Digimon Adventure 07: Virus

by YukiraKing

Moments after the last story ended we find our heroes in a situation that there may be no possible solutions to. They find themselves in situations and locations that test the very fibre of their beings and force themselves to limits they have yet to see, all for a common goal that the world promised them: Peace. [took out the humor genre because there's nothing funny about death.]

1. Treacherous

Y/N: Have Fun.

U/N: So, as you can see by my sister's author note, writing one for every chapter when they go up so frequently is kind of hard, but honestly she's not wrong. It's kind of a ride in this chapter. We just (like two minutes ago) spliced all the chapters together into a kind of back and forth storytelling kind of way, where the five chapters are kind of mixed together, so I apologize if that doesn't go as smoothly as it could. It wasn't written that way, but for timeline purposes, it had to go that way. Anyway, on to 07 :D And I did mention the story would be uploaded differently, and it WILL be, but the first "Part" will go the same as 06 did with one every other day. Yeah, so I hope you like it :D

Title: Digimon Adventure 07: Virus

By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing

Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 1: The First Two Days

Chapter 1: Treacherous

Taichi Yagami:

The large wooden horse crept slowly through the scar in the sky, moving a foot at a time. Soon the head and neck were through, and we were all just staring at it in horror. Hikari grabbed my hand, and squeezed tightly. DemiDevimon burrowed his face into D'Arcmon's neck. We couldn't do anything to stop it from coming.

"It's a Trojan Horse," Mom whispered, catching my attention.

"What?" I asked.

"A Trojan Horse," she repeated faintly. "The Greeks used one to smuggle their soldiers into Troy. They succeeded. All of the Trojans were obliterated. I'm fairly certain that's why they named the computer virus after it."

"So the computer virus is a wooden horse?" Hikari asked carefully. When she put it that way, it didn't seem so bad.

"No," D'Arcmon said firmly. "They are being theatrical, dramatic. The virus will be hidden inside, just as the Greeks were."

"Then why are we standing around?" I asked, feeling the dread, and helplessness sink into my skin. This was the moment I'd brought about. It was my fault we ended up in this situation. It was me that failed to keep the peace between the worlds—which was literally my job's description. It was me that threatened Rida with war—more than once. Daisuke might technically own the goggles, but I was the leader of the digidestined, everyone—Daisuke included—looked to me for guidance, and I didn't fulfill their expectations. This was all on my shoulders, not theirs. They never did anything wrong. Neither did the digimon, but they were suffering for it.

Hikari pulled on my hand, and suddenly we were racing down the street, back to the Temple Square. Mom was in front of us, though I knew that wasn't where she wanted to be. She had a protective streak a mile long, and I knew that her motherly instincts were kicking in. She wanted to be between the virus and her children. She wanted to shield us against the danger. But I couldn't—and wouldn't—let her. Neither would Hikari.

"Keep moving, Mom!" Hikari encouraged when Mom hesitated a step or two, looking over her shoulder to see if we were still okay.

"We need to catch up to the others," I said, thanking Rei mentally for all of the work-out dates she'd insisted upon, and for not listening when I suggested movies and ice cream instead. "They need to know it's here."

"Hikari!"

D'Arcmon's majestic, powerful voice echoed in the empty square. She was much further behind us than I'd expected, and I couldn't stop myself from waiting for her. I used those fleeting moments to look back at the wooden horse, the smuggled artifact that the DWD stole right out of the pages of mythology. I didn't know where the trap door might've been on the original, but I doubted it was the mouth, as it was now. The jaw of the horse dropped suddenly, the hatch opening, and thick, billowy clouds poured out. They were violently purple, and I half expected them to be covered in lightning, just to add to the creepy factor. This purple smog was going to kill us.

Maybe.

If it could manage to get outside of the barrier—and my fingers were still crossed that it couldn't. I really didn't want my tombstone to say: Death by purple cloud. It wasn't particularly thrilling. I'd prefer it to say I died peacefully in my sleep at a hundred years old, but obviously the DWD were leaning towards the former, more humiliating option.

"Take him," D'Arcmon said once she'd caught up to us. She thrust a squirming DemiDevimon into Hikari's hands, causing my sister to drop my own in the process. It was a simple motion, her letting go of my hand, but I didn't like it. It was like she was being robbed from me. While I could feel the warmth of her hand—and the slight clamminess that accompanied her current terror—I knew she was safe. I knew she was alright.

"No," Hikari protested. And for a second—half of one even—I thought she was talking to me. I thought she was reminding me that she was twenty-three years old, and fully capable of taking care of herself, that she was a digidestined just like I was.

But the second was over quickly, as my brain caught up to the situation around it.

"You're coming with us," I agreed with Hikari. D'Arcmon shook her head solemnly, looking towards the ever growing collection of thick purple that was rapidly taking over the Temple. It was heading in our direction—in all directions really. How thankful I was, that we'd evacuated all living organisms, from within the Temple's walls. I couldn't even imagine the panic, the terror that would be filling the streets if that weren't the case. Digimon running everywhere, desperate to find refuge elsewhere, but knowing that there were no guarantees that anywhere would really be safe.

"I must stay," D'Arcmon said. "You take care of my ward. He's been a very good digimon, and I thank him for that."

"I don't want to leave you," DemiDevimon said. "You were going to come with me to the Coliseum."

"I was never planning to leave," D'Arcmon said, shaking her head sadly, her eyes remained determined though. There was no chance we'd be able to change her mind. "This is my home, and I will defend it. I will try to strengthen the shields. I'm afraid the shield will not be able to contain the virus. It wasn't designed to keep things in, just to keep the enemies out. I will defend my home, and the world my son created, the world his clones fight to protect, and I will buy the digidestined the time they need to ensure the safety of the residents of this world. Do you understand?"

"I don't like it," I said.

"I'm not asking you to," D'Arcmon assured me. I nodded to her. It was her decision. I wanted her alive. I wanted her to come back to us, but I knew there was very little chance of it happening. She understood that too. It was in her eyes.

"What?" Mom asked, horrified and confused. "You mean she's staying? You can't stay! You have to come with us. We can make it. I know we can. Surrendering to the virus isn't the way to go."

"Mom," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder, and pushing her towards the front gate. "Go. Start running. We'll be right behind you."

"No we won't," Hikari protested. "We won't leave you, D'Arcmon. In a world without light, darkness wins. Without you we're losing light!"

"No," D'Arcmon said. "It is you that must remain. I represent the Holy digimon, but I am not the embodiment of light. That position is yours, and if I do not fight to keep you and everyone else safe, then I will have failed that light. Keep your hope alive, and don't let that light burn out. Now go. GO!"

Mom didn't like it either, but she went without any further prompting. I had to drag Hikari away—and she had to use every ounce of strength she possessed to keep DemiDevimon from flying back towards his pseudo-mother. We had to keep DemiDevimon alive. His partner was still out there waiting for him—I hoped—and D'Arcmon wanted him to have that reunion.

It was hard to leave D'Arcmon behind. She followed us out the gate, passing outside of the barrier, before she stopped, raising her hands in the air and exuding a power stronger than I'd ever seen from her. I didn't see any more of her though, because we were already racing towards the trees.

"What way?" Mom shouted. I was hesitant to leave Hikari, whom I was still dragging behind me at that point, but Hikari's mouth was set in a firm line, eyes narrowed ahead of her, and she was clutching DemiDevimon as if he were her lifeline. She couldn't convince D'Arcmon to come with us, but she could—and would—fulfill D'Arcmon's final wish for her.

Knowing Hikari wasn't about to race back to the Temple, I picked up my pace and raced ahead of Mom, leading the way to the Coliseum, and the others we'd sent on ahead. We'd run into them soon, I knew we would. They hadn't left long before the virus had arrived.

The sounds of our trampling footsteps, the cracking of stray trees, the crunch of the rocks and dirt, was all that echoed around us. The wind had died long ago. I kept waiting for something, some sound from the virus, letting us know that it was coming. But there was nothing. It was a silent killer, and without looking back, I was almost able to forget its existence. We weren't running for our lives, we were just finally taking DemiDevimon to the Coliseum, and choosing to run for the fun of it. It was a stretch, but I knew I could trick myself into believing it if D'Arcmon was at our side.

But she wasn't.

I risked a look back, and was happy with what I saw. The barrier was holding firm. Whatever D'Arcmon was doing was working. The purple smog was pushing at the shield, but was stuck within the dome surrounding the Temple. A smile spread across my face momentarily, but was quickly wiped away. It was still a dangerous virus, and it was still threatening the Digital World, and only D'Arcmon was able to stand it its way.

Suddenly the purple dome didn't look so funny anymore.

The dome disappeared behind all of the trees soon enough, and I had no way of knowing if it was spreading, until we huffed our way up a stupidly placed hill. When Gennai designed this place—or whatever D'Arcmon's son's real name was anyway—did he even think of practicality? Did he think of all the times we'd be running for our lives and make it so the terrain was yet another thing we had to fight against? I distinctly remembered a scene from long ago, where seven young kids and their digimon partners were being chased by a Kuwagamon only to encounter a strategically placed cliff, which we ended up literally falling off of...

Once we made it up the stupidly large hill, I could see that Mom was tiring out quickly. She wasn't used to all of this running. Hikari was looking winded too, but she wouldn't say anything, and I knew she'd just get angry if I pointed it out.

I glanced back at the Temple. One last time, I told myself, vowing to stop focussing on what was happening behind me when I had a mission to complete. The virus was trapped anyway, so it wasn't like there was anything to look at.

But there was.

The barrier exploded, the virus billowing out like molten lava pouring from a volcano. It was moving much faster now, than it was before, and the most horrible sound I'd ever heard accompanied it.

"Was that...?" Mom asked faintly.

"Yes," I said, closing my eyes tightly. D'Arcmon's dying scream echoed through my mind. The horror, the pain concealed within the reverberating cry etched itself into my memory right then and there, and I knew I would never be able to forget it.

"No!" DemiDevimon screamed, struggling in Hikari's arms. "She needs help! We have to help her. Let me help her."

"It's too late," I said, knowing I wasn't being comforting enough, but there wasn't anything I could do.

Mimi Tachikawa:

The scream was loud, chilling. I didn't know who it was either—at first anyway. Kiyoko and I turned to look behind us, though the trees marred our vision. It was Palmon that identified the screamer: D'Arcmon. Ice ran through my veins. I knew what it meant, for her to scream with such anguish and pain.

"The virus," Kiyoko said in a choked whisper. His hands were shaking, and his knees buckled under him. He knew something that we didn't, but I was too upset to ask.

"You sure?" Willis asked, having no problem converting his thoughts into words. He was angry though, not emotionally unstable like I was, not absolutely petrified like Kiyoko. His anger had been simmering just beneath the surface since we had left the Temple. But he never aimed that anger at Kiyoko, Palmon or me. He had good control. I just cried all over him and anyone that stood in my path.

"I-it wa-was hi-hit-ting th-the T-Temp-ple fir-rst," Kiyoko stammered. "I-it's c-co-coming f-for us!"

"Get yourself together," Willis told him, kneeling down in front of Kiyoko and placing a hand on either of his shoulders. "If you don't, it will get you. We can beat this thing. We can outrun it in any case. We've got a ways to go, I realize, but we can do it. I believe we can."

"I c-can't," Kiyoko said. "I'm sc-sca-scared."

"Oh, for the love of—" Willis said exasperated, grabbing one of Kiyoko's arms and flinging it over his own shoulders, yanking Kiyoko to his feet in the process. "I'll drag you if I have to."

"Can we go now," Palmon asked anxiously. "D'Arcmon was hit. I want to see if the others got out."

"Don't even say that, Palmon," I pleaded. Koushiro and Tentomon were back there. Our family, not to mention our friends. My heart was beating fast, picking up pace at an alarming rate. "They got out. They did. They got out."

"We won't know for sure until we get to the Coliseum," Willis pointed out. His anger had diminished a small bit, but he had a new source fueling it now. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was upset about—and I would know, because I wasn't a genius, and I figured it out. He was mad at Mari. And now her life was in danger, and he was mad that she wasn't here with us. Not that she would've been any safer if she was here. The Coliseum was nowhere in sight, and we weren't even moving! We were sitting ducks, and the virus was going to come for us. Just because we couldn't see it, didn't make it any less of a threat.

"M-Mari," Kiyoko gasped. "Hi-Hideto. I have to go back. I have to get them. I need them."

"You need to stay alive," Willis growled.

"And how am I supposed to do that without them?" Kiyoko asked, his desperation and co-dependence seemed to outweigh his fear momentarily. That was something at least. He pulled his arm away from Willis, and stumbled backwards, heading the way we'd come. Willis scrambled to catch hold of Kiyoko, but he was moving too quickly.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted, extending her vines to capture our runaway, dragging him back to us, kicking and screaming. "Think about Tapirmon!" Palmon ordered. "He's waiting for you. And if the virus is already at the Temple, it might be too late for Mari. Don't rush in and get yourself killed in vain."

"B-b-but," Kiyoko said, his eyes fresh with tears that were overflowing, cascading down his cheeks. He became blurry as I started crying along with him. Palmon was right. It might be too late for Mari. And if it was too late for her, then Koushiro and Tentomon were probably out of my reach forever. And Taichi, and Hikari, and all of the others. My heart clenched, still beating too fast. My breath was ragged. I looked to Willis again, the source of strength within our little ragtag group. His eyes were shining, but he wouldn't let himself cry.

"She's right," Willis said, shaking his head, clearing it of any unnecessary emotion. He would handle his sadness and anger later, when he knew it was actually warranted. "We might be the only ones left. We can't know until we get to the Coliseum, and I'm sick of waiting around and gabbing when our lives are in danger. I'm not letting myself get killed. I know what that would do to Terriermon and Lopmon. I know what it would do to Jenna, and Mom and her husband. What it would do to Michael, if he's even still around to learn it happened. I'm not doing that to them. It's not about me. And it's not about you either!"

"Think about your Mom and Dad, Mimi," Palmon suggested. "Think about getting to them."

"Tapirmon," Kiyoko whispered. "Warg, Melga and Dracomon. I might be the only Alias III left." That set him off again, and he was shaking, struggling against Palmon's vines with renewed strength. Willis stormed over to him and slapped him. I let out a little scream, surprised by the sudden act of violence, but it seemed to do Kiyoko a world of good. He looked at Willis wide-eyed for a few seconds before wiping away his tears furiously with his fingers.

"We're digidestined," Willis growled. "We don't live just for ourselves. We live to keep the worlds safe. We've gave up the chance at normal lives when we accepted our digivices. We need to stay alive. We need to continue to exude our crests and keep the worlds in check. Without us, chaos will ensue. If we let ourselves die, all is lost. We can't avenge our friends if we don't live long enough to do it. So forget about them for now. Forget about the virus, and start running!"

"Okay," Kiyoko said, though it was hesitant. Willis nodded at Palmon, and she released Kiyoko. Willis watched him for a second, debating whether or not he was going to run again.

"Let's go," Palmon said. "Please?"

"Yeah," Willis said, with a meaningful look in Kiyoko's direction. Kiyoko looked much more subdued, and he nodded, clutching his computer bag in one hand. There was something about those Izumi boys and their computers. They both used them as a crutch, as an escape. It was too bad they wouldn't be able to help us now.

I wondered if Koushiro's computer was still around, but forced the painful thought from my mind.

Of course it was. It was still with Koushiro, he was still alive, and I had to run now, to the Coliseum so I could meet up with him again. So we could talk and I could tell him it didn't matter that he didn't know my middle name—not very much anyway. Well it did, but I would forget about it if it meant he didn't die with D'Arcmon.

"Guys," Palmon cried in a shaky voice. "Now. We run now."

"Palmon?" I questioned softly.

"NOW!" she screamed, as she set off running. Willis looked over my shoulder, and I watched as his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Kiyoko started shaking again, when he looked too, and Willis reached out to find his arm, grabbing onto it.

I was afraid to look.

But I did it anyway.

I turned and saw a giant, oozing purple wall reaching up to the sky, and moving in our direction, eating the trees and grass and dirt as it passed. It was so thick I couldn't see through it. It was a violent, horrid shade of purple that I'd only seen being shot out of DWD artillery previously. That could only mean one thing: it was the virus.

A garbled scream clawed its way out of my throat, and I took a few shaky steps backwards. I couldn't do any more, until Willis grabbed my shoulder roughly and whirled me around, pushing me after Palmon. I was running again. For the second time in such a short time period, I was running again for my life, and for Palmon's.

Takeru Takaishi:

"Aaarraauugh!" Miyako shrieked as the limp body paled and fell onto her.

Everyone standing around her seemed to have completely frozen. Ken was only feet from where I stood, and although we'd been running, desperate to reach Miyako we had both stopped in our tracks the very moment we'd seen the flashes of violet. My eyes had fallen to Kurayami where she stood, her hands shaking as her fingers curled around the silver and black gun that she had just used to kill another human being.

"M-Miyako!" Ken shouted finally, pushing himself into motion. His shaky legs brought him toward his wife where she was pushing with all her might trying to get the lifeless form of Moretsuna off of her. She was shuddering and groaning, words coming out at random as she panicked. Her breathing was choppy, and Moretsuna was just too heavy for her to move. I wanted to help her, but I was still in shock.

Not only had I just witnessed yet another death... this one was human. This was a person—a man, he had a family, a life, and someone must have loved him. That was wrong. It was wrong that his life had been taken, because he wasn't going to come back... or maybe he was. I didn't know anything about religions, all I knew was that death happened. Frequently. I'd always tried to keep it away from the front of my mind, but here it was, in front of me an impossible to ignore. Not only had a human died, but it had been achieved by means of one of my closest friends.

Kurayami let out a loud scream finally, and her gun was dropped suddenly. I watched the light glint from the silver as it fell. The weapon landed next to Kurayami's feet and she stared at it in horror, throwing her foot back and kicking hard. The weapon soared through the air toward a tree and crashed into the greyish bark.

I stared at the killing machine and then saw something flick in my peripheral vision, and slowly I looked up, noticing the light in the distance. The light was over by the Temple... over by Hikari. What was going on? I tore my eyes away from the horizon and looked to my digivice for the time. It was eight o'clock... the day was running short... wasn't the virus supposed to come at some point today?

Was that it? Was the virus attacking the Temple? Was Hikari first in the line of fire?

"Breathe!" Ken hissed loudly. His voice shot through my trance and I stopped my running. I'd already been heading directly toward her. She was in danger—but so were my friends. So was Patamon. Yamato! My parents. Everyone! "Miyako, you have to breathe!"

I looked to my two friends and saw Miyako wrapped in Ken's arms, her face paler than ever. Her eyes were staring toward the corpse lying in the grass only feet from where Ken held her. She was breathing, as Ken had told her to, but it was fast and panicked. Ken had tears in his eyes, trying desperately to keep Miyako under control of her emotions, but that was difficult on a normal day, and this was not a normal day.

"Ken." I said flatly. He didn't even pretend to have heard me. He just kissed the top of Miyako's head as she began sobbing, finally pulling herself out of her trance. "Ken!" I yelled.

He rounded on me, his eyebrows high. "Not right now," Ken said quietly.

I groaned and turned to Moretsuna. I let out a gasp as I noticed the hole in his chest. Slowly his body was deteriorating. Kurayami had shot him too many times, and the affects were kicking in too quickly. His body was leaving us already. He would be gone soon... and there would be no traces of him ever being here at all.

"Kura," I said quietly, turning to where she'd been standing. But she was not there. "Dammit! Kurayami!" I shouted loudly. I spun around and immediately knew she had run off. What was she thinking? Where had she gone? "KEN!" I yelled, rounding on him again, impatient now.

"Takeru!" he yelled back. "I'm trying to comfort my wife!" He looked up to me, angry now.

I looked back to the Temple and saw a cloud of violet shooting up to the skies. A panic shot straight through my entire body, my heart dropping and my stomach churning. "Virus..." I muttered, the words barely escaping my lips. "K-Ken..." I said one more time, my emotions struggling against my control, trying to imitate Miyako's panic attack. I had to keep my head.

But that seemed hard.

Hard because I could see the clouds of violet billowing toward the sky in a tower of ultimate destruction.

Probably.

"H-h-he's g-g-g-gone!" Miyako sobbed, "H-he was-s a h-h-horrible p-p-person! B-b-but now he c-can't ch-change!"

"He never would have," Ken insisted, squeezing her comfortingly.

She pushed him away from her and she turned to him. "You d-d-don't know th-that!" Ken looked appalled and Miyako looked to the man who was only random limbs now, a horrendous sight. "We never h-h-had a chance to talk to him! We never t-t-tried! We t-treated h—" She coughed loudly and grossly as she wiped franticly at her face, forcing the tears away. "H-him just like the digimon," she continued. "We di-didn't ask ques—tions! We j-just killed h-him be-because he was b-bad!"

"He was trying to kill you," Ken insisted.

"So d-did y-you!" Miyako shrieked. Ken looked shocked and backed away from her through the grass staring toward his wife who was so angry now. Miyako tried to stand, but couldn't. She fell back and her back pack fell off of her shoulder. As she repositioned it I could see a key hanging from one of the side pockets. "A-and Kurayami! S-she's not bad! She..." Miyako paused. "She's n-not... is she?"

"No," I insisted. Ken and Miyako both turned to me as if they had forgotten I had been standing there. I certainly hadn't. And every few seconds I checked back toward the virus. At first it had seemed like it was being kept at bay, but it certainly was not any longer. I could see the cloud growing quickly, and it didn't look good. It was spreading now. Kurayami wasn't evil though. She wasn't bad. She did what she had to do to save her friend, and that was important to remember. But I didn't have time to press that fact. "Ken, a word please?" I motioned for him to step aside with me. He shook his head and tried to crawl back to Miyako. "Now."

Ken looked to me, worried now and got to his feet, the whole way toward me he shot apologetic looks to Miyako. "What?" He asked, panicked.

"If you look behind you right now," I told him and he glanced over his shoulder quickly. When he turned back his eyes were wide with terror. "That would be the virus we've heard so much about. We need to get to the Coliseum."

"Is it safe?" Ken asked quietly.

I shook my head gently and sighed. "I hope so. I think so. I don't know." Ken looked unsure if he wanted to risk it, but seemed to realize that there was really no better choice. "We have to."

"You're right..." Ken said, and together we turned back to the virus. The clouds of violet were now shooting quickly through the trees. "We have to go now." He decided. We both turned to Miyako and Ken let out a yell of anguish. "Miyako!" he screamed, desperate.

She was gone too. Ken was running already, his screams loud and desperate. He had run straight through the place Moretsuna had once been laying, seemingly not noticing for a second that the man had ever been there at all. He was too eager to find his wife.

Iori Hida:

This wasn't how my search was supposed to end. I was supposed to be walking back with Hawkmon, listening as he chatted away about how good of a job we did. We were supposed to be taking our time and coming to terms with everything that had happened over the last couple of days.

But we weren't.

We were running for our lives instead.

How many times would I have to do this? How many times had it already been done?

It seemed like this would be a never ending fixture of my life. I would lose people, I would fight for what was right, and I would run away from danger hoping to keep hold of my life for just a little while longer. Of course, that was eliminating the time I'd tried to sacrifice myself for Hikari, and all the times I'd stubbornly stuck around longer than I should have and needed to be rescued. The latter thankfully hadn't happened in years. I'd finally become an adult in the eyes of my friends. They trusted me to take care of myself now.

Miyako expected me to take care of her child when it was born.

I needed to get back to the Coliseum. I hoped she'd made it there during the time that Hawkmon and I had been searching for Impmon. We'd found the little guy, sobbing his heart out in a tree, trying to hide from us, but he was making far too much noise for it to be a worthy effort. I'd done the best I could to convince him that others cared for him, and that they were worried about him, but he wouldn't accept it. No one cared except for Noriko. He was sure of it. And she was gone. There was no point for him to be there anymore.

Impmon was wiping his eyes, but he was still crying, making it a futile effort. His shoulders were shaking, and he wobbled on the tree branch he'd perched himself on.

"Come on down, Impmon," I told him. He shook his head and continued crying. I looked to Hawkmon, and he fluttered his wings, flying up and landing on Impmon's branch.

"Impmon, it is dangerous out here, you must come with us," Hawkmon implored.

"What's the point," Impmon said in a dull voice. "Noriko's gone. There's nothing there for me anymore."

"Tomotsu's there," Hawkmon pointed out.

"And he doesn't want me!" Impmon cried. "No one cares about me except Noriko, and she's gone. I'm all alone now. I don't fit in there."

"You fit in just fine," I told him. "I care about you. And I know Hikari cares deeply for you, even though she only met you the once. She cares for everyone Impmon, and she cared for Noriko too."

"How's that going to help?" Impmon demanded. "Am I supposed to replace Noriko with Hikari? Is Hikari going to love me unconditionally because I'm her partner? No. Because I'll never be her partner. I'm Noriko's and Noriko is mine. But she's gone. I can't be there without her. What's the point?"

"You could talk to Kotemon," I suggested. "Or Mari. They could help you get through this."

"I don't want to get through this!" Impmon sobbed. "I just want Noriko back. I want her back. Why can't she come back?"

Hawkmon and I looked at each other both at a loss of what to do.

In the end, it was Hawkmon that convinced him to go to Primary Village, instead of hanging out in the tree waiting for the DWD to get him.

Knowing what I knew now, I wished we could've convinced him to come with us back to the Coliseum. We were barely ten minutes out when Hawkmon noticed the large consuming mass of purple that was expanding in every direction. We knew right away that it had to be the virus that man had been talking about when he interrupted Mimi's broadcast.

We thought we'd have more time.

Running was second nature to me now, and Hawkmon was faster when he flew, so he chose to do that. I'd started to think that maybe, with the pace we were keeping, we'd be able to make it to the Coliseum, despite the vast distance that stood between us. The virus was still a ways behind us; it would take a while for it to catch up to us.

I always knew optimism was dangerous.

No sooner had I thought that we could make it, did I hear the terrified screams of small digimon. Hawkmon stopped flying, searching the area, fluttering higher for a bird's-eye-view. It took me a few paces before I could slow my momentum and come to a stop. Each second that ticked by was another second that brought the virus closer to us. I hoped that whoever these digimon were, they were small enough for us to carry so we could continue on our way.

Once again, my optimism failed me.

Hawkmon led me into the trees towards a cluster of tiny digimon. They were babies. They shouldn't have been out there alone in the first place. But since there were eight or nine of them—I didn't actually count—there was no chance in just picking them up and racing to the Coliseum with them.

"What do we do, Iori?" Hawkmon asked, his voice growing frantic. I looked back to see how much time we had. The virus was still coming...and it was coming much faster than I'd have liked.

"We have to take them to Primary Village," I sighed, knowing that meant we wouldn't have time to get to the Coliseum anymore. We'd have to stay in the Village, and hope for the best. It wasn't exactly something I'd dreamed about doing, but it was better than getting Hawkmon swallowed by the virus because my stubbornness wouldn't let me give up.

"Will we make it?" Hawkmon wondered, looking like I did, to the virus.

"We'll have to," I told him. "We can't leave them here."

The virus was coming, large, billowing and purple, creeping towards us. My skin crawled and my hair stood on end. I wasn't looking forward to what we'd have to do. I felt the key Jou had given me in my pocket. The weight was far from comforting. If I'd been given the key to the Land of Dreams, I wouldn't have hesitated. I would have opened the gate and walked right through with Hawkmon and all the little digimon. It was a far better fate than racing against the clock.

But it wasn't the Land of Dreams. It was the Dark Ocean. I couldn't in good conscience bring the baby digimon with me into a literal hell.

"Listen up!" I called to them. "We're going to the Primary Village. You're going to need to do your best to keep up." The babies didn't answer, at least not at first. Eventually though, a small black Nyokimon managed to speak in a weak voice.

"We can't go back there," he said in a voice that sounded much like an infant. "The scary thing's back there. I don't want to go back. We won't. Scatter!"

"What?" I asked.

"NO!" Hawkmon shouted, as the little digimon started hopping as fast as they could in different directions. I grabbed a Botamon mid-air before he could get too far. He squirmed and squawked, but I was much stronger than him, and he couldn't escape my grasp. Hawkmon caught the two Yuramon in his claws. They wisely didn't struggle. Hawkmon's talons were pretty sharp.

"You'll never get all of us!" Nyokimon shouted at us.

That's what I was afraid of.

"Now you listen here, you meddlesome child," Hawkmon ranted, following after Nyokimon. I had to trust that he would get Nyokimon and the Yuramon to Primary Village. I couldn't follow after him and save the other digimon before the virus reached us. It was impossible. I knew Hawkmon would give his life to protect those little digimon...but that didn't comfort me in the slightest. We would be racing toward the virus after all. We had less time to work with than we would if we were running away.

I had to keep my wits about me though. There were five or six digimon that needed saving, aside from the Yuramon and Nyokimon. I had one Botamon with me. I knew I'd seen another one in the group. That left three or four others.

Two of those hadn't made it into the trees yet. I quickly ran to the small blue, furry digimon, Dodomon and tucked him into the crook of my arm next to Botamon. Dodomon sank his sharp teeth into my arm. I winced, and jerked my arm away, nearly dropping the two babies. I gritted my teeth though, and held tightly. His teeth sunk deeper into my skin, and I felt my blood trickling down my arm.

I glanced toward the virus. It was continually creeping forward.

I didn't have time to waste focusing on the pain. I needed to keep moving. The virus would make it to Primary Village soon. Once it did, any chance of these guys surviving went out the window. I could keep them alive with the key, but they wouldn't last long in the Dark Ocean.

Dodomon growled, still biting down hard. Botamon just continued to squawk. I ignored the both of them—with a lot of effort. I had another Botamon to chase down before he disappeared into the trees. He was number six—with Dodomon, Botamon, Nyokimon and the two Yuramon. I stumbled over fallen branches, and slipped on their leaves, but I caught him just as he was diving into a bush.

"You guys need to grow the hell up," I snapped, as the second Botamon started harmonizing with the first to reach an all new level of annoying. Dodomon just ground his teeth into me instead of abiding my orders. "Your friends are going to die if you don't smarten up. It'll be your fault."

Yeah.

I said that to infants.

To be fair, it was true. They were impeding my rescue mission. It would fall on their non-existent shoulders if anything happened to those other children. The Botamon duo stopped their incessant noise, but Dodomon just glared at me. It wasn't the best response in the world, but he'd decided to quietly munch on my arm, which allowed me to use my ears to assist me in hunting down the two—or three?—other children. I kept my eyes peeling, following the gentle nudging of one of the Botamon as she tried to help me. She started cooing and I knew I had to be close. I scanned the area.

My eyes couldn't help but note that the minutes were ticking down. The virus would hit Primary Village in a less than reassuring period of time. I willed myself to believe that Hawkmon was already on his way to the Village with his three.

Botamon squawked and hopped out of my hold before I could stop her. She bounced over to a smoking bush. It took less than a second to realize there had to be a digimon in there, because bushes didn't smoke on their own. Blindly, I stuck my hand into the leaves, pulling it back quickly, yelping loud enough to shock Dodomon into releasing his hold on my arm. He started spitting and I would've rolled my eyes if I'd had the time. It seemed as though my blood was less than appetizing. He should've let me go ages ago. I waved my burned hand in the air. I didn't take the time to examine it. Each second counted. Instead, I reached my hand back into the bush, coming in from the bottom this time. I wrapped my fingers around the bottom of a squishy, nearly cloud-like digimon, pulling it from the bush, dangling it upside down.

"Mokumon," I grumbled. The smoke digimon just slobbered, grinning up at me, proud that it had managed to burn me. Any other time, I might've encouraged his pride, knowing that protecting one's self was of the utmost importance. But in this instance, as his attempts were actually putting himself in more danger, I was not happy.

I was actually incredibly irritated and stressed.

That was not a good combination for me to have.

Mokumon seemed to pick up on this fact, since he sobered up quickly. He blew on my hand as I stood up, making sure both Botamon and Dodomon were all accounted for. I grimaced when I felt his tongue touch me. It was gross and wet, but the virus was more pressing than my comfort.

A tiny bird call was how I'd managed to locate the next of the digimon—Puwamon, a tiny little owl. She'd decided climbing a tree would save her from the virus. A quick scolding was enough to get her down—after I'd implied I was going to leave her behind for the virus—and I started racing towards Primary Village. Time was running out. Between Hawkmon and I we had eight digimon. I'd done my best to get a number out of the babies, but they couldn't speak well, and they couldn't count so it wasn't exactly helpful.

Sora Takenouchi:

It was over.

It was all over, and it was entirely my fault. By this time they'd all be dead. I was to blame. I consciously knew I couldn't blame myself for the pushing of the button. I knew I hadn't done it, but there was something inside me that was so sure it was my fault. There was a small, flickering flame in the depths of my heart, slowly burning away, helping itself to whatever it could find in there. Hope, love... and as the flame grew so too did the fear and the panic. The flames were entrancing, and the longer they burned, the larger they became, and the more convincing they were. With all of my positive emotion having burned out of the confines of my heart, I was left with only doubt.

Doubt that my friends had survived. There was no possibility of that anymore. I'd warned them. I'd warned Taichi, but he'd only had two minutes to go. To run. To hide. There wasn't enough time for him. He was surely dead. Just as Biyomon would be. And Koushiro. And Mimi. And Jou. And little Emiko.

They were gone, and there was no convincing me that it wasn't my fault, because I knew it was. Whether or not I'd been in control of myself when the button had been pushed. It had been pushed, and it had sent out a deadly virus to destroy everyone that I knew and loved, and I had not stopped it. My parents were now dead, and it was my fault. It was my fault because I could have tried harder. I could have struggled harder against the confines, and I could have smashed the computers, I could have begged harder. I could have struggled for the survival of everyone. But I hadn't. Not enough. Not hard enough. And now they were gone.

Was it wrong that I did not regret for a moment that my final goodbye had been to Taichi? I'd been given one phone call to say goodbye, and I hadn't called my mother, or my father. I didn't even call Yamato. I chose Taichi. I knew he would be at the Temple, and that he was my best bet if I wanted to try to save someone... I knew he'd never have enough time. There was no escape... What if they'd cut the call before he'd heard my warning? Then there would really be no chance for his survival.

I hoped my parents knew that I loved them. I could have said it more. I could have told them how I felt. We had a very complicated relationship... I hope they knew. I hope Jou and Koushiro knew that since the moment I met them, since the first time I'd watched them struggle on our soccer team, that I knew we'd be best friends. I hope they knew that I could never forget them. I wished that Mimi would have fully forgiven herself for the way she had treated me. I knew she hadn't. I could see there were traces of remorse whenever she looked to me. I forgave her... I should have told her again. Takeru and Hikari had been like younger siblings to me since I was eleven years old. My stomach seized up just thinking about their deaths. Thinking about how it was my fault. Thinking that they may not have been back together yet—maybe they were still in different places—and they'd never gotten to see each other one last time. And it was my fault.

Maybe Yamato and Takeru had never made up. Maybe Yamato didn't know I was in love with him. Maybe he didn't care. It was possible that everyone had misunderstood the way I felt about them, and I'd never be able to right their thoughts, or their opinions.

I'd never be able to see their eyes, or hear them laugh, or tell them I loved them.

And it was because of me.

And it was because of Director Arnold.

And if there was one thing I was sure of as I ran down the streets, blinking madly through the tears as I pushed past the people, ignorant of what had just happened, it was that Director Arnold was going to take the brunt of my rage, and my pain. He was going to pay for what he'd done. He was not going to get away with it.

I slammed into a girl on the street as I shot around a corner, running as fast as I could from the building I'd been kept in. A building they had convinced me was a prison, but after my escape I'd been sure it was not anything of the sort. It looked like an office building. And there were large trucks waiting outside, trucks that looked to be thick and well guarded. They looked like cattle trucks, to transport large animals. The girl I'd run into fell to the ground and I did too.

"Watch it." She snarled, but then she saw I was crying, and I suppose she had some sympathy for me, because she apologized for being in my way and even offered to help me to my feet. I didn't need her help though. Or her sympathy. I was a bad person now. A person who had sent an entire world into chaos and destruction. The girl was talking to me, but all I could hear was the ringing of the sirens in my mind, a sound that sent an everlasting fear into my very soul.

I shook my head and pushed past her. She seemed to understand what I needed was space because she let me go. I couldn't stop the sirens. They began blaring loudly—too loudly. I could hardly think, or move. The tears were pouring faster than ever now and I was stumbling. I didn't care. I fell against a brick wall by my side and gasped, desperate for air.

I was having a panic attack. But I could barely tell. My mind had disconnected itself from my body, separated by a blasting noise. The sirens.

Every few seconds I fell back to reality and everything hurt. Mostly my heart as it beat quickly and loudly. It felt as if the plug was pulled and the happiness was draining. Like it wasn't possible for me to be happy. Like since the Digital World was now gone, so was I.

And then the sirens decided they liked my pain, and I could not detach myself anymore. I screamed loudly and fell to my knees, wiping my tears, desperate to see something. "Why?" I whispered. I didn't know what I meant; I just knew I needed to stop crying. I needed to find a way to reverse time without that stupid key! I couldn't breathe again but I didn't care. I felt a drop of rain and looked up, expecting the hand of death to just take me away to put me out of my misery. But I hardly deserved that.

As the rain started coming harder I pulled myself to my feet and ran into the streets, not sure where I needed to go anymore, and then I heard someone else scream, their voice piercing through my own personal sirens, and I turned and saw a car heading straight toward me. I locked eyes with the man behind the steering wheel and he slammed on his brakes, the car screeching to a halt, but not before it had hit me. I had been too pathetic to even move out of the way.

I opened my eyes and stared toward the sky, watching as the rain drops fell toward me. I hurt. I really did. Outside, and inside now. I was lying on the paved street; I could feel the loose wet gravel and didn't care how gross it was. I didn't care that my leg was in as much pain as it was. I didn't care that I had just been hit by a car.

I didn't even care when the man who had been driving leaned over me to check my pulse. He seemed relieved when I coughed and my tears stopped their silent streak. I was sobbing loudly again, and I sat bolt upright, throwing my arms around him. "Are you okay?" I heard him ask. And I wasn't. My head was spinning, but I was so... hurt. "Who should I call for you? Your parents?"

"T-t-they're dea-dead!" I spluttered. He placed his arms around me and let me cry for an eternity. I didn't even know who he was. It wasn't his comfort I needed, it was the comfort of those who I loved, but that would never come again. Because I'd killed her.

I'd killed Biyomon. She'd been so worried that I'd be the one to die, that I'd leave her again. She thought I'd be reckless enough to get myself killed just like I had the first time. And she was right! I'd just been hit by a car. But it was too late, because she couldn't help me anymore. She'd never be there for me again and it was because the person she trusted the most was the one who sent a virus her way. A virus that was crafted explicitly to delete her very existence.

"I trust you. I love you." I had said to her.

"I love you too." Biyomon had replied. "I promise I won't let the Yokomon get hurt, either."

"I promise to come back to see you as often as I can." I told her, kissing her forehead. "I'm not forgetting about you."

"You're the best." Biyomon said.

But she was wrong. I was not the best. I was the worst. The very worst. "Liar..." I muttered.

"What?" The man who was holding me asked.

"LIAR!" I screamed, pushing him away from me.

"No, really." He insisted, "I'm taking you to the hospital."

I turned to look at the man in front of me, finally taking in what I was seeing. His skin was tanned, and his hair was short and blonde. I knew him. He wanted to take me to the hospital because I had no one to do that for me. No one to help me. But I was fine. I was going to show him that I was fine. I'd stand up and walk home, where I'd find Natsuni and Jenna.

"Oh my God." I said, heart leaping into my throat. I pushed the man away and used the nearby car to help me for balance, my hand slipping in the water that had pooled in the dented hood. I stared to the car in front of my as my head pounded and then looked to the man. "Did I do that?"

"No," He said, shaking his head. "It's a piece of crap." He smirked, "You seem okay."

"I'm not." I admitted, "But I have to go home... I have to tell Natsuni that I killed her boyfriend. And tell Jenna... tell her..." I couldn't even finish the sentence, crying loudly now.

"Get in the car," He said, "I'll take you home."

"You don't have to." I said, pushing him away.

"Well I'm not leaving you in the middle of the street," He said, "Come on, get in." I nodded and let him help me into his front seat. He held the door open for me and leaned ahead of me to clear the passenger's seat of CD's and gum wrappers. I sat down before he finished, unable to stand any longer and I leaned back. He closed the door and hurried to the other side of the car.

Iori Hida:

"Almost there," I promised the kids. I couldn't see Elecmon, but Angemon was standing at the border as I raced through the barrier. A collection of in-training and baby digimon swarmed the five digimon I'd brought with me. Angemon rested a hand on my shoulder, and I stood on my toes, trying to see into the distance. I couldn't see Hawkmon or his collected kids. My heart was hammering. "Where's Hawkmon?" I demanded of Angemon.

He opened his mouth to respond, when a Koromon screamed. I looked to see the virus slamming into the far side of the Primary Village. It started curling around the barrier, and some of the tension left my shoulders. The fear I'd refused to acknowledge—the fear that the barriers would be useless—had been lifted. Hawkmon was still out there though—maybe.

"WAAAH!"

"What?" I asked, turning my head.

"He won't make it," Angemon said, stepping forward, out of the barrier. My eyes quickly scanned the area, hoping he was talking about Hawkmon, so that I'd know where he was. But instead of seeing a red bird, I saw a tiny, bawling flower. He was a small sunflower, with a leaf for a tail, and giant tears falling from his petrified, red eyes.

My heart missed a beat.

I'd missed one.

"Stop," I snapped at Angemon, grabbing his arm and pulling him back inside. I didn't stick around to explain myself. I was less at risk than Angemon. I couldn't allow Takeru's partner to die just because I was in pain and tired of running for my life. This little digimon, this Popomon, needed help. I was in the best position to offer it.

So I pushed myself to my limit, racing to get him, and literally whipping him at the barrier, into Angemon's hands. I'd barely had the time to confirm that he was safe before I couldn't see him anymore. The purple virus had engulfed the entirety of Primary Village.

"Damn," I muttered, turning on my heel and racing back into the forest, knowing what I would need to do in order to stay alive. "HAWKMON!" I screamed. I prayed that he was in Primary Village, but I didn't know. I continued to run, screaming for my friend until I couldn't risk it anymore. I wasn't as fast as the virus. Each second it got closer, and I had only seconds before it would be licking at my heels.

"HAWKMON!" I shouted one last time, feeling my voice break—both from overuse and the sheer emotions I was experiencing in that moment.

I shoved my hand in my pocket and pulled out the key I dreaded with all of my being. I shoved my hand forward, losing hold of the key, and fumbling to catch it before it could hit the ground. I managed, but just. If it had hit the ground, I'd have been dead. As it was, I wasn't hoping for much better. I thrust the key forward, keeping a firm grip on it this time, and turning it midair, slipping into the darkness that awaited me, shoving the door closed behind me, not daring to peek at how close I'd let it get.

Mimi Tachikawa:

With each slamming footstep, my mind went to my friends.

Step.

Taichi, Mari, Koushiro, Hikari and Tentomon. They were behind us, I was sure of it. They were with Gennai's clones, and my heart squeezed again, knowing that they were all that was left of Hiraga in the Digital World. His mother, D'Arcmon, was gone now.

Step.

Sora. She was safe. She was on Earth with Natsuni, Momoe and Jenna. She was safe from this monstrous wall of destruction.

Step.

Jou. He was at the Coliseum. Who was with him though? Daisuke was, with his baby. And my parents. Takeru was there, the last I'd heard, with Ken and Iori. Kurayami... Yamato? I couldn't remember who was safe. My heart clenched painfully, but I ran on.

Step.

Michael. Poor Michael. I didn't even know where he could be. I hadn't even tried to look for him. And now I couldn't. I hoped Tatum had found him, and they hadn't already been swallowed by the virus. I hoped they would be at the Coliseum when we got there.

Step.

Neo. He didn't count me as a friend. He was too stingy with his friendship to have more than Alias III and his sister, but I wasn't quite so frugal. He helped me save Sora, he dated Sora. I'd seen him a lot, and I didn't hate him. He saw the light, and fought on our side when we needed him. He wasn't the friendliest of people, but that didn't mean I wasn't worried about his safety.

Step.

Hideto. My funny, sarcastic, slightly crazy waiter. I couldn't think of him being gone either. He was one of my best friends. He and Izumi had worked for me so long that I thought of them as family. He was still here. He was heading to the Coliseum like the rest of us. He'd been outside, wandering the woods for ages. Maybe Tatum hadn't found him. Maybe he was already at the Coliseum. I knew it would mean the world to Kiyoko if he was there when we arrived. It would mean the world to me too.

Step.

Gomamon. He was, perhaps, the most painful to think about. He'd been missing for so long now, and he was a digimon, taken by the very people that hate digimon the most. There was no doubt in my mind—no hope. He was gone. He had to be. There was no goodness in the DWD.

Step.

I squeezed my eyes shut, ignoring the tears that were still streaming down my face in an unending river. The tears would never dry, I would be crying forever. That's how I felt anyway. Palmon was ahead of me, but just barely. Willis was a faster runner, and he was dragging Kiyoko behind him. Willis didn't want any of us to die, I knew that, but I also knew there was an unspoken agreement that we were to save ourselves. He couldn't save all of us without risking himself, and I didn't want him to.

But Palmon had to be safe. I wouldn't let her take the fall for me. I promised myself ages ago. If it came down to her or me, it would always be her that got to go free.

I wiped my eyes with both hands, stumbling as I did so.

It was so hard to find any hope, or optimism now. I didn't know how Takeru managed it. He was constantly looking on the bright side, finding the good in any given situation. I used to cling to that optimism, but now I was repelling it. I didn't want it. I wanted to be allowed to really wallow in my emotions, to let them take over me, to feel them, experience them. I didn't want to push any sad thought away, to look over any annoyance. I wanted to revel in my anger.

But it was so hard to do any of that when I was so filled with fear.

Fear of the virus, fear for myself. Fear for the lives of my friends and family, and all of the digimon still scattered throughout the Digital World. I was terrified for Palmon, and I wished I had the key to the Tunnel of Time so that I could try to fix this mess. So I could go back and tell them to leave the Temple sooner. But I knew it wouldn't help. I couldn't change the past. Saving Sora was an exception. Neo had passed out in the original time line, he didn't realize we'd already come back and saved her. It had already happened, which was why we were able to succeed in our mission. It was the reason I wasn't able to save Gennai when I tried. I'd just ruined everything, made it worse than it already was.

I didn't want to risk causing this mass genocide myself if I tried to fix it.

But it didn't matter. It was a moot point, because I didn't have access to the Tunnel of Time. The key had been left behind at the Temple, and it was probably gone by now, destroyed in the virus's path—not that I knew it was really destroying everything. I couldn't see through it the first time I saw it, and I didn't look back at it as I ran. I was scared enough without adding that image to the list.

I reached out, to grab Palmon's hand, not looking, just hoping to feel it, to feel her warmth, to know she was alive. I grabbed at the air, finding nothing where Palmon should be. I looked around frantically, slowing to a stop.

"Palmon?" I asked, hoping she had just fallen a few steps behind me, but she didn't answer. I looked to Willis, who was still dragging Kiyoko behind him. They were ahead of me by quite a bit. "Willis! Kiyoko! Palmon's gone!" They didn't hear me. They were too far ahead, and my calls came out as cracked whispers. "Palmon!"

I turned around. I wasn't going to leave her, no matter what. I would catch up to Willis and Kiyoko, and they would be none the wiser. I didn't want to put them at risk anyway. This mission of mine could end up fatal if I couldn't locate my digimon partner quickly enough. I tried to keep my eyes on the ground, or scanning the trees on either side of me. I didn't want to look at the wall of violet that would be my doom. I didn't need to see how close I was to dying. It didn't matter to me, anyway, not until I found Palmon.

Taichi Yagami:

The virus was coming at us, and we needed to be moving. Koushiro and Mari and all of the others were still travelling out here too, and we hadn't even met up with them yet, let alone finding Mimi, Palmon, Willis and Kiyoko—who left before even them.

What were our chances of survival?

I didn't know, but I knew it didn't look good—especially since we weren't moving! I was rougher than I intended to be when I pushed Mom and Hikari forward. They didn't protest though, they just started running. I tried to keep both of them ahead of me, letting Hikari lead Mom to the Coliseum this time. I knew my efforts would be wasted, but I wasn't going to let the virus hurt my family. I would stand between them like Mom wanted to for us. It wasn't Mom's duty though. She didn't cause this mess.

We'd lost one of our own. My mess, my screw-up cost D'Arcmon her life, and I could only cling to the slim hope that the virus wouldn't be able to force its way into the barriers, that it could only leave because of the way the shields were designed. I had to hope that D'Arcmon was right about that, because there were little kids at stake, hundreds of baby digimon all around the world, and the three human children. It wasn't just the kids though. There were hundreds of thousands of digimon stowed away behind those shields all across the world, and if the shields didn't hold...

No.

I was going to keep my hope alive, for D'Arcmon's sake. No matter how slim the chance might be, it was still a chance, and we had no choice but to take it. Besides, the virus wasn't a digimon and I highly doubted it carried a digivice, so the barriers would probably work.

Right.

We didn't talk as we ran. We needed to save our strength. It was a long journey, and we'd made good headway, but we weren't even close to being there yet. The virus was coming for us too, not creeping along like it had originally, but it was still a good ways behind us. There was still a chance that we could make it to the Coliseum before it got us...even though I had a sneaking suspicion that it was actually gaining speed.

I forced the ever present virus out of my mind and focussed on running. One foot in front of the other, slamming into the hard ground, sending the shock up to my knees. If I was alive, come morning, I would really be feeling it tomorrow. Mom's erratic breathing was growing louder with each passing minute. Both she and Hikari were slowing as one minute grew into the next. Every time I thought Hikari was going to give up, she would glance down at DemiDevimon, and she would pick up her pace again, desperate to save him. I knew that she didn't care nearly as much for herself, and vowed that if she did give up, I would just toss her over my shoulder and keep running, because she needed to be safe. I'd spent so much of my life determined to make it happen, to keep her safe. She hated it, but she'd have to live with it—because she was going to live, damn it!

I heard the light rumble of their voices first. Tankmon was regaling an enraptured audience with tales of the fight club's escapades. I could hear their awe and laughter. Benjamin and his brothers were discussing the Temple, while Koushiro rambled on with someone—probably his research team—about the benefits of his newest upgrade he'd designed for his laptop. Tinkermon was laughing with Mari about something...

But how could they be laughing?

We raced along, through the trees, and then we could see them. Tuskmon was still pulling along the cart, with the six little digimon inside, and all of the important papers, and the digimentals and the extra keys. Tankmon was driving himself backwards so he could tell those same six digimon his stories. The rest of the fight club was wandering at their side, jumping in to add extra details when they were needed. Koushiro was, as I suspected, with Tentomon, Haruhiko, Andromon and Centarumon, and oblivious to the rest of the world. Mari was at the front of the procession, with Izumi, Tomoki, Tinkermon and Meramon. Benjamin and his brothers were right behind them, and in front of the fight club. The two remaining Knights—Dorumon and Kotemon—were at the back, with Koushiro's group, on their guard, ready to strike.

And strike they did.

"Yuuko!" Dorumon shouted, diving at my mother, nearly causing her to fall over. She let him hug her, but continued to run, sort of hobbling in her quest to get away from the virus. Hikari was waving one of her hands wildly in the air, trying to tell them to start running without actually wasting any of her breath.

"GO!" I shouted for her sake. "The virus. It's coming. RUN!"

That got them moving. Dorumon was talking a mile a minute, saying how he'd heard a scream and was really very scared that we were all dead now, and he was just so excited that Yuuko came back to him. He really didn't want to lose his partner. Mom listened to him, but didn't speak. She was bordering on exhaustion, having been running as long as we had.

It became abundantly clear who the best runners were, after only a minute of racing as a group. Centarumon was at the front, easily galloping past everyone, but Meramon was right behind him, leaving a trail of smoldering grass in his wake. Izumi was trailing behind her friend Tomoki, who was keeping pace with Benjamin, and his brothers. They were all quite fast. Mari and Tinkermon were doing fairly well, despite Mari's heels, and Tankmon was chugging away behind them. Andromon, Tentomon and Kotemon were running alongside Tankmon, with Starmon and Falcomon right behind them.

It wasn't them I was worried about.

It was little Candlemon, who had to literally hop away from the virus, or Hagurumon who was flying, but wasn't very fast. It was ToyAgumon, who kept tripping himself up on every branch or stone. It was my exhausted mother, being dragged along by Dorumon. It was Sora's father, who I often forgot was as old as he was, wasn't faring much better than Mom. It was Tuskmon, who was straining to run as he pulled a heavily loaded cart with boxes and suitcases and six other digimon inside.

It was Hikari and Koushiro, who were falling further behind everyone else.

I stayed behind them though. I wasn't going to let the virus get to them. DemiDevimon was scared enough to be as close to the back of the procession as he was. He was sobbing over D'Arcmon's death, and was shaking with emotion. He was the reason that Hikari was still putting forth as much effort as she was.

Constantly, despite my earlier promise, I found myself checking over my shoulder. I needed to see the virus, to track its progress, and to remind myself of the silent threat. It was still there, larger than ever before—large, and billowing, and covering everything in its path. I couldn't see the trees once it swallowed them, and it covered so much of the sky. I didn't know if it was just surrounding them, or if it was deleting them, but I couldn't take the chance to find out.

I whipped my eyes back to the scrambling group when I heard a yelp. Candlemon landed on a stone wrong and was wobbling. Haruhiko wrapped one of his large hands around Candlemon's torso, and started running with him as if he were a torch.

"Go faster," DemiDevimon cried, peeking over Hikari's shoulder to watch the virus. Hikari panted, and put more effort into her strides, pulling ahead of Koushiro just a bit. I glanced back again, and knew that it wouldn't matter how much effort we put into it. The purple storm was coming faster than ever, and it would be upon us soon. But we would try to beat it anyway.

Why the hell couldn't we have left earlier with Kiyoko and the others? What the hell was I thinking, holding off as long as I did? It was stupid. It was irresponsible. And the decision to wait was biting us now.

And then ToyAgumon fell, slamming into the ground and falling into pieces. Haruhiko had to jump over him before he could step on him. He was going to stop, to help ToyAgumon, but Benjamin shouted for everyone to keep going. Benjamin, Hogan and Jose raced back to the fallen digimon. Hogan had his head, miraculously still in one piece, while Benjamin picked up the green piece of his torso—which doubled as his tail—and the majority of the pieces of his arms. Jose had the blue piece of his torso—his chest—and the four pieces that made up his legs. Benjamin was looking around for the last yellow piece of his arms, but I shouted for him to keep going. I'd spotted it, and tucked it into my pocket, swearing that I would be able to get it back to ToyAgumon once we arrived at the Coliseum.

We didn't have time to stop and piece him back together again, and I felt horrible that ToyAgumon couldn't even fight for his own survival anymore. He had to depend on four separate people to bring him to safety. I wondered, momentarily, what would happen if his one piece of arm was deleted in the virus, should I be caught. Would he be deleted along with it? Or would he just lose any function of the arm it came from?

I shook my head as I continued running. I couldn't think like that. D'Arcmon said to keep our hope alive, which went hand in hand with the whole theory that there was no light without hope. And I couldn't help but hope that Takeru was safe somewhere, because everyone was sure to lose hope if he was out here while the virus was bearing down on us.

The light faded around us, and DemiDevimon whimpered. I heard Mom scream, along with Kamemon and Tinkermon, and I realized they were all looking to the sky. I sighed in relief. It wasn't the virus then.

Glancing up, I saw Airdramon, and I was about to call to Tatum, when I realized he'd come without her. He had a Coelamon on his back, but Tatum was nowhere to be seen.

"Where..." I started to ask. I gave up though. There was no time, and Airdramon couldn't speak, so it wouldn't do me any good. But I was worried. Tatum was missing. She'd gone out on a rescue mission with Monodramon in toe. To have Airdramon here alone—well, without Tatum in any case—now was a problem. Tatum went out to find Hideto, and then to find Michael, Neo and/or Gomamon. None of them were here. Where were they?

I didn't have time to even guess. Airdramon was flying beside us now, casting his Spinning Needle attack at the forest in front of us, clearing a good pathway, so that we wouldn't need to weave around trees anymore. And the next thing I knew, I'd raced in front of Hikari, DemiDevimon and Koushiro and grabbed my mother around the waist before heaving her onto Airdramon's back.

"Taichi!" Mom protested. "I can walk."

"Yeah," I gasped. "And you'll collapse and we'll both die when I try and carry you the rest of the way. Or you can hitch a ride, and live."

"Taichi," she pleaded.

I ignored her, grabbing hold of Dorumon and tossing him up after my mother. Mari was on the same page as me, since she tossed Kotemon onto the Airdramon's back too. Haruhiko was trying to figure out how Candlemon could balance on the flying digimon's back, before I threatened to throw Haruhiko on myself if he didn't just climb on. Sora would kill me if I let anything happen to her dad. She'd find a way through the closed gates, and she'd kill me. Mari grabbed Starmon from behind, despite the digimon's protests, and chucked him on too.

"It's too much," Mari muttered, sort of jogging at my side. She was right of course, so I patted Airdramon's side and sent him ahead of us. I felt miserable watching him go, knowing that I wanted to pile everyone onto his back, to save them, even if I didn't get to climb on myself. I'd rather know everyone was safe.

"Tentomon!" Koushiro gasped, from the back of the group. "Digivolve!"

The idea nearly blindsided me. It didn't make sense why I hadn't thought of it before. Tentomon glowed as he grew and shifted to Kabuterimon and then to MegaKabuterimon. While he was doing this, Mari and I grabbed Hagurumon and Falcomon respectively and tossed them into the wagon that Tuskmon was carrying. Tuskmon protested, already exhausted from pulling the six digimon—Datirimon, Kamemon, Sukamon, Chuumon, MarineAngemon and the elderly Wormmon. He didn't have long to protest though, since I unlatched the wagon, leaving him to run alongside Tankmon, who was also too big for MegaKabuterimon to take.

Tentomon, now MegaKabuterimon, scooped up the wagon with ease, and before he could fly off, Benjamin boosted Hogan and Jose into the wagon, with their pieces of ToyAgumon. MegaKabuterimon hesitated just a second then.

"Go!" Koushiro shouted to him. "Save them."

MegaKabuterimon didn't want to leave Koushiro behind, but since Koushiro sounded so sure, he huffed and grabbed Andromon mid stride, despite the cyborg's struggling protests and flew off into the distance.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Mari called to Koushiro.

"You suck at running," I reminded him, feeling guilty for now running in the middle of the group, instead of at the back with him. We'd established a new order, now that there were fewer of us, and in the confusion of everything Mari and I found ourselves in the midst of everything. We had Tankmon and Tuskmon, Izumi and Ilya with us, with Centarumon, Tinkermon, Benjamin, Tomoki and Meramon in front of us. Jackie had joined Koushiro, Hikari and DemiDevimon in the rear.

"I'm a digidestined too," Koushiro puffed. His face was red with exertion, but so was Hikari's, Mari's and Izumi's. I was sure if I could see my own face it was just as red. Tomoki's probably was too. "And as such, I'm going to stay with you, Taichi, until it's not feasible anymore."

I was sort of touched at the loyalty, but I was also ticked off. Some strange sense of loyalty was keeping him from getting himself to safety. I didn't even acknowledge that it was the exact same sense of loyalty that was keeping me here. He wasn't the leader, he wasn't at fault. He didn't need to risk himself. But he glared at me—and so did Hikari, I could feel it on my back, creeping into my soul, and shivered—and I gave up. It was too late now anyway.

"Oh my god!" Izumi shrieked, looking like she was going to pass out. I glanced behind me, knowing what she saw, but had to confirm it for myself. The virus was hot on our heels. I'd been right in my assumption that it was gaining speed. We weren't going to make it.

We just couldn't.

It was an unconscious group decision to just go faster, even if it hurt like hell. We could only do our best, there was no point saving our energy for anything anymore. There wouldn't be a final sprint to the finish. The race had become a sprint. We didn't have time to go any slower. We had to stay ahead of the virus.

Tankmon growled, and I breathed in a cloud of smoke. His wheels were smoking from overuse. I swore. What were we supposed to do now? Tuskmon was better at thinking on his feet than I was, since he slammed into Tankmon's rear and started pushing his friend with all his might. He wasn't going to leave him behind, and I was thankful for his selflessness, because I wouldn't have been able to do anything without him.

Mari had moved ahead of me, sprinting like a cheetah despite the way her heels kept digging into the dirt with every step. Ilya was cheering Tuskmon and Tankmon on, from their left, while I ran at their right. Izumi fell behind, and was now running side by side with Jackie. But she wasn't the only one that fell behind.

Koushiro and Hikari were closer to the virus than anyone. It was practically licking at their heels. I was tempted to run back to them, to make them run faster. She was my baby sister, and she was too close to the virus for comfort, and I couldn't handle it. But she sent one more glare in my direction, and I knew I could do nothing without making her angry.

That's when the worst possible thing happened. Hikari tripped over a tree root, crashing to the ground, skidding a little thanks to her momentum. DemiDevimon went flying to the side, not forward, where anyone could have caught him. I started back for him, or for Hikari, I wasn't sure, but I was stopped.

"Don't you dare, Taichi!" Hikari shouted at me, letting Koushiro pull her to her feet. Jackie ran back for DemiDevimon.

"Look out!" I shouted, staring in horror as the virus engulfed the root she'd tripped on. Koushiro's eyes met mine and he nodded, pulling out the golden key he'd kept in his pocket. With one horrendous, and yet relieving movement he had opened the door, and caught Hikari around the waist as she tried to run, despite her twisted ankle. He threw her backwards, into the door, as Jackie scrambled towards DemiDevimon. Hikari tried to climb back out of the gateway and she looked toward me, so many emotions in her eyes, but Koushiro pushed her back through as he tackled her, closing the door behind him. Half a second later the virus had spread to the spot the door had been.

"Catch him!" Jackie shouted, distracting me from the fact that my baby sister was now trapped in another world that we no longer had any access to, thanks to the fact that Koushiro took the key with him. Jackie had DemiDevimon, and threw him towards Izumi. Before Izumi could even catch him, Jackie let out a strangled, pained yell as the virus swallowed him whole, deleting him instantly.

Mimi Tachikawa:

"Palmon!" I continued to call. She couldn't be too far behind me. I hadn't lost myself to my thoughts for very long. She had to be nearby. "Palmon!"

"Over here, Mimi!" she responded, finally. My tightened chest relaxed in relief and I ran at the sound of her voice. She was running back to me, having strayed from the path the boys and I had been running on. She wasn't alone though. She'd found a lost little digimon that shouldn't have been out in the woods at all.

"Lopmon," I gasped. "You should be at the Coliseum. That's the only reason Willis is acting so calmly right now." He hadn't said it, but I knew it was true. The only thing he cared about right now was being reunited with his two best friends, his partners.

"I came to find him," Lopmon admitted shakily. "I didn't think I'd meet the virus. I thought the mean man was just making it up to scare us."

"He wasn't," I said sharply, causing her to flinch. I felt bad, scaring her like that, and I pulled her into my arms. Her tiny legs weren't letting her run very fast. I couldn't let her fall behind, because I knew Palmon would slow herself to match Lopmon's speed, and then I'd lose the both of them. I didn't want either one to perish. "Run, Palmon. Hurry. We'll catch up to Willis. We have to."

She followed my order, and I did something I didn't want to do. I looked back at the virus, and was petrified by what I saw. It was so close now. Why couldn't we be faster? Why couldn't I have lost my temper and left earlier? Why couldn't Lopmon stay in the damn Coliseum where it was safe? It wasn't fair to blame her for Palmon's helpful nature though. I reminded myself that as I started running faster than I could consistently sustain. Palmon would have stopped no matter what digimon she'd stumbled upon. It was her job as a digidestined's partner. She and I shared our crest, and I wouldn't change her for the world. She was herself at all times, and she was helpful by her very nature.

That thought didn't stop me from wishing there hadn't been any digimon to distract her. Her legs were moving as quickly as they could, but she wasn't as fast as Willis. There was no chance of catching him, not until we reached the Coliseum—but I was starting to think that wasn't even a possibility. We should have recognized something on the path before now. We'd taken a wrong turn somewhere, and I didn't know where, but we were hopelessly lost at this point. I wasn't able to identify our location. I didn't know if we were closer to Toy Town, or the Coliseum, or Primary Village. Maybe we were on our way to the beach. I didn't know! It was freaking me out.

"Willis!" I screamed, desperately. "Kiyoko!"

"WILLIS!" Lopmon shouted, nearly deafening me in the process.

"Kiyoko!" Palmon called, panting a little as she did so. A flash of panic flitted through me at the sound. She was getting tired. If she was getting tired, that meant she was going to slow down. A quick glance over my shoulder told me why that would be a horrible, horrendous thing to happen. She would be lost to me instantly.

I was crying again, with renewed fervour, which meant I was tripping over things I shouldn't have been tripping over. We called and called, but I knew it was hopeless. They were too far ahead of us. We could scream ourselves hoarse and it wouldn't help save us. All it would do was take away the energy we could be using to run.

"Palmon," I said, handing over the phone I'd hastily stuffed in my pocket. "Take this, and turn it on."

"What about you?" she demanded, terrified because I'd stopped running. "I don't want it. You keep it."

"I won't," I told her furiously. "You will take it and you will be safe. I'm carrying Lopmon, I'd just drop it anyway. We're going to find a safe zone. We won't make it to the Coliseum. But we can make it to safety. I just need to know you're safe or I won't be able to think straight, Palmon. I won't be able to save us if you're not already safe."

"I don't like it," she said, glancing at the virus that was still creeping up on us. "But I don't have a choice. There isn't time. Just give it to me."

"Keep up," I told her. She wrapped the vines on one hand around her torso, caging the phone to her chest before activating it. I was sure she'd be able to hold onto it. The shield Kiyoko had added would keep her safe. I could only hope I could get Lopmon and myself to a safe zone before the virus caught us. "I'm sorry I don't have another phone, Lopmon."

"It's okay," she told me in a tiny voice. She was terrified, and that was enough to spur me into action. I heard Palmon following after me, and sighed in relief. No matter what happened, Palmon would be safe. I could rest easy knowing that.

I was running with renewed energy, relieved energy, racing through the trees, trying to put as much distance between the virus and myself. The roots and fallen branches tried to trip me, but I didn't let them, glancing at Lopmon's terrified face every time I felt tired enough to slow my pace. A stone I stepped on wobbled, and I slammed against a tree, trying to catch myself before I went tumbling to the ground. The bark was rough on my skin, and it was when my hip hit the tree that I realized there was something still in my pocket, something that never should have escaped my memory.

I had a key.

I didn't know where the key went, exactly, but I was pretty sure it was the Fairyland—what with the intricately designed wings for a handle. It wouldn't be scary, except for the fact that it would just be Palmon, Lopmon and I alone, trapped forever in another world. Willis would never know what happened to Lopmon, and my parents would never know what became of me.

Glancing at the virus, I knew I didn't have long to make a decision. It was getting closer and closer every second, and I couldn't keep up. I wasn't a good runner. The virus was closing the gap faster than I could make it, and I knew Palmon was slower than I was.

I slammed myself through the entwined branches of the bushes in front of me, and I emerged in a small clearing. Finally, I'd be able to make some ground without dodging obstacles. I ran, pushing myself forward on sheer will power alone, and nearly had a heart attack when a dark haired man wearing a baseball cap burst through the trees on my right, dressed in all black. He was followed by a blonde man and a red haired woman, and it was Lopmon that identified them for me.

"Michael!" she cheered. "Tatum!"

She launched herself out of my arms, spreading her ears wide, using them to glide safely into Tatum's arms. She cuddled up with Tatum, momentarily forgetting just how close our doom was getting. She'd made my decision for me. If she was going to take a break, then we wouldn't be able to run to a safe zone. I'd just have to create one of my own.

"Palmon," I called. "You can turn off the phone. I know how we're getting out of here." I pulled the key from my pocket, showing it to Hideto—who I had mistaken for DWD—and the others. Their eyes lit up, and they glanced nervously to the virus.

"Where have you been?" Lopmon demanded of Michael, and he put a hand on the back of his head sheepishly.

"The DWD base," he said. "I was being interrogated. We were running from the DWD so that Airdramon could get to safety, but they stopped chasing us. We just figured they gave up, and we were trying to get back to the Temple."

"And then we saw that," Tatum concluded.

"Get us out of here, Mimi," Hideto said, pleading with his eyes.

"Palmon!" I shouted impatiently. There was no answer, and I started to panic. She was right behind me. I'd heard her. But I hadn't continued to listen, had I? I was focussing on putting one foot in front of the other, I was focused on getting Lopmon to safety. "Palmon? PALMON!"

I threw the key to Michael, who fumbled it and had to find it in the grass. I raced back the way I came, screaming Palmon's name. I wasn't leaving without her! I needed her to be safe. It was her, not me that needed this.

The others were calling my name, telling me to come back, but I heard them give in and start calling for Palmon too. I heard Lopmon explaining that Palmon had a personal shield, courtesy of Kiyoko, but that didn't quell my fears as much as it had just minutes ago. She was going to be stuck out here, alone and invisible, inside a shield projected from a phone she had a hard time keeping a hold of. This was a disaster in the making. Palmon needed to catch up, so that I could take her with me to this other world.

I felt a pair of arms circling around my waist, lifting me into the air and jerking me backwards. I screamed and kicked and swung my arms, wriggling my body, trying to escape. Hideto hissed in pain when I bashed him on the nose.

"Mimi," he growled. "We have to go."

"No!" I screamed. "NO! PALMON!"

I knew Michael had already opened the gate, and Tatum and Lopmon were already through it. I caught sight of him standing next to a glowing door, but that didn't mean they could take me against my will. I wiggled free of Hideto, and started running back to the trees, only to find out that they were gone, replaced by a wall of purple that was creeping steadily towards me.

Palmon was in there.

I raced towards it, and Hideto caught my arm, dragging me along behind him, using his considerably larger strength against me, refusing to let me find Palmon.

"She's got a shield," he growled. "She's as safe as she can be. You did everything you could. You can't help her now."

"PALMON!" I cried, a heart wrenching terrible cry. "PALMON!"

She can't be gone. I wouldn't let her be. I tried to pry Hideto's fingers off of me, and succeeded, only for him to grab me around the waist again.

"Mimi, you'll die!" he shouted angrily at me.

"I don't care!" I screamed. "I want Palmon. PALMON!"

The world spun around me as Hideto flung me through the gate, still holding my waist as he jumped through too. He threw me to the ground, as he stumbled in behind me. I was on my feet in an instant, diving for the door, just as Michael closed it. I slammed onto the hard ground, and let the choking sobs take hold of me.

Palmon was gone, trapped in the virus with only a shield to keep her from absolute destruction. I didn't even know if the shield would hold up against that powerful purple monster. And I didn't know if Palmon could hold onto the shield even if it could.

"PALMON!" I screamed to the sky, before I let my emotions take complete control over me. I had to keep her safe, it was her not me. Please, please, please, be safe Palmon. I need you to be safe. I couldn't lose her, not on top of everyone else.

She had to be okay.

Takeru Takaishi:

We didn't have time for people to keep running off. We barely had any time to think at all let alone find Miyako. I quickly put that thought out of my mind and pulled my digivice back to my face, looking at the tracker section. She was running too quickly. I could see her light, already too far away. Kurayami too. She was further than Miyako. There was no way to catch her, but if we ran we could catch Miyako.

It was possible.

Good thing too, because Ken was already shooting through the trees toward her, having thought of his digivice as well.

"Ken!" I shouted, "Wait up!"

I ran after him quickly, but he was faster than I was. He was pulling away, powered by pure adrenaline and panic. I felt the same, but it wasn't my wife that was in danger of running full speed toward a virus that could rip her to pieces. Hikari was the closest I had to that, but she was already safe.

I knew she had to be. I didn't believe for a second that Taichi would let her be hurt. It was Taichi that I was worried about, but if Hikari was safe, then so was he. They both would have used one of the keys, and travelled to a different world.

Hikari was safe, and now I was obligated to keep myself safe—for her. Then we would trust that the barriers worked and when the virus was gone I could be reunited with Patamon. All of this was entirely possible. But not if I ran much further.

The virus was coming faster than we were running, and Miyako wasn't slowing down. We would never catch up to her. That was one thing that was not possible. I was sure of it.

"Ken!" I screamed, trying to catch his attention. But he didn't turn back. He didn't even look back, or slow his running for a moment. "Ken!" God I was shouting his name a lot lately. He wasn't slowing down and if he didn't listen to me then he was going to keep running, and he wasn't going to catch Miyako and we would all die. I clenched my eyes shut and pushed myself into running quicker. I had to believe I could catch him. I had to have faith in myself and catch up... I had to. When I opened my eyes I was relieved to see that Ken had tripped.

That was good enough. He was much faster at running.

"Ken!" I screamed, tackling him as he attempted to keep running after pulling himself to his feet. "Ken we're going back!"

Ken punched my arm. Hard. I released him for a second, but tightened by grip immediately, unwilling to let him go, and he fell face first toward the ground. "You're not going to catch her before the virus kills us!"

"I don't care!" Ken screamed, tears in his eyes again. "I have to be with her! With the baby! I can't let them go! Takeru get off!"

"Miyako has a key!" I screamed.

Ken stopped struggling and turned, confused. "What?" He asked breathily.

"She has a key," I told him remembering the large white key I'd seen in her backpack. "I don't remember which one it is, but she's smart enough to use it. She'll use it and then you'll die not having caught up to her. Do you want to leave her?"

"N-no," Ken admitted.

"Then come with me to the Coliseum," I pleaded. "We're going to find her again, just like we'll find Hikari. And Yamato. And Daisuke and Kurayami. We're going to find them all, and you're going to come with me."

Ken nodded, and relief shot through my body. I grabbed his hand and started running back the way we'd come. I headed in the direction of the Coliseum not totally sure exactly where we were, but I knew the way. I'd been there often. We'd get back and then Ken and I would work together to find everyone. It would all work out in the end.

"And I h-have to take care of Masa," Ken agreed. "He needs someone. I'll be there for him."

"Yes," I nodded, hardly paying attention.

"Wormmon needs me too." Ken was assuring himself this was a good idea, and whatever he needed to tell himself was fine with me because I entirely believed Miyako was going to be safe, and that we would be able to get back with her. We'd find her. We'd find them all. "But he wanted me to bring back Miyako. I promised..."

"We will," I assured him. "Just maybe not right this minute."

"I can wait two minutes." Ken assured me. "Maybe three." I certainly hoped that was all it would take because I didn't want to be the one delivering the news to him that he wouldn't be with Miyako as soon as he wanted to be. I could barely handle the realization that Hikari was in a different world than I was—or that Yamato was somewhere. "Takeru!" Ken screamed, a fear creeping in his voice that I'd never heard before. My heart stopped briefly as I looked back to him.

I could not control the scream that escaped my lips as Ken and I ran, our hands squeezing each other tightly. A small cloud of the virus bubbled away from the mass and wove its way through the trees. It was close. I could see the cloud behind us, towering over the trees.

"Where are we?" Ken shrieked.

"We're near the Coliseum." I assured him, hoping against all odds that I was right.

"Are you sure?" He asked, scared.

"Yeah," I nodded, "See? There's the stream."

We ran toward the small body of water, our legs carrying us as fast as they could possibly go. We shot from the trees and I looked to my left, seeing nothing but more trees, and the stream narrowing. My heart panicked once more as I looked to my left, again, nothing.

"There it is!" Ken exclaimed. He pointed in front of my face and as we moved forward I could see just the peak of the Coliseum over the top of the trees. Ken laughed excitedly, but I wasn't as optimistic. I looked back quickly and saw the virus. It was too close. We would never make it to the Coliseum. We couldn't go fast enough.

"We're dead."

The words escaped me before I knew they were coming.

But just as quickly, my mind had been made up. I tightened my grip on Ken, and never stopping our run, I turned sharply at the edge of the stream, heading right.

"We're going the wrong way!" Ken yelled.

"No, we're not," I promised him. I just hoped this wasn't a lie.

And then my foot slipped, the water had dampened the dirt and my foot made a disgusting gurgling sound as it wedged itself into the mud under the surface of the water l was trusting to guide me. Ken grunted loudly as he pulled on my hand, and the two of us fell to the ground. I didn't waste a second and the two of us were running again.

We had to go even faster than before now that we were no longer running away from the virus and instead running alongside it. The virus was moving toward us, but we weren't moving away from it like we had been before.

It was not an even race anymore; it was only our hope against its destruction.

And I had a lot of hope, but with every step I drained of a great portion of my seemingly unlimited supply.

"Takeru it's here!"

Ken's voice was echoing in my head as I looked toward him to see clouds of our inevitable death rolling across the land toward us. It was the final countdown, and I had to force myself to look away from the virus. I had to forget about it and focus on the positive.

I had to get to the Looking Glass.

And there it was, at the end of the narrow stream we were running down.

"Takeru!" Ken screamed again. I instinctively turned my head, cursing myself all the way. The virus was close enough to reach out and touch now. Both Ken and I screamed loudly as my foot caught on something sticking from the ground.

And then I was falling face first into the waters of the Looking Glass. Ken's scream grew loudly as I spun around in the fall. The clouds were over top of the two of us now. We were going to die.

And it was going to happen before I could see Hikari one last time.

We crashed into the water and light enveloped us washing out the horrendous sight of the virus.

At first it seemed we'd been killed and my plan hadn't worked at all. The light was so bright and seemingly never ending. I felt Ken's hand slip from mine for just a moment, and then the water was swishing around us wildly and the currents were strong. And then, the water stopped and a firm hand wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me from the water. I fell onto soft ground and coughed loudly, gasping in the fresh air around us. And then Ken fell into the grass next to me, his eyes wide as he breathed sharply, panic setting in again.

I heard a female utter some gibberish and then I turned sharply to see a large green ball gown obscuring my view of the Looking Glass. When the woman stepped aside I could see the virus, and I almost ran. I would have too if I hadn't noticed that it was contained. It looked a bit like a snow globe, but instead of snow it was just a deadly cloud virus.

"Oh dear," the woman said, her green leaf-like wings stretching out behind her back, "this certainly is troubling, isn't it?"

Taichi Yagami:

"Jackie!" Ilya howled, trying to run at him, but I raced over and caught him, throwing him forward.

Izumi cried out, holding DemiDevimon who was just not having a very good day, and tried to start running away from the virus, but it was fast, and she was tired. Centarumon came to her rescue though, galloping back to her, and circling around, lifting her off the ground and placing her firmly on his back. Tinkermon was on his shoulder.

"Go ahead!" I shouted. "Get there as fast as you can. Don't wait unless you have to!"

Centarumon took my orders seriously, and took himself and his three passengers with him down the path. I could see the Coliseum in the distance. It was still a ways off, but I could see it, and that was something. Meramon took off with wild abandon, racing along the path, nearly keeping up with Centarumon's pace. Benjamin was still clutching pieces of ToyAgumon, and sighed, knowing he needed to continue, and could do nothing for his fallen brother. I stuffed my hand in my pocket while running—more difficult than I expected—and pulled out ToyAgumon's final piece, forcing it into Ilya's hand, giving him a reason to continue to fight. He nodded and raced off after Benjamin and the others.

There were only five of us now.

Tuskmon continued to push Tankmon, putting forth all of his strength, not sparing even an ounce. He was tired, and he was getting slower, but he was still going. The Coliseum was growing closer with each step, and he kept his eyes forward, focussed on our destination.

"You can just go," Tankmon said, his voice shaking. He pushed aside his fear in an attempt to be brave. "Get safe. Leave me here."

"We've already lost two," I snarled. "We're not losing you too!"

I was mad. Madder than I'd ever been maybe. I'd lost two friends today—that I knew of at least—and my sister and friend had been sent to another world because I couldn't save them either. I'd be damned if I let anything happen to Tankmon too.

"Think of your partner," I hissed at him. "Think of him, and don't give up hope!"

I threw myself at Tankmon, hands flat against his bumper, and started pushing, helping Tuskmon gain momentum. He was moving fast now, which was good, but it wasn't fast enough. I heard another slam that sounded like hands against metal and saw that Mari had joined us, pushing him along in her broken heels. She kicked them off on the fly. Another slam sounded, as Tomoki joined us.

"You can save yourselves," Tankmon insisted. "Really, I don't mind too much."

"Shut up," Mari growled through gritted teeth. It was harder work than Tuskmon made it seem.

"But—"

"No buts," Tomoki said. "I'm a digidestined too, you know. And I'm not about to abandon a digimon in need. No way, no how."

"We're almost there," I reminded him. "Put some effort into it!"

His motors strained, but they sputtered back to life, having got a bit of a break. His treads were still smoking, but we could deal with that once we made it there. With Tankmon's help, we were able to really pick up the pace. We were still ahead of the virus, and really, that was all I could hope for at this point.

We continued pushing, and the next time I looked to the Coliseum, I saw people standing inside the barrier, watching us. Cheering us on. It wasn't until we were a little closer that I could make out faces, and identify them.

I tried not to focus on them too much. The virus was ever present and very threatening. It deserved far more of my attention, but still, I couldn't help it. Mari was growling with every step now, and I couldn't hold back my grunting any longer. Tomoki was focussing more on his balance than anything, since his shoes didn't have the best traction and he kept slipping. Tuskmon was so close to collapsing that it was frightening. Tankmon huffed and puffed the entire way.

It was almost enough to block out the voices when we got close enough to see them.

Almost.

I knew Mom was there, because I'd seen her. She was standing with Daisuke. And I could hear her urging us forward. But those cheers turned to horror when we got close enough for her to realize Hikari wasn't with us.

"Hikari!" she shrieked. "Where's my baby!"

I glanced at her and saw her fighting her way towards the barrier, having to be held back by both Haruhiko and Yuudai. Daisuke was trying to calm her down, but she couldn't hear reason, she just kept fighting against the men's hold. Her screams made Haruki cry in Daisuke's arms, he was heading towards us, with Koushiro's father, and Ken's too.

"Stay back!" I shouted to them.

I didn't see Ken anywhere, and I knew where Koushiro had gone. Natsuko was looking horrified and Gatomon was crying.

"Keep going Mari!" Warg and Melga shouted together.

"You can do it!" Tapirmon and Dracomon added.

The four digimon were cheering on their fellow Alias III member, despite the fact they all had long faces. I swore again, realizing that we never ran into Mimi or Palmon, or Kiyoko or Willis. They were still out there. They must've taken the wrong path.

Damn it.

Who else was out there in the virus right now?

I was such a failure. I couldn't save D'Arcmon or Jackie. I couldn't even organize it so that my friends were safe. We all should have gone at the same time. I should have moved my base of operations weeks ago, or at the very least immediately following the last of the evacuated digimon. I shouldn't have waited. It was my decision, which made everything my fault.

I caught sight of a crying Yoshie, and Michael and Willis' parents. It was Babamon that pushed me over the edge though, and made me look away. She was looking around, with Tinkermon sobbing on her shoulder, and I knew that she realized D'Arcmon was gone.

Six more feet, and then we'd be safe.

I forced all of my frustrations at my shortcomings into my hands, pushing with renewed strength. It was my fault. I didn't even know how many faces were missing in the sea of spectators. How was I supposed to tell Tentomon that Koushiro was gone? What about Gatomon? How did I tell Jou that I had no freaking idea where Gomamon might be?

It just made me angry, and I converted that anger into strength.

"Andromon warp digivolve to... Craniamon!"

"Veemon digivolve to... ExVeemon!"

Our load lightened considerably, when Craniamon and ExVeemon grabbed Tankmon's front fender and pulled him through the barrier. We lost our footing for a moment, before Mari, Tomoki and I pushed Tuskmon through the barrier. I shoved Mari in next, and she collapsed to her knees the instant she'd made it through, and Tomoki followed, falling into Izumi's embrace. I turned to see the virus that I could feel was creeping up right behind me. And there it was, purple, violent and angry. Daisuke reached through the barrier, grabbing my shirt and pulling me through the barrier, calling my name angrily.

The second after I'd entered the barrier, the virus slammed into the shield.

Sora Takenouchi:

I leaned my head against the window and finally got a good look at myself. God I was a mess. A horrible, disgusting, evil mess. An echo of the person I was merely ten hours ago. I'd been punched, arrested, and restrained, I'd killed all my friends and now I'd been hit by a car. And I was still recovering from a stupid panic attack, because my friends were dead.

"Are you okay?" He said before the car started moving. "You need to breathe slower. Stop hyperventilating." As if I could just do that. "Breathe with me." He took a deep breath and I copied, annoyed. Then he breathed out, and I copied again. He did this for at least a minute, but as annoyed as I was, it was helping. Eventually I was breathing normally again, and I was wiping the tears from my eyes. "Where do you live?"

"That way," I said, waving my hand toward my house. "Left." I added when he seemed confused.

"I'm Mantarou," He said quietly, almost nervously.

I didn't even look toward him before saying, "I know."

"You're Sora, right?" I nodded. "Cool. I thought it was you."

There wasn't much talking after that, mostly me giving him directions. I looked down halfway through the ride and saw that my shoes were dripping all over a pile of assorted napkins. Finally he pulled to a stop in front of my home and I looked out the door nervously. What if they were there? How would I tell them? What if they weren't? Would I have to go looking for them? "Thank you." I said, turning to Mantarou. "For the ride. And for everything."

"No need to thank me." He said, "I'm just sorry for hitting you with my car."

"I'm sorry about your napkins." I said, handing him the soggy stack.

He laughed and shook his head, "No problem. It's the least of my worries." Then his smile fell. "You sure you'll be alright? Did something happen? Should I call the police?"

"The police won't help. The police are the enemy." I said monotonously.

"Uh, right." He said awkwardly, "Any particular reason you think so? Should... I not let you run free?"

"Your choice." I said, turning toward him, my face expressionless.

"Let me get your door." Mantarou decided, jumping out of his car and rushing through the rain, throwing the hood of his black jacket up over his head. He pulled the door open and helped me out of the car. "It was nice to formally meet you, Sora."

He was smiling at me. Smiling in that way a person would smile if their life hadn't been altered forever. Smiling in a way I wish I could have smiled back. "You as well." I lied. He saw through me. "Well it would have been, were the circumstances different."

"That's more believable." He said. "Hey," he reached into the open car door and grabbed one of the soggy napkins and found a pen sticking out of the cars ashtray. He scribbled down a number and handed it to me. "Call me if you need anything."

"Okay," I said, trying—almost desperately—to smile. I couldn't. "Goodbye Mantarou." He nodded, again, awkwardly and hopped into his car. I turned toward the front door. This was going to be the most difficult thing I'd ever have to do. I knew that even before the universe took one last laugh and pushed me to the curb. Literally. Taking one step I'd tripped and landed on the sidewalk.

"You sure you're okay?" Mantarou asked from the other side of his car.

"I'm fine." I insisted, getting to my feet and walking at a quicker pace toward my front door, but it wasn't long before Mantarou was by my side, making sure I didn't fall again. I would have told him to go away if I wasn't sure his intentions were so good. I pulled out my keys, and tried to unlock the door, but it was already unlocked. I must have been in such a hurry before, and forgot to lock it. I pushed it open and stepped inside.

"Sora!" I almost turned and ran. It was weak. I knew it was weak, but I could go, just to get away from them—I could let them live in ignorance. But I knew I shouldn't. I knew I had to tell them. "Oh my God, are you okay?" I turned to see Jenna standing in the doorway, her jacket still on, like she'd only just got back. "You got out of jail?"

"I didn't go to jail," I told her, "not really. I was taken to see Director Arnold."

"What?" She gasped, "That old bat? What's he doing here? He works in New York."

"He's moving," I said, "Or it looks like it. But it doesn't matter."

Jenna looked panic stricken. Like she knew what I was about to say, and she knew she didn't want to hear it. Which was why it wasn't a surprise to me when she wasn't the one to respond. "Sora, tell us what happened?" I stepped from the entrance way and into the living room where Jenna followed me like a wounded puppy, desperate for someone to heal her broken heart. Natsuni had been the one to speak. She was leaning over some kind of paper on the table, she had that same look that Jenna had, though she seemed to have more control over her voice and emotions. But it was neither of them that sent my heart flying back into panic mode.

It was the third girl. The one I hadn't expected to see. The look on her face was so much worse than either of the others. It was a look I could go without ever seeing again. A look that said her world was over—much more than what I felt, much more than what anyone could ever expect to experience.

"Momoe," I said, my voice breaking. "I'm so sorry."

Momoe got to her feet, the chair scraping and she hurried out of the room toward the bathroom, tears already dripping from her chin. Jenna, Natsuni and I watched her go in silence, and when we heard the bathroom door slam shut it was followed by a loud sob, and I turned my head, wincing from the obvious pain Momoe was feeling.

"Momoe!" Mantarou shouted, rushing after her. I watched him go. How had I forgotten his relations to Emiko? To Jou? To Miyako?

"What happened?" Natsuni asked, rushing to the couch to where Jenna had fallen after Momoe had left. Natsuni put her arm around Jenna and the younger girl leaned her head into her shoulder, her eyes wide and lifeless. "Sora, just tell us."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and fell to my knees on the hardwood floor. I stared to my hands as they lay limp in my lap. "I... Director Arnold. He showed me... the virus. He showed me..." I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell them I'd pressed the button. How could I tell Jenna that her brother was... gone... because of me? How would Natsuni ever forgive me if it was me who had taken Iori from her? "The virus was sent out. I escaped."

"You didn't see it kill anyone?" Natsuni asked, her voice stronger than her face would suggest. I shook my head, staring into her eyes, amazed at how easily it was for her to look to the positive side. I knew that's what she was getting at. I knew she was implying that it might all be okay. "The shields might protect them." Natsuni said, rubbing Jenna's shoulder. "Think positively. We know Kiyoko is highly intelligent. If the virus is just an expanded version of what they had been shooting to the digimon—and we have no reason to believe that it isn't—then we know the barriers are protective against that. We know they'll be okay."

Jenna looked up, her face bright and she nodded, "You're right."

"Except the virus was sent from the Temple." I said quietly. "Koushiro and Kiyoko designed them so anything could escape, but nothing could get back in. Anyone in the Temple... couldn't have survived."

Jenna and Natsuni were solemn again, and then tears welled up in Jenna's eyes. "Michael wasn't in a barrier anyway." She cried, "He was somewhere out there."

"Or on Earth!" Natsuni insisted, "We don't know that he was even in the Digital World. And if he was captured, like we assume he was, then he'd be with the enemies. Do you think the enemies would let themselves be hurt by the virus? Michael has to be okay."

"Taichi isn't." I said quietly.

"Do you know he was at the Temple?" Natsuni questioned. I shook my head. "Then don't assume the worst." There was a knock on the door and Natsuni jumped to her feet, "That'll be Chiziru." She hurried toward the door, "We have to think positively!" Natsuni opened the door and Chiziru whose hair was much more natural than it had been in a long time, but with a streak of hot pink stepped in through the door.

"Where's Momoe?" Chiziru asked loudly.

"In the bathroom," Natsuni said, "But I think she needs a moment alone."

"No," Chiziru shook her head, "No way." She was off quickly toward the kitchen, then looked around in a panic unsure of where to go, "Mantarou!" She shouted, hurrying toward her brother and sister.

"What do we do now?" Jenna asked, her voice weak. I felt horrible. She'd taken much of my depression. Amazingly, Natsuni had made me feel more hopeful—I hadn't lost all negativity, or even much at all, but it was something. Unfortunately, Jenna looked absolutely distraught. "Where do we go?"

Natsuni sat next to her and hugged her again, clearly seeing her pain as well as I could. "We find a way to contact our friends. They're alive, and I'm sure they want us to know. We'll find a way to contact them and then we'll tell them we're okay and that we're going to get them out of the Digital World. Then we will set things right. Prove digimon aren't the evil ones, which shouldn't be hard after what that Director Arnold man just did, and then we'll see to it that he is imprisoned. Hopefully forever."

"But how will we contact them?" Jenna asked weakly. "If they even are alive."

"They are." Natsuni insisted. "We'll find a way."

"The digivices?"

We all looked up to see Mantarou standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. He looked thoughtful. But like he had an idea. And it wasn't a bad one. The digivices were unique. We could use them to make contact with one another—perhaps there was some secret to their making that the enemies did not know. Yes, Moretsuna had one of his own somehow, but that didn't mean they all understood them. Maybe we could work around their block of the two worlds and make contact with them! If, as Jenna had said, they were even alive still.

I pulled my digivice out of my pocket and looked down to it, clicking the screen on. I searched through its functions. There was the clock, the temperature, the map, the tracking devices.

And that's where I stopped. I had zoomed mine out on my walk around with Miyako, hoping to locate Neo or Michael on our barrier inflating adventure. It was still zoomed out now, and I was confused at what I was seeing. Mantarou, Momoe, Chiziru, Natsuni, Jenna and myself. That was six, and that accounted for the six over by my house on the map—but who were the two over... where was that? I knew the streets well. I started visualizing the path to get to where the signals were blinking, and then it hit me.

I jumped quickly to my feet and shot out the door.

"Sora!" Mantarou shouted after me. I was already running through the rain toward the street. "Where are you going?"

"I have to check something!" I yelled over my shoulder, the rain dripping from my face, and soaking through my dress.

"Let me drive you," He offered, "You can't just wander around like this."

I nodded and hurried to jump into his car. Mantarou was driving hardly a moment later. I directed him where to go, my eyes focusing on my digivice the whole time to make sure I wasn't wrong. To make sure I was right in where the signals were leading me.

When he pulled to a stop I jumped out of the car, and heard him slam his own door, chasing after me. I threw the door to the large building open and hurried toward the stairs. "Sora!" Mantarou yelled, "Where are we?"

I didn't answer, but he didn't seem to mind, he kept following closely, and even pulled me to my feet when I tripped on a step, focusing too much on the digivice. And then we were at the top floor, throwing another door open and jumping into the hallway. "Sora, what are you hoping to find?"

"Anyone." I said, my voice breaking. I had been wrong when I had thought all of my hope was gone forever. Because right now it was burning strong in my chest, and if I was proven wrong, then I would find that my hope may be eternally damaged. But for now, I clung to the possibility that I wasn't alone.

And then I stopped outside a big blue door, and froze. Mantarou caught up with me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Whatever you find in here, doesn't change anything. It doesn't mean they're not okay."

"I know." I lied.

And then I pushed the door open. I stepped into the room, and the first person I saw was Katsue. My heart panicked. I was glad she was okay, but that didn't mean I was happy to see her. I selfishly wanted it to be someone else. Taichi maybe. Koushiro—Mimi. Anyone.

Then I turned and saw three familiar faces. Akira, Takashi and Yutaka. The Teenage Wolves. And for a second I felt like my heart totally stopped, because I could see someone behind them, his back turned. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but it felt like a pot boiling over on a hot surface.

Then Yutaka stepped out of the way and tapped the boy behind him on the shoulder, and finally he turned around, holding a strange device in his hands. He looked up and his arms fell limp, the device falling to the floor. "Sora!" He gasped. He probably thought I looked horrible. I was drenched in water, surely my makeup had been running. I was a total mess.

"Yamato." I said, my eyes wet instantly. "You're okay."

"O-of course I am." He said, panic in his voice now. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Don't." I said quietly. "Just let me have one moment. I know that's horrible, but I really just need this." He nodded and I could see him swallow nervously, but I just stared toward him, into his eyes. It was calming. But I knew it couldn't last forever. "Yamato... I-I'm sorry."

"Why?" Yamato shot. "Why are you sorry?"

As if it needed to be any more dramatic, the rain that was pounding on the window grew louder and the glass shook, thunder booming from outside accompanied by a violent flash of lightning.

"Because they're gone."

"What?" Yamato asked, "They're gone? What do you mean? Who is?"

"Everyone." I said, my voice catching in my throat. "Gone."

Next on Digimon Adventure 06: The virus is here, but what does that mean for the world and those who live there?