the beginning, but it grew louder the closer they got to the end of the hall.

"Help!"

"Somebody help us!"

The two Digimon looked at each other, eyes widening in recognition of the voices pleading for assistance.

"Tai! Hang on!" Agumon cried, running as fast as he stubby legs would carry him in the general direction of the desperate cries. Gabumon ran behind him, Agumon could hear the other's ragged breath as he attempted to keep up.

"I'm coming Matt!" The wolf Digimon called.

The two whipped around the corner and Agumon moaned in anguish as the friends came face to face with a blank wall and a locked steel door. Somewhere in the distance, Matt and Tai's fear filled voices still rang through the halls.

**************************************************************************************************

"Well, isn't this great," Matt said bitterly, "We face hundreds of killer Digimon but in the end we're killed by *sand*"

After some pathetic and unsuccessful escape attempts, the two boys had resigned to their fate; mostly due to the fact that the sand level had risen up to their necks and they weren't even able to move anymore.

Still, Tai tried. Matt listened to the younger boy struggle furiously to get out of the sand's grasp. Then again, Matt could understand why he was trying. Tai was shorter than Matt and the pure, white sand was already overtaking Tai's chin where as it was only touching the base of Matt's neck.

"Give it up, cactus head," Matt muttered, "We're toast."

Tai lifted a furious eyebrow, "Cactus head?"

"I really couldn't think of any other way to describe that hair of yours." Matt answered, he would have shrugged. Had he been able to.

"You should talk. At least my hair doesn't look like hedgehog died on my head!" Tai retorted.

"What?!" Matt cried, "If we weren't about to be buried alive in here, I'd be beating the living daylights out of you, mush for brains!"

Surprisingly, Tai didn't say anything but, "Thanks for reminding me."

"Thanks for reminding you that you have mush for brains?"

"No, that we're being BURIED ALIVE you IDIOT!" Tai screamed. "I don't know about you but I don't see what's so funny about this situation."

"Nothing funny," Matt replied quietly, "Nothing funny at all."

"Then quit making stupid jokes!"

"My jokes aren't stupid!"

"YES! They ARE."

Matt sighed, "I give up. If I'm going to die, the last thing I want to do is waste my last minutes arguing with you."

"I...don't think that's going to matter much anyway..." Tai said, fear running rapid in his voice. Matt turned to see the sand creeping up Tai's face. The other's brown eyes were huge with terror.

"Try getting on your tip toes!" Matt suggested, desperately.

"I already am!" Tai cried.

Matt heard a tremendous whoosh and his head whipped up to the ducts on the wall that the sand was pouring out of. It was if someone had suddenly turned the switch from low to high, because the amount of sand descending on them seem to triple in one terrifying instant. Matt's eyes trailed instinctively to the smaller boy who was desperately trying to keep his head above sand to no avail.

In one last instant, Tai turned his large, brown eyes to the other occupant of the room, "MATT!" He screamed in panic and then those eyes disappeared under the pure sand forever. It only took a few more seconds for all remnants of Taichi Kamiya's existence to be washed away by the ocean of white.

"TAI!" Matt cried, "TAI!"

That was all Yamato had time to say, because the sand took that instant to descend onto the boy and swallow him whole.

**************************************************************************************************

"Can we stop for the night? My feet are killing me!" Came Mimi Tachikawa's voice from somewhere behind the weary travelers.

"Mimi, can you, for once, NOT complain?" Joe whined.

"Humph, you should talk Joe!"

From her vantage point beside Izzy, Sora rolled her eyes, "Here we go again..."

"Well, according to my calculations, we won't be able to reach Matt and Tai's positions until tomorrow afternoon anyway." Izzy said loudly, never looking up from his laptop that was guiding them through the dense underbrush. "It would probably be logical to find a place to spend the night."

After surveying the other exhausted Digidestined, Sora regretfully agreed, "Everyone looks tired. It's probably for the best."

Joe walked up to stand between them, "Yeah, let's just hope Tai and Matt can stay alive that long."

"My theory is that somehow the Digi-vices are connected to our life source. If Matt and Tai were dead, we wouldn't be picking up a signal at all." Izzy explained.

"Am I the only one who DOESN'T think that's encouraging?" Joe moaned.

"Relax Joe!" Gomamon said, from his usual post by his partner's side, "You keep forgetting that Gabumon and Agumon are with them. Those guys would never let anything happen to Matt and Tai."

"Or so we hope." Sora replied. That quieted everyone. The small camp was left to their own thoughts and tasks of collecting wood, food and other resources for the evening.

Surprisingly, it was T.K who broke the silence first, "They'll be okay. I know they will. I can feel it." His small voice was full of conviction and hope.

Sora put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulders, "I hope you're right, T.K."

The little boy pointed up to the stars above him, "When me and Matt got separated he told me all I had to do is look at the stars because they were the most reliable things on the earth. Even when it's cloudy or rainy, you still know they're up there watching us even if we can't see them. Matt said that as long as there were stars in the sky we'd be together, and that he'd be my own personal star and always watch me. Even if we didn't live together anymore."

Sora's eyes closed in anguish. Matt had said THAT? Man, had she ever been wrong about him. T.K smiled up at Sora with shining blue eyes, "Do you know how I know Matt's okay?"

"How?"

"I can still see the stars."

Sora couldn't help herself but to hug the boy. That small show of innocence had shown her what true dedication was. T.K was right. He WAS bigger than he looked. "We'll find Matt, I promise."

T.K nodded, no trace of fear in his small eyes at all. "I know we will."

**************************************************************************************************

Gabumon and Agumon gazed at the steel door in front of them with barely contained desperation. "We need to get this open! Matt's in there, I just know it!" Gabumon cried, voice high with worry.

Agumon nodded and reached for the power within him. After taking a moment to inhale, the little Digimon shouted out, "Pepper Breath!" And sent a hurling fire ball straight at the door handle. Gabumon followed suit, sending a long line of icy Blue Blaster.

To both their surprise the door moaned, as if greatly pressured by something and gave way, swinging outward. Gabumon and Agumon jumped out of the way of the flying door and in turn avoided being buried in the gallons of sand that came barreling out of the gaping hole.

Gabumon frowned, "Sand? How odd."

"This whole place is odd." Agumon answered, "And this must have been a trick, there's no way Tai and Matt could've been in there, it's full of sand!"

Suddenly, as if on cue, two small forms were sucked out of the sand-filled room and dropped unceremoniously on the floor, where they lay unmoving. It took the two Digimon a few seconds to get over the shock of seeing their friends lying motionless face down in the river of silt, but quickly shock turned to horror.

"Oh no! Matt and Tai!" Gabumon cried, running to his fallen child.

Agumon fell quickly to his knees beside Tai. Rolling the boy over, he gazed down at Tai's perfectly still face. The young boy had never looked so pale and empty. "Gabumon! I don't think they're breathing! Oh Tai! Wake up! Please!"

As if hearing Agumon's desperate shouts, Tai coughed weakly and tiny slits of brown became visible as the Guardian Of Courage slowly opened his eyes. Much to the relief of Gabumon, Matt did the same.

"Hunh?" Tai whispered, "Am I dead?"

Agumon laughed a crazy laugh of utter subsidy, "No, Tai. You're alive."

Tai's head tilted slightly at the Digimon's voice, "Agumon?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright? What happened to you?"

Slowly, and with the help of his Digital Monster, Tai was able to sit up, "THAT is a long story. Let me just say, your timing was excellent. A couple more minutes in the sand pit and we would have suffocated for sure."

"‘Twas nothin'" Agumon said, blushing slightly.

"Matt, you okay?" Tai asked, gazing over at his sand logged friend.

"Yep, just peachy considered I just survived being buried alive." The blue eyed boy ran his long fingers through his hair in an attempt to get the sand out. Tai took the easier approach and to the dismay of everyone shook himself off.

"I vote we get out of here," Matt said, once they'd gained enough strength to stand and walk, "I don't think I want to run into anymore treats like the giant sand dune again."

"I'm for that," Tai said, "But, uh, which way is out?"

"Well we came in that way, " Matt replied, pointing to the hall to the left, "I think..."

"But we came from over there." Gabumon said pointing the east hallway.

"Matt, I thought we came in from that way..." Tai put in, gazing to the right.

"Oh great," Agumon moaned, "We're lost..."

"Lost!" Matt cried, "We are NOT lost. No one gets lost in a house. There's got to be some way out."

"Matt, I don't think this is your everyday, ordinary house." Tai said flatly.

"Was it the mirrors or the killer sand that gave you that idea, Tai?" Matt snapped sarcastically, then he looked around, "Where's a good EXIT sign when you need one?"

"How ‘bout eenie, meanie, minie, moe?" Tai said.

"One potato, two potato?" Matt suggested.

"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish?"

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

"May I ask," Gabumon said finally, "what you two talking about?"

"It's Tai's highly advanced decision making process," Matt answered, "Basically, pick a hallway and hope we don't all get slaughtered."

"Actually," Tai cried, "I think we should go that way!" Pointing to the left hand hall.

"And why's that leader-boy?" Matt asked.

"‘Cuz that big, black thing flying at us is going to mow us down if we don't!!!" Matt whirled to the right to see the giant black shadow hurdling at them. He didn't recognize it but it didn't look friendly and Matt wasn't so sure it was up to sharing a cup of tea and some idle chatter.

"RUN!" He cried. The two boys and their Digimon took off into the left hall at a dead heat. As they ran Matt could hear the horrible swish of the monster that was barreling down on them. If they didn't get away from it soon, they weren't going to get away from it at all.

"Look!" Matt heard Tai call, "A door!"

"Please be unlocked!" Matt whispered, "Please, PLEASE be unlocked!"

He watched as Tai hefted the handle and yanked, and to the joy of all, the door swung open. Matt grabbed Gabumon and pulled him through, slamming the door violently behind him. Trying to slow his racing heart, Matt listened for the creature that had been following them. But now all he heard was deadly silence.

Tai raised his eyes, "Is it...gone?"

"I dunno," Matt answered, "And I don't want to find out. Let's go!"

The boys crossed the room to yet another door, and pulled it open revealing another room...A room exactly identical to the one they had just left.

"Hunh?" Agumon asked, "Didn't we just come from here?"

Tai ran to the other side of the newly entered room and pulled it's door open, only to find that next room was exactly the same as the first two.

"Okay," Tai muttered, "This place is seriously beginning to freak me out."

"Let's just trying go back through here." Gabumon suggested, walking back into the previous room with Agumon trailing behind. Tai stayed staring at the long line of identical rooms.

"Matt, this doesn't make any sense. Is this even real?" Tai wondered.

"If it isn't, it's sure one twisted dream," Matt said, shrugging, "C'mon let's go find--AH!"

Matt suddenly grabbed Tai's sleeve and pointed to the door...or where the door HAD been. "Please tell me there was a door there two seconds ago!"

"There was," Tai said, nodding numbly, "Uh, Where are Agumon and Gabumon?"

Meanwhile on the other side of the wall, Gabumon surveyed the now locked door with interest, "You're sure you didn't lock it when you came through Agumon?"

"Positive!" Agumon said leaning forward and knocking at the door, "Matt? Tai? Can you hear me?"

There was no answer from the room beyond.

"TAI! You in there!?" Agumon tried again.

Once again nothing.

"Ah not again!" The orange Digimon cried, "We just got them back!"

Gabumon didn't seem that interested. Instead, he was staring at a nearby wall with small hieroglyphics with a haunted look in his eyes. The language was well known to Gabumon and he remembered hearing the prophesy written here before somewhere.

Agumon joined him, "What is it Gabumon? What does it say?"

Gabumon closed his eyes, "Then the darkness will take the courage and the friendship from this world and all will be lost..."

"That's it?" Agumon said, "That's what it says?"

"There's more, but I can't read it. The wall is too worn." The wolf Digimon answered.

"Why is written here?"

"I have no idea. But I feared the day that I would see this again."

"Why?"

"Tai and Matt are in grave danger, my friend. And this time I don't think we'll be able to save them." Gabumon replied, gazing at the locked door with hollow eyes.

"Gabumon those are just a bunch of silly words," Agumon muttered heatedly, "They don't mean anything!"

"It was these words that gave us our DigiDestined and it will be by these words that they are taken away." Gabumon said, his voice sounded low and odd. Not at all what Agumon was used to.

Becoming frightened by Gabumon's reaction, Agumon gazed defiantly around him, "Who's doing this!? WHO ARE YOU?!"

As if to answer the little Digimon, the floor suddenly seem to give out beneath his feet and opened to a endless dark hole. Both Gabumon and Agumon fell for what felt like forever until they hit a slide worked into the floor and slid the rest of the way to their destination.

Landing face first with a thunk on the hard floor at the end of the slide, Agumon raised his green eyes to his surroundings. The first thing he saw were feet, these were followed by legs and a massive body. Craning his small neck the little Digimon lifted his gaze to the head of the monstrosity and could see nothing but the two glowing red eyes piercing the empty darkness.

Agumon resisted the urge to cry out in terror as they came face to face with their rival. It WAS him. The nightmare that seemed to have surfaced from the under worlds and probably did. No one had seen him in years, and no one wanted to. He was the vilest of beings on this planet, or so thought Agumon. Suddenly, the Digimon was petrified for Tai. The boy was helpless without him. What if he got Tai? What would he do?

Something fluttered deeply in Agumon. Nothing would happen. He wouldn't let it. He wasn't going to let HIM anywhere near Tai if it was last thing he did. Which it might very well be.

"Welcome to my home, Protectors Of The DigiDestined." The shadow said. "I have been awaiting you for so very, very long."

It was Fieromon.

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This scene is a little heart to heart between Matt and Tai. No yaoi is intended.

Eventually giving up on trying to pry open the door, the two boys finally turned to look at their surroundings. Before them was small, simple room with a tiny fireplace against one wall and a bookshelf against the other.

Tai sighed, "Cozy."

"Yeah, well," Matt muttered, "At least there's fire, I'm freezing."

Tai yawned and stretched his arms, "Looks like a good place to get some sleep, I'm exhausted."

"Hm, after a mirror maze and the sand pit from hell I feel like I'm just getting started!" Matt answered sarcastically, heading over to the bookshelf to examine it's contents. Tai headed to the fire, sitting down on the hard, bare floor trying vainly to warm himself. After a couple of minutes Matt returned with a blanket wrapped around himself and joined Tai in front of the meager fire.

Seeing that the younger boy was shivering uncontrollably, Matt smiled and opened the blanket, "C'mere before you freeze to death, leader-boy." He said.

Tai gave his friend an unsure look but when he realized his only options were to share the blanket or freeze, he grabbed the sheet's corner and pulled it around his thin shoulders.

"Hey, it ain't the Ritz, but you take what you can get in this place," Matt said, looking into the pathetic flames of the fire in front of them, "But this is all too convenient for me. I think someone's watching."

Tai shivered and yanked the blanket tighter, "Gee, you think? I just hope we can find Agumon and Gabumon again before we run into whoever it is."

Matt nodded, "We'll start looking first thing tomorrow."

"Hey Matt?"

"Yeah Tai?"

"Do you think the others are looking for us?"

"I dunno. Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"How should I know? Maybe they thought it wasn't worth it to come look for us." Matt snapped, not hearing the bitterness in his own voice.

Tai blinked at his friend and then sighed loudly, "I'm sure they are."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Matt, they're our friends!"

"Yeah, well, everyone screws you over eventually, Tai. Of course, you're way too naive to see that." Matt answered, speaking from somewhere deep down inside him. Some part he'd vowed he'd keep hidden forever but it seemed to be opening up in front of Tai of all people.

"What kind of an outlook on life is that? Your friends are the ones that always stick by you no matter what. You don't think we'll all stick by you?" Tai asked, shock written on his young face.

"I don't know," Matt said, truthfully, "You're the almighty leader, why don't you tell me?"

Tai's eyes lowered to the floor, "Do you ever think that maybe I might be leader because I HAVE to be, not because I WANT to be?"

"Say what?"

"There are times when I want people to tell me what do, instead of the other way around. Y'know, for someone else to call the shots...Do you have any idea how much pressure I have to deal with? And what happens if one of you dies? Who will get blamed? Me. And it will most likely be my fault too. Probably a bad judgement call that will cost one of my friends their lives. I'm a kid, Matt, how I'm I supposed to save the world? Do you have any idea how that feels?" Tai asked, his words stumbling over each other in a wild race to get out of his mouth and off of his heart.

Thinking for a moment, Matt nodded, "Yeah, I think I do."

"Oh, yeah, T.K," Tai said, "But he seems like such a nuisance to you."

"Tai, I love T.K," Matt said, a certain fire igniting in his voice that wasn't there before, "He and Gabumon are all I have in the entire world."

"That's not true, " Tai muttered softly, "You got us. We need you too Matt."

Matt raised his blue eyes to the young boy sitting right beside him. Tai had just said the words that were on his mind, but Tai couldn't truly understand the significance of them to Matt. Matt had never heard anyone actually say that they needed *him*. "Tai? Did you mean that?"

Tai frowned at Matt. The older boy was looking at him strangely, a weird gleam in his eyes, "Yeah, of course I did. You're my friend, Matt. Sure, we may not always get along but you're still my friend. I'd give up my life for any of you guys."

Matt lifted a curious eyebrow, trying to hide the emotions Tai's words played inside him, "You're serious?"

"Matt, like I said before, if anything happened to any of you...well, I'd never forgive myself. Sometimes I wonder why I got the crest of Courage, because there are times... when I'm so scared I can't even move." Tai pulled off his trademark goggles in an act of exasperation and let his soft brown hair tumble down across his forehead.

"You could've fooled me, Tai."

Tai yawned, "That's the point."

"At least you didn't get the Friendship crest. I wonder how I ended up with it? Friendship and I aren't exactly synonyms of one another." Matt said, looking at the tag hanging limply around his neck with interest.

The younger boy yawned again and shivered slightly as the flames of the fire began to dwindle down, "Whaddya talkin' ‘bout Matt? You're a great friend...when you're not acting like a jerk..."

Matt smiled at this, "Ya think so hunh?"

"Yep... sure."

"Y'know, I think when this is all over, I might just thank you Tai." Matt replied, noticing the sleepy way the other's eyes were falling shut.

"Um hunh..."

"It's okay Tai, go to sleep." Matt said quietly as Tai's brown eyes faintly closed and his head slumped forward. Feeling just slightly awkward, Matt carefully laid the sleeping boy out on the floor and gently placed the entire blanket over him.

Tai's sleepy reply drifted to Matt's ears, "Thanks Matt."

Almost grinning, Matt crawled closer to the fire and pulled out his beloved harmonica and began to play. The notes echoed calmly through the tiny room and for the first time since this nightmare had began the previous day, Matt felt a strange sense of tranquility wash over him.

His eyes slowly fell on the sleeping form of Taichi Kamiya. Without the goggles making his hair look ten feet tall, Tai looked incredibly young. Too young to be leading a group of misfits into a battle to save the world, anyway. The boy almost had that same untouchable innocence that his little brother possessed. Maybe Matt had just missed it all these many months, but he was finally seeing the good side of Tai, the love in his heart and how the young boy was just trying to get them all home alive.

And all this time Matt had just thought Tai was stupid, reckless and too dense for his own good. Maybe it was time to admit he was wrong about the kid.

"Matt?" Came a small, groggy voice.

"Yeah, Tai?"

"Thanks for listening."

"No problem, kid. Now get some shut eye."

"‘Kay."

Matt's song turned soulful and his mind wandered. Yeah, maybe just maybe, Tai wasn't so bad. Matt would just have to learn to trust him. That was one of the blocks of friendship wasn't it? Trust? That little five letter word was something usually hard won for Matt, but he would try. That's all he could do.

Sighing, Yamato shifted his position on the hard floor and tried once again to get comfortable. It was going to be a long night.

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"Well, come, come," He beckoned, gesturing with a darkened hand, "Don't just lie there all day! I have something to show the two of you."

"Fieromon, whatever it is, we don't want to see it." Agumon cried, looking at his opponent with what he hoped was resistance instead of fear.

Fieromon turned his massive head and narrowed his red eyes with contempt, "You're lucky I don't crush right where you stand you little weakling, believe me, it would give me great satisfaction. Unfortunately, I need you."

"For what?" Gabumon asked suspiciously.

"I could tell you," Fieromon said, shrugging, "But I'd much rather show you."

The massive, dark Digimon flicked a switch and the blank TV screen in front of them sprang to life. It's image was simple and almost serene. It displayed a small room with dwindling fireplace and small, compact book shelf. Curled up back to back under a single blanket on the floor were Matt and Tai, sleeping peacefully.

Agumon was somewhat relieved to see that his friends were alright but a familiar sense of dread was overpowering it by the mere thought that this monster was watching them. Fieromon smiled, "Oh, actually, I've been watching your little ones since you reached the edge of my forest. I've had this planned every step of the way."

"Why?"

"I think I know," Gabumon said slowly, voice creeping with horror.

"You do, do you?" Fieromon laughed.

"You want to fulfil the prophesy!" Gabumon cried, "That's why it's written all over the house! You think that you're the one who's going to fulfill it!"

Fieromon smiled a long, evil smile that seemed to sink into every one of Agumon's bones and turn him inside out. "Oh, my friend Gabumon, I don't THINK I'm going to fulfill anything. I KNOW I am. I AM the darkness that destroys the courage and the friendship and then it will be so simple to take over this pathetic world...Just watch me." And with that, the evil Digimon disappeared in a flash of shadow.

Agumon frowned, "Where'd he go?"

"I already know!" Gabumon cried, pointing at the screen, " Look!"

Fieromon now stood in the room that was occupied by the two sleeping DigiDestined. His huge form made the two boys look tiny and insignificant, even though neither of the kids seemed to notice that they had company. They continued to sleep, oblivious to the danger they were presently in.

Fieromon reached down for Tai , and Agumon screamed at the screen in front of him, "No! Fieromon! Don't you dare TOUCH him! Tai! Wake up!"

The dark Digimon carefully brushed a lock of brown hair off the boy's face in an almost mock tender way and then gently placed a black hand on Tai's forehead. Tai's peaceful face contorted violently into fear and the boy whimpered in terror. Agumon's heart twisted. "NO! Stop! Please, don't hurt him!"

He hated this. Watching helpless as his best friend was attacked by Fieromon. There's was nothing he could do. No way to protect him. All Fieromon had to do was lean down and snap the boy's tiny neck and it would be over. Not only would Agumon fail as a protector to his world but also as a friend to Tai.

After releasing Tai, he did the same to Matt , who was much more vocal with his anxiety and Agumon watched Gabumon stiffen as his Digital partner cried out his name, "No...Matt..."

Fieromon then stood up to admire his handy work. Neither boy had woken up during the entire process but now both Digidestined held a look a pure panic that to Fieromon was virtually priceless. His mission for the evening now complete, he returned to the room where the two Protector Digimon now stood, watching their beloved humans sleep with tear filled eyes.

"What did you do to them?" Agumon asked, angrily.

Fieromon shrugged, "I just gave them a little taste of the darkness. It won't kill them...yet."

The two Digimon frowned at him, confused and he gave the two another of his patent smiles, "You're wondering why I just didn't kill them now, while they're vulnerable aren't you?"

Neither answered, so Fieromon took that as a yes, "It's simple you see," He explained, "Where Etemon and Devimon failed, I will be victorious. They underestimated the power of those children. But I won't. In all my days I've found the greatest weapon of all is your own mind."

"If you lie a finger on them, I swear I'll..."

"Oh get off yourself, Agumon. I won't have to lie a finger on little brats...if my plan goes correctly, which it always does, then by the time they get to us there will be nothing left for you to destroy." Fieromon said darkly.

"For US to destroy?" Agumon squeaked, thoroughly shocked and praying he hadn't heard the demon right.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that?" Fieromon laughed, "I'm not going to have to kill the children, because you're going to do it for me..."

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Coming up in Part Three (the end) of Nightmares and Realities. Can Tai and Matt beat Fieromon and the prophesy? Can Izzy and the others get there in time to save the boys?...and where the hell are they? My corny final show down is coming up in the next part, so ciao til then! Remember to send feedback!