A/N: My first story in a while! I hope you all liked it; I'm having a lot of fun writing about these characters, since I've never really used them before. Okay, so, I assume you all know about that epilogue at the end of the second season? I don't know if you disliked it as much as I did, but I've decided to write about it! I've left most of it alone (even the pairings . . .SoraxMatt? Don't get me started), except I made Tai's son a daughter and none of the kids have Digimon (yet). Oh, and Matt isn't an astronaut…lol sorry if you liked that idea. We'll see how it goes, and I hope you all R&R, it'll inspire me. ^_^

Disclaimer: Digimon…*sigh* I don't own the world, the Digimon, or the adults. Oh well!

Chapter 1

Tai Kamiya sped through the streets of Japan, huffing with every step. He was going to be late, again, after swearing that he wouldn't. Now that he was older and decidedly more mature, his hair was much shorter than it had ever been as a boy; this also meant he was more aerodynamic, as he didn't have his crazy hair slowing him down when he ran against the wind. Never in his life was he gladder that it was cut.

He was about to cross an intersection when a huge truck came rushing by, blaring its horn the whole time. Tai gave a groan, coming to a halt before he would crash into the street.

"Nice!" he shouted, waving his fist before glancing down at his watch. 2:05.

Great. He was already late, but maybe if he could hurry and take a shortcut, no one would notice. Many of the parents at Odaiba Middle School barely knew who he was anyway, so he doubted they would care . . . even if one child did.

Tai raced down a small alley that was littered with broken furniture and large brown boxes full of junk. Nimbly jumping over or around everything (for he had received a sudden adrenaline rush), he began acting like he was still a teenager, instead of being in his 30s. His thoughts began to drift, but not before he spotted a large, familiar building, rising up from behind the trees.

The parking lot was packed, which he ignored and instead went around to the back of the school where a hidden entrance lay. As a child he had found every secret space in this school, so getting in without being noticed would be no big deal. Once he found the door, cleverly hidden behind a growing shrub, he attempted to remember where this would take him. The kitchen, right . . .? Or was it the bathroom . . . oh well, he'd soon find out.

"Ah, it is the kitchen!" he murmured to himself, making out the shapes of the stoves in the darkness. He couldn't remember where the light switch was, so he resorted to walking blindly to where the door was. If Agumon had come with him, instead of deciding to stay home because he was "sick," this would've been much easier.

Come on, just wait for me, were his thoughts as he exited the kitchen and entered the cafeteria, which was also dark. All he had to do was run up a flight of stairs and there the auditorium would be, with a not-yet-completed ceremony going on.

Locating the stairs, Tai gave a deep breath of relief. This staircase led to the back of the auditorium, where he would be able to enter hopefully unseen. The main entrance that most parents used by coming in the front was on the side of the large room, where he most definitely would be seen. And that was not something he wanted to happen.

"Much better," he said, entering this floor and finding it to be completely lit. Running his hand through his short brown hair, he saw the door to the auditorium, alone and unguarded. With a huge smile, and a quick throwing away of his jacket—which was soaked with his sweat—he made his way to the door. However, it was just when he was about to open the door, that there was a curious growling sound behind him.

That did not sound human, he thought, hand still on the doorknob. He waited for a minute or so in the same position, straining his ears to hear something else.

Taichi . . . Tai whirled around at the sound of the creature, but found nothing. The thing, whatever it was, had said his name. He gulped, thinking about what that meant. He only knew of one type of creature that could speak like that.

"Is something there?" he called, gripping the knob so tight his hand was getting red. There wasn't any logical reason of why he was so frightened by this; after all, he had the Crest of Courage when he was a Digidestined; he was the one who drove on when everyone else was scared. But now, he felt paralyzed.

Once more he called out, but there was no reply. Foolishly, he shook his head, and turned back to the door. That run had apparently exhausted him- him and his mind. Maybe he was missing the Digital World, and that was why he was making up the voice.

Taichi. They're coming. The evil is resurfacing, and soon nothing and no one will be left. No one will be safe.

The voice was so sudden, and so close—it felt like it was in Tai's ears, wrapping around his body like a vine—that he gave a short but loud yell, wrenched the door open, threw himself into the room, and slammed the door shut. He kept his eyes closed, trying to calm his breathing, trying to forget what had just occurred. It wasn't until his heartbeat grew quieter that he realized just how quiet the room that he entered was.

Cautiously opening his eyes, he found rows and rows of students and parents alike staring at him from all around. Up on stage, a girl wearing a graduation gown with choppy brown hair and brown eyes looked mortified; her hands were up at her mouth, her eyes wide. Tai knew what this might look like, but at the moment he didn't care. He just kept hearing those words again and again, like a part of a song that keeps repeating no matter what you do. No one will be safe. ***************

"I can't believe you did that, Dad." Tai Kamiya and his 12-year-old daughter Tara were heading home now, walking through the neighborhoods in the afternoon. Once Tai had calmed himself down and put those certain words out of his memory, he was able to realize just how much he had messed up. Coming in late- ok, it wasn't the best last impression he could leave for a school, but disrupting the graduation? He might as well never show his face again, according to the Middle School Principal.

"I told you." He tried to plead again, "I'm sorry, Tara! Work just ended later than usual, and since we don't have the car—,"

"Because you let some guy take it," Tara mumbled under her breath, which her dad unfortunately heard.

"Hey, Izzy is not some guy; he's an old friend of mine! But that's beside the point, young lady. I tried to get here, and I had to go a different way to get to the back entrance—which I did so no one would notice me when I came in! I guess I was rushing so I didn't, er, realize just how loud I was."

Tara glanced up at Tai with her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed. "But you yelled before you ran in," she pointed out.

Oh great, she did notice, he thought, trying not to panic. It wouldn't be good to tell her about the voice and what he had felt while he was standing in that hallway. Tara did know about Digimon, as did all the children of the former Digidestined, but none of them had any Digimon of their own, and he didn't want her to worry. Besides, the more he thought about it, the crazier it seemed. The Digital World had been closed off for years, so any Digimon in the real world besides their own made no sense.

"I guess I was just excited," he replied lamely.

With a roll of her eyes, Tara picked up the pace and began to jog home. She then turned to face Tai, with a slight half-smile on her face. "It was just our middle school graduation anyway," she said, trying to comfort him. "No one cares about that."

"Whatever you say, honey," Tai replied with a weak smile. He watched as Tara turned back around and ran full-speed to their house—or rather, their home in the apartment building nearby. She was wearing knee-length jean shorts with a yellow tank top, and her choppy hair was a complete mess as it blew in the wind. As Tai watched her, he realized that, despite her tom-boyishness, she was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. And she reminded him of another tomboy . . . who he didn't love thinking about.

Oh Tai, you're such a softie. He could imagine her saying that to him playfully, while also shoving him at the same time. Sora Takenouchi had been his best, closest friend, and he thought she would become something more than that . . . until she told him that she was really in love with his other best friend, Matt Ishida. He supported them, of course, and was the best man at their wedding; he hadn't seen them in years, though. He remembered their words and hugs when he had discovered a baby on his doorstep, his baby, the daughter of the woman who Tai had been dating. It had just been the two of them, Tara and Tai, his whole life, and he had gotten used to it, and even enjoyed it. He was painfully aware of the lack of mother in her life, but she seemed perfectly fine.

And I'll always be there for her, was his resolute thought with a sharp nod of his head. He and Agumon were always around, and they wouldn't rest until she was perfectly happy in her normal life.

"DAD!"

Tai's head cleared of all previous thoughts and memories and instead focused on the screaming voice coming from a second floor window in the apartment. He looked up to find Tara on the balcony, her eyes wide with fright.

"Tara?" he yelled, but he was already heading into the apartment and climbing the stairs rapidly until he got to their home. The door was still open, and Tara was standing in the center of the living room. Now that he was closer, Tai noticed tear streaks on her face, and he quickly enveloped her in a hug.

"What happened, Tara?" he asked sternly, pulling back and looking into her eyes.

Tara opened her mouth, but nothing seemed to come out; for once, she was at a loss for words. "I- I- There was darkness," she moaned, "and it was coming for me! But Agumon, he came, and he pushed me away, and he saved me, but it- it- it attacked him!" The memory seemed to overwhelm Tara's mind, for she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. Tai just watched her, barely able to comprehend what she was saying.

"T- Tara . . . where's Agumon."

Tai could barely stay upright as he heard Tara cry, "It took him! Agumon is gone, Dad!" **************

In his house under the sea, Gennai stood outside with his back to the group of creatures that sat together. They could all sense the danger, but they couldn't understand why Gennai seemed so calm. Here they were, in the middle of one of the scariest moments in their history, and he was just standing there. If they had seen his face, though, he would've seen how troubled he really felt.

"Gennai, why have you called us down here?" one of the creatures asked impatiently, glancing up as if it couldn't believe it was currently in the ocean.

"Yeah," another one replied. "We should be helping up there!"

"Not that there's anything we can do anymore," a third muttered. "The evil is already here."

"Now, now, that's not the way to talk." Gennai turned around again, his beige robes rustling the grass that was somehow growing there. "I have called you down here because it is the time for you five to act."

"What's so special about us?" the smallest of the creatures asked.

Gennai glanced at them all, silencing any mouths from opening and saying something else. "You have no idea." And then he entered his home again, leaving the 6 Digimon to sit in confusion, all unaware of a pair of eyes watching this occur.