Wormmon looked up at Ken. "I don't know how good I feel about this whole situation..."

Ken looked down at his partner. The green worm like Digimon had a worried look on his face and Ken knew that the same expression was on his own. He held Wormmon close to him and hugged him tight.

"I don't like it either but right now there isn't anything we can do. We're in the game and now we're playing. Nothing can stop us until the week is over." Ken said. He hated the darkness around them.

Ken leaned back against the crate behind him and closed his eyes remembering the last time he had seen his friends. It had been at Taichi's soccer game and after they had gone out for treats. When Ken had retuned home he had received a disturbing e-mail to which he could not disregard. Ken had then been taken into the Game in the Digital World and met up with the girl who became his partner in the game.

Ken opened his eyes and looked across the dark warehouse that had been sitting in. There she was. She had a mysterious beauty to her and her dark hair fell around her face framing it perfectly. It was long and strikingly black, pulled into two buns with long strands flowing around her. Her dark eyes were the deepest brown that Ken had ever seen. Hoshi had to be a lot older than him. Tai, Matt and the others were three years older than him, but Hoshi looked as if she could even be older than them. She was beautiful but in that creepy you knew something was wrong kind of way. He knew he couldn't trust her from the moment he had met her. But he also knew that he couldn't leave her side. There were rules to the game and he knew he had to play by the rules. He kept wondering if his friends had been left out of the game or if in fact as the dark haired boy had said, there were here in the DigiWorld as well. If they were he wanted to find them as soon as possible.

The girl, who's name was Hoshi, had her digimon partner as well. Her digimon was called Chocomon and it was a dark brown and black cat like digimon. Ken and Hoshi had come to the warehouse to get their Digimon. They had been at the warehouse for about an hour now and Ken was just waiting for Hoshi to give the signal that it was time to make a move.

"I think it's time to go, you've had your happy little reunion haven't you?" Hoshi asked as she stroked Chocomon who was sitting like a queen in her lap. The digimon seemed to have the same arrogance as its owner.

Ken nodded slowly. He still didn't have a good feeling about this but with having Wormmon at his side things seemed to be a whole lot better. The first few days of his time in the Digital World while Wormmon and Chocomon were being held captive had been very stressing on Ken. With Wormmon he felt like he was at least in a bit more control than before.

"Well then, let's go and see who we can find then." Hoshi said as she opened the doors to the abandoned warehouse "Shall we?"

Ken followed her lead.

"My name is Hana, Hana GaSaku. It's very nice to meet both of you," the girl spoke. She had long brown hair that reached down her back. I had a slight wave to it so the sun bounced off it with a glow. Her eyes were a soft deep brown and they were kind.

Sora still didn't like the way she was staring at Matt but there was nothing she could do about it. She stepped closer to Matt hoping to draw his attention away from the new girl.

"My name is Sora Takenouchi. This is my boyfriend Yamato Ishida" Sora said smiling up at the blonde boy at her side. She loved Matt so much but there was something in his eyes right then that made her worry.

Hana smiled brightly "I know Matt. I'm a huge fan of the Teenage Wolves. I've been following them since they started." Hana turned her attention back to Matt "I've tried to go to as many of your shows as possible but with my school schedule sometimes I haven't been able to make it!"

Matt blushed at the praise that the girl was giving him. Sora noticed. It wasn't often that you would see him blush. Sora hadn't seen him blush since their first kiss and even then he wasn't half as pink as she had been. Matt just didn't show emotions like that.

"I'm sorry to say that I've never noticed you at any of the shows. When you're onstage and there is a sea of people it's hard to pick out faces. Especially with those lights that they shine in your eyes. You almost go blind out there," Matt smiled.

"That's no problem. I didn't expect you know recognize me," Hana blushed in return. She then turned towards Sora, finally breaking the staring lock that she had been sharing with the blue eyed boy.

"I've seen you around too. No wonder since you're his girlfriend. You are so lucky, you know that? There are so many girls that would give anything to trade places with you!" Hana smiled sweetly.

Sora couldn't help but smile back "Yeah, I like to think that I'm lucky" she said as Matt slipped his arm around her waist.

Even though the physical protectiveness that Matt had just shown should have reassured all of her worries, Sora couldn't help but feel the knot that was forming in her stomach. She trusted Matt didn't she? Besides, he had just met this girl and they had done nothing to assert such accusations that were going on in her head.

Reality suddenly set back in as Matt noticed the castle in the background. This wasn't like some pleasant meeting, where they had just bumped into some new girl in the park but this was actual reality when their futures were on the line. They had already spent one day in the bog and now they really just needed to find their friends and get to the castle. Matt just wanted to go home.

"Are you a part of this 'Game' too? Where is your partner and why are you out here alone? You shouldn't have separated yourself." Matt asked his tone serious as concern flooded over his face.

It was then that it seemed horror had stuck over Hana. A light had suddenly gone on for her. Kai, she had to find her sister and she was loosing time, "Game? What are you talking about? I have been kept prisoner in there for the past two weeks!" Hana said pointing off in the direction of the swamp and castle in the distance. "But that doesn't matter, I need to find my sister. People are in danger here and I have it on good advice that someone here isn't going to make it back to the real world. I know that my twin is here, I just know. My sources are correct because my sources are the people who brought me here in the first place and they didn't know that I was listening. She's here in the Digital world and I have to find her NOW!" Hana was starting to get into a panic.

Matt's hand moved from Sora's waist to Hana's shoulder, "Don't worry, we are looking for some of our friends ourselves. We can help you look for her but we need to know more about her. Who is your sister?"

Hana looked up into his eyes again. There was something there that made Hana want to trust him "Her name is Kai... well Kagayaku, and she's my height with short blonde hair and green eyes." Hana's voice escalated and she was on the verge of tears. "I need to find Kai before she could be killed!" Hana finally was pushed over the edge and began to sob.

Matt trying to be of comfort to the poor girl wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head in his shoulder, wetting his shirt with her tears. Matt felt a surge of empathy and he hugged her close. He felt this overpowering feeling that he wanted to help her. He never wanted to see her cry again and he wished he could make her twin just appear. It was obvious by her description that her sister was part of the other group that had met at the fountains that night with them. She was out there somewhere.

"I promise that I will help you find your sister. Don't worry, I promise it'll all be okay" he murmured gently in her ear. Hana started to settle and Matt held her close.

Sora watched from a short distance. This was why she loved Matt so much. He was so concerned for others. Sure it was a trait that he had barely begun to develop, but she loved it when he was like that with her. Still she couldn't shake that knot that was getting bigger and bigger in her stomach.

Izzy could hear a baby crying. It started as a soft whimper, but it was starting to grow. It was as if the baby was getting more and more worked up about something and Izzy knew that he had to find it. There was something wrong and something in the back of his mind grabbed a hold of the situation. Something seemed familiar but at the same time Izzy had no clue why.

He and Meg had found a door and decided to give it a try. It had lead to a place that looked a lot like the highways around the Tokyo area but there were no cars traveling on it at all which was very strange. Izzy knew that Meg was still with him but the baby's cry had captured his attention and he could focus only on the cry and nothing else.

The pair continued to walk down the highway, not really knowing where they were going. Meg was just following Izzy's lead and Izzy had been following the cry from the baby.

Meg bit her lip. It was as if Izzy was in a trace or something. His eyes never blinked and they looked distanced. The cry from the baby was heart breaking and nagging in the back of her mind was the warning that the boy had given them at the fountain two nights ago before they had been thrown into this silly game. Of course she couldn't really call it 'silly' seeing as their lives were on the line. How did she ever get involved in this? She had been to the digital World twice. How did that make her a 'Chosen Child'? That's what the letter that she, Kai and Scott had called them, the letter that was the invitation into the game. It was because of Hana that they had come. The letter was a clue to her disappearance. Meg knew that her best friend was torn about her twin's disappearance but why couldn't it have been a regular kidnapping? Why did the future of their lived have to be thrown into the wager for an added element of surprise? Could this baby's cry have something to do with Izzy's nightmare?

Bob slammed his fist into the wall. Cursing under his breath he picked up one of the lamps and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with amazing force and shattered on impact. The lamp, now in shards, lay on the floor and Bob walked over it, crushing the tiny pieces with his shoes.

He glared, knowing that he should have thought twice before trusting his sister. He knew that she hated Hana. Well hate was a strong word but since Hana was such a sheltered girl, she didn't take the prisoner role very well. Sure it had been trying on all of them. Did Miss Evil herself not think that he had become tired from Hana's crying? But it was more than that. There was something about the girl that had drawn his attention. If only they hadn't needed to get the others involved. But they needed the crests... they needed to collect them all. So far they had one. The crest of sincerity. It was going to be a while before they got another crest though. And since Hana was gone, it was only a matter of time before she met up with a group traveling towards the castle. This could destroy their plans and ruin everything. Did she not think before she let Hana go?

Bob heard a movement in the shadows and his neck stiffened. "I hope you're happy with the mess you just created!" he said loudly and then stomped out of the room.

Daisuke and TK had been trekking though the woods for hours. TK had basically just let Daisuke take lead even if he really didn't want too. After living though one of Daisuke's nightmares with him, as stupid as it had been, he thought that it was only right that he let him have his way. The wounds on Daisuke's back had stopped bleeding and the blood had baked onto his skin in the heat. TK could barely look at it but what could he do? He knew that at the first stream or river he was going suggest that Daisuke clean himself up.

"Ah man! We've been walking for ages and it feels like we've got nothing accomplished. I'm so hungry too. I wish we had some sort of food or something." Daisuke said and his stomach, as if on cue, growled in response.

"Let's keep walking a bit more and see if we can't find some food or something. We really need to find the other's Daisuke." TK sighed.

"I hate to say this but my back is killing me. I really need to rest. I hate to sound like a wimp but these wounds are driving me nuts. And the dried blood is so itchy that it's driving me crazy too." Daisuke lay on the ground.

"Okay but only for a bit..." TK looked down at his companion to find the Daisuke was fast asleep. In reality it didn't seem that strange that he was so tired. They hadn't really slept much that night. When he really thought about it TK was quite tired himself.

"It can't hurt for us to have a bit of a nap now when the sun is at its height. Isn't that called a siesta or something like that?" he said aloud to himself quietly as he lay on the ground, "Well continue when it's cooler..." TK closed his eyes and drifted to sleep himself.

Kai hugged her brother close. It must have been horrible to have been there when his partner... well... died. She looked up at Tai. He looked as though he was in shock. No emotion was registering on his face at all.

"Look Tai, I'm sorry I'm sure she was one of your friends. I tired my best but, well there was nothing I could do. She just gave up... That's how our nightmares will defeat us, if we give up to them." Scott said looking up at the other boy.

Tai just nodded.

Kai felt horrible, but after their fight this morning she didn't really feel like she was in a position to offer any support to the boy. As bad as she felt, she just couldn't find it in her to open her mouth. She mentally kicked herself for her stupidity.

Tai couldn't believe the news that he had just heard. Mimi was gone. How could this happen? Suddenly the reality of the game came crashing down on him. They could die and this was deadly serious. The people running this thing weren't joking when they said their lives were on the line. Now more than ever he just wanted to find the rest of his friends and make sure that they were all okay and hadn't met with the same fate as Mimi.

"Look, let's just get a move on it and find the others. We have no time to just sit here. Only six more days and then it's over for us. We're stuck here with no return." Tai said turning and he started to walk off.

Kai nodded and stood herself and then reached down to help her brother up. He looked torn but he knew that it was best for them to gather the group. He knew first hand what happened in this game and he didn't want anyone to have to experience the same thing that he had.

As Scott stood he hugged his sister close. They stood there together for a moment. Kai could feel a hot wetness in her eyes as they started to tear but she blinked rapidly keeping them back. She had to be the strong one. She had to be the one there for her brother. It was always her burden to be the one with no emotion, to be there for her family.

"I'm so glad you are safe. I don't know what I would do without you Kagayaku. You're my little sister and I don't want anything in the world to hurt you!" Scott said loudly enough that the words drifted over the wind to Tai's ears.

Tai's eyes started to well as thoughts of Kari floated to his mind. She had been a sickly child when she was younger but lately she had seemed quite healthy. What if something was happening to her in the digital world right now? Tai wanted more than anything just to know if Kari was alright.

"Scott I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me I can protect myself." Kai whispered to her brother. "We'll all be fine from now on just don't worry about it..."

Scott let go of her and took a few steps back. As he looked at his sister he could see her green eyes growing cold. He knew she got this way when she felt helpless. Why couldn't she just let others in to help her? "You don't have to do this on your own you know that right?" he said to her.

Kai nodded, here eyes softened but only slightly.

Tai couldn't take it anymore. Sure it was a nice little family reunion but they didn't have eight other friends as well as a little sister out there somewhere maybe even fighting for their lives at the moment. He bit his lip trying to hold back the tears. He didn't want to show a weakness in front of Kai. He had to but just as strong... no make that stronger than her.

"Look, I know it's nice for you two to have your little family time, but I really think we should start finding the others. I don't want any more people to go missing or die so if you don't mind!"

"Let's go..." Scott said pulling on his sister's arm.