A.N.: Okay, I'll be honest. I possibly shouldn't be posting this yet. I am nowhere near finishing part one, and honestly, I haven't even entirely settled on whether to make it a long section or a short one - the real meat of the story doesn't begin until Part Two. But you know what? I feel like this is one of those fics which, unless I properly start it, will just sit and lurk in the back of my mind, while I tinker away at the middle and neglect the beginning (As I have thus far).

This will be an inter-season crossover fic eventually, but part one will only feature the cast of Adventure and 02 (and I am super excited to see more of Tri because it will fit really well into this fic further down the line). The main reason for my delay in getting it up on the site is that I didn't originally intend to start here. So Part One is probably the least fleshed out section of the whole thing, and this is where a lot of the delays in writing will take place. Until I come back and edit this author's note (which I absolutely will once I either hit Part Two or find my stride!) you can probably expect this to not update very often - I'm still thrashing out how to transition into Part Two. So consider this a sort of "marking my place" fic. It will run in the background to Hope's Fire and Metanoia, but I very much want to get started on it, because it's probably bigger than the pair of them together.

Essentially, what I am saying is "Watch This Space". Also: Let me know what you think! This is my most ambitious fanfic so far, and as I get into it I will be eager to see what people think. Feedback as to whether you would prefer longer or shorter sections for Part One would also be very much appreciated!

Part One

Adventure's End

Prologue

31st December, 2002

For just a few short minutes, Taichi let himself bask in the victory. It was second hand really, but he'd still been there. Still done his part. Evil was vanquished once more, and the second generation of Chosen Children celebrating in the canyon below was just too good a scene to pass up. After spontaneously hugging Catherine and some random American blond kid (seriously, who had time for introductions now?) he pelted down to join the others, half aware of the countless other children all doing much the same things. The Digital World wasn't in the best shape, sure, but at least it hadn't been totally destroyed again. That was always a bonus. It would recover, with time.

Amid the slightly euphoric rush which always seemed to accompany a triumph over evil, someone noticed Iori over by the hole into the other world. That kid was something else, for sure. Taichi hadn't even realised Oikawa was still in the place, and yet Iori had gone to make sure he was okay. Although, it was a bit of a shock to see the smallest of the Chosen Children helping the man who was responsible for half of this mess in the first place. He looked different though. Healthier, somehow, even if it seemed he was no longer able to stand.

Taichi stood back with the others as Hikari and the rest of the second generation ran over, followed by Gennai. This was their business, after all. And if Iori believed that this Oikawa guy deserved a chance, who was he to disagree? Something wasn't quite right though. They were stood talking, but none of them were moving. And then, just after a little green digimon appeared, Oikawa seemed to shimmer and glow, and dispersed into a cloud of glittering light that flowed out into the Digital world. It shimmered and became a flock of butterflies, flying out across the sky. All around them, colour and life bloomed.

The explanation was sad, but Taichi privately felt that it was probably the best outcome. Oikawa got to be part of the Digital world, after all - and how could he have gone on living after that, knowing what he had done, and how close he had come to destroying worlds? Ken had struggled enough with the aftermath of being the Digimon Kaiser and he had family, and friends who looked out for him. By the sounds of it, all Oikawa had was grief and loneliness.

No, the day was good. The loose ends were tied off, and as they walked out of the canyon into green fields, they could all see that the Digital world had never looked better. Taichi knelt down and hugged Agumon again, just because he could. Everyone seemed to be hugging someone, after all, or smiling, or talking excitedly to new friends. He even bothered to learn the blond kid's name, although admittedly that was only because he turned out to be Mimi's friend Michael.

And then…Koushiro happened.

"Errr, Gennai, I'll admit that I'm somewhat reluctant to bring the subject up, but how are we all getting home?"