Author: Wow. The third chapter already. I'm amazed how quickly this story's been coming to me. But I have very little planned after about the fifth chapter. Kinda worried 'bout that. Well, it's time for me to reveal what I crossed my story with. And… it's Digimon! Yea!!!! One of my reviewers actually guessed it. Congrats, adb!! And a HUGE thanks to Princess of the Fae for her incredible review! This chapter is in the first season, right after Myotismon is defeated and the Digital World appears in the sky. That's enough of my babbling for now.

Disclaimer: I'm too damn lazy to think up characters like those in my story.

"Well, it looks like we're back in the Digital World." Tai observed.

"Wow. So this is it? It almost seems normal," said Kari.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Izzy quoted. "But where in the Digital World are we?" Everyone looked around them, trying to find some sort of landmark.

"Hey, isn't that Gennai's house?" asked Joe.

"Yeah. I guess it is. We'd better go tell him we're back," reasoned Matt.

"Then why are we still standing here? Let's go!" called Tai as he started towards the building. The rest of the DigiDestined and their Digimon followed closely behind.

To their surprise, Gennai was waiting for them. With him was another kid! Gennai smiled at the disbelieving looks on their faces. "Welcome back, DigiDestined," he greeted. "I'd like you to meet Serena. She'll be joining your team"

"Hi, everyone," Serena said.

"Oh! So you're another DigiDestined?" asked T.K.

"Well I, um, not exactly…" she muttered, looking to Gennai for assistance. He simply laughed at Serena's discomfort. "I don't this is funny, Gennai!"

"I apologize. I suppose I should explain to the others," Gennai said, stifling another chuckle when Serena glared at him. "Well, DigiDestined, Serena is not really one of you. She does not have a Digivice or a Digimon partner. However, Serena does have certain… abilities and quite a bit of experience. I trust you will all welcome her into your group." Gennai looked around him. He was met by slightly confused, but agreeing gazes.

Kari stepped forward and took Serena's hand. "It's alright. We'll be your friends!" For a moment, Kari thought she saw… fear? in the eyes of the older girl. But Serena smiled down at her and nodded.

"Thank you."

With a start, Tai realized that Serena didn't even know their names. He stepped forward and smiled at her. "My name's Tai! That's Agumon, he's my Digimon." Tai then introduced the rest of the group and said a little something about each person. He'd comment on what they liked or were good at. Then he turned back to Serena. "Could ya tell us about yourself? Cause all we know about you is your name."

Serena's eyes flashed. "I don't want to talk at all about me or my past. Got it?!" Seeing the shock and hurt in their eyes, she continued. "Look. I'm not trying to be rude or anything. I just don't want to think about that stuff. Okay? I haven't exactly had an easy life."

The others nodded in agreement. "Sorry 'bout that," Sora said. "We won't bring it up again."

Serena smiled at her. "Thank you, for understanding."

"What I don't understand," said Mimi, "is why OUR school couldn't have had such cute uniforms!"

"Oh, well." Serena looked down at her blue and white outfit. "I honestly never realized how cute they are until you mentioned it. Remind me to go shopping with you some day."

This brought on quite a few giggles from everyone. But Gennai snapped them back to reality. He explained about the Dark Masters and what they were up to.

"Reminds me of the four Generals," Serena muttered. "They'll come one after another."

"What was that?" asked Izzy.

"Oh, um, nothing," Serena lied. She could tell Izzy didn't believe her, but there was no-way she was going to explain about the Generals. Just thinking of the Negaverse made her shiver.

Tai took charge. "Well, we better get out there and stop them before they make things even worse!" The reply was a chorus of cheers from the kids and Digimon around him.

Serena turned back to Gennai. "Thank you for all your help," she smiled. "Please, tell Trista that I'm alright."

"I will. And good luck everyone!" Gennai called, as he headed back towards his house. The DigiDestined and their new friend walked into the forest. They had an enemy to defeat.

*** Two Days Later***

Night had fallen. Children and their Digimon sat around a campfire in the woods. Serena stood and addressed the group, "I'm gonna go down by the river."

"Just be careful," Tai said as he looked up.

Serena smiled at his concern. "Don't worry. I'll be very careful," she assured. The others watched her as she left, but once Serena was out of sight, Sora spoke.

"I wonder what's up with her? I mean, Serena's real nice, but she seems so… distant at times. And she spends so much time by herself."

"Yeah," said TK. "I asked her to tell me about her friends, and I thought she was gonna cry!"

"I guess Serena just needs to think about some stuff," Joe thought aloud. "She is a nice person but at times it's like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders."

"I think it's sad!" Mimi exclaimed.

Sora sighed as she stared at the stars. "True. But all we can do is be here for her if she needs us." Everyone muttered their agreement. Several minutes later, Serena returned to the campsite. There was a round of 'good-nights' before the group fell into a deep sleep…

Author: There. That's the end of the third chapter. The forth will be posted after an additional 7 reviews (minimum). The next chapter or two will be full of surprises. Well, pleez review and I'll see ya'll L8R!!!!