Hi everyone! Thanks for clicking on the story. Just some important things to clear up before the story:

-Takato is Kari's son, so is that kid from the canon epilogue.

-Rika is Mimi's daughter

-Kenta is Joe's son

-The kids from the canon epilogue at the end of 02 are here, and integral to the story

The rest still have their canon parent/parents

Hope you all enjoy! :D

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The park lit up with the golden lights of lanterns and fireflies bouncing in the light summer breeze. Colorful party streamers connected the trees together into a circle of rainbows surrounding a few festival stalls. A lavender colored streamer came loose from one the trees and landed on the top of a festival food stall, selling delicious smelling candy apples. The night sky was aglow with stars that danced in the sky and brought the bright starlight to the earth. The sound of giggles and pleasant conversations filled the air.

Takato sighed, content for once. Today was July thirty-first, the night before the anniversary of his mother's trip to the digital world. He was relaxed against a park bench, watching the chosen children- well, adults trying to win as many stuffed animals as possible.

Matt and Uncle Taichi seemed to be in some kind of competition of who could win the most. His mom called it 'displaying dominance to assert themselves as the alpha'. Whatever that meant. Another chosen, Ken, shook his head at the two while conversing with the leader of his mothers team, Davis.

The people in the festival gave the chosen small gifts as their thanks sometimes. Takato got gifts occasionally, but mostly Akira and the kids that had partners got gifts.

Without a digimon partner, you didn't get too much attention.

Akira's trip to the digital world was tomorrow, Takato recalled, the detail faintly registering. He'd be staying with one of his Mom's seniors: Mimi Tachigawa, as well as her daughter Rika. Joe Kido, the eldest of all the chosen, also had his son Kenta staying with them. Rika, Kenta, and Takato were the only ones without a digivice or a partner.

It was... hard. Takato had always wanted a digimon partner to befriend, but it seemed the world didn't have it in store for him. It was painful to watch his brother and the other new chosen playing and laughing with their partners when he knew he'd never have that relationship. He wondered... had he done something wrong to warrant not being able to have a partner? Was he not good enough?

He shook his head, not wanting to get lost in depressing thoughts. He takes a deep breath and dismisses the pain in his chest, deciding to focus on the festival once again.

"Takato?" His mother's gentle voice broke through his thoughts. She placed a hand on his back lightly. "Are you holding up alright?"

"Mm-hm," Takato nodded his head, focusing on his legs swinging back and forth, occasionally hitting the hard metal legs of the bench he sat on.

"I got you something," She said, pulling a stuffed animal she'd probably won from beside her. She sets it down in his lap.

It's a little red dragon with a white belly.

"Is it a digimon stuffed animal?" Takato asks, curious.

"It's not an official one..." She glances off to the side. "But I think he'd make a good digimon."

Takato smiled softly in return. "What would he be called?"

"How about BlazingDragonLizardmon?" Another voice asks.

"TK! Kari, he's making fun of digimon names!" Patamon flaps his wing-ears, clearly aggravated at the tease.

Instead of scolding TK Takaishi, Kari just giggles along with him.

"How about RedDinoFiremon?"

"Kari not you..." a catlike voice drawls from a nearby bush.

The two of them laugh together for a moment.

'I hope they don't start looking into each other's eyes longingly,' Takato thinks, begrudgingly accepting that TK Takaishi would flirt with his mother. It was basically a universal fact at this point. 'What if... no, she wouldn't- it's way too late.'

"Maybe you should come over for dinner?"

'...no way.'

TK grins. "I was hoping you'd ask. I would even go to your mothers place to eat right now.' He sits beside Kari, and inches closer.

'I don't think I'm qualified to be apart of this discussion.' Takato thinks, belatedly.

Kari gasps, mock dramatic. "But you can't! I could never lose you to such a fate!"

They continue with their flirting charades for a while before Takato finally tries to escape.

"Oh, Takato!" TK says, almost surprised. "I'm sorry, I didn't even say hi." He rubs the back of his neck, looking a bit bashful for a guy who'd just been making eyes at his mother for ten minutes straight.

"It's okay Mr. Takaishi," He responds.

"Mr. Takaishi? That makes me sound so old..."

"Really? I think it suits you." His mom adds.

TK was silent for a second before his cheeks gained a bit of color. "You think?"

Takato speed walks away, deciding that staying to witness the rest would be classified as self harm. He walks away from the noise of the festival, and into the park. It's way too dark for Takato to see, save for the occasional street light, but anything is better then the chaotic noise of the festival.

He barely registers his feet touching the ground. Takato only realizes how far he's gone when his sneaker catches on a crack and he face plants onto the hard sidewalk.

"Stupid..." He mutters, rubbing his nose and feeling blood. "Just what I wanted, a bloody nose. Thanks. I just... thank you, so much." He gestures up at the sky sarcastically, as if sassing the stars themself.

He gets on his knees and begins to prop himself up, before realizing he's missing a crucial aspect.

"RedFlamingLizardmon?" He calls, then cringes in embarrassment. "Right, not calling you that."

He feels around for the little dragon, thankful for the dim light of nearby street lamp. Spotting a flash of muted red in the corner of his vision, he turns to find the tail of the stuffie sticking out of a overgrown bush along the side of the path. It is almost entirely obscured by leaves.

Sighing in relief, Takato crawls toward the tail. He reaches in, and gently takes the tail, tugging the dragon out. His hand brushes against hard stone under the bush as the little dragon flops out.

"That's..." he says aloud.

'Odd...' Takato finishes mentally.

He sits on the road for a second, before a brief yolo sensation passes over him. He shrugs, and crawls into the bush.

On the other side is a cracked stone pathway, forgotten by time.

"Woah... This could be an awesome secret hideout." Takato says, presumably to the stuffed toy. "I should tell Rika. She'd like it."

He continues up the stairs, weary of slipping on some of the less grounded areas of the climb.

When Takato reaches the top, he is not disappointed. An old stone supply shed stands sturdy. It's rusted gates leave nothing secret, when Takato peers through them.

Something glimmered. Takato gasped in excitement, and pried open the gate, who's old age was no match for an excited ten-year-old.

Stepping inside, he is rewarded with the dense smell of wet moss and dirt, as well as the dripping of water droplets. That's not what he's focused on though. In the center of the shed, there floated a small sparkling rift that secreted rainbow colored pixels.

"No way..." Takato gasps. It was tiny, not even the size of his new dragon friend, but it was a portal. A portal to the very place his mother had made it her mission to protect. The Digital World.

Surely, it wouldn't hurt just to touch it...

His hand seemed to move on its own, the light of the portal illuminating it the closer it came.

It was so close... his hand almost glowing with the light.

He hesitates. Maybe he should tell the adults?

He takes a step back, and slowly starts withdrawing his hand.

The portal however, doesn't like this.

Takato falls backwards against the gate, as the portal begins to howl like a crazed wounded animal. It distorts and shrinks and grows and takes over the entire wall of the shed.

Takato screams.

It's too late.

He has already been swept away.

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