What happens if you place a large stone in a river? Not one large enough to block it, but one large enough to divert it? Which way does the water now flow? It's up to chance. The same with time. Each stone is an event, a choice, a decision made or not made. From those stones, the flow of time diverts. Some are large branches while others are small streams. In every stream, a Digital World exists, and in every Digital World, so does the Chosen Children.
A
The Mark of Millenniumon Prelude
The Light of Love
Chapter 3
Yamato's eyes were almost icy blue, as cold as his last statement. "What?" Sora asked.
The blonde glanced at the other Chosen in the forest clearing before focusing back on the redhead. "I know you heard me, but, fine, I'll repeat it. I'm going to fight you. It's the only way I can figure out who I really am."
Takeru stepped towards Yamato but Jyou held him back. Sora expected the young boy to protest, but he didn't try to break free. "You're Yamato. You're my big brother."
"I know that," Yamato said, a slight edge in his voice, "I don't have memory loss or anything. I just need to find myself, find my purpose in this group," He gestured to the trees and then the sky, "and in this world. In order to do that, I have to fight you, all of you."
"Sounds to me like you've got memory loss," Gommamon muttered.
"He's right," Sora said, "We're your friends. If you're having trouble with something, we can help you."
She took a step forward but MetalGarurumon growled at Yamato's side. Piyomon leaped in front of Sora with her wings outstretched. "Yamato, please."
"What's going on, Yamato?" Jyou asked.
He met him with an icy stare. "I just want to know why I'm here."
"Because you were chosen to save this world," Koshiro said, "Just like the rest of us."
"But why us? And who chose us?" He sighed and shook his head. "But that's not what I'm really talking about. You know who you are here, Jyou, you know your place in this group." He motioned to the others, "So do the rest of you. Where do I fit in, huh? I'm not the hero, I'm not the smart guy, I'm just always in someone else's shadow, always just at the edges of the group."
"That's not true," Takeru protested. He gestured to Hikari. "You were the one who led us to rescue Hikari from Myotismon."
Yamato frowned. "And I'm the one who got her captured in the first place and I wasn't any good until Taichi showed up." He growled. "But that's what I'm talking about. I couldn't do anything, Taichi saved the day. I was always in his shadow and now that- " He dropped his scowl and he dropped to a near whisper. "-that he's gone…" The edge returned to his voice and he focused on Sora, "…I'm in yours."
Sora blinked. "M-mine? Yamato, if anything, I'm in your shadow."
He snorted. "Don't make me laugh. When we needed a leader, everyone flocked to you." He paused, "A Jyureimon helped me understand what I need to do. If I want to find out what I'm supposed to do in this world, I need to break free from everyone's shadow."
Sora felt her heart go cold. "Yamato, we're not a burden to you or something like that. We're your friends."
Yamato winced. "I-I know but…" His face hardened again. "I have to do this!" He raised his arm and Sora held her breath. Yamato gave one last look at the others before dropping it.
MetalGarurumon charged and Piyomon jumped into the air. "Piyomon warp evolve to Hououmon!"
Yamato's partner attacked first, blasting the phoenix with a barrage of missiles. Sora's partner avoided the projectiles by flying further into the air with a flap of her mighty wings. She exhaled a blast of fire and MetalGarurumon twisted aside in a barrel roll. He shot forward with a whirl of his thrusters and slammed his head into Hououmon's stomach. She cawed and then threw open her wings. The flexing of her large muscles sent him back and she swatted him with her wings. He countered with a stream of ice from his mouth. "Cocytus Breath!"
Sora hissed as her partner took the blast in the face. "Yamato!" she screamed, "Stop this!"
Hououmon recovered quickly and countered with her own elemental breath attack. "Crimson Flare!"
Yamato watched as Hououmon's fire breath attack struck his partner and caused him to scream out in pain. The look of horror on the blonde solidified into stone once again. "You first."
Sora met his eyes again. They were so blue, so cold. She should have pleaded with him again, should have begged him to stop again, but she narrowed her eyes. "Okay, fine. If we need to beat some sense into you, then that's what we're gonna do."
Hikari pushed out of Mimi's arms and raced to Sora's side. "Sora, no, you've got to stop..." She tugged on Sora's waist. "What if something bad happens to you? We're all supposed to be friends. Don't fight him."
She suddenly twirled her head around and stared at a section of the forest where a pair of butterflies floated over a bush. Sora felt Hikari's grip relax and she faced her. "Hikari?"
"I thought I heard someone calling me, but I guess not." Hikari turned back to Sora, "Never mind that. You can't fight Yamato."
"I have to." She filled her lungs, pushing down the doubts in her mind, "Yamato started it, but I need to finish it."
Koshiro watched Mimi run onto the battlefield to try and coax Hikari back to the sideline. Beside him, Takeru was trying to break free of Jyou's hold on him. Koshiro wanted to do something, but other than ordering Tentomon to AlturKabuterimon in some plan to stop the fight, he was at a loss.
He heard a soft chime. He swung his backpack off his shoulders. "What?" his partner asked.
"I just got an email."
Sora watched Hououmon smash her right wings into MetalGarurumon as she dodged his slashing attack. "Get a hold of yourself," she cried.
The wolf grunted and he fired missiles into her chest. "I'm well aware of what I'm doing. Yamato thinks he's alone, that friendship is just a lie. I have to stand by him. I'm sorry."
Sora turned from the battle back to Yamato. "Please, Yamato, we can talk through this. I'm not your enemy."
"I know that," he snapped, "but I need to prove to myself that I'm not in anyone's shadow. Not Taichi's, not yours, not anyone's!"
Sora watched their partners battle and then turned to the other Chosen. They watched with looks of horror on their faces; well, all save Koshiro who was doing something, again, on his laptop. If Yamato went through her, what would he do to the others?
She squeezed her fists and made her heart go as stone as she could. "Fine. Then I'm ending this right now! Ready, Hououmon?"
Her partner cawed from above. "Ready!"
Yamato squeezed his own fists. "MetalGarurumon!"
"Ready," his partner growled.
Both Digimon raced towards each other.
"Starlight Explosion!"
"Garuru Tomahawk!"
The two attacks exploded on contact, sending out a shockwave that not only hit both Digimon but sent Sora and Yamato tumbling backward. Sora regained her footing once the waves of energy stop washing over her and she saw Pyocomon and Tsunomon lying on the ground. Her heart froze for a moment but both Digimon moaned softly. They were both alive.
She ran to Pyocomon's side. She was only just aware of Takeru breaking out of Jyou's arms. He ran to where Yamato stood over Tsunomon. "Yamato!"
"Stay away," Yamato screamed. He pushed Takeru back and the younger boy fell backward, sliding along the ground before coming to a stop.
Silence descended. Yamato's look of horror made Sora guess he had only meant to give his brother a slight shove. The redhead studied Takeru as Jyou helped him to his feet and then stared at their partners. "How did this make you find your answers?" she screamed.
Whatever Yamato was about to say, if anything, was interrupted when Koshiro gasped. This was followed by the others yelling in surprise. Sora spun around and her mouth dropped slightly. Koshiro was seated cross-legged with his laptop open and a column of light emerging from the monitor. "What did you do?" Jyou asked.
"I just opened an email message," he said.
"I guess that's why you shouldn't open strange messages, right?" Tentomon chuckled.
The column of light began to flash in a wave of colors until it displayed an image of a city street surrounded by buildings. "Is that Earth?" asked Koshiro. He then gasped, "That's Hikarigaoka."
"Is this live?" asked Jyou.
Koshiro studied his laptop monitor. "Hold on. There's a message here too." He scanned the text. "Ah, it's like a video file." He clicked enter and the image blurred slightly before displaying two children crouching in the street. Sora felt Hikari tense. "That's me and Taichi."
"Is it that night?" Sora asked, "The one where we saw Greymon and that other digimon fighting?"
A voice emerged from the speakers on Koshiro's laptop. Sora doubted she could describe it; it sounded neither male nor female, neither younger nor old.
"Greetings Chosen Children. I am a being who strives to restore balance to the Digital World. To help you understand the future, I will show you the past."
The image zoomed out from Taichi and Hikari to pan the apartment buildings. Though a large number of children were looking out their windows, the image stopped on each of the Chosen Children. Yamato winced slightly at the sight of him and Takeru together.
The image shifted again, this time to a castle room filled with figures in white robes bustling around strange machinery. In the center of the room were eight Digieggs attached via cables to a tag and crest. The image shifted once more. Piedmon blasted his way into the room and defeated the figures in a quick battle. He was challenged by a younger Gennai before Gennai escaped with the Digieggs and crests.
The voice resumed speaking. "Those of Gennai's order strive to maintain the balance of the Digital World, and so, they sent a digiegg into your world. This Digiegg became the Koromon that you witnessed that night. From there, eight of you were Chosen." The voice paused for a moment before it continued with a slightly subdued tone. "That seven only remain is a tragic turn of events. We shall see if you can face the ultimate darkness."
"What ultimate darkness?" asked Sora.
"An unintended consequence of the Digital World's existence. It exists in every creation event."
"What do you mean every creation event?" asked Koshiro.
"What happens if you place a large stone in a river? Not one large enough to block it, but one large enough to divert it? Which way does the water now flow? It's up to chance. The same with time. Each stone is an event, a choice, a decision made or not made. From those stones, the flow of time diverts. Some are large branches, others are small streams. In every reality, a Digital World exists, and in every reality, so does the ultimate darkness. And so, in every reality, the Chosen Children exist."
"You mean there are other versions of us?" asked Koshiro.
"Yes. Some of you are different, but there are always constants."
The column of light blurred and then displayed an image of Taichi and Yamato. "The dragon and the wolf always exist, as do the angels."
Hikari whimpered and Sora frowned. "Yeah, but our world doesn't have a Taichi anymore."
The voice seemed to chuckle as the column of light shifted to display an image of Taichi with his arm around Hikari's shoulder. "Oh? Are you certain of that?"
Sora blinked and glanced at herself. She held Hikari in a similar pose. "M-me? I'm Taichi now?"
"You have taken his place and accepted his destiny as your own," the voice answered, "My time is short, so I will leave you with this. You represent order in the face of chaos, light amid darkness. The Digital World represents the computer networks of your world, and so, both are linked. If the Digital World fails, your world will sink into darkness. Good luck, Chosen Children." The column of light faded.
Koshiro studied the monitor before saying. "That's it."
"Yeah, great," Sora replied.
"Are you okay?" Pyokomon asked.
Sora huffed and crossed her arms. "So, Sora Takenouchi's not important to destiny or whatever? Only the boys are?"
"Not really," Koshiro said, "The voice said that Hikari's important too and…"
Her death stare silenced him and he turned away. Sora's face softened and she turned to Yamato. "So, there are your answers. Are you satisfied?"
He was silent as he held Tsunomon. He turned to Takeru, who was standing next to Jyou. He took a step towards his brother. "Takeru, I'm sorry."
The younger boy nodded. "Yeah, I know that you didn't mean it." He shrugged. "It's okay."
Yamato winced and took a step back. "No, it's not okay." He shook his head. "I'm just so confused about everything right now. I need time to get my head together."
Sora swallowed. "You're not leaving us, are you?"
"Yeah, I think I am. Not forever, just…" He trailed off and then started walking away. "I'll be around if you need me."
Takeru started after him but stopped. "Yeah, okay."
Sora watched him and Tsunomon vanish into the forest. She reached for him, wanting to ask him to stay but bit her lip. Takeru was talking to Hikari while rubbing Patamon's head. If Yamato's own brother let him go, what hope did she have?
Mimi walked up to her. "If he wants to go, you have to let him, right? Boys can be so stubborn, so if you forced him to stay, that wouldn't end well, right?"
Sora shook her head. "I guess not, but we're a team, we should stay together." She frowned, "Some leader I am."
Mimi smiled. "Sora, I wanted to leave too."
She twirled on her. "Mimi, no! Please, you-"
Mimi chuckled. "I wanted to leave, but I'm not going to now. I liked Taichi and I'm really sad that he's gone, but…" She shrugged, "…but you make me think we're really going to make a difference here. Besides…" She gestured to Hikari and Takeru, "You've got your hands full being the leader. You need my help to watch over the others."
Sora felt tears start to push at her eyes. She hugged her friend. "Mimi, thank you."
As the two girls rejoined the others, Sora glanced over her shoulder but she could no longer see Yamato.
Author's Note: More of an explanatory chapter; introducing some things that will be important later. I tried to show why Yamato fought the others in this timeline and that he was more conflicted about it since he didn't have Taichi to focus his anger and confusion on. Also, Homeostasis didn't possess Hikari this time since Hikari was too focused on Sora to 'let' it inhabit her. Why was Hikari more focused on Sora than she was on Taichi? I'll go over that in the next chapter.