Taichi did not know why the darkness brought him to this part of the Digital World. Usually, he ended up in a dark place, but this place was bright. Taichi then heard crying close by and decided to investigate. The boy soon came across a pink, ball-shaped Digimon with floppy ears, bright-red eyes, and sharp teeth that was the one crying. Taichi did not hesitate to go up to the Digimon, wanting to help the crying Digimon.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" calmly asked Taichi as he lowered himself down to the Digimon's level.

The Digimon looked at the human boy with puffy eyes before answering.

"I got kicked out of the village because nobody likes me!" cried the Digimon.

Taichi was shocked to hear that. "What?! Why?!"

"It's cause everyone thinks I'm too risky to be around the village! They said I'm a bad influence and needed to go away before I cause any trouble! But I'm not a bad Koromon. I just want to evolve into a virus type instead of a data or vaccine type like the others!" exclaimed Koromon.

Taichi frowned at the thought of how unfairly this Kromon had been treated just because it wanted to be different.

"They shouldn't kick you out because of that! They're big meanies!"

The small boy's words touched Koromon.

"You think they were wrong about sending me away?" the Digimon asked in surprise.

"Of course they were! If you want to be a virus, then that's your choice!" vehemently proclaimed Taichi.

Taichi's words lifted Koromon's mood.

"You're right! It's my choice, and I want to be the coolest and strongest virus type ever!" Koromon declared joyfully while hopping up and down.

"That's the spirit! My jii-chan always says that you shouldn't let anyone stop you from following your dreams! So never give up on becoming the most awesome virus Digimon ever okay!" proclaimed Taichi.

"I wouldn't! I promise!" stated Koromon with a determined expression on his face.

Taichi was glad to see that the Koromon was happy now. He hoped that the Digimon's dreams would come true one day.

The two were soon interrupted as the sound of a motorcycle could be heard through the forest. Taichi recognized the sound of the bike and knew that Beelzebumon was nearby. He was soon proven correct as Beelzebumon suddenly burst through the area while riding his motorbike before halting to a stop in front of Taichi and Koromon.

"So this is where you ended up this time, huh?" Beelzebumon asked as he got off his motorcycle with a smirk on his lips.

A huge smile came on Taichi's face as he quickly ran over to the black leather-clad Digimon and hugged his leg.

Taichi then looked up at Beelzebumon. "Yeah, I think I'm here because Koromon was sad, and I was supposed to make him feel better, which I did!" Taichi proudly stated as he glanced back at the tiny pink Digimon.

Beelzebumon seemed surprised to hear this.

"Really?" he asked Taichi with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Um-hum, Koromon had been kicked out of his home because those jerks didn't like that he wanted to become a virus type," explained Taichi.

"They did?!" angrily asked Beelzebumon, now looking at the other Digimon who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

"They did, but then I told Koromon that they were just meanies and that if he wants to be a virus, then he should be, right, Beelzebumon!" boldly proclaimed Taichi.

"Damn right, kid," agreed Beelzebumon before turning his attention to Koromon.

"Want me to delete every last Digimon in that village and show them what a virus type can do?" he asked with a smirk on his lips.

For a moment, Koromon was stunned when Beelzebumon addressed him, but when the question fully registered to Koromon, a bitter but determined expression came on his face before speaking.

"No, when I finally became a strong virus type… I'll do it myself," confidently stated Koromon.

Beelzebumon gained some respect for Koromon, understanding that the Digimon wanted to carry out his revenge instead of having someone else do it for him.

"When you do, show them hell," replied Beelzebumon, to which Koromon nodded vigorously too.

Beelzebumon felt tugging on his leg and quickly looked down at Taichi. By the determined look on Taichi's face, Beelzebumon could already guess what the boy was going to say.

"You want him to come with us, don't cha, kid?" Beelzebumon asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"We can help him," calmly declared Taichi.

Beelzebumon stared at Taichi and could tell that the boy was serious about this. He was unsure how the other Demon Lords would feel about this, but then again, when could any of them genuinely say no to this boy anyway.

"Fine, bring him," relented Beelzebumon with a sigh as he got back on his motorcycle, signaling that it was time to go.

Hearing this made a happy expression come on Taichi's face before the boy turned to Koromon.

"Want to come with us, Koromon?" excitingly asked Taichi.

The Digimon's eyes light up with joy at that question.

"Really?" Koromon asked hopefully.

Taichi nodded, and that was all Koromon needed as he quickly hopped over to Taichi. Taichi stretched his arms out towards the incoming Digimon, and Koromon joyfully jumped into Taichi's waiting arms. Beelzebumon helped Taichi, who was now holding Koromon, onto his bike, and soon all three left the forest.

First Contact

It had been almost a year since Taichi last went to the Digital World, and he missed it terribly. He missed the Digimon that had taken care of him and taught him so much.

He missed the games and toys he played with Beelzebumon. He missed riding on Leviamon and felt like he was flying. He missed the snuggling he would receive from Lilithmon whenever he was sad. He missed receiving tactical lessons from Barbamon. He missed learning to fight and sparing with Demon. He missed cuddling up to Belphemon when he was sleeping and talking with him when he was awake. And he missed all the fantastic stories that Lucemon would tell him about their world and all the places Lucemon took him to in their world.

Taichi wanted to go back to the Digital World. But he could not. Not anymore. It was too dangerous for him to travel there now, and if he did, he would be killed. So, for his own safety, he had been blocked from going to that world for good.

But even though he knew that going to the Digital World would be dangerous for him now, that did not stop Taichi from secretly wishing that there was some way that he could reconnect to that world again. Fortunately, that world had a habit of granting someone's deepest wishes in unexpected ways.

Taichi could not believe it. Last night had not been a dream. There was the Digi-Egg that popped out of his dad's computer next to Hikari as she still slept. Taichi's eyes locked onto the egg, and soon a feeling of joy came over him. Taichi knew that a Digimon would come out of that egg, and he could not wait to see what kind of Digimon it would be. Taichi hoped that it would be a nice Digimon and not a mean one like the ones he had been told to stay away from whenever he went to the Digital World.

Taichi was surprised when the small black round Digimon that came out of the egg leaped at his face. For a second, Taichi thought that the Digimon was trying to eat him, but when he was about to throw the Digimon off, Taichi realized that it was not hurting him. Taichi could feel its fur tickling his cheeks as it rubbed affectionately against his face causing the boy to giggle at the sensation. His laughter seemed to make the Digimon happy as it started cooing and rubbing against the boy's face, even more, making Taichi laugh harder as it continued tickling his face.

Taichi heard the faint sound of a whistle and knew that was his sister's way of trying to get his attention. Taichi carefully pulled the Digimon from his face to turn to Hikari. He could see the curious and excited expression on her face as her eyes went back and forth between him and the Digimon before her eyes stopped on Taichi. Taichi could see the eagerness in Hikari's eyes and knew what she wanted to know.

Taichi quickly turned back to the Digimon.

"What's your name?" Taichi asked the Digimon with a smile on his face.

"Botamon!" it chirped.

"Hi, Botamon! I'm Taichi, and this is my sister Hikari," introduced Taichi as he turned Botatmon around so that the Digimon could also see his sister better.

"Taichi!" happily exclaimed Botamon as he jumped onto Taichi's face again.

Botamon nuzzled Taichi's face before turning to face Hikari.

"Hikari!" Botamon exclaimed happily before jumping on her face and nuzzling against her causing Hikari to giggle.

Taichi was now sure that Botamon was a nice Digimon.

Taichi was stunned into silence when Botamon suddenly evolved into a Koromon. But it was not just any Koromon; somehow, Taichi could tell that this was the same Koromon that had become one of his best friends in the Digital World.

"Koromon, is it you?" asked Taichi in wonder.

The Digimon turned to Taichi with a joyful expression on his face.

"You remember me?" asked Koromon in surprise.

"Of course, I do! You're my best friend, Koromon!" cheerfully announced Taichi.

Hearing this made Koromon cry tears of joy before launching himself onto Taichi's face once more. Taichi let Koromon rub against his face before taking the Digimon off his face and into his arms. Koromon happily snuggled into Taichi's embrace and looked up at the boy with a fond look.

"I missed you so much, Taichi!" said Koromon, making Taichi smile.

"I missed you too, Koromon!" replied Taichi as he held Koromon a bit tighter in his arms.

As the two continued to cling tightly to each other, Hikari could not help but smile at the scene.

When she had discovered that her brother had lost his memories of the Digital World one day, she had panicked and thought something terrible had caused his memory loss. She had tried for days to get him to remember, but nothing had worked. She had become so desperate to get her brother to remember the Digital World that something snapped inside her. Before she knew it, the next time she had anxiously clung to her brother, a bright light came from her, and like that, her brother's memories returned.

But then her brother started to cry a lot. He did not explain why he had lost his memory. He just told her that he could never go back to the Digital World. Her brother had soon stopped being happy after that, and it had made Hikari feel guilty for somehow forcing her brother to remember the Digital World.

Yet now, perhaps it had been the right thing to do after all. For the first time in a long time, her brother was truly happy.

Taichi flinched when Koromon had angrily tackled their cat Miko after it had scratched the boy's face. Fortunately, even though the tackle had knocked Miko harshly against the wall, it was not hurt too badly and scurred away afterward. Taichi knew that Koromon had always been protective of him, but the way Koromon reacted so strongly to seeing him being scratched worried Taichi.

"Koromon, why did you do that?" asked Taichi with a frown on his lips.

"Because I have to protect you!" vehemently claimed Koromon.

"It's okay, Koromon, I'm safe here," Taichi tried to reassure the Digimon.

"No, you're not!" declared Koromon causing Taichi to widen his eyes in shock.

"What do you mean?"

A grave expression came on Koromon face.

"They've gotten desperate, Taichi. They're planning to send a scout to try and find you in this world. That's why I was sent here to keep you safe."

Taichi was quiet for a moment as he processed this new information. But when he was done, a resolved look crossed his face

"When are they coming?" questioned Taichi.

"I don't know when exactly, but I know it will be soon."

Taichi nodded in understanding.

"Okay then. I'll start making plans, and we resume training immediately," Taichi announced in a commanding voice.

Koromon eagerly agreed.

Taichi should have expected that Hikari would want to join in on his and Koromon's training sessions. Ever since his sister had broken the seal on his memories, her powers had become more active than before. This had led to Taichi teaching Hikari how to use her powers better so she would not accidentally set them off again. And Hikari had been an outstanding and persistent student, soaking up everything he taught her and gaining better control of her powers in the process.

So, when she realized what he and Koromon were doing, she had quickly asked if she could be a part of their training too. Taichi did not have the heart to say no to his sister's request, especially knowing that her reasons for joining were to help protect him from those who wanted to kill him. Taichi could also admit that training Hikari to defend herself made him less concerned about Hikari's safety.

The three had ended up training and preparing for the enemy's attack all day until it was time to go to bed.

Taichi should have expected that the enemy would attack that very night as well.

Taichi was very angry at Hikari and Agumon for ditching him the second Koromon had sensed the enemy and evolved. Even though they did not have time to explain themselves, Taichi realized that this was a stupid attempt to try and keep him safe. They wanted to face the threat themselves so that he would not be directly in the enemy's sights. However, Taichi thought they were being ridiculous. All three were supposed to confront the enemy as a team. Their chances of beating their foe were a lot higher if all of them fought together, not apart.

It was moments like this that showed just how annoying Hikari and Agumon's overprotectiveness over him could be. Still, he could not stay mad at them for ditching him. A part of Taichi had to admit that he would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.

Once he was sure that his father was no longer trying to enter their room and both his parents had retired to their bedroom, Taichi hastily left the apartment to track down Hikari and Agumon.

Taichi was tempted to use his powers and teleport to wherever Hikari and Agumon were, but he knew that would be a bad idea. If he used his powers, the enemy would probably sense it, and Taichi would be putting an even larger target on his head. So, he was forced to try and locate Hikari and Agumon the old-fashioned way.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the two were leaving a trail of destruction for Taichi to follow easily.

However, when Taichi saw the giant Digi Egg appear in the sky, he stopped right in his tracks. A big bird Digimon then came out of the egg, and Taichi realized that this was the scout that Agumon had warned him about. As the Digimon swooped down closer to the city, Taichi saw that the Digimon looked like a giant green parrot.

The parrot Digimon was quickly swooping around the city, obviously trying to see if it could find him. Not wanting the Digimon to spot him, Taichi quickly searched for Hikari and Agumon before the enemy did.

Yet unexpectedly, the parrot Digimon flew right by him before turning around to face him. Taichi tried to hide his panic as the Digimon's eyes bore into his, clearly searching for something. Taichi was unsure what he should do. If he ran away, that might confirm to the Digimon that it had found its target. But if he stayed in place, the Digimon could just kill him quicker.

Before Taichi could make up his mind, the Digimon spoke.

"I've found you, Child of Darkness," it proclaimed calmly in a confident tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about," denied Taichi making the Digimon glare at the boy.

"Do not insult my intelligence child," the Digimon warned in an annoyed voice.

Taichi was smart enough not to comment on that. Instead, he decided to ask something safer.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

The Digimon seemed amused by Taichi's inquiry.

"My name is Parrotmon," the Digimon stated before its piercing stare bore into Taichi's eyes.

"And I've been sent to kill you."

Even though Taichi already knew this, the way Parrotmon had said it made Tahichi even more anxious than he already was. There was no doubt in Taichi's mind that Parrotmon would kill him without any hesitation.

Taichi realized that he needed to escape from Parrotmon and fast before the Digimon decided to attack him. Since Parrotmon already knew who he was, Taichi decided to forgo running and settled for teleporting away from the dangerous Digimon.

Hikari was very worried when she saw the big bird come from the sky. Was this the Digimon that wanted to hurt her brother?

"Damn it! It's Parrotmon!" angrily announced Agumon the moment he saw the other Digimon show up.

"Bad Digimon?" Hikari asked Agumon.

"Very bad, he can sense and see auras. If he spots Taichi, he'll know who he is right away," urgently stated explained Agumon.

Hikari frowned when she heard this as concern for her brother grew. However, that same concern fueled her determination to protect her brother no matter what.

"We stop Parrotmon!" vehemently declared Hikari as she tightened her hold on Agumon's back.

"Right!" eagerly agreed Agumon with a nod as he prepared to go after Parrotmon.

But before he could start running, a familiar voice caused him to freeze.

"Not without me, you're not!"

Both turned in the voice's direction to see Taichi looking at them with a firm expression on his face and his arms crossed.

"Onii-chan?" said Hikari, not expecting to see her brother there, though Agumon was quick to show his concern for Taichi.

"Taichi, you shouldn't be out here! If Parrotmon sees you…."

"He already did," immediately interrupted Taichi.

Agumon silently cursed when he heard this while Hikari grew more worried.

"Onii-chan in danger," solemnly stated Hikari.

Taichi's eyes softened as he uncrossed his arms and walked closer to Hikari and Agumon. He then gave both an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, but if we work together, I'm sure we can defeat Parrotmon. So no more running off to try and protect me, alright?" Taichi told them.

Hikari and Agumon looked at each other for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Okay, Onii-chan. We promise not to do that again," Hikari spoke for both of them.

Taichi was relieved to hear that.

"Good, now that we know who we're dealing with, we need to adjust our plans a bit," began Taichi as he started telling Hikari and Agumon his new ideas to defeat Parrotmon.

Taichi could admit that Parrotmon was a brilliant opponent. The bird Digimon had not been caught off guard once by their attacks. The only time Parrotmon had been surprised was when Hikari used her powers to attack the Digimon as well. Taichi had almost rolled his eyes when Parrotmon had started making accusations about him already corrupting the Child of Light. As if Taichi would ever do something like that to his little sister. Parrotmon did not understand that light and darkness needed each other. If one were gone, then the other would suffer, so the light inside of Hikari would do everything to protect the darkness inside him. Them being siblings only made the bond between them even more profound. But he knew explaining that to Parrotmon would be a waste of time, so he focused on the battle more.

Taichi cringed when he saw Agumon get thrown roughly to the ground once again. Yet, the throw could have been much worse if they had still been in the city. Taichi was glad that they had managed to take this fight away from a populated area so they would not have to worry about anyone else getting hurt. He hoped that they could beat Parrotmon before one of them got injured as well. Taichi then watched as Agumon got right back up to attack Parrotmon again.

Things were starting to go wrong for them. Parrotmon kept counting all of his strategies perfectly, and he, Hikari, and Agumon were growing tired. If they did not find a way to defeat Parrotmon soon, it would be all over for them.

Just when Taichi thought they were done for, Agumon evolved into Greymon. With renewed strength from his evolution, Greymon attacked Parrotmon head-on. However, Parrotmon was still a Perfect level Digimon and could handle Greymon's assault just as easily as before.

"Greymon!" frantically shouted Taichi after Greymon had been knocked out by Parrotmon.

Both Taichi and Hikari rushed to Greymon's side and tried to wake him up.

"Come on, Greymon! Get up!" urgently yelled Taichi.

"Greymon, please wake up!" cried Hikari along with her brother.

Parrotmon choose that moment to speak.

"I'll admit, you put up an impressive fight, but this battle is now over. Prepare to die, Child of Darkness!" exclaimed Parrotmon as he prepared to launch his finishing attack.

Seeing the attack building up in Parrotmon's mouth, Taichi knew their time was quickly running out. Looking back at the unconscious Greymon, Taichi realized there was something he could do to help his friend.

Taichi moved closer to Greymon and placed his hands on the Digimon before pouring the last reserves of his power into him. Unfortunately, Greymon still was not waking up, and Taichi felt drained from giving so much power to Greymon. Just when he thought he might pass out, Hikari soon placed her hands on Greymon and started flowing her energy into Greymon too.

"Mjölnir Thunder!" proclaimed Parrotmon as it fired its thunder attack straight at them.

As the attack drew nearer, Taichi and Hikari made one last plea to their fallen friend.

"GREYMON! WAKE UP!" both Taichi and Hikari shouted as loud as they could, pouring the last bit of power they had into Greymon.

Greymon's eyes snapped open as a powerful flaming aura surrounded his body.

"Greymon Perfect Evolution!" roared Greymon as the new evolution occurred.

When Greymon finished evolving, he proudly roared out the name of his new form.

"RizeGreymon!"

The fight was finally over. RizeGreymon had deleted Parrotmon and absorbed his data so there would be no chance of Parrotmon's return. Once the battle was over, RizeGreymon devolved into Koromon, and the three returned to the Yagami apartment.

Taichi and Hikari's room was a mess. The bunk bed had been destroyed when Koromon had evolved into Agumon, and the massive hole in the wall was still there from when Agumon burst through it earlier. However, Taichi, Hikari, and Koromon were too tired to care about the condition of the room. Taichi grabbed their blankets from the floor and led them to the living room.

Taichi knew his parents would probably be furious once they saw the destroyed room, and no doubt they would have questions once they saw Koromon. Yet, all of that could wait until morning.

Taichi, Hikari, and Koromon soon got onto the couch and snuggled together under the blankets before falling asleep.