I love Digimon. I think it's fun and has some pretty good messages hidden in the plot. As far as characters go, I like all of them, although I do have a soft spot in particular for Tai and Daisuke...and Yamato, but that one is a sort of given for me.

Anyway, I've always liked stories where Daisuke is portrayed a little more seriously- whether at the start or as a gradual process. Unfortunately, a lot of fanfiction writers are happy giving him a very shallow personality, making him out as a sort of villain and plot device in order to get Hikari and Takeru together. While I am a Takeru/Hikari shipper myself, I really dislike reading those fics and avoid them whenever possible. Daisuke is the inheritor of Friendship. That means something, dang it.

So yea, here's my own contribution to the Digimon fandom. This story is basically a what if scenario where Daisuke decided to leave during his confrontation with Takeru and Miyako got there just a few seconds later than she did in canon. It's a small change, but it will make things different. Oh, before I forget, I will be using the Japanese names for the digidestined, but mostly English names for the digimon themselves.

That's about all I can think of for now. Please read on and enjoy.

Disclaimer: This is for the whole story. I don't own Digimon. I just own the plot and any OCs I might add.

Chapter 1

Daisuke pouted as he left the building. The first day of fifth grade hadn't gone quite how he wanted. While he was glad to have Hikari in his class again, he had to admit to himself that this new Takeru kid made him uncomfortable. The two got along so well...

"I should try to get along with him, I guess," he muttered. "He seemed okay this morning...I'm just mad that Hikari-chan seems to like him better..."

Daisuke knew he had a temper, but these new feelings of anger- or something similar -toward a near stranger were welcomed about as much as a bad itch. He didn't like feeling this way, so now that he'd gotten away from it all and gotten some time to clear his head, he was a bit guilty. Hikari and Takeru were probably old friends, he told himself. It was nothing to worry about and definitely nothing to embarrass himself over. After a rather awkward confrontation, Daisuke had decided to leave just as some purple haired girl came in. She seemed sort of concerned...a part of him hoped that nothing was wrong.

He hadn't noticed the two he'd just left rush out with her.

It was when he was about a quarter of the way home that he was scared out of his wits. Out of nowhere, a blue light came zooming down from the sky and right into his hands. It was lucky there was no one around, since the scream that tore itself from his throat was a bit higher than he would have liked- not to mention he fell right on his butt in shock.

Near heart attack over, he looked down at the strange device that was once the light. It wasn't like any cell phone he'd ever seen. He frowned and turned it over. Come to think of it, it wasn't anything like he'd ever seen. Then there was the weird light show...Should he really keep something that seemed to come from a scene at the beginning of some sci-fi movie? What if he got abducted by aliens or something?

He snorted lightly and placed the device in his pocket. That was a crazy thought even for him.

Anyway, whatever it was, it didn't seem to be doing him any harm. Plus, it looked cool. He'd figure out what it was for eventually, and if it came right down to it, he could always ask Jun. It was worth a shot, right? Maybe she'd surprise him.

That thought in mind, he continued on, unaware of the fate he'd had in store if he'd waited just a few seconds longer while talking to Hikari and Takeru.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, in the digital world, Tai, Hikari, and Takeru were at a bit of a loss.

"No good," Tai sighed as he tried lifting the egg from the ground once more. "It's not budging."

"So what do we do?" Hikari asked. "We can't just leave it here for that Digimon Kaiser to take. You heard what Gatomon said."

"If he's really as bad as he seems, I don't think he'll be able to take it anywhere," Takeru reasoned. "It'll be heavy for him too."

"I guess..."

"...We'll have to go home for now," Tai finally said. "We can come back tomorrow and try again. Maybe one of the others will have better luck. Agumon, will you be okay?"

"I was just a little overwhelmed before. With the others here, I don't have to worry."

"Yeah!" Patamon piped up. "We'll look out for each other!"

Tai smiled. "Good to hear. Takeru, Hikari, let's go."

They left the cave, oblivious to the one watching them on a screen. The moment they went out of the frame he sat back, an arrogant, though somewhat curious expression on his face.

"Master?"

"...They couldn't lift it either."

"The egg?"

"I'm going home. I'm rather interested to see whether or not any of those people can move it. If not...they'll all be lined up for me to get rid of."

Wormmon sighed sadly as the dark haired boy left, silently longing for days that were long past.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Daisuke sighed as he waited for Jun to finish her call. If there was one thing he'd learned over the years of having an older sister, it was that if you wanted to use something that belonged to them, you had to not get on their nerves; hence, being polite enough to wait. Fortunately, while they did argue a lot, Jun wasn't purposefully mean. After seeing him stand there for a few minutes, she excused herself and lowered the phone.

"What do you want, Daisuke?"

"Can I use your computer?"

She shrugged and gestured to the laptop on the desk. With a grin, Daisuke settled himself down (Jun may be nice enough to let him use it, but she definitely didn't want it out of her sight) and started it up. It was while checking his e-mail that things started getting a bit strange.

"Hey Jun? You have a pop-up blocker don't you?"

"Excuse me again, Mai-chan, sorry." She turned to look at him again, a bit more annoyed than before. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because something weird just popped up."

"...Can I call you back?...Sure...See you tomorrow. Bye!"

Jun hung up and glared while making her way over. "If you're doing something you're not supposed to-"

"I'm not!" Daisuke protested. "I was checking my e-mail, see?"

Sure enough, behind the portal looking thing that was in the middle of the screen, Jun could see what she knew to be a safe site. The e-mail in question didn't seem to be harmful either. She laughed.

"You got hit in the face with a soccer ball today?"

"Don't read it!" Daisuke yelped, face red.

"What, it's not like it's anything new. Now move over."

Daisuke complied, grumbling. Jun just smirked and began trying to figure out what to do. After ten minutes, she was scowling.

"What the hell is this? No matter what I do, it won't go away!"

Daisuke, who had his head resting in his hand by that point, sighed. "Maybe it was the aliens."

"Aliens?"

"Yeah. I mean, they already sent me some weird walkie-talkie cellphone. Maybe this is the way they abduct me into their mother-ship."

"You have got to stop watching those movies...Wait, cellphone?"

"I kind of looks like a cellphone..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the strange device. "See?"

Jun only got a glimpse, because the next thing she knew, a bright light began shining from the computer screen. Then, to her horror, Daisuke started being pulled in.

"Daisuke!"

They didn't get along. Jun knew this and Daisuke knew this. He was still family, though. Deep down, she knew that when it came down to it, they cared. He was her little brother, and there was no way she'd let anything bad happen to him if she could help it. It was for that reason that she reached out and grabbed his wrist, hoping to pull him back. All she felt, however, was a strange pulling sensation before she blacked out...

Moments later, though she didn't know this, she came back with a gasp that she could hear Daisuke echo beside her. Both of them were standing in a forest of some sort, the sky above painted in the sorts of colors only sunset could bring.

"Where...are we?"

"I dunno," she answered, a bit of panic entering her voice. She quickly pushed it down. As the oldest in this situation, she would have to look out for Daisuke. "I thought you were joking about the alien thing."

"I was," Daisuke admitted. "It's just a stupid thought that happened because this thing landed in my hands covered in some blue light."

"Let me see it."

Daisuke handed it over and looked around nervously while Jun inspected it. "This is too weird...You sure you don't know where we are?"

"I'm sure." She sighed. "I have no idea what this is either. Looks cool, though."

Daisuke laughed. "That's why I kept it."

The moment she handed it back, it started beeping, making the two siblings look at each other. There were two dots on the screen; a light blue one in the middle, and a yellow one near the top right. Jun figured that the blue one was where they were.

"It's kind of like those things that ships have, isn't it?" Daisuke asked. "The ones that tell you there's something nearby."

"Seems that way..."

"Let's go, then!"

Jun grabbed the color of his jacket, though she was momentarily surprised at its appearance. Daisuke seemed to realize the change too.

"My clothes changed!" he exclaimed gleefully. "This looks awesome!"

Jun looked down at herself and grinned as she noted a rather stylish outfit. It felt like it was tailored to her too. That made it even better.

"It's nice," she said. "But we're not going anywhere."

"Why not? We must be here for a reason, Jun. We don't even know how to get out of here."

She frowned. He had a point...

"Fine," she sighed. "But stay close, okay?"

Daisuke made a face, but agreed. The two of them set off, heading toward the yellow dot, and while neither would admit it, they were unnerved at the lack of life, especially once dusk faded into night.

"Not to sound cliché, but it's a little too quiet," Daisuke said after a few minutes.

"Maybe that annoying beeping scared them off. Can't you turn the volume down or something?"

"Heck if I know, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Whatever it is we're supposed to find is in there."

The entrance to a cave stood before them. With a bit of hesitation, Daisuke plunged forward, leaving Jun little choice but to follow. Fortunately, the tunnel wasn't too long, for they soon emerged in an opening that had a hole at the top, allowing moonlight to come in. In the center, there was a roundish object on some elevated ground.

"We're here for an egg?" Daisuke asked incredulously. "This is either the main alien baby for the invading fleet, or this is the weirdest dream I've ever had."

"There's a difference?"

"Probably not. Well, guess we should pick it up."

Daisuke stepped forward and placed his hands around the egg. When he did, he was surprised at the warmth it gave off and at the sudden feeling of rightness that flooded through him. He was meant to pick up this egg. It was his.

"Whoa!"

Red light shot up from a hole where the egg had been, painting the room in the bright color. The Motomiya siblings saw a shape forming from within, and next thing they knew, a blue...creature, was bouncing around a stunned Daisuke.

"Finally! Finally! You moved the Digimental!" It stopped in front of Daisuke and lifted a clawed hand up in greeting. "I'm V-mon, what's your name?"

Daisuke blinked. Jun screamed.

The newly dubbed V-mon flinched and turned to face her, but it was when he shuffled closer to Daisuke that the boy started to relax. This...V-mon or whatever it was...was scared.

"I'm Daisuke."

His response served to bring the attention to him. That was good for V-mon, but not so good for him.

"Why are you giving it your name?" Jun screeched. "We don't know what it is! It's a demon!"

"I'm a digimon!" V-mon cried indignantly.

"Jun, it's okay! He's okay..."

He knew he shouldn't be taking it so lightly, but just like with the egg, he knew what he was saying was right. Something in his voice must have calmed her, since she stared at them for a moment longer before taking a deep breath.

"Fine...okay...V-mon, was it?"

"Yeah!"

Jun smiled a bit at the enthusiasm. Maybe he wasn't so bad. "Okay, V-mon. Just what is a digimon?"

What they learned was nothing short of amazing. A completely different world that existed along their own...it almost like something from a fantasy story.

"Three years ago!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Those were digimon that brought us to the convention center!"

"You met digimon before? What did they look like?"

"Like ghosts, I guess. White with sharp teeth and creepy eyes..."

"I remember those," Jun said.

"Those are Bakemon," V-mon clarified.

"Good to know, I guess. But what does this all have to do with Daisuke?"

"I've been waiting to meet him for a long time!"

"W-Waiting for me?"

"Yeah! I waited for the child who would move this Digimental of Courage!"

"...But how did you know I was the one who was going to move it?"

V-mon paused thoughtfully. "I just knew," he finally said.

Daisuke could understand that.

"What's a Digimental?" Jun cut in. "Actually, you can answer that later. Do you know how we can get home?"

"I think so. Follow me!"

V-mon led them out of the cave and to a small television hidden in the forest. Funny, they hadn't noticed it there before...

"I heard humans can get out through here. There used to be other ways, but I don't think they can be used anymore."

"What do we do?"

"Just hold your digivice to the screen."

"Digivice...Is that what this is?" Daisuke asked, pulling said device from his pocket.

"Uh-huh. Just hold it up and it should take you home."

"Okay. Thanks, V-mon." He paused. "Will you be here later, or can you come back with us?"

"Daisuke! He's too big to hide!" Not to mention he was taking this whole thing much too lightly. Why did he have to be so impulsive?

"No he's not," Daisuke protested. "Mom and Dad never come into my room anyway."

"Fine, but I'm not bailing you out when they find him." That was a lie, but he didn't have to know that. "And you're feeding him. You do eat, right?"

"What kind of question is that?" the digimon grumbled.

"Right. Sorry."

Daisuke grinned and turned to V-mon. "So now that that's out of the way, you want to come with us?"

V-mon brightened. "Of course!"

"Cool! Come on!"

V-mon jumped in front before Daisuke lifted up his digivice to the screen. There was another bright flash, but this time, no blacking out. Daisuke and Jun stared in awe at the bright colors zooming past them, and before they knew it, they were back in Jun's room.

"That was amazing!" Daisuke breathed once they got their bearings.

Jun could only nod.

"Is this the human world?" The voice that asked the question was small and squeaky, so they couldn't tell who had spoken for a moment. "It's kinda small."

Both looked down and saw a small blue digimon that sort of resembled V-mon.

"What happened to you, V-mon?"

"I guess I'm in this form whenever I'm here. I'm Chibimon!"

"Aww, you're so cute!" Jun cooed and picked him up.

Chibimon squirmed for a moment, but accepted that he'd have to let her hold him for now. At least she was over her fear of him...

"So this Digimental you told us about," Daisuke said, hoping to distract his sister. "What is it?"

Chibimon launched into an explanation that lasted a good while, also making sure to go into more detail about the digital world and a few other things. It was a good thing they'd come back, or else their parents would have been worried when they came home. When the digimon finished, Daisuke sighed.

"That was long."

"But interesting. I almost wish I could have a digimon...Is that possible?"

"I dunno. As far as I know, only Chosen Children are given digimon."

"Well that hardly seems fair. Besides, who's going to look out for this dummy when he's there?"

"Hey!"

"That's it then," she continued, completely ignoring his protest. "I'm going with you when you go to the digital world."

"What?"

Jun looked at him, determination and excitement shining in her eyes. "If I keep going, I'm bound to find a way to get my own digimon."

"What about your friends? Won't they notice you gone?"

"I don't spend that much time with them," Jun huffed. "Besides, most of them are into tennis now. Since I have soccer, our schedules conflict a bit. So, we don't really have the time to hang out so much anymore."

This was news to Daisuke, who stared at his sister in surprise. "Then what do you do all day?"

"That's none of your business. Now go away. I want to go to sleep."

"Fine, fine. Come on, Chibimon."

Chibimon hopped into Daisuke's arms and he made his way to the door, although he did pause with a hand on the handle.

"Jun?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

He wasn't quite sure why he was thanking her, only that he felt that he should. Maybe it was for trying to help him when he was getting dragged into the digital world. Or, perhaps, for not leaving him alone. Whatever it was, he was grateful to her for it.

He was given a rare smile in response. "Don't mention it. Night, Daisuke."

"Night, Jun."

The door closed behind him. Jun stared at it a moment longer before turning back to the computer. Before her eyes, the window Daisuke had been using minimized to show the desktop. Then, the portal vanished. On the side of the screen, a new folder blinked into existence, labeled simply as "G."

"G? Maybe it stands for...gate? The gate to the digital world?" She snorted. "That's original." Her amusement faded into a stern look. "Well, Gate, if you can hear me, I'm telling you now I'm not letting him go there alone. So, I expect a digimon of my own so I can help him, you got that?"

She felt more than a bit silly for talking to her computer like this. Given everything that had happened, however, she wouldn't be surprised if it did understand her. Nevertheless, she wasn't too disappointed when she didn't get a response. That was fine. It wouldn't stop her.

She got annoyed with him a lot, but never let it be said that Motomiya Jun didn't look out for her brother.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Yamato knew something was up when he arrived at the park, and a few minutes later, he knew why.

"You couldn't pick it up?"

Tai shook his head. "Takeru and Hikari tried too. None of us could."

"But why not?" Sora asked. "You had the Crest of Courage, and the egg had the symbol of it. You should have been able to move it..."

"I think...it might be meant for someone else. A new Chosen Child."

"What?"

Tai sighed. "When I first touched the egg, three lights came out and zoomed away. Later, when we got back from the digital world, I found out from Koushiro that three lights had shot out from the screen."

"They were new digivices," Koushiro continued. "Miyako-kun and Iori-kun came back and started asking questions. They later told me that the digivices came to them in flashes of light."

"So, those two are new Chosen Children?" Jou asked.

"So it seems. One of them might be able to lift the egg."

"Or it could belong to the owner of the third digivice," Yamato pointed out. "We were lucky in that two of them were nearby, but we're going to have to find the third as soon as possible. If they're going to be the next Chosen, they need to be together."

"We won't know for sure until we try," Tai finished. "We'll take Miyako-chan and Iori-kun and have them try to lift it. If they can't, then we'll start trying to find our mystery Chosen Child."

Takeru made a face. "When you say it that way, it sounds like Myotismon's hunt for Hikari."

Tai grimaced. "I didn't mean it that way, although you bring up a very good point. Alone, this new person is going to be vulnerable. They probably don't know anything about the digital world...It would be easy for an evil digimon to take advantage of that."

"I don't know about that. If they're the new Courage, it won't be easy to do accomplish. They'll be stubborn to a fault," Yamato teased with a smirk.

They laughed, Tai joining them after a moment of protest.

"But...If that Digimon Kaiser is hunting digimon..." Sora said when they'd calmed down. "Will Piyomon and the rest be okay?"

"Mimi-san sent me an e-mail from America," Hikari commented. "She was worried about Palmon."

"Why don't we go too?" Yamato asked. "To the Digital World."

"But...When I left the room, the gate had already closed..." Koushiro admitted.

Yamato was disappointed to hear this, but he understood. "Right...That makes sense."

"Anyway, tomorrow I'll check all the computers in the computer lab," Koushiro added, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "I'm going too."

"Me too." Sora said cheerfully.

Takeru and Hikari agreed to go as well, but Jou declined regretfully.

"Sorry...I have a national test..."

"I skipped band practice today, so..."

Tai stood up. "Got it! Leave it to us."

Yamato and Jou smiled. It was good to have friends that understood.

"If something happens, let me know."

"Yeah."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Daisuke smiled as Chibimon settled down next to him on the bed. Even now, he still found this all amazing. To think, this morning he was fuming to himself over the attention that Hikari was giving to someone else! He still liked her, of course, but it almost seemed surreal now compared to what he'd experienced. So...normal.

He found himself craving the excitement that being in the Digital World had given him.

He would have to take it slow, though. He was lucky that Jun knew about it, but something told him that she wouldn't let him be there all the time- even if she said she'd go with him. Plus, he couldn't just ditch Hikari to go off somewhere else. What kind of friend would that make him? Not to mention he had no idea what he would tell her.

"Sorry, Hikari-chan, I can't hang out because I have to go to another world. I sort of promised my friend I'd be there. Who's my friend? Oh, he's a digital monster. Cool, right? Anyway, can we hang out some other time? Okay, thanks, bye!"

Yea, that would go over well.

He had soccer practice too. There was no way he was giving that up. Then there was the homework his parents would kill him for if he didn't at least try to do it. Huh...he was starting to see how Jun took up most of her day now. He shook his head and yawned. There would be time to think about all this tomorrow. All that mattered now was that he had a cool new friend and was going to be going to the digital world again.

He didn't know this, but things would turn out a bit differently for the inheritor of Courage and Friendship than if he'd gone with the other digidestined. His new path would be harder- as things most often were when alone -but, perhaps, more satisfying. It was all a matter of perspective, anyway. In the end, he would only know what was, because Motomiya Daisuke was not one for 'could have been.'

Motomiya Daisuke was one for moving forward, and that was what he would do.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo ~Chapter End

So what did you think?

I'm still on the line as to whether or not I should give Jun a digimon. Regardless of whether or not she gets one though, Daisuke will go through a much different experience than that of canon. He really only has V-mon to tell him about the digital world, and from what I understand, he'd been sleeping for a very long time. So really, it's a bit new for both of them. For that same reason, Daisuke won't find out about Ken and what he's doing right away.

So, what would a kid that's new to the digital world do? An excitable, reckless kid that's unaware of the danger and the part he's supposed to play...He's in for a heck of a journey, that's for sure.

That's it for now. Hope you liked it. Take care and until next time!