The overwhelming and resonating sound of a bell flooded the streets near one of the schools of Odaiba, Japan. Cries could be heard as students cheered for their freedom now that the day had come to a close at last. Footsteps pounded on the ground as student after student and clique after clique of students ran for their homes to enjoy the rest of the day.

Not many ever chose to stay behind on these sorts of days. Those who did were often regarded as either the strange characters of their grade or school obsessed geeks. And yet, even so, a duo of kids stood inside the school in silence.

These two were most certainly in the category of 'strange characters', but not for the reasons many imagined. Most thought that they were relatively normal children in the seventh and sixth grade, but they were anything but. They had a secret, and it was this very secret that had them staying inside this warm late February night.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like?"

One of the two people, a girl had spoken up. Her name was Milachiko Kamiya, though she preferred to go by Mila. At that moment, she was leaning up against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Mila's brown hair, which was the same color as her eyes, was tied up into a simple ponytail. She had an orange pair of goggles propped up on her forehead, the surface of which shone delicately in the fluorescent lighting overhead. Mila wore a jean jacket with shirt sleeves over a simple yet fiery scarlet shirt. White socks went up her ankles underneath orange athletic shoes. She had jean shorts on, the shade of which matched the pale of her jacket.

"I'm just thinking out loud," Mila told her companion, a child one year younger than her. "Have you ever really thought about how amazing it would be to actually go there? It would be amazing."

Mila's best friend, Sakigone Ishida (though everybody called them Saki), turned to face her. "I suppose I have a few times," they replied.

Saki's blonde hair was short, but rather spiky. Their eyes were a pristine ocean blue color, quite the contrast to Mila's chocolate irises. They had a light blue hoodie on that had pastel green on the hem. Underneath was a pale yellow shirt Mila had seen at least a hundred shirt, one adorned with an important symbol of Friendship in green. They wore gray leggings with one lime green stripe running down either side. Saki's boots were of the combat variety and were pitch black.

Mila pushed herself away from the wall. "My dad told me another one of his stories last night. All that ever accomplishes is giving me more ideas for my daydreams of the wonders of the Digital World," she told Saki. "The very thought excites me so much that I can barely stand still!"

This subject is what made Saki and Mila so different from their peers. They were part of a small group that had special connections to do with Digimon, the digital monsters that thrived in the Digital World, a realm parallel to Earth. The two of them had partner Digimon and had since the age of three, yet another thing that set them apart.

For many, the Digital World was nothing more than a long forgotten memory. Around 25 years before, Digimon had popped up virtually everywhere, but it had all been contained since then. Only the parents of Saki, Mila, and their friends, otherwise known as DigiDestined, remembered it all. Their connections to the other world had passed onto their children, but their adventures had not. None of the kids had been to the Digital World since they were three, back when they met their partners, but each of them, especially Mila, longed to go there and see everything there was to.

Saki, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant to travel there. "It's dangerous, you know," they reminded Mila as they scooped their books up from where the stack sat on the floor. "My dad's been preaching that since day one. I'm surprised that your father is even allowed to tell you about these things at this point. He knows how you and your imagination are."

"I'm glad that he tells me about it," grinned Mila. "It makes me want to go there more."

"And that's exactly why he needs to stop telling you," Saki told her. They started walking for the front of the school building, the taller Mila on their heels. "But it doesn't matter. Regardless of how much he tells you, we can't get over there. Only our parents know how to open a portal. We can't do it yet. We aren't going to be taught about it until we're sixteen. You know the drill."

Mila pushed open the door to the outside with a sigh. "Yeah. Partner at three, Digivice at nine, Crest at fourteen, Gate at sixteen," she said. She had droned those words off at least fifteen times in her life, most of the time since Saki was giving her one of these speeches about the other world. Despite being younger than Mila, Saki was most certainly the most sensible out of the two.

"Exactly. It's best if we stay on schedule and let things happen whenever they happen," Saki said, turning right once out on the street.

"We could always just ask one of the other kids if they know how to open the Gate," smirked Mila.

"I believe that we just went over this. We learn to open the Gate when we turn sixteen," Saki reminded Mila, raising an eyebrow. They were beginning to get suspicious of if their friend had something up her sleeve.

"Thing about it this way. Rei is the child of an expert on the Digital World. They have to know something we don't," Mila said. "I bet that if we ask them, they'll be able to tell us something about it."

Saki let a sigh escape their lips. "You can ask if you want, but I doubt that there will be anything Rei can do."

"We're going to find out together!" Mila cried out, seizing Saki's hand. The blonde child gasped in shock and looked up to meet Mila's eyes. Their suspicions about Mila planning something had been confirmed, but they couldn't entirely tell if this was a good or a bad thing. "Come on. Let's go ask them together."

Saki looked down. They knew Mila quite well, as the two had been close for ages. One of the things that they had picked up over the years was that if Mila was determined to do something, she would find a way to pull it off. Struggling against Mila's determination, especially when it came to reaching the Digital World after years of dreaming, was futile.

"Alright," Saki finally said with a sigh. "Let's go and look for Rei."

Mila took a step forward, a wide grin on her lips, only to stop. "Do we know where Rei is exactly?" she asked of Saki. Her excited smile had transformed into one that practically bled awkwardness.

Saki placed a finger on their chin. "They usually stay after school for computer club. You know how they love their computers. If we want to look anywhere for them, the computer room is our best bet," they said.

"So... Back into the school it is?" Mila asked. She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder st the school, building that she and Saki had left behind here minutes before.

Saki nodded. "Yeah. I'll text my father and tell him to tell your parents that we're staying after school with Rei," they told Mila. They pulled a small device out of their pocket, one that looked sort of like a miniature laptop. They began to type out a message to one Matt Ishida about how they were staying with Mila and Rei. Within thirty seconds, Saki had hit send and the message was already on its way to their father.

Saki shut their small laptop, which was known as a D-Terminal to those who happened to be DigiDestined, and looked up at Mila once more. "I hope they don't end up ignoring us again. We both know how Rei is when they're near a computer."

Mila shrugged. "If worst comes to worst, I'll just annoy the hell out of him until he pays attention to us," she told Saki simply. She turned on her heel and started for the school building once more, herhair swaying slightly in the breeze that blew in the aor around her.

Saki followed after her a few steps behind. They prayed as much as they could that Rei didn't have a way into the Digital World. They knew Mila would stupidly rush into danger once she arrived, which was the last thing Saki wanted to happen.

The back of Saki's hand hit the door to the computer room. Mila stood beside them, hands folded behind her back. She was hoping that Rei was the one to answer the door. Mila didn't exactly get along with the leader of the computer club, a boy named Hirazaki Sukui. Once, Mila had kicked her soccer ball and accidentally hit Hirazaki in the face with it, which made her one of the most hated people by the computer club. The only one who had remained fine with her was Rei.

Luckily, the universe had heard her plea. The door creaked open as Rakuji "Rei" Izumi twisted the knob to the side and pulled it towards them. Rei's red hair was in its typical neat fashion. Their blue eyes shone brightly. They wore a red jacket over a black shirt with jeans. Freckles dotted their cheeks. They had purple gloves lined in blue on either hand, tight to their skin for easy computer access. Their shoes were black, flat, and shiny.

"Thank God," Mila couldn't help but whisper to herself. She looked up at Rei properly and waved at them. "Hey, Rei. How are you today?"

Rei sighed and shook their head. They, much like Saki, had known Mila for years and knew the way she acted when she wanted something. They had picked up on her cues already, even if she had only spoken six words to him. "What do you want?" they asked.

Mila pouted to herself and looked down. "Damn... You always see through me so easily," she whispered. She shook it off and looked up to meet his eyes again regardless. "Saki and I were just wondering about if you know how to open a Gate to the Digital World."

Rei's eyes went wide. They ducked out of the classroom and shut the door behind themselves. "You can't talk about that when other people are close by, you know!" they hissed at Mila. "My father works a lot already to make sure that the Digital World isn't exposed to the public. Our job is made a lot easier when people don't go blabbing about it."

"Well, excuse me, princess," Mila said, rolling her eyes. "I know that I can't talk about it often. I've heard it a thousand times already. I just want to know if you can open a Gate for us. Your father is the great Izzy Izumi, so it makes sense to me that you'd know how to open up the Gate out of all of us kids."

Rei pulled a piece of paper out of their pocket. "I had a feeling you'd be coming," they said as they unfolded the paper. Rei was a very organized person, so their things were all set up perfectly in their pockets. The paper, which had been folded nicely, was a bright white color when Rei extended it to Mila. This was one thing she and Rei didn't have in common. Rei was neat and kept his things neat as well while Mila's papers ended up in a messy hap and were discolored from grime.

Mila took the paper from him. Her senses were scramming to her that this was some smart remark from Rei, but either way, she unfolded the paper and read it to herself:

Age three: Meet Digimon partners

Age nine: Receive Digivices

Age fourteen: Receive Crests of respective virtues

Age sixteen: Learn to open Gate to the Digital World

This confirmed to Mila that Rei had been doing this just to mess with her. She looked up at them, glaring unhappily. Rei took the paper back from her and folded it once again before returning it to their jacket pocket. "Do you understand now?" they asked.

Mila rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I get it. You can't do it. You don't need to drag my hopes and dreams through the mud that way, though," she muttered bitterly.

"I just figured that you needed a reminder. I know how much you want to break free from the plan," Rei said. "I don't blame you. I would like to go to the Digital World myself and learn more about the way that it works. Even my father only knows so much."

"We should leave you to your computer club meeting now," Saki told Rei. "Thank you for your time."

"It was no problem," Rei replied, showing small hints of a smile.

"Before you go, just answer me one more question," Mila said, grabbing their wrist before they could walk back into the computer room.

"What is it?" asked Rei.

"How did you know that I would be coming? I don't think we know each other well enough for you to know when I'm going to see you," Mila told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Your brother told me. He can never resist telling me all about the stories your parents tell you," Rei said with a small smile. "Anyways, I should get going. I'll see you later."

As Rei descended back into the depths of the computer room, Saki turned to Mila. "I guess that's it. If they can't help us, I don't know anybody who can," Saki said. Deep down, they were happy about this. They didn't really want to go to the Digital World. It was dangerous there, and Saki had never been a fan of danger.

"We could always ask your cousin," Mila suggested. "She's a straight A student. Maybe she'll have some ideas."

Saki frowned. "She never does anything to do with the Digital World. You know this. She'd much rather write like her father does. The likelihood of her knowing anything is really low. Even if she does know something, she isn't going to just hand you the information. She doesn't want us involved in these things," they reminded Mila.

"The very least we can do is try. She's probably home by this point. Let's go and see her," Mila said.

A determined glimmer filled her eyes. Once again, Saki knew that arguing had no point. It was best to just agree for the good of them both. "Fine," they sighed. "Let's go talk to her and get this over with."

The house of Saki's cousin sat on the outskirts of town. It was a traditional style Japanese house made up of what appeared to Mila to be light tan wood. She skipped up to the front door and knocked her signature knock, one that most of the DigiDestined were well acquainted with.

Shockingly, the door was answered by Saki's elder cousin, Chisane "Chris" Takaishi. She rarely ever went to the door, so seeing her was a bit of a surprise. "Oh! Saki! Mila!" she gasped in shock. "I didn't know you would be coming over."

Chris's honey blonde hair was long, reaching her upper legs in curls. Her eyes were the same blue as Saki's, which made sense given that they were related. Bronze glasses framed her eyes. Chris had a light gray sweater on her shoulders with a turquoise shirt. A sea green scarf that reached her lower chest was wrapped around her neck. Her leggings and tall combat boots were both black.

"Hey, Chris," Saki said simply. "What are you up to?"

"I'm working on the draft for one of my newer stories. Sato is really excited for this next chapter. He's always been enthusiastic about these things," Chris replied.

Mila knew a bit about Chris and the things she got up to. She often wrote novels in her free time, even if none of them had been published yet. Chris took after her father in this way, as he was also a novelist. Her younger brother, Sato, was an extreme bookworm, but her stories were his favorites. He had likely become hooked on her current story and wanted her to write more, which was what she was doing at that moment.

"You'll have to let us read about what it is that you're writing one day," Saki said with a small smile.

"Yeah, but until then, I have a favor to ask," Mila cut in, getting a bit impatient with the small talk. She had never been the type to wait for a while before bringing up a subject that had to do with her.

"What is it?" Chris asked. She opened the door further to let Saki and Mila into the house.

"You already have your Crest, right?" Mila began. The schedule that Rei had given her said that the Crest came at age fourteen, and since that's how old Chris was, she automatically assumed she had one.

Chris nodded in response. She fished something out of her scarf and pulled it off of her head. Chris held up the object for Saki and Mila to see.

This object was small and pale yellow in color. A golden chain was attached to its top, which allows it to hang from Chris' neck. There was a symbol written on the front of it in a darker yellow shade. The back was covered in what appeared to be yellow data. Ones and zeros scrolled up and down the back of the Crest in a mad dash.

"Wow," Mila whispered, eyes wide in awe. She had heard that Chris had received her Crest the month before, the first one of the group to do so, but hadn't ever seen it in person. She reached out to touch it, only to be shocked by static electricity when her fingers did touch its surface. The electric discharge frightened her, making the goggle wearing girl jump. "What is this thing's problem? Does it have an attitude or something?"

Chris shook her head and looked at her Crest a bit closer. "No. It's an update Gennai made to the Crests this time around. Now, if somebody tries to touch it but it doesn't belong to them, they end up shocked so they won't do it again. He called it a defense mechanism," she explained. She grabbed the Crest's chain and pulled it on over her head. Once it was around her neck, she pulled her puffy curls out of the chain before tucking the Crest back into the depths of her scarf.

"That's so cool!" Mila exclaimed. "You got that on your fourteenth, right? What's the next thing to happen on a birthday DigiDestined related?"

Chris took a seat on the couch of her living room. Mila and Saki did the same, choosing to sit on her right. "We learn how to open the Gate to the Digital World at sixteen," she said.

"Did you happen to learn about how to open the Gate sooner?" Mila asked, praying that Chris came up with a positive answer.

"I'm afraid not. You know the rules," Chris told her.

"When you're old enough, can you take us with you to the Digital World?" Mila questioned. Chris was going to be able to open the gate sooner than she would, so if she could get Chris to agree to taking her along, she'd at least have something to look forward to.

"I'm not going to the Digital World when I'm old enough, Mila," Chris said, her mouth a thin line.

"Why not?" Mila interrogated. She would have guessed that Chris, a girl who writes stories about fantasy and adventure constantly, would have loved the Digital World almost as much as her.

"It's risky. I don't want to lose Patamon to the Digital World. I'm far happier just staying here." Chris began to store her partner Digimon, Patamon. He had been asleep on the arm of the couch, but in her questioning, Mila had failed to notice he was present.

A sigh escaped Mila's lips. "Thanks," she whispered. She walked for the door, Saki trailing after her. Saki waved at Mila as the two exited the house.

They walked for a few minutes in silence. "You seem down," commented Saki eventually.

"I guess I am," Mila muttered. "I really wanted to go there,"

"I don't know if this will help, but my dad is going to be working late tonight. Since my mom is out of town, I'm going to be staying with you tonight," Saki said with a small smile.

Mila couldn't help but smile as well. "Alright. I guess that sounds fun," she said. "Let's go pick up Gabumon from your place and head to my house. I can already hear the leftover pizza from last night calling my name."

The two arrived at Mila's apartment not long after leaving Chris to herself. Gabumon, Saki's partner Digimon, followed Saki and Mila in. "Here we are!" the Digimon cried out as he entered.

Agumon, Mila's partner and longtime best friend, waddled up to the brunette. "You're home!" he exclaimed merrily. He hugged her briefly. Mila hugged him back before patting him on the head with a smile.

"I wonder where your brother is," thought Saki aloud. Normally when they came over, Saki heard Xen Kamiya coming in from his room to greet them. The fact that Xen was so late was a bit concerning.

"He's over with the Kido family, I hear," Mila replied. The Kido family, which consisted of DigiDestined Mimi and Joe Kido along with their kids Everleigh and Haru, had been friends with Mila's family for years upon years. It didn't really surprise her when her parents told her that her brother was hanging out with Haru that morning.

"Do you think your parents are home?" Saki questioned next.

"They're not back yet."

The duo of humans and their Digimon partners turned to see Biyomon, the partner of Mila's mother, a woman named Sora. The pink bird walked up to the quartet. "Sora told me that she might be a bit late since she has to pick up Xen tonight after she's done with work," Biyomon went on.

"I guess we'll just have to set up in the meantime," Saki shrugged. They opened their backpack after taking it off and walked to Mila's room. Gabumon followed a few steps behind his partner.

"It's times like these when I'm glad to have a bunk bed," Mila commented, walking into her room after Saki. "I'll take top as usual."

Saki smiled to themselves. Ever since the Kamiya family had gotten the bunk bed, Mila had always had the top bunk at sleepovers. They were used to it by now, but they didn't mind. They preferred the bottom anyways.

Saki set the things from their backpack out on the bottom bunk with some help from Gabumon. They took a seat on the bed's surface next to Gabumon after they were done.

Two loud BEEPS filled the room. Saki gasped and reached down for their waistband. Mila did the same. They knew what that noise meant. It indicated that the Digivices, which they had possessed since the age of nine, were going off.

Mila and Saki pulled their Digivices off of their waistbands and looked at them. Their partners watched in shock. Biyomon and Agumon, the one that belonged at the side of Mila's father, walked into the bedroom as well. The two digital monsters had heard the beeping noises and had come to see what was amiss.

The screens of the Digivices lit up in perfect unison. They were called D-Scanners, which made them a more advanced model than those that belonged to the DigiDestined of the past. Since only this type of Digivice was going off, whatever was happening had to have been an exclusive occurrence to the newer variation.

A monotone voice spoke from the other side. Mila had no idea if it was a male, female, or something in between, but she listened on anyways. She figured that it had to have been important somehow.

"Something is coming," the voice began. The voice was devoid of all emotions. Mila had no idea how she should have felt about that, but she was a bit afraid at that moment regardless of how she was supposed to feel.

"A great evil is on the horizon. If it is not put to a stop soon, the world will be consumed in destruction and unimaginable pain. The new DigiDestined... I know that you are listening to me right now. Please listen to what I am telling you and understand that your parents can no longer protect the Digital World. It is all up to you now. I believe in you."

Another pair of beeping sounds erupted from the Digivices. The screens went dull not long after, leaving nothing more than the gray screen that both had seen countless times.

They didn't speak, but both could assume why was going through thread of the other child. Both of their assumptions were correct no matter how one chose to look at it.

The words 'What in hell just happened?' were in their thoughts, but sadly enough, neither one had an answer to that question.

Saki and Mila weren't the only ones who had heard this message. All of the D-Scanners belonging to the DigiDestined had played the same words spoken by the same voice. The fifteen devices across the cities of Odaiba and Japan had beeped in sync and told their owners of the dangers that were coming their way.

Rei, who was back home by that point, stood in the doorway that led into their room when the message began to play. They had learned much about the Digital World from their father, but never had they heard anything about the Digivices beginning to speak to their owners.

They took a seat on their bed once it was over. Their partner, a Tentomon, had heard the entire thing. He flew up so that he was also sitting on the bed. "Do you have any idea what just happened?" the red Digimon asked of his partner. He had assumed that Rei had at least some idea of what had just taken place, as Rei was the smartest person that he knew.

"I'm afraid that I have no idea," Rei said quietly, their head hanging slightly. "If I had an idea, I'd tell you for sure."

"We should tell your father about it," suggested Tentomon. "He should be home soon, correct?"

Rei nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure that he has some concept of what just took place," they told their partner. While they didn't want to admit it, they were a bit afraid that their father wouldn't know what was going on. It was entirely possible that Izzy would have no clue, and if that was the case, then Rei had no idea what they were supposed to do.

Another person who just so happened to hear the message was Chris. She had been sitting on the couch, laptop in her lap. Patamon slept through the entire exchange. He didn't even stir when the Digivice went on.

Since it seemed to her that the partners of her parents were helping Sato, Chris was left with time alone to think things over on her own. There had to be some explanation for the D-Scanner going off all of a sudden. Chris had never been too involved with the Digital World like Mila or Rei, but she still knew that this meant that something was wrong.

A frown appeared on her lips. "Maybe I should ask my parents when they get back," she whispered. It was around 5:00, which meant that her parents were going to be home in about half an hour. Until that point rolled around, she could try and come up with an explanation.

Chris had no idea how she was going to come up with said explanation, but she knew that it was much more productive to think of something than sit around like it never happened.

That being said, she got to thinking about what could have just happened.

Mila didn't touch her Digivice for a full two minutes after the message ended. She didn't know if it was safe or not. Eventually, she got over her fears and loved it from her bed. She looked it with a frown. There didn't appear to be any physical changes made when the odd message came through.

"Do you know what that meant?" Gabumon eventually asked.

Saki shook their head. "I have no idea," they admitted. "If I knew, I'd tell you for sure."

"I wonder if that happened to Tai and Sora," Tai's Agumon wondered aloud. "They took their Digivices with them to work, so I guess we won't know until they get home."

"Let's go and get a snack for now," suggested Saki. It was clear to Mila that they were just trying to get the strange message off of their mind. She knew how Saki worked well enough to see right through that.

As Saki walked from the room, Mila looked at her Digivice. Was this possibly a sign that she wouldn't have to wait three years until she was taught to open the Gate and go to the other world? If so, she didn't like it.

Suddenly, Mila didn't want to go to the Digtal World as much anymore, and it was all because of that stupid message.

With many struggles, I manage to get this up and running!

I had a bunch of problems with my computer crashing while I tried to publish this, but I think that I finally fixed it. Thank goodness.

If you couldn't already tell, this is an epilogue rewrite. I've been wanting to do one of these with the old 02 epilogue for ages since I hated the way that the season ended. In this, my favorite ships are canon (so Taiora, Jomi, Takari, and Daiken) and the kids are of my own creation. I'm already preferring this to the canon epilogue and we've barely gotten started.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get the cover up without my computer crashing, but in the meantime, enjoy this first chapter!

-Digital