Nope, I don't own any rights to Digimon: Digital Monsters, or whatever they call it in Japanese. Don't own rights, characters, plot twists, names, or even stock to any of Digimon's subsidiaries (Something I probably should have done). I do this for fun, and I do this also because of the simple concept that I can. Writing is a limited medium and I like to take it as far out of the box as I can. Oh well, please don't sue.

This fic has a concept that I love. Well it has several of them but right now I'm just focusing on one. The reason that you never catch the name of the main character is because I never say it. I did this because I remembered a book I had read WAAAAAAY back in 5th grade, The Taste of Blackberries, A wonderful book that never named the character telling the story because there was a suggestion that it could be anyone, that the issues hit home and it could be the kid-next-door. Speaking of idea's I stole, I also quoted one of my fav. poets Shel Silverstine. Please all blood sucking lawers don't sue me.

By: Phoenixfire
I met the digidestend before they were the digidestined. I knew them before they left my world, my life. I was even offered a chance to go with them. Why don't you know my name, as well as the others? Well the first thing that you have to understand is that we were offered a choice to leave. Since I chose differently, you don't know me, don't know what happened before my friends were taken into the digiworld. It was partly fate, yes, but they chose to go. It's not like I didn't crave the excitement that they did, I just didn't chose the same answer they did. Well let me start you off at the beginning...

"Joe! Come on! It's snowing!"

"It's the middle of summer!"

"Come out and see!" I gigged as I dragged him out. He gasped as he saw the snow falling down and hitting the ground. He stuck his tongue out and tasted one of the snowflakes. This made me laugh at the face he made.

"Cold!" he grinned. I quickly kissed his cheek, and walked out with the others who were watching the snow fall.

"TK get back inside. You might catch a cold." Matt said as he offered a light jacket to his younger brother.

"Oh come on Matt. How often do you get to see snow in the middle of August?" I said grinning, as I hopped up and down to keep warm.

"Well technically if your in the southern hemisphere then you see snow EVERY August." Izzy piped up. I stuck my tongue out at Izzy as Joe offered me his sweater. I gratefully accepted and gave him a questioning look as if to say Its summer, why in God's name did you bring this?

"Always be prepared. That's the boycott motto." he laughed giving me a quick hug.

"Oh for the love of God stop that you two. You sicken me." Sora said as she watched us. I saw Tai raise his eyebrow at this.

"Oh lay off them, Sora. This may be the closest Joe ever gets to a girlfriend." Mimi said, making fun of Joe's conservative nature. After all, it was I who had made the first move on him, and in Mimi's sheltered world that was taboo. I couldn't help but to throw a snowball at her. It missed her, and hit Matt instead. This of corse set him off, creating a small snowball fight between myself and Matt, but Tai, being the person he is, joined in, and soon everyone was throwing snow and laughing.

"Hey! That's not fair! She's using Joe as a human shield!"

"Oh no, your not!" Joe grinned as he threw a snowball at me. I ducked it easily and was about to retort with a snowball of my own when the sky opened up and an object came storming towards us.

"Lookout!" The ball dropped from my hand as I grabbed Joe and threw him and myself to the ground. I heard the others all hit the ground. When the object hit the earth it set up a puff of snow and earth spraying everyone.

"Is everyone alright? Sora asked. We all nodded, the snowball fight long forgotten. Izzy walked over to where the object had hit. He looked up and picked up a piece of it.

"Its not one object, its eight," he said. We each picked one up and were studying them, when I noticed a man standing near us.

The man was dressed in a cloak and had a hood covering his most of his face. He was hansom, at least what I could see of his face, but he also seemed... powerful, for lack of a better word. I could tell that a fearsome spirit hid somewhere within his frail looking body.

I began to walk towards him and motioned for the others to follow me. Each of us were still holding a digivice as we approached him. When we approached him he took off his cloak. He was now dressed only in pants, and had a strong build. He then lifted the hood away from his face. I gasped, because underneath he had the face of a cat. More specifically that of a lion. He spoke to us.

"I am Leomon, gardean of the gate. You are the ones called the digidestined."

"Pardon?" I gasped out looking at this half man half lion figure.

"That thing you carry. The digivices. You are the digidestined."

"...Oh...?"

"You have in your hands a device that can bring you to a world of more pleasure, more pain then you can possible imagine. It can take you to a world that you will have adventures beyond your wildest dreams. Enter into a world of fear and hate, but also of courage, freedom, bravery, and love. You have the chance to go where no human has spoiled the landscape, where you can the experience ultimate freedom. Where you can save the lives of millions times millions of people on your world as well as mine. Where you can dream, where you can play, where you can be truly free. A body guard will be assigned to each person who accepts this challenge. But they are more then just body guards, they will be your lifelong friends. Follow me... and experience adventure beyond your wildest dreams.

"But there's a catch. You can stay here or you can go with me, but you can only chose one, and you can only choose once. You would have to give up the world you know, and you would never return. This would be... forever. Chose. Chose wisely. Because you only have one chance." the man said. He then gestured beside him. A portal opened up revealing an island. There was one main mountain in the center, and it was surrounded by lush, unspoiled forest. Tai stepped forward to get a better look. The lion/man gestured again closing the portal. "Think about the world you live in. Are you willing to give it up? And if you don't then you won't be able to save it. You must leave this world permanently, in order to save the people in it. What do you chose, and remember, you only have one chance to come."

"You can't possible expect us to go. To leave our world, our families, our friends. This is the only world we've ever known, and you can't expect us to just drop everything and go with you, never to return home again." I said sharply. I glanced at Tai.

His eyes were glazed over. "Adventure beyond my wildest dreams? I don't know I have some pretty wild dreams." He was going to go just for the adventure. Tai stepped forward. "I'll go." he said. He stepped into a portal that had appeared in front of us. I could see an expresion of sheer joy as he looked around him.

Matt looked ill. I could tell he wanted to go. Beside him his brother looked at him. "I want to go Matt," he said simply. TK stepped through the portal.

Matt quickly stepped forward with him. "I'd kill myself for you." Matt turned to face the man. "I go with my brother." As he spoke he too, left us.

Sora looked through the portal at Tai. I know that she really didn't want to loose him. She spoke quietly. "Save two worlds... Save my family, my friends... by leaving them. I don't know if I'd have that kind of dedication." She shook her head violently. "I'd leave them forever, to save them." Sora stepped into the portal defiantly.

Izzy looked out at the sky. "A world unspoiled by humans. Were no one has ever been. A world that we could explore, discover, and study. I'll go." Izzy stepped forward, entering the shimmering gateway. I saw a look of bliss cross his face as he landed in the other world.

Mimi looked at the lion-man hard. "Lifelong friends. And ultimate freedom... and a world of love... I'll... go." Mimi said as she stepped into the portal.

Joe looked like he was deliberating this hard. "Save a world? Save two?" This was what he had been taught to do. Help other people. "Leave them... to save them... forever is a long time. But... I need to go where I'm... needed. " Joe glanced behind him at me. He lowered his eyes and stepped through the gateway.

"Adventure... freedom... love... to save my friends and family...by leaving them. I... I can't do it. I can't do that to the people I care about. I'm needed here too. I can't... I don't want to lose you Joe, but I can't go."

"You only have one chance. One chance to go, one chance to stay. Choose wisely." The lion said.

I shook my head. "You don't leave the people you love. There is no choice here. I stay."

The lion-man offered once again. Still clutching the digivice in my hand I shook my head, and looked at Joe. He had already stepped forward, was as good as gone. I glanced at the sweater he had offered me moments before. I then looked at the portal to another land. Adventure beyond your wildest dreams. A world of more pleasure, more pain then I could possible imagine. Ultimate FREEDOM. But what lies on the other side of the portal? What would endanger two worlds? And what do I have to loose? Everything. I can stay here in comfortable familiarity, in a steady constant. Where I don't have total control, but... I have comfort. That's all I ever wanted. I looked at the man guarding the portal and shook my head. He nodded in understanding. "I can't leave this world." I whispered.

"Then you will stay." the lion said. The portal began to close as he stepped into it.

"JOE!!" I screamed in terror. I knew at that moment that he and the others had left, and were on their ultimate adventure. They were going off to save the world that they had to leave. Permanently. I bowed my head. "I... made a mistake." I whispered into the wind. You only get one chance. I cried to myself as I headed back towards my cabin. I remember I passed a creek in the way there. As I stared down at it I realised that I was still clutching the digivice that had come from the sky. I sighed, and tossed it into the river. "...Goodbye Joe." I whispered as I heard the plop of it hitting the water. It was carried off into the distance.

I've long since gotten over my first love, Joe, and it's such a long time that I've long since married. But... but I still think of my friends, and the ultimate freedom, the ultimate adventure that they were having. If they were even still alive. And no one here knows the sacrifice I made to stay here, what, giving up my first love, and my one chance at freedom. But still... ever since then, whenever it's snowed I've come inside and cried. It reminds me of the day I gave up my one chance, when I chose to stay. I can't say that I stayed for selfless reasons, because I loved the world here, and I cannot say I didn't want to see that world that beckoned to me, because I did.But that day I did hear a sound of haunting hallow. I heard, I heard, I heard it clear, I was afraid to follow.