A/N: I realize that it's been a while since I updated. I'm sorry it's been so long. I want to thank everyone who stood by me and continue to read and review my fanfic.

Ai Ishida: Gennai merely told Izzy to call the others and get them together. He also informed him that there was trouble in the digital world and to prepare to open a portal at a certain time for him to arrive. The rest of what you might want to know will be explained in this chapter.

Ballet Kitty: You will find out who they are much later. There affiliation though will be known sooner.

Cloaked Fox:I agree, the cliché is a bit painful but it felt right at the time and I have no regrets about it.I want to try to explain the whole Catherine issue. In the series, they never said what happened immediately after Malomyotismon's defeat. It is therefore completely plausible that all of the worlds Digi-destined were transported back to there homes. This would not have given the Japanese Digi-destined much time for introductions. And so, only Tai and TK have met Catherine. The others have merely heard stories of her that are currently, in this storyline, two years old. Why Catherine did not recognize Mimi, I can not give a completely valid answer as Mimi, being part of the original Digi-destined was in the 'inner circle' at the time of Malomyotismon's defeat, so she would have been seen. Maybe Catherine did not recognize her because Mimi changed her hair color, maybe because it has been two years since she has seen Mimi. Oh and BTW, Thank you for the compliment and constructive criticism, I will work on it.

Many thanks to iLUVmichi, Genna, JyouraKoumi and Frodo007.

"Gennai, you still haven't explained what is going on?"

"I know Tentomon. All I can tell you is the short version. Basically, one of your old enemies is going to rise up in power. The sheer force that he will wield is catastrophic. Azulongmon came to me yesterday and told me bits and pieces of what is going to happen."

"You saw Azulongmon?" asked the orange dinosaur by his feet. "Yes Agumon. But it was only in a vision. Azulongmon is trapped somewhere, somewhere terrifying." The cat at his heels perked up and asked, "He is trapped again? But I thought that the crests of Hope and Light freed him." Gennai turned to her. "They did Gatomom, but this new evil has trapped him yet again. The strength and power that we will need to defeat him will only come from the Digi-destined."

Further up the hill they were traversing was a small pile of boulders. On top of the pile was a small television. "That's the one. That one should take us directly to Izzy's home." Above him and the rest of the land-traversing digimon flew the bright pink Biyomon, the noble Hawkmon and the ever-vigilant Tentomon. Patamon flew behind them at a slower pace. As Gennai stopped to catch a quick breath he heard a noise in the group of trees to his left. Carefully monitoring them for activity, he and the other digimon failed to notice the shadow that dashed around behind them. "PETRIFIER" two blue beams shot out from behind them and struck Gatomon. The others turned around to see if she was all right, all they found was a statue of the digimon. "It's a Kokatorimon. He must have been sent to stop us." The other digimon stood fast and took aim at the large chicken-like digimon. Cries of their attacks were heard.

"Pepper Breath"

"Boom Bubble"

"Spiral Twister"

"Blue Blaster"

"Beak Buzzsaw"

"Vee Headbutt"

The dust cleared away but Kokatorimon was still standing. Agumon took charge of the situation. "We need to confuse him, don't give him a chance to attack."

"We should take cover by those bushes first." Gabumon added while Palmon and Tentomon tried to move the now immobile Gatomon. They all headed towards a group of sparse bushes before Wormmon realized that some one was missing. Looking back he saw Gommamon crawling slower that the others. Being a sea mammal, Gommamon was swifter in water then on dry dirt. He was trying to drag himself towards the others but his flippers were not helping that much. Wormmon watched helplessly as Gommamon turned around to see Kokatorimon right behind him. The large bird smiled maniacally before freezing the helpless sea animal in a casing of stone. Armadillomon and Wormmon sprang to attack with Patamon and Gabumon following them. All their attacks were unleashed at the same time with a feel of vengeance

As they continued their assault another cry was heard "Petrifier." Red laser beams shot out from the woods to their left. From the darkness appeared a second Kokatorimon who was grinning. "Ha ha, we are the Kokatorimon twins. Our double 'Petrifier' attacks will leave you stone cold." He then stared at the now silent Gabumon who was frozen in granite.

Gennai watched all of the events unfold and knew what he needed to do. "Everyone listen, we need to get Hawkmon, Wormmon, Veemon and Armadillomon to the digiport. Izzy is going to open it up soon." The four mentioned digimon were clueless to what was happening but the rest sprang to attention

Biyomon flew up to Hawkmon who was attacking the first Kokatorimon. "Hawkmon, you have to get out of here. Go with Gennai and the others to the digiport. I'll hold him off." Hawkmon stood aghast. How was Biyomon supposed to hold off one champion all by herself when all of them were having trouble taking out the two twins? The Kokatorimon took advantage of the situation and shot his attack at Hawkmon. His cry alerted Biyomon. She hurriedly pushed him out of the way of the incoming attack. A second later Biyomon, who was flapping her wings six feet in the air, fell on the ground, rock solid. "Biyomon!"

Tentomon quickly rushed to Hawkmon's aid. Aiming a 'Super Shocker' at one of the Kokatorimon's outstretched wings, he was able to stun it buying them some time. "Hawkmon, you have to go. Gennai and the others are depending on you." Hawkmon finally gave in and flew toward the digiport. He did not look back when the giant bird called out one more "Petrifier" and Tentomon's buzzing was heard no more.

A bit uphill, Agumon and Veemon were arguing. After seeing Gabumon turn to stone, he tried to rush to the wolfish digimon's aid but was hindered by Agumon. Now after seeing Tentomon and Biyomon drop to the dirt he was enraged. Yet Agumon still did not let go. Veemon turned to the dinosaur and demanded, "Why don't we help them?"

"Listen Veemon," Agumon said looking squarely into his eyes "You and the other three might be our only chance. I need you to go with Gennai and make sure that Tai and the others are all right. Now go, I'll take care of these two." With that he rushed off into the fray firing one attack after the other.

Gennai was at the television. He had opened up a side panel and was working on accessing a digiport. He heard someone rushing up to him and saw that it was Veemon. He then noticed that Hawkmon was to his left. The bird was trying everything to draw his attention away from the cold statues of his friends. A quick survey made Gennai realized something last minute. For this plan to work he needed Hawkmon, Veemon, Wormmon and Armadillomon. The latter two had not made it up the hill as yet. Armadillomon seemed to have been damaged in the fight and he was walking up the hill slowly. Wormmon was trying his best to keep up, but being a crawler by nature he was slower then Armadillomon. Gennai feared the worst as the second Kokatorimon stepped up closer to them. Then, in a flash, Palmon was right by their side. "Poison Ivy!" The attack caught the enemy digimon right in the eye. Hissing it turned away for a mere moment and Palmon reacted. Coiling her vine tendrils around Wormmon and Armadillomon she sent them flying up the hill towards Gennai. It was her final act of the battle. As Armadillomon turned to see what happened he saw to his horror a statue of Palmon, her vines still shrinking back to their original length were now frozen.

Running towards the fallen digimon, Gennai managed to trip on a rock. He fell to the ground just as one of the Kokatorimon fired at him. The shot just missed him but the wise man managed to still tear his robes. He immediately got up and ran to Wormmon. Picking him up, he assisted Veemon in turning over Armadillomon who wound up on his back. As they turned to flee to the television that was now shifting into a portal, they saw a shadow looming over them. The Kokatorimon was still upset at the scratches that Palmon had afflicted on his eyes. He stood ready to fire on them. He smiled as he heard Agumon scream, the orange dinosaur had out lasted all the other miscreants but now no more. He placed his feet and opened his mouth to call out… "Boom Bubble!" An unseen force slammed into the Kokatorimon, lifting him off of his feet and onto a nearby rock. Patamon hovered behind his position glaring at his opponent. "Gennai, quickly get them out of here!" Gennai ran with the others to the portal. As they entered it they spun around to see what fate had befallen the flying mammal. Patamon flapped his ears as fast as he could, dodging left, flanking right. He fired 'Boom Bubble' after 'Boom Bubble' at the first Kokatorimon. The second one was now stirring from his fall. Suddenly he was caught with no place to escape to. All the four digimon heard as they passed to the other side were his faded words, "Tell TK that I…"

---End Flashback---

Gennai ended history and sunk to the ground. All that running about the hill was exhausting. He seemed to have used up all his adrenaline and was now paying the price. 'I just hope that we can save the digimon. Their selfless sacrifice was inspiring and should convince the Digi-destined to help us.' He looked at the shocked faces of the people around him.

Joe had his eyes opened wide as he finished the last of the digimon's injuries. He stood up and then walked over to Gennai. Reaching into his bag, Joe pulled out a bandage and presented it to the older man. "Um... you look like you need one of these yourself." Gennai smiled at him and accepted it. He turned to address all the children, knowing that what he next said would determine if they would join him in the digital world and thus so, influence the future of the digiworld.

"The world needs the Digi-destined. I know that you are afraid for your digimon and scared of what might happen. But you need to know that they need some one to save them, and you are the only ones who can." With those simple words the looks on the children's faces changed. Tired eyes were revitalized, mouths that were trembling with fright now stayed firm and determined. The Digi-destined stood strong; ready to fight again for the digiworld.

Tai was the first one to speak. "When do we start?" The rest cheered.

"You can come out now, my servant. I know that you are there."

"Forgive me my lord, but I need to speak with you. If the old fool has escaped, then does that not mean…"

"…that the Digi-destined will arrive? Yes, it does. But I am not worried. I have the Harmonious ones trapped. And I have the four of you to see to the end of the those annoying brats."

"You allow us the pleasure of ripping the children to pieces?"

"Yes, have your fun. I have more important work. Something that no one has even dreamed to imagine."

"I don't understand most of it myself. Prophecies seem to always be very vague." Gennai sat down on Izzy's computer chair. He was about to explain the prophecy that alerted him to the madness in the digital world. He had everyone's undivided attention, including the digimon.

"Basically it talks about the rebirth of an old foe. One that used to have tremendous power, even in its previous state. This foe will arise with far more dark and untold powers. He will summon his minions that were defeated at the hands of the Digi-destined and give them chaotic powers." Gennai stopped here and looked at each of them. "Now pay attention here, these 'minions' will get more chaotic powers, meaning that they were already powerful when you defeated them last."

TK interrupted him here. "Gennai, will we know which of our previous enemies will be give this power."

"No TK I do not know who they are exactly or even how many they number. I do know that they are going to be very powerful." There was a pause to allow the children to soak it up. "The prophecy states that the power of the crest bearers, or the Digi-destined, will bring about the end of this great evil." He sighed and looked more haggard then he had six years ago. "The digital world is in disarray. The time stream is messed up. One day here is equal to a couple of months in the digital world. Then, the next moment, a day equal a few minutes there. There are more and more powerful virus digimon prowling the lands these days. The signs all point to one conclusion. This evil has already arisen"

He was suddenly aware that someone jumped up anxiously, probably to give a necessary pep talk. 'Probably Tai or Davis ready to give the battle charge.' It was Davis who was up and commanding everyone's attention. "Well guys, what are waiting for? Lets go kick some evil digimon hiney!"

"Yeah!" Veemon cheered right by his partner's side.

"Hold on Davis." Tai was now speaking, "From past experiences, I know that there are always more twists and turns in prophecies. Is there anything else Gennai?"

Gennai stared at the leader of the Digi-destined. 'He looks like the same old Tai, but he has grown in more ways then one.' "Your correct Tai. A couple of months ago, Azulongmon disappeared from the face of the digital world. No word from him and no clue to where he went. Then, a few days ago, he came to me in a vision. He told me that the new evil would be more powerful then five Imperialdramons put together."

The silence was deafening. Imperialdramon was the most powerful force in the Digi-destined's repertoire. 'If this force was five times as strong as he is, then…' Izzy didn't finish the thought. It was too frightening.

"Gennai," It was Joe "what are we expected to do? Our Imperialdramon won't be able to fight that kind of power."

At this point Gennai sighed and took a very BIG breath. He let it out and looked at Joe straight in the eye. "He won't have to. Davis and Ken are not going to the digital world."

"WHAT!" The two-affore mentioned boy's stood up screaming bloody murder. "What do you mean we're not going, who else can beat that kind of power?" Some of the others had jumped to their defense. Kari, TK and Sora all complained.

"Gennai, I must protest."

"We are going to need them."

"They can do it Gennai, they've never let us down before." The last comment came from TK. Davis smiled tearfully.

"Gennai is not allowing them to come because they might be needed here." Everyone turned to face the speaker, Matt.

"But how will we be needed here? All the fighting will be done in the digital world, won't it?" Ken asked.

"Not necessarily. When ever we go to the digiworld, we always end up fighting our far share of digimon here, in Japan."

"Matt's correct." Gennai said focusing on Davis. "Azulongmon said that this old foe would amass an army that he would bring into the real world. That means that digiports would open up all over this area with digimon pouring out. Chances are that some of those digimon are mega-leveled digimon. If so, then you two will be the only thing standing in their way."

Cody stepped up at this point. He was aware of the situation and was observing Armadillomon, who was still recovering. "Is that why you wanted to make sure that some digimon got to this side? To help us stop the attack?"

"Yes Cody, these four have the most experience in Odaiba. If Davis and Ken need back up, then you and Yolie will be there for them. Sadly, Gatomon and Patamon are still in the digital world, so you won't be able to fuse into Silphymon or Shakkuomon."

Cody grew worried at this remark but stayed strong. Yolie jumped to action saying, "We've got their backs!"

"Um… I have a question." The voice came from Hawkmon; actually, it came from behind him where Mimi was sitting. She was still reeling from the shock that Palmon sacrificed herself to save the other digimon. "You said that only the powers of our crests would be able to stop the coming evil. Didn't we give up the power of our crests to protect the digital world?"

"Yes, but the crests have always resided inside of you. Your emotions are directly connected to them. So, if you can tap into that residual power inside you, you can free the Harmonious Ones."

Sora picked up on the clue first. "Harmonious Ones? The four sacred Digimon that protect the borders of the digital world? We have to free them?"

Gennai realized that he had not given them any information on this new topic. "Ah yes, um Izzy do you have a map?" Izzy turned to his bookcase and withdrew a folded parchment. Unraveling it showed a map of Tokyo's subway stations. "This will do." Gennai said as he picked up a pencil that was not seen a minute ago and started to draw. He drew two diagonal lines. One started from the northwest corner and ended in the southeast corner. The other was from the northeast corner to the southwest corner. The two lines intersected in the direct middle of the map.

"Imagine that this is a map of the digital world. It is divided into sectors, each of which are maintained and watched over by a Harmonious One. Japan is in the east so all of your endeavors have taken place here," he pointed to the eastern side "in Azulongmon's territory. When the Dark Masters trapped the Harmonious Ones, they did so in their own realms. So to find all the Harmonious Ones, you'll have to travel to the far reaches of their sectors."

Kari looked at the map and asked Gennai. "Azulongmon was already released by the power of TK's and my crest. So what are we expected to do?" "The two of you will have to find out where he has now disappeared to. He didn't tell me who kidnapped him or where they took him when we conversed in my vision. While you two" he said pointing to TK and Kari, "are searching, the others will travel to find Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon and Ebonwumon." He pointed to the south, west and north sectors respectively.

Everyone turned to Davis; they were all expecting him to blow up and say something like 'TP can't be trusted with my Kari!' But strangely, he was silent. Davis was staring out the window while he stroked Veemon's head. He suddenly realized that everyone was staring at him. "Oh, you guys watch yourselves okay. And good luck, TK." TK was heard mumbling something along the lines of "He finally said my name correctly," in stunned voice.

Yolei watched this entire situation unfold before her. She watched as others participated in the debate to save the digital world and had not spoken a word since the digimon arrived. This was because she was always a little insecure on how she could help. So she was speechless when Izzy walked up to her and said, "Yolei, you'll have to be in charge of coordinating everything that happens on this side."

"What? But why me? I mean… I…"

Izzy smiled at her. "Yolei, I'm going to be with the others in the digital world. The only other people who can handle the programming capabilities of a wide-area digital surveillance, are you and Ken. Since Ken will be with Davis when Imperialdramon is needed, you will have to be on your laptop."

Yolei was still unsure of herself. "But what if I mess up?"

"You won't mess up. You're one of the best there is. And besides, you have never let your friends down before." The new voice came from Ken. He was smiling at her reassuringly like he was willing to place all his faith in her. Cody and Davis were also nodding and smiling. So were all the older Digi-destined. To her side was Hawkmon who had placed his working wing on her shoulder and was smiling at her.

"All righty then," she said firmly while jumping up "let me at it."

There was a sudden 'bing' and Joe looked up. "Hey Izzy, your computer is finished downloading." Izzy rushed to check.

"Gennai," he told the older man while still looking at his computer screen "your program is done downloading. It is all set to run."

"Excellent." Gennai said as he explained the last part of his plan. "Now, since the time stream is out of sync, I had to come up with a way to stabilize it. This program is large because it configures the digiworld's time to normal time. It was the only way to make sure that a millennium didn't pass here while you are in the digital world. The bad news is that you will still be gone for a while."

Tai stared wide-eyed. He had forgotten that they couldn't pop in and out of the digital world. "What will we tell our parent's?"

"My mama will be alone with papa at the university."

"I just got back from America, my parents will be furious but they will understand."

"Oh man, I have a project due in a week's time." It was obvious to see which comments came from which person.

Izzy thought for a bit and snapped his fingers and said, "I'll tell my mother what's happening. She will call all the other parents and explain to them. They have a lot of experience with the digimon situation, they might allow us to go." He stepped out of the room for a while. When he returned, fifteen minutes had passed; he was holding what looked like a bag full of rice cakes and his face was red. "She says that she will do it after we leave, so that none of the parents will rush here trying to stop us or come with us." He walked over to his closet and grabbed his raincoat. "She also says that I should dress warmly." He mumbled turning a brilliant red.

"Alright, If you are all ready. I will initiate the program." Gennai turned in the chair and started the process. The elder Digi-destined all moved about trying to say goodbye to the younger group and their digimon. Words of advice were exchanged and hugs were passed around. Davis was surprisingly normal when saying goodbye to Kari and TK. He did however tear up as he hugged Tai and bawled out something about 'mentors' and 'passing the goggles'. Yolei was very emotional when she had to say goodbye to Kari, Mimi and Sora. "Now I'll be the only girl in the group." She sniffled. Cody and Ken kept a straight face as they shook hands, hugged and took Matt's advice of "Watch after yourselves and each other" to heart.

They then all moved to the center of Izzy's room as Gennai finished the final steps of the process. One second there were nine people there waving; then a flash of light, a zap, and there was just dust particles floating in the air.

The Digi-destined had begun their journey.