Rediscovering Destiny

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon and the song "On the Way Down" by Ryan Cabrera are not mine!

A/N: It's longer than I expected it to be, but finally here's chapter 3. I had a case of writer's block and have barely any spare time. I know I left a lot of blanks in here, and you're probably wondering a few things—if Daisuke ever got over Hikari, if Sora's pregnant, who the Dark One is—but they'll be revealed in later chapters! Please review!

Curtis Zidane Ziraa: Yep, and he's not the only one responsible for stuff like that…

Moneymakesmesmile: Your guesses might be right but maybe not. –evil smile- Guess you'll just have to read and see…

SallyGirl: Thanks! That's one of the reasons I wanted to write this—because no one ever really captured what happened afterwards. I love the song too and thought it was pretty fitting for the story.

Mrs. Ishida-to-you: Don't worry; I've gotten flamed by Cloaked Fox once under his/her name and a couple times anonymously…you're not the only one…

BrnttsDoItBest: Maybe…

RW Grimm: Maybe…

Jodi Crystal: Next chapter they'll all go back to the Digiworld…

Crazyamzy: Yeah, it sucks to write about their problems!

Inconnu: Who said they didn't use protection? Lol! Yeah, I'm not too big on the 02 season—gotta love Takeru and Hikari though. I wasn't going to write much but somehow…I did, go figure. There's a lot of important stuff in here though…

­-And thanks to LynLin, Ballet Kitty, sorato-takari, teehee, SoratoFan, Cherryblossom Sky, and animeaddict99…now onto the fic…

Chapter 3: Trippin' Over Myself

"Is the system set up yet?" Ken paced back and forth across the room.

Gennai nodded his head. "Calm down, Ken. Worrying will get you nowhere."

The teen sighed. "You're right; I'm just getting a bit anxious."

"With good reason. The fate of both worlds lies in the digidestined's hands once more. It's up to you all to correct your mistakes and get rid of the Dark One's powers…"

The Dark One; Ken's mind drifted off as the digital being rambled off. He knew he should be paying attention but sometimes, well, quite often, Gennai had the horrible problem of overexpressing his thoughts.

Ken had heard quite a bit of the Dark One from the time he'd first come to the Digital World to his current state. For a long time the teen wondered why he'd been able to come back into the digiworld yet none of the others could even make contact with it. Gennai had only recently told him that.

Ken stuck it out with Yamato, Taichi, and Sora, holding onto the hope the group would come back together. When the blond left for America, Ken still believed, but his belief faded when news hit him that Taichi had left.

The teen tried to stay in contact with everyone from his home in Japan, but it seemed only Takeru and Yamato responded. Ken had no idea what happened with Daisuke; the last he knew, the spiky-haired boy had been sent to a boarding school over in Canada. Miyako, who he knew had a crush on him, went back to school and then abruptly left the town. Ken really wasn't too sure what happened with her. Iori kind of kept to himself. And Hikari and Takeru…Ken heard from the younger blond there was a rift in their friendship and something had gone wrong.

For that reason, the bearer of hope began to drift away too, at least that's what Ken assumed. Soon Ken was basically only in communication with Yamato, every now and then hearing from Sora.

He considered the rock star a close friend. They'd become friends in the first place starting with their trip to Mexico a couple years ago. Ken didn't know very many of the older destined then, but Yamato was friendly to him and the two found out they got along pretty well. From there, Ken had sort of become Yamato's psychologist. The blond trusted Ken quite a bit, and told him thing he sometimes couldn't tell the others.

Around the same time Yamato and Sora began to loose touch, Ken lost contact with the blond. It seemed now that he couldn't reach Sora, Yamato wanted to cut off anything that reminded him of her and their group of friends. Every so often, Ken would receive a call from Yamato and it was clear the rock star was in pain. From the stories Takeru and Hikari had told him about their first trips to the digiworld, it appeared Yama was slipping back into the same stoical, depressed state. He had wanted Ken to talk him through his troubles, but sadly, it didn't happen that way.

Ken knew it was his fault they didn't talk anymore.

About three months ago, as the last trimester of the school year ended, Ken came home from school. He was checking his e-mails, having just turned the computer on, when suddenly an overwhelming purplish, black light emitted from the drawerthat held his digivice and crest.

The boy-genius was immediately confused. He'd heard from the others awhile back that their digivices had quit responding, and they'd lost all touch with the digital world. Curiously, he opened up his drawer. The light enveloped him, blacking him out.

When Ken awoke, he knew he was no longer residing in his bedroom. The teen looked around, gasping at his surroundings. "Good to see you again, Ken."

"G…G…Gennai?" he stuttered. "How...how did I get here?"

The being sighed. "It's quite a long story, but as you have no where else to go, and given the fact you need to be informed, I'll tell you…"

It was there Gennai began informing him about the Dark One and the powers he was so rapidly gaining. It wasn't the first time, though, that Ken had ever heard of the Dark One. Back in his early teens, he'd learned about this Digimon first hand. The Dark One had even tried to get Ken on his side. The teen was positive this time he was going to strike…hard.

Gennai only revealed bits and pieces of what was going on. He promised Ken he'd reveal the full story once the two sets of chosen were able to get back into the digital world.

Because of the paths each chosen had taken, the traits their crests symbolized seemingly vanished. Along with these qualities, their ability to go to the digiworld and see their partners also left. These traits were their link between the two worlds and without them, disrupted the balance. Without the digidestined and their pure traits providing the good for the world, the Dark One was able to gain control.

So alas, when Gennai had tried almost everything, he'd resorted to calling in the destined. He'd tried many times before, but it had been to no avail. They were unable to get there. He decided to try Ken, and after visiting with Azulongmon, received an energy core strong enough to summon the teen.

Ken had been able to get there because he still held the power of his crest and hadn't succumbed to the pressures facing the chosen. From his experience of being the famous "boy genius", Ken was able to avoid turning out the same way as the others.

For the past few months, he and Gennai had been working tirelessly on developing a way for the others to get into the digiworld. Ken e-mailed his parents, telling them he'd been accepted into a Gifted and Talented program at a university in Australia and would be spending some time there. He told them he'd had to leave urgently, was okay, and would be staying in touch with them. So far, other than at the beginning, they hadn't really questioned it. Sometimes Ken was happy his parents were a bit gullible.

Finally, after some hard work with the four guardians of the digital world, they were able to determine a way for the others to get in, figure out many of the crests' powers were spread around the digital world, and most importantly, evade the Dark One's forces.

His power had continued to escalate, and Ken knew if the chosen couldn't go into the world and save it, everyone in the real and digital world was doomed.

"…that would be it, Ken. I think we're ready to launch this program…"

Ken nodded. Let the game begin…


"Yo Dave! Coach wants to talk to you."

Daisuke Motomiya turned around, trying not to cringe at the name. Doesn't he listen when I tell him and the others, for that matter, not to call me that?

"I'm on my way, Chris." The teen forced a smile, heading out the weight room door and over towards the Coach's office.

When he was clear of his teammate, Daisuke rolled his eyes. He really despised that guy. Actually, if you wanted to be politically correct, Daisuke didn't like very many people at his new school. I can't believe I, the former bearer of courage and friendship, am stuck here…

It really wasn't much of a mystery to the teen why he ended up there in the first place. Daisuke had gotten into a bit of trouble since he got back to Odaiba. His parents, Takeru's mom, the Yagamis, the Inoues, and Iori's mom put them back in school. They were obviously instant celebrities at school, and Daisuke found that he quite liked the life of popularity. Teachers revered him, students idolized him, girls wanted to date him just because of his status.

Slowly, the teen began to drift away from his normal group of friends. Takeru, Hikari, and Iori preferred a less gregarious life while he and Miyako both were accustomed to the popularity. Daisuke started to hang around with the more popular kids, ignoring his old friends and chosen.

Life was easy for him. Some of his teachers became pushovers, and he could weasel his way out of anything. The second leader was invited to all the huge parties, dated many of the school's girls, and just got into bits of trouble. His parents were ashamed and embarrassed of the way he was acting, and had Daisuke stopped to think about it too, he probably would have thought the same.

The last straw, which explained how he ended up in Calgary in the first place, happened two years ago. He and some friends were at a party, and while they were drunk, went outside and vandalized a local store. His parents had had enough. Daisuke's mom had been researching different boarding schools in Japan, but didn't find one that met up to the Motomiyas standards. They had finally found one, though, but it was located in Calgary, Canada. They were both a little wary of sending their son all the way to North America, but in the end, decided it was the only possibility.

So Daisuke was now one of three hundred boys attending Sergeant Bluff School, a private boarding school. Daisuke was not happy with the change. He missed his life in Japan, and the so-called friends he had.

But quietly, though he'd never admit this to anyone, Daisuke knew it was all his fault he was residing here. He missed his real friends, the destined. The teen missed vying with Takeru for Hikari's attentions. He missed Hikari, and the way she'd always listen to his problems and troubles. He missed hearing Miyako's crazy antics, and even missed some of her complaining.

Daisuke was friendless here at the school. No one cared that he was world-famous, and he actually had to admit that wasn't bad. People just assumed he was stuck-up and didn't need their friendship. Though he tried, no one would hang around with him. The trait of friendship he once bore was falling fast. He'd tried to be courageous about the whole thing too, but after a year, decided loneliness better suited him.

Soccer was the only thing he looked forward to anymore, but even there, he didn't feel like one of the community. The school had an incredible team, and Daisuke just barely made the roster. He guessed it was a result of the time he'd taken off from soccer in those few years after the defeat of Malomyotismon. So in a desperate attempt, to hopefully garnish him some playing time and friends, the teen turned to steroid use.

His performance had definitely improved, but the boy had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that's what Coach was going to address him about. Someone must have found out. Hesitantly Daisuke made his way to the Coach's door. I would much rather be in Japan with my friends or in the digiworld with Veemon right now…


"Miyako, dear, I didn't order a vanilla latte."

"That was mine." A strawberry-haired woman raised a hand. "This mocha latte isn't mine, though."

Miyako Inoue offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry; they must have gotten mixed up in the car."

"This is like the fifth day she's screwed up our orders." It was a scathing whisper only meant for one person to hear. Unfortunately, Miyako heard it too.

She bit her lip to keep her temper in check. If I'm able to stay with this job, maybe one day I'll be a famous talk show host. "I'll be at my desk if you guys need me."

"Thanks Miyako, darling." The two women, both in their late twenties, gave her forced cheery smiles.

The teen stomped off to her cubicle, if you'd call it even that. The owners of Kathy's Korner, the hot Vegas talk show, had given her a little coffee table to use as a desk. Miyako sighed, sitting down on the stool they'd so graciously provided for her. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

Miyako and the other preteens returned to school in Japan. The lavender-haired girl was thrilled Mimi had been offered a recording contract and been signed to work on some movies. Mimi was like the perfect older sister figure, and Miyako admired her to no end. She followed all of Mimi's works closely via television, the Internet, radio, and every now and then actually corresponding with Mimi. Secretly, it was Miyako's dream to do the same thing Mimi did.

She knew she could never make it at a singer; she once scared all the birds out of the park with her singing, but for as long as she could remember, Miyako loved acting and talking. If she couldn't make it as an actress, the girl would have loved to go into broadcast journalism or be a talk show host. Just like the one she worked for.

Her parents were not thrilled when they heard Miyako's choice of occupation. "You're only seventeen years old!" her dad proclaimed. "You need to get an education first!"

"Yes, Miyako, an education is very important."

"I know that!" she'd countered. "But this is what I want to do."

"There are other, more realistic things you could pursue." Her father chided.

Miyako glared at them and her brothers and sisters who had gathered around. "I don't care. This is what I want to do, and I'm going to do it!" Saying that, she picked up her packed bags, went to the airport, and bought a ticket to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she heard Mimi was currently living. It was a spur of the minute thing, and the girl now realized she should have planned it out more.

She had decided to stay with Mimi. They were close friends, and Mimi would let her. Sadly for Miyako, that wasn't the case.

The teen hadn't heard from Mimi in quite some time and was starting to doubt her plan. She took the money and started renting an apartment. She also enrolled in school, knowing it would help her in the future, and if things fell apart, she could go back to school.

Though she technically wasn't considered an adult, the administrators of the school let her in, as she was a famous figure, without any questions. Her classes were rather boring, and she found the transition from the Japanese school system to the American way hard. Miyako made a few friends, but mostly kept to herself. People assumed she was a foreign exchange student and didn't really bother with her.

In that time, she sent a letter to Mimi, asking her if she could live with her. She waited and waited and waited, finally receiving a response a good half-year later. The response hurt Miyako deeply. It was a signed picture from Mimi—though Miyako was fairly certain it was just a stamp—that said Thanks for the support! Love, Mimi

Miyako was shocked. She couldn't believe Mimi would send her something like that. They were friends; she wasn't just some fan wanting an autograph. The girl began to grow green with envy over Mimi's success and fame. She cut off all contact with her other friends as a result of what happened with Mimi. Miyako decided to focus her energy on becoming the best and beating Mimi.

Her chance appeared at one of the local broadcast shows, Kathy's Korner. Miyako walked in and was granted an audience with Kathy because of her high social, famous status.

Kathy appeared to be a nice lady, but didn't see things Miyako's way. She didn't have any openings for someone so young and inexperienced. However, being that Miyako was well-known; Kathy offered her a job there anyway. She'd be like a personal assistant to Kathy and helping out with little odds and ends.

It sounded at first like a dream come true for Miyako, but she soon came to hate the job with an undying passion. These odd jobs mainly consisted of getting the producers and staff coffees everyday, shredding paper, and cleaning up after everyone. It was not the glamorous life she expected. Her work began to slip, and she was apathetic to the whole thing.

It appeared Kathy was ready to cut Miyako when Miyako made a daring move. She made up a rumor about Mimi being anorexic, just so Kathy would have a huge show and keep Miyako around. The talk-show host, always ready for a juicy bit of gossip, was thrilled beyond all belief and immediately took it to air.

The lavender-haired girl regretted what she said almost instantly. From what she read in the papers, this was really hurting Mimi, and Miyako knew this wasn't the way she was. She was compromising her qualities of love and sincerity/purity to stay in the public eye. I've been a bitch to so many people. I was so incredibly rude to my family and now I just did something horrible. If only I had the others to turn to or Hawkmon to counsel me…


"Grandpa, I'm home."

The old man smiled at his young grandson. "How was school today, Iori?"

"The same as usual, Grandpa."

Iori Hida managed a weak smile before waving to his grandfather. He was fourteen and in his last year at Odaiba Junior High. The boy grabbed an apple from the kitchen table, bowed to his grandpa, and then headed into his room.

It was the normal routine for him. Iori would go to school, come home, talk with his grandpa, study, and then it was back to bed. While the other chosen seemed to bask in the spotlight, Iori tried his best to stay out of it. He didn't want to be involved in it in the first lace. The brunette only went along with it because the others all agreed to it.

When he was with the rest of the chosen, at least in the beginning, it wasn't very bad. But as time passed and fame went to certain people's heads, Iori resented the choice.

He had been incredibly happy when his mother and a few of the other parents placed them all back in school. He was ready to go back to his normal, quiet life.

But people at school refused to leave him alone. Iori was swarmed by all sorts of people from all grades asking him what happened—also mentioning they wanted to be his friends. The young teen would reply in short answers, telling these people very little or not commenting at all.

This pissed the students off. They'd heard many different versions from Miyako and Daisuke but wanted the true version. However, Iori, like Takeru and Hikari, rarely commented.

Because of that, everyone automatically assumed Iori was stuck up and too good for them. Iori didn't have many friends to begin with, and it seemed everyone believed the stories about him that flew around school. Everyone now, rather then pestering him, ignored him. Takeru and Hikari had both left for other schools so he was basically all alone.

He would occasionally run into Noriko in the park, but other than her, he had no one his age to talk with. Everyday the teen would go home and check his e-mails, hoping one of the chosen sent him something.

It was hard being the youngest of the group both then and now. He was always so isolated from the others, and he still was now. Iori was beginning to loose faith and reliability. He would stay home and sulk, wishing none of this had happened to him.

His grandfather was worried about him; Iori wasn't the same reliable boy he used to be. His grades were slipping, and he preferred isolation to community and helping others.

No new messages…go figure. I wish for just once I would hear from one of the chosen or Gennai. I miss everyone and just wish things would go back to the way they used to…


"Did you read that opinion piece in the paper that the Chosen of Despair wrote?"

"Yeah, he or she had nothing good to say about any of the digidestined, particularly Yamato Ishida."

The teacher walked into the classroom, interrupting the group's discussion. "Quiet down, please. Let's get right to business."

Takeru Takaishi yawned while pulling out his notebook. So begins another boring day in Japanese history.

Takeru was in one of the high schools in Kyoto, where he and his mother now lived. About one year after the defeat of Malomyotismon, she had been offered a position at the Kyoto paper. It was a fantastic offer and many people including Takeru urged her to accept.

So Natsuko Takaishi did just that.

He had only been back in Odaiba for about five months when he and his mom had to move. The blond drifted away from many of the older chosen—with the exceptions of Taichi, Sora, and his brother—but he'd also faded away from Miyako and Daisuke. They decided to take a different path than he preferred.

The move was not easy. It was a tearful goodbye with all his friends. He really didn't want to leave his home or most especially Hikari. They'd become best friends from their first digital world adventure, but had only recently both admitted there was something more to their relationship. Hikari and Takeru had been casually seeing each other because they knew how hard having a long-distance relationship would be—it was inferred from the strain Yamato and Sora felt—and because of their young age; they decided to go easy.

The two still remained close friends even after they moved. Takeru kept in close contact with his brother, Sora, and Kari. He'd tried e-mailing Taichi, but received no answer. The teen occasionally wrote to Iori just to tell him how things were going, but soon became too busy to worry about it.

As was the case with all the others, fame followed the boy around. He brushed it off easily though. Takeru could care less about the ideal of being "popular". To him, having friends, a good education, and a life full of hope and dreams made everyday worth living.

Hikari would often tease him about his artistic, idealistic philosophy. "Takeru, you would be the perfect writer." She was right on the ball though; writing was something he loved to do and held a passion for.

Things in his life were fine until he started hearing some of the problems the chosen had gotten into. He heard from Hikari how Taichi had left out of the blue, Miyako's own flight to freedom, and Daisuke getting sent to a boarding school to name a few. This upset the blond greatly. These were his friends; people he thought were strong enough to face everything life threw at them.

Apparently, he learned, they weren't.

Soon the boy, upon hearing his brother was packing up to America as well, decided to take some action. He knew from listening to him mother that the paper she worked for featured a daily "letters to the editor" section. He decided it was his turn to write a letter to the paper, the media, and above all the chosen.

The teen wrote a letter, demanding to know why the digidestined were given such treatment when they weren't the only group of destined. He launched off into a history he had learned from Koushiro—the boy had once babysat him and lectured for an hour about the history of the first group of chosen (at least what he knew from Gennai)—but not revealing he himself was a chosen. Needing a penname, the boy finally decided on what that described him but at the same time hid his identity. And he found the perfect one, the exact opposite of how anyone would describe him.

The Chosen of Despair.

Takeru's first letter stirred public interests, and it got passed onto many different sources. A month later, he wrote another letter, this time delving more into the topic of the two adventures he went on. The boy changed his style of writing in each, so if anyone caught onto the fact he was writing it, they would soon doubt it was Takeru. He would send his articles to various papers through e-mail.

The teen had nearly fifteen different accounts, all with different pseudonyms and such to cover his trails. It was a foolproof plan.

Yet there were two people who caught on. One knew it was him for sure, while the other mentioned it casually, not realizing he was onto something.

Yamato read the article in the Miami paper—it had been sent through the wires and soon many papers were carrying it. He phoned his brother to talk, but brought up the information the paper talked about.

"Takeru, have you read this thing by the Chosen of Despair. Whoever is writing this sure knows a lot about us. And they certainly know a lot about me and Taichi. I almost forgot about the fight it mentioned."

The younger blond gulped. "Maybe it's someone like Gennai who found out what kinds of problems we're getting into. Maybe he wanted to send a word of warning out."

Yamato laughed. "The way you talk, little bro, it sounds like you agree with this writer. I don't think things have gotten incessantly bad—well with the exception I have no idea where Taichi took off to, and I never get to see Sora."

"Who knows, Yama. I gotta go."

"Okay, say hi to mom for me."

"Bye." The younger blond abruptly cut him off. He really hadn't had to go. He just couldn't bear lying to his brother or listen to Yamato's conclusions. And you say we're doing nothing bad, Yama; you abandoned your friends and girlfriend for some record deal. Takeru didn't know the full story there, only going on his thoughts.

From that point on, Takeru had cut off all communications with Yamato. He was disappointed in his brother and didn't know Yamato's side of the story. The boy continued his articles, getting so into them that his pen name really started applying to him.

I am the Chosen of Despair. Who would have thought it would come to this. The teen looked at his latest article. I can't believe I'm writing these things about my own brother in here. If only we could redo things. Would there be any hope for us? Would I not be mad at Yama? Would we have all stayed together? Would I still get to see Patamon? Would Hikari and I still be friends…


Hikari Yagami watched her father shake his head. "What's wrong?"

"The Chosen of Despair wrote another article. It seems like this person really knew the digidestined."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Or maybe was a digidestined…" she murmured.

"Did you say something?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go to my room."

Her father smiled. "Okay dear."

The teen slowly walked into her small room. It was completely barren with the exception of a lone picture. The girl walked up to it, and with a tear in her eye, pulled it out of the frame. I can't believe it's come to this. What happened to our group? It was a picture taken a few days after their first interview. They all were there. At that time, no one cared about fame, popularity, or had any troubles.

Too bad it's still not like that. Hikari looked over at her bunk bed, the one she and Taichi used to share. Too bad I have no idea where you are either big brother. The loss of Taichi had really shook up Hikari. She missed her brother and felt like it was her fault her left. She had failed him. Had she not been a good sister? Had she done something? Said something? She would never know.

Things weren't the same. The bearer of light hated the way things turned out. She rarely heard from the others. School was becoming almost unbearable. Her friendship with Takeru was perhaps unmendable…

It was all because of those dumb letters too.

When the first letter to the editor came out, Hikari instantly knew it was from Takeru. She knew his sense of writing better than even he did. And from her close friendship—and developing relationship—the girl knew what he was doing by changing his writing form.

At first she wasn't bothered by the letters. She understood where he was coming from. Hikari would be the first to tell you she wanted things the way they used to be. But then as the letters continued, she feared the boy was loosing hope and turning into the pseudonym he used.

It was then she confronted him and then their friendship took a turn for the worse.

Hikari, during one of her annual phone calls, casually mentioned the letters. "Yeah, they are a bit odd. Maybe Gennai's writing them."

Hikari rolled her eyes at the excuse, not knowing it was the same one he told Yamato. "Takeru, cut the crap; I know you're the author of the letters."

He was silent for a moment. "So what if I am?"

"Takeru," Hikari didn't know what was happening. This wasn't the Takeru she remembered, "They were fine at first but then…"

"Look, Hika, I'm just telling the world the truth."

"But you're telling things you shouldn't. Some of the stuff you're revealing shouldn't be said."

She could sense him glare through the phone. "That's in the eye of the beholder."

"Takeru, please stop this!"

"No!" he shouted back at her. "I can't believe you don't see my side! I'm trying to get the others to turn around and think about what they're doing."

"By doing it yourself? You're no better off then them."

Her statement was greeted by another bit of silence. "Fine, Hikari, if you don't agree with me…don't bother to read the letters for one, and—d-d-don't," he was struggling to say the words, "d-don't talk to m-me then."

She gasped. "You don't mean that?"

"Yes I do!" he answered a little more confidently before slamming the phone down.

Hikari was in shock. She stared at the phone before bursting into tears. This wasn't the Takeru she remembered. She couldn't believe what happened to him. He's so bitter and resentful. I wonder what happened. Takeru, I miss you and the others. You're loosing your hope and that's making me loose light. Why can't things be fixed? I wish something would happen to bring everyone back together and have things return to normal. Maybe something like that could happen. I can always wish…

A/N: Please review! I apologize for the long wait, but I promise "Undercover" will be out soon. There's no school tomorrow—I could be out shopping though—but I bet I'll get some done!