It's alright.

Everything is fine.

Live the perfect lie.

Never one immoral thought inside your mind.

So you've tried.

You've made up your mind.

Something's still not right.

The devil you don't know is still outside.

Face To Face-- The Devil You Know (God Is A Man)


"Come on Mimi! You have to do it!" pleaded Tai.

"No! I will not do that Tai!"

"Mimi, look at us! We can't do it!" Mimi took a look at her fellow Digidestined's.

"You're the only one who can do it!" Tai put in.

"What about Sora? She can do it!" said Mimi.

"I'm not going out in public dressed like this!" exclaimed Sora. "Look at me! I'm a freak!" she pointed at herself, and crossed her arms.

Her once short, wavy, orange hair, was now as straight as a board, down to her knees, and dyed jet black. Her eyes were covered in a black eyeshadow, and eyeliner. Her lips, in a black lipstick. She was wearing a baggy black shirt that was full of tears and it went below her waist. It was tied with a black belt. She had on a black leather mini skirt, fishnet stockings, and muddy combat boots. Her tanned skin was covered in a bright white powder.

"I'm a Goth!"

"Hey!" shouted Joe defensively. "At least you're not wearing this!" he said pointing at his bright yellow tank top and bright purple skirt. He too was wearing fishnet stockings, and had on flashy red pumps. "I'm a bloody cross dresser!" his now long hair flew over his shoulders. His nails, 2 inches long, and an intense blue.

"Let me repeat. Tongue ring!" shouted Tk, sticking out his tongue, revealing a massive diamond in the middle. His blond hair, now a dull orange, and had blue streaks in it. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, that said 'mess with the best, die like the rest.'

"Cool it Tk!" said Izzy. "Look at me! I'm bald!" it was true. Izzy was as bald as a pool ball, and had a tattoo of an eagle, covering half his face and head. He was wearing an undershirt, and black jeans.

"I actually like how I look." said Tai. His hair was now gelled into dangerously pointy spikes. Some were dyed green, but the majority were chocolate brown. He had a lip ring, and was wearing a white undershirt, extra baggy cargo's, and brown combat boots.

"You would, wouldn't you?" said Matt joking. He stayed the same, except now he was wearing leather pants, and a leather jacket. He had a tight black top on that had a picture of a skull on the back. And now, his blond hair had streaks of purple.

"Like I said Mimi, you're the only one that is dressed sensibly enough to do it." said Tai, looking rather pleased with himself.

Mimi sighed deeply. "Fine. What do I have to do?" she pushed one of her honey brown dread-locks away from her eyes. She looked at the new outfit given to her. She hated it. An orange mini skirt, and blue bikini-top. She had black boots that reached her knee.

"Flaunt it." said Tai simply.

"Hey!" said Matt, "There is no way my girlfriend will 'flaunt' in front of another guy! Why don't you do it? It's your stone after all."

"I'm a guy. The person with my stone is a guy. You see the problem." he said sarcastically.

"It's okay Matt. The faster we get the stone, the faster we get out of these ugly clothes. So fearless leader. What do you want me to do?"

"Easy. Move your hips. Batt your eyelashes. You know, what girls do to guys every day."

"Move my hips? Batt my eyelashes?" she said dazed.

"You know, like this." he said moving his hips seductively, and fluttering his eyes.

"God. You're so weird." said Mimi, straightening out her outfit. "Okay. Here I go."

"Mimi! Be careful! He's dangerous. Remember. He's a drug lord!" called Matt.

"I know." she said, rushing over to the man, who was standing with a bunch of guys, that looked like gorillas.

They all watched as Mimi 'accidentally' tripped into him, and apologized flirtatiously.

The man picked her up, and pushed her away rather harshly, not breaking his conversation.

"Why that no good idiot!" shouted Tai angrily. "He turned her down! He turned her down! After all that hard work I did, he turned her down!" he kept repeating the phrase, until Mimi rejoined them.

Tai stormed off to him, his fists balled. "Where are you going?" exclaimed Sora.

"To give him a piece of my mind!" said Tai, not looking back.

"He's gonna get hurt isn't he?" asked Tk innocently.

"Count on it." said Joe.

They once again watched, as one of their friends approached the drug lord.

"Hey!" shouted Tai.

"What!" shouted the man turning around. As soon as he saw Tai, he whipped off his sunglasses, and turned several shades of red.

"My friend bumped into you, and you were really rude to her!"

"I.... I'm so sorry. Please accept my most humble apologizes." he said desperately.

"Fine." said Tai satisfied.

"So." said the man. "What's your name?"

"Tai."

"Tai..." he repeated dreamily. "My name's Hunter."

"Okay...." said Tai densely.



By this time, all the Digidestined were laughing their head's off, all except Tk.

"What's so funny?" he kept asking. None would answer.

"So Tai." continued Hunter. "That girl. Was she your girlfriend?" he said in a small voice.

Tai looked at him oddly. "No. She's my friend."

Hunter sighed, relieved. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yeah. Maybe." said Tai. Before he turned away, he noticed the small stud in Hunter's ear. 'It's my stone!' he realized.

As he walked away, Hunter gave him one last look, and bit his hand.

"Eew. That's just wrong." said Sora. "That guy was checking out my boyfriend!"

"I know." said Mimi shocked. "No wonder he turned me down."

"Well. He does have my stone." said Tai, informing the group, completely oblivious to what just happened. "It was weird. He wanted to know my name."

"That's not all he wanted." said Izzy under his breath. Everyone caught it, and began to laugh.

"What so you mean?" asked Tai dumbstruck.

"You really don't know, do you?" said Sora.

"Know what?" he asked.

"Um Tai that guy was hitting on you." said Matt simply.

"No way!" exploded Tai. "He was just... Oh my God he was hitting on me."

"Well. I know a way you can get your stone." said Mimi coyly. "Flaunt."

"Okay Mimi, that's just gross. I mean, Sora!" he said pointing to his girlfriend.

"Well. You want your stone don't you? Remember what yours represents again?" Mimi said, barely able to keep her laughter in check.

"Lucky me." said Tai. He sighed, and started thinking hard. He groaned and said. "I'll do it."

Everybody burst out laughing. "Man. You really are a devoted leader!" said Matt between gasps for air.

"He just went into that bar." said Tk pointing. "Now's your chance."

"Yeah." he cheered sarcastically. He began walking slowly to the bar, regretting every step.

'You can do this.' he told himself. 'No matter how gross it is, you have to do it!'

As he entered the dark, smokey room, he saw Hunter sitting at the bar. He was drinking a bottle beer.

Tai quietly slipped into the seat furthest from him, and called the bartender really loudly. Hunter spun around, upon hearing Tai's voice. His dark blue hair framed his face, revealing his massive olive green eyes.

"Tai!" he said happily. "Fancy meeting you here!" he automatically got up, and rushed to sit near him.

One of the waitresses beat him to it, and sat on Tai's lap. "Hey there." she said coyly. "Haven't seen you around here before?" she traced her finger along his chest and began to giggle.

Tai turned maroon, as he began to stutter. "Um... I... I... I'm not from around here."

"Oh really." she said, pulling her hair back and winking at him. She grabbed his arm. "Oh. You must work out."

"Back away sister." said Hunter, practically picking the girl off him, and throwing her across the room.

"Sorry 'bout that." he apologized.

"It's okay." said Tai, remembering why he was there. "She's not really my type anyway."

"And what is your type?" he asked.

"I like them cool. Not totally onto you. You know what I mean?" instantly Hunter moved away from him.

Tai sighed in his head thankfully. 'At least now, he won't be breathing down my neck.'

Tai then smiled at him, and passed a hand through his hair. He had seen Sora do this a million times during a soccer game, and he thought it was a major turn on. Obviously, so did Hunter.

The poor man, was almost melting on the seat. If his jaw dropped any lower, it would be scraping the floor. Tai then lowered his eyes, and scanned Hunter's face.

"Wow. That is a really nice earing." he kept his voice calm, but at the same time, was hitting on him big time.

"Really!" said Hunter a little too over zealously. "You really like it!?"

"Oh yeah. I love earing like that. Especially in that color."

"You like orange? Me too! It's my favorite color! Wow! We really have a lot in common!"

"It's true!" said Tai nodding. "So true." he playfully punched his shoulder, wishing he could have made it harder, and then run out screaming.

Hunter touched the area Tai hit him, and basically savored the touch of his skin on his. He looked at Tai with hope in his eyes. "So. You wanna go somewhere a little more private?"

'Eew. Eew. This is gross. This is gross.' he thought. "I'd love to." he said anxiously.

"Perfect!" said Hunter. "We can go to my place. It's a little down the street."

"That sounds great!" Tai said, wanting to throw up. 'They will so not let me live this down.'

In the next few minutes, Tai had been whisked away to Hunter's car, and driven to his lavish water front mansion. 'Drug lords' get payed good.' he thought, as he entered to house.

There was a large glass window that looked out onto the ocean. The whole house was white. White sofas. White carpets. White marble floors. Everything!

"Sit down. Make yourself comfortable!" said Hunter, grabbing his hand, and guiding him to the sofa.

"Thank you." said Tai, as he accepted a drink the butler handed him. In one sip, he had the whole glass finished, and was asking for seconds. "What exactly was that?" he said, waving his hand in front of his face. He was really hot.

"Whiskey. Surprised you finished it in one gulp, but please, have some more!" 'Maybe if I get him liquored up, he'll be easier.' he though.

"I really shouldn't." Tai said.

"Oh come on." he said leaning in on him. "Have another drink."

Tai could feel his breath on the back of his neck. He shuddered involuntarily, as he began to kiss it.

'Doing this for my stone. Just think of Sora. Sora. Her hair. Her lips. Her voice.' he reminded himself, as he turned his head, and let Hunter kiss his lips. (~~note~~ yes, this is killing. But come on. It's funny! In a gross, gay way!)

Hunter got majorly carried away, as he bent down, pushing Tai down on the sofa, and crawling on top of him.

'SORA! SORA! SORA!' his mind raced, as Hunter tried to pry his lips open with his tongue.

'SORA! SORA! Imagine it's Sora!' he repeated. Noticing this was his chance, he wrapped his arms around his neck, and let his hand linger over his right ear.

Hunter passed his hands over Tai's chest. Tai quickly pulled at the earing, loosening it a little. "So. You like it rough do ya?" he said, practically mauling him.

'Please. Please save me!' he said in his head, praying that one of the Digidestined suddenly became telepathic.

With one final tug, he pulled the earing free, and placed it in his back pocket. Much to his disgust, Hunter beat him to the spot. 'Think Tai think!' he told himself. Any minute now, Hunter would be getting really anxious.

"Hey." he muttered into his mouth. "Why don't we take this upstairs?"

"Sure. Whatever turns you on." he replied, kissing his neck, but pulling back.

He got off him, and began to walk up a large staircase.

Tai stood star struck on the couch, as he stared into Matt's eyes. Matt and the rest had followed him, and had been watching from the window. Joe was coving Tk's eyes, and Tk was pulling wildly to get him to stop.

Tai felt his cheeks turn bright fuchsia, as the largest smile crept on Matt's face. Sora stared at him. Her eyes wide, and filling with tears. He wasn't sure if they were tears of laughter, or of sorrow, but he didn't care.

"Coming Tai?" asked Hunter from the top of the stairs.

"Actually, no!" he said, rushing head first into the glass. He smashed into it, and tumbled to the ground below. Shards of glass flew everywhere, covering the group. "Let's get the hell outta here!" screamed Tai running.

He ignored the deep cuts and scraps he received, just wanting to get away from the place, he'd be telling his therapist for the next several years.

When they were a safe distance away from the mansion, they stopped. "Tai! You're injured!" said Mimi, examining his wounds.

"I'm fine. I got the stone though." he said, reaching into his pocket, revealing the small orange pebble. "You sure were a hell of a lot of trouble to get." he told it.

"And to think. All Tai had to do, was kiss a major drug lord, smash through his window, and run for the hills." said Matt sarcastically.

"At least now, we'll be able to get out of here." said Izzy. "Remember how long it took us to find Tk's Life Stone?"

Memories of the long, grueling year of chasing after the small squid like aliens made them shudder.

"Do you have any idea how many of those things we killed?" said Sora. "Too many!"

"What about Izzy's stone! That thing took us eight months to find! And it was in the bird statue the whole time!"

"All I remember about Izzy's stone, were all those cannibals that kept hunting me." said Mimi. "I stayed in that tree for more than three months!"

"When you got separate from us, I could have blown down that entire forest." said Matt, holding her close to him, kissing her forehead.

"At least if wasn't as bad as the time we were stuck as half human, half animal things. I had wings for hands! I couldn't get a grip on anything!" said Izzy.

"It only took us three weeks to find Tai's. That's good for making up time." said Tk. "Please Tai, let's get going!"

"Already ahead of you." he replied, pushing the stone into the small opening on the back. Sora, Izzy and Tk did the same, opening the portal.

The familiar white light surrounded them, paralyzing them still. Even thought they had done this a million times, their bodies still hadn't become adjusted to the jump yet. It had gotten better though. Now they didn't pass out, for such long periods of time.




Matt opened his eyes. He was hunched over someone. 'Mimi.' he thought, as he kissed her.

Mimi opened her eyes, to find herself looking into a pair of massive brown eyes. "Tai?" she said groggily.

"Hey! Nice to see you up." he said, as he extended his hand, and helped her to her feet.

"Ow!" screamed Matt holding his cheek.

"What the hell!" Sora exploded. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I... I thought you were Mimi!" he explained hastily.

"What's going on here?" demanded Tai, walking over to them with Mimi.

"Your girlfriend slapped me!" said Matt to Tai.

"Your boyfriend kissed me!" Sora said to Mimi.

"What!" Mimi and Tai yelled.

"I thought she was you." Matt exclaimed.

"You thought Sora was me?" said Mimi surprised. "You thought she was me?"

"Yeah." he squeaked, shutting his eyes.

"Well, honest mistake. Just don't let it happen again!" she said, jokingly poking him in the ribs.

"You got it." he said kissing Mimi.

"God, get a room." said Tai, covering his eyes. "Hey, he realized, I still have my lips ring."

"No!" Sora cried. "I have a nose ring!"

Mimi and Matt pulled away from one another, and looked at themselves.

Mimi was no wearing a long black skirt, with a tank top, that revealed a large portion of her stomach. She had a small, ruby, belly button ring.

Matt, was wearing black dress pants and a matching dress shirt. He felt his face, to reveal an eyebrow ring.

"What's up with the rings?" asked Tai, glancing at everyone.

"And what's up with the black?" said Matt, looking at Tai and Sora.

Sora had a long, black dress that dragged on the floor. It was strapless, and had a small insignia on the end.

Tai, was wearing just about the same thing as Matt, except, he had a jacket, that buttoned at the neck, and went straight down to about his knee.

"Where are Izzy, Joe and Tk?" asked Mimi.

"You know what, we always get separate when we jump." complained Tai. "Always! We never land together!"

"We have to go look for them now." said Sora softly. "We always do."

"I know. I just wish for once we'd land relatively in the same area." he pouted.

"Come on. Let's just look for them. No use stalling." said Matt, grabbing Mimi's arm, pulling her into a hug.



"I knew we'd find them!" said Tk, running toward his brother. "Matt! Tai! Over here!"

"Hey Tk!" shouted Mimi, waving.

"I told Joe that we'd find you, and we did!" he smiled wide. Over the years, Tk had gotten much, much taller. He was no longer the shortest member of the group. In fact, he had become one of the tallest.

"What's Izzy doing?" asked Sora.

"Trying to see if there's a Life Stone anywhere around this place." Joe explained, fiddling with the large blue stone in his left ear.

"JA!" cried Izzy. "There is a stone here! By the looks of it, it's...... Matt's! It's your stone Matt!"

"Great!" he proclaimed, pulling Mimi into a quick kiss.

Tai watched them. Mimi was giggling, and Matt was smiling wide. He had never seen them more giddy. He was really happy for them, but was just as envious. Over the years he had been with Mimi, he became drawn to her. It wasn't something he could explain, but he knew that he wanted her. (Oh you all saw that coming didn't you!)

She had changed from the complaining little spoiled princess, she started off as. Now, she was probably braver than himself. She would always be the one to volunteer for 'suicide missions', and would never look back. For those reasons, he became attracted to her.

"Tai." repeated Sora. "Tai are you with us?"

"Yeah." he said coming out of his daze.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Mimi.

"Nothing." Tai said smiling. He wasn't about to tell her that he had been thinking of her. Not if he wanted to keep his front teeth, anyway.

Tk looked around. "Guys, look at everyone. They're all dressed in black."

"I think it has something to do with the culture." said Joe. "I mean, look at us. We're dressed in black, and we all have some sort of piercing." Tk stuck out his tongue, must to his dismay, and revealed a green tongue ring. Izzy turned his head slightly, revealing a blue stone in his right ear.

"Hey. They're all the same colors." pointed out Mimi. "Joe, Izzy, and Matt all have blue. Sora and Tk have green. And Tai and I have red."

"I wonder what they stand for." pondered Tk.

"No clue whatsoever. But, I do know that maybe we should blend in, and try to act like the inhabitants. Then we can find out what's happening." suggested joe, as he walked out of the narrow alley they were finding in.

"I'm right behind you Joe." said Matt, dragging Mimi along with him. The rest followed, in close pursuit.


Tai was right in back of Matt and Mimi. He looked at the girl next to him, wallowing in self pity. For the last few months, he had been wondering where it had gone wrong between them. They were once happy and carefree. Now, they had the fate of several worlds on their shoulders, and they were drifting apart.

At the occasional, off moment, Tai would catch Izzy and Sora staring at each other, smiling secretly and giggling lightly. He wasn't sure if they liked one another, but he felt horrible for keeping them apart.

He knew the liked each other, and he wanted them to be happy. Even thought he knew he could never be happy. His crush on Mimi, had turned into a full out infatuation. Every day that went by, that he wasn't with her, would kill him a little more. He would have given anything, for Matt to dump her. Absolutely anything.

"Tai. Is something wrong? You've been kind of distant lately." asked Sora.

"No." he lied. Turning to see er face, he knew he couldn't string her along any more. He couldn't go on, telling her he cared about her, when all he wanted to do, was be with another girl. "Sora. We need to talk."

"I know." she said softly. "Let's go over here." they momentarily separated themselves from the group, and found a quiet area to talk.

"Sora/Tai." they started at the same time. They laughed a little, before inhaling deeply. "I think we should see other people. " they once again said in unison.

"Really?" said Tai.

"Yeah." she said calmly. "Not that you weren't a great boyfriend... I just. I just fell for someone else."

"I know what you mean." Tai whispered. "It's Izzy right?"

She nodded her head. "It happened when we were trapped together in the cave, trying to find Tk's crest. When the squids came after us, he told me he loved me, and that he would protect me, no matter what happened to me. I, I just felt the same. I couldn't help it."

"I understand. I know what it feels like."

"Let me guess. Mimi?" Sora asked. Rather, relieved.

"Yeah."

"I knew it. I was always scared that you cared about her. It was my one major downfall, when it came to you. I was so jealous of every girl that would look at you."

"You don't understand Sora. I need her. But, she's with Matt, and I can't do anything about it."

"Have you told her how you feel?" she asked.

"No. I can't bring myself to do it." he said, looking at the floor.

"Why not?" she said, as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She cares about Matt. She's dating Matt. I won't be the one to waltz in, and ruin her relationship with him, just so I can be happy. She'll hate me."

"I find it hard, for anyone to hate you Tai. You are one of the best guys on the face of this planet. I know that Mimi likes you, it just, she hasn't realized it yet."

"Now I know why I loved you. I really did Sora."

"I loved you to Tai. We just, moved on." she kissed him one final time. "Goodbye Tai. Good luck with you and Mimi."

"You don't need any luck with Izzy. The boy's head over heals in love with you." Tai said smiling.

'Come on. Let's get back to the group, before they start worrying about us." she said, taking his hand, and walking back to the others, who were a great distance ahead of them.

They had to run very fast to reach them. The group had barely noticed they were gone.

Sora ran up to Izzy, and whispered frantically in his ear. The boy's eyes lit up. He walked over to Tai, and shook his hand.

"Thank you Tai. You don't know what this means to me."

"No problem Iz." he said looking into his eyes. Tk hadn't been the only one to grow. Izzy was now as tall as Tai.

"Take good care of her. She's a very special girl."

"Don't I know it." said Izzy, holding her hand.

Tai smiled. He knew in his heart, he had done both of them a huge favor. Seeing Izzy and Sora happy, was the highlight of his day.

As they continued walking, they saw groups of people walking. Their heads were bowed, and their eyes were closed. There was one group that caught all their eyes. Especially Matt's.

There was a girl walking at the end of the row. She slowly opened her eyes, starring at Matt and Mimi.

'She has the most gorgeous eyes.' thought Matt, as he stared into her burnt ocher colored eyes. They were so dark that they blended in with her pupil; sending chills up his spine, but at the same time, making him feel totally at easy. Her shoulder length, curly, chocolate brown hair was left loose to fly in the breeze. 'She's beautiful.' he said stunned. Her lips were colored a deep plum, and she had teal green eyeshadow covering her eyes. 'She's really beautiful.'

She passed by them, flashing a bright smile, and showing a lip ring, with a blue stone.

Matt almost stopped dead in his tracks. Her smile totally crippled him. He envisioned himself running after her, and pulling her into a long kiss. He realized he was fantasying about another girl, and practically beat himself. 'What's wrong with me?' he thought. 'I care about Mimi!' he looked back at the mysterious girl, and watched her walk away with her clique.

"Casey. Did you get him?" asked a short man, with black hair, and an eyebrow ring with a blue stone.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" she replied simply. She passed a hand through her curly brown hair. "He's ours already."

I'm in a crowded place.

But I can't recognize a single face.

And they say the thrill, is in the chase.

But I ain't got the legs,

I ain't got the legs to run that race.

A3-- Too Sick To Pray


"Tai. Could we please stop and ask for directions? We've been walking around for hours, and I'm positive we've passed that building twice before!" said Mimi.

"Sure. Why not. We're not going anywhere in a hurry!" he said throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay." smiled Mimi. She let go of Matt's arm, and went over to a group of people, that were crossing the street.

Tai watched in awe, as she talked to an elderly man. She smiled at him, as she blushed a little.

'You are so beautiful.' thought Tai, as he became mesmerized by her hair swaying lightly in the wind.

Matt glanced over at Tai, and saw him staring dreamily at Mimi. He got really uneasy, and walked over to him.

"So!" he said as casually as he possibly could. "What do you make of this world?"

"Beautiful...." said Tai still staring at Mimi.

"Matt got irritated. He balled his fists, but calmed himself down. 'No use getting into a fight. I'll talk to him later. Besides. He's with Sora."

He smiled and looked at Sora. She was whispering something in Izzy's ear. He grinned wide, and kissed her cheek. Sora grabbed his head as it was pulling away from her, and pulled it into a kiss.

Matt's eyes opened wide. 'Are they crazy? Tai's right over here!' glancing at Tai, he realized why they weren't scared. Tai was so involved with looking at Mimi, a plane crash wouldn't have startled him.

"Tai. Um. I really don't know how to tell you this, but Sora's kind of cheating on o with Izzy." he said.

"No. We broke up. I gave them my blessings." said Tai, as his trace broke, when Mimi returned to the group.

"I found out why we have these rings." said Mimi. "They're the way this world classifies its people. The Blue is 3rd class. The Green 2nd, and Red are 1st."

"So. Sora and I are second class?" asked Tk, as he stuck out his tongue, in an attempt to see his stone.

"Yeah. Everything in this world is run by class. Red, Green, and Blue each have different buses, homes, areas, you get my point." Mimi said. She pushed a piece of hair out of her eyes, and pulled it behind her ear.

"What's going on now?" asked Joe.

"They're sorting out the lodgings and stuff. A town meeting if you will." Mimi said simply.

"Maybe we should go there then." said Matt, placing his arm around Mimi's shoulders. "We are, after all, part of the town."

"I agree." said Izzy. He took Sora's hand, and began following the groups of people, that were walking into a large church.

When they entered, there were different colored sections. All the Digidestined took their seat, according to the colors, and watched the others.

Mimi and Tai were seated near the front of the building, and Matt had a hard time keeping his eye on Tai.

Ever since he had caught him staring at Mimi, he had an uneasy feeling around him. Matt knew that Tai was one of those people that got what they wanted. And by the looks of it, he wanted Mimi.

He was broken out of his daze by a voice. "Excuse me. Excuse me." the girl said.

"What?" asked Matt startled.

"I asked if this seat was taken." she said brushing brown hair from her face.

"No. You can have it..." he said looking at her. It was the same girl he had seen walking with the bunch of people. "You. I know you."

"I guess you could say that. My name's Casey. We kind of saw each other earlier."

"Yeah." said Matt, staring into her eyes. They held a bewitching power that he couldn't quite explain. "I want you." he said pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Casey was shocked at first, but didn't pull away. She welcomed his embrace willingly.

Matt savored every moment of Casey's lips against his. He passed his fingers through her soft, curly hair, letting the strands fall between his fingers.

He pulled away from her, and looked her straight in the eyes. Giving her face a long look over, her kissed her again. This time, more hungrily and wild.

By this time the whole church had turned to stare at the couple, and had begun whispering noisily.

Through all the commotion, Matt heard a stifled cry, that belonged to Mimi. His head looked up, only to see her crying on Tai's chest. His arms wrapped around her.

His eyes had sunken in, and he was glaring at him evilly. "Mimi." Matt said, rushing toward her.

Tai pulled her away, but she escaped his grasp. Tears were streaming down her face, almost unstoppably.

"Mimi.... I... I didn't mean..." he tried to explain. Casey appeared at his side, and kissed his neck.

He pulled away from her, and began chasing after Mimi, who had now begun to run out the door. "Mimi! Wait!" he screamed.

She turned at faced him. Her tears had stopped. Now she just stared at him, freezing him on the spot.

"Goodbye." she muttered, as a blinding Green light appeared out of the sky, and hit her square in the chest.

She slumped to the ground, as a pool of hot red liquid poured out from the wound.

"Mimi!" Matt screamed, as her dashed to her side. Picking her lifeless body up, her turned her over.

Instead of having soft amber eyes stare at him, he had a pair of deep brown ones. Casey was in his arms. He smiled at her, and kissed her again. Forgetting totally about Mimi.

"Hey! You okay?" Casey asked.

"What?" asked Matt. He looked around the large room. Mimi was sitting next to Tai, and was laughing at something he said.

"You kind of spaced out there. You want me to go get our doctor?" Casey said worried.

"No. No, I'm fine." Matt said plastering a fake smile on his face. In reality, he was everything but. 'What the hell was that?' he wondered. 'Why was I kissing Casey? I don't even know her!'

"So stranger. What's your name? I told you mine." she said grinning.

"You can call me Matt." he said coolly.

"Well Matt. Nice to meet you. You're new in town right? I haven't seen you here before."

"Yeah. I came with my girlfriend and a bunch of my other friends." he said, saying girlfriend a little too loudly, making some people turn and stare at him.

"Cool. Oh! It's starting!" Casey said happily. Her hair framing her face like an angel.

Matt turned and looked at the podium, as a skinny man, wearing a deep red suit, that was almost the color of blood. His jet black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and his mustache was very pointy. He was very pale, and had red eyes.

"Who is that guy?" asked Matt.

"He's the mayor of the town." Casey explained. "Bea Ellsabut. He might look a little odd, but that's only because he's albino. He dies his hair, because he didn't want us to treat him any different."

"Aw. I see." Matt said, turning his attention back to the speaker.

"Welcome my friends!" said Bea, happily. His voice was filled with joy. "I am very proud to say, that tonight we will finally be able to have the Solstice Dance. And it was all because you wanted it to happen!"

The crowds of people irrupted into large hoots and hollers. Some people stood up, giving a standing ovation.

"Solstice Dance?" asked Matt bewildered.

"We have been trying to get that dance for a few months now." said Casey happily. "Now, after all our hard work, we'll finally get it!"

"Mimi's gonna be thrilled. She loves dances." said Matt.

"Mimi. She's a Red Bead right?" asked Casey.

"Yeah. I guess." said Matt.

"Well, Red Beads aren't allowed to associate with Blue or Green Beads. They're practically nobility!"

"So." Matt retorted, not caring.

"So." said Casey. "We have levels! First Blue, then Green, then Red! Red is the highest level you can achieve! The laws of this town state that the levels are supposed to stick together. We can't go near the Green, or the Red. I know it might seem a little unfair, but it's the way we've been doing it for centuries."

"Unfair! I'm leaving my girlfriend alone with Tai! Tai, the guy who I'm sure wants her!"

"Calm down." cautioned Casey. "I'm sure nothing will happen."

"That's what you think." Matt mumbled. "You don't know him like I do."

"What'd you say Matt?"

"Nothing."


Later That Night............


"Tk. Come here! I have to straighten your tie!" said Sora. Tk, awkwardly strolled over to her, and she tied the small strip of black materiel around his neck.

"Oh!" he said suddenly. "My mom always told me to compliment a lady. Sora," he said seriously. "You look very lovely tonight."

"You're so sweet." she said backing away from him, admiring her work. "You look very handsome. The girls will be lining up to dance with you."

"Well, the girls are going to be very disappointed." he smiled. "I already have a very pretty date."

"Really!" said Sora shocked. "Who's the luck gal?"

"Her name's Sora. And I'm looking right at her."

"Very funny Tk. Really. Who's the girl?"

"You are! Izzy told me to look out for you, since he isn't allowed anywhere near you! So, I'm doing my part!"

"Tk, I don't need to be protected. But, if you insist on going with me, I have no objections whatsoever." she smiled.

She looked at her watch, and realized they were going to be very late. She pulled the younger boy's arm, and flew out the door.



"Tai! Hurry up!" said Mimi annoyed.

"I'm coming! Just have to get my hair to stay down!" he said through the bathroom door.

"We're going to be very late! We're going to miss the best part!" she said.

"Ha! Done! I did it! I finally did it!" Tai shouted victoriously.

"Finally!" Mimi said exasperated. She watched as the bathroom door swung open, and Tai walked out.

He didn't look a thing like the Tai she had known for several years. He looked sophisticated. Elegant. Down right gorgeous!

His messy brown hair, was now flat. It no longer stuck up in all direction, but stayed down. Mainly because it was pulled into a very small ponytail.

He was wearing a long ebony coat that went way past his knees, and had two sets of buttons on the left-hand side, that went all the way up to his neck. To complete the look, he had on straight black pants, that matched his jacket.

"Woah." he said gazing at Mimi. "You look incredible!" he said numbly. "You look absolutely incredible!"

"Thanks." she said blushing. She flattened her long, maroon dress. It was strapless, and backless, held together by several thin ribbons. There was a slit up the leg, which reached her knee, and she was wearing a pair of 3 inch heel sandals.

Her hair was left flowing over her shoulders, with a zigzag pattern for a part. There were small amounts of babies breathe woven into her hair, in the middle. It reminded Tai of the billions of stars he saw in the Digiworld's endless sky. Only, this time, there were no stars. Only beautiful flowers, and there was no endless sky. Only the endless beauty to her hair.

The duo looked at each other for a while, before Tai broke the silence. "We should be going. Shouldn't we?"

"Yeah." she said halfheartedly. "We really should be going." she quickly walked out of the room, wanting to kick herself. 'What the hell was that Mimi?' she asked herself. 'What wereyou doing back there?' she snuck another peak at Tai, before turning away. 'He looks so amazing.' she thought dreamily. 'How come I never noticed it before?'

She turned her head again, to get another look at him. He was smiling at nothing in particular. 'God. He is gorgeous.' said Mimi almost drooling.

"We're here!" said Tai, looking at the large stone building in front of them. There was a large sign that said Solstice Dance. In large purple letters. "Shall we?" he said cutely, as he offered her his hand.

"Um hun." she croaked, taking his hand. He lead her up the large marble staircase, and pushed open the two large doors. Inside, the walls were the same color as Mimi's dress. Red. There were streamers and balloons of all colors, strung around the dance hall. A large table of hour d'oeuvres and drinks, was against the north wall of the room. The large DJ equipment was crowded in a corner, playing a soft slow song.

"This place is beautiful." gasped Mimi, as she entered. There were couples dancing everywhere, swirling and twirling in the middle of the dance floor.

"Care to dance madame?" asked a tall man, wearing a large top hat. He was staring at Mimi, which made her feel really uncomfortable.

"She's with me." said Tai. Anger danced in his voice. He quickly collected Mimi in his arms, and carted her off to the dance floor.

"My hero." she said, giving him one of her heart melting smiles.

"Don't think anything of it." he said, taking her hand in his. He wrapped his arm around her waist, as she placed one of her hands on his shoulder.

Mimi shut her eyes. She let the smell of Tai's cologne run rampant through her nostrils. She sighed deeply, getting closer to him, and letting her head rest on his chest.

Tai looked at her. He just stared at the top of her head. Taking his hand from her waist, he began playing with the strands of her hair, that brushed against his skin.

Another song began. It was still a slow song, so they didn't part. Tai listened to the lyrics, amazed at how much it symbolized his life right now.

"I thought. You'd be out of my mind.

And I'd finally found a way to, learn to live without you."



Tai looked at Mimi. She was swaying peacefully with the song. 'I love you Mimi.' he said in his mind. 'I wish you knew how I felt.'



"I thought it was just a matter of time,

Till I had a hundred reasons not to think about you."

'You're with Matt.' he thought sadly. 'Why did it have to be him?! Why! I care about you, more than he ever could.'

"But it's just not so.

And after all this time,

I still can't let go.

I've still got your face, painted on my heart.

Brought upon my soul."

Etched upon my misery baby.

And I've got your kiss, still burning on my lips.

The touch of my fingertips.

Explodes so deep inside of me baby."



Mimi looked up at Tai. Her eyes were glistening in the lights, making her look like an angel to him.

"This is the best night of my life." she whispered in his ear. "Thank you for being here for me."

Tai looked at him, brushing his hand across her cheek. "I'll always be here for you." he contemplated telling her how he felt about her.

'Maybe she feels the same!' he thought hopefully. But looking into her eyes, he saw the love she felt for Matt. It was staring him plain in the face, making him wish he would just forget about everything he felt toward her.



"I tried everything that I can.

To get my heart to forget you,

But I just can't seem to.

I guess it's just no use."



'I just want you to know what I'm feeling.' thought Tai. 'Even if it's only for a moment, I want you to know how I feel.' he looked at the ceiling of the building. Having her this close to him, was almost unbearable. He just wanted to reach out and kiss her. Just to hold her close, without worrying about Matt. Without worrying about the fate of the universe. He just wanted them to be together. Together forever.

"In every part of me.

There's still a part of you.

And I've still got your face, painted on my heart.

Brought upon my soul.

Etched upon my misery baby.

And I've got your kiss, still burning on my lips.

The touch of my fingertips.

Explodes so deep inside of me baby."

'Her skin is so soft.' he thought. He placed his head upon hers, and left it there.

Mimi felt his head touch hers. A smile crept on her face. She still kept her eyes closed, for fear if she opened them, everything would disappear, and she'd be still stuck in some godforsaken place.

She loved it where she was. In a nice, big warn room, with Tai's protective arms around her. She felt safe and loved with him. Nothing like she felt when she was with Matt.

'Oh my.' she realized. 'Am I falling for Tai?' she looked up at him. His caring brown eyes squeezed tight. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I don't want to wake up." he said. "This has to be a dream of some sort. It's just too perfect."

"I know what you mean. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, than here. With you." she said smiling, before returning her head to its original position.

"And I've still got your face.

Painted on my heart.

Something in your eyes keeps taunting me.

And I'm trying to escape you.

And I know there ain't no way to.

To chase you from my mind."

Tai opened his eyes. He stared blankly at a wall, before kissing her head softly. 'I love being here with you too.' he thought silently.

"I've still got your face, painted on my heart.

Brought upon my soul.

Etched upon my misery baby.

And I've got your kiss, still burning on my lips.

The touch of my fingertips.

Explodes so deep inside of me baby.

And I've still got your face.

Painted on my heart.

Painted on my heart.

I've still got your face, painted on my heart."

The song ended, and all the couples stopped dancing, and began clapping. Tai reluctantly broke away from Mimi, and joined in with the clapping.

Mimi gulped for air, before running off to get some punch. She placed her hands firmly on the table, and wiped her brow. 'What's going on with me?' she looked over at him. He was talking to a bunch of people and they were all laughing.

"He's quite a piece of work isn't he?" said a girl to Mimi.

"What?" asked Mimi, looking over at her.

"I said, he's quite a piece of work isn't he? Wow. You're out it." she said laughing. Her curly brown hair bouncing.

"Yeah. He sure is." Mimi said. "He sure is."

"You like him or something?" she asked again.

"Do I like him?" she repeated. She looked at her feet. "Yeah. I like him."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of the fact that you like him." she said smiling. "My name's Lor." she said extended her hand. Mimi shook it.

"My name's Mimi."

"Well. Good luck with you two. You'll be very happy together." she walked away, into another room.

"She's nice.' thought Mimi, returning to Tai.



"Casey!" said Matt, as he caught her coming out of a door. "You wanna dance?"

"Sure." she replied happily. She took his hand, and they walked to the dance floor.

A sad, slow song was playing. Matt pulled Casey close to him, and they began dancing.

The strange images kept popping into his head. Mimi dying. He and Casey kissing. And then nothing. When he open his eyes, he saw Casey staring at him concerned.

"Matt. I really think you should see a doctor. It's the second time this has happened to you!"

"I'm fine. But, let's get some air. Okay?" he said taking her hand, as he began to walk out the large blue painted doors.



For the majority of the night, matt and Casey went around the town. They laughed and joked up a storm. Matt couldn't keep his eyes off her.

"You know. You're beautiful."

"Thank you.' she blushed. "You're not bad yourself."

"Casey." he said taking her in his arms. There was no doubt in his mind at this moment. He was attracted to her big time.

He pushed a loose piece of her hair away, and he kissed her. This time, it was for real. They just kissed each other for the longest time. Casey broke the kiss.

"What about Mimi? Don't you care about her?" she said, as she continued to kiss him wildly.

"Forget about her." he said. "I don't think I've ever really cared about her. Not like you anyway." he continued to kiss her, not wanting to stop. For once, his words made sense to him.......



What they say.

Does it make you feel ashamed?



Face To Face The Devil You Know (God Is A Man)



"So." said Tai. "How'd you like the dance?"

"It was the best!" exclaimed Mimi. "Everything was perfect! The music! The food! The atmosphere! The people." she said slyly.

"I agree." he said. "I'm not one of those 'dance guys' but I still had a lot of fun. Maybe it was just the company." he said without thinking.

Mimi looked at him. She grinned, but didn't keep it for long. "You wanna take a walk? It's such a beautiful night."

"I'd love to!" he said happily.

"Great!" she beamed. "I know the perfect place!" she grabbed his hand, and dragged him along.

"Where are we going?" he said laughing.

"You'll see!" she shouted, as she let go of his hand, and ran up ahead of him.

"That's the way you're gonna do it huh?" he yelled out, as he ran faster to catch up with her.


After a while of running.......


"Where are we?" asked Tai. He scanned the surrounds carefully, so he didn't miss one second of the beauty it possessed.

"My roommates called it the Forest Of Fear. I really don't understand why though. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been."

"I know what you mean." Tai agreed. "Just look at the stars. They practically litter the sky."

"I love the ocean. Look at it." she said. Tai examined the continuing ocean from behind Mimi's shoulder. The stars and the moon were reflecting off it, making it seem like a perfect mirror image.

"Let's walk along the beach. Can we?" asked Mimi, turning and looking at Tai.

"How could I say no?" he proclaimed loudly.

After a few minutes, they made it down to the beach, and were walking along the shore, hand in hand.

Mimi had her shoes in her free hand, and was shivering like a leaf.

"Are you cold?" Tai asked.

"A little. No sleeves." she said forcing a giggle.

"Here." said Tai, taking off his long coat, and draping it around her shoulders. He had on a black top underneath.

"Thank you." she smiled, as she snuggled closer to him. "Tai."

"Yeah." he said simply.

"I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but as your friend," she forced the word friend painfully, "I thought you should know. Sora's cheating on you."

He laughed. "No. Sora isn't cheating on me. We broke up. We broke up a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" she asked concerned.

"We. We just stopped loving each other. She fell for Izzy, and I fell for someone else. The sad thing is, I knew our relationship was over long before we actually broke up. I. I just didn't want to admit it to anyone. Especially myself."

"Why?"

"Because. I felt like a failure as a boyfriend. I told myself that if I put on the happy exterior, I would feel happy on the inside. But. It failed. It failed big time."

"Tai!" Mimi said angrily. "You are not, nor will you ever be a failure of a boyfriend. Any girl would be lucky to have you in their life! You're an amazing person!"

"Thank you Mimi." he said squeezing her hand. 'Any girl. I don't want any girl. I want you. Why can't you see it?' he thought unhappily.

"At least she wasn't cheating on you. I think cheating's the worst thing a person could do to a relationship. I know that if my boyfriend were to cheat on me, I would never be able to forgive him. I mean, how miserable can a relationship be, to have to see someone else, behind the others back. If they don't think the relationships going to work, you break it off! You don't string them along, and let them fall for you, then just tell then that everything you've ever told them, was a complete lie!" she said fury in her eyes. "They're the lowest of the low."

"Mimi. Are you talking about you and Matt? Do you think he's cheating on you?" implored Tai.

"No. It's not him. It has nothing to do with Matt." she said sadly.

"Mimi. Do you love him?" asked Tai seriously. He had to know. Every minute he went with this question on his back, was another minute of hell he went through. "Really love him?"

Mimi stared at him. Her amber eyes beginning to shimmer with tears. "No."

"You don't." he said relieved.

"I don't love him." her crest started to shine a dull green.

'She's telling the truth.' he thought. 'She doesn't love Matt. Wait a minute. She doesn't love him! She doesn't love him!' he felt as if he could sing. In the midst of his friends sorrow, he was never happier.

He looked at her. Cupping her chin in his hand, he brought her face close to his. He wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks, and lightly pushed away the strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

Mimi looked into his large, brown eyes. A sense of warmth and peace flooded through her body. Her gaze dropped to his mouth.

She took her index finger, and traced the outline of his lips. She did this several times, before Tai took her fingers, and kissed them.

He closed his eyes, remembering ever touch. How her soft skin felt against his lips.

He opened his eyes, and guided her hand between them, not breaking away from her face.

He gradually, lifted her head to meet his, giving her enough time to back away. But to his satisfaction, she didn't. She shut her eyes, and gladly accepted the kiss that was soon to come.

They were millimeters apart. Mimi could feel his warm breath against her cheeks. She had wanted this for such a long time. She had just bee denying it to herself. She wouldn't allow herself to think about him. To think about how perfect he was. About how nice his body would feel, against hers. How sweet his lips would taste. Nothing.

'This must be a dream.' she thought. 'And even if it, I don't ever want to wake up. Ever.'

Tai's top lip skimmed slightly against her bottom one, sending shivers up her spine.

"Kiss me." she whispered very softly.

Tai opened his eyes. 'What am I doing?' he said enraged with himself. "Mimi," he mumbled. He knew he would kick himself later on. "I can't do this to you." he pushed away from her violently. "I can't kiss you."

"You... you don't want to kiss me....?" she said shocked.

"I want to. God I want to. I just can't."

"Why not?" she asked as a fresh batch of tears poured out of her eyes.

"Matt. You're dating Matt. That's why. You said it yourself. Cheaters are the lowest of the low. And you aren't like that. You're everything but!"

"Tai..." she said falling into his outstretched arms. "I'm so confused."

"Funny. For once in my life, I know exactly what I want." he said, making her laugh. "Come on. Let's get going. They're probably worried sick about us!"

"Okay." Mimi said smiling. They walked her rest of the way in each others arms.



"Matt. Tonight was awesome." said Casey, who was sitting in his lap. They were under a large tree, talking to each other.

In the few short hours they had known one another, Matt had told her all of his secrets. Everything. Starting from when he was a young boy, ending at why they were here.

Casey had sat through all the adventures they had in the Digiworld, with open ears. She just sat listening to him.

"And so we're here today, trying to find my Life Stone." finished Matt.

"Friendship. Right?" Casey said, trying to remember what he told her.

"Right. Smart and beautiful." he said kissing her. He found it incredibly hard to keep his hands off her.

By the end of the night, he knew every one of her curves. Every curl on her head. Everything.

"So. What about you?" he said, pulling up.

"Well. I've lived here for all eternity, it seems. I was born here. And I'll probably die here. In my spare time, I like to take rides in my flaming carriage, piloted by stallions made of fire, and I use them to wreck havoc on the worlds, as a demon of the living dead." she laughed a little.

Matt smiled at her. "Man. If I had only met you three years ago." he said sadly. "You are a very special person. You know that Casey."

"And you're the most wonderful person I've ever known." she said kissing him hastily.

"I mean it. I feel so alive! So full of life! I've never felt like this in my entire life. It's you. Cas, I want you to come with us, when we get my stone. I want you to come with us. Think of all the things you'll see! Different worlds! Different species! It the most amazing thing a person could experience!"

"That sounds perfect Matt." she said, resting her body against his.

"You mean the world to me." he said kissing her. 'I've fallen for you big time Casey.'



Over the next few weeks, the Digidestined tried their hardest to find Matt's stone. They would search day and night. That is, almost everyone searched day and night. Matt would usually go off in one direction, and meet up with Casey. They would spend the whole day together, not parting, even for a moment.

Tai and Mimi were still kind of awkward around each other, but they would just laugh it off.

Matt thought his relationship with Casey was flawless. They would meet in secret. Date in secret. Nobody would know. In fact, his plan was flawless. Everything was on his side. Everything except time, that is.

One day, while he was coming back from a 'lengthy search' with Casey, Tk, just happened to be there, wanting to know something.

When the boy saw his brother kiss her, he got really mad.

"Night Cas." he said kissing her.

"Bye Matt." she said, as she slowly closed her door.

Tk watched as Matt limply backed up into her door. The oddest smile on his face.

"Matt." he said pissed.

"Hey Tk." Matt said shocked.

"What the hell are you doing?" he said shoving his brother against a wall.

"What's up with you? I didn't do anything!"

"Really! I hardly call kissing another girl nothing! You remember that girl who you kind of sorta date? What's her name. Oh yeah. Mimi. You remember her don't you?" he said sarcastically.

"Quiet." said Matt pushing him back. "You don't know what you saw!"

"I may be younger than you Matt, but I'm not stupid. I know what I saw, and I'm telling Mimi."

"Oh no you won't!" matt said lunging for his brother.

"Get the hell off me!" said Tk, pushing Matt off him.

"You will not tell Mimi what you saw. Do you hear me?" he said grabbing the color of his black shirt, and shoving his head on the floor.

Tk cried out in pain as his head connected with the marble floor. "I'm giving you one chance Matt. You chose which one you want to be with. I'm not going to let you ruin Mimi's life. She deserves better than that. She's a good person!" he said venomously.

"Don't go around thinking she's a bloody saint!" Matt spat at him. "Don't you go around defending poor, sweet Mimi. I found Tai's coat in her room. How do you think it got there? Hun? It magically flew in one night. It magically appeared out of thin air! He left it there. He left it there to shove it in my face!"

"Christ Matt. Do you hear yourself? You've gone paranoid! Mimi wouldn't do that to you. And you know that!" Tk said worried. His brother never acted like this. He was scaring him.

"Paranoid! Me? Now who's talking crazy?" said Matt arrogantly.

With a final push, Tk got Matt off him. "I'm giving you a week. If you haven't made up your mind by then, I'm telling Mimi. I'm telling her everything." he walked away, not wanting to provoke his brother anymore.

'I don't trust her.' he thought. 'She's up to something, and I'm going to find out what it is.' he decided as he walked into his own room, and shut the door.



After a week, Matt was still seeing Casey. He would still sneak off to see her, but the only difference was, this time he would have someone following his every movement.

Sadly, one day, Tk achieved his goal. Everything he wanted to know, was laid out before him. Sadly, I say.

"Look at them." Matt said turning to his brother. He pointed to Mimi and Tai, who were splashing water at one another. "And you can honestly say nothing's happened between them." he tisked.

"Nothing is going on between them." he looked at Matt. "What happened to you? You used to be caring. You used to be someone I could look up to. Someone I could trust. Now. Now I'm ashamed to call you brother."

"What can I say. Times have changed." he said not caring. "Looks can be deceiving. Casey told me that one!" he said almost proudly.

"You disgust me."said Tk, walking away from him, shaking his head.

"Sticks and stones, brother dearest." retorted Matt, checking his watch. 'Crap! I'm gonna be late!' he said dashing off.

"Matt!" called out Mimi. "Could you come here?"

He scowled upon hearing his name. "Sure thing sweetie." he said looking at Tk, who was shooting him the dirtiest look.

"Well," started Mimi upon Matt's arrival. "Tai and I were thinking. Maybe we should split up into teams to look for the stone..."

"That sounds fantastic! But, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight." he said grabbing and pulling her into a very long, very steamy kiss. Matt kept stating at Tai.

Tai glanced at the couple. Matt's eyes were fixed on his, and he could make out the sneer that plastered his face.

"Bye." he said hastily, then ran off. When he was far away from them, he spit on the ground repeatedly. "You have the audacity to kiss me, while you also kiss him. I'll hand it to you Mimi. You can twist anyone around your fingers."

"Matt." said Casey appearing from the bushes.

"Casey." he said rushing over to her, and kissing her madly.

'Why Matt? I gave you seven days. Wasn't that long enough? Shit. Now I have to tell Mimi.' thought Tk, very disappointed in his older brother. 'And to think I wanted to be just like him.' he though, as he brushed away a tear that was forming in the corner of his eye.


That Night........


"See you tomorrow Matt."

"Bye Cas." he said kissing her goodbye once again.

Tk wanted to vomit. 'I'll get you Casey. You're doing something to him, and I'm going to find out what.'

He waited for her to watch him go off, before dashing over to the door, and blocking it before it slammed shut.

He opened the door crack, just enough to see inside. What he saw, made that sick feeling, get worse.

Crap...' he mumbled, barely audible.

"Is it working Casey?" asked a voice Tk didn't recognize.

"Just like you said it would. He's perfect!"

"Good. You have done a fine job. Remind me to promote you to Commander."

"Thank you sir." she said gratefully.

"Oh, and Lor, get that boy who's outside. He's heard everything."

Tk's eyes widened. He got up quickly, and he began to run. But, Casey just basically extended her arm, and grabbed him by the throat."

Bringing him back in the room, she asked. "What shall I do with master?"

"Simple my dear. Kill him."




So you go and you stand on your own.

And you leave on your own.

And you go home and you cry, and you want to die.



I am human and I need to be loved.

Just like everybody else does.

Love Spit Love-- How Soon Is Now?



"God Casey. What happened to your hand?" asked Matt as her took her hand in his.

"Oh. Nothing. I just burnt my hand on my coffee this morning. No need to worry!" she said as she shoved her burnt left hand in her pocket.

"When it comes to you, I can't help but worry." said Matt, as he bent over, and kissed her lightly.

Casey took her hand, and placed it on Matt's cheek, as she reached over and grabbed some ice, that was in a large container, on the side of the bed.

She then took it, and shoved it down Matt shirt, and wiggled away laughing.

Matt instantly jumped up, trying to avoid having the ice touch his skin.

"You think this is funny?" he said as he bent his back over painfully, and ripped of his now wet shirt.

"Um..... Yeah!" she said still laughing.

"I'll get you for that Casey!" he said jumping over the bed, and chasing her. She screamed and took off across the room, but Matt was faster, and caught her.

He flung her over his shoulder, and carted her off to the bed. "Let me down Matt!" she said, playfully hitting his back. "Hey! What's this?" she asked pointing to a small tattoo.

"That." he sneered, as he stretched out on the bed. "Was something I got when we were in this really weird world. Basically all the people were slaves. Well, at least most of us were slaves. Tai, for some odd reason, ended up being some sort of Royalty, and he wasn't treated like crap."

"What happened?" she asked as she stretched out next to him.

"They branded the slaves. Tai organized an escape for us, because there wasn't a stone, but it failed. They just recaptured me and Tai. All the others got away."

"What happened after that?" Casey asked again.

"They tortured us mercilessly. After they shoved the hot poker to our backs, Tai begged them to let me go. Always had to be the hero." he added bitterly.

"Did they?"

"God no. They broke Tai's jaw. I still remember what they said. 'Shut this one up. I'm tiered of his complaining.' after they were finished with that, they started torturing us. That's how I got this." he pointed to a small but noticeable scar on the side of his stomach.

"How'd you get that?" asked Casey bewildered.

"They would constantly cut me with a knife dipped in poison. I almost died." he said sitting up. "I still feel bad for Tai. They whipped him. Every day, every hour. You should have seen the way Mimi fussed over him when they finally saved us. It was like he was the only one that had been recaptured. As if they couldn't have made their feels any clearer." Matt said scoffing.

"Don't worry about them. You're with me now." she said flirtily. "And I plan on keeping it like that for a long, long time." she kissed his shoulder, before she moved up to his neck.

"Casey." Matt muttered kissing her, as he grabbed and pulled her over onto his lap, falling back.



"Mimi! Wait up!" cried out Tai, as he raced to her side. "Did you hear the news?"

"What news?" she asked, as she stopped walking, and turned to face him.

"Tk and Matt are missing." he said lamely.

"Oh my God! Are you sure?" she asked worried.

"Yeah. When Sora came to wake him up this morning, he wasn't there. And when she went to tell Matt about Tk, he wasn't there either." Tai explained.

"Maybe, maybe they're off looking for his stone! Maybe they're just looking for Matt's stone together!" she said frantically.

"No. You see that that's what I thought at first. But, it's not Matt's style to not leave a note or something. He's not that careless. And when he has Tk to boot! Something's happened to him." he looked at Mimi, who had started to tear a little. He could tell his talking wasn't helping her. "Man. I'm sorry Mimi. I didn't mean..."

"No. It's not your fault." she interrupted. "It's just, what happens if something did take him? What happens, if something terrible happens to both of him? What...."

"Mimi! Calm down!" said Tai grabbing her slender shoulders. "It definitely won't help them if you have a panic attack!" he said, as he pulled her close to him.

Mimi started crying on his shirt, not bothering to stop her tears. "Tai." she said when she let up a little.

"Yeah." he said rocking her in his arms.

"Find them and bring them back safely. Bring him back safely." she pleaded.

Tai pushed her slightly away from him. He looked at her tear soaked face, and sighed. "I never could deny you anything." he smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you Tai." she said. "You're a great friend. But so much more." she said looking at him.

They stood staring at each other for a while. Neither one daring to make a move. Mimi then subconsciously placed a piece of Tai's loose hair behind his ear. Letting her hand hall over his tanned cheek.

Tai caught her hand before it slipped off his face, and guided it back numbly to her side. She then lifted her index finger of her other hand, and moved it slowly to his lips; and sloppily traced their unique shape, admiring every curve and dip.

Tai shut his eyes, as he gently grabbed her hand, and kissed it softly, sending shivers up and down Mimi's spine.

'Her skin is so soft.' he noted. 'I have to kiss her, or I'll explode!' he said to himself. A playful smile curled his mouth, and Mimi understood what he was going to do.

'This time, no interruptions.' she thought as she arched her head back, letting her loose hair stream down her shoulders. Tai carefully lowered his head to meet hers. He brushed away strands of their hair that had gotten tangled togther, and lazily pushed them back to their original position.

Within seconds, their noses had connected. Tai took the tips of his fingers, and placed them under her chin, slowly levitating it to meet him mouth.

"Mimi! Tai! Are you there?" shouted Sora, running over a hill. "We found Matt!" she screamed as she saw the duo.

"Where!?" exclaimed Mimi, as she rushed over to Sora, breaking away from Tai.

"He's in Joe's room right now." she said, as she watched her friend dash off to go to her boyfriend. She turned her attention back to tai, who had just kicked a stone really hard. It sailed through the air, and bounced off a tree, falling to the ground and rolling, before stopping with a dull thud.

"Did I come at a bad time?" she asked. (Rather dense no?)

Tai looked at her and laughed bitterly. "I was this close too finally kissing her! This bloody close!" he said, motioning with his hands.

"I'm sorry Tai. I didn't know." she apologized.

"No. It's okay. Probably for the best anyway. She doesn't care about me." he said flatly.

"What makes you say that?" Sora pipped.

"If she cared about me, then she would be able to see that this is killing me. No matter how hard I try. No matter what I do, she always ends up running back into his arms. In the end, it's Matt who has her." he said frustrated.

"Tai." Sora said calmly. "I know she cares about you. I mean. You'd have to be really blind to not see how that girl looks at you. Trust me! I'm a woman! We know these things!"

Tai smiled. "Now I remember why I kept you all those years."

"Kept me? Oh I think not, my confused friend!" she said laughing.

"It doesn't matter. All I know is, your one of the best friends a guy could have." he said draping an arm around her shoulder.


"Tk's gone...." said Matt blankly, staring at the blue painted wall.

"Yeah man. We're sorry." said Tai, who was leaning against the door frame. "But don't worry. We'll find him."

"Yeah Matt. Tk will be fine! He's probably out taking a nature walk. Or picking some flowers!" said Izzy calmly.

"That's what you said about Mimi, when she was being chased by the Kuwagamon." retorted Matt sarcastically.

"No need to go snapping at him Matt. He was trying to help." said Sora standing beside her boyfriend.

"I'm sorry Izzy. It's just. It's just Tk. I'm worried about him." he explained.



"No need to be worried Matt." smiled Casey, as she eavesdropped on the whole conversation. "I have you brother, soundly tucked away." she said, as she continued to listen.

Mimi looked around the room, before her eyes fell on Tai. "Tai, can I talk to you for a minute?" she said, as she beaconed toward the bathroom.

"Sure." he said getting up, and walking in.

Matt winced as he heard the loud click, as it shut behind them. 'You're bold Tai. Very bold. You think I don't know what you're doing with her? You're probably holding her in your arms, tight against your body, kissing her. Making fun of how you've deluded poor, stupid Matt. How he has no clue about what's going on between you. Well, you're wrong. I know everything. And I'll make you pay.'

Just then, the door opened, and Mimi and Tai walked out. Mimi was putting her hair in a sloppy ponytail, and Tai was fixing the collar to his shirt. As he walked away, he gave Matt an awkward smile.

'I'll get you Kamiya.' he threatened. 'Mark my words. I'll get you somehow.'


What Happened in the Bathroom.....


Mimi shut the door behind her, and turned on the light. "Tai. Something's wrong with Matt."

"Well obviously Mimi! The guy's brother is missing! How's a person supposed to act?" Tai said.

"No. It's not that. It's not that at all. He's not been acting like himself." she explained.

"What are you talking about Mimi?" asked Tai crossing his arms.

"It's like I'm seeing two totally different guys. Like he has an identical, evil twin here. I can't trust him anymore. He's scaring me." she said softly.

"Two people?" he repeated. "I don't understand."

"I noticed it a few days ago. When he kissed me." she said as she walked past him, so she didn't have to see the hurt look in his eyes. "It wasn't the Matt I started dating. He was more dark. More cruel. I know he might not look different, but he's acting different. Ever since we've come to this stupid world, everything's been getting messed up!"

"Especially feelings." Tai said unfolding his arms. "I'm going now." he said reaching for the door.

"Tai wait!" Mimi said grabbing his shirt. "Don't be like that. Please." she pleaded.

Tai looked at her sighing. "I'm sorry." he said hugging her.

"No problem." she said squeezing him tighter. As they parted, Mimi's hair got caught in a chain that Tai had on under his collar. Her hair pulled his cuff up, and she opened the door, as she put her strands in a lopsided ponytail.

"Tk's missing." said Matt, as he kissed Casey hungrily.

"That's horrible." she said kissing him with as much zest.

"I really should be looking for him, with the others." he managed to say in between kisses.

"Then go." she said tightening her grip on his body.

"Okay I'll go." he said kissing her neck. He broke off the kiss, and looked at her. She was giving him her puppy dog eyes. "Maybe tomorrow." he said kissing her again. "Tomorrow." he picked her up, and carried her off to her room.



Tk was so tired. His hand was sore, and he was growing weaker by the minute. He could feel is energy draining with every moment he stayed here. He was holding up his crest, creating a circle of energy around him, that was protecting him from the evil that was outside.

Something kicked his protection. A sizzling sound was heard, followed by a painful scream. Every kick, Tk shifted back a few steps. He knew that he wouldn't have the strength to keep up the shield. But he had to. If he didn't, they would get him, and they would kill him.

'I have to tell Matt. I have to get out of here, and save him.' he said determinedly. "I'll escape. They can't touch me without being burned." he said to reassure himself. He slowly got up, finally standing on his legs, but fell down. He didn't have the energy to stand, let alone walk.

He looked at his reflection in the shiny golden glow of the barrier. His eyes had sunken in. His hair was plastered to his face, and sticking up everywhere. He had bruises across his arms and legs, with cuts to match. He also had a large red mark across his neck, where Lor had grabbed him.

He then looked at his surroundings. Everything was red. Different shades of red, but none the less red. There were loops and black patches everywhere. Not to mention it was scorching hot.

'Please help someone.' he thought. "Help me!" he bellowed, as his scream echoed through the walls of the pit, going nowhere.



"Room 758." repeated Tai. He was looking for Matt's room, but so far had no luck. He gazed down at his computer like handwriting, and sighed. "This is impossible! There are way too many rooms!"

He began to walk around, turning at corners, going through doors, not knowing where he would end up. After a good ten minutes of getting himself even more lost, he was about to give up. In pure frustration, he pounded his hand on a wall.

Just then, a door open. Tai looked up. 'Perfect! I'll ask them for directions.' he said as he slowly began walking toward them.

A male with blond hair walked out. His face covered by the door. He then put on his shirt, which his female companion handed him.

"Here Matt." she said.

'Matt. No. It can't be. Matt's a very common name.' he said to himself.

"Thanks Casey." he muttered, as he kissed her.

'No way. It is Matt' he thought shocked. 'Why that two-timing son of a bitch!. How could he do this to Mimi!?' he quickly ducked behind the wall, as Matt walked in his direction, buttoning his shirt.

As Matt passed him, Tai accidentally banged his elbow on the wall, causing Matt to turn around.

"Tai!" he said shocked. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Red dorms?" he said happily.

"I can't believe you." said Tai disgusted. "I can't believe you'd do that to Mimi! How long has this been going on?" he said pushing him against a wall.

Casey peered around the corner, following him, and smiling. 'How you gonna get out of this one?' she thought happily.

"Get off me Tai." said Matt angrily now.

"Answer me!" shouted Tai.

"I don't have to tell you anything." said Matt smirking.

"If you don't tell me, I'll rip you a new arm." said Tai pushing his further up the wall.

Matt knew Tai would hold to his promise, so he flatly said. "Three months."

"Three months! So you're telling me you've been seeing this girl as long as we've been here!" Tai said even more angry.

"Basically." said Matt smartly. "Now. Get off me."

"How could you? How could you do this to Mimi!? She trusted you, and this is how you show her you care about her! You cheat on her!" Tai screamed. Rage blinding him.

"Oh don't go all holier than thou on me Tai. I know what's been going on between you and her! You're as innocent as I am!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Tai puzzled.

"Oh, here you are playing the 'I have no clue what you're talking about' card. Too bad Tai. I already know. There's no denying it!"

"I still have no clue about what your jabbering about." said Tai ticked off.

"Whatever." said Matt, as he violently pushed Tai off him, sending him into the wall opposite him. "I'm going now. I have a girlfriend to manipulate." he sneered, as he open the elevator door, and got in. Tai raced over to him, but the doors shut in his face.

"Damn." he said kicking the elevator. "I've gotta tell Mimi." he muttered as he ran toward the staircase and took off.



"Hey Mimi!" shouted Matt running over to her.

"Hey Matt." she smiled as she kissed his cheek.

"Is that all I get?" he said pouting.

"No." she said kissing him. They ignored the ooh's and aw's for Joe and Izzy.

"Well." started Matt. "I have this amazing place I want to show you." he said as a smile curled on his lips.

"Oh. Izzy. You heard them. Let's leave the love birds alone." said Joe backing away from them.

"Shut up guys." said Matt laughing.

"Well, we will leave you be." said Izzy. "Come on Iz. Let's get going." Joe said calmly.

"Thanks." said Matt waving. "Oh. And please, don't tell anyone where we are."

"Gotcha!" said Izzy winking. He and Joe continued walking, occasionally turning back, and snickering madly.

"Where are you taking me Matt?" she asked.

"You'll see. It's a secret." he said secretively, as he led her into the Forest of Fear.



"Joe! Izzy! Do you guys know where Mimi or Matt are?" asked Tai frantically.

Both boys looked at each other, and smiled. "No." said Joe lamely. "We have no clue where they are."

"Damn." he said under his breath, as he continued running.

"Matt!" gasped Mimi. "This place is beautiful!" she said as she gazed at the millions of colorful flowers. All types of trees were scattered everywhere, making it look like a scene from a romance novel.

"I knew you'd like it." he said as he kissed her neck.

"Like it. I love it." she said, as she took the small white and mauve lilac from Matt's hand.

"Great." he said. He inhaled seriously, as he turned her around. "Mimi, I have something to tell you."

"What is... that!" she screamed horrified.

Matt twirled around, and saw what Mimi was pointing to. It was a black swirl in the middle of the forest, several meters away.

"Stay back." he said pushing her away from it.

"Matt, let's get out of here and get the others." she pleaded.

"No. If we get the others, it might vanish. I'll go check it out. If I'm not back in a few minutes, run and get out of here." he said squeezing her hand.

"Matt, I don't..."

"It's okay. I'll be careful." he said as he kissed her hastily.

Matt walked over the black hole. His pulse was racing, and sweat had formed on his brow. He approached it carefully, and gazed into it.

He saw a picture of himself. Except, the Matt he was looking at, was smiling his head off. The picture waved at him, and touched his eyebrow.

Matt stared at him, baffled, until the image touched his eyebrow again and again. Matt finally got the hint, and touched his own eyebrow.

His finger touched something smooth. His eyebrow ring. "This?" Matt asked the double. The other Matt shook his head in agreement. He then made a pulling gesture.

"You want me to pull it out?" Matt said. The person nodded again. "Do you have any idea how much its gonna hurt?"

The double started laughing. Well, he was laughing, but Matt couldn't hear him. With a reluctant sigh, Matt squeezed his eyes shut, and pulled the earing out. (OUCH!)

"Ow!" he screamed, as he examined the stud in his hand. He never really noticed how pretty the blue color was. How it looked s much like the blue on his crest. 'Wait!' he realized. 'Could it be?' he said pulling the base off. Sure enough, when the earing came apart, he stared at the small symbol of the crest of friendship.

"Well what da ya know?" he said smiling wide. "Mimi! I found my stone!" he yelled out happily. "It was on me the whole time!"

Suddenly, the image of himself disappeared. It was replaced by a face he hadn't seen in years. "Aaron." he gasped.

"Hello Matt. Good to see you found your Life Stone." he said, without moving his lips.

"It's nice to see you again." said Matt relaxing.

"This isn't a pleasure visit." his voice was serious. "Do you remember what I told you all those years ago?"

"Yeah." he said resentfully. "You told me that my relationship with Mimi was doomed. That it wasn't meant to be."

"Good. You remember." Aaron lighten up.

"Oh, I also remember all the other things you said." he said exploding into a fit of aggression. "You also so I'd hurt Mimi more than anyone else ever would. Oh, and the little part about her dying."

"Matt please. Calm down." said Aaron.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" he spat. "You said I'd hurt her! I haven't done anything to her so far, and I never plan on!"

Aaron looked away from Matt. "She really has done a good job." he said barely audible. Turning around, he said. "Matt, I know why you can here. I know what you were going to tell Mimi. I'm telling you now, don't tell her!" he begged.

"Why not? I'm telling her about how I feel about her! If I don't, I fear she's gonna find someone else. It's just a nagging feeling I've had lately." he said sadly.

"Matt, I know how you feel about her. And that's why it pains me to tell you this. Nothing good will come of telling her your feelings. It'll only make the pain worse." Aaron warned.

"God!" Matt screamed. "Enough of this cryptic bullshit! I'm sick and tired of you and your nonsense! Just tell me what you mean! I can't go through these mind games anymore!" Matt said, as a hurt expression crossed his eyes.

"Just listen to me Matt. I do know what you're going through. Believe me. I went centuries without the woman I loved. I don't want that to happen to you." he said trying to explaining himself.

"I go everyday, wondering if today's the day I lose her Aaron. You said I'd hurt her. And I believe you, because I'm known for hurting others. But I don't want to lose her! She's the one thing I don't want to lose. Ever."

"If you believe me, then don't tell her. For the love of God Matt, don't tell her!"

"Fine." Matt said flatly. "But I swear Aaron, if you're pulling my leg or something, I'll get you."

"I'm not Matt. Believe me, this is for your own good. If you could only see the future, you'd..... never mind. I have to go now." Aaron finished as the black swirl began to shut.

"No! I'd what! If I could only see the future I'd what? Aaron don't go!" he said as the hole completely vanished. "No!" he screamed.

"Matt!" Mimi screamed running toward him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." he said lamely. He really didn't want to explain his encounter with Aaron, so he suggested they get out of there. He snaked his arm around Mimi's waist and began walking away. He looked over his shoulder, to see if Aaron had come back. When he saw that no one was there, he placed his focus back on Mimi.

"So. What'd you want to tell me?" she said looking at him curiously.

"Oh. Nothing. It wasn't that important." he lied. "It wasn't important at all." he sighed again.



"What won't you just die?" Lor asked Tk. She was staring at him through his force field.

"I won't let you hurt Matt." he said weakly. Every word was one less ounce of energy he would possess.

"You're just like him you know. Matt." she added as she fiddled with her hair. "You're both the hardest people I've had to control. You have a strong resistance. In fact, it's so strong with Matt, that I can only control him when I'm near him." she laughed maniacally. "You should see him now. The poor boy thinks nothing's happened between us! He doesn't even know I exist, if I'm not around him!"

"Leave him alone." warned Tk.

"Or you'll do what? Shine me to death? You're growing weaker by the minute. I can tell. All your doing is prolonging your inevitable death. Just save us the trouble, and come out of your bubble." Lor said walking closer to him.

"As long as I have hope, I can keep this baby up." he said grinning. "And you can't touch me. Remember last time?" he said laughing a little. It sounded dull and raspy to Tk, only proving he was weaker than he was.

Lor examined her hand. The large burn mark stretching from her left palm to her fingertips. "It doesn't matter. Down here, hope is nonexistent." she said sneering.

An armless man limped over to Lor, and began whispering in her ear. Her eyes widened.

"Yes!" she said turning to Tk. "Your brother has found his stone. Now all I got to do is get it, and my mission is complete. Bye Tk. Forever." she waved as she stepped through a door, and disappeared from view.

"No! Matt!" Tk screamed, as the shield grew brighter than ever. He was filled with a sudden need to save his brother, and friends, that he stood up, and slowly shuffled to the door.

Demons and the evil tried to stop him, but they only did damage to themselves, as they stumbled back, clutching their wounds.

'Only a few more steps.' thought Tk, as he saw the door. It was being blocked by the guardians, but Tk just walked through them effortlessly, as they ignited into ashes, upon touching him.



Tk opened his eyes, to see sunlight. It temporarily blinded him, but he laughed at it. "I'm free! I'm back!" he cried. He tried standing up, but with no luck. "I'm so tired." he whispered. "A few minutes sleep won't hurt." he told himself as he shut his eyes.

"Tk! Is that you?" Tai asked the figure that was lying on the street.

"Tai." he said hoarsely. "Is that you?"

"It's really you Tk!" shouted Tai happily. "Where were you? We were all so worried."

"Matt!" Tk said suddenly. He sat up and looked at Tai. "Have you seen Matt?"

"No. I'm looking for him." said snarling.

"He's in danger!" Tk said

"Yeah. From me." snapped Tai.

"What?" the smaller boy asked.

"He's been with this other girl." Tai said not telling him the other little details.

"No! It's not what you think! She's not a girl!" he explained without stopping. "She's really a goblin from hell!"

"Yeah. I guess you could call her that." Tai said looking away from him.

"No! You don't understand! This world Tai. It's not a real world! It's an image! An image created to elude us!"

"Tk you lost me." said Tai looking baffled.

"This world. It's really hell! None of this is real! The people don't exist, and those that do are sent by the devil to cause anguish!" Tk said breathlessly.

"Um, did you fall on your head?" asked Tai concerned.

"Tai please! I'm not making this up! This world has been a complete charade! The longer we stay here, the closer we are to certain death!

"Certain death." Tai gulped.

"Yes! Casey, or Lor was sent by the mayor to get the crest of friendship's stone! With it, he can take over countless worlds! He has a dark power that can reverse the effects of friendship, and turn it to hate. If he does that, literally all hell will break loose! Fiends will turn to enemies, and fight each other till one dies!"

"And if you die with hate in your heart, you go to hell, and become part of his un-dead army." finished Tai, remembering what his priest would say.

"Then we're screwed." finished Tk, gasping for air. The boy was talking so fast, he thought he would choke on the words.

"Do you know how to stop her?" asked Tai, helping Tk up.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Take a right here." he said ordering Tai.



"It was on you the whole time!" chuckled Joe. "Wow. So it's been a complete waste of time being here. Hell, we could have been gone within seconds on arrival!"

"I know!" said Matt happily. "To think. It's kind of pathetic on my part though."

"Well." Sora said cheerfully. "Now we have to find Tk and Tai, and we'll be set to go!"

"Tk still hasn't come back?" said Matt shocked. "Where could he be?"

"We have time. We can look for him." said Mimi reassuringly.

"Fine. Let's split up. We have a higher probability of finding them individually, than as one large group." commented Izzy.

"Okay. Let's go then!" shouted Mimi. She took the north area, Izzy and Sora the south, Joe the east, and Matt the west.



"Are you sure you know how to use this?" asked Tai as he watched the boy work.

"I've acquired more useless information over the years, than actual useful information. I never though it would ever come in handy." Tk said focusing on what he was doing.

"Still. It doesn't answer my question."

"Remember when we stayed with the traveling gypsies? Zelda, taught me how to ward off evil demons, cause she thought I wasn't strong enough to protect myself."

"All to well." he shuddered, as he remembered the large snake that one of the children kept as a pet.

"Now, remember when we were trapped in that bad world war one movie thing?" Tk asked, as he took a piece of metal from his teeth.

"Yeah." Tai replied.

"Remember Skip?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he taught me how to use this." he shoved a small bullet into the slot, and turned the safety off. "I know how to use this."



"Casey! What are you doing here?" asked Matt, as he spotted her leaning against a tree.

"I couldn't wait to see you." she said as she pulled his shirt, so he would get closer to her. With one movement, she kissed him, wrapping her arms around him.

"And I thought I could go till tonight without one of your kisses." said Matt smiling. "What was I on?"

"Love." she said simply. "I love you Matt."

"Casey. I. I..." he stuttered.

"Matt!" screamed Tk. It had taken time, but Tai and Tk had finally found him. "Get away from him Lor!" warned Tk.

"Lor? What's going on?" Matt demanded.

"Get away from her dude. She's not one of the good guys." Tai said stepping forward slowly.

"Go away!" she hissed.

"Get away from Matt first." he said threateningly.

"What's happening?" Matt screamed again. Casey moved closer to Matt. She smiled evilly as she lifted her hand, over his back.

"Matt! Look out!" Tk shouted as he took the gun he had assembled.



The shot was deafening. Casey fell into Matt's arms. Limp. Not moving at all. "Casey!" Matt yelled as he held her tight. A red liquid soaking his clothing, as well as hers. "Casey no!" The smell of gunpowder was chocking him. "Casey please don't leave me."

Upon hearing the shot, the rest of the Digidestined rushed to the area. Mimi was the first to arrive.

She stood staring at her boyfriend. He was hunched over a body, and his hands were bloody. "Please Casey. Don't leave me." she heard him say. "You can't go..... I love you."

Those three words, caused Mimi to step back. She covered her mouth with her hand, so she didn't cry aloud.

"Matt." she chocked. "Y...you.....you....." she had trouble finding words to go along with her exact mood. All she knew was she wanted to get out of there. And fast.

"Mimi." Matt said glassily. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"What...." she squeaked.

"Our relationship. It was a complete joke. A shame! We were never going anywhere, and I knew we never would. I just kept you along for the ride." he said as uncaring as possible. "As soon as I got here, I fell in love with her. I truly love her."

Mimi looked at him. Her eyes wide with shock and grief. She didn't think. She just acted. Within a second, her hand and connected with his face, causing it to snap to the side.

He touched his jaw in agony, wondering how she could have such a strong slap.

"I can't believe you." she hissed. "I can't believe you!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The tears streaming down her cheeks could have filled a swimming pool.

"I guess I deserved that." he said meekly.

"No!" she screamed again. "I cared about you, and you turn around and cheat on me! I stuck by you every day, thinking you were being faithful to me, while in reality, you were off with some person you just met!"

"Oh, Mimi...." he started.

"Don't you oh Mimi me! You sick two-timing jerk!"

"Talk about two-timer! What about your little love affair with soccer stud over there? You think I didn't pick up on the huge hints you were dropping?" he said angrily.

"You think Tai and I were seeing each other, behind your back?" she said numbly.

"Matt." Tai said. "I never did anything with Mimi. We're just friends." he said forcing the last sentence.

"You're expecting me to believe that?" Matt retorted.

"You're supposed to believe it, cause it's the truth." Tai said defensively. "Nothing happened."

Something odd happened. Casey began to sink into the earth. When she was completely gone, Matt fell to one knee, clutching his head.

Everything flooded back to him, like a bad flashback. He looked up at Mimi, aware of what he had done.

"No. Mimi. No...."

"Just shut up Matt!" she cried. She looked at his crest. "The crest of friendship." she scoffed. "Was that ever a bad call! Go figure, Yamato Ishida caring about his friends! What a laugh!"

"Mimi please, I, I...."

"Don't you ever speak to me again." she said looking into his eyes. "I hate you. I hate you!" her crest glowed brighter than it ever had before.

"No." he said reaching out for her. "You can't mean that!"

"I hate you!" she bellowed, as she ran past him. Matt turned around, and watched her crash into Tai, who caught her, and held her close.

She was crying more now. Her tears causing a wet stain on Tai's shirt. He looked at him, wanting sympathy. But he found none. He looked at Tk, only to find his brother giving him a look of disgust.

'Mimi no! I didn't mean any of those things! I love you!' his mind raced, but he was still in way too much shock to speak. 'I've lost her... I lost her, just like Aaron said.

Without warning, a bright light surrounded them, paralyzing them. Something two people had told him wavered through his mind. The first was Casey. 'I ride a flaming chariot, lead by stallions, and I cause pain and suffering wherever I go.' she wasn't lying to him. The second was what Aaron had told him. 'Then she will die. You'll hurt her, and then she'll die.'

'No Mimi. I don't want to lose you.....' he thought. The last thing he saw before blacking out, was the face of the girl he loved, crying because of him. And then he saw the face of the man who also loved her, comforting her, even though he couldn't move.

'I'm wrong. You were already lost to me. Take care of her Tai...'

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