I didn't realise until now from a book on the characters that Taichi actually had his own room instead of sharing with Hikari in 02. Recently acquired some interesting books from Japan. Planning to decipher them as a practice for my Japanese.

Well, will like to thank my beta, Naomi for encouraging me to post this. We had discussed about quite a few interesting ideas. As the series goes, will like to see readers' comment. Please read and review.

Digimon is not mine.

Chapter 1: Fear and Uneasiness

*3 August 2007 in 02 Timeline*

It was a gloomy day for a summer which totally reflected the mood of everyone.

Ichijouji Ken was getting ready to go somewhere. He dressed up in black as Wormmon jumped onto his arms. They were ready to go. Ken glanced over at a photo of his late elder brother, Osamu.

"I'm going off now." Ken was the only one who could understand a fellow Chosen Child who had gone through the same experience as her. He was willing to go through with her but he knew she would not accept his help for he was the one who caused her to lose someone important.

"Ken-chan." Wormmon watched his partner worriedly.

"I'm alright, Wormmon." Ken walked over to the train station to see a familiar someone waiting for him at the entrance. Ken sighed. He did not intend to break his promise.

"Are you here as an escort, Daisuke? I told you I'll be there." Ken walked over to his jogress partner. Motomiya Daisuke and V-mon nodded at them.

"I know how hard it is for you to face Hikari-chan since Taichi-san..." Daisuke did not want to be reminded on that tragic day. It was supposed to be a happy memorial day but it had to end up that way when one of their friends finally left them for good.

"I feel really tired. It's ok… if I leave… the rest… to you… right?"

"Taichi, you…" Daisuke witnessed Taichi's hand which was holding on Yamato's fell limp on his side as he closed his eyes and breathed his last. He passed away with a contented smile on his face.

"No, Taichi, wake up. Wake up and tell me what you are trying to say! Please, Taichi."But the boy who just passed on peacefully would never hear him.

"Yamato-san was hit the hardest after Hikari-chan." Daisuke remarked sighing.

"Taichi-san was his best friend." He began to tear up himself. He wondered if he did the right thing to have Gennai try to wake him up from his coma. It was a choice he made and he had to face the consequences.

"Daisuke…" V-mon tugged his pant to comfort him.

"I'm alright, V-mon." Daisuke knelt before his worried partner and patted his head. They had lost someone important which reminded them how important it was to treasure those around them.

"I'm sure Taichi-san didn't want us to feel bad about his death. All the more I need to treasure my own life which was saved with his. I'll seal the Digieggs infected with darkness so that no one else will ever lose anyone important, ever again." Ken gripped his D3 in his pocket tight.

"I don't know how I am going to face him next year." Daisuke and Ken sat on the train on their way to Odaiba.

"I see. You mean the other Taichi-san." Ken understood what he was talking about. To think there was another version of them leading a different life and likely had a different destiny.

"You had done your best to give them more than you should. Attempting to change the history is a taboo. You know that." Ken leaned his head on against the window behind him deep in thought.

"I know. But I just don't want the other Hikari-chan to go through the same pain as ours is." Daisuke looked down sadly.

"I just want to protect her smile." Daisuke recalled how lonely Hikari looked when he first met her in the playground. She actually mistook him as her brother.

Their conversation was broken when their D3 reacted. The train they were riding on seemed to have caught in between dimension.

"Now what?" Daisuke and Ken faced their back against one another.

"Milleniumon." Ken could not forget this sensation. The dark seed embedded in his neck ached as Ken grimaced in pain.

"I had found you, the key to grant wish." Milleniumon was approaching them through warp.

"The key to grant wish?" Ken stole a glance at his jogress partner who blinked in confusion.

"How? Shall we take him on?" Wormmon asked his partner. The passengers around seemed to be frozen. Milleniumon had frozen the time.

This is not an ideal place for battle. If they caused damage to the train here, it would be disastrous once Milleniumon unfreeze the time.

"Let's take the battle elsewhere, Milleniumon." Ken spoke up holding on his aching neck. Daisuke watched on worriedly. He grabbed Ken's free hand as he walked past him and shook his head. They should work together.

"Daisuke, this is my battle."

"I beg to differ, it's mine as well." V-mon suddenly said. "Even though my partner isn't Daisuke that time when we fought him, if you want to fight, we should go together. We are stronger than we were before."

"Yes, with the power of Imperialdramon we'll stand a greater chance in defeating him once and for all." Wormmon advised Ken.

Sinister laughter was heard. "Did you think I come to fight you heads-on? To defeat the Chosen Children, all I need to do is to manipulate the time and change history. But you are a threat that needs to be eliminated for having a prototype Digivice. I'll like to see how Akiyama Ryo would react when he realized there is no way he can stop me." Ken narrowed his eyes.

"Ryo? He's coming?" V-mon looked around. Daisuke was jealous. V-mon seemed so excited to see him.

"I know he will find a way to get here but I will make sure it will be too late once that Digimon find and destroy the one and only key. But before that, you, for holding the prototype D3, have to go." With that Milleniumon fired a hole onto the ground which became warped trying to suck them all in. He grabbed Ken and threw him into the hole with him before Daisuke could even react.

Ken realized he was able to utilize the Vault function to warp the dimensions as he fell through the hole which Wormmon jumped in with him.

"Ken!" Daisuke yelled failing to grab him before he blacked out.

Daisuke woke up on the train alone. He thought he was dreaming but was horrified to find Ken and Wormmon gone. Even V-mon disappeared.

"Ken! V-mon! Wormmon!" Daisuke tried calling out and looking around to but was in vain.

"Damn it!" Daisuke cried in frustration. Being a holder of the prototype Digivice, Ken was made to face situations hard for him and the rest to imagine. For now, he needed to meet up with the rest to inform them about what had happened to find a way to save Ken.

At the same moment, a blonde boy was caught in the similar situation. The sky was torn when he was taken to another dimension.

"Gumimon, Chocomon." Wallace took a stance of defense with Terriermon and Lopmon stood in front of him. He was faced with another Digimon who too had the ability to warp time.

He muttered as he held up his prototype Digivice. He was not going down without a fight even though all odds were against him.

"This is where you are?"

This Digimon chose to hide himself away. He was the true leader of the Dark Masters, who wanted to challenge the boy who held command over all the Chosen Children over their world.

Wallace grabbed his Crest of Destiny and chanted a series of codes. He needed to escape.

Screaming was heard as the few of them were thrown into a warped hole the Digimon in chains had created.

The funeral service just ended as the crowd began to leave leaving the ten Chosen excluding Daisuke and Ken. The atmosphere was gloomy as the sky started to drizzle.

'Yagami Taichi.' Hikari traced her fingers over the engraving of the name on the newly erected grave of her precious brother. Takeru placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her with Patamon looking down sadly on his hat. Mimi raised an umbrella over Hikari's head.

"May Oniichan be able to rest in peace…" She said quietly.

19-year-old Ishida Yamato sensed some abnormality as he raised his head to the sky.

"Wallace?"

"Yamato?" Yamato's girlfriend, Takenouchi Sora asked in concern as his D-Terminal beeped.

Yamato caught sight of the message Wallace had sent him.

"You have your true final mission coming up; the key will lead the way."

"Yamato-san!" Yamato turned his head to the direction of the voice. It was Daisuke who was sweating and panting hard. Yamato and Sora together with Agumon, Gabumon and Piyomon ran to him to see what was going on.

"Ken… He disappeared." Daisuke tried to get his words out.

"It's Milleniumon who has the power to warp dimension. He had taken them." Yamato widened his eyes as Inoue Miyako, Izumi Koushirou, Kido Jou, Hida Iori and their Digimon ran to them to find out what happened.

"If it's about Ichijouji Ken, serve him right." Hikari who overheard the conversation said coldly.

"Hikari-chan." Mimi attempted to remind what she had promised Taichi with regards to Ken. Tailmon tugged Mimi's hand and shook her head. There was no way she would forgive Ken at the moment. He was the reason Taichi died. They should give her some time.

"We should think of a way to save Ken but…" Koushirou looked at the direction where Taichi's grave was.

"Taichi-san, please watch over Ichijouji-kun."

"Hikari?" Agumon tried to start a conversation with Hikari who had not spoken a word since she returned home from her brother's funeral. Her parents had gone off to her grandparents' place as Mrs. Yagami needed to get away from being depressed from the loss of her son twice.

All Hikari had been doing was to sit in her brother's room staring at the last photo she had taken with him five years ago when he had just reunited with them and was still active.

It was the issue about reliance. Agumon never have a chance to talk to Taichi about his weakness. His Taichi had yet to understand the true essence of the Crest of Courage. Taichi needed to have the courage to not only trust but also to rely on his friends. Perhaps, if he known about his weakness, he would still be alive.

Agumon felt really guilty when Hikari ignored him. Agumon really hated himself. Taichi was gone because he failed to protect him. Not just Taichi, even Ken was gone. Still, he believed that Ken was alright since he was still active.

"Agumon?" Agumon shook his head in despondence when Takeru came into the room with a few cups of hot tea for them to warm themselves after being drenched in the cold rain.

"Hikari... " Tailmon handed her towel to dry herself. Hikari just merely sat there staring at the photo ignoring all their presence.

"Oniichan, why are you so selfish?" Hikari muttered as tears flowed down her cheek. Droplets of tears fell on the photo.

Takeru placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Takeru gritted his teeth in fury. He wished he could do something for Hikari like Ken could.

He was supportive of Ken and Wallace who would seal all the Dark Digimon Digieggs so that they would not have a chance to whack havoc again. Now he was wondering how the meeting at Koushirou's place had gone. They needed to help Ken.

"…Hikari, I'm sorry…" Child of hope, Takeru was not always hopeful. He hated dark Digimon to the core. Why must they even exist? If it was not for them, there would not be sadness and Hikari would not be crying.

"Leave me alone…" Hikari said suddenly finally noticing their presence.

Takeru did not know how he could console Hikari. Hikari was in despair. She had lost her brother not once but twice. He had been insensitive enough to cause Hikari to disappear to the Dark Ocean against her will. He was afraid of that but he did not know what to do. He decided to leave.

"Tailmon, Agumon, take care of Hikari-chan." He said darkly as he walked out of the apartment.

"Wait, Takeru!" Patamon called out and flew after him.

"Hikari?" Tailmon opened the door to Hikari's room to check on her after she woke up from her nap in the living room. A few hours had passed since Takeru left. Tailmon left her alone at her request and it was a huge mistake.

Hikari had gone to the playground where she and Taichi were playing together when they were kids.

Sitting on the swing, she was reminiscing on the time she had with Taichi when they were still kids. Taichi was having lots of fun playing soccer. The time with their family, when they rode on the ferris wheel and their holidays overseas. They were really happy back then. Hikari especially loved her brother's smile which warmed her heart. Come to think of it, she had never seen his real smile whenever he hung around with her whether it was before or after they were reunited.

His eyes were always filled with worries when he was with her. Was it guilt? Hikari finally realised that.

Tailmon and Agumon raced downstairs wondering where Hikari could have been and they finally spotted her sitting on the swing in daze. They noticed something was happening to her. Tailmon was horrified. It was similar to the time she was being called to the Dark Ocean. Her body is vanishing.

"HIKARI!"Tailmon tried to reach for her which ended up similar to what happened to Wizarmon who was a ghost. Her paw passed through her body.

"Hikari, hang in there. Don't lose your head. Don't throw away hope!" Tailmon tried very hard to talk to her. "Take control of your mind. Don't lose to the darkness!"

It was hopeless. Hikari could no longer hear her.

"What should I do from now on? Where should I go? ...It's really cold here, Tailmon... I'm scared, Oniichan..." Those were her last words before her body finally vanished from the playground.

"HIKARI!" Tailmon shouted in vain.

The photo of her and Taichi was seen falling to the ground.