Remembrance

Chapter 1

By Time Lady

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Disclaimer: Digimon is owned by Toei, not me.

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Author's note: The events of this story would take place at the end of the events of episode 50, but replace the original epilogue. In essence, this is an alternate future story. Only the DigiDestined have digivices and Digimon partners, not everyone in the world.

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When I want to be alone to think, I often come up here. From the shrine's roof, I can see far across the land. Down the side of the mountain, some humans and some Gotsumon are planting the fields. A Monzaemon helps some other humans fix the roof on a building. Closer to the shrine, Digitamamon is catering to a picnic of some human children and baby Digimon.

I've been told that twenty-three years ago, eight years before I was born, the human world and the Digital World were two separate entities. It's hard to imagine what that might have been like. For me, the world has always had humans and Digimon side by side.

Every child born since the rebirth of the world has been told the story in detail. Everyone close to me has made sure that I know the story, perhaps because my parents were a part of all of the events that make up our world's history.

---

According to the chronicles, the worst of the worst banded together: Belial Vamdemon, Apocolymon, Armagemon, and thousands of virus Digimon. Not all virus Digimon sided with the true evil though. Despite being virus Digimon, they realized when their own world was threatened.

One thing stood in the path of darkness. From Earth came the DigiDestined and their partner Digimon, led by 12 humans from Japan and their partners. These 12 were considered the most powerful, as 10 of their number were able to reach Mega levels, two easily were able to reach Ultimate. DigiDestined from all over the Earth provided support by fighting the legions of darkness. The Japanese DigiDestined faced the three leaders.

As I've been told, the battles were awesome. Over 200 DigiDestined and their partners entered the battle. Four pairs survived. They rushed to the ultimate conflict to provide support. They were still a distance away, but could see as the Japanese DigiDestined and their Digimon fell one by one. By the time they arrived, Armagemon, the last of the dark leaders alive, was facing MagnaAngemon and Angewomon. Only one of the Japanese DigiDestined still stood. Hikari Yagami watched as the two angels fought. Before the reinforcements could join the battle, Armagemon struck Angewomon a fatal blow.

"ANGEWOMON NOOOOO!!!!!!!" shrieked Hikari as she watched her companion and partner dissipate into a burst of data.

"Meramon, you must help MagnaAngemon!" called Mina. The young woman from India's red sari was torn along the bottom. She rushed to Hikari's side.

"You too Seadramon!" ordered Michael. Dirt and soot streaked his ripped jeans and T-shirt. The humans joined Hikari as their Digimon entered the battle. "Hikari, can't MagnaAngemon digivolve to Seraphmon?" he asked.

"He could if. . . if. . . Takeru. . . ." Their eyes followed Hikari's stare. Takeru's body lay crumpled on the ground. "Takeru. . . and Iori. . . and Daisuke. . . and Sora. . ." stammered Hikari as she forced back her sobs. "I'm the only one. . . TAICHI!!!! TAKERU!!!! ANGEWOMON!!!!" As Hikari screamed, her body began to glow with a strange pink light. Energy flowed through her as it had only twice before. The pink light grew until it cut through the darkness, forcing the other DigiDestined to shield their eyes.

"What is that light?" bellowed Armagemon, who appeared to be in pain from the glow. The evil Digimon turned towards Hikari. "BLACK RAIN!"

"HIKARI NO!" exclaimed MagnaAngemon.

Darkness faced light. Hikari's rose-colored light counteracted the dark attack. The other DigiDestined breathed a sigh of relief as Hikari's light strengthened and expanded, creating a dome of pink light surrounding them protectively.

"This ends now!" gritted out MagnaAngemon "Heaven's Gate!" The angelic warrior traced a circle with his sword. Within the golden circle, a golden gate slid open. "Everyone together!"

"Ice Arrow!"

"Burning Fist!"

"Variable Darts!"

"Volcanic Strike!"

"Excalibur!"

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!" exclaimed Armagemon as the attacks pushed him towards the gate.

"You have caused enough pain!" shouted Hikari tearfully. "You have destroyed two worlds! You have destroyed the people closest to me! THIS MUST END!" At Hikari's final statement, a bolt of pink light exploded towards Armagemon, fusing together the attacks of the other Digimon into one massive wave of power. Even a mega of Armagemon's power could not stand up to the combined assault. Armagemon's shrieks echoed across the world as the Heaven's Gate closed around him.

Exhausted, Hikari would have collapsed to the ground if Derek and Michael hadn't caught her. "It is over," said Rosa, the youngest DigiDestined remaining. Tears ran down her cheek. The Digimon devolved, with the exception of MagnaAngemon.

Something coursed through the angel's body, refusing to allow him to return to Patamon, or even to Angemon. All of his comrades, those he had fought along side for years, were gone. A tear appeared from beneath his helmet as he knelt beside the body of Takeru. "I failed you Takeru," whispered the angel. "I couldn't protect you. I should have been the one destroyed, not you, and not Angewomon." His tears flowed freely. "Angewomon," he whispered to her shade, "I shall honor the pact we made before the battle. I shall protect Hikari with my life. Were the positions reversed, I know you would do the same for Takeru."

Hikari cried. No one expected more. The girl had lost her brother, two boys she cared for deeply, eight of her best friends, and the Digimon she had been partnered with since she was eight years old. Mina and Rosa stayed close to her. Michael and Derek gathered the exhausted Digimon together.

MagnaAngemon composed himself. Hikari would be hurting enough as is. There was no need to worry her further with his own upset. The boys met him as he approached the remaining humans. "Are they all. . . ." Michael swallowed hard. He couldn't bring himself to finish the question.

"All of them," replied MagnaAngemon. "None of them survived." The warrior angel couldn't hide the tremor in his voice. "I should tell Hikari."

"I think she knows already," said Derek.

"MIRA!" shouted Rosa. "Look! The sun!"

The sun appeared for the first time in days. None of them expected to ever see the sun again. With the sun came a man in a brown robe. "Hogan?" asked Derek as the man pulled back his hood.

"No. I am Gennai. The original." Sadly Gennai surveyed the results of the battle. "In all the previous battles, never has it taken such a toll on life." He lowered his head respectfully.

"Gennai," said Hikari as the tears rolled down her cheeks, "can we go home?"

Gennai remained silent. "There's something you're not telling us," said Michael, staring at Gennai levelly.

"Yes," said Mina as she stood. "The three dark lords have been destroyed, their forces defeated. We should be able to return to our world."

"I think everyone should sit down before I say anything further." With that simple statement, everyone knew something was drastically wrong. Everyone sat down on the scorched ground, save MagnaAngemon. He moved to stand behind Hikari. "There is no easy way to say this, so I will just spit it out. As a result of the forces the three dark lords manipulated, there seems to be no longer any 'human world' or 'Digital World.' From our analysis, small chunks of the Digital World have disappeared, replaced by pieces of the human world."

"What?" said Mina. "You can't be serious."

"That's impossible," said Derek.

"We don't know exactly what happened," said Gennai, holding up his hands defensively. "We have tried opening digiports and failed. However, we have found thousands of humans suddenly in this world, along with remains of cities that never were on the Digital World. Conversely, some towns of the Digital World have completely disappeared. There may be as many as a million humans here now. No one is sure of any numbers. Benjamin, Jackie, Hogan, Ilya, and Jose are trying to assess the entire situation."

"Oh man," said Michael. "So the Earth is destroyed? All our families and friends are gone?"

"Like I said, we don't know," said Gennai. "We don't think that either world was destroyed. Think of it as two puzzles. Different pictures, but all of the pieces are cut in the same shapes. The pieces are mixed up, but when you put the puzzles together, each makes a complete puzzle. Some of the pieces are wrong, even though they fit. It may be weeks, even months, before we have an inkling of what has happened."

"So our world is out there, but with pieces of the Digital World mixed in," paraphrased Mina.

"Essentially," agreed Gennai. "But in this case, after the two puzzles were put back in the boxes, each box was dipped into melted plastic and allowed to harden into an impermeable shell. Until we find a way to punch a hole in the shell, the two worlds are cut off."

"We'll never see our families again?" asked Rosa, her lower lip quivering.

"Not anytime soon." Gennai saw tears rolling down Rosa's cheek. "That doesn't mean never. We'll do all we can to find a way through the barrier."

"Look on the bright side," said Derek. "Your family may be among those who are now on the Digital World."

"So what do we do in the meanwhile?" asked Michael.

"We honor those we have lost and put their spirits to rest," said Mina as she rose to her feet.

---

According to the stories I was told, the surviving DigiDestined and their Digimon gathered wood and built a funeral pyre. They gathered the bodies of Taichi Yagami, Sora Takenouchi, Ken Ichijouji, Daisuke Motomiya, Iori Hida, Yamato Ishida, Takeru Takaishi, Mimi Tachikawa, and Miyako Inoue and laid them upon the makeshift bier. The other DigiDestined who had fallen in battle had been lost upon the battlefields. Mina's Candmon, the rookie form of Meramon, lit the pyre.

Each of the survivors said a prayer in their own way. Silently they remembered their friends who were lost as well. Once the fire died down and cooled, the ashes were gathered into one container. The Digimon, once rested, helped their partners build a simple stone structure. The ashes were sealed within and the names of those buried there inscribed upon the outside.

Years later a proper tomb was built to surround the makeshift one. Every year, upon the anniversary of the final battle, humans and Digimon make a pilgrimage to the site. I visit every year to lay a wreath in honor of those who fell that day.

After the makeshift funeral, five humans and five Digimon followed Gennai to a place of shelter, where they rested, recovered, and continued to privately mourn as the full realization of the previous events sank in. Mina was extremely distraught at the wasted lives snuffed out years before their time. Michael, who had lost several friends, tried to take things in stride, as difficult as it was. Derek didn't know as many of the other DigiDestined as Michael, Mina, and Hikari. He spent most of the time helping Gotsumon comfort Rosa. The youngest surviving DigiDestined was hysterical at the idea of never seeing her mother and father again. Hikari felt the loss of the other DigiDestined most acutely. Her brother was dead. Takeru and Daisuke, two boys about whom she cared deeply were gone. People who were like her extended family were no longer alive. Angewomon, her protector and confidant, would never be by her side again.

The Digimon tried to be sympathetic to their partners' feelings. It was difficult, as death for Digimon was completely different. Their fellow Digimon would be reconfigured and reborn in Primary Village. Only Magna Angemon didn't share their views. He and Angewomon shared a special bond, different than any of the other Digimon had with their comrades. Even that bond paled to the bond with Takeru. While there was the hope that Angewomon would be configured, Takeru was lost to him forever.

Gennai and his assistants, with the help of other Digimon, began to round up the displaced humans. All told, there were less than a hundred thousand humans currently on the world, far less than their original estimates. The world now had a hundred thousand confused humans in need of some sort of organization. Gennai couldn't allow the DigiDestined to lose themselves in their losses. The whole world still needed them.

---

"I know your time for mourning was not long enough," said Gennai. "But there are humans out there who need help. _Your_ help."

"Why does it always have to be us?" asked Hikari. Her red, puffy eyes showed that she had been crying again.

"Aren't there Digimon out there capable of helping?" asked MagnaAngemon. "You are asking a lot out of these five humans."

"Because there are a hundred thousand humans, many of whom are panicking at the sight of Digimon," said Gennai. "They need to see that humans and Digimon can work in harmony as partners."

"What kind of example will I be?" returned Hikari. "My partner is dead."

"Hikari, you still have MagnaAngemon, who is also in need of a partner," said Gennai patiently. "You have both worked together. Remember, where there is light, there is hope." A tear rolled down Hikari's cheek. Gennai knew that what all of the remaining DigiDestined needed was to keep busy, otherwise they would lose themselves within their sorrows. "While we still have light and hope represented, the rest of you must symbolically take up one of the attributes that the other Japanese DigiDestined represented." Before Hikari or MagnaAngemon could protest, Gennai withdrew a leather case from his robes and opened it. "Each of these discs has two symbols, one on the front, and one on the back. Or it will after you receive it."

Suddenly, the discs rose into the air and floated in an increasingly rapid circle. Then the discs separated and flew to each of the DigiDestined. The humans looked at the symbols of their discs. Mina found the symbol of Courage engraved on one side of her disc, Love on the other. Rosa's disc had the symbols for Friendship and Perseverance. Michael discovered the symbols for Reliability and Kindness, while Derek found the symbols for Knowledge and Sincerity. Hikari wasn't surprised to find she had received the combined symbols of hope and light, but unlike the others, the two symbols were on one side.

"Turn your disc over Hikari," said Gennai. Hikari complied. A third symbol was engraved on the opposite side of the disc. "The symbol of peace, which will unite you and MagnaAngemon. Look at your Digivices." All of the DigiDestined pulled their Digivices out of pockets, or from where they were pinned. Mina, Derek, Rosa, and Michael found their older Digivices were now D-3s. Hikari's D-3, which had been white with pink edging, was now pink with green edging. She looked back and forth between her D-3 and the disc. "Before the symbol of peace can fully be activated, it must be charged by your light."

"My light?" asked Hikari.

"Hikari," said Derek, "have you ever done that light trick before? The one back in the battle?"

Hikari looked thoughtful. "Only twice that I can remember. Once when I was eight. I had been ill. A War Monzaemon had enslaved hundreds of Numemon. The second time was when I was about 12. I had been pulled into some strange dimension. I used the light energy to remove dark spirals from a group of Scubamon."

"Did any of the other of your group ever display this kind of ability?" continued Derek.

"Not that I know of, at least in the time I was with them. There was a time when I wasn't with the group though," explained Hikari.

"None of the other DigiDestined I knew ever displayed any sort of ability as Hikari has," interjected MagnaAngemon.

"You are unique among the DigiDestined," stated Mina. "None of the DigiDestined from around the world with whom I have communicated has ever mentioned anything such as you have."

"Then my guess is you would need to somehow use that gift of yours on your disc," surmised Derek.

"I don't know if I can," said Hikari softly.

"You will not know until you try," said Mina.

"What do you want me to do?" Hikari asked in a small voice. MagnaAngemon put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Just hold the disc and concentrate," explained Gennai.

MagnaAngemon's hand remained upon her shoulder as she clasped the disc to her chest. She closed her eyes. The only times she had used this energy before the last time was to free the imprisoned. To bring light to the downtrodden. The light of hope. The light of peace.

"The light!" exclaimed Rosa. "Que bonita!"

"Amazing," said Michael as he watched the pink glow again envelop Hikari. Then the glow spread, slowly engulfing MagnaAngemon.

The angelic warrior felt the warmth begin to flow through his body. He watched as the pink light covered his hand. Part of his mind warned against continuing the contact, but another part resisted the urge to pull away. MagnaAngemon had been a being of war, a battle angel created to fight the forces of darkness. Now the dark forces were banished. There was no need for swords or armor. The light of peace flowed through him, flooding his entire essence.

"Is this supposed to be happening?" Derek asked.

"Don't look at me," said Betamon, who stood next to him.

"This isn't like any digivolution I have seen," said Meramon. He preferred to digivolve to his champion form while Betamon, Gotsumon, and Ganimon were more comfortable as rookies. "But something is happening."

Hikari sensed her light engulfing MagnaAngemon. In her head she felt a pulsing, heard a pounding in her ears. Her own heart began to beat in synch with the pulsing. Dimly she was aware of a fine connection forming between her and MagnaAngemon. The outside world didn't exist.

"Isn't there something we can do?" asked Mina. For several long minutes she watched as the DigiDestined of light and the Digimon of hope remained as still as two statues suffused in the pink glow.

"Nothing," said Gennai. "It is essential that Hikari and MagnaAngemon form some sort of connection. Each DigiDestined is connected to some sort of degree with their partner. Hikari lost Angewomon, and MagnaAngemon lost Takeru. They are forming new connections, binding one to the other. This is why there are three symbols on Hikari's disc. Hikari is light. MagnaAngemon is hope. Together they will help bring peace."

"But Hikari doesn't look well," returned Mina. "And MagnaAngemon appears to be in pain."

"We can not interrupt," said Gennai. "Not until it is over."

MagnaAngemon grimaced. The warmth became fire in his veins. He felt Hikari's pulse matching his beat for beat. Deep within him, the burning and the pulse reached a crescendo.

Abruptly Hikari collapsed to the ground. The others rushed to her, but were stopped as the luminescence surrounding MagnaAngemon turned into a raging pink fire. The DigiDestined were forced to shade their eyes.

"MagnaAngemon mode change to Holy Angemon!"

When the light at last dimmed enough for the others to look, a transformed angel stood before them. The eight small wings were now two large, full wings. Gone were the sword and heavy armor, the only reminder the visor of the helmet, now white instead of purple. A pure white tabard almost swept the ground. A golden belt emblazoned with the symbol of peace cinched the tabard at his waist. The angel's arms were bare, save finger-less white gloves that came midway up to his elbow. White drapings covered his chest and shoulders, ending behind him in the appearance of a long split cape surrounding his wings. His blonde hair reached down to his waist. White leggings ended in a feather-like fringe over his white boots.

"Holy Angemon," said Michael in an awed voice as the angel knelt and gently lifted Hikari.

"Dios mio! Que guapo!" exclaimed Rosa. "He is muy handsome."

"All right, enough gawking," said Michael. "Come on. We have a job to do."


-to be continued-

Author's notes: I've had the idea for doing a story like this for quite a while. For some reason, it just wouldn't totally click. Then I saw this picture: http://www.LELOLA.com/digimon/manga/page27.JPG. This image from the V-Tamers manga becomes "Holy Angemon." As you can see, this version of Holy Angemon seems much more peaceful and is in fact treated as something of a priest. When you read the rest of the story, you'll understand why I made the distinction.

The whole idea fit into place and the story just demanded to be written. It took me about 2-3 weeks to write it.

A couple of people have asked me why, if I used the Japanese names for all the other characters, did I use the American names for Rosa and Derek. Usually I like the Japanese names better. In this case, I'm making an exception. I'm not that fond of the names "Chichos" and "Dingo".

If you get a chance, stop by my forum at: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?fanaction=userforum&RoomID=1686 . I post story status times there now.

Thanks to Susan, Renegade, Canopy4, donJaime, Beth, Jack, Ryuuoojo, and Gothic Zephyr for beta reading.