"Starlight Explosion!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

The two attacks merged into one beam of unbridled power before striking the humanoid torso of Apocalymon. The unholy digimon gave a final scream before his data dissolved into the void; the emptiness created by the destruction of the Digital World.

"We did it!" Mimi cheered.

The other Chosen and their partners joined her in screams of applause. Even Yamato grinned slightly from the back of MetalGarurumon. He patted his partner's head. "Great job."

Sora wanted to join her friends but as she watched the massive polyhedron that made up the majority of Apocalymon's body hover in the void, a slight chill crept through her body. "Sora?" Hououmon asked.

"Something's not right," she said. She ordered the others to be quiet and then turned to Yamato. "Right? You feel it too, right?"

Yamato nodded. "Yeah. Why hasn't his body dissolved too?"

They received their answer when a voice boomed from everywhere. "Think you've won? You still haven't seen my ultimate attack! I'll destroy this world and every reality with me!"

The polyhedron started twisting and spinning as it started to shrink. Koshiro gasped. "He's collapsing in on himself, like a Black Hole!"

"Black Hole?" asked Jyou, "You mean we're all going to be crushed?"

"Wrong!" Apocalymon laughed, "You won't be crushed, you'll be incinerated! Grand Death Big Bang!"

The polyhedron spun faster and shrunk smaller. It started to emanate a yellow light that pulsed with energy as it grew larger.

"Is this the end?" Jyou asked.

"I don't want to die here!" Mimi cried.

"There has to be a solution," Koshiro rationalized.

"It's not the end!" Takeru declared.

"We won't give in," Yamato said.

"It's destiny," Hikari smiled, "Because, after all…"

Sora held up her fist, "...We're the Chosen!"

The children and their digimon partners shared a collective gasp as the digivices leaped from their hands and took up positions around the immense ball of energy. Beams of light emerged like a lattice with the devices as the vortices. An odd, seven-sided shape now surrounded the energy ball. The Chosen and their partners held their breath as the ball expanded and pushed against the structure. They exhaled in horror as the lattice of digivices collapsed.

"Oh no!" cried Hououmon.

"It didn't hold!" shouted MetalGarurumon.

"It's not strong enough!" AlturKabuterimon shouted.

"A heptagon isn't structurally sound," explained Koshiro, "We needed an even number."

Realization washed over Sora. Taichi needed to be with them. Is that why they were brought together, to contain the destruction of everything? Was there some divine path they were supposed to follow that got screwed up because Taichi died? If their destiny had been altered, what else would change?

She watched the exploding ball of light and accepted that she'd never know. She jumped from Hououmon and onto Angewomon, squeezing Hikari as tight as she could.

I'm sorry I let you down, Taichi, she thought.

As the light and heat of the explosion raced towards them, she didn't notice their digivices returning to them until she felt it clip back onto her belt. She only had a moment to question it before she felt her body rip apart and her vision went to black.

The Light of Love: The Mark of Millenniummon Prelude

Chapter 4

Sora heaved as air filled her lungs. Her eyelids flew open and she saw the bright sun hanging in the blue sky overhead. She was lying in the middle of a pile of rubble; the bricks and steel girders made her think it had once been a building. She sat upright and took in her surroundings. The tall buildings and blue water in the distance clicked in her memory. It was Odaiba! She was home!

She jumped to her feet and felt something roll off her lap. "Pyokomon?" She snatched her partner up in her arms.

"Sora?" the digimon asked, "What happened? Where are we?"

She was going to answer, but loud moans drew her attention. She twisted around and saw the other Chosen and their partners starting to wake. They had all been lying on the same debris pile. "Guys! We're back!"

Jyou kicked a small chunk of concrete down the pile. "This is just the same as when we left following our fight with Myotismon." He glanced at the sky, "How long were we gone for?"

"Who cares," Mimi grinned, "We're home."

"But how?" asked Palmon.

"Yeah," Tentomon asked, "We were all about to be vaporized."

Sora removed her digivice from her belt. "It's because of our digivices."

The other Chosen studied theirs. "Yeah, I think so," Koshiro nodded, "They saved us."

Hikari blinked. "You mean they're alive?"

He shook his head. "No, I think it's more likely they were running on some pre-installed program. For instance, they might have been programmed to try and contain Apocalymon's explosion and then, if that failed, to bring us back to Earth."

Mimi's smile faded. "We failed, didn't we? The Digital World's gone."

A somber hush fell over the group. This was broken by a chorus shouting out their names. Their parents and family members were running towards them.

The Chosen soon found out that, while they had been in the Digital World for a month, it had only been a few hours on Earth. Though the Odaiba Incident, as it was starting to be called, was known around the world, the Chosen themselves were, 'unknown children,' and their families were determined to keep it that way. They ushered their children away from the Incident sites. None of them were allowed out of their homes. Sora had spoken to Hikari almost every night on the phone, she was still jumping out of her skin to see the younger girl. She begged her mother constantly to talk to everyone else's parents and they finally agreed their children could meet up again after two weeks.

Hikari jumped into Sora's arms when the Chosen met each other in the park. "I'm so happy to see you!" she cried.

"Me too," Sora grinned. She saw the other Chosen already waiting at a picnic table beneath the shade of a thick tree. Takeru waved with both hands. Jyou had a pile of books on the table in front of him and looked up when Mimi nudged Koshiro to look up from his laptop. Yamato was leaning back against the tree.

While Hikari chatted with Takeru and the others, Sora approached the blonde boy. "Hi, Yamato."

"Hey," he said.

Sora held her hands behind her back. "Um, I'm glad you came," she giggled. Inwardly, she winced at herself. She knew she was acting like one of those girls in those romance animes. "I wasn't sure, even though you came to help me with Piedmon that we'd…" She trailed off as he stared at her.

"Look," he sighed, "I'm still not sure why I came. I mean, I came because you needed help, yeah, but honestly, I'm still not sure why."

Sora stared, trying to wrap her head around that. "Oh...kay."

Yamato sighed again. "Juriemon really messed my head up. I'm still not entirely sure who I am. I need to figure that out." He pushed himself back to his feet. "I'm still your friend and the others too but, well, I need to be alone. I'll be here if you need help, but just give me my space, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Sora said.

Yamato waved goodbye to Takeru and then marched away. "I guess we won't be seeing him at any more reunions," Jyou muttered.

Sora watched him leave. "I...I thought…"

Takeru shrugged. "Don't worry, Sora. I'll tell him everything we talk about here."

How could she talk about her feelings to an eight-year-old when she herself didn't understand them? She only nodded. "Great, thanks."

Hikari spoke, "So how are everyone's partners?"

"Good as can be expected," Jyou answered, "Gommamon's spending his days just floating in our bathtub."

"Plotmon's spending the days sleeping," Hikari said with a smile, "She's starting to act like a real puppy or kitten or whatever it is she's supposed to be."

Sora thought of Piyomon flying over the top of their apartment building. "Yeah, they're doing fine now, but can they last here in the real world?"

"Where else can they go?" asked Mimi, "The Digital World's gone now, right?"

A somber hush fell over the group. Sora stared at her feet. "I failed."

"We all did," Jyou countered.

"It wasn't your fault," Hikari said.

Sora shook her head. "I'm the leader. I should have known or done something different."

"How could you have known that we needed all eight digivices?"

She should have known. "It's the responsibility of the one in charge. " She raised her arms slightly and then dropped them, letting them hit her hips. "It's my fault."

"You're being too hard on yourself," Hikari protested. She grabbed Sora's hand. "Why don't you come over to visit? You haven't even paid your respects at Taichi's shrine."

Taichi. What would he think of her? If the situation was reversed, if she had died instead, he would have saved the Digital World, eight digivices or one, he would have done it. How could she face him?

"Maybe another time," she said, "I need to help my mother at the flower shop."

She had failed to save the Digital World and now she was lying, to Hikari of all people. Some hero she was.

So, with no other options, the Chosen spent the summer acting like normal children. They helped their partners adjust to life in the real world. Jyou brought Gommamon to the beach as often as he could, Palmon was fine running through the gardens near the Tachikawa's apartment building. Tentomon was just as happy helping Koshiro dismantle and rebuild laptops and computers. Patamon was fine wherever Takeru was and Plotmon spent most days sleeping. Piyomon flew around the city in the night sky and told Sora she was okay, but the redhead could sense that her partner felt trapped. If Sora closed her eyes, she could remember riding on Birdramon's back as they soared through the air, the wind blowing through her hair.

Her dreams weren't any more pleasant. She saw herself standing in front of Taichi. His arms were crossed with a sneer on his face. "You were supposed to be the hero in my place and look what happened."

"I'm sorry!" she protested, "I tried."

He sneered even more. "Not good enough. How could you ever think you could look after Hikari? I don't want a failure like you watching over my sister!"

She woke up and stared at the darkness in her room. She heard Piyomon snoring softly in the cot next to her bed. "Taichi," she whispered, "I'm sorry. I-"

She sat upright in bed and saw someone standing next to her window. She was about to scream for her mother but her fear turned to confusion when she realized it was Taichi! Her best friend was there, standing in her room! She blinked and he was gone.

She leaped from her bed and threw open the window. Only the night sky greeted her. She closed the window and rubbed her eyes. She was starting to see things.

Piyomon sat up in her cot. "Sora?"

"Nothing," the human said, "Go back to sleep."

Her partner studied her for a moment. "Are you having bad dreams?"

Sora winced and Piyomon nodded. "I guess that means yes." She cocked her head to the side. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sora shrugged. "What's there to talk about? I'm just having bad dreams because I'm realizing that I messed up and I'm a failure. I'm not worthy of watching Hikari."

"Of course you are! Besides which, you seemed pretty sure of yourself when you wanted Hikari to hit you with Angewomon's arrow."

Sora paused and then sighed. "A lot's happened since then."

"Sora," Piyomon said, "You are not a failure and I can't think of anyone who's better with Hikari than you."

Sora was tired of arguing, so she just said. "Yeah, maybe. I'm going back to sleep."

She crawled back into bed and closed her eyes.

Her mother handed her a list of errands the next day. She tried to use the time to clear her head, but if she let her mind wander for a second, her memory assaulted her with the nightmare from last night. She could still see Taichi glaring at her. "I don't want a failure like you watching over my sister."

She winced; it might have been a dream, but it still stung. Or maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe Taichi's spirit spoke to her last night and passed judgment on her. In either case, if a figment of her imagination or restless spirit, he was right. Sora couldn't keep Yamato in the team, she couldn't save the Digital World, she almost got Hikari killed in MugenDramon's city; she wasn't worthy of being the Chosen's leader, wasn't worthy of having a Mega partner and she wasn't worth of watching over Hikari.

"Sora, what's wrong?" her mother asked.

"Nothing," she said as she placing the shopping bags on the table, "I got everything you wanted."

"Thank you, dear. Um, I spoke to Mrs. Yagami today."

"Oh?" Sora asked as she started emptying the bags.

"She told me that you haven't been to pay your respects to Taichi."

She froze for a moment before continuing to put the cans into the cupboard. "I...I just haven't had time. I've had my soccer practices and helping you at the flower shop and-"

"Sora," her mother said. She wasn't angry but her voice had a slight edge. "Are you sure that's the reason?"

Sora glanced into the living room where Piyomon was watching television. Had she…?

"Maybe you don't want to accept that he's really gone," her mother said.

"What?" That was ridiculous. She knew Taichi was dead. She held his hand as he died. "No, Mom, I know that he's gone."

"Then you need to go over and pay your respects."

Sora started to protest but now her mother's voice was demanding. "You're going. Right now."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine." She stomped out the front door.

Sora figured that this wasn't a bad idea after all. She could just say her quick prayer and then tell Hikari she couldn't be the older sibling she wanted. Sora's heart ached at the thought but Taichi's specter hovered in her mind.

Mrs. Yagami answered the door when Sora knocked. "Oh, hello, Sora. Please come in. I'm glad you came."

Sora had just gotten her sneakers off when she heard a door open, followed by loud footsteps. "Sora!"

"Hi, Hikari."

The younger girl grabbed Sora's hand. "I'm glad you came. Taichi's been waiting."

Sora thought of Taichi standing in her room. "What?"

Hikari led her into the living room. A small family shrine had been set up on the wall, complete with a picture of Taichi. "Oh, right."

Hikari frowned at her and motioned to the picture. "He's been waiting for you to come and see him."

The picture of Taichi had him in a suit and tie and his hair was only slightly unkempt. It must have been from their fifth-grade class photos. She remembered that day. She was fidgeting in her dress and most of their classmates were just as uncomfortable in their formal wear. Not Taichi. He was just as confident as if he was in his soccer uniform. "No worries," he grinned.

Sora felt tears start to trickle down her cheeks. "Taichi…Taichi, I'm sorry I let you down."

She tried to hold it back, but the dam broke. She heaved and sniffled. "Taichi, I couldn't take your place. I tried, but I just couldn't. I let you die, I let the Digital World get destroyed, I drove Yamato away, I'm just such a failure!"

She fell onto her knees and sobbed. Hikari crouched down next to her. "Sora, you didn't fail at anything. It wasn't your fault that the Digital World was destroyed and it wasn't your fault that Taichi died."

Sora wiped her face with the back of her hand. "But if I couldn't do any of that stuff right, how can I be worthy to have the power you gave me to evolve Piyomon to Hououmon? You're better off without me."

Hikari gasped and then wrapped her arms around her. "No! Sora, no! I want you to stay with me! Please don't go anywhere. It's not your fault that we didn't have enough digivices and Yamato said he was still our friend, right?" She started to cry as well. "And Taichi made plenty of mistakes, but never gave up, right?"

The memory of SkullGreymon entered Sora's mind. Taichi messed up worse than any of the Chosen, and he never gave up.

Hikari said, "And…and I was talking to Takeru before. He said that the Digimon are reborn in the Village of Beginnings, so maybe the same thing'll happen to the Digital World."

Sora considered this. Was it just Takeru being the hopeful kid he was or could there be some truth to it? "Maybe. I'll need to talk to Koshiro. But, Hikari, even so, I still-"

Hikari frowned at her with her hands on her hips. The sight of an eight-year-old standing like an angry adult made Sora smile slightly. "No more talk about you being a failure. I like you Sora, I really like you. I still want to be your friend, oneechan."

Sora's smile grew. That was the first time Hikari called her that. "But-"

"Even if you think you made so many mistakes, then we'll just fix them together." Her stern face softened. "And Taichi really liked you too. I know he'll be happy if we stay together."

Sora felt the last of her resolve break. She squeezed Hikari in a hug. "Okay," she said, "Then I promise we'll stay together."

As they hugged, Sora looked over Hikari's shoulder to Taichi's picture in the small shrine. "Taichi, I promise that from now on, I won't abandon Hikari, and I'll do the best I can."

The boy watched Sora and Hikari embrace from his spot on the balcony outside the apartment. The bond between the two girls was stronger than he thought. He was going to need help.

He adjusted his dark orange hoodie before holding up a similarly colored digivice. A beam of light emerged from the screen, growing into a shimmering circle. He gave a final look through the window before jumping through and vanishing.

To be continued in The Mark of Millenniummon

Did you enjoy it? Any criticism? Thanks for the read and please remember to review.

Author's Note: We're at the end of this fic. My next upload will be the next chapter of the Altered Crests storyline. Once that fic is finished, we'll get into the main story.

Altered Crests: The Crest of Deception

A female version of Taichi is friends with Mimi and Sora, but after Mimi gives Sora a better birthday present, Taichi starts telling white lies to keep her friendship with Sora. Then Sora announces she has a crush on Yamato, something that Taichi has as well.