Digimon: Legacy
The Crest Legacy
Pt. 1: Quest for the Crests!
Prologue
A Day in the Park

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, nor the vast majority of the characters who shall appear within this immense story arc. I am using American names, nicknames, and the American timeline. Actually, I lied. Certain parts of the timelines and names are combinations of Japanese and American. Also, I can’t find find Willis’ last name, so I made it up. Aside from that, remember that the Digidestined of Japan speak in Japanese, and therefore do not speak English. I know that you know that, but I’m just making sure.
Anyway, on to the prologue. Enjoy…

Author’s Note

A word to the reader:
Welcome to a new world. A world that is at once very familiar, and yet is very different.
The time of the original DigiDestined as we knew them has passed. The times in their lives when they were the front line of defense for both worlds has passed. They still carry the duty of protecting the world on their shoulders. It is now time for the torch to be passed. It is now time for all of the powers and abilities unlocked by the original Digidestined to be gathered together and used as one. It is time for a new team to arise…
It is now time, as T.K. once said so profoundly…

“to take the first step into adventure.”

August 13th, 2028
Five years ago…
It is a beautiful day in the Digital World. The evil that has plagued it for so long is long gone. And for the Digidestined, it is a time of celebration and reunion. And as the children of the Digidestined run through the fields, T.K.’s voice is heard over the sounds of merrymaking.
“So, you can see we're still having adventures. They're just a little different than the ones we used to have when we were kids. The darkness has not been conquered, and it will continue to fight against the light forever. But as long as people remember to follow their dreams, evil will be kept at bay. And on days like today, it's hard to see any darkness anywhere. Now it's up to our children, and to children everywhere, to follow their dreams. Who knows where they'll end up... But the only way to find out is to take the first step into adventure.”
And for the Digidestined, their adventures in the Digital world have ended.
For now.

Somewhere in a State of Timelessness…
It's the work of Diaboromon… Wasn't he destroyed… We thought we beat him… But he must have survived… Agumon… Gabumon… DNA Digivolve to… Omnimon… Transcendent Sword… open a portal… Omnimon… Davis… Ken… pull yourself together… VEEMOOONNNN… WORMMOOONNNN… go get him… Veemon… Wormmon… Digivolve to… ExVeemon… Stingmon… DNA Digivolve to… Paildramon… Mega Digivolve to... Imperialdramon… you can't lose hope… we can't beat him... we've always fought to the end before… you guys never gave up… it's filled with everybody's hopes... take it… everyone's power… this is… everybody's… HHIIYYAAUUGGHH… GO… everyone, send your light into the sword… Concentrate…
For the nameless consciousness floating in the void, it is an interesting experience. It knows not who it was, or from where it had come. It only knows names. Strange names. Names that fill it with warmth. Faces are sometimes attached, faces with names like Tai, Matt, Davis, and Ken. Faces with names like Yolie, Cody, T.K., and Kari. Faces with names like Izzy, Sora, Mimi, and Joe. Strange names. It does not know anything about them, except that they are a crucial part of its past. But are they a crucial part of my future?
Other faces, faces that are not… human. That was the word. Faces named Agumon, Gabumon, Veemon, and Wormmon. There were others, some which fill it with warmth, and others that fill it with joy. And some filled it with fear and loathing. Some faces, even though it knew not who they were, granted it the knowledge of what “evil” was. Some had hurt… someone. It didn’t know what, it just knows.
“Why?!? Why!?! Cease this torment! I need solitude! My purpose does not exist yet!” It is a significant measure of how intertwined its thoughts and speech are that it does not notice that it has spoken aloud. But how can it? It has no form. It only knows the names. And the memories. This memory is common. Perhaps it was fresher. It now knows some things about the names.
It knows that one of them was once considered brash, but had later found balance, becoming a greater being for it. It knew that one of them once sacrificed himself for his friend, one who had hurt him before, knowing that there was only one way to save him. It knew that one of them had once left the group, and had rejoined once he had found himself, causing a new strength to emerge amongst his friends. It knew that one of them had once come face to face with a viral reflection of himself, and had discovered that a hated enemy had a heart and a soul, and that he had an unknown purpose. But what is a heart? I only know that it exists. I do not know if I have one. And what is a… soul? Do I have one of those? Is merely asking the question proof? Is it an illusion? I know that this argument has been said before. But who said it?!? Why do these memories plague me and me alone? And why are they so incomplete? Why are they all of fighting? Is that all that I am made for?
There are other things too. Other memories that are more disjointed than this more common one. Memories of a cruel whip from a loved friend (but how does it know what a whip was?), memories of a Golden Radiance (what did that mean?), memories of a painful and corrupt power forced onto someone (how does it know the pain of something like that?), and memories of the hurt caused of an illusory betrayal (how can it understand the concept of betrayal?). These were but the strongest among the weaker memories. All of his memories were weak, mere shadows. Only the one that involved a sword, and this Omnimon, and this Imperialdramon… yes, those were the strongest. It was especially strong after one of the two dueling warriors sacrificed himself to empower another. Then, the memories became sharp, as if four minds were seeing it at once. Perhaps it had something to do with how it was created. Perhaps…
Perhaps it had been there. Perhaps it had been one of those warriors. But then why do I not know more? Have the memories of its past been taken from it? And why? Some of its memories, the ones that were clearer, are the ones that two of these shades had experienced. Does that mean that they were the same at that time… aaauuuggghhh!
Pain. Somewhere, someone, was in pain. Someone needs - or would need - him to help them. And someone is calling to it. Someone.
Come.
For the formless mind, it is a sign.
“Perhaps… perhaps my purpose lies out there.”
It knows not what a purpose is. It only knows that once, a purpose had required a sacrifice. He knows that everyone has a purpose. But from the memories, it believes that purpose is only revealed to those who look for it. And from its memories, it knows that some have found their purpose. It wishes to meet these brave fighters. People who place their very existence on the line for those they shall never meet. Perhaps that is my purpose. To help them. But it could not know, until it took the chance that was life.
The consciousness reaches out, and gives its reply… I come.
It was time for its birth. Why did it feel like it had done this before?

The Primary Village, File Island
April 13th, 2029
The Primary Village. Is there anyway more pure and simple than it? After all, this is a place of life, a place of rebirth. And for Elecmon, life had become slightly… DULL.
For ever since the Digidestined had defeated the evils of the Digital World, humanity and Digimon had grown closer together. Now, man and Mon existed for the single purpose of peace. Unfortunately, all of that peace means that there isn’t a lot to do in a place where Digimon could be reborn. It has been weeks since a little one had come through.
Elecmon simply shakes his head. “I always desired peace. Now that I have it, I’m not so certain that it was a wise idea.”
Who is he kidding? He couldn’t give up the balance that had been created over the past twenty-five years. It simply was how things are.
What?
For within one of the open fields, a DigiEgg has appeared. It doesn’t look like much. It is a pure white color, reflecting the Digital Sun rays over it. Wait, it isn’t pure. There are some strange marks. It has some kind of a symbol on it… it looks like a golden “V”, with a pair of identical tick marks underneath it. Simple, but pretty.
CCCCCRRRRRAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!
“My goodness, aren’t we the anxious one! Come on. You can do it. Come on.”
Slowly, surely, a thin crack spreads across the entire egg, eventually forming a complete ring around the it.
Pop! The top half separates from the bottom, and from within the egg, two green eyes gleam.
“Hello. What’s your name, little one?”
“Chotamon!”
Elecmon grins. He does not know what he was seeing. “Welcome to new life, Chotamon.”
For Chotamon, some strange feeling tells him that a friend should have been waiting for him…

Elsewhere…
Once more, we return to a Digital Limbo. This world, however, is a dark one. It is not the World of Darkness. It is where darkness exists in its purest form - untouched by the light. And here is were we find another floating stream of consciousness.
“Yes… yes… yes…”
“The fools do not know what they have set into motion.”
“It is almost my time… I shall soon have what I need… my essence must travel…”
“I shall soon have my revenge…”

Tokyo
April 12, 2029
A long-range camera angle brings us on an approach to the corporation towers, located where the old Tokyo TV station once was (where Myotismon was first defeated, and where Wizardmon’s ghost resided). The massive buildings have the corporation logo, that of the streaking "I". The old TV station has the corporation logo, as well as the Crest of Knowledge painted on it. We approach one of the top windows of the old station, and look into an office. A very familiar face is sitting at the desk.
“Willis! How’s everything going down there?” says the DigiDestined of knowledge into the intercom pickup on his desk. A voice, slightly mechanical due to the signal transfer, replies:
“We’re ready, Izzy! You can come down whenever you want!
“Excellent! I shall be right there!”
Izzy moves through his office, heads down the hallway, and enters an elevator. He removes a blank card from one of his jackets inner pockets, and, after ensuring that his fingers were resting on the contact points, places the card in one of the gaps between the panels on the walls. He waits five seconds, then sharply slides the card down the the slot. A high-pitched “beep” comes from the speaker on the wall, and Izzy reaches out and presses the emergency stop button. A voice emerges from the speaker.
“Please state your password.”
A brief pause, and then… “Tentomon! Digivolve to… Kabuterimon!”
* Bleep! *
“Voiceprint Confirmed. Password accepted.”
The Elevator drops, bypassing all of the levels, including the lowest basement, until it finally stops. Izzy steps out of the elevator, into an obvious laboratory. A scientist in an insulation suit steps out from an airlock. He removes his helmet, and it’s… WILLIS!
“Welcome back, sir!”
Izzy just shakes his head. “Willis, we’ve been friends for years. Enough with the sir! Now, is the experiment almost ready?”
“Yep. All we need is your Digivice, and we can start.”
“Good.”
Izzy pulls on one of the suits, and walks through the airlock. They then pass through a second airlock. Finally, they reach a spherical room, filled with technicians and computers. In the center of the chamber are twelve columns. On top of five of them are the original Digivices. On six others are the original D3 Digivices. Into these eleven run dozens of thin cords and cables. On the central pillar rests a golden tinted Digivice. It is of a different design, more spherical than the others, with a circular flap on its top. Izzy sets his Digivice down on the last pillar, and connects several wires to it. He steps away, and sits down at one of the computers, opposite Willis.
Izzy looks up from his monitors. “Where’s Ken?”
“He’s on an assignment. He won’t be back for a few days,” replies his friend from across the room.
“Oh, well. Are we ready?”
One of the suited figures raises his hand, his thumb extended to the air. “Ready! Dr. Raynor, I’m setting up your consoles!”
Willis acknowledges the help, and promptly logs himself.
“Dr. Samtoya , how’s everything over on your end?” came from Izzy.
Yet another of the suited figures raises his head up. “The Lazarus Digivice is ready for data acceptance.”
A rapid fire series of computerese language begins sounding across the room.
“Prepare data collection sequence.”
“Activate subroutines.”
“Initiate the Lazarus Digivice.”
“We are prepared to release the data.”
“Data Trap procedures are online.”
“Data hookups are good.”
“Open the Digital Portal.”
“Digiport… open!”
“Digital Portal is opened.”
“Activate the Digivices.”
Simultaneously, all six of the Digivices and the six D3’s activate.
“It looks good, people.”
“Data search activated.”
“We’re looking!”
At Willis’ desk, the trio of monitors are split into four portions. Each one has images of various Digimon moving at a high rate of speed. Finally, two of the screens stop, and the images move to the front. It’s an image of a Gotsumon.
“Found it. One Gotsumon, prepared for recreation.”
“Begin.”
The two Digivices, T.K.’s D3 and Matt's Digivice, spit out a stream of data, similar to that seen during Season 4. The twin streams collect over the Digivice, and begin to compress. Suddenly, the cloud of data dissipates, and flows into the golden Digivice through a set of four antennae.
The American scientist looks up from his monitoring station. “Any second now…”
Come on, come on…
The hinged flaps open on the golden Digivice, revealing a complex miniature antennae hidden within the opening. The antennae begins to spin clockwise, then suddenly splits along four nigh-invisible lines. As the antennae opens up, a new stream of data floats up. It begins to coil, and becomes… a Digiegg. Several robotic appendages move down, and gently hold the egg. The antennae closes, and the flaps rotate into locking position.
None of the scientists notice the wisp of dark mist that emerged from one of the computers. None of them notice the wisp enter one of the computers. Therefore, none of them notice that a computer virus is flooding their systems.
“We have achieved success.”
“We have one Digiegg, in a most excellent condition.”
“Scans show that the Digiegg is stable.”
“Shall we move the egg, sir?”
“Take it to the incubation room. Then move it to the Primary Village.”
“Should we try one more?”
“I don't see why we shouldn't. Commence data scan.”
“Commencing scan.”

Elsewhere…
Yes…
My form is ready…
I call…
It comes…

Back at the Secret Laboratory…
Once more, the team of scientists begin searching. Only this time, something goes wrong…
“The Digivices! Look!”
“They’re… glowing!”
“The computer is searching by itself! I can’t stop it!”
“Nuts! Shut down the system! Shut it off!”
“Too late!”
A data stream emerges from all of the digivices at once, and is promptly sucked towards the golden Digivice.
“No!” comes from the suited figure of Willis. He leaps from his position at his table, and dives towards the golden Digivice. He tries to snatch the golden Digivice after flying through the air, but the data is already collating. A wispy tendril of data is extended, and wraps around the Digivice. The form of data begins to solidify, assuming a dark-colored humanoid form. Then it begins to move around in a seemingly random fashion.
“Shut down all of the computers! Don’t save! Don’t do anything! Pull the plugs if you have to!”
“The Digiport!”
“On it!”
It is too late. The shape of data has already begun entering the portal. And then, everyone silences at the sound of a sibilant voice echoing through the laboratory.
“Revenge is mine!”
“No!”
“Done…”
All turn and regard the now closed Digiport. And realize that they closed it too late. All of them voice the exact same thought at the same time.
“Oh, SHIT.”

Elsewhere…
In the infinite space of the barriers between the Real World and the Digital World, the humanoid floats through barrier after barrier. It still wields the golden Digivice. It’s words echo throughout the space.
“Finally, after years and years of waiting, I can destroy those who wronged me! The universe shall be mine again!”
The stream approaches the final barrier separating the Real World from the Digital World. Then, it discovers that some things have changed since it was last here…
“What?”
For floating in front of the stream, is a butterfly. A single, rainbow hued butterfly. From all around comes a strangely familiar voice, a voice that symbolizes the only thing that can stop this invader.
“You shall not pass.”
At best, the shape looks mildly peeved. It has no time for these annoyances. After all, it has two worlds to conquer and destroy. “And just what makes you think that you can stop me?”
The strange voice sounds once more. “I am this world’s Guardian. And no evil shall enter here.”
The butterfly replicates itself, until there are hundreds of them. Gradually, they form the face of the Guardian, the face of…
Oikawa.
“I have been your kind. You mean nothing more than destruction.”
“I can see into your heart. Believe me, the evil that you contained was nothing compared to what I once was!”
“I have protected this world for twenty-five years, and none have breached it!”
What the shape does not know is that Oikawa was stalling. Twenty-five years earlier, he had felt the stirrings of a great power. He had gradually probed this stirring. He has learned much of it. And now, he calls to this power. Come.
He can only hope that his message went through. Wait… It has answered. I come…
The shape speaks its message.
“That may be. However, I shall reenter this world, and nothing you do can stop me!”
“We shall see…”
“Viral Corrupter!”
The data stream rears back, and emits a flare of power. The energy strikes several of the butterflies, and nothing apparently happens. And then…
“AAAUUUGGGHHH!”
Suddenly, the butterflies begin to decay, and simply vanish into thin air. They disappear faster than they can copy themselves. Oikawa’s face begins to collapse. Suddenly, a flash of recognition on the part of Oikawa’s face…
“It’s… you…!”
“I have returned! The Digidestined cannot stop me now! They succeeded in destroying me once! They shall not succeed again!”
“We… shall… see…”
Oikawa vanishes, allowing the Data Stream to enter the Digital world. However, it never reaches there. Instead, it reappears in realm where few ever hope to go to, let alone travel there multiple times. Only two have done traveled there more than once. It is the Dark Continent.
The data figure searches the world, eventually finding what he desires.
The Control Spire.
It floats into the spire, which immediately glows with an evil blackness.
“It is time to begin my domination.”
A second glow, this one a sickly green, leaves a black mist surrounding the spire. The mist moves away, towards a clearing, and vanishes.
It reappears within the Digital World.
The mist moves around, eventually settling on a wooded area, with a pool in the middle of an open grove.
The pool is filled with Chinese noodle soup.
And floating above the pool is a Destiny Stone.
From within the cloud emerges an evil whisper, a whisper that would send shivers down the back of the most hardened individual.
“This shall do nicely…”
The mist settles on the ground surrounding the pool. The soil turns a sickly green. From the center of the green soil, sprouts a tiny flower.
The flower opens, and begins to cast its spore to the winds.

At the realm of the Harmonious Ones…
In a realm of pure light, the massive Holy Dragon Azulongmon floats, contemplating the universe. His meditation, however, is interrupted by a cry of pain, deep in the back of his mind.
“Trouble… I sense trouble…”
Oikawa appears, looking human once more. However, his flesh is as pale as when he was controlled by Myotismon. Something is wrong. He is clearly in pain. He is gasping, and his form sometimes fragments, only to reassemble again.
“Azulongmon, I… haven’t much time. Something is back… something that even the Digidestined could barely defeat.”
“What is it, this… something?”
“He seemed… familiar. I’ve seen… him before. But listen. Our plans must be put in motion. I have one… last… wish. Take me to… the Dream Dimension.
“You are certain that there is no other way?”
The form of Oikawa hangs his head, a sign of defeat.
“Yes.”
“Very well”
The two of them simply disappear.

In the Dream dimension…
The chaotic realm that is the Dimension of Dreams is before us. It has been repaired: the dimensional hole between it and the Digital World is gone. It is also starkly empty. Oikawa and Azulongmon appear amidst it. Oikawa is in even greater pain. His consciousness and power shall not exist for much longer.
“Azulongmon, listen… when I am gone… you must… continue forward.”
“I understand, my friend.”
“We must… create… a new team. And we need… a new… power. I can… supply the latter. You must… awaken the team. My strength shall… create what we need. And I… shall do the rest.”
Oikawa ceases to exist. His body divides once more into the butterflies; this time they combine into a sphere of light, a sphere that retracts to form a… Digiegg. The egg could be made of the purest silver. A single white band divides the egg, with golden DigiCode letters running around the ring.
And in the eye of the Dragon Guardian, a single tear appears. The tear falls, landing on the Egg.
A brief glow, and the egg is gone.
“Goodbye, my friend…”

At the realm of the Harmonious ones…
Days later…
“My brethren, we have much work ahead of us.”
That was putting it mildly. The Dragon looked around at his fellow Guardians. Ebonwumon, the turtle, gazed at his great friend. Zhuqiaomon, the bird, looked annoyed. And Baihumon, the tiger, had a look in his eyes that suggested a lack of enjoyment. The giant bird spoke first.
“Putting aside all of the plans that you have outlined, all of these conflicts between dark and light have been in your region, correct? How do they affect us?”
The tiger shook his head. “A threat to one part of the Digital World is a threat to all parts. Follow the plans of Azulongmon we must.”
“How can we be certain that his plan shall not work?”
“Perfect no plan is. However, this plan has covered many holes that shall be created. The Dragon has even created a secondary plan, in the eventuality that the events that led to our freedom be repeated.”
The turtle spoke up for the first time. “We… must… remember… what… this… plan… entails.”
“Would the level of power you speak of prevent us from manipulating our plans?”
Azulongmon spoke up again. “Please, listen! It is true that this much expenditure is dangerous, but we must do all that we can for our world. Somehow, we must assemble a new team.”
“You… do… not… ask… much.”
“Indeed?”
“However, complete the plan is. How shall we set it into action?”
“The power of Oikawa cannot be influenced by us. It shall choose its carrier. All that we can do is protect it until it is ready. That means to assemble a new team. And we must be quick. If this evil is as great as Oikawa believed it to be, then the original teams shall be ineffective. This evil knows all that they can do, largely because it can control so much.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I know this because I have been monitoring the work of certain members of the Digidestined. Their work has been admirable, but now, it has resurrected this evil.”
“Returning ourselves to the topic of which we have been called, how can this new team chosen be?”
“First, it cannot happen for many years. Until that time, we have our work cut out for us.”
“For… your… backup… plan… we… would… need… the… second… team… that… was… assembled.”
“Indeed, brethren. Indeed. But recall, that plan is secondary. We must focus our efforts upon prevention of those events from happening. In order for that to happen, we must crush this evil early on!”
“Hopefully, much time shall we have.”
“We… must… not… count… on… that.”
“Do you feel fear that we shall not have time?”
“Evil of this strength may take years to establish itself. Once it has made itself known, it is vulnerable. Until then, it cannot be stopped.”

The Digital World…
Two months later
The flower is no longer there.
The petals have wilted over the last month. In its place grows a sapling. The sapling is surrounded by an evil looking sickly green moss. The moss already surrounds the pool, and extends into the forest for some distance. No digimon or human has come to the area, for the moss emits an evil that keeps beings away. The tree has not been ready. But now it is. Several clusters of brilliant red berries grow from the branches. It waits.
A Gekomon walks up to the plant, and sniffs the berries. Finding nothing wrong with it, it swiftly eats the berries. Nothing happens. The Gekomon just walks away. Nothing is wrong.
Apparently.
Days later, something IS wrong with it. Something is very wrong.
Somewhere, deep with the forest of the Digital World, the Gekomon writhes on the forest floor.
“Master… Master… Tell me what I must do… what I must do to revive you…”
And then, within the confines of its mind, and echoing voice blots out all others.
“Locate the Digimon Emperor’s base. Find he who was defeated by the smallest one… tell him that I have a proposition for him… a proposition that he shall enjoy to a great degree.”
“Yes, master.”
The sapling continues to grow. The weird moss continues to grow. It covers a simply massive area. The moss has covered some of the trees. Some tendrils have grown from the treetops, and are stretching upwards and inwards, forming the faintest skeleton of a sphere.
A Unimon walks up. It too eats some of the berries.
Later, it too is corrupted…
“Master…”

Tokyo
April 12th, 2029, 5:14 PM
We have returned to Tokyo. It is a clear, beautiful day. If this story had camera angles, the shot would begin in pretty much the same way as our approach to Izumi Corporation, starting far above the city, in a shot that encompasses most of Tokyo. We would begin moving in, approaching the main bridge across the bay. We see a bit of green at one end. It’s a park. In fact, it is the very same park that the Digidestined held their reunion in over twenty-five years earlier. It doesn’t look any different from then, with the significant difference that there are many more families enjoying a day off. And one of these families is the Raynor family.
The shot finally ends on one six year old boy, relaxing in the shade of a tree. Dressed plainly, in jean shorts and a blue T-Shirt, with an orange star on each sleeve, he is clearly an average kid. Actually, he looks a bit like a younger version of Tai, what with the brown hair, and his brown eyes covered by closed eyelids. On his waist is an orange D3. He appears to be asleep, but is in fact merely dozing. He is also bored.
Bored, bored, bored. There’s nothing to do in Tokyo. He’d liked it better when they had lived in Colorado. Why did Dad need to get transferred to this place? After all, they’d only been here a year or two. Max didn’t really have a lot of memories of from when they lived in Colorado, and seemed to have an easier time here then his brother. Still… You never knew just what Max knew.
“Toby! Max! It’s time to go home!”
The young boy snaps awake at the Japanese words. Already? He replies, in his native tongue of English, “But Mom, we’ve only been here for an hour!”
“I don’t care. We can always come back tomorrow. Plus, it’s pizza night, and I need an hour or so to prepare it.”
Pizza night? That’s different. “What’s on top?”
“Your fathers favorite. Mushroom, sausage, pepperoni, pineapple, Canadian bacon, anchovies and green peppers!”
“I still think he’s joking about that!”
“He was! It’s just pepperoni.”
“Will Dad be there?”
“I just called him, and they had some accident at the lab! He might not make it home tonight!”
Shoot. Of all the nights… Dad loved pizza. He wouldn’t miss it unless something really important happened. “Did he say what it was?”
“No, but he’d get home as soon as possible. Could you please find your brother?”
“OK, Mom!”
The boy pushes himself to his feet, and looks up into the branches of the tree.
“Koromon, will you please come down here?”
At that, a familiar-looking pink ball drops from the tree and lands on Toby’s head.
“I heard it all. Pizza night! You’re mom makes the best pizza! Do you think that Gabumon will help?” (Notably, the Digimon is speaking in English, not Japanese.)
“When does Gabumon not help? That ‘mon, if he didn’t love helping Mom with her students, he’d have his own cooking show!”
“So would your Mom, for that matter. But she’s happy being a Kindergarten teacher, so that’s what they do.”
“Yep. Anyway, it’s not too big of a park, and I can guarantee that there is at least one being who knows where Max is.”
“His partner?”
“Who else?”
The two partners head off across the park, their eyes not finding what they seek. In a frustrated move, Toby calls out to his brothers partner.
“Gigimon! Gigimon!”
And at those words, the tiny four legged red Digimon hops over to Toby and Koromon.
“‘You rang?’”
“First, that show is not all that funny. So please stop quoting from it.
“Sorry.”
“And second, where’s Max?”
“Playing hide-and-go seek.”
Both Toby and Koromon groan at that. “You let him play that game? You know he’s too good. You’ll never find him.”
Gigimon shrugs, or at least that’s what he would do if he had any shoulders. “What can I say, ‘he wery perswasive’.”
Toby stares up at the sky, and asks whatever intelligence lying beyond corporeal existence what cruel trick of fate landed him with Max and Gigimon. Gigimon is a big fan of old movies (nothing newer than twenty-years old), and is always quoting from his favorites. And Max… oh boy. What isn’t different about his little brother? The human shrugs, and starts ambling through the park, calling out “Max! Max!”
The two partners don’t see the pair of eyes gleaming in the shadows of the bushes.
“Please, Max. Please come out.”
The tiny Gigimon shakes his head. “Just get it over with. I’m hungry.”
“Of course, it would also be embarrassing to lose to a three-year-old toddler…”
Both Digimon finish the thought. “Fifteen times in a row!”
“You’re making this harder than it is.”
“We’re sorry, but it is just so laughable.”
Toby has to admit, it is embarrassing. But, he had no choice. Deep breaths. “Olly-olly-oxen-free!”
And a bolt of color leaps from the bushes, and tackles Toby around the knees. It is the unexpectedness of the event that causes him to collapse to the ground, rather than the actual strength behind the assault. And the game begins, with the toddler making the first move.
“I have conquered you, evil one! Be purified by the awesome power of… your embarrassing defeat!”
“Indeed, DigiDestined! I fear that you are no match for… my Tickle Torture Attack!”
And Toby does exactly what he threatens. And indeed, the small child IS no match.
“Ugh! * hahahaaa * Stop! * haaahaa * Please! * dahaha! * No!”
“Nothing can save you!”
“* hahaaahha * Gigimon, attack!”
“Fear not, fair friend. For I shall save you from your foe.”
“No, you shall not! Bubble Blast!”
As the two brothers and the two Digimon wrestle, various children and families look over at them. Some of the parents smile in amusement, while some of the children, as children shall, begin rooting one or the other of the humans on. Their Digimon partners begin to cheer for their respective champions. The brothers continue to wrestle all around the hilltop, completely oblivious to the world around them.
Finally, they collapse in sheer exhaustion. And Toby gets a good look at his brother, for himself (just to ensure that he hasn’t been hurt), and for us (so that I can keep from explaining as little as possible). What Toby doesn’t know, but what both of their parents know, is that Max looks exactly like the three year old Willis in “Digimon: The Movie”. Complete with collared shirt, ‘Osh’Kosh’ overalls, and a sweater tied around his waist. The light pink D3 that sits on his belt is the only sign that he has a Digimon partner of his own.
“So, Toby, what’s next on the agenda?”
“Max, please, it’s embarrassing to have a three-year-old brother with a vocabulary as big as mine. Oh, no. I’m picking up your words!”
Max is all laughed out, but that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t giggle. He does so.
“Anyway, what’s next on the agenda is that we go home, Mom and Gabumon make pizza, and then we eat it.”
“Hope we can get to all that. Shall we go?”
“‘Oh, we shall.’”
“Gigimon!”
“What?”
The brothers climb to their feet, and with Koromon hopping along on the ground, and Gigimon sitting on Max’s head, they start walking down the path.
“So, can Dad make it?”
“Sorry, Max. There was a problem in the Lab, and he won’t make it home till really late.”
“I wonder if it had anything to do with his project.”
“Max, you know that your Dad doesn’t tell us anything. It’s ‘Confidential’, to use his exact words.”
“Koromon, you know me. Dad may be a genius, but he’s not that hard to figure out. His password is “sunshinememory-djm-rapidmon”. Took me maybe ten minutes.”
“How many times have both Mom and Dad forbade you from hacking into computers?”
“I didn’t. I used deductive reasoning. ‘Sunshine Memory’ is the name of Dad’s old summer home. He was heavily involved with the Diaboromon crisis, and ‘djm’ was part of Diaboromon’s web address. Finally, Rapidmon is the Golden Armor form of one of his partners.
“Sometimes, I really don’t like having a brother with a 189 IQ.”
“It’s deductive reasoning. Anyone can do it.”
“‘Elementary, my dear Watson.’”
“Gigimon!”
“Sorry.”
“Anyway, what is his project?”
“Most of his work files are on his laptop. Just the basics are on the desktop. Taxes, research papers, the books he’s writing, bio’s on his boss’ partners, and his diary.”
“Diary?”
“Of course.”
“Max, breaking into someone’s private information is wrong.”
“Gigimon, I know. I’m just so curious.”
“Well?”
“Nothing much, just references to ‘Project Lazarus’.”
“Lazarus?”
“I looked it up. It’s in reference to a biblical story. Lazarus was brought back to life by Jesus the Christ.”
“So, what would that have to do with anything? And just who is Dad’s boss?”
“Koushiro Izumi.”
“THE Koushiro Izumi? Of DigiDestined fame?”
“Yes.”
“But really, what does Dad’s research have anything to do with Lazarus?”
“I don’t know, but it has something to do with resurrection, but I don’t understand the connection either. Oh and they were going to try the Lazarus Device today, but that doesn’t help us.”
“‘This is really bizarre.’”
“Do you hear something?”
“Yes, Koromon, I hear a very annoying Digimon partner of my brother’s.”
“No, no that. THAT.”
The two humans and their partners turn their heads towards the sound. It is a whistling sound, rapidly increasing in volume.
“Sounds like a shell.”
“No, it’s a…”
“METEORITE!” come from all four big mouths. Koromon and Gigimon start hopping, while Toby grabs his little brothers hand and starts running. Interestingly, the meteorite seems to be following the two boys. Neither notices this, but that doesn’t matter. Most of the families have begun to panic, and are running away. Not that they can run as fast as the meteorite is coming.


BANG!


It isn’t that Toby hasn’t prepared for the shock wave.


BOOM!


It’s just that he has not prepared for the sound that follows the shock. He trips, and starts rolling down the hill. Koromon and Gigimon are soon to follow, but Max’s lighter mass prevents him from following his brother and partner. Toby flies into a tree, which knocks the wind out of him, leaving him winded, with stars in his eyes, and with absolutely no idea which direction is which.
Within Max’s mind, something about the course of events feels wrong. But no one else is thinking about the violations of the immutable laws of physics. Especially not the winded six-year-old at the bottom of the hill.
“Max… Max…”
“Toby, I can’t find Max!”
“It’s all right, Gigimon! He’s somewhere around here! Koromon, start looking!”
“Didn’t Mom always say to say 'please’?”
“PLEASE, Koromon!”
“On it! Max!”
A small, winded voice comes from the top of the not-so-high hill. “I’m up here!”
“Max, just stay there! We’re coming!”
Still unable to see, Toby allows himself to be led up the hill by the two beach balls.
And yet, somehow…
… he knows where he is going.
“Toby…”
“What is it, Max?”
“There’s something up here.”
Aside from a rock? Keep him talking, I can follow his voice. “What is it?”
Toby is expecting a rock, or a chunk of metal. He isn’t expecting the answer he gets.
“It’s an egg.”
What?!? “What?!?”
“It’s true.”
“What kind of an egg?”
“It’s… a DigiEgg.”
“Describe it to me.”
“Well, it looks like it’s made of silver. It’s got some kind of a ring around it, and the ring is pure white. The ring has some kind of letters on it… the letters shine like gold. It’s… beautiful.”
“Max, I’m almost there!”
“Toby…!”
“What?”
“It’s glowing. I… I can hear something. Toby, don’t you hear it?”
To tell the truth, Toby DOES here something. The problem is that even at his age he has begun to lose trust in his conscience, and this little voice sounds just like it. And little does he know, but EVERYONE in the park hears it. The children hear it far better then the adults, and only one of the children is actually obeying the silent command. It is simply saying, over and over again,
Come.
This sounds like one of those, “don’t listen to strangers” talks that his parents had up their sleeves. Something that they had given him, but had never been given to Max. They never thought that he could do anything this stupid. Genius’ aren’t supposed to do stupid things.
“Max! Don’t!”
“But it needs me.”
What?!? What can one three year old toddler possibly do to help someone in trouble? The stars in front of Toby’s eyes are vanishing, and the three of them are almost on top of the hill.
“Max, don’t do anything stupid!”
And finally, Toby can see what his little brother is doing. Max is looking over the edge of the impact crater. And some weird light is shining over the edge of the crater. It’s getting… brighter?
A silent explosion. And Max goes flying!
“Augh!”
Three voices erupt at once.
“Max!”
Toby leaps up, and through some miracle of destiny, actually catches his little brother. Both of them go flying down the hill, their partners following right behind them. They crash at the bottom of the hill, and are separated from each other.
Toby is only mildly knocked out this time, and is able to awaken swiftly. He snaps awake to hear the sound of his little brother crying. Carefully making his way over, not quite trusting his own balance after that explosion, he eventually makes contact with the three year old. Carefully, he wraps his arms around the toddler, and simply holds him close, letting him cry all of the pain away. Surprisingly, Toby feels tears coming from his own eyes.
“TOBY! MAX!”
Toby’s head looks towards the frantic woman of about thirty five running towards the two of them. She is wearing an attractive light blue dress, with lovely black shoes. Behind her is a Gabumon, carrying a black leather purse. On the purse’s strap is a red D3.
“Are you two all right?”
“We’re fine!”
A painfully obvious lie. Gabumon sees the crying boy, and puts an extra bit of steam on, his trained eye looking for injuries and recognizing the symptoms of shock. As he runs, he is pulling off his fur. As the running partners catch up to the two boys, Gabumon wraps the small boy up in the blue and white fur.
Mrs. Raynor simply holds both of her boys close, her tears mingling with Max’s and Toby’s. Oh God!
A siren’s wail draws attention to the trio of hovercraft dropping from the sky. Painted in police colors, and moving swiftly in, it is clear that they are responding to the three explosions in the park. They land in a star burst pattern, ready to protect the officers and their Digimon partners. The hatches pop open, and the police members soon follow.
The officers run up, obviously intending to find bombs and wounded, their dark blue D3’s and silvery tags around their necks also ready to send Digivolution energy into their partners. The Guardromon jogging behind them are just as serious, their grenade launchers extended. That isn’t how Toby knows that the situation is serious. He has never seen a police officer with a drawn gun in all of his time in Tokyo. Those two meant business.
“Is everyone all right?”
A mother spoke up, Toby’s mind barely translating the Japanese words. “Its looks like we’re all fine, but a women over there has a son that got knocked really far backwards.”
The three uniformed officers jog around the impact crater, towards the Hardy’s.
One spoke up. “Ma’am, can we get your name?”
“My name is Mrs. Noriko Raynor.”
“Are your sons all right?”
“Yes, we’re fine.”
The three officers, Mrs. Raynor, Toby, and the six Digimon stare at Max for those words. The officers, because they have never seen an American looking child, especially one so young, speak such fluent Japanese. Their Digimon, because they don’t expect someone to be speaking so well, so soon after getting knocked down. The Hardy family, because he had spoken in Japanese.
The officers
“Do you need a lift home, ma’am?”
Noriko stares at the officers, only to note the handheld sensor unit that one of the men holds. Based on the reversed readouts, she can tell that she is much too stressed to drive all the way back to the penthouse apartment. “Yes, thank you.”
One of the Guardromon extends a helping hand, lifting the family up off of the ground. “Mrs. Raynor, do you wish us to contact your husband?”
“Thank you, but no. He’s had a bad day in the lab, and this would only make it worse. I’ll tell him when he gets home.”
The officers and his partner approach the special A-Grav car, modified for patrol in the sprawling metropolis. After ensuring that the two boys, their mother, and their Digimon are buckled in, the Lieutenant turns around to the family. “Where do you live, ma’am?”
“Highton View Terrace.”
“You’re joking? That place doesn’t have a good record for families. Terrorist bombings, monsters, kidnappings.”
“My husbands boss insisted. He said that he wanted at least one DigiDestined there at all times.”
“Your husband is a DigiDestined?” the Guardromon asked, obviously surprised. “Which one?”
“Willis Raynor.”
“Ah. The American one. Yep, I know all about him. Great scientist.”
“Good husband and good father, as well.”
The officer grins as his vehicle leaps up in the air, moving across the bay, as his partner officers keep everything organized in the park. Toby idly looks down, towards the crater. Too stressed out to even think about the afternoon, he dozes off in the gently vibrating vehicle.
Ten minutes later, the car pulls up at the apartment building. (Note: since the events of twenty-five years earlier, the building has added ten floors. Don’t worry, it’s safe. It’s still the same building, just a little taller.) Noriko awakens her sons, and the officer ensures that they make it to the top-floor apartment.
“Good evening, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
“Just my duty.”
The woman closes the door on the departing officer, and turns her attention to the exhausted boys. Willis has had a hard enough day. I hope this doesn’t completely ruin it.
Later that night, the boys are lying in their separate rooms. And as young Toby drifts off to sleep, a random thought crosses his mind.
What really was in that crater? Max said… he said… what did he say it was?
The only one who know the answer to what is in the crater, or more correctly knows what was in the crater, is Max.
Oddly enough, Max doesn’t remember what it was either.

Timelessness…
Interesting… the power chose him… all felt it… very few answered… a child… a mere child… Takeru was right… the power truly rests in children… I feel that somehow… this boy is the only one who can protect me… his courage is grows… his friendship strengthens… his knowledge is amazing… his love is boundless… his sincerity is enviable… his reliability climbs… his hope is strong… his light is brilliant… his justice is great… and his kindness…
is…
infinite…
interesting…
but what of the ability that matters the most…
what of…
his unity…
interesting…


Please review. It may be a week or two, but I will eventually get another chapter up. And before anyone asks, none of the new team members will be children of the Digidestined as seen in the season 2 epilogue. I don’t want the connection to the originals to be that strong. It’s more of a spiritual connection.