#reboot sequel

When the dreams had first begun, Taichi hadn’t given it much thought.

"I haven't given up.”

Dreaming about adventures in the Digital World – considering how often he had gone gate-hopping alongside various of his friends for years now, ever since they had saved the place for the first time –, shouldn’t be surprising.

“You guys taught me that there's always something I can do until the end.”

He hadn’t even wondered about how different the Digital World had looked – things were often a little to the left within dreams, they weren’t exactly how one experienced them in real life after all. Places, people, clothes, devices… Nothing too worrisome.

For the first weeks, months, there wasn’t even a need for him to question the frequency of his dreams – since, at first, he quickly forgot about them shortly after waking up anyway. But then, slowly, but steadily, things had started to become more vivid.

“The future will continue and become connected.”

He began hearing the voices more clearly, recognizing most of them immediately – like a long forgotten yet familiar memory, seeping into his waking hours and sneaking back into his head. Which, again, didn’t happen all the time and also not consistently, but when he met up with his friends, asking Sora, Koushirou and the others for another trip into the net, he occasionally felt reminded again.

Of islands, trolleys, mountains. Of black gears, tags, cards. Of monkeys, vampires and clowns. Sometimes, he woke up feeling like someone had punched him in the face, other times, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“I'll pass it on to you. Our... Our grown up... Hope.”

Still, he had decided to keep it all to himself – not matter how much he had been bothered by a slight sting of guilt in his chest whenever his glance had crossed Hikari’s, first thing in the morning. There had been no urgency to act. Years had passed and, aside from a few minor calls, their duty as Chosen Children had been “on hold” for the most part, so most of the travels to the Digital World had happened on their own devices. But whenever he entered the void, with Agumon right next to him, the voices, the images of his friends had become more detailed.

Nevertheless, he had gone through the entirety of middle school without telling a soul. About other voices he had never heard before, dark towers, digital eggs. How the person he saw himself as in his dreams seemed so strange yet so much like home that it scared him sometimes. He had brushed it aside every single time.

But now, in his second year of high school, they had almost turned into aggressive visions.

“Listen, Yagami.”

Last night, his dream had revolved around someone he had seen several times before – but only in his dreams. He appeared to be a teacher, his teacher to be exact. Sitting on the floor of some sort of control room, covered in blood, talking to him. Taichi himself had been stuck in a capsule, a countdown clock right next to him. Time was running out.

“No matter how hard reality is up ahead, don't ever give up.”

He had been about to die. And there was nothing he could have done. He remembered how his dream self had tried to smash the capsule into pieces, getting through to him. But it was all in vain. Regardless of how much he had wanted to scream, he couldn’t move.

“You guys go build the future.”

Even though he had never seen that man in real life, he had felt a connection. Felt like he owed him to get him out of that place this time. As if to make up for what he couldn’t have done before.

“Dream big!"

And yet, it had been all for naught. Once again, he had woken up in tears. Had checked whether there had been blood anywhere on his body, as it had felt almost frighteningly real. Not only that, his mouth felt awfully dry, as if he had screamed the word “Sensei!” out loud himself.

Heart pounding, sweating, Taichi couldn't help but wonder how long he could still keep quiet. Under no circumstances would he worry any of his friends about this – that he had sworn to himself. He was the bearer of the Crest of Courage, he had always, always found a way to push through, smile in the face of adversity. The others relied on him for that. The voices kept telling him that this was part of his duty – be courageous for the sake of everyone. More courageous than the self he saw in his dreams at least – who seemed to fall deeper into despair with every passing dream.

Taichi didn’t understand why there was such a discrepancy – as he had finally begun to ask questions. He felt sympathy for his dream self, a sense of remorse circling around all of his actions, as if there were a million things he regretted and wanted to make right. Watching himself like that only left him with the urge to… Give himself a hug. And ask him why he pushed his friends away like that, why he was so at odds with Yamato, so distanced from Sora, Koushirou and even Hikari…

He wouldn’t let that happen to himself. He would push further. Without worrying anyone about it.

The Chosen Children and their Digimon partners found themselves getting pulled into a dimension of white, reminiscent of the blinding lights that had engulfed them in Taichi’s room before.

“Where the heck are we?!” Once again, Jyou was the first who found his voice – it surely wasn’t the first time they had been thrusted into a space robbing them of their physical forms by a higher force. So floating around without direction – like they did in this very moment – didn’t exactly feel foreign to them.

“Is this… The network?”, Yamato tried to guess, but wasn’t sure whatsoever, as this place didn’t resemble the familiar digital highway, full of colourful pathways.

Instead, a sense of emptiness was surrounding them – if it wasn’t for the endlessly seeming number of bubbles looming above their heads.

“It’s… Quite different…”, Koushirou whispered, eyes glued to the bubbles and before he could even dare to ask what those were, Taichi’s voice drew their attention towards him.

Or rather – towards it.

“It’s the realm that bridges all parallel universes besides your own and the Digital World…”, Taichi said in a weirdly monotone tone, eyes half closed and shimmering in the same opal colour as before. Meanwhile, he was the only one who seemed to stand comfortably. “And now that the Child of Light has finally approached us, I shall introduce myself to you.”

A moment of sheer shock and silence, only interrupted by Mimi uttering:

“T-Taichi-san…?”

“That isn’t Onii-chan”, Hikari said firmly and everyone turned towards her. She seemed to have been the only one who had at least vaguely sensed what was going on before – but now, Koushirou quickly picked up the pieces as well:

“It’s another being speaking through him to us… Right?”

“Precisely. It’s been a while, Chosen Children.”

Sounds of disbelief could be heard, as they all tried to process that information.

“Who or what are you then?!”, Takeru was the first who hissed – and was already on his way to press forward, if it hadn’t been for Patamon holding him back. “And what have you done to Taichi-san?!”

“Takeru, be careful!”

All of the Digimon were hesitant, as if they couldn’t fully determine whether it was an enemy to be attacked – or not. Thus, they rather remained in a cautious pose, each of them close to their respective partner, with Agumon being the only remainder, who stared at his soulmate with absolute dread.

“Taichi…”

“My name is Homeostasis…”, the being continued talking through Taichi’s voice – but the longer it spoke, the more they could hear the robotic echo seeping through, indicating that it was definitely not their friend who was in control. “I am the one who desires balance, order and harmony – and I needed the Child of Courage to gather all of you once again.”

“Once… Again?”, Yamato repeated – just for the scenery around them to change just so slightly. Countless images of giant Digimon fighting against one another at different points in time, as Homeostasis started to elaborate:

“For as long as the Digital World existed, the balance between Light and Darkness had to be restored, over and over again. Said balance, in all worlds and universes, can only be achieved by utilizing the connection between humans and Digimon. Their bond had been tested by us before. And so we had found out that partnerships between humans and Digimon, their wishes and hopes, had the potential to cause unlimited evolution. They were the key to summon the Light to lock the power of Darkness away. And to ensure that this procedure would be maintained in the future… It’s our duty to scout the most suitable partnerships, the highest possible potential. But the search to find humans to partner with Digimon has become unfeasible. There are too many contenders in all the different universes, the scanning requires too much time, too much energy. In addition, most partnerships do not reach the same potential that we had once discovered… So we decided to emulate the potential instead. Through the course of time, the connection between the human world and the Digital World has continued to increase. By now, they are almost completely intertwined and thus, it became easy for us to just replicate the system that has already proven to be successful – and apply it to another universe.”

To underline the point, it made Taichi look up to the bubbles – indicating that those were the different universes it had been referring to. 

“We used the information we had already gathered through scanning all of your predecessors in Hikarigaoka, Japan, in 1995 of an alternate universe. We were in possession of all the data we needed. So we copied the baselines of your Digimon partners as well as the basis of the Crests that already existed. Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Sincerity, Reliability, Hope and Light. The power of the bonds between your predecessors and the Digimon had been successfully tested before. So we were convinced that, once we recreated the same partnerships between the Digimon and their specific human counterparts and give them their designated Crests as catalysts again, we would replicate the same successes.”

Another moment of silence followed. Eventually, Mimi was the one who tried to coherently summarize the information bomb that had just been thrown at them – thanks to her grandfather passing down just as much knowledge about the network as Koushirou usually rambled about:

“Wait… So you didn’t just replicate the Digimon and the Crests, but… Us too?! But we aren’t just characters in a computer made of data, are we?!”

Jyou wasn’t any less shocked at the revelation, touching his own head as if to soothe a rising headache: “Wh-what does that make us then? Are you saying that we’re… Reincarnations of people who have already existed before us?! Are these people dead then?!”

“They still exist in an alternate timeline, a parallel universe, Child of Reliability”, Homeostasis responded – and caused Jyou to shudder after getting directly addressed with that title. “But time there passes differently due to the timeflow of the Digital World. And those Chosen Children have lost their use to us a while ago. Thus, you were not reincarnated, you are-“

“We’re basically rebooted copies or clones, correct?”, Koushirou concluded in a high-pitched tone – only to be greeted by another emotionless reply:

“You may call it that, Child of Knowledge.”

But that aggravated Mimi even more, as she screeched “What the heck?!” out loud. Sora had floated to her’s and Koushirou’s side, intending to give them comfort, similarly to how Palmon and Tentomon tried to shield them – even though she had raised her shoulders and her voice was rather raspy as well:

“Does that mean that our universe itself is only a copy too?”

“No, every universe and every timeline therein is unique and completely accessible to us under normal circumstances. We just decided to insert the codes of your scanned selves into this world specifically, creating improved versions. However, everything in your world is real, including your families. Only your codebase is branched from your Source Tree in the other timeline. We generated and implemented your Crests into this universe from the very beginning, so it was then only a matter of time until your codes – and thus your selves – would get drawn into this version of the Digital World as well. However, we still needed to ensure that you would all meet each other again for maximum success. The Child of Light is aliased as the source of life, they would always be needed as the origin of these eight Chosen Children, in every timeline. Unfortunately, we did not have access to them in this one. They had denied us access for inexplicable reasons. But since the Child of Courage was related to them, we calculated that they were the best option for us.”

Despite everything, despite the full extent of a reality that had been unknown to them all along, that seemed so vast, so confusing, so completely overwhelming and dreadful… It was the last bit of information that hit a nerve in Sora specifically; she threw a glance at Hikari, who gazed at the corrupted version of her brother with tearful eyes, as if it had been her fault it had come down to this. Overcome by empathy and the spark of realization, Sora shouted just as loudly as Mimi before: “What did you do to Taichi all this time?!”

“The Child of Courage has always been a formidable fighter, one of the most valuable soldiers… By accessing them in this timeline, we could ensure that their potential would intertwine with the potential of the other timeline’s self. Their Digimon partner would be capable of accessing evolution more easily as well. And the combined karmic power would enable them to gather all of you quickly as well. They were familiar with all of you already, they would subconsciously recognize all your basic traits and personalities and thus, they would be capable of approaching and attracting all of you naturally. That way, they helped all of you to access your potential even faster as well. Without realizing it.”

“That’s a nice way of saying that you used him and us without our knowledge or consent”, Yamato spouted sarcastically – which was not picked up by the being at all, as it simply continued to justify its actions:

“It was the most logical conclusion. The Child of Courage is the perfect catalyst. We soon realized that the memories of their other self would flow into their consciousness the more we interfered with them. A mere side effect, but a useful one: By entering their body and familiarizing them with all they had achieved before, we simultaneously enabled them to access the whole extent of their fighting prowess – which also improved their strategies and their overall usefulness in this universe. We could give them directions, send them wherever we needed them to be to have maximum impact. We could even alter or suppress their memories if necessary. We hoped that they would become the mightiest force. It may be possible for them to reach even higher evolution levels and settle the ongoing fight between Light and Darkness once and for all.”

“And if he fails…?”, Koushirou whispered after a while, barely coping with the idea that the meeting between him and his best friend had potentially been orchestrated…

“Then we will have to try again in another timeline.”

In contrast, existential dread had hit Jyou wholeheartedly, so he just sacked down, staring at the never-ending whiteness below him. “This… This is a nightmare.”

Gomamon gave him a saddened look – just like the humans, the Digimon exchanged helpless glances. It was as if that being, Homeostasis, had actively implemented a mechanism within them to prevent them from going for the attack – and there was nothing even the chattiest Digimon could say about it.

Takeru was at a loss for words as well and Mimi desperately tried to wipe her upcoming tears away.

“Was he just… A little doll in a game this entire time? Are we nothing but cattle to you?!”

“Oh Mimi…”, Palmon did her best to attempt to hug her grieving partner.

“Taichi was completely out of his mind, he even fainted during that last battle – and you are okay with that?!”, Yamato screamed, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists. All the puzzling things Taichi had said before… If all of this was true, he really must have been on the brink of going insane.

“It was indeed an unfortunate event… The Child of Courage wasn’t meant to get corrupted any further so quickly. The decrease of their mental stability may have been the cause for inconsistencies in the code and for Diablomon to enter your universe in the first place, which had not been calculated by us. But by taking over their body, we could act in their place and eliminate the threat immediately.”

“You’re a heartless monster!”

Now the tears kept running down Mimi’s cheeks without stopping. She genuinely had intended to make Taichi open up and confess all his worries and doubts, no matter the cost. Never would she have been able to imagine how big of a cost it all had been. Thinking about what exactly he had been going through made her feel nauseous.

“Let Onii-chan go!”, Hikari finally raised her voice, desperately pleading: “There is no need for you to torture him any longer now that he is ‘damaged’, isn’t that right?”

“Hikari-chan…” Once more, Sora felt her heart stinging just listening to and looking at Hikari. 

So when Agumon finally found his own courage, joining Hikari in her attempt to plead by screaming “TAICHI, WAKE UP!”... To hers and everybody’s surprise, it seemed to reach through to the real Taichi.

Not only did one of his eyes start to twitch, the opal glimmer vanished for a few seconds and a quiet “Nghh…” could be heard.

“H-he reacted, didn’t he?”, Takeru gasped excitedly. “What should we do?!”

“He… He is probably still in there, so there must be a way to get him back, force his consciousness to the forefront.” Koushirou’s mind was doing somersaults, looking to find a loophole that would fix everything, while ignoring the logical side of Homeostasis reasoning; it was acting as a cleaning software with the intention of keeping viruses and other disturbances away. And yet, the seed of guilt that had been growing in his chest told him that what was going on was wrong. If only he had been more adamant about making Taichi confess what was going on, maybe they could have found a solution much earlier. Interrogating him about multiverses instead must have made him feel so much worse…

“That sounds painful!” Mimi was still wiping at her eyes, not feeling any less guilty.

“We have no other choice but to try!”, Yamato said, but despite his urgency, mainly tried to convince himself. “This thing is playing God and that bullshit’s unacceptable!” There was a time when they already had thought Taichi had died in combat – so back then, they didn’t have any other choice but to push through either.

However… Had there ever been a reason to seriously worry? Yamato couldn’t allow himself to dwell on that thought any further; the fights against Algomon, Milleniummon, Abbadomon… All the adventures they had gone through by gatehopping… Even the forming of Omegamon, as much as he had always relied on it… If it had all been tampered with behind the scenes to some degree… He loathed how much less significant it would have felt. 

How much less meaningful everything would have felt.

“I agree, but… How…?”, Jyou intervened. “Should we fight? Against him…? I mean… Who or what are we to interfere with the everlasting fight between Light and Darkness?”

Hearing that, Sora immediately jumped in: “We can’t give up here, Jyou-senpai! Chosen Children or not, he went through all of this, if we let it continue, then…” She paused after having glanced over to Taichi again – the glimpse of emotion had turned into a stoic face of stone again. It was a painful sight and she thoroughly hated the idea that it had probably never even been possible to make him confess, prohibited by this higher being. “Taichi needs us, he heard Hikari-chan and Agumon! So maybe if we keep doing that, it’ll work! Even if… Even if we’re just copies…”

She couldn’t help but feel disheartened for a moment – just like Yamato did, just like Jyou did, just like they all did. It was all so surreal and they couldn’t possibly know if any of what they would attempt to do even mattered in the grand scheme of things. If it hadn’t already been decided for them, if their lives just had to be – indirectly – sacrificed…

“Sora!”, Piyomon squealed, ripping her partner out of her gloomy thoughts. She exchanged another quick glance with her fellow Digimon companions, tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes as well. Then, the small bird breathed in deeply, pulling herself together before continuing: “It doesn’t matter if any of you or any of us were just… Copies at some point! What matters is that we decided to go on together!”

Tentomon had jumped to her side as well – despite his expression not being the easiest to read, he waved his claws vigorously. “It’s true, we went through everything side by side, from the very beginning and… Even if some things we encountered were calculated or whatever, we still had agency! We made lotsa choices ourselves! Koushirou-han, the light that you shared with Taichi-han, Sora-han and Hikari-han – that couldn’t have been a copy, now, could it?!”

With that, Koushirou and Sora looked at each other, remembering the times they had combined their powers to support Taichi with the help of Hikari’s light in the past. And even if those powers had been just passed on to them, even if her Crest of Light had not belonged to her initially – and neither had theirs –, it still had to have some weight. Unexpectedly to them, Hikari gave them a nod as well – as if she was silently agreeing to it.

“You too, Yamato!” Gabumon floated to their side as well – they all seemed to have agreed not to let their partners falter like that. While neither of them truly knew what it meant to be copied or rebooted, it didn’t make a difference to them. “The hope that you shared with Takeru, Jyou and Mimi… It had to be real! You are our partners and there have been so many hardships, so many obstacles… Still, they were our own, we overcame all of them, we and nobody else. We won’t let these efforts go to waste!”

“And if we had to meet Jyou and everyone hundreds, thousands, millions of times again”, Gomamon said proudly, hitting Jyou’s leg in a supposedly encouraging manner, “Who the heck cares?!”

Palmon however chose a softer approach and gently smiled at her partner from below. folding her vine-like fingers into a prayer pose. “I would want to meet Mimi over and over again – and see each and every of her versions thrive!”

“Palmon…”

Those words were enough to stop Mimi’s tears and she returned the glance with a loving smile as well – just to turn around and face the aforementioned Jyou, Yamato and Takeru. 

“There may have been feelings of familiarity before, even if we couldn’t pinpoint why exactly that was the case, but… These feelings only helped our bonds to grow further.” As an Adult level Digimon, Tailmon had an easier time putting her thoughts into words as she stood next to Hikari. If a former version of Hikari really had been possessed by this being before, it may have helped her and Tailmon to intuitively grasp it. “Whatever may have happened in another universe, even if things were similar to some degree… And even if we were tasked to fulfill a certain mission, it doesn’t completely determine the paths we chose in this universe. The fact that you all react the way you do now is proof of that.”

“If anything, I’m sure all of this only made our connection stronger!”, Patamon cheered as well, as his partner beamed over to his brother and the others as well. “We evolved together and wrote our own stories!”

Either of them had their own thoughts and feelings on the matter – some more unsure, doubtful and hesitant than others. 

The first one who moved – was Agumon again. Facing the shell of his partner heads-on, aiming for his heart and soul to finally achieve what he had failed at so many times.

“Taichi… You have seen all these battles your other self fought… You saw all of your friends going through their own fights, over and over again, but you kept quiet for our sake… Even if you didn’t have to. You didn’t want to worry any of us. You suffered for years and years… I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner. But we are here now. And we’re going to put an end to this! TAICHI!”

“Taichi!”

“Taichi-san!”

“Onii-chan!”

Even if they couldn’t know if their next steps would be successful, even if they hadn’t saved Taichi yet – all they could do was try. And go forward. 

~

The shimmer of opal, surrounding his senses like static, had stopped like another slap to his face, allowing Taichi to witness, hear, sense the conversation. So far, he had been nothing but a mere spectator, as if his soul was watching himself act and talk from afar through a screen or mirror. Like a surreal out-of-body experience…

Nourished by the voices that had called out to him, he felt like he had regained at least the willpower to address the shapeless being:

‘Homeostasis…?’, Taichi asked internally – and even though he couldn’t see any responder, a voice clearly echoed inside his head, making him feel weirdly light with every single word.

‘Greetings, Child of Courage. We meet eventually.’

‘I heard it all…’, he said quietly, more to himself than anything else, feeling dizzy, as if somebody had shown him a summary video in fast-forward-mode. “And I understand it now. I think…’

‘We appreciate your cooperation up until now. You were needed for a higher purpose.’

‘Yeah, I believe I got the gist of that. The most valuable soldier, the perfect catalyst, huh…?’

Hearing himself say it like that, it made an awfully lot of sense, he had to admit. Based on everything they had heard back when they first entered the Digital World, the fight against Darkness, the maintaining of balance appeared to be a daunting, never-ending task. Thus, simplifying, optimizing the process really seemed to be the most logical thing to do.

‘Is that why I wasn’t afraid back then…? Why I couldn’t remember how I got to certain places, why there are so many blank spaces in my memory? Why… Everything fell into place so neatly? My bond with Agumon, meeting everyone… Fighting, evolving, succeeding…’

‘Indeed. And all your capabilities will be the key. You can end it all. For the sake of harmony.’

He hadn’t even questioned the smoothness of their battles for such a long time, quite the contrary – until the visions had begun to become more forward, he had actually enjoyed being so powerful, almost invincible. That he could have been a dependable beacon, the literal Chosen One, strategist, leader…

It – he – had been too perfect. Until he wasn’t anymore.

‘... It wasn’t all just a lie, was it? I’m still… Me, aren’t I?’

He couldn’t not ask all these questions himself – just like he had asked Agumon about whether he had met someone like him before; just like he had wanted to hear from Yamato about Omegamon and if he had ever wondered why it was so easy to achieve…

All these feelings he harboured – feelings of affection, kinship, adoration, love for each of his friends… Had they ever really been his own…? Had Tentomon and all the other Digimon been right, had the light, the connection to the others, their choices been genuine? Or had it all been fabricated from the very beginning for the sake of a greater good?

Panic rose inside of him – and resentment. Anger, frustration… Uselessness. How was he supposed to fix this? In any other situation, Taichi’s gut would have told him to jump, attack whatever it was that had possessed him, punch it, rip it out of his chest, his head, but… How?

Jyou had not been wrong, how did you attack a being without a physical shape, something that was inside of you for who knew how long? That had basically directed, guided you…? Most importantly… Who – and what – would he become without it…? He was afraid to consider the implications. And indeed, who was he to disagree with its plans? If he had really been deemed "the perfect choice" to ensure a smooth outcome, if his self had the inherent “potential” to win an eternal battle that so many before him failed…? Even if it would mean the end of “himself”.

Taichi closed his eyes – internally. There had to be something. The net had always been a safe space for him, had helped him to stay grounded despite the chaos inside his mind… So he had to at least try to utilize that. Clear his mind – or maybe even force the headache to become so unbearable it would drive every external force out of himself?

He had no idea. Despite all those encouraging words, the familiar voices of his friends and all their partners, he didn’t know what to do.

Familiar voices that would have soothed him under any normal circumstances… Instead, the storm behind his eyes culminated in a colourful crescendo; faces he had known for years, mingling with those of “the other universe”, contrasting and complementing each other, merging and separating in frightening ways. 

Until Taichi saw him. Looking straight at him like a mirrored image of himself. The same face, the goggles… Fortunately, no bloody stains this time.

An image he had grown so accustomed to – that it naturally seemed to draw Taichi towards itself, unable to suppress the urge to reach out to him.

‘Is there any way to put an end to this…?’, he asked through his thoughts, gathering one last glimpse of hope, courage even…

Thus, his heart started pounding again when he heard his own voice respond:

‘What do you think we could do?’

He barely saw his other self moving his lips… This was probably the wildest thing he had ever done, talking to himself like that. 

‘I’m not sure…’, Taichi said, trying not to succumb to his own despair. ‘I’m really not, but there has to be a way to change this. This can’t be our fate… I’d try anything!’

‘Then why don’t you wish for it?’

Hearing that suggestion, Taichi frowned. Was this a trap? Just another illusion to keep him trapped in this despair without any real solution?

‘We aren’t inside some kind of fairytale, are we?’, he asked, almost feeling a little mocked – although he didn’t hear his other self laughing. ‘If it was that easy, then… I would have done that ages ago. I can’t just wish for this nightmare to go away, that’s silly.’

‘Is it any less silly than the headache idea? Or any miracle we have ever achieved before?’ This time, Taichi at least assumed his other self to smile – encouragingly. Accompanied by the unexpected softness of a hand touching his shoulder. ‘Come on, humour me, little me.’

A switch flipped – memories were fusing and, once again, separating. He must have seen it all – must have experienced it the same way, Taichi simply knew. This was his – their – only option.

And his eyes – this time for real – snapped open.

 “Nghhhh, t-that’s enough…! Get out…!”, Taichi’s physical form screamed out for all the others to hear – while his inner voice added: ‘Please, just this once… Help me!’

~

The light had swallowed it all once again.

If he had to describe it, Taichi would have said that a sword had been cutting through reality. A giant sword, consisting of a ray of light just as white as their surroundings – only distinguishable by a faint orange glow. The materialization of his wish…

He couldn’t have said who exactly had used it though. Who of them had gone for the blow, separating bubble after bubble after bubble. 

His vision was still blurry. Old memories and current impressions were still running circles, images of WarGreymon, Omegamon, various other people – including himself – floating by.

But with every passing second, it became lighter. More quiet. Now he was all alone inside of his mind, hoping that everyone else had returned to the real world safely…

‘Hey…’

Taichi turned around. With his consciousness still surrounded by nothingness, engulfed by the light, all he could see was himself. His other self.

‘Y-you!’ He had no clue how else to call him – even if he was sure that they had talked before, this felt different. ‘It’s not a dream this time, right?!’

‘No, this is as real as it can get – inside your head, that is.’ The other Taichi grinned cheekily – and for the first time, it really felt like he was talking to a separate person. ‘Speaking of which, how is your headache?’

‘Still there, but it’s a lot better now.’ Truthfully, with every word he spoke, he could think more clearly. As if a rock had been lifted from his brain. ‘Did we… Manage to push it out?’

Taichi knew he didn’t have to specify, his other self just nodded.

‘Basically. It really was always up to us to settle it all. And you did well, I wouldn’t have been able to get here if you hadn’t broken through that barrier with your wish. Sorry for the teasing though.’

The apologetic glance made him blink. He remembered it now – earlier, when he hadn’t been sure if he was being tricked or not, his other self had honestly wanted to convince him to wish to be rescued…

‘So the wish-thing wasn’t just a fluke?’

‘No. This dimension, just like the Digital World itself, had always had wish fulfilling capabilities, reading the hearts of those that entered it. A neat little factor Homeostasis had been keeping from you, just like it hid itself. Sneaky…’

‘I… Really had no idea what was going on.’

‘Neither did I for a long time, but that was the point. And with this entire experiment, I wasn’t nearly as affected as you were. So… I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you sooner.’

Taichi couldn’t suppress the feeling of awe. His mind had intertwined with the one in front of him countless times – and yet, despite everything he thought he knew about his life, he seemed like a completely different person now. A sense of wiseness and maturity, hardened and even a little worn out by his own adventures and yet, he radiated warmth. He still had that aura of serene calmness that made him wonder what else had caused him to become this way…

‘... You went through all that suffering before me though. Right?’, Taichi asked in a sympathetic tone, making the other one chuckle. Despite the weariness, he still seemed to be an overall positive guy after all.

‘You saw it all, didn't you? Okay, not all of it… This appearance here is just a digital memory of my 17-year-old self speaking to you since you are 17 too. Like… A Hologram Ghost, so to speak, because everything beyond that probably would have made your head explode’, the other Taichi elaborated, pulling on the white shirt of his supposed school uniform as well as the mess of brown hair on top of his head. ‘At least that’s how Koushirou explained it to me, you know. So you can’t possibly know what happens going forward until… Well, until you’re close to 40.’

‘I’m 38 years old in my own 2026 already, so it’s good you won’t have any knowledge of anything that happens till you reach that age!’

‘40…?!’ Taichi’s eyes widened even more and his other self laughed loudly. 

He absolutely hadn’t considered the time difference between their universes at any point before, since he hadn’t even been born in 1995 yet. But he was convinced that, if Koushirou had been involved – no matter the version –, he could have trusted in that information.

‘Either way, none of this should have happened. No matter how much it tries to convince you that all of this was done for the sake of ‘maintaining balance’, you didn’t deserve to be used like this. Homeostasis decided to act on its own and every time you went into the net, thanks to our consciousnesses merging, the barrier between the universes got more and more fragile. That’s how you got those dreams about my life and I started to have visions about yours. And that’s probably also what Homeostasis meant by saying that’s how Diablomon got into your universe. It was actually looking for me to get its revenge. Again….’

‘But now we’re going to end it for good?’, Taichi asked – and a smaller version of the sword appeared again. Two of them to be exact, one for each of them.

‘Yes, if we decide to cut it now, that'll be the end of the connection. Hikari already did it by herself, so we should be able to do it as well.’ 

Taichi swallowed. To think that his sister had been going through something similar before… Although it had been the other Hikari, it was soothing to know that she had successfully overcome it. 

‘You will be on your own then. And so will I’, the other Taichi continued – which made him grip around the sword more tightly.

‘Which... Is not a bad thing.’

‘No, it’s just a new beginning. There will have to be new, other Chosen Children and they will also be picked by Homeostasis again. Light and Darkness will always have to oppose each other. Even if we wish for it to end, this battle cannot ever be stopped. But history won’t repeat itself the same way, the universes will not interfere with each other’s fates anymore.’

It was an endless story without question. But no matter how frightening it all had been so far, Taichi felt a glimpse of excitement. Maybe it was a part of his inherent personality to be fearless after all…? This was something he would have to figure out.

‘I still want to thank you.’

This time, the other Taichi blinked.

‘For being a warning?’

‘No, for being different. We are similar, yeah... But not the same. And we'll keep changing... On our own, like you said. Even if… I have no idea what will happen when I get back. It’s… Scary as hell.’

Even without the connection intact, the nightmares would most likely not disappear immediately. The memories wouldn’t completely vanish for quite a while either, he would have to learn to distinguish between them. Would have to face everything and everyone with completely new eyes…

‘It is. We’re definitely not the same and that’s a good thing. Thanks, little me.’ The other Taichi grinned his trademark grin again – and raised the sword. ‘One more thing though.’

‘What?’

‘Let the others take care of you too. I promise… That’s the most important lesson you’ll ever learn. You gotta get your shit together, just like I do, sure. But you don’t have to do it alone. They’ll be waiting for you out there.’

Taichi found himself returning the grin – and raised his sword as well, ready to go for the final cut. It was true, that much he knew by now. Without them, he wouldn’t have regained consciousness. Without them, he wouldn’t have been able to make this wish. He wouldn’t have met his other self – just to part ways again. Forever.

Not all questions had been answered. He was pretty certain he would have to face new questions he had never asked – or been asked – before. Things wouldn’t be easy, but he wouldn’t shut them out again. Neither Agumon nor his friends. 

“... Thank you. For everything.”

„No matter how you look at it – Taichi-san has been acting weird lately!”

Mimi’s voiced oozed with frustration, as she flopped back down on her personal chair in their “hideout” with emphasis. As Palmon blinked at her, she gracefully flipped her hair over her shoulder, grabbed the cup of lavender tea in front of her and took a small sip, letting her statement sit for a moment.

A moment Koushirou and Sora used to exchange a worried look. Mimi may have been the one to order them all to gather due to “an emergency!” – which, as it turned out, was “Taichi-san being weird” –, but if they were being honest… They had noticed it too.

“I think I’m aware of what you’re referring to”, Koushirou agreed after a while. “My personal verdict is that he hasn’t gotten a lot of sleep, since he’s been spacing out frequently. But whenever I try to address it towards him, he says everything is fine.”

“As he usually does, but I think it’s all deflection”, Sora added, leaning against the computer table while Koushirou went back to trying to fix the blue screen Mimi had caused by accidentally ripping out a cable during her heated rambles from earlier. “He’s just… Smiling it away and, I mean, that’s always been him, but…”

“It’s like he’s hiding something”, Koushirou concluded without looking up from the screen.

“I know, right?!” Mimi put down her tea cup with a clinking sound, causing Piyomon and Tentomon to make inquisitive noises as well.

“And really, it’s not just that, it also feels like he’s forgetting things or getting them mixed up”, elaborating, Sora fumbled at the hem of her college jacket. “Last time I asked him if he wanted to have an extra training session, he just looked at me like a deer in headlights and asked if I wasn’t already meeting with Yamato… Who’s in Shimane. I have no idea where that came from all of the sudden. It’s hard enough to get the group together these days and I didn’t understand why he was so confused about me not traveling to Shimane in the middle of a school week.”

It really had been a chore to “keep the whole gang together” these days. While Yamato and Takeru had always been living in Shimane and, outside of Summer and Winter breaks, only joined them on their digital adventures in the net through a port in their area – usually it were only Taichi, Koushirou, Sora and Mimi that ended up gathering physically at their meeting points, namely the club house Mimi’s grandfather had sponsored a few years ago. With Hikari going to a different middle school and Jyou thoroughly focusing on his management career, their group of eight really was somewhat decimated.

“Super weird…”, Mimi pouted and Koushirou actually lifted his gaze this time.

“Speaking of which, he was asking me if I had talked to Jyou-san about college entrance exams for medical school…”

“He did what?!”, Mimi screeched. “Where’s that coming from?! Jyou-senpai has been so determined to take an internship at our company, grandpa would be devastated if he had suddenly changed his mind – and I would know, Jyou-senpai hasn’t shut up about it, I can show you our texting history, it’s-“

“That’s what I mean by him getting things mixed up”, Sora tried to intervene, smiling at Mimi serenely, so she immediately calmed down a little. “Even though these things really come out of nowhere…”

“Well, maybe high school is getting to his head?”

“His grades seemed to be fine overall though, even if… He’s never been the most studious”, Koushirou thought out loud. “Perhaps we could ask Hikari-san about it?”

“It didn’t seem like they had problems at home either.” Once Sora had said these words, the room got quiet. An aura of worry and confusion that was only disrupted by Mimi sipping on her tea again – more nervously than before as well. They had all known Taichi for several years by now, he had always been their beacon of confidence, a leader to look up to in every situation, positive and unshakable, especially during their gate hopping shenanigans. Seeing him so scatterbrained really was a novelty for all of them.

“There’s another possibility…”, Koushirou eventually broke through the silence with a low voice, drawing all attention towards himself.

“And what would that be?”, Tentomon asked curiously, flying over his head.

“Well… There is at least a tiny chance it’s caused by a Digimon he encountered the last time we went into the network.”

“So what, you believe there is a virus in the net messing with his head? Like… Giving him a cold that made him forget things or something like that?”

Hearing how peculiar it sounded by Mimi’s skeptical tone, Koushirou wasn’t so confident in his theory anymore.

“We will have to test it first of course. By talking to him once more and scouting the network for irregularities.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” With that, Sora pushed herself onto her feet again. “You’ll keep investigating on the digital side of things, Koushirou-kun, and we’ll, once again, try to get something out of him in person.”

Shortly after the disruption, Taichi received a message. This time on his phone instead of the Digivice. Unbeknownst to him, the power shortage had only lasted a mere minute, so when Takeru simply apologized for the sudden end of the call, he didn’t give it a second thought.

However, he felt uneasy nevertheless.

While the dreams had been less persistent in the past few days, the sudden – albeit short – headache worried him. This hadn’t happened before – and thus, Taichi’s instincts told him to ignore it, once again.

Suppress. Conceal. Move on. 

That was the only strategy he was familiar with and through the course of the entire week, he had been looking forward to meeting Sora today. Never had he craved this kind of distraction more than he did right now; catching up on what had kept her away from the pitch lately, hearing her ramble about her mother. Just lighthearted, comforting chatter and the satisfying sensation of the perfect pass landing inside the goal as they were outrunning the other kids in the park with ease…

So as Taichi caught Agumon and Piyomon playing ball with children around the age of ten or so from the corner of his eye while keeping himself warm by stretching, he couldn’t help but smile. 

“What are you grinning about?”, Sora asked, not any less smiley, as she kicked her own football in the air repeatedly, keeping it up for as long as she could. 

“I’m absolutely not grinning about you wearing shorts in early March…”, he replied, grinning even broader as she tugged on said shorts.

“It’s just because I can’t run well in joggers like you… If this gives me a speed advantage, I’m enduring the cold gladly!” 

“Even if your mom hates it?”

“Even if my mom hates it!”

Seeing Sora so enthusiastic always managed to cheer Taichi up. And he was certain that she did freeze to some degree. Even if her partner was a flaming bird akin to her own fiery attitude, the thick sweater and the beanie were still a huge give-away. He may have found it a little endearing too…

“She already started asking if I wanted to make some flower pieces for this Summer’s exhibition”, Sora continued, “And… Honestly, do you think Hikari-chan might be interested to do it in my place?”

Taichi just shrugged. 

“Beats me. I could see her being interested in the event, but… I don’t think she’s into flower arrangement itself? You gotta ask her that yourself.”

Listening patiently, Sora sighed deeply and picked up the football with both hands. 

“You’re right, I’ll do that”, she said, looking a little lost in thought as small clouds of air escaped her open lips. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. Comfortable silence.

Or so Taichi had thought.

“Can I… Ask you another thing?”

While her voice sounded unsure, he just continued stretching his legs.

“Sure, shoot.”

 “Why did you ask me about meeting Yamato the other day?”

With that, Taichi immediately stopped stretching and raised his gaze quickly. That was another thing he had completely forgotten about… Another of his mental fall-outs and he cursed himself for having been so careless, blabbering mindlessly.

“Huh? Oh, that”, he stuttered, nervously scratching his neck, trying to play it as cool as he could. “Dunno, I was just… Taking a wild guess.”

“A wild guess?” Sora raised both eyebrows. “But… Why exactly?”

‘Because I had a dream about you going out with Yamato and you were looking at me as if you felt bad for not telling me and my weird brain confused that with reality, but I can’t possibly tell you that!’, Taichi screamed internally, thoughts going around in circles. 

Knowing his friends the way he did… He was certain he would have noticed if something as crucial as that had changed between them. At least to some capacity, even if Yamato was rarely in Tokyo and mainly stuck around during their digital adventures, maybe during vacation time. Although he wouldn’t have described Sora and Yamato as visibly close… Perhaps they had been texting in private? Wasn’t it normal to be curious, to care about your friends like that?

His dream self, on the other hand, didn’t seem that confident about the whole thing though. 

In fact, Taichi couldn’t tell who exactly had begun to keep whom at arm’s length first, but he felt a distance between his dream self and “the other Sora”. And he didn’t understand how that was even possible. He himself had always been close with her after all, always had made sure to stay in touch, in and after school, through football, while gate-hopping… 

“Well…”, he eventually found the courage to talk again, even though the words were coming out on autopilot. “If there was ever someone you liked, you’d tell me about it, right?”

As soon as he had ended the sentence, the football slipped out of Sora’s hands and hit the ground, causing a loud bouncing sound that attracted even the attention of their Digimon partners.

“What?!”, she screeched, her face basically matching the colour of her hair. “Where did THAT come from all of the sudden?!”

That was when Taichi knew that he had placed his bets on the wrong horse. 

“Just, like, hypothetically!”, he responded in kind, raising both arms in self defense – and that seemed to calm her down, fortunately. Meanwhile, both Agumon and Piyomon eyed them curiously.

“We’ve never… Talked about stuff like that before though…”

Taichi couldn’t have agreed more, topics like these were foreign territory to him and he felt the awkwardness in her tone right in his bones. Nevertheless, deep down inside, he couldn’t shake the thought that he had to dig deeper here. In the end, it was an important subject and he couldn’t fumble again. 

“I know, I know, I just meant… We can tell each other everything, right?”

Pulling himself together as much as he could, he showed her a gentle, encouraging smile.

The look she returned was mellow and… Almost a little sad. 

“... Can we, Taichi? Can you tell me what’s going on inside your head as of late?”

Hearing that, his stomach dropped and the smile disappeared. This was not how he had envisioned things to go. Sure, he could have guessed it, but – just like with the headache, Taichi had hoped everything would go away if he just… Ignored it hard enough. 

Scratching his neck once more, he sat down on a park bench nearby, avoiding her eyes.

“... I don’t know what you mean…”

A ruffling movement next to him told him that Sora had taken a seat beside him. Squeezing her cold legs together, creating a squishy sound. Waiting, giving him time to breathe. 

“Koushirou-kun, Mimi-chan and I, we’re… We’re worried about you”, she said softly. Quietly, as if to contemplate every single word carefully. “It feels like you’re dealing with something all by yourself, but I have no idea what it is. I can’t even explain it.”

Still looking strictly into the opposite direction, he eventually saw Agumon sneaking into his vision, sitting down on his other side of the bench. Big, green eyes an honest mirror to the thunderstorm that raged inside his stomach.

“Taichi…” Agumon’s voice sounded just as gentle as Sora’s. “Why aren’t you trying to tell her?” 

Then he felt a hand touching his own. And even through the cold, he felt her warmth seeping through. Just like Mimi, just like Jyou before.

“Yes, please!” There it was again – Sora’s enthusiasm he usually adored to the core. Right now, it caused his head to hurt again. “What’s tormenting you so much?”

There was a hasty urge in his gut to reach out to her. Lift his hand in return, as if to prevent her from vanishing right in front of him if he didn’t answer immediately. What had happened, why did he feel so anxious? Did his dream self… Lose Sora in some way, shape or form at some point? Not to Yamato or anything like that, not at all. If she had told him about it, he always would have had her back, their backs, no matter what.

But… He vaguely remembered the sensation of dread and fear in front of an electrical fence all over again. Yet, there was something else. An unnecessary fight, weird secrecy. A hairclip, a tennis dress, tears. 

Regardless of what he tried – he didn’t recognize her. Just like he didn’t recognize himself anymore. Wrath was suddenly rising, accompanying the sharp pain in his skull, blinding his view.

“I can’t!” It bursted out of him and he stood up abruptly. “I wish I could, but you wouldn’t understand! Heck, you should get angry with me, shout at me, call me stupid, anything!”

He didn’t realize what he was rambling about. Incredible guilt creeped up right into his chest. How could his other self have let it slide like that? How could he have lost someone as amazing as Sora, someone so dear to him to time so easily? And how could he miss someone so terribly even though that person was right in front of him…?

“I… I just can’t mess this up, not again.”

Turning around to finally face Sora, he felt even more awful – because she actually seemed startled by his behaviour, looking at him with wide eyes. He couldn’t blame her for that. Nothing about this made any sense.

“You’ve never messed up anything and I’m not gonna call you stupid either…”

Even her attempt at comforting him didn’t reach through to him. He felt weirdly light, as if he wasn’t in control of his own body any longer.

“Maybe that’s the problem… Because I am stupid. Or was… I don’t know.”

Perhaps the only way he could keep everyone else safe – and himself from losing his sanity – was to keep a distance after all. The fear of losing those most important to him didn’t matter if he could ensure to protect them instead. How ironic…

‘Maybe I’m just… Wrong’, he mused to himself with a weary smile – only for the beeping sound of his phone to rip him back into the present.

“Hello Taichi-san, it appears we have a problem. Digital signs and public electronics are going haywire, especially large billboards and security cameras. I don’t know what sort of Digimon is causing this, but it looks like they may be looking for someone. If this is getting through to you, please get in touch.”

He absolutely didn’t want to get in touch with Koushirou right now, not in the state he was in. But the possibility of having to fight in the network at least gave him a glimpse of hope. Even if he was wrong – maybe he could at least be useful. And he wouldn’t drag Sora down with himself – not like that.

“Sorry, I gotta go, something came up… Agumon, lunch will have to wait a little longer today”, Taichi said, still forcing a smile, rushing towards his bike with Agumon following hesitantly. Without looking back. 

Being allowed to freely enter the building of Tachikawa Technologies due to having special access privileges – for being friends with the CEO’s granddaughter – still felt surreal to Taichi sometimes.

Mimi had strictly taught him to never show up in hoodie and sweatpants at least. Making a good first – second, third and twentieth – impression was important to her and she did value a proper fashion sense too.

‘Fashion, huh?’, Taichi looked down on himself – blue button-down shirt, school trousers and sneakers were fine, right? – before walking through the entrance area, nodding towards the receptionist. Who was absolutely used to his presence, but still tended to flinch at the sight of the small dinosaur next to him – who did not have to follow any dress code whatsoever. To most people, Digimon were a known occurrence in this world, but more in a “digital hologram companion” sense. Akin to a Tamagotchi who could be projected into reality. They were usually considered to be AI-generated, but not everyone was used to their presence yet. Spreading knowledge, awareness and familiarity about them were just a few of Tachikawa Technologies’ goals. 

Taichi smiled to himself. Mimi was a person who had firm beliefs – not only in regards to company policies and the art of dressing herself. Always classy and feminine, prestigious, with a sense of business and casual luxury.

Suddenly, a glimpse of pink hair, covered in golden stars, flashed through Taichi’s mind.

The “Mimi in his dreams” usually wasn’t too different from the one he knew. Sure, she seemed to have a more extravagant, more experimental – and more daring – fashion sense. She also wasn’t the granddaughter of a company boss, he could tell, even though her family still seemed to have busy businesses abroad – considering how that Mimi seemed to reside in the USA most of the time.

So yeah, maybe her circumstances were a little different after all. Maybe she had gone through more hardship than “his” Mimi led on to have…

Taichi could still recognize her through the haze of a distant memory. A sincere, outspoken girl, a delicate yet strong-willed princess, who fought for what she believed in. Even if he was certain that she would have liked to prevent the fighting entirely sometimes…

As the duo rode up the elevator to meet up at their “usual space” – an empty office room on the 7th floor Mimi referred to as “emergency headquarters” –, they weren’t prepared for the chaos they were about to encounter. Mentioned room looked like it had been hijacked by the marketing department and left behind after a 3-day-meeting of heated discussions, tears and sweat. Several flipchart boards, books, folders, crumbled paper… A disgruntled looking Mimi with folded arms, Palmon as well as Gomamon – and a Jyou who seemed close to a mental breakdown.

“You’re late!”, Mimi said loudly not even a second after he had opened the door, making Taichi raise both arms with an apologetic look. Agumon copied these gestures.

“We tried our best, promise! Jyou-senpai, you look... Pretty pale there”, he smiled a crooked smile, causing Jyou to look up. And the closer Taichi walked to the table he was sitting on, the more he noticed the dark bags under his eyes. “Let me guess, this is what our ‘emergency’ is about, right?”

Jyou only pulled a grimace and couldn’t even answer, before Mimi took charge:

“Precisely. Jyou-senpai has to practice his internship application presentation, so I gathered all of us here for additional mental support!”

Both Taichi and Agumon blinked at Jyou. That was surprising to hear.

“Since he’s been ignoring me fake-boo’ing him”, Gomamon explained as he sat on a stack of books on the chair on Jyou’s left, patting his arm. “You and Agumon will be part of our super judgemental crowd.”

“Thanks a lot, Gomamon…”, Jyou grumbled with a pressing smile, which was returned by a bright, toothy grin from the seal Digimon.

“You’re welcome, hehe!”

“Unfortunately”, Mimi elaborated before taking her seat at Jyou’s right side, while Palmon followed, “As always, it was impossible to gather everyone here, so… We have to make do.”

Taichi followed her lead as well – the table had been big enough for at least fifteen people to take a seat, but he picked the one next to Mimi, as Agumon actually sat down on the other side, next to Gomamon. The yellow dinosaur sniffed the air once more. 

“Mimi-kun has been very insistent on having you guys here, and, well, I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not entirely sure if that’ll actually help in the long run”, Jyou confessed dryly and scribbled onto a notebook as if to play it casually. 

“You’re really nervous, huh?”, Agumon said, basically speaking Taichi’s thoughts out loud. From what he had gathered and ever since he could remember, Jyou had been pretty much set to join Tachikawa Technologies. Taichi knew he had been busy with his final high school year exams, so they had barely seen him around – and Taichi had no idea how tough it must have been to juggle both at once. 

“Seriously, what’s the deal here? I thought you already had it in the bag, Senpai?”

Jyou huffed in response to that, but at least the smile on his lips had become a little bit less tense. However, Taichi could tell by the anxious scribbling that things were not okay.

“I’m good with the theoretical side of things, studying and stuff like that, but… It’s still a different story when it comes to… Talking freely, you know.”

That checked out somehow – back in the Digital World, when he had been just twelve years old, Jyou had managed to give some impressive speeches. But even then, he had needed Gomamon’s or his friends’ support to succeed. Which, in Taichi’s opinion, was not a bad thing at all, but it still baffled him to hear that he was still that insecure about his performance.

Jyou-senpai had grown a lot in confidence in all these years, now that he was on the brink of adulthood – hadn’t he? It felt like a déjâ-vu to some degree, even though Taichi couldn’t put his finger on it – and immediately shoved away the possibility that his dreams may have had something to do with it... 

Trying to clear his head, Taichi glanced over at everything that was laid right out in front of him on the table: It was covered in utilities; a laptop and projector in front of Jyou, a folder with his CV, countless sheets of paper, both printed and manually written on, as well as pens and sticky notes in various colours. The handwritten notes were obviously by Jyou himself – he was more of an analog guy after all –, whereas Taichi was certain the printed notes were provided by Koushirou. The one right in front of him contained a timetable of the company’s achievements ever since it was founded. What a thorough effort. 

“He’s been a quivering mess”, Mimi explained eventually and stood up again, walking around the table. Her tone had been less sharp than before. Instead of judgement, her voice was laced with encouragement and excitement. “My grandpa will obviously endorse him once he has finished high school either way, buuuuut… I fully support him wanting to work for it, showing determination here.”

“Proving to be a valuable asset for the company early on!”, Palmon added and Taichi had to grin to himself. He leaned over to gain Jyou’s attention, whispering with a hand over his mouth:

“Valuable asset, is that a different word for slave?”

“Shh!” While he tried to sound disaapproving of that wording, Jyou, apparently, couldn’t help but to grin himself now. Unable to suppress his amusement at Taichi’s humour, he hissed back with an underlying laugh: “Don’t let her hear that!”

“What was that?” Mimi rushed between them again, but both guys just jumped apart, simultaneously shouting “Nothing!” at her. Taichi still smiled though – the first measure of distraction had been a full success, Jyou already looked a tad bit less tense.

“Stop whispering and let’s get started. I trust that you’ll provide honest feedback in the end, Taichi-san. I’m still disappointed in you for not having joined our open hours the other day. Grandpa would certainly have liked to see you again!”

He did have to ditch the event at the company due to football practice the other day – and because he had felt groggy after a particularly restless night.

“Hey, maybe that wouldn’t be the worst idea!” Still distracted from his own troubles, Jyou turned towards Taichi. “Especially if you still don’t have any idea where you’re headed?”

“Uh, I’m not in a rush to be honest!”, Taichi deflected. It wasn’t even a lie after all, he simply didn’t feel like talking about his ‘potential’ again. “How about you, Mimi-chan?”

“Me? Oh, seriously, Taichi-san, what a silly question is that?” Mimi’s eyes started to shine as she positioned herself between Jyou and Taichi again. “I’ll take over this company and make sure to increase its appeal to customers and employees alike. We’ll be known for our high-class products – that’s what Koushirou-kun will provide – and our inclusive worker’s rights union all over the globe! With Jyou-senpai managing our HR department with class and dignity and me looking over our marketing campaign, we shall take over the Japanese tech market in the foreseeable future!”

The déjâ-vu washed over Taichi again – but in quite a different way. She really was more confident than “the other Mimi” – or rather, confident in other ways. Where the other Mimi still enjoyed being a “kid”, wanting to experiment and figure herself out more, his Mimi knew exactly where she was headed. With her white blouse and high-waisted burgundy skirt, hair open and wavy, unshaken and straight-forward.

Definitely more of a queen than a princess.

“Progressive as always, Mimi-kun”, Jyou said – and even Taichi hadn’t been able to overhear the glimpse of affection in those words. 

“So world domination is just around the corner, huh?” Taichi refrained from asking whether she intended to expand her reach to the USA specifically… 

“You laugh, but you won’t once it all comes true, thank you! So I have to disappoint you…” The enthusiasm in Mimi shifted a little, as she now looked at him directly. Unavoidably. “Senpai won’t have any time to become a doctor, as you suggested…”

“You did?!”, Jyou exclaimed in absolute surprise and Taichi could feel his heart sink a little. “Well, my brother is the one who’s a doctor in training, but…”

Panic rose in Taichi’s chest, his palms began to become sweaty again. He had no idea what had come over him when he had asked Koushirou about all the printed materials on his desk the other day. “Is this for Senpai’s medicine school?”, he had asked and Koushirou’s confusion had hit him like a truck. He hadn’t even stumbled about it being an irregularity, it had just felt natural to ask such a question… And now nothing made sense about it anymore.

The way Mimi looked at him now with narrowed eyes while Jyou’s were wide open left him struggling to find an answer.

“Taichi…?”, Agumon asked and so he just shook his head. ‘Stay calm, stay cool, you can do this… Nobody has to know.’

“Y-yeah, I was just saying that…”, he cleared his throat, putting his trademark smile back where it belonged as he faced Jyou directly: “You would, technically, make an amazing doctor, seeing how committed, responsible and… Reliable you are, I mean, in general.”

Both Mimi and Jyou gave him a blank stare now, completely flabbergasted – with the former’s face having turned slightly redder in skin tone.

“Well…”, Mimi began, exchanging a glance with Jyou as well now. “That’s an agreeable statement, but…”

Watching Jyou blush even harder at that caused Taichi to smile again – and took away a tiny bit of his nerves as well. It was ironic in a way. Mimi and Jyou had felt pretty familiar with each other within his dreams themselves – so he was relieved to see that their relationship had stood the test of time, quite literally. It was endearing to see them be so in sync with each other. It made him feel nostalgic… And melancholic.

Just like it had felt completely organic to ask about Jyou’s future career in medicine, Taichi had the impression that “the dream version of Jyou” must have gone through several hardships himself – and yes, just like with the Jyou he knew, there must have been more than just a few doubts and setbacks in terms of choosing his path. Taichi felt a sense of… Sympathy towards him, could relate to him in weird ways. 

As if he had been lost, not knowing his place and sense of self for quite some time. An emptiness he had eventually overcome to replace it with unwavering commitment. To become a doctor. To become the best supporter he could possibly be – and to Taichi, it was surreal to think that his other self had to learn to respect this version of Jyou first. They did seem to have developed a harmonious bond, but… Taichi knew it hadn’t always been that way. 

It was a little disorienting. But now Taichi knew that the Jyou he was familiar with had his own challenges to face. He may not have gone for medicine as his field of choice – but he was unwavering in his unique way. He didn’t seem as steadfast in his abilities as the other Jyou yet, but they would make sure he could get back on track. Determined to get the job in this company, to become the leader he had always wanted to be one day – instead of a supporter. 

As someone who saw himself as the leader of his group of friends, Taichi couldn’t have been more proud of his friend, admired him to no end…

“So, yeah, Senpai”, Taichi said softly – and more assured than before, “If there was ever a time you felt like I didn’t respect you… I wanted to let you know, you’ll do great, no matter what you’ll choose to become.”

Now Jyou’s head was completely indistinguishable from a tomato, a stark contrast to the grey shirt, dark blue pants and tie, all prim and proper. The perfect business partner, companion and ‘asset’ to Mimi he could imagine. Gomamon let out a giggle and patted Jyou’s arm again.

“See, you’ll do fine, won’t ya?!”

“Taichi, what’s with all that flattery, did something happen, did you break something on your way here?”

“Told you, he is being weird”, Mimi folded her arms again, but Taichi simply blocked.

“I’m 100% fine!”

“You seemed a bit scatterbrained recently, wouldn’t you agree?” She kept digging at him, now with a lower, more worried tone. “Sora-san and Koushirou-kun certainly do.”

The other Mimi was close to these two as well. However, she seemed to butt heads with Koushirou a lot more… Thinking back on their bickering didn’t correspond well with the image he had of them. With Koushirou being another key support in their little group, always keen to be of help to him, Mimi, whenever they needed him, almost a little obedient…

Suddenly, his vision became blurry, his thoughts became foggy and incoherent.

‘Not now… Please… Stay on course, Taichi. They’re just reflections, stop overthinking.’

“I think he just needs to sleep a lot more, so he won’t fall asleep with open eyes anymore.”

It almost seemed like Agumon had known that he needed a little help here, so Taichi just felt a surge of thankfness, lessening the panic a little more.

“I-it’s not even that bad…”

Hearing that, Jyou got in full alarm mode, grabbing one of Taichi’s hands over the table. “Have you been suffering from insomnia? That’s serious business, if you need me to look up meds or anything-”

“Huh, maybe you really are a doctor at heart…”, Gomamon cooed and Jyou immediately let go of Taichi.

“What?!”

Instead, Taichi felt both of Mimi’s hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her directly. A bold move – as unpredictable as Mimi could be and even considering how long they had known each other, overstepping physical boundaries like that was unusual even for her. Thus, all three Digimon in the room – and Jyou – gasped at the sight.

“Taichi-san.”

“Y-yeah?”

“You haven’t had a cold recently, have you? Ever felt weird after returning home after gate-hopping? Be sincere. I won’t accept any more deflection.”

Taichi’s eyes widened. This felt like the worst-case-scenario – he absolutely didn’t intend to let them get so worked up over him. And Mimi’s determined yet worried glance was both alarming… And heart-warming. The haze behind his eyes lifted a little, the fog disappeared. Bringing him back to the now.

He was glad that this Mimi was an anchor for him. Who knew how to approach and motivate people.  It was like the princess in his memory made him value the queen in the present a lot more.

Just like the Senpai that would lead the way alongside him.

Gently, he grabbed Mimi’s hands and put more distance between them again, smiling his everlasting smile:

"'... You better be there on time, it's urgent, that's an order.' Oh, Queen Mimi-chan is on a roll again today", Taichi grinned at Agumon after having read her message out loud. They had just returned from football practice and just as Taichi had finished showering, his phone had rung like crazy.

For whatever reason, she had 'ordered' him to meet up with her and Jyou at Tachikawa Technologies. "You think she wants to convince me to work for her grandpa after school too? I guess jumping through digital gates does have its perks for a tech company, but... She already has Jyou-senpai and Koushirou for the complicated bits. Not sure where I would fit in there."

Listening to him patiently, Agumon tilted his head. While not having any clue about human "professions" like "management" or "programming", the Digimon, just like everybody else, was well aware that Mimi could be scarily unpredictable with her ideas. "Maybe she wants you as a waiter or something like that? Would not be the first time."

"Oof", Taichi huffed dramatically, pretending to be hurt. Back in the Digital World, he had played the 'servant' role for Mimi more than once – partly as a joke, partly because Mimi always shouted out what came to her mind and Taichi simply couldn't help but play along. It had always been endearing to him. And he was used to playing guinea pig for Koushirou’s gate-hopping experiments anyway. "That'd... Yeah, she would. And I'm sure catering could be a fun job for a while, but... I still hope I'd have potential for more than that."

"Potential...? What do you mean?", Agumon asked – and Taichi paused for a moment. Sitting up on his bed in his room, hair still semi-wet from the shower, his mind felt a little tired and thus, answering this was not an easy feat. What exactly did that mean after all? 

"Like... You know, humans have abilities, skills…” Taichi pulled a grimace, unsure of how to explain this to his partner in simple terms. “And traits, like you Digimon do. You have claws you can rip things apart with, right? And when you evolve, these claws only get stronger! And... I don't know yet what I'll be like when I ‘evolve’ one day… I guess that’s the best way to compare it?"

Taichi had no idea if any of that made sense – he had never thought about his "potential" before. At least not in this context. Job orientation meet-ups at school would come up soon enough and he didn’t exactly feel ready for those, but he also wasn’t majorly concerned about them yet. Unlike Koushirou and Jyou, he didn’t feel up to making a decision too early on. Or Sora, who hadn’t been at football practice today, so he wondered if she had been taken “hostage” to help out at her mother’s flower school again…

Once again, a memory of the man that had died in his dreams popped into his head... In a previous dream, he was pretty sure he had talked about his future plans with him. Languages, going abroad, dreaming big. But it was all blurry and fuzzy...

"Taichi...?"

"Huh?"

Agumon’s voice had ripped him out of his thoughts. And the way the small yellow dinosaur looked at him, questioning, concerned… Confused him even more.

"You were... Very far away just now”, his partner explained, one claw reaching for his arm to pat it gently. “Did you have a funny dream again?”

Of course Agumon must have noticed. As innocent and naive as he could be, it was simply impossible for him to not have taken note of all the times Taichi had woken up with suppressed screams. It hadn’t happened as often while he was awake, but the signs must have been at least similar.

"I'm... I'm fine”, Taichi replied, quickly rubbing his palms against his pants to get rid of the sweat.

"Are you sure?”

"Y-yeah.” Forcing a smile, he patted Agumon’s head in return. Such a familiar feeling - both the rough surface of his skin as well as the fact that he was always looking out for him. Always had been by his side, ever since they had met. Sure, it hadn’t been easy to navigate through daily life with a Digimon by his side – hiding him from his parents, at school, during football practice, making sure to enter the net, fighting against Digimon that slipped through the cracks into the real world without making a fuss… But it had always been normal to him.

Always normal…

“Agumon?" 

"Yeah?"

Realizing how dry his throat was, how hoarse – almost robotic – his voice had sounded, Taichi had to cough. His heart had begun to pound again…

"You once said that... You felt like you had met me before."

"Mhmh! It's as if... Whenever I see you, I feel like we were always meant to be together, no matter what."

"Always, mh?”

Something about this bothered him all of a sudden.

He had never questioned his bond to Agumon before. Never once in the past six years had it occurred to him how... Odd it had been to have jumped into the net without reservations to meet a pink blob and watch it evolve into a big dinosaur in such a short amount of time.

All the adventures they had experienced together; all the times they had jumped into action, into life-threatening situations, to protect their friends, the world, each other. Always knowing that, as long as Agumon was by his side, he would be safe. As natural as breathing air, as normal as water being wet. 

No fear had existed in his 11-year-old self back then.

Now, at the age of 17, the shadows of his dreams lingered at the back of his head. The vision of himself backing off in surprise at seeing said pink blob sit on his chest. The terror of facing giant stag beetles, a shellfish, snowmen… Or a literal devil. A glimpse of a scared kid standing in front of an electrical fence, struck by sheer dread. A sense of cowardice, mingled with innocent recklessness, he had to overcome – one which he hadn't experienced in the same way himself.

Himself…

“Do you think there is…” Taichi’s throat felt blocked, even dryer than before. “There ever was... Someone else like me?"

"Huh?"

"I know it's stupid, but... Did you know someone like me before you met me?"

"Someone like you?"

It really did sound stupid, Taichi mused internally, ruffling his hair in frustration. He didn’t even know how to put it into words. How was he supposed to convey that the ongoing dreams had led him to the idea that they were… A mirror to a previous life? That the reason why he was always so confident in succeeding with Agumon by his side was that his former self had met him already? 

It was complete and utter nonsense, no matter how he’d put it…

"... Like... Someone who looks like me? Who also kinda, sorta is like me… But somehow isn’t?"

Just like before, Agumon tilted his head. With his green eyes open, wide and genuine, he seemed to contemplate his response, leaning in a little closer as if to sniff his partner…

"You are you, Taichi”, he eventually said, not a shred of doubt in his voice – which made Taichi even more unsure about what he had blabbered before.

"I... I guess? But what if there was another me?"

"I don't understand what that means, but... You are the Taichi that I know – and the Taichi that I love.”

It was such an easy answer – and while it did seem honest, causing a glimpse of guilt in Taichi’s gut… He still wasn’t convinced. There was no way Agumon would ever lie to him, he was certain. Thus, there was no doubt that he could at least trust in Agumon to not know any better - or rather, not any more than he did. 

“If there was another Taichi, then... Do you think there would be another Agumon too?"

Hearing that, Taichi’s smile softened – and for the first time today, it didn’t feel fake. They had never gotten answers as to why they were chosen, why they were partnered, why their Crests had existed before. And maybe he was just overthinking it all. Maybe it was just a lot more simple, maybe he was just tired and the dreams were a way for him to process it all. Maybe it was just meant to be.

"Yeah, because I wouldn't be complete without you!"

Obviously caught off guard by that sudden mood change as Taichi jumped up from his bed enthusiastically, Agumon just blinked at Taichi – who was aware that he must have startled his partner with his gloominess before. 

"You're silly, Taichi. No matter what happens... I will always protect you."

‘And I will protect you too’, Taichi thought, promising himself not to worry him, just like he wouldn’t worry anyone else either.