Me: This is my proposition-I don't own Digimon, nor do I own any song I may use from the Digimon soundtrack. Everyone ok with that? AHH!
Tai: (holds me in a headlock) Listen, and listen carefully-you will bring Sora back soon, or you won't ever get married. Got it?
Me: (gasps) Yes…
Tai: (smirks) Good. (releases me; I drop to the ground)
Me: (groans) The things that boy does for love…
Digimon: The Needs of the Many…
Chapter IV-A Second Chance at Life
The DigiDestined returned to the Real World with heavy hearts. They hadn't defeated Blightmon completely-he'd disappeared completely following the outcome of the final battle. They had succeeded in what they'd needed to do, though. They'd successfully retrieved Azulongmon's Digicore-or, at least, the energy that came from it-and the energy had restored him. The only thing it had cost them was the life of Sora Takenouchi and her partner Biyomon. The last thing Tai needed right now was to get into a fight with Matt-and that's what he was about to get into.
"Why didn't you stop Sora when you saw what she was doing?! I thought you loved her!" Tai looked up at him-Matt had knocked him down with a punch to his back-and tackled him, making sure to punch him once in the face.
"Don't you dare condemn me on loving her! You saw her way before me-why didn't you stop her? You were her first love!"
"Yeah, but almost all she talked about during our time together was you! How, when I saved her from those rocks, Tai could've done it differently? Even when she was with me, she still loved you."
After a few moments of glaring at each other, Tai and Matt got up and dusted themselves off. Realizing that their partners were the only ones who were waiting, they smiled at each other, shook hands and turned to leave.
"Matt!"
Turning around, Matt noticed that Tai was smiling still, despite the tears that were glistening in his eyes.
"The one thing we had-have-in common is this: She loves us both. She never told me, but I knew that she had a place in her heart for you."
"True-but even though she opened her heart to me, she always loved you-no matter what anyone says."
"This is something I never could have calculated. Sora sacrificing herself for us? Why would she do that?" Izzy asked in amazement.
"She cared about all of us-but she loved Tai with all her heart. You can't stop true love. You can only delay it for a while." Kari explained sadly.
"She's got a point there." Ken muttered.
"What happened to her Crest?" T.K. asked grimly.
"Didn't you see it, T.S.? It appeared around Tai's neck next to his own Crest." Davis said.
"So, what are we going to do without Sora around?" Yolei questioned.
"We need someone to patrol the Digital World while the rest of us grieve for our loss. I've got someone in mind." Izzy spoke up.
Mimi nodded in agreement as she looked behind her, in the distance. "I think I may know someone. I just hope he's able to come in such short notice."
Tai grimaced with sadness as he came to the Takenouchi residence, Agumon by his side.
"What's wrong, Tai?"
Struggling to hold back his tears, Tai didn't try to even put up a front. "How can I go in there and tell Sora's mother that she died while trying to protect me? What will she do to me when she finds out?"
Knowing that he'd have to face her sooner or later, Tai rang the doorbell. A tiny part of him was hoping that Sora would answer the door, but he knew that wouldn't happen.
A moment later, Ms. Takenouchi answered him, with her eyes reddened. Tai took a stab in the dark that she knew about Sora's death.
"Tell me, Tai…is she gone? Did she die in that other world?" Tai shook with pain and he couldn't stop his tears from flowing.
"Yes…she died while protecting me. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop her, or at least protect her for you." Tai started crying and Sora's grief-stricken mother pulled him into a hug.
"It wasn't your fault. You weren't able to stop her. No one can stop her from doing something-not even me." Tai laughed a bit as he recalled Sora's stubborn streak.
"She was just like me. Determined, stubborn to a fault and ready to handle anything that came her way." Tai thought to himself. A small smile crept up to his face.
"Maybe we can honor her, in a way. I know exactly what I can do. I can get rid of the Digimon that killed her and Biyomon." Agumon noted calmly.
Things are starting to accelerate into something, never stopping, always trouble following
It's getting too insane; I'm trying to maintain
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…
Chorus: You runaround, I runaround, we're all gonna run, run, runaround
You runaround, I runaround, we all do a run, run, runaround
Michael, one of the DigiDestined from America found himself and Betamon teamed up with Willis, another DigiDestined from America and his partner Terriermon in the Digital World.
"I think Izzy told me a little bit about you. Didn't you have a second partner?" Michael asked calmly.
"Huh? Oh, you mean Kokomon? He chose to stay behind and keep my family occupied while I'm gone."
"That's good. So, what are we going to do while we're here?" Willis took a moment to respond.
"We're supposed to be patrolling the area, looking for a Digimon that goes by the name of Blightmon. And I think we just ran into him." Ahead of them, a few meters away from them was Primary Village, the place in the Digital World where Digimon were reborn. As was Blightmon, with an evil grin on his face.
"They think I don't know what happened to their friend. Believe me, I know. I know this place like I know the back of my hand. I know she-excuse me, they-will be reborn here. All I've got to do is torch the place before it happens."
"Who is he talking about?" Terriermon asked questioningly.
"Probably Biyomon. All Digimon are reconfigured here at Primary Village if they're defeated in battle in the DigiWorld. I think he means to stop Biyomon's rebirth. We've got to stop him!" Michael whispered angrily.
"How? He's a Mega Digimon and my Digimon can only Digivolve as high as Champion!" Willis insisted.
"Not mine. Stop right there! Go for it, Betamon!" Michael demanded.
"Betamon Warp-Digivolve to…METALSEADRAMON!!!"
"Terriermon Digivolve to…GARGOMON!!!"
Blightmon turned and smirked as a Champion and a Mega Digimon appeared before him, alongside Michael and Willis.
"The second string. What, the others didn't have the guts to face me in response to their friend's death?" Blightmon gloated evilly.
"Gargo Pellets!!" Gargomon yelled out.
"River of Power!!"
MetalSeadramon's attack actually caused Blightmon some damage, but it wasn't enough.
"Now, it's my turn. Here's a taste of what I gave the Child of Love. Hell's Fury!!"
Blightmon's attack not only hit MetalSeadramon and Gargomon-which forced them to return to their Rookie forms-but it also hit Michael and Willis, sending them across over half of Primary Village!
"That really…hurt!" Willis groaned as he forced himself up.
The response he got wasn't one he'd been expecting. A girlish giggle was heard.
Gaping in shock, Michael, Willis, Terriermon and Betamon all turned and saw a little girl about the age of 7 with reddish hair and crimson eyes, standing next to a pinkish egg!
"Who…are you, and what are you doing here?" Michael sputtered out. Almost immediately, the girl started crying, picked up the egg and protectively wrapped it up in her arms.
"I'm looking for my best friend. His name is Taichi, but I like calling him Tai. (sniff; hiccup) Have you seen him?"
Izzy jolted up from his seat and looked at his laptop, which informed him that he was receiving an email from Michael. After reading it, he gasped in amazement.
"What's wrong, Izzy? What's going on?" Yolei asked as the other DigiDestined came running in.
"I just got an email from Michael. He and Willis battled Blightmon, but they were beaten while protecting Primary Village. They were sent to another part of the village, but they found a little girl standing next to a pink egg. It's Sora! She's…back."
