Disclaimer: I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged. Thank you.

Story Themes: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, "Schism" by Tool

Author's Note: And here is the final chapter of the original Saga I. Stayed tuned for a preview of Saga II!

(-'20320202030'-)

The Lighthouse

Saga I Session XXXVI

... The Mirror of Souls ...

Ken was in a dream of his own.

Walking through the empty rooms of his apartment, he hummed a near-silent lullaby, trying to calm his nerves. There was a huge test the next day that would determine which elementary school he would be accepted into. If he did exceptionally well, he could get into a school specifically designed for gifted children. His parents wanted more than anything for him to enter that program, though he couldn't say for himself whether or not he truly wanted it.

He passed by their father's office. The door was open only an inch, but he could still see the stacks of paper, some scattered across the mahogany desk, the room barely lit by a lamp. His father's computer sat toward the right corner of the desk, its black screen reflecting the orange orb of the light and a small figure sprawled out over the ground. Ken was mid-step when he heard a voice inside the room.

Bro...? he thought, pausing. Stepping back, he peered through the crack to the room beyond.

"And den... den you give 'im a friend!" the voice was saying.

The door creaked on its hinges as Ken popped his head in, but the boy he saw sitting on the hard-wood floors was not Sam. Instead, the boy was much tinier; Ken couldn't think of any time his brother was that small... or if he had been, Ken was too young to remember it. His hair was also a tint too dark, and too flat.

Hearing the squeal, the boy spun around and stared up at Ken.

"Sam...?" said the little boy.

Ken's eyes widened.

The little boy was identical to Ken. The little boy was Ken, and Ken... Ken was Sam.

"What are you drawing, Ken?" Sam asked, walking into the heart of the room and crouching.

"Me!" Ken replied, his fingertip crumpling the paper as he pointed.

Sam squinted. Ken gestured to a tall man with white, wiry hair, and a long crooked nose – or at least what Sam assumed to be a nose, no one could really be sure with little kid pictures. The man wore a black poncho and green parachute pants, his chicken scratch fingers outstretched. He was in-between a tiny wormlike, centipede-like creature and a six-legged... horse? At least those looked like hooves, and it had a snout with spaghetti hair. Behind him was a monkey with sunglasses and a little stick-figure girl with freckles.

"Are you sure you're not this one?" Sam asked, pointing at the stick-figure girl. Ken did have sort of longer hair than most of his male peers anyway.

"That's a girl, Sam!" Ken replied defensively, half-heartedly glaring. "This is me when I'm all growed-up!"

"It's 'grown', Poindexter," Sam said, though his expression softened. "And who are all these monsters?"

Ken always had a penchant for drawing monsters ever since he learned what crayons could do. Then again, most kids Ken's age liked to draw little monsters, at least from what Sam gathered. He himself had never been into such a fad, however; he'd taken mostly to books and plays even from a young age.

Ken blinked down at the page. "They're..." He hesitated. "They're my friends. We're going to play a game. It's all a game really, all of this..." Ken's eyes narrowed into slits. "All I want to do is play."

Goosebumps formed on Sam's arms. "I think you've had enough of this, Ken," Sam interrupted, abruptly standing and snatching the paper out of Ken's grasp. Ken gasped and opened his mouth to argue, but Sam held up his forefinger and said, "It's past your bedtime. If Mom or Dad found you in here, they'd be furious. Get going, little brother."

Ken clamped his mouth shut in a pout and spun around. With a stomp, he exited the room and slammed the door shut. Sam gave an irritated sigh. And now their parents were probably awake, and would be wondering what he was doing awake, and he would have to explain all about his stress and inability to rest and how he just couldn't sleep and... They would be so disappointed in him. They expected more from him. He had to make a good example of himself for his brother, he couldn't afford to slack off or become an irresponsible low-life.

At least that was what they told him.

And they were correct. Ken looked up to Sam. He would always follow down Sam's path, no matter what path Sam took. His little brother would emulate him for years to come. Sure, he may eventually develop a sense of individuality and independence, but what if that common logic developed too late? What if he'd already developed a lowly reputation, an incompetence or ill-will toward rigid discipline? What if he grew into the habit of procrastination?

Sam couldn't allow that.

"Always so focused on what is best for your brother... but never focused on what is best for you," said a voice behind him. Sam's heart nearly leaped to his throat as he twisted on his heel and peered in the voice's direction.

There was no one there. Just his father's work desk, the pile of papers, the dim lamp and the soft whirring of his father's computer.

"That's funny," Sam mumbled with a frown. He reached over to grip the mouse in his hand. I thought this was off when I came in here. Maybe it was only asleep.

He quickly exited the chat window that had popped up and clicked the Shut Down option on the desktop. Watching the monitor glow die, he turned back to the hallway.

"Don't walk away from me."

Thump-thump. He whirled around. The computer was back on.

"What in the world...?"

A voice whirred from the speakers, filling the room. "I'm talking to you. It's rude to walk away."

"Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter... yet." The voice went on, "Let's play a little game, Sam. Let's think about things logically! Oh yes, you love logic, don't you?" Sam bleakly nodded. "I don't think your brother needs you as much as you think he does, bud. I think you should be more focused on your future than his. After all, you may have all the brains in the family but you don't have the brawn... you won't have the glory."

"I don't do this for glory," Sam replied, looking down at his feet.

"Okay. Maybe you don't." The deep, rolling voice chuckled. "But you are the one working to achieve it. To gain honor. While your brother sits in here coloring, you are studying your entire youth away... He's destined, you know."

"Destined?"

"Destined."

"Destined for what?"

"Destined to do things you could never even dream about," the voice replied. "He will see things no human has ever seen before, discover entire worlds untouched by human hands. He will earn honor and recognition no Ichijouji has ever tasted. His entire life – even before his birth! – he has been marked down for greatness... without even lifting a finger. Without even wanting it!"

"How do you know all this?"

"I have... heh. A friend, let's put it that way... who just knows."

"Well... that's good for Ken," Sam replied, looking down at the wrinkles in his palms. So he had nothing to worry about then. He could simply allow his brother peace; he didn't have to stress out over Ken taking a bad path down life.

"He will have everything," the voice went on. Sam looked up. "Money. Fame. The world. Love. Your parents' unconditional love, without striving to attain it like you have to. You will be left in the dust. His shadow. He will take everything you want, effortlessly. But also at a great cost."

"Cost...?"

"He will lose himself, you know," the voice growled. "It'll be too much for him. He'll get caught up in that web of treasure and turn to cruelty. A bit like you could. That's one thing you two brothers have in common. Your cruelty. It's the DigiVice that starts it... it's the DigiVice that shows him this new world. These digimon. This jumpstart that unlocks the sin inside him, the sin you've already instilled. He wants what you do, Sam Ichijouji... He wants what everyone has. He craves it, just as you do."

Everything. Riches. Affection. Recognition. Attention. Even maybe the littlest bit of freedom... Control. Sam hesitated.

"You can't protect him from himself as you are now," the voice continued, "But... I can help you, Sam Ichijouji. Can give you anything you seek.

"I only ask for one thing in return."

(-'10201020102001'-)

"GET OFF HIM."

Ken woke up to a flash of red and green light. Eyes snapping open, he bolted to his feet and threw a half-scalded Hangyomon off his chest. The blistered, rubbery creature – already pelted by Yolei's attack – rolled across the ground until his back thunked against a nearby tree.

As Ken looked away from the Hangyomon, he felt Yolei wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace. "You're okay... You're okay... I was so worried, Ken!"

But he said nothing in response. He merely looked down at her, his expression wiped from his face, and lightly hugged her back. "Ken..." she whispered, her eyes a tear-soaked sheen. "I'm sorry."

Oh, Sam.

"I think..." Yolei pulled away and peered to the gray-tinted canopy above them. Silver light splayed in-between the crinkling tree leaves, glinting diamonds on her face. With a frown, she went on, "I think we're at the Dark Ocean, but without the Ocean... maybe this is..." Her frown was replaced by a glare. "Ken, if there's a Dream World... do you think the World of Darkness – and maybe even the Dark Ocean – are the opposite of that? That the Dream World is also a realm of light, with the Light Beings, and that the Dark Area is a Nightmare World...?

"I think... that's where we are... the Digital World's Hell... the Dark Area, the World of Darkness... the Nightmare Realm."

(-'1022010200'-)

Gatomon... Tai... TK... Davis.

Kari dreamed of the flower field again. Nightmares of attacking Tai, of telling TK he would never be strong enough, of accusing Davis he would never make it in time ran awash in her head, while that blond, dark-skinned, freckled girl smiled – sweetly, and sadly – in the center of the field. That girl was always so sad, but why? Every time Kari saw her, there was an instinctive need to protect her from some dark, malevolent force not even Kari was fully aware of. But that had always been Kari's instinct— to protect those who could not protect themselves, because she had always been fully aware how comforting it was to know someone would always save her when she needed them to.

As the ocean waves shaved away at another layer of sand, as the lighthouse's blinding reflection gleamed against the freckled girl's face, as the waves splashed against the shore and spiraled over the meadow, as the girl murmured, "I'm sorry," and as the torrent smashed into the girl's frail body, Kari opened her eyes. The dreams and the nightmares were over. In their place, she found herself lying in a gritty, sticky substance, with nothing but darkness obscuring her sight.

She could hear the water clashing against the beach.

"Don't move," someone whispered beside her. She didn't recognize the voice. "If they realize you're awake, they'll separate us before I can deliver a message."

She opened her mouth to speak, but a finger stopped her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Years," the voice said. Kari lied silently in the sand, wishing she knew who was speaking. It was definitely male, maybe a digimon? Her mind was too foggy. What happened? Why was this man talking about years and messages and pretending to be asleep? "It will take years to fully develop your Enigma Evolution." Kari stiffened. "If you are this powerful now, imagine what you can do a year... two years... five years from now. Have patience."

Kari's heart sunk. She was hoping to end any need of using the Enigma Evolution that night.

Who was I kidding? she thought. None of us have luck that good.

"Leviamon won't hurt you," the figure continued in an even quieter voice. His words were almost lost against the chime of the ocean, the wind between the nearby leaves.

Goosebumps. The cold crawled through her chest.

She felt a hand rest on her forehead. The skin was warm, soft— and so incredibly gentle as it moved a couple of soggy hair strands out of her eyes. It was such a familiar touch that Kari had troubles stopping herself from leaning into it, from letting the fears to flood from her and be washed away by the ocean tides.

"It'll be horrifying at first, but I'll always watch over you," the voice continued, grip pausing on her cheek. "Leviamon and his henchmen won't lay a claw on you."

What will be horrifying? Kari's eyelashes flickered as she tried to open her eyes. Only more darkness entered her vision. The figure leaned forward and released a sweet kiss on her brow, obscuring his face from her vision.

His hand went from her cheek to one of her hands, their fingers linked together. "Oh ENIAC, I've missed you... I'll never hurt you again... I'll never lay a finger on you... Never again..."

Kari's eyes snapped open.

Her voice breaking, a realization on her lips, Davis's face flashing across her mind, Kari asked in a trembling voice, "...Lucesco?"

In the dark, she could see his broad silhouette. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes – a blue glinting bright enough to shine even in the night – lain with a sad, gentle sheen on hers.

Rather than answer, Lucesco replied, "I want to be your friend, too, Kari."

"I thought... I could kill you..." A scorched, bleeding, damaged-beyond-repair Kari had whispered to Lucesco, dying on that ground, staring up at him through a blackening vision. "But I can't do that to someone who could be my friend."

She paused, then said, "Close your eyes, Lucesco."

Lucesco did as she asked.

She watched him silently for a couple of seconds. Then, with a roar, Kari Kamiya darted in the one foot of space behind them and curled her fingers around his throat. Lucesco's eyes snapped opened, just as hers had, and smashed his head into the sandy ground. Kari's eyes had been open for less than a couple seconds and she knew where she was— the dark sand, the silver-hued ocean, the lighthouse which splayed black light and what was layers of bloodstained, upturned sand still present from her fight with the Soul Sucker six months ago— this place, this world, this area had been burned, embedded, born and dead into her memory.

"K—K—"

Kari had the distinct feeling Lucesco was trying and failing to say her name as she strangled him. "No, you shut-up! SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH," she hurled, wrenching his neck upward and pelting it back into the sand with enough force for it feel like a board instead of grain. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME FOR DEAD?!" WHACK WHACK Over and over again she slammed his head into the sand. Blue and pinkish-hued lightning crackled along her fingers. "YOU INFECTED ME. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE DONE? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VEDONE?

"My brother's half-blind," she choked. WHACK. "I threatened and nearly killed my best friend." WHACK. "I abused my boyfriend!" WHACK. "And Gatomon... Gatomon...

"Everyone I hurt... everyone I killed...

"Yolei and Halsemon almost added to that list... myself... watching, with a smile, as your partner-in-crime murders one of my dearest, oldest friends! Gennai!

"You should have let me die. Now I can never forgive you. Now I can never forgive... forgive myself...

"And now you treat me nicely... promise to make sure nothing bad happens to me... touch my face and reassure me... tell me I'll one day be strong enough to escape this hell... BUT IT'S YOU. WHAT IS THIS, A GAME TO YOU? Are you trying to make me trust you, is this some other form of torment?! Haven't you done enough to me and all the ones I love, and even the ones I don't? FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU.

"WHAT THE FUCK MADE YOU THINK I WOULD BE YOUR FRIEND?"

WHACK!

"I HATE YOU."

Lucesco fell limp. Blood coated his hair and dribbled to the sand beneath.

"I HATE YOU." WHACK. "I HATE YOU." WHACK. "I HATE YOU..." WHACK. "I hate... hate..."

Her grip went numb. Trembling, Kari didn't fully realize the warm sting in her eyes until the warm fluid touched her cheeks. She saw her claws gliding through Gatomon, she saw Dagomon digivolve into Leviamon, she saw Davis fall apart in his attempt to stop the Soul Sucker from completely destroying the woman he loved. She saw the warmth and love fade from Gatomon's expression, then the earth as it opened its jaws and swallowed her and her beloved friends whole.

They didn't stop the Endless Ones.

They could not stop the Endless Ones.

It was pointless. Just as Gennai had predicted, they were still too weak.

By the time they were strong enough, the Endless Ones would take over realm after realm, eventually seizing control over the entire multi-verse. And with that much power, even with the Enigma Evolution, how could the Destined stand a chance?

People were dead. No one she knew were nearby. She was stuck here again, in this cold, dark place, in a world opposite to her own. Stuck here, strangling and straddling the man who helped put her here...

but even through all this, and everything he had done, could she truly hate a person?

She hadn't hated the Dark Masters. Disagreed with them, sure, and she did what she had to do to stop them from harming the Digital World. But she never hated them.

She pitied Apocalymon.

The Emperor scared her at first – shown her irrefutable proof that humans could use the Digital World for far more destructive purposes than she hoped them capable; though she had always known that in her heart, she had tried to deny it time and time again, believing deep down that humans and digimon could live peacefully if only they looked past their differences – but she had feared the Emperor – Ken – not hated him. And later on, she had grown to even understand him, to empathize, even if she would never follow his path of havoc.

Mummymon and Arukenimon had never done anything to warrant her hate. BlackWarGreymon was a confused, unsure digimon who reminded her too much of her brother's partner for her to hate him, even without his puzzling character.

The closest digimon – or anyone, really, human or digimon – who she had come to hate was Myotismon. Myotismon, who had enslaved and abused Gatomon. Myotismon, who took Wizardmon away from them. Myotismon, who manipulated and killed Oikawa, Mummymon, and Arukenimon just as Kari had grown to understand them. Yet, while he was the closest fiend to ever reach her hate, she had never snapped out at him. She had never tried to personally kill him because of her own anger— a blood-lust that had nothing to do with what Myotismon would achieve if allowed to his own devices, a blood-lust that wasn't conjured to stop him from doing unspeakable things, but a blood-lust that was personal, a blood-lust which boiled in her veins and poisoned her heart.

But Myotismon had never infected Kari. Even when he forced Gatomon to choose between him and Kari, his influence over her was not enough to take her from Kari's side. Myotismon had never killed a close, personal friend, or was responsible for overthrowing both Earth and the Digital World. They had always, always, stopped him before he could get to that point.

These last six months... she had been training with Gennai almost every day, trying to hone her abilities, to contact the World of Light specifically to avoid this fate. Yet here she was, all for nothing! And Gennai was dead. Gatomon was gone. And the darkness inside Kari's heart that took Gatomon away still remained, festering, waiting at any moment for her to lose control.

Kari buried her face in her hands. She couldn't hate him. She couldn't hate anyone, no matter how angry or hurt or embarrassed or disappointed she was. Hate would do her no good. It never did anyone any good. How did things come to this?

Was it really just hours ago that she and Gatomon were helping Tai look for apartments, all while picking up the smorgasbord-mess from his welcome back party? Had Sora and Mimi really just drunken so much spiked punch that they revealed some of their most surprising secrets to everyone, like Mimi's attraction to Yolei and Sora's dream of being a fashion designer?

Hours ago, Davis held her in his arms as they stared up at the starry sky. Gatomon was at her side.

And then they were holding hands, their final union before destiny once again split them apart.

"IT'S NOT FAIR," Kari roared, smashing her fist into the ground beside Lucesco. "Every time... every time..." Every time, something seized the Destined in all different directions, never allowing them to face their foes as a single unified force.

Lucesco's fingers lightly grazed her shoulder. She briefly glanced at the dark purple hues bruising his throat. She thought that he was trying to comfort her before another, more harsh grip grabbed her other hand and jerked her off of him.

Her eyes flickered to Lucesco's fading expression. "I told you not to move..." he whispered.

"W...wait!" she murmured. Spinning around, she realized the person who had grabbed her was a Hangyomon. She chucked her foot into the sand, spraying it upward in a blinding cloud, and smashed the bottom of her palm into the Hangyomon's nose. Twisting on her heel, her opposite foot snapped another Hangyomon in the ribs and sent him spiraling back into a crowd of other blinded Hangyomon, who scattered. Electricity crackling on the tips of her fingers, she flung her arm in the direction of the ocean and sent hundreds of electrical currents through the waves, essentially electrocuting several emerging Hangyomon.

One of the Hangyomon cackled. "Queen Kari..." he muttered, reaching for her face. "At last..."

As soon as his slimy, webbed fingers came within ten feet of her, Kari jettisoned a bolt of blue lightning in his face, straight through his mouth.

"You want to mate with me?" Kari growled, her tears flowing, gleaming in the gray moonlight. "MATE WITH THIS."

Hundreds of more electrical currents jutted from beneath the sand and entered through the Hangyomon's genitals. They shrilly screamed before their voices died, bodies dissolving into dark, withering data that, rather than floating to the sky, soaked into the sand like black blood.

As the elusive blue light illuminated her face, something cold coiled around her ankle and threw her off her feet, then just as swiftly wrapped around her entire body, instantaneously dismantling her lightning. Kari bit back a hiss and, wincing, looked up at her latest attacker, whose tails had enveloped all but her head and her feet.

Through clenched teeth, Kari said, "Good morning, Leviamon. Hope I didn't wake you."

"You woke me the moment you were born," Leviamon replied, tails tightening. She threw her head back in a silent scream. His voice rumbled, shaking the ground, throwing the Hangyomon off their feet as they scrambled to find their balance. "I have been waiting a very long time for you..."

"Just hurry up and get it over with," she snapped. "I've had a very long, very hard, very bad day, and your foreplay is almost worse than the act itself. Just know that you can take my body, but I will never be yours. I will never willingly bow to you."

"Foreplay...?" Leviamon raised a brow. Then, after a moment's pause, he cracked a wide, toothy grin that stretched across the entirety of his face. Throwing his head back in a roar of laughter that forced the Dark Ocean itself to ripple, he craned his neck in the direction of his minions and said, "What have you been doing in my absence, hmmm...? Such adorable little minions."

"'Adorable' isn't the word I would use," Kari muttered with a penetrating glare.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then turned back to the Hangyomon, who kneeled before him.

"Lord Leviamon has returned!" one of the Hangyomon chanted. "All hail Lord Leviamon! He has awakened and risen from his prison!"

Leviamon continued to grin. "My family... do you wish to use this human to enlarge our family? Did you invite her here, or did you merely lure her?"

"We have chosen the Child of Light, Lord Leviamon! We could taste her power, even from the human world... it called to us..." the same Hangyomon replied. "Your family will return to you! We will see to it, that this woman become our faithful queen!"

All at once, the Hangyomon lifted their spears to the sky and chanted, "ALL HAIL LORD LEVIA—"

SPLSH

One smooth swipe of Leviamon's massive tail left every single one of the chanting Hangyomon several dozen splatters of black blood on the sand.

Kari gaped.

Leviamon's eyes dulled. "What a bunch of assholes. That's not how you make a family. I must start from scratch all over again. This batch is just as flawed as the rest." He then looked back in Kari's direction. "You haven't eaten for a day. Come, I'll have Wisemon prepare a human supper for you."

"No..." Kari whispered, still sheet-white, staring at the smears in the sand. Leviamon had killed all of her attackers, the ones who assaulted her and tried to rape her. But hadn't he ordered them to? Weren't they doing that because he wanted the ultimate race of beings? And why kill them, when he called them his family? Don't rationalize, Kari thought to herself, glancing at the ocean. "I don't want to. I want to go home."

"No." Leviamon grunted. "You will stay with me. I will make you hate me for a while yet, before the hate fades to pity..."

Her eyes fluttered around for Lucesco. She didn't want to be here, not with this Endless One... away from her friends... he wouldn't kill her. That much she knew. But what else was he planning? Did he personally want to deliver his minions' original scheme? No. She wouldn't allow that. She couldn't.

Kari struggled. "Bring me home! Tai! Gatomon! TK! Davis! DAVIS!"

"It must be nice," Leviamon commented, taking a step into the Ocean. When Kari glared in his direction, he elaborated. "...to have names to call out for."

"Let. Me. Out!"

"Yes, yes, screaming will certainly make me release you," Leviamon yawned. "I'm not planning on doing anything to you. Human isn't really my type. And Demon wouldn't let me bring you back to Earth anyway, so you're going to eat a good meal, get a long rest, and recuperate. You've lost a lot of energy, human."

Then, as two of his paws were submerged, Leviamon's tail shuddered in the air

and tossed Kari into Leviamon's mouth.

(-'1020102011022'-)

Wisemon's head snapped up. "She's coming," he said, luring the attention of Myotismon and the char-black Deathmon. "She'll find us."

A yellow grin accompanied his yellow eyes.

"The Dreamless Dreamer makes me dream... but she will wake me up.

"She'll wake us all up."

(-30200302-)

It was dim.

Joe could feel his heart racing in his chest. Every rattling thump grew hotter than the last, ricocheting in his chest.

At first, he wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He lied there, unmoving, letting the silence surround him. He tried to think why he wasn't moving. It wasn't as though he was paralyzed. He hadn't been wounded in his legs, and even if he was, he could try to boost himself up into a sitting position. So why wasn't he moving?

Shuu's dead.

His eyes felt as damp and hot as his chest.

Joe was a doctor. He had seen death more than a few times by now – of both digimon and humans alike – to deny it, to let his innocence and naivete to flood his logic and common sense. He could not deny reality; he was not like Gomamon, he was not like any digimon really. And neither was Shuu. They didn't just turn into digieggs when they died, they faded out of existence, leaving an emptiness they once filled.

Gennai... Tentomon... they had all perished.

The rage, the incredulity which had fueled Joe withered and crumbled like ancient stones chipped away by a river. Every scalding lash of anger that struck his chest, every pounding beat of his heart and his pumping adrenaline, ran cold through him.

Rage had been replaced.

"Joe...?" said a soft voice behind him. Somehow, someway, Joe found the strength to roll over and peer to the finned, white-skinned, orange-haired creature who spoke. His eyes were as gentle as his voice as he said, "You look seasick, buddy..."

Joe gave a sad smile and sat up. Taking his glasses off, he wiped them against his dirty sweater, further smearing the muck over his lens. With an irritated sigh, he placed them back on his nose and looked up at the sky.

Gomamon tilted his head to the side, then reached over and grabbed Joe by the hand. Rivers crumbling the last of those ancient stones, Joe choked and leaned his head against Gomamon's shoulder, bowing his head.

He heard shuffling behind him. Muffled voices revealed it to be from Mimi, Momoe, Palmon, Cyclonemon, Shin, and Dracomon.

"Joe...?" Mimi said in a voice echoing Gomamon's. When Joe sniffled and tried to respond but couldn't, the next thing he knew was that Mimi had taken a nose-dive off Cyclonemon, hit the ground belly-down, scrambled on her palms and knees with a very red face, and pounced on Joe. Joe's back hit the soil with a loud thunk, face wincing and stars flashing across his vision.

"JOE!" she said, burying her face in his chest. "Joe, Joe, Joe!"

Joe tried to face her, but her hair blinded him as she bear-hugged him. He couldn't help but smile. "I'm okay. I'm safe."

"JOOOOOOE!" Mimi started sobbing.

Joe lightly patted her back. "It's okay. It'll be alright."

"Is Gennai dead?!" Mimi wailed, her tears soaking Joe's blood-splattered sweater.

"I... believe so, yes," Joe replied, closing his eyes.

"He's..." Mimi's shrill voice hiccuped. Pulling away, the tears subsided, filtering to an indecipherable, solemn frown. Joe remembered their adventures all those years ago, how Mimi had dealt with losing so many of their good, dear friends. Running away rather than dealing with it had seemed the right choice at the time. Even Joe found that the one way to deal with his issues was by finding the answers on his own, like Matt, like Mimi.

Mimi's face fell. She released his chest.

He stared after her for a couple of seconds before his gaze focused on Shin and Momoe. Shin was glaring at him. Momoe was staring at her shoes, her fists balled up and shaking, her teeth gritting.

A nearby Chevy honked at an oncoming van. Joe nearly leaped to his feet in surprise. He hadn't even realized he was in a concrete jungle; they all were, standing in an empty, dank back-alley infested by squeaking rats and preying Tom cats.

Joe didn't have time to ask where they were before another voice beat him to the punch.

"DIGIMON!" she said, grasping her lips, surprised by her own volume. Everyone spun toward the mouth of the alley where the blond-haired girl stood, wide-eyed, wearing a purple hat and jacket. "But..." She removed her hand. "That's impossible."

"Excuse me, but..." Momoe's voice weakened a little as she went on, "Where are we?"

"Jiyuugaoka," the girl replied, then glanced nervously to the street behind her. "Look, lots of people might... um... freak out if they see you. Follow me. My friend Takuya's house in nearby, I might be able to guide you there through the backstreets."

"Freak out?" Dracomon's brow furrowed as he looked up at Shin, who gave a wry frown and didn't return the digimon's stare.

"Why would anyone freak out over them?" Momoe said in a quiet voice. "There must be tons of them running around... Hey, it's awfully sunny here," she went on, peering up at the sunny sky. "You must have not gotten attacked yet..."

The blond raised an eyebrow and motioned to another interconnecting alley to the right. "Oh...kay... We better get a move on before anyone sees you. My name is Izumi, but you can call me Zoe."

"Izumi..." Joe glanced at Mimi, who remained silent. "Speaking of, have you seen anyone else? Izzy, or Tai by chance? You know, Taichi Kamiya? Or maybe Matt Ishida, or Davis Motomiya? Ken Ichijouji?" He tried to think of the most recognizable faces from their group, the ones who had gotten the most press. "Kari Kamiya?"

"None of that rings a bell," Zoe replied sympathetically. "Do your friends have digimon, too?"

"God, her brain matches her hair!" Shin shouted impatiently, walking past her to the alleyway gestured.

Zoe glared at him. "Hey—"

"So, do you ever get stuck on an escalator for hours because the power went out?" Shin interrupted dismissively.

Zoe was unable to respond before a shrill scream interrupted. All Destined – Zoe included – spun around to see a FlaWizardmon erupt in a incinerating inferno that tore into several nearby buildings. Zoe didn't hesitate.

"Oh, for the love of... Not again!"

Joe and Mimi watched in awe as she whipped out a digivice – a far different model from their own – and shouted, "SPIRIT EVOLUTION..." An egg formed around her. Within seconds, the egg burst to reveal a blue-haired girl clad in purple clothes and fairy wings. "FAIRYMON."

"That girl... did she...?" Momoe's jaw dropped.

Joe frowned. "Is she like Arukenimon?"

"You over there!" she chanted, pointing at the digimon. "C'mon, help me out!"

"Right." Joe, Mimi, and Momoe all took out their digivices. Shin looked down at his and the static scrawled over the screen, his blank expression numbed. Dracomon blinked up at him, then bowed his head as well. In his hand was Shuu's digivice, its screen cracked.

A groggy Palmon and a chipper Gomamon were consumed by eggs. Fairymon raised an eyebrow. "What in the world?"

As the eggs burst, Ikkakumon and Togemon surfaced. Fairymon took a step back. "How did you do that...? Well, never mind. We can talk later. Let's go kick some butt! FLAWIZARDMON!"

She dashed. Ikkakumon, Togemon, and Cyclonemon followed. When Dracomon didn't join them, Shin – staring off after them – grunted. "Why aren't you going?"

"I said I'd be by your side no matter what happened," Dracomon replied.

Shin answered with silence.

As the digimon partners approached FlaWizardmon, he exploded and screamed, catching swerving vehicles and shrieking tires and charring schoolyard parks. "HE'S LOOKING..." FlaWizardmon was caterwauling, grabbing his head, his eyes bulging to the point that his pupils shrunk. "...LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR..."

"HARPOON TORPEDO."

"NEEDLE SPRAY."

"HYPER HEAT."

Fairymon smiled and threw a twister of wind at him. "HURRICANE WAVE."

"Got 'im!" Momoe grinned.

"HE CANNOT SEE..." The attacks whirled straight through FlaWizardmon. Projectiles ricocheting in every direction, FlaWizardmon stood unharmed, as though he were merely an apparition. Momoe and Joe stood dumbstruck. Zoe paused. He looked up at them. "This is the result..." FlaWizardmon began, "...of looking into the Mirror of Souls. Its past comes to haunt you all."

Then he burst into flame all over again, his body turning to ash but his inferno remaining. With a screech, another force – unseen til now – sucked the fire into his palm, extinguishing it as all that remained was smoke and smoldering rubble. The figure who stopped the fire was tall, with red armor and blond hair, his back straight.

Zoe – or Fairymon – smiled. "Takuya!" she said.

"Takuya?" the others looked in the digimon's direction.

He craned his neck to grin at them. "Hey, more digimon. At least they're on our side this time."

"How many more FlaWizardmon are around?" Fairymon asked.

"This is the third one I've seen," he answered. "Kouji and Kouichi are fighting several more in Kyoto. JP and Tommy said there's about twenty spread across Odaiba."

"Odaiba?!" Both Joe and Mimi snapped to attention. Joe was the first one to speak up. "We need to get there. Now."

(-'102010201100'-)

Odaiba was where Izzy woke up.

Alone.

At first, the color-soaked dusk slid into view, burning his pupils. Then other shapes grew sharp, like the steel pillars supporting the roof of the rainbow-colored cart he was in, or the flickering lights that flashed neon patterns in over 100 different shades. Slowly sitting up, Izzy quickly realized he was riding the Daikanransha ferriswheel of Odaiba, Japan. Looking out the double-pane window, the red beams bolstering Tokyo Tower and the flashing lights of Rainbow Bridge floated into view. Izzy remembered taking this ride with his mother and father when he was little. It was a sunny afternoon, with the Sun shining down on the three of them. Even from their distance, they could see Mount Fuji atop the ferris wheel's 100-meter zenith. Years later, the Izumi family rode it all over again, this time including their latest family member as well, Tentomon.

"Do you see this, Tentomon?" Izzy asked, swinging around to the purple car's empty interior. "It's prodigious—"

When he realized no one was there, his words fell silent. He lowered his shoulders.

Right... he thought, looking down at the floor. Tentomon is dead. And Gennai...

They never finished their game of chess.

But then, why is this ferris wheel here? He went on, glancing back out over the seashore, the glistening waves that quietly sloshed against the beach. Reflecting the golden-warm glow of Rainbow Bridge, the water carried to the docks, gently rocking the boats. None of this is real... Izzy thought, Or maybe this is reality? Maybe Odaiba is safe, fully restored... maybe Tentomon never died. Maybe none of it was real.

Yes... He fell to his knees, staring up at the ceiling. None of it was real! Tentomon is still alive! Odaiba was never destroyed! Gennai... ("My son...") Gennai...!

Something vibrated against his side. The gentle hum woke him from his trance. With a tilt, he eyed his pocket where the rattle shook his stupor. Hesitantly, Izzy unsheathed a silver-screen mirror.

Gennai's mirror.

But that didn't make sense. How could Odaiba still exist while Gennai's Mirror remained?

It's not real... it's all an illusion! Izzy wanted to scream— until he saw his own reflection. TigerVespamon's scars remained on his marred face. The tiger stripes embedded his side, his arm, his leg. One of his eyes was dark and human, while the other was composed of a hundred separate, tinier lenses, a "compound eye", he believed it as called.

The scream choked. He dropped the mirror.

So which reality was it? Only one could be his reality. He couldn't have absorbed TigerVespamon's data and inherited Gennai's mirror in a reality where Odaiba wasn't wiped off the map. The only reason why either event happened was specifically because Odaiba had been attacked.

Gennai only gave this mirror to Izzy because he knew he was about to die. He had given it to Izzy for a very specific reason, that much Izzy knew for sure, but why Izzy and not someone else? Tai had always been their clever leader, while Kari was Gennai's student for the past six months. Gennai had always found an intellectual equal in Izzy, but had that really been enough for him to choose Izzy over Tai or Kari?

"I need you to take good care of this," he'd told Izzy. "It's the key to everything. To knowing the Endless Ones' plot. To understanding why I am the way I am. To building a better future for both worlds. To fighting fate, both the one you were meant for and the one you are now heading toward.

"This is the Mirror of Souls, but the only soul it truly reflects is my own, Izzy. Let it show you the truth."

Izzy almost smiled. Almost.

Of course. That was why Izzy was most suited. Tai had leadership capability and Kari had the heart and soul, but Izzy was the brains. To put it in metaphorical terms, Tai was the physical, Kari was the spiritual, and Izzy... Izzy had been the mental. The brawn, the being, the brains.

Gennai gave this to me because I know him best. I understand him more than anyone else.

I don't know which reality is mine. Maybe I'm dreaming. Maybe I'm awake. As wrong as it may be, I find this fascinating... Demon did say he would show me other worlds.

Do you see us, Tentomon? Maybe we are seeing those worlds now.

Nothing but silence answered him. He crumpled, grabbing his forehead. I'll figure this out. I'll figure it all out.

Just like Gennai wanted me to.

I will find out why the Endless Ones are attacking us. Who they really are.

I will take it all. The knowledge. The disappointment. I will learn every single thing I can, letting no one get in my way. And I will find a way to bring them both back! Gennai, Tentomon!

I WILL TAKE IT BACK.

Wrenching the mirror from the floor, Izzy pointed it toward the sky. A warm sensation buzzed within his fingertips. A dim, white glow exploded around the mirror's handle. Then, with a beam of light, the mirror exploded in a brilliant flash.

The ferris wheel halted on its axles. Every vehicle stood frozen on Rainbow Bridge. The mercurial lights of Daikanransha flickered out.

Briefly blinded, Izzy released the mirror and shielded his face with both his arms. He squeezed his eyes shut. The mirror is reacting...!

"Hello? HELLO?! Is anyone there? Can someone hear me?!" came a voice from the mirror.

Izzy looked up. Floating within a thick pillar of bright white light, the round mirror stood six feet tall and three feet wide, reflecting the young Gennai's strained face across its surface. He wasn't staring into the mirror, but instead at something Izzy couldn't see, something away from the reflection. Izzy glanced around the room, but when he saw it was still vacant, he rushed as close to the mirror as he could and reached out to touch it.

The light was warm. Comforting. "Gennai...?" He screwed-up his face. "Gennai, it's me, Izzy! I can hear you! I'm right here!"

"Hello?! Good... I'm alone."

Izzy frowned, unable to understand what he was seeing.

Was it like a projection? A recording? Gennai wasn't responding to Izzy's voice. Izzy pounded against the glass surface, but there wasn't any reaction from the face beyond.

The "Mirror of Souls", that was what Gennai called it. It reflected Gennai's soul now, telling a story no one else knew, wasn't it? Now Gennai faced the Mirror's surface, looking straight into Izzy's eyes. Somehow, Izzy felt it wasn't really that Gennai saw him, however; he felt that Gennai's words went out to anyone who would listen, friend or foe.

Gennai leaned into the Mirror, glancing side-to-side occasionally as if to make sure he was still alone. Then, his voice barely above a whisper, he said, "My name is Gennai. I will record all that I can. I have taken specific entries out of my journal and recorded the most important parts here. Just hours after I finished, someone unknown set my journal on fire. They know. They are trying to wipe all evidence off the face of the planet. All planets.

"The history of the world has been skewed. Damaged. Blurred."

Izzy's chest clenched. Gennai once mentioned their future was no longer as it was written, that somehow they had defied their fate, or someone had defied their fate for them. Could they have changed history itself as well? Rewritten the past?

Or perhaps simply lied about the facts?

"I have planted the truth in these journal entries, so that someday, someone will know what they have done to us and why. Someday, we will have our retribution against them.

"I have hidden AncientWisemon's Mirror in the recesses of the Dark Area. I know GranDracmon will keep it safely hidden from unwanted eyes.

"Unfortunately I... I was not strong enough to stop them. It is my sin that I have allowed them to get to this point. If only I had been stronger, and not such a coward, perhaps she would still be alive. Perhaps the Angel Lords would have never fallen. Perhaps ENIAC and Huanglongmon could have lived together in peace.

"But I was not strong. And so, I will suffer my penance. Someway, somehow, even if it takes centuries, millennia to complete, I will reveal the truth.

"This is the origin of the world, the Golden Age, the gods and the angels and the demons. This is the origin of the Destined, and those who weave their destiny.

"These are the sins – our failures – of the past."