Hey all!

So, since real life is kinda catching up to me, I thought I'd finish this story up before disappearing for a while. Doesn't look like I'll get back to Dark Waters before the new year, as was my plan...so...yeah...hope you enjoy this last chapter...

Final disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Though I did make up FlareDevimon and GranMegidramon.


Guardians

He often visited the cemetery. More and more so as years went by. Life had been lived to the fullest and they all had moved on, but still Tai waited. He didn't know what to wait for, and in all honesty he didn't like to think about that. Sometimes thoughts just came, however.

What evil digimon could possibly rise up that I'm too obsolete to defeat?

Who could possibly replace me?

Will it be someone I know?

How much longer will it be?

It was Tai's reminder that there was still a lot of time left before he was released from his duty. He watched his friends die, each of them making him promise to look after their kids. That wasn't a hard task. They grew up too, having their own adventures, the type of journeys that set them apart as Digidestined instead of mere Tamers like most others of their generation. And he was able to be the one to guide them.

How many human generations passed in one Code generation?

Tai stood over Matt and Sora's graves, and soon would move on to Kari and TK's. He had watched the yellow camellias and pink lotuses, the blue bellflowers and red roses as they grew from small sprouts into healthy bushes around the tombstones. His friends had all still participated in battles over digital turf, and his best friend was in the midst of it until the bitter end. Things went on, however. Chores in the DigiWorld kept him from being completely idle, but visits to the Real World never failed to spark nostalgia in him.

Time passed, and he sometimes nearly lost track.

Before he knew it, his best friend's daughter had her own grave in front of Matt's. And then her husband. Then her brother and his wife. By the time Kari's great-grandchildren had their own tombstones, Tai came to realize his everyday chores had slowly turned into bigger and bigger projects. From raids on Primary Village to a crazed ultimate running loose, needing to be calmed and, if it went too far, reconfigured. There was even a conspiracy to revive a dangerous mega which needed to be quelled. This was Tai's life.

But finally there came a time when he felt tired. It caught him by surprise, and his age was finally dawning on him. Cody Hida's gravesite was filled with tombstones to the fifth generation, and though his digital body still had the energy of a middle-aged man, his spirit had grown weary. He had to come to terms with this reality, especially when one certain campaign to revive ancient evils actually succeeded. Tai sighed at the magnitude of this impending disaster. GranMegidramon, the next stage in Megidramon's evolution. As he strove to quell this rising destruction, Tai noticed the latest group of Digidestined fighting the powers of darkness as well. He recognized their leader as a raven-haired, blue-eyed goggle boy.

Just as with the previous generations of Digidestined, Tai hurried to meet them and offer his aid. They didn't question him as much as he and his friends once questioned Gennai when they first met, and he assumed it was because of his previous interactions with the past Digidestined. Everyone who had some sort of ordeal to go through in the DigiWorld had encountered him, and he had helped them.

Tai looked over the kids, and they gazed back at him, recognizing him in his garb.

"Are you…the real…?" The goggle-head in the lead asked him incredulously.

"Tai? Yep, that's me. Don't be surprised. You are going to need help on this one after all. What're your names?"

The boy introduced the five kids behind him, and then pointed to himself, "And I'm Takai Minamoto."

Tai smiled at him, and couldn't help but wonder if this would be the next kid. He had the looks of a leader and a boy of courage and selflessness. They were definitely necessary facets in the race to defeat GranMegidramon. He honestly didn't want it to happen; he didn't want Takai to have to give up his life to become a part of the Code, for the boy's sake. But it happened nevertheless. The stakes had grown too high. Despite the advanced powers of the Digidestined, it wasn't enough to save the Digital World. More was needed. The time had come for Tai to pass his final torch.


Yes...in future stories, when I get back to them, 02 will be crossed over with 04.

But until then, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and if you have a birthday between now and the next time I come back, Happy Birthday!

_LJ_