Chapter two! ...Or maybe chapter one since the last one was more of a prologue? Hmmm...

Anywho... I don't own Digimon!

Enjoy!

Shinya Kanbara looked up from his handheld game, his older brother was sprawled out on the couch where he had collapsed. Takuya hadn't been sleeping lately, so the fact that he was now was a good thing. Even if it was the middle of the day. He returned to his game, and soon the annoying music hid the hitches of the older boy's breath.

~~ FLAME ~~

Takuya stood on the edge of a cliff, the darkness was suffocating. A cry echoed in the dark and a figure was thrown to the Chosen of Fire's feet. "Beowolfmon!" Fractal Code surrounded the wolf-like digimon and revealed Koji, his face tight with pain.

"T-Takuya…" the Chosen of Light reached out weakly and blood dripped from his fingers.

"Koji! Koji!" Takuya gathered his best friend in his arms, panicked and horrified.

"It was… your plan… you…" the outstretched hand fell limp and dark eyes closed.

"Koji!" A laugh sounded and he flinched.

"No one can defeat my Power." The impenetrable blackness receded and Takuya very nearly closed his eyes against the sight. Zoey, JP, Tommy, and Koichi were laying in pools of their own blood with unseeing eyes. "Guys!"

Lucemon appeared in the epicenter of the carnage, and blood dripped from his weapons. "They weren't even a challenge… pity." Takuya laid Koji's body on the ground and grabbed his D-Tector. "You wish to join them? So be it." The fallen angel digimon lunged forward, summoning a wicked sword. Aldamon gasped as the blade stabbed him through the chest. "You have failed, Warrior…"

As he de-evolved, Takuya's eyes roved over his friends and his hand moved weakly to grasp Lucemon's bloodstained blade where it met his body. "Min'na…" he gasped out, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

~~ FLAME ~~

Shinya shook his brother worriedly, the older boy had tears streaming down his cheeks from eyes clenched closed. "Takuya! Wake up Nii-san!" The messy haired boy snapped awake with a muffled sound that was halfway between a scream and a sob. "Takuya-nii?"

"S-Shinya?" He questioned softly, staring at his younger brother in confusion. Just as Shinya was going to respond, Takuya's expression closed off and he sat up, brushing off his brother's hand. "Sorry to scare you."

He stood and started to move off when a smaller hand wrapped around his wrist. "Takuya-nii… don't shut me out…"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not!" Shinya cried. "You barely sleep anymore, and when you do you have nightmares! And don't think I haven't noticed how little you're eating. I'm worried about you Nii-san, something's OBVIOUSLY wrong, why won't you just tell me?"

Takuya's expression fell for a split second, then returned to the unreadable one it had been just before. He turned and walked away, "I wish I could, Shinya… but I can't." he whispered to himself.

Shinya watched sadly as his brother closed himself in his room, two years ago Takuya had come back home late on Shinya's birthday and their relationship had become dramatically better; Takuya was far more patient with his younger brother's antics and far more willing to treat him like an equal. But starting a month ago, Takuya had withdrawn from everyone. Shinya had heard him wake up screaming multiple times, and even their rather absent-minded father had noticed how little his oldest son was eating.

Takuya sat on his bed and pressed his shaking hands against his chest where a dull ache spread from the spot Lucemon's sword had penetrated. The dreams were getting worse. The fourteen year old was running on maybe two hours of sleep a night - and that was if he was lucky - and the thought of food made him sick. He was falling apart, but he didn't know what to do.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do.

Sorry the chapters are so short. It'll get better when the intro stuff is all out of the way.

**Wayfinder**