"Hurry, this way

(A single encounter can change an entire lifetime in one instant. From those who believe in love at first sight, to the simple, shy greetings exchanged by young classmates, to the unfortunates whose paths happen to cross with murderers and thieves, all of them can know that it takes only a moment to turn ones path from its current destination towards another. Whether this new fate is more or less desirable depends on the encounter itself, changing with each situation. It only takes a second to fall in love, to make a new acquaintance, to find a true friend in a total stranger.)

(It also can take a mere second to die. It all depends on luck, on fate, on whatever you want to blame it on. Whatever the cause, it still does not change the fact that everything can change in an instant.)

(And all the trigger that this change may need could be found in any person, anywhere in the world.)

"Hurry, this way!" Taichi called, waving at the small group of children. So far, he and Yamato had managed to sneak unnoticed into one of Myotismon's 'prisons', an otherwise normal building which the evil digimon had converted into a holding place for his victims, and they were currently in the process of leading some of those hostages to safety. Agumon and Gabumon were in their respective Champion forms, Greymon and Garurumon, and several of the kids were staring warily at the digital monsters, having some difficulty in deciding whether or not to trust them. However, the presence of two kids like them, and Taichi and Yamato's constant insisting that these digimon were the good guys, had won the desperate children over. At any rate, it was not like they had much choice; to survive, they had to trust these two boys and their partners with their lives.

"Um…Tai? Little help, here?"

Taichi turned around to see that one of the children they were saving, a ten-year-old girl with cinnamon hair frizzier than Koushirou's, was clinging to the sweating blonde boy's leg. She sobbed uncontrollably, her entire body shaking, and her fingers dug into Yamato's clothes with a death grip.

"Oh-it's-been-terrible-Thank-you-so-much-for-saving-me-but-where's-my-mommy-and-daddy-I-want-Mommy-and-Daddy-and-my-little-brother-They-took-my-little-bro-bro-broth-brother…"

"Calm down, calm down," Taichi soothed, while trying unsuccessfully to pry the terrified girl's fingers off of Yamato's shirt. "What's your name?" he asked, hoping to distract her. The girl looked up at him, her wide brown eyes filled with tears. For some reason, this reminded the bearer of Courage of Mimi, even though this panicking child bore no resemblance to his friend.

"J-Jun…" she managed, sniffling heavily. "They-they took my bro-brother…They took my brother away, 'cause he tried to fight…he fought them for my sake…"

"What's your brother's name?" Yamato asked.

"D-Dai…"

"What?" Taichi asked, turning to look at the sobbing girl. "Did you just say Tai?"

"N-no…Dai's a nickname for my li-little brother, Daisu-suke…" As she said this, the girl gave a convulsive shudder and tightened her grip on Yamato's shirt even more. The blonde boy sweated, but his dark blue eyes became a bit more sympathetic when he heard her words. He understood what it was like to be worried for a younger sibling.

"Okay, don't worry, we're going to rescue everyone, including your little brother," he told her, at the same time attempting to pry her off of him. The girl gasped, and raised a tear-streaked face to stare wonderingly into his eyes.

"You…you really mean it?" she asked, a shaky smile coming to her dirty, tear-streaked face. Yamato managed a confident grin in return, although privately he was beginning to wonder if his shirt would ever be the same after getting this girl's clammy fingers off of it. IF she ever let go.

"We need to get moving," Taichi said, giving the girl's arm a tug in one last attempt to make her let go of Yamato. Surprisingly, she did, and as the blonde boy frantically tried to smooth out his horribly wrinkled shirt, a sweatdropping Taichi distracted Jun by helping her onto Garurumon's back. She seemed to like the wolf digimon; at any rate, she didn't appear to be as intimidated by him as she was by Greymon's presence. Taichi smiled at her, winked knowingly at Yamato, who wasn't exactly happy to see her perched on his Champion's back, and turned to help another child.

And then the world seemed to explode as the building they were behind was abruptly blown apart by a ball of fire, striking the structure hard and fast and turning it into so many tiny pieces of flying steel and ash. As startled screams and shrieks tore through Taichi's ears, the boy whipped around wildly, looking for the cause. His widened bronze eyes soon spotted the problem, and as he stared at the hulking DarkTyrannomon that was rapidly coming toward them, he heard Yamato quietly whisper something that seemed to sum up the entire situation perfectly.

"Ah kuso…"

* * *

Hikari's sudden gasp all but made Sora jump to her feet from shock; the slight sound was nearly deafening after hours of near silence, with the only noise being the clicking of Koushirou's fingers tracing paths across his laptop's keys.

"Kari!" she gasped, startled; the younger girl was staring with wide chestnut eyes into the empty space before her, seeing nothing and yet something, if one could tell by the horrified expression on her face.

"Tai…Taichi!" the younger girl murmured, trembling. Then, those frightened tan eyes winced shut, and as Sora, Koushirou, Biyomon and Tentomon gaped at her in stunned horror she screamed, "TAI LOOK OUT!"

* * *

Wallace nearly leaped a foot into the air, an impressive distance considering that the young American boy was sitting cross-legged on the cold concrete floor. In his arms, his twin digimon shuddered, and all three raised wide eyes to the ceiling.

"Wha…what the heck was that?" Kokomon demanded in a quivering voice, pressing a little closer to Gummimon's side. Armadillomon did not answer, and the animal digimon glared up suspiciously, his squat body tensing.

"I don't know…" he murmured at length, then he suddenly stood and moved toward a set of metal stairs, adding, "But I'm going to find out!"

As he began to carefully make his way up the steep steps, Wallace leapt to his feet and scrambled after him, whispering, "Hey, wait, wait for me!"

* * *

"Run, run, run, run, RUN!" Taichi panted. Okay, so it was a rather strange thing to hear the bearer of Courage say, but when you're being chased by a horde of very pissed-off Bakemon, not to mention one very big and very mean DarkTyrannomon, one tends not to worry about sounding brave. To make matters worse, Garurumon and Greymon were obviously beginning to tire from running so fast, and Taichi sensed that it was only a matter of time before they reverted back to their weaker forms.

On Garurumon's back, Yamato dug his finger's into the lupine's thick blue fur and gritted his teeth, both with suppressed rage and the fact that Jun had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, nearly choking the breath out of him. Of course, he could hardly blame her…the poor girl was scared out of her mind, just like him, although he would never admit it aloud. Other than a handful of kids that were clinging to Greymon's back, plus Taichi, he and she were the only ones who had gotten away safely from the destroyed building.

…And what happened to those other kids? Did they get away too? Or did they get caught in the explosion? Ah, kuso, I don't want to think about that. I don't want to think of those kids as being…

"Eek! Matt-sama!" Jun's voice shrieked in his ear.

…Matt-sama? Oh well, at least she's not calling me Matt-kun or Matt-chan…

"MATT-SAMA!"

Yamato finally looked up and saw why the frizzy-haired girl was being so loud: a huge insectoid digimon was sweeping toward them at top speed, his sickle-like arms lancing toward their mostly unprotected bodies.

…Kuso, kuso, KU-SOOOOO!

Garurumon dodged sharply to one side, and Jun screeched in Yamato's ear again as the force of Snimon's blade passing inches over their heads nearly knocked them off balance. Through narrowed eyes, he saw Taichi and Greymon glance back and hesitate briefly, as if debating whether or not to run back and try to help them out, and he swore inwardly.

"Don't worry about us!" he yelled, ignoring Jun's horrified gasp at his words. "Just get those kids to safety! GO!"

Taichi hesitated, then nodded sharply, and he and Greymon dashed off at top speed, leaving the bearer of Friendship and his partner alone to face the insect digimon by themselves. Gritting his teeth, ignoring the sweat that trickled down his face and matted his already crinkled shirt, trying to ignore how tightly Jun was squeezing his body, Yamato narrowed his flashing blue eyes directly at Snimon and muttered under his breath, "Bring it on…"

* * *

Violet-blue eyes snapped violently open, and the young boy quickly stifled a gasp of surprise. He did not remember falling asleep, and yet he must have, for the sun had changed its position in the darkening sky. Shivering, not so much out of being cold as for fear, Ken struggled to his feet, a difficult task since one of his legs had fallen asleep in an awkward position. As he attempted to rise, a strange noise came to his ears, and he froze.

Voices. Getting closer to where he was.

Fighting back the wave of terror that threatened to engulf him, he fell back farther into the all-concealing shadows, trying to think. He had to get out of this. He couldn't get caught here, not after Osamu had…died, he had to face it, Osamu had died to save him. He couldn't let that sacrifice be in vain!

The voices got closer; Ken pressed himself into a corner of the darkened alleyway, trying to make himself as small as possible so he wouldn't be spotted. One side of the pillowcase parcel fell open, and the wide-eyed creature within tumbled out. Looking up at the boy with worry, the baby digimon then attempted to place himself between Ken and the alleyway, much to the boy's shock.

"Leafmon, get back here!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"No, Ken!" Leafmon whispered back, shaking his head/body so violently that the small leaf over his eyes trembled. "I'm supposed to protect you, that's what a digimon does! I won't let anyone hurt you, don't worry!"

Somehow, this promise did not reassure Ken at all, but since Leafmon refused to back down, he grudgingly let him be, his mind racing to find a way out of this for both of them. The voices drew nearer and nearer, and the boy glared out of his hiding place, waiting to see what was coming.

Then a small group rounded the corner, and Ken inhaled sharply. This was not the pursuit patrol he had been expecting; this was just a pair of kids and a trio of digimon. The digimon looked nothing like the ones he had been running from; they were a lot smaller, for one thing, and two of them, a white seal-like creature with frizzy red hair and what looked uncannily like a flying orange pig with bat wings for ears, seemed even friendly. He wasn't so certain about the third one, though, with his tattered blue cloak and wizard's hat, but none of them gave him the same bad feeling that the ghost monsters had.

The two children were both boys, and the smaller one appeared to be about the same age as he was. Short blonde hair barely held in place by the strangest-looking cap he had ever seen, the boy was currently looking up at the orange bat-pig thing with wide sapphire eyes, asking a question that Ken could not hear. It was not because they were too far away, however; they were only walking a few feet away from where he crouched in the shadows, and threatened to come closer at any time.

The reason he didn't hear what was being said was because he was staring at the other boy. His breathing quickened as his widened purple eyes locked on the older human's face, unable to tear his gaze away. A weak whisper came from his trembling lips, as a tear threatened to trickle down the side of his pale cheek.

"…O…Osamu…"

He knew, of course, that the young man standing a few feet away from him was not his elder brother; that was impossible, he had seen Osamu's murder with his own eyes. Yet the resemblance was uncanny, from the deep blue shade of his hair to the gentleness of the dark eyes hidden behind his thick glasses. The likeness was uncanny enough to make Ken hesitate, uncertain of what to do next. Sensing the boy's indecision, Leafmon shifted nervously and gazed up at his partner, not paying any attention to the small group until…

"Hi, who are you?"

With a small start, Ken finally realized that the younger of the two boys had noticed him. In fact, the blonde child was walking directly over to where he was, with the bat-pig and the white seal following behind him. The boy who looked like Osamu spotted him as well, and forgot the conversation he had been having with the cloaked digimon. He blinked onyx eyes in surprise, and adjusted his glasses slightly, as if he thought his eyes were deceiving him.

"What in the…what's a kid doing out here?"

"I dunno, Jyou," the blonde child replied, continuing to study a very nervous Ken with curious sapphire eyes. Smiling, he said, "My name's Takeru, but everyone calls me TK. What's yours?"

"K…Ken. Ken Ichijouji," he stammered in reply. One part of his mind was functioning enough to warn him of one danger, and he managed to plop the tattered pillowcase back over Leafmon, hiding the startled baby digimon from view.

"Hiya, Ken!" Takeru said, his smile growing wider. Then he blinked suddenly, and his huge blue eyes shone with curiosity as he asked, "Uh, Ken, why are you here all be yourself? Where's your family?"

That innocent question caused the other eight-year-old's resolve to shatter, and he burst into tears, unable to stop himself. Takeru stared at him in surprise, then understanding dawned on the blonde boy, and he lowered his gaze to the ground, murmuring an ashamed apology.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Jyou stammered, and he was suddenly on his knees beside the two, struggling to comfort the sobbing young boy. Not knowing what else he could do, he fell back upon something his own older brother had done a few times to comfort him, and ruffled Ken's hair a little. It seemed to work: Ken stopped crying and looked up at him, blinking back the tears that still brimmed in his violet eyes.

"Osamu…" he whispered, then caught himself and averted his gaze to the ground, clutching his tattered packet closer to his chest. Patamon and Gomamon looked at one another, then moved to try and comfort the strange boy. Wizardmon had no real practice in this sort of thing, so he decided it was best for him to hang back and watch.

"It's all right, you'll be safe with us now," Gomamon promised, crawling up and placing his front flippers on the boy's crossed legs. As he did so, one of his long claws happened to clip the edge of the pillowcase, and before any of them realized what was happening, the makeshift package fell over and something small and green rolled out.

Ken gasped in shock. Takeru and Jyou stared at the new arrival in complete astonishment. Wizardmon, Patamon and Gomamon studied it with interest, just as startled as everyone else.

The little digimon righted itself and glared at the five new strangers, a look that was hardly as threatening as he intended it to be. Hopping back to Ken's arms, Leafmon nuzzled into the silent boy's lap, turned to face the strangers, and tried to growl, although the sound came out as more of a squeak.

"I won't let you hurt my master!" Leafmon declared. Jyou's mouth fell open.

"Ma-ma-master?" he stammered, then he whirled to look at Wizardmon. "Okay, what's going on here? I thought you said that Kari was the new Digidestined we were looking for!"

The cloaked digimon looked just as shocked as everybody else was. He looked down at the small piece of jewelry in his hand, then held it up to Ken's face. The strange boy stared at it, trying to figure out its purpose. When nothing happened, Wizardmon took back the Crest and studied it, then looked back over at Ken.

"Well…the Crest didn't react to him the way it did to Hikari, so it's not his," he murmured. "But he most definitely is a Digidestined."

"What? But how can that be? Gennai said…" Jyou stammered.

"I don't understand it, either, but one thing's for certain," Wizardmon interrupted the boy. "If he's a Digidestined, then he's in just as much danger as Hikari and the others are. We can't let Myotismon get his hands on either of them!"

"Yeah…you're right," Jyou agreed, nodding. Gulping to relieve the dryness in his mouth, he got to his feet, pushed his slipping glasses back onto his nose, then turned to Ken and extended his hand, saying, "Let's get going. We have to get you to safety."

Ken hugged Leafmon to his chest and stared at the elder boy's proffered hand warily. His gaze was drawn to Takeru's, and the other eight-year-old boy smiled and nodded reassurance. After a few moments, Ken nodded back, and reached up to take Jyou's hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"Come on," Jyou said, "let's go find the others." With that, the small group carefully moved out of the dark alleyway, keeping their eyes open for patrols.

* * *

"A…are you sure this is such a good idea?" Wallace whispered, his voice cracking a little. Armadillomon glanced back at him and nodded slowly.

"We have to see what's up there," he whispered back. "If it's the enemy, I'll fight them off. Stay behind me."

"We can help too," Kokomon offered, squirming in Wallace's white-knuckled grasp. The armored digimon glared at him, green eyes looking suddenly harsh for an instant, and he shook his head.

"Stay behind me," he instructed again, then turned his attention back to the stairs. He moved cautiously, almost agonizingly slow, taking each step as silently as he could. Wallace followed a few steps behind him, wide emerald eyes darting from shadow to shadow. Despite their caution, the metal stairs seemed to squeak almost deafeningly with each footfall.

* * *

Sora, Hikari, Koushirou, Biyomon, and Tentomon sat in terrified silence, listening as the creaking noise drew closer and closer. Putting a finger up to his lips to warn the others to remain quiet, Koushirou began to crawl over to the stairway, Tentomon flying behind him. The redhead over the edge, and inhaled sharply.

"W-what is it?" Sora whispered as quietly as possible, sneaking up beside him. Koushirou glanced back at her with frightened onyx eyes.

"Somebody's coming," he whispered back, "and I don't think it's Tai or any of the others. It might be a patrol of evil digimon…Tentomon?"

"Got it, Izzy," Tentomon whispered back, and as Koushirou glared at the bug digimon for using the silly nickname he had come up with, Tentomon fluttered past him and down the stairs. Since he could fly, he didn't have to walk on the stairs, which meant he didn't run the risk of making noise that could alert the patrol to his presence.

* * *

Armadillomon stopped short, causing Wallace to nearly trip over him. As the young American struggled to maintain his balance and not drop the two In-Training digimon he carried, he stared down at the Rookie and whispered, "What's up?"

"Something's coming," Armadillomon replied, staring up at the top of the stairs. Following his gaze, the boy felt his body tense as he spotted a lone silhouette floating at the top of the stairs. Although its features were mostly hidden by the shadows, he could tell that it was flying, not actually standing on the stairs, and he immediately thought of the one digimon that he knew could fly…

"Bakemon?" he whispered, eyes widening with fear. Armadillomon just grunted, green eyes narrowing slightly, and suddenly he rolled into a ball and bounded off, taking the rest of the stairs at a blinding pace. Wallace dashed after him, barely able to keep up. As he ran, he watched as the balled-up Armadillomon crashed into the shadowy figure, causing it to fall with a sharp cry.

A cry that did NOT sound anything like the Bakemon he had seen earlier.

* * *

"TENTOMON!" Koushirou screamed, forgetting the need to be silent the moment he saw the insect digimon get knocked down so roughly. The only answer he got was a pained cry, and the redhead ran over to the steps at once, not caring anymore about the fact that he was exposing himself to…

…A little kid?

He locked eyes with the little boy for a moment, both stunned into paralysis by the sight of one another. Then something in the new child's grasp squirmed, and Koushirou gaped at the pair of little creatures for a moment before…

"WAAAAAHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the strange boy screamed, apparently snapped out of his astonishment by the redhead's shout.

"Koushirou, what's going on…KYAAAAAHHHHH!" Sora's question rose into a shriek as one of the new baby digimon squirmed out of the boy's grasp and leaped at her.

"SORA! KKKYYYAAAAAHHHHH!" Biyomon roared, summoning her Spiral Twister.

"AAAAAHHHHH! KOKOMON!" the blonde boy shouted, reaching out helplessly toward the little digimon as it was knocked off of Sora's head by the green flames. As he stumbled forward, the same ball that had struck Tentomon down bounced past him and straight for Koushirou.

"AAAAA-whumph!" Koushirou grunted as it slammed into his stomach and knocked him down.

"IZZY! HYAAAAHHHHH!" Tentomon shouted, sending a blast of electric energy surging toward the ball.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" it screamed, skidding to a stop and unrolling. The newly exposed digimon hastily tried to cool off his smoking back, and then he turned and glared daggers at the insect digimon.

"HYYAAAAHHH!" he shouted again, leaping at the insect digimon and pinning it down with its own weight. As Tentomon struggled to get up, the strange new child took advantage of everyone's distraction to try and flee. Scooping up the injured digimon in his arms, he turned to run, only to slam right into Hikari.

Both children shrieked as they fell backward off of the metal platform. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, as both sides of the fighting turned to see both of the younger kids fall. Biyomon, the only one of the digimon not fighting or falling, swooped after them, trying to grab them before they hit the ground. Sora opened her mouth to scream, and the crest hidden under her shirt glowed violently. A light the same shade as that soft pink surrounded Biyomon's form.

"Biyomon digivolve to…BIRDAMON!" the avian digimon announced as her body grew and shifted into her Champion form. Massive wings beat against hard metal, bending it harmlessly aside as she dove and caught the plummenting children in one claw. Hastily, knowing that her digivolving could possibly attract attention to their hiding spot, she deposited them and the twin In-Trainings back with the others and changed back into her Rookie form. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, then Koushirou turned to lock eyes with the younger boy, quickly cornering him before he could escape.

"Okay, before anything else happens, I have a few questions I need to ask you," he said. The eight-year-old boy backed up a few steps, staring at him nervously, and the redhead smiled crookedly as he added, "And try not to fall off the platform this time."

The boy paused, then smiled back, obviously still frightened by what was going on, but starting to recognize that these people were not enemies, just children like him. In his arms, Gummimon and Kokomon shifted restlessly, and he set them down, noticing how the other children seemed to be interested in them.

"Well, um, I guess I should introduce myself," he said, voice trembling a little. "My name is Wallace, and I come from America. These are my friends, Gummimon and Kokomon."

"Hello, Wallace, Gummimon, Kokomon," Sora said politely, bowing slightly. "My name is Sora, and this is my Digimon, Biyomon."

"My name's Koushirou, and Tentomon over there is my partner," the redhead computer genius said next, pointing over at the insect digimon, who was currently glaring over at the mammal digimon who had arrived.

"I'm Hikari, but all my friends call me Kari," Hikari said. Sitting next to Wallace's digimon, she reached out and stroked the top of Gummimon's head, massaging the soft area beneath his tiny horn. The In-Training crooned happily, and a jealous Kokomon pressed against the girl's outstretched arm, demanding equal attention.

Wallace just gaped at the girl, unable to believe what he was seeing. Noticing the shock in the young blonde's wide green eyes, Koushirou smiled knowingly over at Sora.

"It shouldn't be that big a surprise," he commented mildly, watching the boy's reaction as he added, "After all, she is a Digidestined, just like the rest of us. Just like you, I believe."

Wallace gasped and turned his wide-eyed gaze on the keeper of Knowledge, who simply nodded again and continued, "That's the most logical explanation, isn't it? After all, Gennai sent us back here to find the lost Digidestined, so it does make sense that there would be more…"

Sora frowned slightly with thought and nodded, while Wallace just stared at the two older children, getting more and more confused by the minute. Noticing the other boy's confusion, Koushirou sighed and rubbed the back of his head nervously, ruffling the short curls of auburn hair as he tried to think of a way to explain just what the heck was going on to this little kid.

"Uh…hehehe…I think I'd better start at the beginning…" he started, sweatdropping a little as he saw the younger boy's inquisitive gaze turn to him at once.

* * *

Taichi leaned against Agumon for support, gasping for precious breath. His wild brown hair was soaked with sweat, and several strands fell across his damp forehead, clinging there stubbornly. The young Rookie looked up at his friend with concern, carefully holding the boy's body up as they trudged along through the dirty streets.

The handful of kids they had managed to rescue, Taichi had already led to a safe place. Well, as safe a place as one could get when the streets were swarming with digital monsters of the not-so-friendly kind, but still, it was better than where they had been. Currently, they were taking refuge in one of the apartment buildings that had already been ransacked…the same one that Koushirou and his family lived in. Interestingly enough, he knew that only because he'd met the child of Knowledge's parents there. He had no clue how they had managed to survive, but something about the way they described what had happened made him suspect that Gennai was somehow involved…

…Whatever. He had other things to worry about right now. Like whether or not Myotismon would bother to send his henchmon to patrol a place he had already taken over… Or if Hikari, Sora, and the others were okay…

…Or Matt…

He couldn't believe that Yamato had signaled for him to keep going. He wished he knew if he and that other girl he was with were okay: the last he had seen of them, they were clinging to Garurumon's back as that insectoid digimon attempted to behead them. It wasn't that he thought the rebellious blonde couldn't take care of himself…but this was a war they were fighting, and Taichi knew that all wars have their causalities…

…Like those kids back at the makeshift prison…

That was one thing he did not want to think about right now. He could still remember the screams as some of the kids were caught directly in the center of the DarkTyrannomon's attack; the sound had burned itself into his memory the same way that the dark blaze had seared their flesh. He'd gotten a few burns on his face and the exposed parts of his arms and legs, and was fairly certain that Yamato and the girl Jun had not remained unscathed by the attack, but even that pain was nothing compared to the wrenching sense of failure and loss he felt clenching his heart.

I'm just a kid, darn it! I'm not supposed to have to deal with things like this! The worst problem I should have in my life is keeping up with my schoolwork and looking after Hikari!

Hikari…

The thought of his little sister snapped the boy back to reality. Shaking his head slightly, he stubbornly pushed away from Agumon's helping arms, causing the little dinosaur to give him an inquiring look.

"Tai?" he asked, voice trembling a bit as he noticed the sudden steeliness in his partner's eyes.

"I'm not a kid anymore," Taichi muttered, so softly that Agumon could barely make out the words. "I'm a Digidestined, not just some powerless kid who can't do anything. No matter what happens to me, I have to protect everyone from Myotismon! I've got a duty to save both worlds now: this is no longer anything like a stupid game."

"Tai?" Agumon repeated, not certain what to think. The boy glanced back down at him, then smiled, slowly.

"Let's get going," he prompted, walking ahead and waving for the dinosaur digimon to follow him. "We have to get back to Kari and the others…"

He walked away, and Agumon could only follow.

* * *

"Matt-sama? I'm scared!"

Yamato gritted his teeth, desperately fighting back the urge to turn around and slap this bratty girl across the face. She reminded him a great deal of Mimi, only without the obsession with pink and none of the keeper of Sincerity's natural beauty. Of course, the fact that her clothes were ripped and tattered from fleeing the enemy, that her cheeks were badly burned and streaked with dirt and tears, and her already Koushirou-styled hair was tangled and ruffled, were not exactly complimenting any cuteness she might possess…

He glared back at her; the girl's lips were trembling wildly as she fought back the tears that brimmed in her large brown eyes. His anger dissolved a little at the sight of the frightened expression, but did not disappear completely. With a sigh of resignation, he motioned for Jun to get down into the relative safety of the overturned trash bin he had found. She whimpered, but obeyed, crouching down beside Gabumon. The rookie digimon glanced over at her, then looked back at Yamato, waiting to hear his plan, the plan that would save them from the evil digimon that roamed the streets a few feet away.

Pity he had no idea what that plan might be.

"So, Matt, what do we do now?" Gabumon whispered, eyes never leaving the patrol of Bakemon as they floated past, far too close to their hiding spot for any of the unlikely trio's comfort. The blonde boy remained silent, sapphire eyes glaring forward, and the two partners both narrowed their eyes as a new, smaller figure, its features completely hidden from view, suddenly arrived.

"What is that?" Jun asked in a bare whisper, her voice surprisingly low. Yamato supposed that even the little ditz could sense that now was not the right time to overly loud. Still, he ignored her, and leaned forward slightly to make out what the new arrival was saying to the Bakemon…

* * *

"Why have you not located any of the Chosen Children yet?!?" Hawkmon demanded, narrowing his ice-blue eyes into a cold stare that made the lowly Bakemon stammer with fear. As they scrambled to make a suitable excuse, the bird digimon sighed in annoyance. He found it exceedingly difficult to believe that he had once been weaker than these wimpy creatures, even if that had been back when he was a mere In-Training and before he had starting serving his master, Myotismon…

Angrily, Hawkmon forced his mind to come back to the present. Thinking of the past always put him in a bad mood, and at the moment, his mood did not need any help of that sort. He readjusted his headband, and as he did a sudden flash of color at the corner of his eye caught his attention. The ice-blue iris narrowed slightly, and the Rookie pretended as if he had not noticed for a few seconds, slowly moving his wings into position…

* * *

"Matt…" Gabumon whispered, his fur coat bristling as he watched the new arrival warily. Yamato shook his head slightly, warning him to remain put.

"I don't think they've seen us yet," he murmured, sapphire eyes mere slits as he strained to make out his enemy's actions. Suddenly his eyes snapped wide open, and Jun shrieked in his ear as all three ducked to the ground. Something fast and razor-sharp whizzed over their heads, and Yamato inhaled sharply as he felt it nick the back of his neck.

"You ghosts should have been named Bakamon!" he heard a commanding voice shout over the din of Jun's screeching and the Bakemon's cries of shock and excitement. "How could you not notice these fugitives so close by?!? Am I surrounded by idiots?!?"

That'd be my guess, Yamato thought darkly, and as he struggled to stand, he felt something drop from his neck onto his lap. Glancing down, he realized that the attack had severed the cord that held his Crest of Friendship in place. Snatching it up and hiding it in his hand, a crazy idea formed quickly in his mind.

He looked up; the enemy was currently distracted by good old Gabumon, who was fighting the new arrival, the bird-like digimon who had launched the sudden attack. Jun was behind him, watching the battle with wide, horrified eyes; Yamato seized her hand and forced his crest into it. The girl curled her fingers around it and looked up at him uncomprehendingly.

"Listen to me!" he hissed roughly in her ear, yanking her beside him so that only she could hear his words. "You have to get that and Gabumon out of here, fast! I'll distract them for you!"

Jun gaped at him, mouth working with silent protest, and Yamato shook her slightly, growling, "There's no time to argue right now! Listen, I don't want to do this, but if these creeps get ahold of both that and my Digimon, both worlds are doomed! Just do what I say!"

There was no more time for words, only action, and Yamato shoved the girl away from him, ignoring her cry of protest. Gabumon howled, and he saw the Rookie's form begin to glow as he was knocked back toward the two humans. By the time his body slammed into the wall, he had reverted back to Tsunomon, and Yamato gave Jun another quick shove in his direction as he darted the opposite way.

"Yo, Bird Brain!" he taunted, mocking the digimon who had beaten the tar out of his partner. "You want a piece of me, huh? Just try it!"

The insult had a better effect than he had hoped, and the avian digimon fumed as he launched his attack again. As the distracted Bakemon watched human and digimon fight in what was obviously a one-sided battle, Jun abruptly broke free of her paralysis. Scooping up the unconscious Tsunomon, the girl bit back a sob as she darted away, noticed only by Yamato.

Despite his mounting injuries, the boy smirked slightly. He wasn't entirely certain that this girl was the most reliable choice to look after Tsunomon for a while, but he had no choice given the situation. At least now, there was a chance that Myotismon wouldn't get his hands on the Crest of Friendship so easily…

His opponent's next attack sliced across his arm, and the boy bit back an involuntary scream as blood began to seep from the fresh wound. His other hand flew to cover it, and as the blonde boy slumped to the ground, sapphire eyes blurring, he was dimly aware of the bird digimon addressing the Bakemon soldiers behind him…

"Take this insolent whelp back to the master; Myotismon will decide this one's fate. The rest of you break off and find that bratty girl with the In-Training. There will be no resistance; this world and the Digital world belong to Master Myotismon now and forever!"

(The chosen are slowly beginning to draw closer together, although few of their encounters have been on the best of terms. As each continues to follow their own path, some walk together, while others still face their fates alone. But for how much longer will this remain true…? Ahead, a dark shadow continues its slow spread; quietly casting itself over the path until all is draped in its mystery and darkness.)