What happens if you place a large stone in a river? Not one large enough to block it, but one large enough to divert it? Which way does the water now flow? It's up to chance. The same with time. Each stone is an event, a choice, a decision made or not made. From those stones, the flow of time diverts. Some are large branches while others are small streams. In every stream, a Digital World exists, and in every Digital World, so does the Chosen Children.

The Mark of Millenniumon Prelude

Altered Crests

The Crest of Severance

Taichi walked down the forest path, focusing on the storm clouds billowing over the hill in the distance. Agumon walked loyally at his side without a word, but Taichi could sense the confusion from his partner. When asked about why he left the others without a word, Taichi responded as best he could. "It's complicated. I need some time alone, away from the others. You wouldn't understand." So, Agumon stayed silent.

That is, until, he asked, "Did it have anything to do with Hikari?"

Taichi bit his lip. He'd only seen his sister a few times in the five years since their parents' divorce, mostly birthdays and holidays. He didn't even know she'd be at camp until his father told him. She almost tackled him when he met her at the bus station. "Oniichan! I'm so happy to see you."

He smiled and hugged her back. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you too."

They signed up together for every activity at camp. He watched over her as she swam into the deep end of the lake, shot a bow and arrow for the first time and did arts and crafts. Then the Digital World happened. It was beyond selfish, but being trapped in an alien world with strange creatures made Taichi think this was the chance for him to be the big brother he never really got to be. Through their adventures, he didn't want to admit that Hikari was growing up. It wasn't until she escaped from Pinochimon by herself that he realized it.

"She doesn't need me anymore." He stopped and stared at the sun's rays reflecting on the lake surface. "All this time I thought my purpose here was to watch out for my little sister. I thought she wouldn't be able to survive without me, but, suddenly, she's grown up.

Agumon cocked his head to the side. "I'm sure she still needs you."

"No she doesn't," he sighed, "And it's not just her, it's everyone. Yamato's more capable as a leader, Koshiro knows more about the Digital World, everyone's more mature and I'm…I'm still stuck in place. I haven't changed at all."

"You don't see it, but you've changed a lot."

"Oh, come on. I haven't change at all. But I've got it figured out. If I'm ever gonna change, I have to do it on my own. The others can't help me." He screamed in frustration and kicked a stone. It tumbled down the dirt path until knocking into a tree.

"Careful," Agumon said, "That might be a Jyuriemon."

Taichi stared at the tree. He waited but it remained motionless. "Guess I was wrong," Agumon chuckled.

Taichi huffed in response. "Well, maybe he could have told me what I'm doing wrong."

A voice then started chuckling. "Well, he wouldn't have been help to you, but I think I can."

Taichi and Agumon stared at one another before they started twirling around, trying to find the source of that voice. "There!" Agumon cried, pointing at thick grove of trees. Walking through the overgrowth was a human-like figure in a dark orange hoodie and thick goggles over his eyes…familiar goggles.

"Taichi," Agumon said with his mouth gapping, "He looks like-"

"I know," Taichi interrupted, "Who are you? Are you a human or a Digimon?"

"Human, I promise you," the figure said, "You can call me Osore."

Taichi crossed his arms. "All right, fine. What do you want?"

The boy smirked. "I'm here to help you, I promise." He started pacing with his hands behind his back. "You feel like you're stuck in a rut, huh? You want to know more about yourself, what makes you tick."

Taichi snorted. "So, what, you're like my fairy godmother or something? Gonna come here and give me all the answers?"

Osore laughed. "If it were only that easy. Well, no, I take that back. I can give you direction, but you need to figure out your purpose first. I can show you the path, maybe even give you a destination, but you need to take the first steps."

Taichi studied the other boy and then swallowed. "I…I want to change."

Osore nodded and started walking around Taichi. He felt like he was a bug under a microscope. "I just need to figure out which one you are." He smiled, "Ah, I've got it. You were right before, if you want to change, you can't do it around the others."

Agumon gasped softly and Taichi felt a coldness sweep through him. "I was?"

"That's right," Osore said, "The others are holding you back. You were moving along just fine until you went to camp, right? What changed at camp, besides the Digital World?"

Taichi raced through the memories of the summer camp. His face dropped. "Hikari?" he whispered.

"Correct. Any chance you had of changing came to a screeching halt because you thought you had to take care of your sister. Your parents split the two of you up when they divorced, and Hikari did just fine on her own, didn't she? I mean, you were fine too, but all that stopped when you saw her again at camp, didn't it?"

Taichi stared at his feet. Was he right? No, he didn't even need to ask, the Kaizer was right. "Yeah, maybe, but she's my sister."

"True, true," the other boy said quickly, "but how much energy did you use keeping her safe instead of finding yourself? And did she thank you for that sacrifice? No. She didn't even run to you after escaping from Pinnochimon. She went to Yamato and Sora and the others to boast about her escape. Being around the others is just a waste of time for you. You need solitude."

Osore snorted. "Oh, don't give me that look. You just left the others what, five, ten minutes ago? And in that short time, you already realized that you haven't changed since coming to the Digital World. Your power lies in solitude. More than that, it lies in abandonment. You can't just leave the others to find your answers, you have to break any bonds you had with them."

Agumon spit a ball of fire between the two boys. "Don't listen! He's just trying to cause trouble. He's playing games with your head. The others are your friends."

"Y-yeah," Taichi said, "They're my friends."

Osore was ready with an answer. "Oh? And you do you really believe in that? I mean, deep down, friendship, loyalty, comrades. They all sound great don't they, but that's all they are, just words. The only person you can depend on is yourself. Well, you are your Digimon partner, isn't that right, Taichi?"

Agumon looked up at his partner. "He's wrong…right?"

Taichi answered. "I don't know."

Osore rolled his eyes. "All right, enough moping. I told you what you need to do. You wanna change, you wanna find out who you truly are, then you need to defeat the others. And you know who to start with."

Taichi nodded. "Yamato." He studied his crest. "What a joke. The Crest of Courage, and I don't even have the guts to make a decision." He turned to Agumon. "What do I do?"

"I can't answer that," the dinosaur said, "But, you need to listen to yourself and, no matter what, I'll be by your side."

Taichi turned back to his crest. After a long moment, he squeezed it in his fingers and his face turned hard.

"Agumon warp evolve to WarGreymon!"

"Well, you certainly work fast, don't you?"

Taichi looked up to see Osore walking towards him. "You…" he heaved, "You made me do this."

Osore shook his head. "I didn't make you do anything, I just told you how to find the answers. Although…" He glanced at the toppled trees and burning bushes. "…I think you went a little overboard, don't you?"

Taichi cradled the body of Hikari in his arms. "I…I just lost it. I couldn't help it. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fought while me and Yamato did. I got my hands around his neck and…" He swallowed, "Hikari tried to stop me and I pushed her so hard and…"

"It all got worse from there, right?" Osore asked.

Taichi's tears mixed with the dirt on his face. "They left me. They told me to get out."

"Exiled?"

Taichi didn't answer. He saw Koromon looking up at him from the ground. "It's my fault too. I fought too."

Taichi turned to Osore. "What now? I've got nothing!"

"Just as I told you. Your true crest has been awakened."

Taichi looked down at his shirt. His orange crest had faded to dark, almost dirty, blue. "The Crest of Severance," Osore explained, "You've taken your fist steps down that path." He smirked and held out his hand, "Wanna follow me to the destination?"

Koromon nudged at his side. "I'll follow you no matter what."

Taichi placed Hikari's body on the ground and stared at Osore. He took the other boy's hand and felt a surge of power. Koromon twitched at his side. "I…I feel it! Koromon warp evolve to z'd Garurumon!"

Osore nodded. "Now, for your new name." He grinned, "Welcome, Bunri."

Next: A female version of Taichi is friends with Mimi and Sora, but after Mimi gives Sora a better birthday present, Taichi starts telling white lies to keep her friendship with Sora, but then Sora announces she has a crush on Yamato, something that Taichi has as well. The Mark of Millenniumon Prelude: The Crest of Deception

Did you enjoy it? Any criticisms? Thanks for the read and please remember to review.