A/N - Man I am so going to regret starting this... .

It's been an annoying plot bunny for...geez I dunno. I wrote out a really rough draft of it for fun last year or something, then I wrote out an alternative second half, and then finally I decided I liked this plot and from then on began to plan each chapter during school hours xD But that's just my opinion. Also, I'm reusing my favourite bad guys :P Just a warning in case you're sick of them already.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

And therefore, without further adieu, I present to you my new story: Sacrifice!


It was July 31st, and Yagami Taichi had nothing to do.

It more than nothing to do, it was the mere fact that he was grounded from leaving the house – by his twelve (almost thirteen) year old sister. And if that wasn't humiliating enough, she had taken all his money that he had to prevent the temptation of going out somewhere while she was out for the day with their parents.

Bored out of his mind, he sighed, blowing a few strands of his wild brown hair out of his perfectly tanned face. The heat was beginning to get to him, even though he was wearing his usual summer outfit of a deep blue T-shirt and shorts that matched his hair and eyes. His cinnamon eyes flickered over to the thermostat close by, and groaned at the high temperature.

"This time five years ago, I was getting ready to go to camp!" he exclaimed to no one in particular. "And by tomorrow, I was in a totally different dimension."
It was an understatement to say that Tai missed the Digital World and all the adventures he had as leader of the Digidestined. But once he hit High School, Tai had realized that no longer had the time to fight evil in the world that contained his best friend – Agumon. Although, to make matters worse, Izumi Koushiro, most commonly known as Izzy, the Digidestined of Knowledge and the teams resident brainbox, had told the group several weeks beforehand that the Digital Gate was closed, and that no amount of programming or cries of "Digiport Open!" could unlock it.

Tai stared aimlessly at his cellphone, digivice and D-Terminal sitting side by side in front of him on the dining room table. He thought back to the past, to when he first met Agumon and the other Digimon, to when he and his friends learned how to work together to defeat hungry monsters, Black Gears, Myotismon's henchmen and, finally, the Dark Masters. Tai sighed, and wished for that life again. To run free through the Digital World, defeat monsters and save the world….if only for a day.

Beep! Beep!

Tai was brought back to his senses by the sound of his cellphone beeping annoyingly at him. He looked at his phone, and raised an eyebrow.

Would you like to continue your journey?

With the thought of it being spam in his mind, Tai – being bored – pressed yes. The screen flashed, and then proceeded to talk to the astonished teenager.

"Take the 6:00pm train to Shibuya Station." The voice, most definitely female, Tai deduced, instructed him. Not sure quite what to do, he glanced around, looking for a clock. The one hanging next to the kitchen bench told him it was quarter to. Good, that meant five minutes to decide what the hell he was going to do. Tai stared at the screen of his cellphone, half expecting the voice to give him some clearer instructions, or at least some clue as to whether this was for real or not.

"Okay, if you can hear me, who are you?" Tai asked. He felt foolish for speaking to no one, since he was absolutely sure that it wasn't a phone call of some kind.

"The question is not who I am, but who you are. Follow your destiny, or do not follow your destiny. That is your choice."

Oh yeah, this was a message from the Digital World, all right. Only Gennai and the other entities were as cryptic as this message. Tai swiped up the three devices from the table and sprinted out of the apartment. He arrived at the Odaiba train station only to remember he had no money. Again, humiliating. He punched the ticket machine in frustration, as the train pulled up to the platform. The machine coughed, groaned, made a beeping sound, and out popped a ticket. Tai sighed. He really hated destiny.

The train pulled up to Shibuya station soon after. Holding his cellphone, Tai flipped back his crazy mane he called hair and headed off the train, and swam to escape the crowd. He might've heard the voice again, but it was so loud in the station, he couldn't hear properly. Luckily, the message also appeared on the screen.

Go to the basement.

Basement? Tai racked his mind for any knowledge of a basement. He spied an elevator, and raced for it. Jumping in, the elevator instantly began to move of its own accord. Tai began to wonder why he was called to this crazy thing his phone was calling destiny. What if it wasn't the Digital World? Of course, what else could it be? But there were so many other worlds out there. Then Tai recalled his wish.

To run free through the Digital World, defeat monsters and save the universe...if only for a day.

Oh, damn it all.
The elevator arrived with a slam at the bottom, and Tai was thankful for rails. He exited the elevator, and looked around. There was only one train there, preparing for departure. A group of six children, definitely younger than Tai, were waiting by the doors.

"This is where you choose. The Digital World needs you again, Digidestined of Courage. What will you do?"

Tai scowled at his phone. What did this person take him for?

"Why wouldn't I go back?" he asked. "The Digital World is my second home! If its' in trouble, I am willing to do anything to save it."
"Are you willing to sacrifice anything for the Digital World?"

"Anything and everything."

"Then enter the train. This is where it all begins."

Tai could have sworn he heard a smile in that voice. He took a step forward, hesitated, and looked over his shoulder. If he went back now, he could get home before his family, and then enjoy the Digidestined's anniversary for the rest of the week. But the words of the strange woman speaking from his cellphone made him look back again at the train.

'I am willing to sacrifice my all for the Digital World.' Tai thought. 'The others will understand.'

He walked forward a couple of steps, and then ran the rest of the way to the train. He jumped into the nearby carriage, just as the train blew its whistle and proceeded to leave the station.

"Digital World by train." Tai muttered. "That's something new."


"Who is he?"
"I wonder how old he is."
"He definitely looks older than us."
"I'm willing to be that it was all a mistake."
"I doubt Worm would have let him on if it was a mistake, brother."

Tai glanced up as he heard the shushed conversation behind the door to the carriage he was in. Suddenly it opened and the six kids he had seen on the platform earlier fell out. He looked at them with curious eyes, and they shifted nervously, collecting together in a line. One of the boys shuffled forward. He donned a cap backwards on top of his messy chocolate-coloured hair with a pair of square goggles perched on top. He wore a yellow T-shirt with an orange button-up over top, unbuttoned of course.
"Um, we were just wondering what you were doing on this train." he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his brown three-quarter pants.
"To simply say, we wanna know who you are." another male spoke bluntly, raising a hand to adjust his blue and yellow bandana that rested above his raven hair that was tied back in a ponytail. He, like Takuya, was wearing a yellow T-shirt, but with a blue jacket over it. His other hand also rested in a pocket of his grey trousers.

Tai raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you kids?"
"Normal people can't board this train." the largest child - probably the oldest - dressed in a blue and yellow jumpsuit, spoke. Tai thought for a moment. He had no idea who these children were, not to mention the fact that he most likely did not want to mention his identity of being the Digidestined of Courage – they had all been warned it was dangerous to tell strangers about themselves.

"Oh, be quiet you three." the female snapped. She smiled politely at Tai. "Sorry about that. My name's Orimoto Izumi, but you call me Zoe."

Zoe was dressed in a purple-pink skirt, one Tai thought Kari and Yolei would ponder over in a store, making him wait for hours, until they eventually decided it "was so not their colour" and they dragged him off to another store. Her matching short sleeved jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a blue and white striped T-shirt that cut off at her midriff. She continued to introduce the rest of the group. "The goggle-head is Kanbara Takuya, the lone wolf type of guy is Minamoto Kouji, the big guy is Shibayama Junpei-"

"J.P!" interrupted J.P, revealing certain distaste for his full name. Tai felt his pain.

"Yeah, whatever," Zoe rolled her blue eyes. "This little guy here is Himi Tomoki-slash-Tommy, and finally we have Kimura Kouichi, who is Kouji's twin."

Tommy was a short little guy of around nine years old. He wore a white shirt along with yellow-orange cargo pants, with a giant bubble hat to match. He grinned broadly at Tai, who smiled back, then turned his attention to the last boy. He wore a blue cap over his dark hair, which, unlike Kouji's, was cut shorter instead of tied back in a ponytail. As most of the people in the group, Kouichi was also wearing a button-up shirt over another shirt. His button-up was a deep green on top of a maroon shirt, along with long grey pants. He had his hands in his pockets, and gave a small smile.

Tai grinned inwardly at how awkward these kids were. But, he thought, anyone seen on a train to the Digital World would be someone you had to be wary of, no matter how human they looked. So, despite how innocent and charming the six kids were, Tai had to be on his guard. But, you couldn't play too safe. Otherwise, where was the fun in that?

"The name's Taichi, but I prefer Tai." Tai flashed his trademark grin. Once he discovered the true identity of the children, he would reveal more, of course. "As for why I'm on this train, that's for me to know and you to find out. What about you guys?"
"Why should we tell you anything when you refuse to reveal your own reasons?" the one named Kouji asked. Tai sighed. A difficult one, he thought.
"Okay, fine, whatever." he said. Tai held up his silver cellphone. "I got a strange message telling to catch the 6:00 train to Shibuya Station. I did so, received more instructions, got on the train, and here I am, being interrogated by you guys."
"A message?" Tommy asked, just before the train jolted and shook from side to side.
"We must be coming up to the portal!" the goggle-headed brunette, Takuya, exclaimed. However, this proclamation was useless as all seven in the carriage were tossed around like old rag dolls. The lights flickered between on and off, and as Tai struggled to reach his feet, his chocolate eyes widened as he saw the silhouettes of strange figures flash over his companions in the darkness.

Digimon.

As the train returned to normal, the occupants of the transportation got to their feet. Takuya was clutching his head with a grimace of pain, Kouji was rearranging his bandana once more, Zoe straightened her skirt, Tommy was bending over to pink up his hat. Kouichi just sat down, looking as if all the breath had been knocked out of him, and J.P was picking up a selection of chocolate bars that suspiciously appeared as if they had come from his pockets. Tai watched as they all took out their cellphones, which, before their eyes, turned into something like a very high-tech D-3. Curious, he took out his cellphone as well, and brown orbs widened again as he stared at the now orange and black device that was in the place of his small silver phone. The six children also stared in amazement.

"You have a D-Tector?" Takuya asked. Tai glanced up, then looked back down incredulously. D-Tector. The new digivices obviously came with the new Digital World, because as Tai looked out the window, he couldn't help but stare at the extremely new scenery.

"It's beautiful, right?" Zoe said to him, sitting beside the much older teenager. "It's called the Digital World, and it is absolutely amazing."
"Yeah." Tai breathed. "I bet it is."

The train pulled up outside some old ruins, which Tai immediately recognized as Centarumon's temple, the Temple of the Digivice. He frowned, wondering how it survived all the reconfigurations of the Digital World. He followed the other kids, who had explained to Tai about them being the Legendary Warriors, destined to save the Digital World from mishaps and disaster – namely the disaster that was called Lucemon, which had been prevented by them. They headed for the temple entrance, where Takuya and the others were instantly bombarded by a pair of Digimon.
"Bokomon! Neemon!"

Said Digimon constituted of a white duck-like creature with a pink belt around his waist, and a yellow rabbit in a pair of bright red pants and a vacant look on his face. They had obviously met the Legendary Warriors before, Tai noted.
"I'm so glad you returned!" Bokomon exclaimed. "I didn't think you ever would!"
"We're glad to be back too, Bokomon, Neemon." Tommy said with a grin. "The Digital World looks back to normal, now."
"Yeah, it looks great." Takuya agreed. "So why were we called back?"
"About that, there is someone here who wishes to meet with the seven of you," Bokomon said, leaning out slightly so he could peer narrow-eyed at Tai. "Although why he called an extra person is beyond me."
The group followed Bokomon and Neemon into the temple, looking at awe at the inscribed walls down the path. They were led to the main room, where upon the wall at the back a carving of Tai's digivice was etched into it.

This must be the temple Izzy and Mimi told the rest of us about when they found out the Legend of the Digidestined, Tai thought. But this Digital World is completely different to our one. How is this temple still standing?

Centarumon was standing to the side, cannon at the ready. The warriors looked at it warily, but Tai just grinned to himself. As long as Centarumon wasn't under the influence of a Black Gear or Dark Ring, he was as friendly as any Digimon who was on good terms with Gennai could be.

And speaking of the devil, there's the old guy now, Tai thought as Gennai walked in. Although Tai referred to him as old, Gennai was appearing as his younger self, such as he had when meeting the younger generation of Tai's group. Tai frowned once more. Gennai, like the ruins, had managed to survive. Did it have something to do with him not being a Digimon or properly connected to the Digital World?

"Welcome, Legendary Warriors. I trust the instructions weren't too vague." he said.
"No, of course not." Kouji said sarcastically. "Why would anyone from the Digital World not be vague?"

"Ah, Kouji. Charming as ever." Gennai laughed.
"Who are you?" Zoe asked. "Are you human?"

"Not exactly. I am a Digital Entity, and I've been here since the very first construction of the Digital World."

"So...are you the one who called us here the first time?" Takuya asked.
"No, that was the work of Ophanimon. And it was the Spirits who chose you to be their bearers." Gennai replied. "But this time, however, I must admit that I was the one to send for you. If you must know, you were recommended by Ophanimon."
"Like you had another choice." Kouichi muttered. Tai struggled to avoid smirking.

Oh, but he did have another choice. But why didn't he call upon the Digidestined? Why the warriors? And when did all this happen? Did it happen when we were first locked out from accessing the Digital World from our computers? he thought. It was all very confusing.

"In the meantime, I have some people who have been waiting to be reunited with you." Gennai said. "Takuya, Kouji, Zoe, J.P, Tommy, and Kouichi, prepare your D-Tectors." He walked over to a pedestal that held on top a golden box while the warriors took out their D-Tectors. The entity opened the lid, and out flew six pairs of images, which were instantly recognized as the spirits of the Legendary Warriors. In addition, the remaining four were also added to Takuya and Kouji's D-Tectors, as to enable them to evolve to EmperorGreymon and MagnaGarurumon.

"Now, if you will join me, I am going to tell you a tale about the Digital World, and its vast history that will lead right through to this present day." Gennai said. The eight people sat down, Centarumon, Bokomon and Neemon joining them. Tai, in noticing Gennai had avoided talking to him, kept his mouth shut, and listened curiously to what the elder had to say.

"A long time ago, the Digital World was created by excess data from your world. Data became a world. Then it became entities, such as myself. Then it became monsters, and became a world all of its own, a shadow world amongst yours. This happened many Digital years ago, because for a long period of time, time in this world ran differently to your own. Here, months would pass by while only a couple of minutes disappeared in your own. A Digimon, known as Apocalymon, terrorized the Digital World. A group known as the Digidestined appeared, and locked him away behind the Wall of Fire. Many years later, a small part of the Digital World back then was threatened by an evil force called Devimon. The prophesized group of Digidestined appeared once more, and the seven of them defeated Devimon and his Black Gears. I had the privilege of meeting these seven after their astonishing victory. From there they collected the seven crests, which allowed their partner Digimon to evolve to the Ultimate Level – a similar level to your Beast Spirits.

"Etemon was the next enemy, which the Digidestined of Courage and his partner, MetalGreymon, blasted away when they were the first to evolve to Ultimate. After Etemon came Myotismon, an evil vampire-type Virus who, after attempting to manipulate the Digidestined and prevent their crests from revealing their power, went to the Real World to search for another eighth Digidestined.

"After VenomMyotismon appeared and was destroyed by the next level up of the Digidestined of Courage and Friendships' partners, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, they were summoned back to the Digital World to defeat the toughest monsters ever.

"The Dark Masters had taken over the Digital World and warped it to suit their own tastes. One by one they were brought down by the might of the Mega Digimon. But Apocalymon had returned. Thankfully, the Digidestined – although they faced deletion - managed to seal him away before he unleashed his ultimate attack, and he destructed himself.

"Four years later, a new team of Digidestined was selected because of the Digimon Emperor, a human who had been infected by a virus called the Dark Spore. After being defeated by the Digidestined and joining their team, they face Daemon, and also Myotismon made a comeback."

"Daemon? Isn't he a Demon Lord, just like Lucemon was?" Kouichi asked. Gennai nodded.
"That he was. We all know that a Demon Lord is near impossible to defeat, so instead of destroying Daemon, he was sent to the Dark Ocean, a world parallel to this one and your own." he said. "Now, the Digital World was so ravaged by MaloMyotismon and his evil permeation of this world, it was forced to reconfigure once more, the first being after Apocalymon's destructive defeat. This time, however, it became the world it is today – now instead of just a mere shadow world, the Digital World is a world of its own, its essence fractal code, a sort of recombination of data from your world.

"The Digidestined were locked out of the new Digital World. Their digivices were not able to handle the new portal, nor were their hearts worthy enough to return." Gennai said somberly. Tai's eyes widened slightly. Not worthy? Was that the reason Izzy could find no way to open the gate, not even to contact the man now sitting before the leader of the Digidestined? If that was so, why was he there now?

"How could a person chosen by the Digital World as a hero not be worthy?" Takuya asked. "I can't even begin to comprehend how horrible I'd feel if I knew that I'd done something to no longer be able to have that honour."

"How did it happen?" Zoe asked. Gennai shook his head.
"The Digidestined lost face over several months. With the thought that it was all over with the final defeat of Myotismon, they abandoned their partners in this world, and forgot all about this one. Their hearts not in the right place, they lost the right to be protectors of this world."
"How are their hearts not in the right place?" J.P asked. "Not saying I think they should be allowed back, but I just want to know. Just so, you know, it doesn't happen to us."
"Kindness. Light. Hope. Reliability. Sincerity. Knowledge. Love. Friendship. And Courage." Gennai spoke the nine crests, stealing a glance at Tai as he invoked the name of the final crest. "These nine crests were the main characteristics of the first eight Digidestined and the reformed Digimon Emperor. Their very crests are the basis of their hearts. Once those traits are forgotten, their hearts are corrupt, and they are no longer able to be our saviours."

Now I understand. We Digidestined took everything for granted. But...I didn't think I forgot. I didn't abandon Agumon. I could never do that! I even wished to return... Tai started in realization. I didn't lose face! That's why I'm here right now! Gennai must not want the Warriors to know who I am. That would stand reason as to why he added Courage in with the rest. They would get curious if he said Courage was still a protector, giving away my secret. But there's got to be some catch...they'll figure it out sooner or later.

"So what happens now?" Kouji asked, bringing Tai back to reality.
"You already know about the defeat of Virus Cherubimon, the saving of you, Kouichi, and the defeat of Lucemon and his Royal Knights. You served your purpose, but now, a great threat has returned, with strength, greed, intelligence and manipulation."
"Returned?" Tommy asked worriedly. Gennai nodded.

"That is correct. The Dark Masters have descended upon us, Legendary Warriors! It is up to you seven to defeat them and prevent them from destroying this world once more!"
"Seven!" the six warriors turned to Tai, who looked just as surprised.
"How can this guy help us?" Takuya asked, skeptical. Gennai smiled.
"You received a D-Tector, did you not?" he asked. Tai nodded, and dug in his pocket to bring out the orange-black device. Gennai stood up once more and went over to the golden box. He opened it for a second time, and another pair of spirits sped into Tai's D-Tector. The warriors gaped.
"But there are only ten spirits!" Kouichi exclaimed. "How can he receive a pair as well!"
"When the nine crests were created by the entities as well as the chosen partners and legendary digivice, which you can see is carved on this wall-" Gennai pointed to the giant digivice etched into the wall. "-the entities were wondering if the crests would be enough. So in deep secret, several worked on creating the Almighty Spirits, spirits that would rival the power of the Dark Masters, if they are used correctly."

"Wait, the Dark Masters were in the Digital World that whole time?" Tommy asked.
"Yes. They were in control of most of this world, acting as puppeteers. It wasn't until the Digidestined went back to the Real World and became worthy rivals that they revealed themselves." Gennai replied.

"Why Tai? Why not someone younger?" Takuya asked. The others nodded.
"Yeah, no offence, Tai, but you're seventeen. And I've never seen any other children here above the age of thirteen." Zoe said. Tai shrugged. The Legendary Warriors raised their eyebrows at this, but packed it away to inquire about later.
"Where are the other eight spirits? And the ones they are meant for?" Kouji inquired.
"Unfortunately, during the reconstruction of the Digital World, the spirit keepers were attacked, and the only one we managed to recover was the one our friend, Tai, has inherited."
"Which is?" Bokomon asked, finally managing to recover from the story. It was apparent that hearing these legends that no one had heard for a long time came as a shock to the white monster.

"The Almighty Spirit of Courage." Gennai said, smiling at Tai, who looked back down at his D-Tector with wide cinnamon eyes. "The Spirit of Courage wields the power of fire, so he should be a great partner for you, Takuya!"
Said goggle-head grinned and punched the air. "Alright! Firepower upgrade!"

"What's our first mission?" J.P asked. Gennai nodded as he gestured to a door in the side of the room.
"You will get back on Worm the Trailmon. He will take you to the continent where the Dark Masters are based. Also, I have prepared two more guides. Come out, please!"
Tai's eyes widened to dinner plates when the two Digimon who walked out were two he recognized, no, knew well!

Agumon! Tentomon! Tai thought in incredulity. He almost didn't register Gennai speaking once more.
"These two Digimon, Agumon and Tentomon, are war veterans. They fought in the war against the Dark Masters last time, and know their strengths and weaknesses. They will aid you in your quest."

Tai wanted to run up the steps and hug his best friend into oblivion, but one look form the Digimon told him that if he were to do that, something very, very bad would happen to him. He got the feeling that, like Gennai, they were meant to pretend to not know him.

The Legendary Warriors left the temple with the four Digimon, introducing themselves and getting well acquainted with one another. However, Tai lingered behind. Once he was sure they had left, he turned to Gennai.
"I don't understand. Why me?" he asked. Gennai sighed.

"I knew you'd ask that question."
"I get the whole "no longer worthy' speech." Tai explained himself further. "But I don't think even I still have my crest fully dominating my heart."
"The Crest of Courage is more than just courage to face what you're afraid of. Its much more than that." Gennai said. "Also, you're the leader of the Digidestined. If there's anyone who can prove their worth, it's you."

"Why haven't we heard of the Almighty Spirits?" the brunette teen continued. "I mean, don't you think it's an important fact to just skip out on us?"
"There was no point in revealing the spirits if you weren't going to need them." Gennai said. "We weren't completely sure the crests were going to be enough. But you all proved them to be great."
"It was close though." Tai muttered.
"Do you really doubt the crests?"
"Of course not, they're the basis of our lives." Tai exclaimed. "Or, they should be. Anyway, what's the deal with these spirits?"
"That's for me to know, and you to find out."
Tai glared at the entity, who just chuckled.
"Never mind, Taichi. The warriors will show you, and your heart will tell you."

"What about Agumon and Tentomon?"
"Ah yes. Well, you see, I made those two promise not reveal your secret about being Digidestined, and also Tentomon is not allowed to contact Izzy and say anything."
"And why can't I say who I am?"
"According to my stories the Digidestined abandoned this world. If you heard that story and didn't know the Digidestined, how would you feel?"
Tai lowered his head. "Angry," he muttered.

"Exactly. Until you have proven to them that you are still a worthy protector of this world, I suggest you keep it secret."
"Did I ever tell you how much I hate you?"
"In fact, you did."
"Yeah, I think I'll let you know again. I hate you!"


A/N - So...like it? Hate it? I've always wanted to do an Adventure/Frontier crossover.

If this story is deemed worthy by you, my fantastic readers, I shall continue with updates...however, if you are familiar with my erratic updating then don't expect much *bows deeply in apology*

Please R&R! Anything is fine, even a simple "weird" will be fine...however, constructive criticism only please, flames will be used to warm my bed in the upcoming winter months.

Love you long time!

~Miss-Stoneflower~