It wasn't until after the group settled down in a cave that some real answers started to come out. Daigo had brought Baihumon to a stop outside of a small cavern that would allow the group to rest and recuperate their strength away from wandering eyes of enemy Digimon. Taichi was relieved to finally be able to sit down once again with the run away from Murmukusmon in the past, but his mind was still reeling from the sudden onslaught of information that came with Daigo not only being in the DIgital World but having one of the Harmonious Ones at his side. It was beyond surprising, and he was desperate to hear something that would make it a bit easier for him to bear.
"I'm glad that we're out of danger for now," Daigo said with a gentle smile, and it made everything about this situation seem like the most natural thing in the world. He sat down on the floor of the cave to complete the small circle that had been made by Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and their Digimon partners as Baihumon stood guard outside of the cave. It was a bit daunting to see the glowing shadow of a Harmonious One so close by, but there was no way to make him go away. As long as Daigo was there, Baihumon seemed intent on sticking around.
"What's even going on?" Yamato questioned as soon as he could force himself to speak. "How did you get to the Digital World in the first place? How are you and Baihumon so close? It's almost like you're partners."
Daigo flashed Yamato a smile that was filled with mischief as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small silver device that Taichi had caught a glimpse of in the past. Taichi let out a gasp as soon as he realized that this was nothing too out of the ordinary for them. The design was distinctly similar to a first model Digivice, and given the context of Baihumon standing guard outside of the cave, it was clear as could be that Daigo was not an ordinary man working in the data bureau. He was one of them somehow, and answers were about to come to light on the matter.
"How is that even possible?" Sora questioned, her eyes wide as could be. "I thought that we were the first group of Chosen Children to travel to the Digital World. I was also sure that adults couldn't come to the Digital World under regular circumstances, but if all of that is true, then... How are you here? What's going on?"
"It's a misconception that adults can't come to the Digital World. At the time of your initial adventures here, there was no way to prove the theory. Chosen Children are the ones selected to have Digimon partners because of the infinite possibilities that come with childhood and the concept of the future. As long as someone holds tightly to that concept as they grow older, never losing the child inside of them, then they can continue traveling here," Daigo explained. "If you want more details on that, you'll have to ask Maki. She's the one who knows more about this than I do."
"Maki?" Yamato echoed. "There have to be more of you in this little group then... Who all is part of your team? I want you to start from the very beginning, if you don't mind."
Sora suddenly snapped her fingers together as the pieces came sliding into place. "Hang on a minute! I remember before we went off to fight Apocalymon, we heard from Gennai that there was a first generation of Chosen Children that fought against him to seal him behind the Wall of Fire in the first place. The Wall of Fire was shattered when the Digital World started distorting under his attempts to escape and the power of the Dark Masters, but he was there all along because some other generation of Chosen Children fought him off initially," she pointed out.
Daigo nodded with a small smile. "That's exactly where I come in. There are six of us that fought off Apocalymon during our initial adventures in the Digital World... Though you did get one thing wrong. We aren't Chosen Children in the same sense that all of you are. You were selected by Homeostasis and the Digital World as a natural extension of the realm, but the six of us... There was a weak spot in the barrier back in 1990, and that was when we were sucked in. It was by pure chance that we just so happened to wind up here in the Digital World, and from there, we met and bonded with partners. Our Digivices were born as manifestations of our partnerships, and the process of evolution came about as a result of both," he went on.
"You're Chosen Children in the sense of having partners, but you weren't actually selected by the Digital World... I see," Yamato murmured to himself with a light nod. "What's your story specifically? Everything makes sense so far."
"The six of us found our way to the Digital World by chance. Maki and Hiraku are two others on the team. The other three go by the names of Atsuo, Chisane, and Kaya. It's been a long time since all of us were back together, but... The point is that we traveled to the Digital World when a weak spot in the barrier sucked us inside. We met our partner Digimon and started adventuring. The time ratio in the Digital World was messed up back then too, so we were only gone for a few hours on Earth while it was months upon months in the Digital World," Daigo explained. "Apocalymon was the one causing the distortion of our perception of time. His existence causes the Digital World to distort, but since he has been defeated, the Digital World has returned to what it was always meant to be: parallel to Earth in structure and time."
"Baihumon is your partner, isn't he?" Taichi asked as he inclined his head towards the entrance of the cave. Baihumon was still standing tall and proud over the entrance, ready to ensure that any Digimon that dared to come too close was incinerated or otherwise defeated on the spot.
"Yeah," Daigo replied with a nod. "There were six of us Chosen Children back then. Four of our partners became the Harmonious Ones that watch over the four quadrants of the Digital World alongside Homeostasis. The last two partner Digimon have taken on slightly more unique roles. One of them acted as the guardian for the Wall of Fire for many years and the other is the arbiter of holy angelic powers within the Digital World."
"Such as the Holy Stones, yes?" Sora questioned. Taichi nodded his agreement, figuring that she was probably right. That would certainly make sense given the name 'Holy Stones' and the context Daigo was describing.
"Exactly," Daigo answered. "The Holy Stones were used as stabilizers when the Digital World was returning to its regular position, and when the realm started to fall apart, the Holy Stones kept things in order. They were initially created by Varodurumon, the one responsible for such heavenly powers, though Qinglongmon replaced them later on. The fact remains the same though that all six of our partner Digimon took up important roles in the Digital World in the aftermath of our battle against Apocalymon."
"What happened when you fought with Apocalymon?" Tsunomon questioned from his place in Yamato's arms. He was watching Daigo with notable curiosity and wide eyes. The other Digimon were doing much the same from the grasps of their own partners.
"All six of our Digimon evolved to the Ultimate level for the first time, and that caused a new being to be born... Homeostasis. The creation of the Harmonious Ones allowed Homeostasis to come out and begin to look after the Digital World. Prior to that, the Digital World was a lawless and dangerous place. It was a dog eat dog world, to say the least, but Homeostasis changed all that. Our Digimon fought against Apocalymon and managed to beat him back until he was behind the Wall of Fire. That was when the barrier was created in the first place, trapping him far from the reaches of the rest of the Digital World," Daigo elaborated.
"I didn't realize that there was such an extensive history behind the first set of Chosen Children... Gennai said that he didn't know anything about the first generation, so we were never able to acquire any information about them until just now. It isn't as if we could have just gone out looking for them," Sora said.
"The Agents of Order were established by Homeostasis and the Harmonious Ones after us Chosen Children returned home by retreating through the barrier between Earth and the Digital World. Homeostasis didn't know anything about us beyond what our partners were willing to explain, and there was no easy way for them to get into contact with us after all that time where we were away. That was where you were brought into the picture to help the Digital World when it needed aid. You were the first official Chosen Children even if we had come first because we had no connections to Homeostasis," Daigo told her.
"What's going on with your Digivice?" Koromon questioned as he glanced over to the small silver device resting in the palm of Daigo's hand. "If you aren't Chosen Children, then where did those come from?"
"The Digivices were made by the Digital World itself when we were first established as Chosen Children. It was a similar method to what happened when Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori first became Chosen Children," Daigo explained. When the group's eyes went wide as they realized how much he knew, he let out a laugh. "I've done my fair share of research on all of this. Well, Maki's the one who's looked into it in detail. You have no idea how much of all this she's figured out over her years of digging and trying to get back here to see her partner again."
"Those Digivices look really similar to ours," Sora said as she reached for her Digivice and held it in Daigo's direction. "Ours are blue while yours are white, and you have a colored ring around the screen of your Digivice, but... They're pretty similar."
"That's because your models were based off ours in the first place," Daigo explained. "Since we were first, then we were able to get our Digivices before you. Homeostasis found that these models worked well, so she went on to use them for you as well before branching out and establishing something new with the D-3's that came after you."
"All of this makes a lot of sense, I have to say..." Yamato murmured with a shake of his head. "I didn't realize that there was so much to learn about the first generation of Chosen Children, but I'm glad that I was able to hear about it in the first place."
"All of our Digivices went dormant after we left the Digital World previously," Daigo said. "We weren't around here, so there wasn't a reason for our Digivices to remain active for fifteen years. When we came back here, I think that they came back online, but since your Digivice models aren't meant to register ours as Digivice signals, then you didn't notice we were here at all. It would take a much stronger device to pick up on us at first, though I suppose that can be changed with a little bit of work with Homeostasis and the Harmonious Ones."
"The other five are here in the Digital World too?" Taichi asked, his eyes wide. That meant that the other Chosen Children of the first generation that he hadn't yet met were in Odaiba at the time of the attack from the Digital World. He couldn't help but wonder how they managed to avoid the evacuation order, but he figured that would be a question for later on.
Daigo nodded and handed his Digivice over to Taichi to see that there was a radar pulled up on the screen. There were six dots scattered around the area, each one split down the middle in color. "Most of them have split up here as you can see," he explained. "I guess that they're all trying to reunite with their partners again. After all, it's been more than fifteen years since we were last here in the Digital World, so we've had a lot of catching up to do." He let out a chuckle as the words trailed off.
"You said that Ms. Himekawa had done a bunch of research about us, right?" Sora asked, and Daigo responded with a nod. "How was she able to do all of that? I bet that she had a lot of work to do to make sure that she was aware of all of our little secrets and the facts of our adventures..."
"Maki was really hoping to get back here one day. She... She got really attached to her partner, even more so than the rest of us. She was desperate to see him again even if it was just one last time, and she started doing as much digging as possible. She was a private investigator before she came to work at the data bureau, but that was a coverup. She was working to look into any supernatural activities that could be considered connected with the Digital World. She got her hands on a lot of information after a while, though I don't know the details. She never elaborated when I asked her about it, though I guess that's just part of her charm. She likes to keep her secrets," Daigo said with another chuckle.
"I hope that we're able to see the rest of you with your partners sooner rather than later," Taichi admitted. "I think that it changes everything we know about the Harmonious Ones now that we're sure that they were once your partner Digimon... Who would have thought that they battled against Apocalymon alongside kids who were just like us at the time?"
"They were sealed away when the Dark Masters came to power because the Dark Masters knew that the Harmonious Ones would be able to defeat them without any issues," Daigo explained. "Nobody around here aside from the Harmonious Ones themselves know that we're the Chosen Children of the first generation. They've all been reincarnated too many times, and they wouldn't remember something that was fifteen years ago on Earth time, especially when nine of those were in the accelerated perception caused by Apocalymon. Homeostasis and the Agents of Order don't even know all that much about us like I said earlier. I can't think of anybody who would still be around and know that we even exist... We're little more than legend at this point. Who would have thought that was possible? I'm not even all that old, but I'm still a legend already. Impressive, huh?"
"Wait a moment though... There's a problem with what you just said," Yamato cut in with a frown. "I remember what Ken said about the encounter with Jazarichmon a while back. He said that Jazarichmon was only going after him and Stingmon until Hiraku's Digivice fell out of his bag. After that, Jazarichmon turned his attention towards Hiraku, and Ken said that it was odd that Jazarichmon gave up so quickly. That must mean that somebody knows that you're all Chosen Children, right?"
Daigo paused as he processed Yamato's words. "It doesn't necessarily mean that. For all that we know, the Digivice just looked too similar to what you have, and that could have been the reason that he was targeted," he pointed out, though it was clear by his tone that he didn't entirely believe the words that were being spoken. "Then again... We are so much older than you all, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was more to it that we haven't seen here..."
"Our enemy really is working in odd ways... If there aren't any Digimon that still remember what happened to you all, then that begs the question of how they would know to target you in the first place... There's something going on here, and I think that we should try to figure it out as soon as possible. For all we know, that could be the clue that winds up leading us to figure out the truth behind what exactly we're up against," Sora said.
"At this point, there isn't enough information for us to look into... I suppose that we can explain it to the rest of your team sooner rather than later so that everyone can put their heads together to figure things out," Daigo suggested with a loose shrug. "I didn't even think that we were going to wind up having to explain all of this to you, if I'm being quite honest. If there was no reason for us to talk about it, then we weren't going to mention it. After all, our partners are a bit focused on trying to defend the Digital World and keep everything under control, so they wouldn't be able to help us much in terms of fighting back. It would be dangerous if we turned all of our attention to one place for too long."
"But this was an emergency, and that's why Baihumon has stepped away," Taichi concluded, and Daigo responded with a firm nod. "Got it... I do have to ask though... Which members of your team are partnered with what Digimon? We haven't met all of them yet, but I'd like to know. We've met the Harmonious Ones before, after all."
Daigo smiled at the words, and for a moment, his exhaustion seemed to fade away. "Of course. I'll start from the beginning..."
Not much time had passed since Takeru and the rest of his team had left behind the China Town region of the Digital World. Hikari was still notably spaced out, undoubtedly thanks to her contact with Homeostasis. Neither Takeru nor Iori seemed intent on bursting her bubble and forcing her to chat when she was obviously tired from the events throughout the early part of the day. Their partner Digimon were quiet as well, still recovering their strength from the previous fight. Food had helped them to feel better, yes, but their lack of sleep was starting to show itself in the worst of ways.
Hikari suddenly perked up, a frown on her face. "Do you guys hear something?" she asked. Tailmon's ears twitched as soon as Hikari spoke the words, and she nodded. Her eyes narrowed as she attempted to figure out what the source of the noise could have been.
Takeru opened his mouth to respond in a negatory fashion, but he was cut off when he heard the distant rumbling of the ground below. The flapping of wings overhead reached his ears as well, and he gasped as he glanced skyward and saw a large shadow coming down towards the group. In the distance, another figure could be seen looming on the horizon. Takeru stole a glance in Iori's direction, and he found that the other boy was just as surprised as he was.
"Wait... I know that silhouette!" Patamon cried out. He flew free of Takeru's arms and began flapping in the direction of the shadow walking closer to them. The rumbling grew louder as the rest of the group began to chase after him. If Patamon thought that it was safe, then they were willing to trust his judgement.
Upon closer examination, Takeru realized that Patamon was right about it being a familiar figure approaching their group. A gentle green glow surrounded the shadow in question, and his eyes went wide as the pieces came slamming together with stunning clarity. "Is that Xuanwumon?" he questioned in surprise. Hikari and Tailmon nodded out of the corner of his gaze.
Xuanwumon was another of the Harmonious Ones alongside Qinglongmon and Baihumon. He tended to keep to himself in his specialized region of the Digital World, so the Chosen Children didn't see him as much as Qinglongmon. It was strange to see Xuanwumon not only in this sector of the realm but seemingly not alone, as the shadow overhead was undoubtedly traveling with him as well.
The flying figure overhead swooped down to the ground, and a silhouette that looked surprisingly human slid away from illustrious rainbow feathers. Another person jumped down from Xuanwumon's back, and Takeru found his stomach twisting in confusion. What in the world was going on? He didn't think that there were any people in the Digital World, or at least this region of it, aside from them for the time being. On top of that, these figures appeared to be notably adult as far as stature was concerned.
"Sure has been a while since I saw any of you."
Takeru came shattering back to reality when he heard the voice of none other than Kaya from before him. She was standing in front of Xuanwumon with an almost unsettling sense of relaxation. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a smirk lined her lips. The other thing that Takeru found himself shocked by was the silvery device that rested at her hips, and when he looked closer, he became beyond confident that it was some sort of Digivice.
However, Kaya, as was to be expected, was not alone. The bird Digimon was standing on the ground, shining wings reflecting countless beautiful tints of light. The figure standing in front of the bird was none other than Chisane, though she seemed much more calm than she had been back in Odaiba. A gentle laugh left her lips as she waved in the direction of the young Chosen Children, and her companion ducked his head down so that she could stroke at his face with one sensitive hand.
"What are you doing here?" Iori questioned since he was the first one to get a grasp on his words in the aftermath of the shocking revelation. "I thought that you were still..." His voice trailed off when he was unable to continue, too surprised to formulate full sentences.
"Back in Odaiba? Not anymore," Kaya replied with a simple shrug. "The gate to the Digital World opened for us, and we had to listen to what it wanted. The Digital World desired our presence, and who would we be to resist its call? That feels a bit rude somehow." Her previously stoic demeanor had given way to something much more enjoyable and openly playful. It was clear that she was still just as much of a solemn person as before, but there was something more to it, as if new life had been breathed into her when none of the Chosen Children were paying attention.
"I think that an explanation from the beginning would be for the best," Tailmon interjected, her eyes narrowing in inquisition in the direction of the newcomers. She glanced up to Xuanwumon and back down to Kaya's Digivice. The pieces were starting to come together, making it seem as if these were the partners of Kaya and Chisane, but a furhter explanation was still preferred given how surprising and sudden this was.
"You're not the first Chosen Children to come to the Digital World. Fifteen years ago, we were here, and our partners became the Harmonious Ones. Is that good enough for you?" Kaya questioned. Chisane let out a small laugh at Kaya's bluntness, and Takeru could have sworn that he saw the hints of a smile starting to spread across Xuanwumon's face as his eyes lit up serenely.
"I remember Gennai telling us that there was a previous set of Chosen Children who initially sealed away Apocalymon..." Hikari murmured. "Are you really...?"
"It's the two of us and four others," Kaya went on. "I'm not sure if you've met any of them, but I know a few of them have come to work for a group focused on recent events involving the Digital World. Daigo Nishijima, Maki Himekawa, Hiraku Ueno, Atsuo Takeda..."
Somehow, Takeru's jaw dropped even further, and he blinked silently as he tried to register everything that he was hearing. Suddenly, Kaya and Chisane wandering around Odaiba in the midst of the evacuation order made sense. They were present because they were connected to the Digital World as well. Daigo, Maki, Hiraku, and this Atsuo character being involved only felt like another set of punches to the stomach. All this time, the original Chosen Children, a cause of silent curiosity, had been hiding right under their noses.
Nobody had ever looked into the original generation of Chosen Children for long simply because of how little information existed about them. Figuring out what was happening with them felt almost impossible, and they had given up ages ago in trying to find what seemingly did not exist. Not even Gennai or Homeostasis had the ability to answer their questions.
And yet, against all odds, there they were. Takeru could tell that this was a story and a half, a tale that would take quite some time to tell. Chisane recognized this as well, and she cleared her throat to gather the attention of the other occupants of the group. "Perhaps we should sit somewhere and try to talk about this... I think that would be better than standing around and staring at each other," she suggested.
"Good point," Kaya agreed. "Alright. I'm sure that we can find a place to settle down far from the eyes of enemy Digimon, so let's go on and take care of that. We don't want to get attacked while we're explaining everything, huh?"
She didn't seem to mind at all that she was still being watched with shock and confusion as she started walking. Takeru followed after her mindlessly, swallowing dryly to keep from allowing his endless flurry of questions to fly free of his lips. He didn't think that he would be able to articulate them properly even if he wanted to. There was just too much on his mind, and he could only hope that Kaya and Chisane's explanation would cover everything that he was hoping to hear.
Daisuke was really starting to wish that the group had coordinated a bit more before they jumped into the Digital World.
Even though they now had a set location to meet up, it was taking ages for the group to come together. He wished that they had at least tried to connect with one another and figure out the best course of action for fighting back against their foes. Instead, he and the rest of the Chosen Children were seemingly wandering mindlessly through the Digital World, and Daisuke found himself hoping for the sudden ability to reverse the flow of time. After all, if he knew what was coming, he could send his smaller team to a gate that was closer to the rendezvous point, saving his legs all of the unnecessary struggle.
Daisuke was about to say something about his lack of fondness for walking when a shadow darted overhead. It was long and slender, and in a way, the outline reminded him of a snake. "Huh?" He glanced up at the overhead skies, and Mimi and Jou followed suit alongside their partners. They all came to a stop to see what it was that could have caused such a strange silhouette to swarm them for a few brief seconds.
"Please don't tell me that was an enemy Digimon," Jou whimpered, his eyes falling into concerned shadow. "I really don't think that we're going to be able to fight against an enemy Digimon right now, especially not one that big."
Mimi opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by a set of silhouettes settling down on the ground nearby. There were two figures, and she gasped in recognition as soon as they came into focus. "Qinglongmon! Zhuqiaomon!" she cried out, dashing towards the two Harmonious Ones on instinct. The rest of the party trailed after her without a beat of hesitation, confusion and awe spurring their actions.
Before they could fully arrive in front of the Digimon to initiate a conversation, something out of the ordinary occurred. A humanoid figure slid down the back of Qinglongmon's body before landing unsteadily on the grass. The person in question let out an awkward laugh as he forced himself to correct his sense of balance. Nearby, another figure jumped down from Zhuqiaomon's body before walking over to the person that had departed from Qinglongmon's back a moment prior.
"Hey! We know you!" Chibimon suddenly shouted in surprise as he jumped out of Daisuke's arms to move in the direction of the new arrivals. "You're...!"
"Um... Hello," Hiraku greeted with another nervous laugh and a small wave. "I didn't think that we were going to see each other under circumstances like this, but... I guess that there's a first for everything, huh?"
"I think that now is the perfect time for us to actually be introduced to one another. Our names are Hiraku and Atsuo, and we're two members of the original team of Chosen Children," Atsuo declared, his hands crossed as he grinned with all the brightness in the world. "It's a shame that we couldn't meet each other under these conditions sooner, huh?"
"Original Chosen Children?!" Jou yelped in surprise. His face fell into a conflicted storm of emotions as he tried to get a grasp on what he had just heard. "What in the..." He shook his head before looking up to Qinglongmon and Zhuqiaomon before returning his gaze to Hiraku and Atsuo. The Harmonious Ones had to be their partner Digimon given the context of the situation, but that did little to lessen the shocking impact of the sudden revelation.
Atsuo nodded, not seeming to mind Jou's shock in the slightest. "Yeah. It's a bit of a long story, but we can sit down and talk about it for a while. You three look like you could use the break from walking, after all," he said.
Daisuke found himself agreeing wordlessly even though he knew that they had to get going to reach the meetup point where the rest of the group was set to be coming together. Luckily, Hiraku was able to get the conversation back on track by clearing his throat politely. "Maybe we should go on and hop onto one of our Digimon so that we can get to our destination while we're talking..." Hiraku suggested.
"Look at you, smart as ever," Atsuo agreed with a nod. He turned on his heel and gestured for the others to follow after him. "Why don't we go and see how the Digital World looks from the air? I think that would be lots more fun than just walking from place to place, wouldn't you say?"
Daisuke found himself still as a statue as he watched Atsuo's notable nonchalance. Somehow, riding on top of one of the Harmonious Ones didn't feel right to him given their importance to the Digital World and its sense of order, but if that was at all an influential factor, Zhuqiaomon didn't seem to mind. In fact, he actually lowered his body down to the ground so that it would be easier for the rest of the group to get onto his back prior to their liftoff. It was still unsettling as could be, but Daisuke followed Atsuo's lead wordlessly, seeming to understand that the older man wasn't going to be tolerating any objections on the matter.
"There's no need to worry," Atsuo assured him as he jumped onto the back of his partner with the rest of the Chosen Children. "We've got everything taken care of. I'm sure that the pieces will come together soon enough. All you have to do is kick back, relax, and wait for the full story to come to light." He gave everyone a playful wink, and it was clear as could be that his earlier serious mask, the facade that he had painted on while they were in Odaiba, was not going to be returning anytime soon.
Before anyone could comment on what was happening, Zhuqiaomon took off, and Qinglongmon trailed after him. Daisuke was too distracted by the whipping of wind on all sides to say much of anything. He didn't know what in the world he was supposed to think about all of this, but he hoped that they would explain themselves soon enough. That would make everything much easier for them. The idea of there being a group of Chosen Children that came before them was beyond shocking, and Daisuke knew that this was going to be one story that he wasn't going to want to miss out on.
Meiko's thoughts still hadn't left Meiamon since they left behind the area where they fought against Assaultmon. It was impossible for her to shift her thought process no matter how hard she tried. Something about the situation just left her stomach feeling like it was going to swallow her alive, and all she could do was rock back and forth in agitation and pray that she would be able to find something to calm herself down sooner rather than later. She didn't know how much more of this anxiety she was going to be able to take.
Koushiro had opened his laptop once again and was holding it on one arm, analyzing the radar as they walked. It wasn't exactly the most convenient, but his curiosity about the six unknown Digivice signals could not be calmed no matter what anyone else said. Meiko found that she rather enjoyed staring at the dots as they shifted across the map of the immediate region. It gave her something else to concentrate on, and she was willing to take that over her previous thoughts of spiraling panic.
"Is it just me, or is one of those signals starting to get closer to us?"
Miyako's voice dragged Meiko out of her trance, and she realized that the other girl had a point. She hadn't been focusing enough to recognize that Miyako had been correct in her observations, but it became strikingly clear as soon as she was able to pull herself away from her mindless wandering. There was one dot that was moving closer to them at a rapid pace, and it was split between colors of white and pink. That was certainly something significant, but what could it have possibly meant? Meiko only hoped that the answers came sooner rather than later.
As soon as the thought crossed Meiko's mind, something in the air seemed to stir, and she glanced up when she noticed that the ground had started to tremble. It wasn't enough for her to be knocked from her feet, but she still most certainly caught onto the fact that there was something going on. She glanced down to Meiamon, praying that her partner would be able to offer some type of explanation. Instead, Meiamon simply shrugged in her partner's direction, and somehow, Meiko felt even worse than she had previously.
Ken was the first one to turn to see what was behind them, and when he did so, he let out a gasp and stopped moving. "Is that... Is that a Digimon...?" he questioned in surprise. Ken, who was normally so composed and calm, suddenly couldn't contain his shock, and somehow, that only unsettled Meiko further. Was the world going to end? Perhaps she was just being dramatic, but she didn't want to find out with the day that she had been having.
When Meiko forced herself to turn around, she found herself wondering the same question that Ken had just posed. There was a massive silhouette walking closer, and the sunshine reflected gold glimmers into Meiko's eyes. She blinked in shock, trying to reconcile reason with what she was witnessing. That had to be a Digimon, right? Still, it was larger than any Digimon that she had ever seen aside from perhaps Qinglongmon. Then again, Qinglongmon's size largely came from his length, but this Digimon's mass was all gathered together into a four-legged being that was sure enough lumbering closer and closer with each passing second.
"It seems as if one of the Digivice signals is with that Digimon..." Koushiro murmured, and Miyako let out a yelp of surprise. "As far as I can tell, the signal is right on top of the Digimon that's coming towards us. What could it possibly mean?"
"I think that it points to the idea that the Digivice belongs to a human who just so happens to be partnered with that Digimon... But I've never seen a Digimon so huge," Ken whispered. He slowly began to walk in the direction of the newcomers, and the rest of the group followed suit, albeit hesitantly to keep from being surprised by any sudden motions on the part of the new arrivals.
It wasn't until the large Digimon was practically on top of them that Meiko spotted anything else of note. The golden scales that covered his body were practically blinding with how bright they were, and Meiko found herself raising one hand to block out the sunshine so that she wasn't completely overwhelmed by the new illumination. She bit down on her lip, trying to see if she could spot the source of the Digivice signal before the Digimon got any closer.
A moment later, a humanoid figure slid off the back of the Digimon and down to the ground. Meiko took a moment to gasp in surprise as she tried to ensure that what she was seeing was actually real, but no matter how many times she blinked, reality presented itself in the same manner, and Meiko took a step closer in poorly-masked shock. "M-Ms. Himekawa?!" she exclaimed.
Sure enough, Maki was standing beside one of the front feet of the large Digimon, a light smile on her face. "Hello, Chosen Children," she greeted simply. She walked closer a moment later, allowing her fingers to carefully come away from the golden scales of the creature that appeared to be her partner Digimon. "Allow me to introduce you to Huanglongmon."
Koushiro frowned to himself before looking up to meet Maki's eyes. "You're a Chosen Child like us, aren't you?" he asked. He didn't point out his laptop's radar as evidence, seemingly understanding that Maki wouldn't be able to deny his implications even if she tried. The fact that she was in the Digital World at all was one piece of crucial evidence, but the partner Digimon standing beside her was the nail in her coffin that allowed her mask of a lack of involvement to splinter away into little more than ineffective shards at her feet.
"That I am," Maki replied. She reached down to her hip and pulled her Digivice free of its place resting beneath the hem of her shirt. She had likely been hiding it elsewhere up until her arrival in the Digital World, but there was no further reason for her to mask the truth any longer given that the Chosen Children were now fully aware of who she was beneath the surface.
"That's the same model of Digivice that I saw the night Jazarichmon attacked...!" Ken gasped, his eyes going wide. "I think I understand now... The reason that Hiraku was targeted... It was because his Digivice came into view, and the enemy Digimon caught onto it."
"That's the current theory, anyways," Maki shrugged. "I don't know if any Digimon have long enough memories to remember our adventures here in the Digital World all that time ago, but we were here fifteen years ago in Earth time. Nine of those years had sped time within the Digital World, so that's distorted everyone's memories, I suppose. At the very least, the fact remains that we're here again now, and we intend to assist you and the rest of your team if we have the ability to do so."
"I remember hearing about a first group of Chosen Children before we fought against Apocalymon," Tentomon commented. "I didn't think that we would actually find one of them though. How were you even able to get here in the first place?"
"The Digital World called for us again. That's what happens with Chosen Children, is it not? The Digital World needs you, and so, it calls," Maki replied. "Of course, there were certain factors that kept us from being able to return since Homeostasis was unaware of the details of who we were. Without enough data to be certain of our identities, she wouldn't have been able to summon us here even if she wanted to. I suppose that we got lucky this time around."
"I think that you should tell us what's going on from the very beginning," Miyako suggested. Her expression was still contorted with confusion. "I have no idea what's happening, and I don't think that anybody else gets it either." To prove her point, she glanced over to Meiko, and the black-haired girl shook her head to show that she hadn't been aware of this fact either.
"Alright. We'll find a place to settle down for the time being then," Maki agreed with a nod. "We had better get going sooner rather than later. I imagine that the other members of your team are going to start wondering where you are if I take too long to tell you about everything."
As the group started walking once again, Meiko stole a glance backwards at Maki. She couldn't even begin to emphasize how surprised she was that Maki had been one of the original Chosen Children all along. Meiko hadn't even known that there was a previous generation in the first place, but she supposed that there was a time and a place for the truth to come out, and Maki would tell the full story soon enough. For the time being, Meiko was going to be patient no matter how much her curiosity was starting to eat her alive.
The mere concept caught Meiko by surprise because of how well she had come to know Maki. Even if their relationship wasn't entirely perfect, and they were far from being close due to their differing circumstances, Meiko had come to understand Maki at least to some degree because of the fact that her father had worked with Maki ever since the Mochizuki family came to move to Odaiba. Maki had been into their apartment. She had helped them to unpack their things when they first arrived, and Meiko was starting to wonder if perhaps Maki had been able to sense that they were the same. It would explain why Maki, so normally closed away and secretive from the rest of the world, had opened her heart as soon as she met Meiko and the rest of her family.
This certainly explained why Maki had gotten so heavily involved with the data bureau that was researching the Digital World in the first place. She had been motivated by her own past experiences, and that gave her a perfect reason to slide into a field that she seemingly lacked knowledge of. Maki had previously been a private investigator after all, and the shift of careers could very easily be considered strange, but it all suddenly made a striking amount of sense. One little fact had changed Meiko's perception of Maki entirely, and she doubted that she would be able to go back to her previous methods of thinking ever again.
The unspoken question that hung in the air was who the other members of the group were, but Meiko suspected that the full truth would come to light soon enough. How could it not? After all, Maki had promised to tell the extent of her story as soon as they were able to find a place to settle down for the time being. Meiko's mind was already spinning with theories as to who the other members of Maki's team could have been, but she was forcing herself to not jump to conclusions until the full truth was revealed to her in a formal manner.
What Meiko did know was that Maki's one revelation had changed everything. All that she had known came into place with startling clarity, giving way to a newfound sense of reality that Meiko had never anticipated. She didn't know where things were going to be going from there, but Meiko was confident that she had a lot to learn. They all did. History was certainly showing itself to be much more intriguing than Meiko had anticipated, and she could only wonder what it was going to lead them to when honesty finally showed itself in its entirety.
After Daigo got through his explanation of who the other Chosen Children were, he let out a small sigh. "So, there's your story behind the six of us. Well, that's all that I really have time to talk about for the time being, but that should be all that you need to know right now anyways. I can get more into detail in the future when we aren't on the run from Digimon that are eager to roast us all alive and then some," he said before letting out a small chuckle that was surprisingly charming given the circumstances. "Anyways, I'm sure that everyone would be more than happy to talk about our shared adventures here in the Digital World another time. For now, I think that we have a lot of research to be taking care of, yes?"
"I suppose so..." Taichi muttered to himself, though he was still trying to come to terms with everything that he was hearing about. The situation still surprised him even though it had been a short while since he heard the truth. Part of him wondered if he would ever truly stop feeling shocked over something like this, though he supposed that was an evaluation to make in the future when he wasn't on the run from Digimon that had every ability to roast him and the rest of his team alive.
"As soon as we get the full team of you guys back together, Baihumon and I will probably have to go... Even if we can spare a bit of time, it isn't going to be all that much. After all, he has his own place to be within the Digital World, and I think that all of the original partner Digimon are in this sector of the realm right now. That's not good for everywhere else, as I'm sure you can imagine," Daigo commented with a sorrowful grin.
"The distortion in the barrier has grown worse on this day," Baihumon suddenly said, pulling everyone's attention in his direction immediately. "I can sense it. The gate between Earth and the Digital World is starting to grow unstable. Whoever was responsible for this has been making deliberate attacks as a way of causing everything to start melting away."
"I don't understand who could possibly be out there though..." Yamato murmured. "No matter how many times we come here in search of the truth, we're never able to find anything. We always wind up just coming up short, and it's really starting to get frustrating. We've never had an enemy before who can leave no traces behind when they lash out at us."
"We're just going to have to try harder to find them then!" Tsunomon chimed in. "If they aren't going to leave any clues behind, then we'll have to start searching even more. I'm sure that there's something out there."
"Since the Digital World has called us back here after all this time, that must mean that we're needed," Daigo said. "I'm going to take that as a sign that we should do our research about what's currently happening in the Digital World. As soon as we're together with the rest of the group, I'm going to talk to them about looking around for any clues about what it is that could be happening. After all, there's only so much research that we can do from the Earth side of the barrier when the problem is clearly coming from over here."
"I have not sensed any increasingly dark presence as of late," Baihumon told the group next, his eyes falling shut. "There has been nothing out of the ordinary. Take that how you will, but I have no noticed anything that we should take note of. For the time being, it seems that searching on your own terms will be the only way to gather new information."
There was something that Taichi didn't like hearing. He almost winced at Baihumon's words. If anyone knew how to sense the powers of the Digital World, it was the Harmonious Ones, and yet, Baihumon had come up short when trying to figure out just what was causing everything to grow so unstable in recent times. At best, it was concerning, and at worse, it meant that there was so much more to this situation that had yet to be uncovered, and that was terrifying in a way that Taichi didn't know how to articulate. As Yamato had said previously, they hadn't ever fought against an enemy that was so good at covering their own tracks. Whoever was behind this had more than enough experience in fighting and ensuring that their enemies didn't find out the truth behind their endeavors, and that was the last thing that the Chosen Children could afford.
"The Digital World and Earth are starting to struggle because of distortions in the barrier, but there haven't been any changes that would be considered out of the ordinary..." Sora repeated under her breath. "But how could that be possible? There has to be a dark power out there somewhere that we simply haven't uncovered yet, and I bet that it's growing stronger."
"It's something that you'll have to look into... I'm going to tell Maki and the others that we should dig into it too. If we can get back onto this side of the barrier regularly, then we'll be able to do at least a little bit of searching for you, though I can't make any promises as to if we're going to be able to find results. You know how it goes," Daigo said with a small shrug. "If we do find anything though, we'll be sure to pass on everything that we hear."
"Thank you for all of this, Mr. Nishijima," Taichi told the older man with a small smile on his face. He glanced down to the Digivice that was still resting firmly in the palm of his teacher. There was something about it that still struck him as being somewhat odd, and after a moment of staring, he realized just what it was that had remained bothersome to him. "Hey... Your Digivice's design is a bit different from ours."
Daigo held it up a moment later and nodded. "It's a bit more basic since this was the original model for us first Chosen Children. What specifically is it that strikes you as being so strange though?" he questioned.
"The colored ring around the screen," Taichi explained. "Ours is just solid blue in color, but yours has two colors that share the space. What's that all about?"
"Ah, that," Daigo murmured before clearing his throat. "The Crests that your generation of Chosen Children have come to possess are not the first incarnations in the Crests of the Digital World. Granted, we didn't know them by that name at the time, but since there were six of us originally, each of us had two that worked in tandem for the sake of allowing our Digimon to evolve. At the time, we only thought that they were odd symbols that had little meaning, though everything sort of came into place as time went on and we just sort of got an instinct for it."
Taichi gasped as he realized that Daigo's Digivice had a ring of orange and blue color around its screen. "Then that means that your two Crests..." he began.
Daigo nodded. "Are Courage and Friendship. All of us have them paired off like that like I said before. Maki has Light and Passion. Hiraku's got Knowledge and Reliability. Atsuo's Crests are Loyalty and Kindness. Kaya uses the Crests of Sincerity and Love. Finally, there's Chisane who has Hope and Integrity," he explained. "The colors just sort of showed up on their own, and I assume that it was the Digital World adapting itself to make room for us. After all, the Digital World has the ability to fulfill the desires of the people who come here. It's susceptible to the whims of childhood, and since we were young at the time, it all just sort of came together. Our Crests were properly researched and developed after Homeostasis appeared and started to look into them, and that was when they were passed onto you as soon as the right moment arrived."
"A lot of those pairings are like the Jogress sets that we've come to see in our group," Yamato commented. "Sora, Mimi, Koushiro, and Jou have never had their partners use Jogress, but the rest of the group is paired off the same way that you said the original Chosen Children had their Crests sectioned off."
"Funny how life works, huh? That could have increased their potential for compatibility. The fact that us original Chosen Children had those Crests matched up, I mean. It would certainly make sense as to why everything fell into place like that. Even if the connections were made of your own volition, this could have made it more likely that you would wind up sectioned off in those specific pairs," Daigo replied.
"In other words, if the last four of us were to help our partners Jogress evolve, the pairings would likely be Piyomon and Palmon and then Tentomon and Gomamon," Sora included, and she was met by a nod from Daigo in response. "All of this stuff that you've been telling us really does help everything to sort of slide into place and make sense, you know. It's not something that I expected to hear about, but it makes a lot more sense than I expected, and... I'm glad that you're so willing to share all of this with us."
"The six of us have been keeping these secrets bottled up for a long time... I remained pretty close with Maki, but for the most part, we wound up going our separate ways. Hiraku was working in his own field before he wound up being recruited to work at the data bureau that Maki and I were already set to be transferring to. Chisane and Kaya moved out of Odaiba to Tottori together as soon as they were out of school, and I think that they set up a restaurant out there. Atsuo joined a band and started touring. We all wound up finding our own places in life, and while I'm glad that we were able to do things that made us happy... It kind of stunk not being able to reach out to them at a moment's notice since we grew so close over this common experience," Daigo confessed.
"Have you at least been in contact somewhat regularly?" Sora questioned, her eyes overcome by a newfound sense of sadness. "It would be awful if you shared all of that and then wound up not staying close because life tore you apart."
"We reached out every once in a while... Chisane and Kaya were always the hardest ones for us to reach. Chisane's never been good in Odaiba. It wasn't the place for her, and Kaya's always been protective of her. I've been trying to reach out to them since all of the Digimon attacks began, but neither one of them ever answered. I suppose that they were too busy to come back, but they wound up finding their way here anyways. I can tell that they're here because they're on the radar of my Digivice," Daigo replied, his voice suddenly twinged with bitterness. "They did what was best for themselves, but it led to years of them not interacting with the rest of us."
"So you at least saw the rest of the group every once in a while... That's nice to hear, I suppose," Sora said, a faltering smile spreading across her lips. She clearly didn't want to intrude on the subject of Chisane and Kaya since it obviously made Daigo at least slightly uncomfortable, but her worry was still clear as could be nonetheless.
Luckily for Sora, Daigo wound up continuing even without her prompting him to do so. "The Digital World is good at one thing above all else... It changes people. When we were here as kids, the Digital World had no rhyme, reason, or order. You always had to fight to survive, and it wasn't until Homeostasis came along that all of that started to change. That was just how things were back then for better or worse... We're not the same people that we were before we came here. Chisane and Kaya... Let's just say that there's a reason they don't come back to Odaiba unless they absolutely have to. They haven't looked back since moving to Tottori, and given the circumstances, I can't entirely blame them. They were running from the Digital World whether they wanted to admit it or not. In a way, the Digital World gave us all a reason to run, but our partners were a reason for us to stay."
As soon as Daigo fell silent, Taichi felt his gaze shifting down to the ground. As much as he hated to admit it, he certainly understood where Daigo was coming form. He had seen the ways that the Digital World could change people for himself. There were some moments that he simply wouldn't ever be able to forget about because of how vividly awful they were. He and the rest of the Chosen Children had come out the other side of their shared wars, but there was still a lot that had shaped them along the way. Losing friends and childhood alike at such a young age was sure to do that to a person. Every day turned into a fight for survival in the latest days of the initial journey, and if Daigo's team had been forced to deal with such circumstances from the very beginning, it was understandable that they had wound up drifting apart under the weight that became too much for them to bear.
Daigo shook his head and rose to his feet. "That's enough moping around for one day. We have to go and meet up with the rest of the group. I'm sure that they're going to start wondering where we are if we don't get moving. Baihumon can get us there quickly, and if we find anything that could be used as food along the way, then we'll stop and give your partners the chance to eat up. After all, Digimon can't fight on an empty stomach, and given what we're dealing with right now, you need to be able to fight," he declared. "Let's get to it, successors of mine." He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the entrance of the cave.
Taichi shared a brief glance with Sora and Yamato, unsure of how he was meant to respond to Daigo's cryptic words. He supposed that he could deal with that later on though. For the time being, they had much more important things to worry about. Whispers of the past could wait until after they were no longer in consistent danger.
And so the truth comes to light at last! Well, at least for now.
This chapter was tons of fun to write, and all of the foreshadowing with the six adult characters has finally paid off. It makes a lot of sense why I had to throw them in now, right? Yeah, I wanted to incorporate the entire previous generation rather than just Daigo and Maki. There will be more details revealed about their adventures in the Digital World later down the line, but for now, this is what you get.
Maki's partner is alive in this rewrite! Because of a few narrative changes that I've decided to make, I made the executive decision that Bakumon got to live. I'm glad that I made that choice, because Maki deserves to be happy. I'm going to show more of what her partnership dynamic is like later on since, trust me, it's going to be important soon. For now though, you just get the little fact that Bakumon is alive now because I said so.
I think I mentioned early in this story that this fic was going to be completely canon compliant aside from one detail, and this chapter is where that detail comes into play: in this story, there are six original Chosen Children rather than the five in Adventure and Tri. I decided that this wasn't all that big of a deal as far as changes go though since it doesn't influence the story of Adventure in the slightest, and I figured that doing this would be fine. I wanted there to be Crest parallels, hence the sixth member of the team. Kaya was the last one made in the group to cover this purpose of having six Chosen Children for twelve Crests, so there's a little developmental detail for you.
Anyways, I'm going to leave things off here. This chapter was very lore heavy, and I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm off to start work on next week's chapter because I'm just kind of like that. Next week, we'll start the final third of act two and get closer to this whole mess drawing to a close (at least for now). Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital