| Old Friends, Old Foes Disclaimer: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and related elements are registered trademarks of Toei, Bandai and their respective owners and are used without permission. Rei, Kain, Aiko, Chiaki, Jenna, Jessie, Cassidy and related characters are creations of Sakura_Chanz and are used with permission. "Hikari!" called out a teenage boy as he hurried to catch up with his sister. Yagami Hikari turned to see her older brother Taichi approach and stopped to give him time to catch up. "Nii-san, what're you doing here?" the pretty brown-haired girl asked. "I thought you had practice!" "It was cancelled," Taichi explained. "I was on my way to pick you up when I saw you just ahead." "Oh, that's nice of you, Nii-san!" Hikari teased. Taichi grinned. "Well, of course it is!" he joked, posing. "I'm the perfect big brother, remember?" The two siblings shared a laugh when something caught Taichi's eye. "Huh?" he gasped. "That's..." "Nii-san?" Hikari asked. "What's wrong?" "That guy over there..." Taichi replied, pointing at a brown-haired boy dressed in a military-style shirt crossing the road. "I know him!" "One of your friends from soccer?" Hikari replied, her face screwed into an expression of mock horror at the thought of having to listen to them talk soccer all the way home. "He's someone I met in the Digital World." "Wha-?" Hikari asked, shocked. "You mean, one of the other Chosen?" Taichi didn't reply and began running after the crowd. Hikari started to go after him, but then saw a familiar face. "Rei!" she called out. Rei's head snapped around, a neutral expression on her face until she saw who it was. Hikari offered her a smile in greeting, which she returned after a moment's hesitation. "Sorry, Hikari," the girl told her, "I'm busy right now." "We're following someone," piped up Aquasmon. "Aquasmon!" Rei scolded. "Ryou!" called out Taichi, drawing the girls' attention to him as he ran after the two boys Rei had been following. Seemingly not hearing, the two boys turned a corner. When Hikari and Rei caught up with him, Taichi was looking bewildered. "Where'd they go?" he wondered aloud. "Nii-san?" asked Hikari. "Who was that?" "I'd like to know that too!" added Rei. "C'mon," Taichi replied. "I'll tell you while we look for them." The three of them walked down the street, the two girls listening intently while the brown-haired older boy spoke. "It happened just after we defeated VenomVamdemon..." Six years ago... "Where are we?" asked a somewhat short brown-haired boy holding a laptop computer, giving voice to the question on everyone's minds. Everyone being the eight Chosen Children: Yagami Taichi, Ishida Yamato, Tachikawa Mimi, Takenouichi Sora, Izumi Koushiro, Kido Jyou, Takaishi Takeru and Taichi's younger sister Hikari. They had expected to arrive nearby their friend and sometimes mentor Gennai's home, but instead were in a part of the Digital World they didn't recognize. "Taichi," said Sora, the Chosen Child of Love. "Where do you think we are?" Taichi looked at his friend, confusion on his face. "I'm not sure, Sora," he admitted. "Oi, Koushiro!" he called to the shorter boy. "Can't you use your computer to find out where we are?" "Sorry, Taichi-san," he replied. "I'm trying, but I don't seem to be able to place anything!" "Wonderful," moaned Jyou, the oldest of the group. "Next thing you know, some new evil Digimon's going to pop out and try to kill us." He considered for a moment before adding, "again." "Business as usual, huh, Jyou?" Yamato deadpanned. Before Jyou could retort, a scream tore through the air. Sora clutched at Taichi's arm as the Chosen and their Digimon grouped together to face this new threat. Then, out of the sky came a huge monster. To the terrified eyes of the Chosen Children it was an abomination. Its head vaguely resembled that of Kabuterimon, Koushiro's partner Tentomon's evolved form. One of its four arms reminded them of the villainous Devimon, while others seemed to come from various other Digimon. Its flesh was blackish purple, with what seemed to be a shell made of pure energy on its back. Then as it landed, they could see twin cannons mounted on its back. A chill seized Taichi's heart as the horrifying creature turned to glare at the group, even as Sora clutched his arm even tighter. There was no doubt of this creature's evil, it seemed to radiate darkness and despair. "Greetings, Chosen," the creature rumbled. "I am Milleniumon." It raised its head, regarding them with what felt uncomfortably like the way a predator looked at its next meal. "Prepare," it began, raising its arms, "to," it continued, lowering its head to sneer at them, "DIE!" it roared, charging them. Taichi gave the order to evolve, but before they could move Milleniumon was upon them. "Dimension Destroyer!" it roared, and everything went black. "What?!" interrupted Hikari. "I don't remember that!" Taichi stopped walking and smiled sadly. "Yeah...they warned me that would happen." He gazed up into the air, memories returning. "Who's 'they'?" asked Hikari. Before Taichi could reply, Rei spoke up. "If we're going to hear something important, don't you think we should let the others know too?" "Yeah," Taichi agreed. "You're probably right." He thought for a moment. "It looks like there's no sign of those guys either. Hikari, can you think of anywhere we can assemble everyone?" " I can think of one place we could comfortably meet without drawing attention..." She glanced at Rei. "But I'll need your help, Rei." "What?" Rei asked her. "Why...oh no." Her face twisted into an expression of disgust. " You don't mean..." Hikari nodded her head. "Kain's house." "Of course, Rei-hime!" Kain exclaimed. The boy was happy to host a meeting at his home, especially since it was Rei who asked. "When will it be?" "As soon as we decide, we'll let you know," Hikari answered. "Thanks, Kain." "For such fair ladies, it's a pleasure," he replied. "Now, would you like to join me for tea?" Rei grimaced. "I hope your brother's story is worth this." Meanwhile... The gloved boy stood at the corner of the street, his eyes fixed on an apartment building. Though his face was without emotion, there was a faint sadness in his eyes. With a bitter smile, he turned and walked into the shadows. Reviews, comments, suggestions and criticisms (constructive or otherwise) are welcome and can be sent to [email protected] |