Izzy and the others followed the map through the Digital World and, after trekking across countless mountains and rivers, finally reached a lake.
In the middle of the water, a column of light swayed back and forth like a searchlight.
"Heavens, what is that?" Mimi wobbled a little as they came to the shore.
"Does he live inside the lake?" Matt could hardly believe the thought.
"So that's why I couldn't find him even after searching the mountains for two months," Izzy said, suddenly enlightened—though honestly, in a world this big, even two years might not be enough to find Gennai.
"Forget that. How are we supposed to get in?" Joe raised the practical question.
Gomamon, ever the doer, dove straight into the water—an object lesson in leading by example.
While everyone stared at the lake, waiting for Gomamon to return, someone else came back.
"Hey! Everybody doing okay?" A greeting drifted over from far away.
The kids all turned. Izzy propped his chin. "That voice sounds familiar."
A hand waved, and then—
"Tai!"
"Is everyone okay?" Tai called as he and Agumon ran up.
The kids crowded around him, buzzing with questions.
"Tai, what took you so long? How've you been?"
"Not bad," he grinned.
As they chatted happily, a head popped up from the lake.
"There's a house down there," Gomamon reported as he surfaced—just as the lake suddenly bubbled all over.
"What's going on? It's not me, I promise!" Gomamon blurted in a hurry.
The pillar of light stopped swinging. Ripples spread across the lake, a beam swept toward the shore, and the water split open, revealing a staircase. Gomamon stood on the steps wearing the most innocent look, as if to say, See? Not my doing.
"No way." The kids gaped; stuff like this didn't happen back in the human world.
"Are we supposed to go down those stairs?" Palmon asked carefully.
"Probably," Matt answered, almost mechanical.
"Alright, let's check it out." Tai took the lead. He'd seen stranger things; parting a lake barely ranked anymore. Agumon followed calmly at his tamer's heels. Under everyone's gaze, they strode down the steps. The remaining kids traded looks and followed after Tai.
As they descended, the water flowed back in over the steps above them. Fish drifted past on all sides, and the lake had a strangely reddish cast—baffling, to say the least. Gradually, a small compound came into view.
"What's that?" T.K. breathed. There was a house under the lake.
"Is it over there?" Sora asked, mouth agape.
"I think so," Joe answered, still sounding automatic.
From afar it looked small, but once inside it proved fairly large. A little stream even ran through the yard—with a tiny bridge spanning it. On that bridge stood a figure the children had encountered twice before.
"Gennai."
"Kids, you've finally come." Gennai turned and regarded them.
Matt stepped forward. "Why didn't you come get us yourself?"
"I don't like going out," Gennai said, coming down from the bridge.
"What are you, really?" Joe asked.
"Human? Or are you also a Digimon?" T.K. ventured.
"Neither," Gennai replied, stopping in front of them.
Mimi asked the key question: "What does 'DigiDestined' actually mean?"
"It means children chosen to save both the Digital World and the human world."
"Then who chose us?" Matt asked.
"Gennai, was it you?" Sora added.
Gennai shook his head, sighed, glanced at the lake, and walked toward the house. "Don't pry into that. What matters right now is finding the eighth DigiDestined. Come with me." Since he clearly didn't want to answer, the kids could only follow.
"It's beautiful," someone breathed as they entered. Fish glided past the windows, and the kids couldn't help but marvel.
"There are air-bladder fish and flounder… but this is a lake," Joe—ever the most scholarly—identified the species, then frowned at the contradiction.
Gennai opened a door. "Those are models I made. They're not real. When you live alone, it gets very lonely."
He pulled down a map. "Take a look at this." The map expanded and expanded until it settled on Tokyo's Nerima Ward.
"Myotismon will appear here," Gennai said.
The kids gasped.
"That's Highton View Terrace, right?" Tai said.
Gennai opened a drawer and took out ten cards. "There's a gate in the basement of Myotismon's castle that leads to the Real World. The stone disk of the gate has nine slots; these cards must be inserted to open it. These are the cards. However, one of them has an unknown purpose. And remember—don't insert them at random. If you do it wrong, you may pass into a completely different world and likely never return."
"There are many different worlds?" someone asked.
"Yes—and you might not be able to return to your original selves. Take the cards. Get a good rest tonight; the enemy won't attack this place."
Tai picked up the cards without a word.
Night fell, and the children drifted into dreams.
Tai sat up and stepped outside. A shadowed figure stood there.
"You called me?" he asked.
The shadow stared up as if trying to see through the lake. Then a sigh. "Do you know what these cards are really for?"
"Opening a gate to a separate dimension," Tai answered warily.
"Is that your own answer? Do you believe it?"
"What are you getting at?"
"I think you already have an answer in your heart. Catch."
The shadow tossed something. Tai caught it and, peering through his Digi-Goggles, saw a stack of cards. Even with the goggles' night vision, the figure itself remained indistinct.
"Why give these to me?"
"You'll need them. The ones Myotismon and Gennai have are copies. These are the true cards. Those others merely provide coordinates and power. These hold the power of miracles. You know how to use them." It was phrased like a question, but the tone was certain.
Tai said nothing—neither denying nor confirming. The figure chuckled softly, then melted into the darkness, leaving Tai silent with the stack of cards in hand.
"Was it alright to give them to him? Can he handle it?" Gennai watched from inside.
A black-robed person appeared in the room. "We don't have much time. He's the most suitable option right now—and in my opinion, the best. He knows how to use them well."
"I hope so. It's not that I don't trust him—those are simply too important. We have to succeed," Gennai murmured. The room fell quiet again.
A knock broke the silence.
"Gennai, are you there? It's Izzy." The black-robed person vanished as if he'd never been there. Gennai smoothed his expression into a smile and opened the door.
"Izzy, what brings you here so late?"
"I've got some questions, Gennai."
"What is it?"
"Why is the Digital World so similar to our world?"
"Do you know what this world is made of—your equivalent of atoms and molecules?"
"You mean data."
"Correct. Everything that exists here originates from the data you see in your computer networks. The Digital World is strange when data is damaged or incomplete."
"Really? Then that means you're data too, Gennai."
Gennai nodded.
"But where's your physical body—one like ours?"
"I don't have one."
"So you're different from Digimon?"
"Different. If you want a reason—well, I have no attribute."
"You mean attributes?"
"This world is cataloged by data, but Digimon are clusters of data with specific attributes: Data, Virus, or Vaccine."
"I see."
"Has the Digimon Encyclopedia I gave you helped?"
"Yes—but there's something I can't figure out. It only records information on Digimon I've met. Why?"
"I understand. Leave your notebook with me and I'll fix it. Go get some rest."
"Alright."
Watching Izzy leave, Gennai sighed and gazed toward the room where the children slept. "Don't let me down. The entire Digital World rests on you."
The night deepened. All was quiet.
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