Hey guys! Thank you for the reviews and feedbacks! Oh and thank you for keeping up with me although it takes me longer than I intend it to.

Anyway, I'm not going to say too much. As usual: I own my OC's (especially Alec). English is not my first language, and apparently something really does go wrong when I upload the chapter on this side, so please excuse some possible grammatical errors.

Oh and, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!


Do you regret now?

It's so funny really; I can resist tears and keep my poker face in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes me a friendly sign behind a window, or I notice that the flower that reminded me of her suddenly blossomed, or her photograph slips from a drawer... and everything collapses.

He told me that if I seek revenge I should dig two graves. He said one of them would be mine... he never said what part of me he was talking about though.

It makes no sense for me to be here still. I don't want to be. Not without you.

Somehow I lost myself on the way here, but I was okay with it. I was okay with being the only one who was tortured.

But I am not okay with them taking you away from me.

What do I do without you?

Who am I without you?

What is my purpose without you?

I have the greatest of courage; I have the courage to suffer. And I will, from this day on.

I will suffer forever.

JOE'S POV

The dark purple liquid shimmers in a beaker in front of me on the table. I nervously check the intensity of the Bunsen burner for what feels like the millionth time tonight before I lean back in my seat.

The laboratory is illuminated by a bright, white light, without seeming too sterile though. There are several big tables and the walls are almost completely covered by drawers, cupboards and what looks like giant refrigerators with glassed doors. From the spot where I'm currently sitting on I can see several glass tubes in the refrigerator. I honestly don't know what kind of samples these all are but if I really think about it... I probably don't want to know either.

God only knows what Phoenix was working on in here.

As soon as this thought crosses my mind my gaze falls down on the pile of books and notes scattered all over the big table I am working on. Dozens of loose papers are covering the table's surface and each of them was written by Phoenix himself. I remember every hour I spent down here with him. Although we didn't have enough time to get to know each other properly, the time was still enough for him to teach me everything I might need in our current situation... like; how to create a cure that overcomes the venom of the demon lord's daggers.

Although I planned to come down here and continue to work on my project I can't ignore the nagging feeling inside of me. I watched the others carry an unconscious Tai back into the base before hell broke loose. Alone the memory of Gennai pushing everyone away from our leader and ordering him being locked away makes me shudder. I never saw Gennai like that before. All our pleas or our threats were useless. Gennai had made up his mind in separating Tai not only from us but also from his digimon partner.

I cannot deny that he makes me furious. I might not know what exactly happened out there and what Tai did... but whatever he did; I'd forgive him.

I'd probably forgive Tai everything. If there's anyone out there who truly deserves not only mine, but all of our forgiveness and loyalty, then it's him.

And the fact that no one even tried to go down there and get him out of the dungeon makes me even angrier. This is why I locked myself in here. I need a damn distraction before I start rampaging.

I readjust my glasses before I take a deep breath and continue to read Phoenix' notes. Distraction. I need distraction!

"As soon as the liquid bubbles, add the sample that contains the original essence of the cure."

I can feel my heart beat accelerating because of the sheer mention of this damned cure. I look up to the glass tube right next to me that contains Tai's blood sample.

I had to get new samples since the ones I had weren't from Tai but from Beelzemon, which means they were completely useless. Nevertheless I can't help but feel satisfied when I remember Beelzemon's pale face when he saw the needle with which I got the samples from him.

That son of a bitch. Hopefully he's burning in hell right now.

I force myself to grab the glass tube out of its handle and stare down on the purple liquid in front of me. It slowly starts to bubble and the scent of it burns my nostrils.

I've tried this for at least twenty times already.

Every single time was a failure.

Why should this time be any different?

No. No don't think like that!

I angrily shake my head to get rid of these thoughts. While doing that however I spot some phrase written on the notes. I've read these papers so many times that I know Phoenix words by heart now... but this is new.

Clutching the glass tube with Tai's blood sample in my right and grabbing the piece of paper with my left I focus myself again on calming down my nerves so I won't mess this whole thing up before I could give it a shot to actually work out.

I read the words that are obviously coming from Phoenix since it's his handwriting; I can feel a lump in my throat all of the sudden.

"Believe in yourself. We all rely on you my friend." – Phoenix.

They rely on me... I won't disappoint them.

I feel immense warmth deep inside of me before I see a greyish light coming from my hand. The light fades away almost immediately, leaving behind a strong feeling of determination I haven't felt for a while now.

I take another deep breath and pour the blood sample into the purple liquid. I glance down on the notes again:

"After adding the sample, the liquid should turn clear. If it does, the cure is complete."

The sound of the liquid bubbling stops all of the sudden and I look up again. I gape stupidly at the beaker in front of me.

Against all of my expectations this damned liquid turned clear.

I did it.

No... I look over to Phoenix' last words to me... you did it.


DYLAN'S POV

I've seen my family pissed before. I can't recall all the times I got yelled at from them because there are way too many. I pissed each of them off so many times... not only me but their kids also. So I usually know how to handle them when they're angry... and I usually don't get that nervous too.

But damn.

I wish I could just stand up and get an ocean between me and this group of digidestined. I can literally see them boil under their surface. Almost every one of them is sitting with either their arms crossed or, like Matt for example, their hands on their temple.

Although my mind processes things on high speed and although I was trained to cope with very different, critical situations, I still have trouble to get a clear head right now. Images of Matt and Alec carrying my father's younger version into the base still haunt me.

After they finally came back we did not even have the time to welcome them before Gennai yelled for the white soldiers to get Tai away from us, as soon as possible.

To say that I was stunned would be the understatement of the year. I thought I was dreaming... a nightmare that is. I can guess the digidestined did too because as soon as they realized what Gennai told the white soldiers to do exactly, hell broke loose. I remember them yelling at their long time mentor and I vividly remember Matt and Sora almost attacking the soldiers who actually followed Gennai's insane order. It took Alec and me all of our strength to hold the two of them back and to calm every one of them down... somehow.

I feel my twin sister shift uncomfortably in her seat and turn to look at her. She's eyeing the others nervously, waiting for anyone to break this damn silence. After that whole scene it was kind of natural for all of us to gather here in the command center; everyone but Sora, who went down to the dungeons where Tai's cell is located, and Alec who left the second they took Tai away.

All of the sudden I feel an incredible hotness coming from across the table and my head snaps back, looking at Mimi whose face is red from anger.

"I can believe you ordered to lock him away. Away from US!" Her voice is shrill and I can literally see Gennai shrink under not only her angry gaze but under everyone's.

Kari for her part just stares at him with an emotionless mask on her face. Gatomon's sitting on her lap, trying to get any reaction out of her every now and then. But it's of no use... when my aunt's beyond angry, she gets very quiet. Before she explodes that is. Then she can get really loud... at least my aunt Kari does. I'm not so sure about this one here.

"Mimi", Gennai starts and I feel Kazumi driving in a sharp breath. She's preparing for the situation to escalate... and judged by the heat I feel starting to come from every one of them I should do too.

"Mimi you saw how he lost control out there. Like it or not but your leader became a rather dangerous threat to you all."

BANG

Kazumi, Me and Gennai jerk all at once and turn towards Davis who just slammed his hand on the table:" I've never heard such bullshit before!"

Out of the corner of my eye I can see several lights start to flicker. Kazumi follows my gaze before she just helplessly shrugs and turns towards the argument between the digidestined and Gennai. If any of them gets any angrier we'll be left without electricity, of that I am sure. Maybe even without some of our computers...

"Guys please. I am not the bad guy", Gennai says, both of his hands raised as if he expects them to attack him any moment.

"You separated us from our leader Gennai. That makes you the bad guy", T.K spits. Gennai looks at him as if he just got slapped across his face before he turns to us.

"Dylan, Kazumi; say something."

Uh oh... you don't want this old man.

"Trust me Gennai, you certainly don't want us to say anything", Kazumi takes the words right out of my mouth.

"But your father – "

Oh no, don't bring dad into this!

I don't let him finish whatever the hell he wants to say:" Dad always choose on his own. He was never locked away by force."

My father had his reasons to take the power of darkness and he learnt how to live with it roaming inside of him. There were days he chose to lock himself up... days where he feared he could hurt any of us. But never, did we ever force him to go away from us. Hell no. We would never do that. This is why it pisses me off so much that this time's Gennai could do that so easily.

Tai deserves so much better.

"He forced Agumon to dark digivolve, again!" Gennai leans forward, withstanding Davis 'angry glare.

"Actually he did not", Augmon's voice sounds from Tai's seat. Much to the other's surprise Agumon was not harmed by the dark digivolution he went through. I'd even go that far and say that it didn't even bother him.

"What do you mean Agumon?" Biyomon asks. She's sitting on Sora's empty seat next to the small dinosaur.

"He didn't even want me to digivolve guys. I told him I wanted to but he kept refusing – "

"Yep, I heard that", Davis endorses Agumon, earning annoyed glances from the others because he interrupted the digimon. "Sorry hehe."

"I wanted to help the others and he eventually gave in to my pleas. The only reason why I digivolved into BlackWargreymon was because that was the only power Tai could give me at that time", Agumon shrugs helplessly, hanging his head while doing so.

He slowly gets up from his seat, turning to leave:" He wasn't feeling well and in that moment he couldn't hide it anymore." With that the digimon turns around and leaves the command center.

The following silence is even worse than the previous one. It presses me down on my seat and feels like a heavy brick over my chest, blocking my airways in a rather uncomfortable way.

"I agree with what Agumon said", Kari whispers;" He wasn't feeling good for a while already and we failed to see it. It is partially our fault that he is in this mess right now."

I let my gaze fall down on the D – Terminal I was holding in my hands all along. I contacted my father earlier today, telling him what happened here and the device vibrating indicates that he finally responded.

21.36pm, Dad: It was to be expected for him to give in at some point actually.

21.37pm, Dylan: And what do you suggest we should do now?

21.40pm, Dad: To kill a tree you must smother its roots.

I can feel Kazumi leaning on my side, following our dad's messages.

"I hate when he talks in secrets", she mumbles under her breath before she leans back again.

I know what she means... I do too, but that is his way of teaching us. Weirdly enough, his words cause an idea to pop up in my head. It's like I know exactly what he is thinking about.

"Do you think he might be talking about the power of darkness' core?" I whisper so only my sister can hear me... what is unnecessary when I really think about that. The digidestined are too busy being upset about their leader's situation.

"I think you could be right about that. Should we tell them?"

Definitely. I am done with keeping secrets.

I just give her a nod and am just about to interfere the discussion that is slowly getting out of hand when Cody, all of the sudden, changes the subject.

"Guys, where is Alec?"

"He said he could not bear to be in the same room with Gennai; I can relate to that actually", Mimi answers his question. She crossed her arms before her chest and is glaring daggers at Gennai. I can't help but start to feel sorry for him... after all, he just tried to – at least somehow – keep them save.

"Mimi is right. Why don't you just leave Gennai?" Yolei says, getting agreeing murmur from everyone.

The pained look on Gennai's face is enough for me to find my voice finally.

"Okay that is enough. Let the poor guy alone guys."

They all turn towards me in unison. Being the focus of ten, beyond angry digidestined does not really feel that good but I try to ignore that for now. I take a deep breath and give in several codes that cause the hologram 3D map to appear over the table's surface.

"Kazumi and I might have an idea that will get dad out of this power's clutches."

"Enlighten us then Dylan", Izzy says. His sharp undertone however does not go by unnoticed by me.

"Well; Dad is obviously in trouble because the power of darkness took over, which means he's acting on anger rather than on courage. If we destroy the reason he is like that then – "

"You want to destroy the power of darkness?" Yolei interrupts Kazumi's explanation; her eyes are wide in disbelief.

"No Yolei, not the power itself, but its digicore", I say, trying to hide my annoyance that these people obviously still did not learn to let us finish our sentences.

"The power of darkness has a digicore?" Cody asks, his anger slowly vanishing and being replaced by confusion.

"Well a digicore is a type of nucleus. In the case of a digimon it is a powerful energy source that houses in a digimon's primary data, you could almost say it is our soul. The same principle goes to the power of darkness", Tentomon takes the words right out of my mouth. I give him a thankful smile which he mirrors, obviously happy that the subject changed to something he knows a lot about.

"But if we destroy a digimon's digicore it kills a digimon instantly. But you said we're not destroying the power of darkness itself", Ken says. He looks at me and my sister, his eyebrows knitted.

I'm just about to explain further when – much to my surprise – my aunt speaks up:" Think about it that way Ken: darkness will always exist as long as there will be light. As I see it, it's impossible to destroy the power completely. Maybe we'll just... shut it off by destroying the core?" She turns the last part into a question and looks back at us in expectation.

Kazumi just gives her a quick nod:" That is exactly what we want to do. By destroying the core, everyone who is corrupted by it will get free."

"Great idea guys! And where is it?" Matt joins the conversation, a hint of his old confidence appearing on his face.

KAZUMI'S POV

My brother looks down on his D – Terminal that just lit up a few moments ago before his face darkens and he looks back up to Matt again. I can guess by observing Matt that he understood what Dylan's expression means.

Dylan for his part doesn't say anything, instead he types in a few codes before the hologram map in front of us changes in appearance and an all too familiar city floats in front of us in the air. From where I am sitting I can see a few hundred dark creatures walk through the streets, accompanied by several dark digimons. What disturbs me most however is the demon lord that is sitting in the middle of the giant market place in the center of the city.

It was a question of time when we would have to go back into this damned city...

I don't have to take a look at Davis to know that his face drained from all color. Not only his but also Veemon's who is clutching onto his partner's arm.

"Don't worry Davis, this time we will have a better plan", I try to soothe him somehow.

"Whatever we do guys...", Davis starts.

"We're definitely not going through these tunnels again", T.K ends his sentence for him, getting a few nervous chuckles from his teammates.

Nope. This time we won't.


LATER

I exit the elevator and walk through the damn long corridor with the only intention to find something edible in the kitchen. I am starving! And maybe after that, I could go down and check up on dad... and maybe let the cell door open? By accident of course.

Yep...I could do that.

I'll definitely do that.

I grin to myself because of my own mischievousness and push open the door, just to stop right in my tracks as soon as I catch sight of the younger version of my mother sitting on one of the chairs that are placed around the kitchen island.

She's wearing tight black pants and a casual white shirt that hangs loose on her body. Her Bordeaux hair falls down on both sides of her face in a fiery curtain. She's supporting her head with her right hand that is placed on her forehead.

I know that pose. And it does not mean any good.

My appetite is gone in an instant and I slowly approach my miserable looking mom. I hear her sniffling and her hastily drying her cheeks is prove enough that she obviously knows that she's not alone anymore. She doesn't bother to look up though; instead she grasps the steaming cup in front of her with both of her hands.

I silently take a seat next to her and don't say anything for now. This is what we always do, my mother and I. Whenever she's not feeling good I'll be sitting next to her, waiting for her to speak out, and she's always doing the exactly same thing when it's the other way around.

So why should it be any different with this time's Sora?

She runs her fingers through her hair, exposing her beautiful face finally. Her eyes are still shimmering from new, unshed tears but she's keeping her cool, for now. The skin on her chin stretches every now and then, indicating that she is debating whether she should say anything or remain silent. She's looking down on her hands around the cup again, her long eyelashes are still glistering from before and judged by the force she's holding onto her cup I can guess that whatever dad said – because this definitely is about him – it pissed her off equally as much as it hurt her.

Her taking a deep breath is the sign I was hoping for. I inwardly prepare myself for the worst.

"What happened to us Kazumi?" I knit my eyebrows in confusion and straighten my posture; her voice is weird.

"How could we ever turn on our leader like that? Is it really possible that we changed so much that we would betray each other? Why are we like this?" She looks me dead in the eyes. I feel the ice cold shiver run down my spine. She's showing no emotion, neither in her face nor in her voice. It almost seems like she's not even addressing me.

She's not looking at me, not really.

"Mom...", I slowly reach out to her and place my hand on her right forearm. As soon as I touch her she twitches visibly and blinks a few times, her unshed tears run down her cheeks.

"Mom it wasn't any of you who ordered to lock him away, why are you blaming yourself?"

She slowly takes a sip of her tea and leans back lightly. Her mask is slowly falling and I can see the angry glint in her eyes. It's the same anger I saw on the other digidestined's faces today. To say that they are pissed would be a massive understatement. I'm surprised that the base is still intact by all of them being on the edge like that...

"Then can you explain to me why no one came up with the idea to go down there and let him out? Or why I didn't open the cell when I was down there half an hour ago?" She looks back at me again with that weird, hard expression of hers.

I nervously shift in my seat and avert my eyes; I know what she's implying. Although none of them would ever admit it... at some point they know that Gennai had very good reasons for his actions. He made his decisions by clear facts he saw and if they want to be mad at him for that, then that is okay. But if you ask me they are angrier at themselves that they obviously developed some kind of fear against dad.

What is ridiculous though. But that is only my opinion.

"You know mom, this power is messing with his head. You know yourself that you can't really trust – "

"You should not end this sentence Kazumi, for your sake", her sharp tone makes me shudder and shut up in an instant. I look up to her in surprise and feel my heart sink when I see her glaring at me. Her eyes are narrowed at me and she's grinding her teeth. Out of the corner of my eye I see her clutching the cup even harder than before. Uh oh...

"He would never harm us in any way."

I close my eyes and gather all the courage I have in me so I get out the words she needs to hear right now:" My father used to lock himself up whenever he felt the power of darkness overshadowing his power of courage."

The anger vanishes lightly and she's looking at me in deep interest. I take that as a good sign and continue:" You can imagine that mom did not really like the idea of being separated from him. So she refused to leave his side. That went okay for a few times up until the one time when it didn't – "

"He wouldn't – ", Sora interrupts me but I silence her by holding up my hand.

"You're right; he definitely wouldn't do it willingly. But these powers are a handful mom... there's a very fine line between controlling it and being controlled by it. Dad lost control only once. Unfortunately that was one of the times my mom would refuse to go away."

"What happened?"

Images of my mom's burnt skin pop up in my head, making me shudder. I will definitely never forget the day where I was truly scared from my own dad. Although I did not see him attack mom – for what I am beyond thankful – the sight of her injuries was still enough to scare me, bad. But this time's Sora sure as hell does not need to know that much.

"Not much. Mom spent a few days in the hospital wing, got patched up and went on with her life. Dad for his part never forgave himself, and he probably never will."

She stays silent for a while, staring at her half empty cup. I silently get up and walk over to the fridge because I remembered why I came here in the first place. After staring into the fridge and not really seeing anything I just grab an apple.

I'll just get Alec... he could cook something for me.

"Are you saying I shouldn't do anything?" Sora snaps me out again and I turn towards her. She's still sitting in the same position, seeming more in thought than before.

I just shrug:" Do you want to know what I really am thinking?"

She just nods.

Aw man... fuck it.

"I was planning to go down myself and open that damn cell. He can go on a rampage for all I care. We're immortal anyway."

I see the corner of her mouth twitch in amusement but she's suppressing her grin good. I for my part do not bother to do so and give her my trademark grin I inherited from my father. She obviously recognizes it because her eyes light up in an instant and she gives me a smile. She slowly gets up and stretches.

"Thank you. I'm going then."

"Where?"

"Opening that damn cell." With that she leaves me alone in the kitchen.

I grin lightly at her sudden determination and take out my mobile phone. I turn it on and spot a message from Dylan.

22.36pm, Dylan: Where are you?

22.37pm, Kazumi: Kitchen. I was hungry, you?

22.39pm, Dylan: Gym, want to join me?

I laugh out loud.

22.40pm, Kazumi: NOPE!

22.41pm, Kazumi: Is Alec with you?

22.44pm, Dylan: No. Haven't seen him for a while now...

Weird... I get that he was pissed at Gennai and worn out and maybe even a little bit overwhelmed by everything that happened today. But he'd be with me by now...

I decide for the easiest way and look for his contact in my phone. I push dial and wait for him to pick up.

But that damn phone goes straight to voicemail.

Ugh... Alec. Guess I'll have to find him then.

I throw half of the apple into the trash and open the door, bumping into someone while I try to exit the kitchen.

"What the hell?" I look up into wide, crimson eyes.

"He's not there."

She's breathing hard and looks kind of lost right now. It takes me several moments to register the meaning of her words though.

"What do you mean mom?"

"The cell is empty. He's gone."

And Alec's phone is turned off... I'm terrible at math but that equation is easy.

Well. Fuck.


ALEC'S POV

This is such a bad idea.

Damn I will regret this.

This won't end well.

What should I do? Lighten up the mood somehow? Well, it can't get any worse now, can it?

"I remember this forest... I used to chase Phoenix through it when he began to fight. Man you should have seen how clumsy he was at first...he broke out in tears whenever he encountered some bad guys. It was hilarious."

I silently look over to Tai, expecting some sort of reaction but his face remains hard. There's not a hint of emotion visible. His expression is as cold as the color of his eyes. He's carrying his digimon partner in his arms and refused to let go of him since the moment they met each other again.

The longer we walk, and the nearer we get to the city of Belphemon – because that is where Daemon is staying at the moment – the more I regret letting Tai out of that damn cell. I should have talked this through with Kazumi, or with Matt... or even Sora. If there is anything I can't handle than it is a moody Tai.

"Man Tai... stop being such a grumpy cat."

"What is a grumpy cat Alec?" Agumon asks from his spot in Tai's arms.

"Nothing Agumon; Alec is spending too much time on social media, obviously", Tai answers his question dryly. He shots me an annoyed glance before his gaze fixes on the narrow path we are walking on.

"Oh... okay. But he has a point when he calls you grumpy though", Agumon says.

I can't suppress my chuckle but regret it immediately when I feel Tai glaring angrily at me.

"Don't I have a reason to be?!" His voice is sharp, but I notice the pain he desperately tries to hide beneath his anger anyway.

"I don't know, do you?" – Come on Taichi, talk to me!

"My team locked me into a freaking cell", he says under his breath. But Agumon and I heard him just well.

While Agumon's expression turns sad I can't help but roll my eyes in annoyance.

If that fact hurt him so bad maybe it was not the best idea to turn his back to them and just go? Maybe stay behind and talk to them?! Idiot!

"You are right Tai. I'd never expected such a thing coming from any of them! The betrayed you!" Agumon agrees with him.

Bo hooo... Taichi your poor poor guy. I'm gonna cry any minute.

"Yeah... and Tai is betraying them at this very moment by sneaking out behind their back an. Again", I say, not hiding my annoyance with both of them. I am definitely done shutting my mouth.

Tai slowly sets his partner on the ground and looks at me with narrowed eyes:" As far as I'm concerned you're doing the very same thing as I am doing right now."

I just shrug my shoulders:" With the only difference that I don't give a damn about what others think about me."

He lifts an eyebrow at me, the desire to provoke me clear on his face:" Not even Kazumi?"

I grit my teeth and ball my hands into fists. Oh no... you're not hitting my weak spot. I am not letting her get in my way, not this time.

"Not even her."

Tai stares a little longer at me before he inhales deeply and keeps on walking. I shut up for now and follow his example. I am not in the mood to fight... not with anyone, and the least with Tai.

He for his part looks down on the yellow dinosaur every now and then. I can see the reason for his worry... he's probably blaming himself because he made Agumon dark digivolve. But if I really think about it, no one of us got hurt, DarkWargreymon saved the day and everyone was fine in the end... so it wasn't that bad after all, was it?

"Are you okay Tai?" Agumon is the one who asks this time, causing his partner to twitch lightly. I can see Tai gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists. His expression darkens immediately.

"Fine."

Agumon shots me a worried glance to which I can only shrug my shoulders. I honestly don't know what I should do, or say for that matter. I know for a fact that as soon as the power of darkness will weaken inside of him, he will deeply regret his decisions. All of them.

Maybe I should try and get this insane idea out of his head?

After all... this is my revenge anyway. I am supposed to be here. Not him.

"Did it ever cross your mind how pissed your girlfriend will be at you?"

Tai stops right in his tracks and turns to me. He shots me an angry glare again and I feel the cold shiver run down my spine. Him being in this state I am not longer sure how save I am around him actually...

"Care to amplify?" The temperature of his voice just dropped down into the basement and I have to give in completely to my old ego so that I don't lose my shit in front of him. I could face the devil himself, but Tai? No one can possibly intimidate me as bad as he can.

"Well...she will be really angry at you, don't you think?"

"I don't really care what she thinks right now Alec. She is not on my side anymore, obviously."

"I don't know what sick illusion you have in your head boy, but they surely weren't the ones who locked you away. No one of them was it. That was Gennai's order!" I can't control the anger that is slowly oozing inside my body, igniting every cell inside of me.

This is it. This is the emotion I can deal with. The emotion that makes me feel much stronger than anything else.

He narrows his eyes at me and out of the corner of my eye I can see Agumon taking a step towards us; ready to interfere.

"Well, I did not see anyone of them come down and get me out of there, did you?"

"Your girlfriend came. But you sent her away, in tears!" The image of Sora running out of that dungeon comes back at me. I am sure she did not see me since I was hidden in the shadows but I heard every damn word he said to her. It was his intention to break her somehow, and he did, in the cruelest way.

"She showed me her real self at last. I don't need someone like her." His voice is low, and so Tai – unlike that I have trouble believing that the person in front of me indeed is him.

"Tai, what on earth are you saying?!" Agumon finally finds his voice again and grabs his partner's leg.

"The truth" With that he sets in motion again, ignoring me. Agumon looks at me with his big, green eyes, looking for any explanation of what on earth is going on with his partner.

I can only shrug helplessly. I hit rock bottom a couple of years ago... but never did I ever forget about the woman I loved. How on earth can he talk about Sora like that? This is not good. This is actually very bad!

I have to do something... Seeing that I am basically alone here with a maniac I finally bring up all of the courage I have and turn on my mobile phone again. The moment I do so however I regret it instantly.

32 missed calls. 17 messages. Each of them come from my beyond angry girlfriend. I unlock the screen and the last three messages appear on it

Kazumi, 11.56pm: What the fuck are you thinking?!

Kazumi, 11.59pm: Of all the stupid things you've ever done. This is the stupidest! BY FAR!

Kazumi, 12.03am: You are a dead man Alec.

Yep, this won't end well.


KARI'S POV

My hands didn't stop shimmering since the moment I heard about Tai leaving. I am pissed. No... actually I am furious. I will probably strangle him to death when I see him. The longer I think about him the angrier I get, and the faster my heart beats... causing the light to intensify even more.

It is only when I feel a reassuring hand on my left shoulder blade that the light fades away. I look over to T.K who is walking right beside me. His helmet is fixed on his belt and Patamon is sitting on his right shoulder. Although he surely is beyond worried about my brother he gives his best not to show it.

It's just what he is like; never giving up hope and therefore he never gives up on people too.

Ugh Tai, what on earth is just wrong with you?!

"Oh my god! Alec messaged!" Kazumi breaks the silence and we all stop right in our tracks.

"Did he say where they are?" Matt asks right away; he walks back to us from the front of our group and looks over Kazumi's shoulder on the screen of her mobile phone.

"Or did he say anything useful at all?" Izzy asks from behind.

The brunette only shakes her head in frustration:" He wrote 'we're looking for Daemon. He'll get what he deserves'."

She looks up from the screen; the angry glimmer is gone from her eyes and replaced by deep worry. She knits her eyebrows and exchanges a glance with Sora whose face is an unreadable mask. She's dressed in the same uniform as we all are. On her back she's carrying a bow and there's a small scythe hanging on her belt. Seeing that her powers activated she went down to the arsenal and got herself armed before we left the base.

As well as I did. I'm carrying a small dagger with a curved blade and a knuckle – duster – like handle. It sure as hell feels weird... but at the same time it makes me feel save too.

Yolei and Davis, who both activated their powers during the invasion of the base, were assigned to similar looking swords that are dangling on their belts now.

"Well...I did not expect anything else actually", Joe says matter of factly.

"I can see Alec hunting down Daemon... but why should Tai do that?" Mimi asks, confusion spread all over her face.

"Solidarity?" Cody says.

"No... I doubt that this was Alec's idea", Matt says, his voice filled with bitterness.

"Yeah... Tai was damn pissed. Maybe he just wanted to let it all out and seeing that he could not get out by himself he choose Daemon as his target so he could make Alec join him." Izzy says, making all of us turn towards him.

"You are making my brother sound like some sort of killer."

I hate this. I really hate all of this!

"We are all killers, like it or not", Dylan says as calm as ever.

"Daemon took everything not only from Alec but also from dad. He took away what made Dad himself because Daemon was the one who forced the power of darkness inside of him", the brunette continues and once again I have to blink several times and remind myself that this is not my brother standing in front of me but his son from the future.

But they sure as hell look alike. Way too alike if you ask me.

"Okay, we don't really need to worry about his motive of why to want to kill daemon. I want to kill him too if you ask me. Ha – ha, call me killer now. What we really should focus on right now is to get to this city, kill Belphemon, destroy that core and reunite with our leader. I am sick of being without him!" Davis exclaims angrily.

I twitch inwardly because of his harsh tone and look at my teammates who all wear similar expressions of hurt and betrayal. I can relate to each of them... the fact that Tai didn't even think about the option in just sharing his emotions with us hurts... but I can't blame him for not wanting to let us know everything. All of us are so alike; while we'd die for each of our friends, we'd rather destroy ourselves than to burden anyone with our worries. Tai is no exception there.

"Davis is right. The city is less than 5 miles away, we need to discuss a concrete plan before we reach it." Ken says, being one of the most rational ones in the team.

We all nod in agreement and Izzy is the first one who activates some sort of new device he is wearing on his left forearm. He pushes some buttons and within seconds the hologram – image of Belphemon's city appears in front of us. The light coming from the image is enough to cause me to squint my eyes. We've been walking in the darkness for such a long time that I completely adjusted to it and the hologram is a way too bright contrast right now.

"Okay guys. Belphemon is here", Izzy says before a red dot appears right on the market square. Seeing that he is exactly at the same spot as last time I think it is safe to say that he is still in his sleeping mode, which means that killing him won't be that hard; ignoring the amount of dark creatures and digimons walking around these streets.

"Aaaaand... the core is in here", Izzy pushes another few buttons before a giant building lights up in a green color. However he is not done yet, he gives in several codes, causing a few dozen – if I want to underestimate – dots to appear all around that very building and also scattered all over the city.

"I take a wild guess and say that these black dots are enemies?" Davis asks, his expression dark and if I take a closer look at him I can clearly see that his face lost its color, again.

Without me even intending to let it happen, images of his wounded figure come back at me. I can remember the fear I felt for him when we got him back after he got captured. I feel the shiver going down my spine and shake my head angrily; this is certainly not the right time, nor the right place to lose my focus like that.

"You're right Davis. While the black dots stand for our enemies; digimon and dark creatures, our main aims are the red dot and the green house." Izzy explains before he looks up to us.

"Okay... Anyone got a plan?" Matt asks.

We exchange several uncertain looks with each other before Sora breaks the silence.

"Well... I know that a few of you won't approve of this but I think it would be best if we'd go down these tunnels again. That way we can sneak into the city without being seen."

"No. I am never going down there again! I said so already!" T.K says, his voice shaking already. He looks at her and it is only now that I realize how much that event must have scared him.

"And anyway... The tunnels are flooded, right?" Yolei asks, receiving a nod from Izzy.

"That is no problem, our uniforms can be transformed into diving suits", Dylan says.

"Nice to know but I agree with T.S here; there's no way I'm going through these damned tunnels again."

"What if we just take the main road into the city?" Cody asks, earning unsure glances from us.

"And get killed the moment we step foot on their terrain?" Joe says.

"W – well it was just an idea – "

"Maybe not even such a dumb one Cody..." Dylan starts, activating the same device on his forearm as Izzy.

Unlike Izzy however he shows us the city from above while Izzy's image is a normal 3D.

"Belphemon is about 50meters away from the main building where the core must be in. If we approach the city from above –"

"We'll be attacked as soon as we enter their air space. They have guards everywhere Dylan", Kazumi interrupts him.

"That is exactly what it is about sissy." He winks at her and an all too familiar looking grin appears on his face. I feel the ache in my chest when I draw another parallel and the memory of my brother comes back at me. I can tell by the way Sora inhales shakily that she did the same thing.

"I don't get what you're implying Dylan", Mimi asks, her arms crossed before her chest and her expression being one of pure confusion. "Why should getting attacked be a good thing?"

"I purpose we'll cause a fuss, send an attack right at Belphemon and lure all of them away from the main building and straight to the demon lord."

"So basically; we have to worsen our chances to get out there unharmed in waking up the demon lord so a part of us can get into the building and get the core?"

"Yep."

"That is stupid", I say the most obvious thing that everyone is thinking at the moment. I earn a few grins in return, but much to my surprise no one refuses Dylan's idea.

"It is stupid indeed", Matt says, looking down on the silver ring he is spinning around his ring finger:" Let's do it."


TAI'S POV

Go back.

Go back and apologize to her!

Go back you bastard!

Stop walking into that direction! YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!

Go back to her.

Please... go back to her.

Please...

The lump in my throat is growing, the ache in my chest is worsening and the stinging in my eyes got to the point of being unbearable.

With every step I take towards the city I feel the urge to run back to the base and throw myself in front of my teammate's feet, growing.

They will never forgive me.

Hell. I don't even forgive myself!

And Sora... she'll hate me forever.

I took the one thing I was longing for, for so long and spurned it.

I feel Alec's gaze on me and give my best to ignore it somehow. I needed him to get me out of there this is why I played the sickest move I came up with and fueled his anger by reminding him of his losses. By doing that I surely drove him further into the power of darkness' clutches. I can literally see the dark aura surrounding him in a sick, purple color; the same one that I am feeling running through my veins.

It makes me sick. The only thing my mind is focusing on right now is to find Daemon as soon as possible and kill him in the most painful way I can.

But me? The real me? He is trying desperately to get control back and join the digidestined again. But as I see it this power is not letting me go so soon.

Controlling the power of darkness my ass! How on earth is THAT controlling it?! I am literally a prisoner in my own body!

"Tai, can you feel him?" Alec snaps me out of my miserable thoughts and causes me to look up and take in my surroundings.

The giant gates of the city are right in front of us, about a couple dozen meters away. From where I am standing right now I spot several silhouettes walking through the streets. But it is the aura that nearly makes me go insane that Alec is talking about. And I have no trouble to spot the source of it.

Daemon is walking towards the gates, leaving the city behind him.

He's wearing his ridiculous cape that hides his true self. Weirdly enough, by accepting the power of darkness I know exactly what he looks like behind his masquerade.

"I am ready when you are Tai. Don't fear making me digivolve", Agumon says, placing a reassuring paw on my right thigh.

I twitch lightly and look down at my digimon partner. As much as the thought of me making him digivolve into BlackWargreymon again hurts me I don't see another option here. I promised that I would never let him behind again; I kept my promise by getting him before we left the base. I knew back then already that there is no way in hell he would just sit on the sidelines when I would go into battle. So fuck my morals now.

I have no honor left anyway.

"Alec...", I whisper quietly. I can feel his shoulder press onto mine before he looks me in the eyes expectantly.

"I'm sorry that I am behaving like a dick."

He cracks a smile, making his eyes shimmer in amusement:" Don't worry. I am a dick all the time."

"Well well well... looks like the city has sewer rats."

The amused glint in Alec's eyes is gone in an instant and I can feel my body temperature synchronizing with his, which means; it drops drastically. My heartbeat accelerates and I gulp several times so I can get rid of that annoying lump in my throat finally. I breathe in as calm as possible and look up to the son of a bitch in front of us.

Deamon swings his scythe lazily. His giant wings are slightly spread and his eyes are narrowed to two slots.

"You're right. I can see a giant one right in front of me", Alec counters finally. I give my best to suppress the urge to laugh at his comment and take a step towards my digimon partner who looks like he'll launch himself at the demon lord any second.

"Funny, I wanted to say the same thing."

"We're not here to joke around Daemon", I say, the anger getting the best of me. He laughs derisively, gripping the handle of his scythe harder while doing so.

"We have unfinished business, bastard", Alec says, drawing his dagger while saying so.

"You're right. This is due for almost two centuries – "

BOOOOM!

The ground beneath us starts to shake violently and I feel Agumon gripping my leg harder than before. I can hear the sound of massive rocks hitting the ground. As soon as I turn to check the source of the sound I see one of the several skyscrapers give in and break down into pieces and therefore covering a huge part of the city in dust. My sight of the market square is blocked instantly.

"Looks like your friends are here too", Daemon says through gritted teeth.

The impact of his words cause my heart to stop for a second, leaving me slightly light – headed.

The others are here?!

Why?

How?

Is she here too?!

Oh no... she could get hurt.

Daemon takes a step towards the city but gets thrown on the ground by a beyond angry looking Alec. It almost feels like all the hatred he was trying to keep at bay is slowly breaking loose inside of him. Though he gives his best to hide it; I can see the pain of his latest loss written all over his face.

Daemon slowly turns around on the ground and looks up to the boy: "Well. I guess I can deal with you before I go and help Belphemon."

"I doubt you'll ever see him again", Agumon says before a dark aura starts surrounding him.


IZZY'S POV

"GIFT OF DARKNESS!"

We're thrown into the remains of the nearest building. If it weren't for my helmet I'd probably lose consciousness already because of the heavy smoke and dust that is covering most of our surroundings. I try to ignore my aching back and get back on my feet, grabbing the nearest digidestined – who happens to be Joe judged by the crest symbol on his back – and pull him up with me.

"I think you pissed him off Imperialdramon", Davis says before he slowly straightens himself too.

"Really? What makes you think that?" Imperialdramon answers, clapping off the dust and dirt off of him.

"Oh I don't know maybe because he just woke up a few minutes ago and is already out to kill all of us – ", Yolei shrugs her shoulders sarcastically before she looks up into the sky, trying to catch a glimpse from her digimon partner.

"Ooooh aren't you just sooo smart – ", Davis starts but gets thrown off his feet by the next attack that pierces through the dust cloud.

"EMERALD BLAZE!" A red, hot jet of flames illuminates the whole area in a sick reddish – milky light, hitting Davis at full force.

"Davis!" Imperialdramon is just about to fly down to his partner when the source of the attack comes into sight.

Cerberumon – a black dog – like digimon with three heads and really sharp looking claws appears out of nowhere and launches himself at Imperialdramon, catching him completely off guard.

"Davis! Get up!" Sora's voice appears from somewhere on my right side and I'm just about to turn to her when I see an arrow fly through the dust, missing me only by a few inches.

An all too familiar scream sounds, coming from where Davis is still lying on the ground. I pull myself together and run over to the boy, expecting the worst. The sight however causes me to let out the breath I was holding in; there's dissolved data floating right above Davis' head. He slowly sits up and gives Sora a thumps up.

"Thanks I didn't know these creatures were here too."

"I doubt that we have any clue on what else is walking around here", I say, looking around once again. Sora, Joe, Davis and Yolei are the only ones I can make out in the dust here.

"I've had enough of you doggo! POSITRON LASER!"

Imperialdramon's attack lights up the are again, hitting Cerberumon at full force and sending him flying into another building, causing said building to break down too. And therefore... our sight to worsen again.

"Where are the others?" Joe asks, trying his best to get clear sight but it's useless.

It doesn't matter how many times I clean my visor, it takes the dust exactly five seconds to block my view again.

"METAL WOLF CLAW!"

We all jerk in unison as soon as we hear MetalGarurumon's attack. Next thing I see is a giant shadow appearing right in front of us. I don't really need to see him clearly to know that it is Belphemon who obviously got hit by MetalGarurumon's attack and is now trying to regain balance.

His giant wings make his silhouette look even more intimidating. His horns and his claws are both shimmering in a weird greenish color, making it kind of easy to spot him in this endless ocean of dust and dirt.

"You are pathetic! ALL OF YOU ARE!" Belphemon's voice pierces through my eardrum and literally causes the earth to shake beneath our feet.

"ROSE SPEAR!" From farer away I can make out Rosemon shouting her attack but seeing that Belphemon does not show any reaction it's safe to say that we aren't the only ones who are getting attacked by not only the demon lord himself but also some other digimons.

"Sora, watch out!" Yolei snaps me out of my thoughts by nearly knocking me over when she runs over to Sora. Sora's just about to draw her scythe when Yolei drives the blade of her sword already into one of these dark creature's heads.

"Thank you Yolei."

"No problem I think – "

"AAAHH!"

An ear piercing scream sounds from the same direction where Rosemon's attack was heard before. With the only disturbing fact that the scream certainly did not come from a dark creature, or a dark digimon for that matter.

"That was Mimi!" Joe exclaims, taking off in a run immediately.

"Joe! Wait!" Sora is the first one to set in motion and run after him. The rest of us only exchanges a few glances before all of us follow them.

I try my hardest not to lose Davis who is running in front of me out of sight but the rocks on the ground make it much harder to cross the battlefield.

A sudden, weird feeling of anticipation builds up inside of me and before I even realize what I am doing I'm already shouting out:" Davis! Watch out, on your left!"

Davis is quick to react and draws his sword in an instant, turning to his left side where – indeed – a dark creature jumps out of the dust. With one, swift move with his blade the creature dissolves into data right in front of us.

"Damn Izzy! How'd you know where that thing was?!" Davis shouts out before he comes to a halt in front of the rest of us.

"I don't know...", I look down on my chest where a faint purple light just fades away the moment I catch sight of it.

Weird...

"Mimi! Are you okay?" Yolei runs up to the girl and helps her up on her feet again.

"Yeah I just fell down and one of these creatures was about to rip my face off, thank god Matt was here", she says exchanging a look with the blonde.

I quickly scan our small circle and exhale in relief when I come to the realization that we're complete – almost.

"Izzy! There you are!" MegaKabuterimon comes into my field of view and I can't suppress the relieved grin on my face. Thank god he's okay.

"You think you can hide in that dust huh? THINK AGAIN! I can see you! All of you!"

"Guys watch out!" Angewomon's voice sounds from somewhere above our heads.

"DARK SIGH!" I can see giant dark flames come down on us, indicating that Belphemon must be somewhere in the air too, or maybe on a rooftop?

Mimi, Sora and Matt stand in a line in front of us, creating a greenish – red – blue shield; the dark flames come down on us and get thrown back as soon as they hit the shield.

The attack bounces back on Belphemon, followed by several other attacks from our digimon partners who I cannot see unfortunately.

"STARLIGHT EXPLOSION!"

"FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION!"

"BLAST RINGS!"

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!"

"EXCALIBUR!"

"CELESTIAL ARROW!"

"VULCAN'S HAMMER!"

The attacks combine with the dark flames, creating a giant heat wave that is aiming directly at the demon lord.

"Come on Imperialdramon! Let's help them!" Ken and Davis shout out in unison.

"MetalGarurumon you too!" Matt joins them, gripping his sparkling weapons in both of his hands.

"Not so fast... we are here too", a new, foreign voice drives our attention to him.

I feel a massive gust of wind, causing the immense heat of the attack to vanish immediately. My sight clears finally a little and I'm able to see Belphemon standing on a rooftop, his arms still raised from blocking our most powerful attack yet. My heart sinks at his sight; he does not even look harmed yet.

However it is the digimon in front of us that is disturbing me the most at the moment; a dragon – man – like digimon with five fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot – arranged in a bird – like manner is staring straight at us. It has scar – like stripes close to its eyes. Its whole body is covered by a scaly armor with red, white and black spikes and its head figures three horns, two above his eyes and a black one sprouting from the center of its snout. It has two fire symbols on his chest.

I inwardly take a step back.

"From what hellhole did you crawl out Dorbickmon?" Kazumi's voice snaps me out and I feel a new wave of relief wash over me. I don't know how but I somehow forgot about the twins again.

The two of them look kind of worn out and judged by their heavy breathing and the absence of the dark creatures during the whole battle – with some exceptions – I assume that the two of them did a very good job in keeping them away from us in our disoriented state.

"You two must be the digidestined from the future. Daemon told me about you."

"DARK HORN!" Belphemon shouting one of his attacks pierces through the air, followed by a bone – crushing scream from what sounds like an awful lot like Angewomon.

"Angewomon!" Kari shouts out. She's just about to get off in a run when T.K wraps both of his arms around her tiny torso.

"Oh no you're not! I remember the last time you did such a stupid thing!"

The angel like digimon falls down on her back, Belphemon's horn still sticking in her body. He pushes one more time, making Angewomon scream louder before he draws his horns out of her body. He straightens himself before he exchanges a long look with the new arrived digimon named Dorbickmon.

"The army is on its way master Belphemon."

"Good, I'm getting bored anyway."

"Guys, that is our cue", Dylan's voice sounds in my ear. I can see the others twitch in unison because of the unexpected use of our headsets.

"Boring? I show you how boring I can be! METAL WOLF CLAW!" MetalGarurumon is just about to launch himself at Belphemon but is blocked in mid – fly by the red armored digimon.

"DRAGON'S FURY BLADE!" A flaming sword appears in Dorbickmon's hand with which he blocks MetalGarurumon's freezing attack easily.

"I'm not letting you get in our way! ELECTRO SHOCKER!" Megakabuterimon's electro shocks catch Dorbickmon off guard, causing him to let his sword fall which vanishes immediately as soon as it loses connection to its owner.

One by one try to get back into battle while Angemon is helping Angewomon back on her feet. I'm too caught up in their battle than to notice the change in my surroundings. The sudden shaking of the ground is what finally snaps me out and causes me to turn around into the direction in which I can feel something coming at us – much similar to before when I sensed something launching itself at Davis.

Dozens... no, hundred dark creatures appear around the corners of the skyscrapers, walking towards us. I can feel my heart sink and my heartbeat accelerating just by watching that endless ocean of pitched black bodies coming at us.

"Someone has to go now!" Kazumi shouts in our headsets and I finally pull myself together and search for Matt's gaze.

As if the blonde sensed it he turns to me, giving me a quick nod. I can't help but grin; we never really needed that much words anyway.

"Izzy and I are going."

With that he pushes a few buttons on the device on his forearm and starts to jog into the opposite direction from where the creatures are coming. I give the others a nod, receiving approving gestures back from them before I start to follow Matt.

"Be safe guys." The words are out before I even intend to say it.

Guess the twins are rubbing off on me.


TAI'S POV

The metallic and slightly sweet taste of blood makes me nauseous. I spit for what feels like the hundredth time to get rid of it somehow but it's of no use. That motherfucker drove his freaking scythe in my abdomen, so I can spit as much as I want; I'll get more blood in my mouth as soon as I cough again.

My sight is blurry and I've got an annoying ringing in my ears. I've hit my head good on the concrete floor when Daemon attacked me with his last attack so that is no surprise for me either.

What surprises me however is that I am still standing – upright that is. Every damn cell inside of me is begging for me to give up and let him kill me somehow. But the power inside of me refuses to let me go. No, it forces me to go further. To launch myself at him again.

And I can tell I am not the only one feeling this way.

Alec is completely surrounded by a pitched black aura, his eyes lost its shimmer the moment Daemon attacked him. I don't know how I am so certain but I know for a fact that the Alec I knew somehow vanished... and that this person right in front of me is that version of him everyone was talking about for so long.

The devil himself.

The version of him everyone feared... even his brother. And damn... now I know why.

"EVIL INFERNO!" Daemon – who finally got rid of his cape and revealed himself in all of its glory – sends his hellfire towards Alec who simply stomps on the ground with one foot, causing it to shake violently.

The hellfire, as immediate it appeared, is damped down again:" You are so pathetic Daemon. Do you think you can cause any damage to me? With HELLFIRE?! In case you forgot about this, friend: I am hell itself!"

His voice is so foreign to me that I feel the shiver run down my spine. I take several steps backwards and bump into my digimon partner who is following the battle between the two of them with interest.

"Do you think we should interfere Tai?" He asks me. He did a number on Daemon before Alec and I joined him in battle. I for my part could not harm him in any way due to the lack of experience but BlackWargreymon sure as hell kicked his butt.

"No... I think Alec deserves a second chance for revenge."

He eyes me with his kind, green eyes before he gives me a quick nod.

"EVIL FLAPPING!" Daemon tries another attack: a huge tower of flames appears in front of Alec which e damps down again by a swift motion of his hand.

Daemon growls angrily:" How on earth are you doing that?!"

Alec gives him an evil grin before he looks over to me. Though he's not saying a word I have no trouble to understand what he means; due to my sheer presence he got a hell of a power boost, obviously.

Guess that connection is more useful than I thought.

Daemon follows his gaze and narrows his eyes at me. In the same moment as he takes a step towards me I can feel BlackWargreymon push me behind him and Alec blocking Daemon's way.

"You're not getting away now, bastard", Alec directs his hands towards the ground. I can't help but remember the time Dylan did the exact same thing when he was controlled by the spore.

Unlike Dylan however Alec actually looks relieved when the dark powers that are coming out of the ground connect with him. I take another step back and pull BlackWargreymon with me. And they said I am the one controlling the power of darkness?

Damn, one could think Alec invented it.

Daemon watches Alec's every movement with widened eyes, making the distance between them constantly bigger.

"Alec... listen; I am sure we'll find a place for you beside us. We don't have to be enemies", Daemon raises his hands in defense, walking further away from Alec.

Alec for his part doesn't even look like he's listening to anything the demon lord is telling him. He slowly raises his hand into the air, his palm directed at the digimon in front of him.

"Alec... you don't have to do this we – "

"You killed everyone I loved Daemon", Alec's voice is way calmer than he feels deep inside. My heart is beating painfully against my chest and I feel like I'm going to throw up any minute.. and that is only because I feel what he is feeling right now.

"T – that was – ", Daemon starts but he doesn't get the chance to end his sentence because it seems like he's choking all of the sudden.

"You killed my little brother." Alec's heartbeat accelerates even more and I have to focus on taking deep breaths to not get light – headed.

"Wow... I've never seen someone do that", BlackWargreymon says, his eyes wide.

I knit my eyebrows in confusion and look up to him:" What is he doing? I missed something, right?"

BlackWargreymon slowly turns his head away from the scene in front of us and focuses on me:" Don't you see the black aura around Daemon's throat? Alec is literally choking him with his powers, without even touching him."

My confusion grows by his explanation but as soon as I look over again I can see what he is talking about: Alec is standing about 10 meters in front of Daemon, his hand still raised, with the only difference that his hand literally looks like it's around Daemon's throat. I follow the train of the dark aura that is coming out from Alec's hand and no shit; it's coiled up around the digimon's neck, blocking his airways completely.

Damn...

Daemon tries to get a hold of the aura but it's of no use; as soon as he tries to reach his neck, the aura sparks dangerously, making him withdraw his hand immediately. He stares helplessly at Alec who does not even twitch, before he slowly sinks down on his knees.

"Wow Daemon... what a sight", Alec slowly draws his dagger and starts approaching him –

BOOOOOOM

I turn away from the two in front of me and watch in horror how another building is crashing down in the middle of the city. Whereas before there was a huge dust cloud already, it just got worse, spreading over half of the city and making it literally impossible for anyone to see anything. I can feel my heart sink... my team.

I hear Belphemon roaring angrily before he sends several attacks towards what I assume must be my friends. The dust cloud lights up in a sick greenish – red light before an immense heat wave nearly knocks me over.

Looks like Daemon is not the only one who is using hellfire.

"Tai!" Alec's voice snaps me out of my shock again and I look over to him; he's still standing in front of Daemon, not letting go of him just yet.

"Go Tai, help them", he says, a familiar warmth coming back into his eyes. Though he looked so foreign only a second ago I recognize the man who I grew to like so much inside of him again. A couple of bricks are lifted off of my chest when this realization hits me since I was seriously worried that I lost him to his old ego back there.

However there is something in his gaze that is gluing me to the ground.

He almost looks like he's saying goodbye to me. And I sure as hell am not having it!

Out of the corner of my eye I see a giant claw coming down on Alec but he's obviously well aware of Daemon's attempts. Alec takes a step to the side what causes Daemon's claws to miss him only by a few inches. However it was enough to piss him off again; Alec hauls off and drives his dagger into Daemon's arm, pinning him on the ground while doing so. He screams out in pain, nearly blasting my eardrum.

"I will fucking kill you!"

"I don't think so", Alec grins evilly at him before he turns to me again.

"Tai, go. I'll meet you there. I promise."

I hold eye contact with him for a while longer before I slowly turn towards BlackWargreymon:" Go ahead, they probably need your help. I catch up with you." With that I grab my helmet that was dangling on my belt until now and put it on.

BlackWargreymon exchanges a long look with Alec before he gives both of us a nod and flies towards the city. I don't hesitate and take off in a run too.

I don't turn back in fear that if I do so, I'll surely go back to him. The giant gates of the city come nearer and therefore my sight worsens. I can feel the heat getting worse and start to hear several digimon shouting their respective attacks.

It is only when I hear Alec scream out in pain that I stumble and come to a halt right in front of the gate. Although I don't want to, I turn around and look up to the small hill where Alec is fighting Daemon. Giant flames appear all of the sudden but I am not sure whose they are.

Damn it. He needs help too.

"AAAAAH!"

I freeze.

That voice.

Sor...

Warmth that I thought I'd lost forever spreads through my body and when I look up I can see a faint orange shimmer on my chest, filling me up with hope again.

She needs me.

I take one final glance at the hill before I turn around and run directly into the dust.

I'm coming Sor.


IZZY'S POV

We reach the skyscraper in the same moment as another huge explosion shakes the whole area up. I grab the handle of the massive steel door in front of me in an attempt to not get thrown off my feet because of the massive detonation wave.

"Damn", Matt whispers more to himself than to me. He's looking into the direction we just came from as if he could see right through the dense dust cloud.

I can hear the digimon's picking up the fight again after taking a few seconds to recover from whatever the hell just happened.

It's only when I hear a certain girl's scream that I feel the deep desire to run back as fast as possible and help her out somehow.

"Sora..."

Matt turns towards me and just nods:" Obviously."

"Maybe we should –" I start but another, familiar but at the same time very foreign voice makes me stop.

"TERRA DESTROYER!"

Another brick wall crashes down and I feel myself shuddering only by hearing BlackWargreymon's attack. But at the same time I can't deny the immense feeling of relief washing over me. I can tell Matt's feeling the same because I can clearly hear him exhale.

"Tai..."

I just nod:" I knew he'd find a way back to us."

"You know everything Izzy, don't you?" Matt smiles lightly before he turns towards the door. "Aren't you going to open it finally?"

I blink stupidly at him before I realize that I am still holding onto the handle. Since I don't have any clue what we should expect behind this door I prepare myself for every possible outcome - digimons attacking us the moment we step foot into the building, dark creatures... or even another demon lord – I'm ready to face it all.

With that thought in mind I push the handle down and take a step inside. And am instantly confused.

"What the fuck?" Matt exclaims next to me, taking off his helmet while doing so. I follow his example and enjoy the feeling of fresh air – ok as fresh as air in a building can be – on my sweaty face.

I take in my surroundings, at least what I can make out from it. We're standing in what looks like a broad, dark corridor that leads in only one way. I take out the flashlight from one of my many pockets on my pants and switch it on, illuminating the whole entrance for us. As I assumed; it is a blank, dark corridor. Nothing special. I direct the flashlight into the depth of the room but it's of no use, I can't see the end of the hallway.

"Well, if this isn't creepy I don't know what is." Matt grabs his own flashlight and starts to walk right into the darkness.

I swallow the lump in my throat and try to calm down my accelerated heart beat somehow. I don't know why but something is odd here. Why isn't there any alarm going off? Why did they leave this building completely unguarded if something so important is being hidden in here?

"Izzy! Are you coming or what?"

Matt's voice snaps me out of my thoughts, causing me to look up to him. The only thing I can make out is his blonde hair. I force my legs to move and catch up with him as fast as I can. I really don't want to be alone in here, or too far away from him.

I nervously look over my shoulder and try not to freak out when the only thing I see is nothing but a pitched black hallway; exactly the same view as the one in front of us. I activate the device on my forearm, hoping that it somehow will help us out in here. But as soon as I push the button on it the screen lights up in a red light: CONNECTION LOST.

Great.

I groan in frustration what drives Matt's attention to me. He grins lightly at me:" It's just a little bit of darkness Izzy. Nothing to be scared of – OUCH."

A dull sound echoes through the hallway, making me jerk. I direct my flashlight at Matt who is holding onto his forehead, pain all over his face. After glancing at the wall right in front of him I can't suppress the grin that dares to spread on my face.

"What is so funny? That is your fault!" Matt exclaims annoyed, rubbing the aching spot.

I laugh out loud:" How on earth is that my fault? What do you have a flashlight for?"

"I was looking at you."

"Can't blame you, I'm a handsome guy", I shrug, the grin still present on my face.

"You're definitely spending too much time with Mimi."

We grin at each other before I turn to my left; the hallway obviously takes a turn here.

"Izzy! Come on don't be so lame!" Matt calls out for me. I turn around to the opposite direction and frown in confusion.

Damn.

Matt looks at me with a similar expression before he notices the hallway right behind me. His gaze jumps from me to the direction he was walking into and back to me.

"Well. Fuck."

"I was wondering why they weren't guarding this place", I say more to me than to him but he heard me just well.

"Because it's hard enough to get to the core anyway; we are in a freaking maze." He's trembling lightly and I can literally see him getting angrier the more seconds pass. His hands start to spark dangerously and I inwardly take a step back, expecting the worst.

"These motherfuckers!"

"Matt! Don't!" I call out before I even realize what I'm doing – again. Somehow I know what he's about to do before he even lifts his arm.

But it's too late. The sparks intensify before his fist connects with the hard metal of the wall. As soon as he hits the wall however I hear something exploding and Matt gets thrown into the opposite wall.

"Matt!"

He slowly sits up and rests his back on the wall, his hand touching the back of his head.

"Are you hurt?"

He takes some time to pat his head down before he looks at me, shaking his head while doing so. However it is the way he's looking at me with that confused gaze of his that makes me frown.

"What is it?"

"How did you know what was going to happen?"

I take a deep breath before I look over to the spot he hit; it shows no signs of damage. I didn't expect anything else anyway.

But how did I know that?

"Honestly, I don't know", I can't help but shrug. I just knew.

I offer him my hand and he grabs it thankfully, getting up on his feet again.

"Well Iz, I think you should decide which way we should go."

"What? Why?"

Instead of answering he just grabs his flashlight again and illuminates the hallway on our left side; it looks exactly like the one on our right.

With the only difference that it kind of feels different.

Damn... that sounds so weird.

"You know which way, right?" Matt snaps me out – again. I shot him a confused glance and he just grins lightly at me before he nods towards my chest.

I look down and see the faint purple shimmer from before again. A weird feeling of satisfaction spreads through me and I take another deep breath before I pull myself together again. I tighten my hold on my flashlight and take the lead.

I lost track of how long we're walking through this maze already. Every time we reach a crossroad I trust in that weird feeling that is slowly but surely intensifying inside of me. The darkness presses down on us and it takes all my willpower to not freak out inside of here. I sure as hell feel claustrophobic, but I give my best to ignore that somehow.

Nevertheless I expect some digimon or a dark creature to jump out from a dark corner every time we take a turn.

Matt remains silent for the most part and trusts my lead completely. I have to admit that I kind of feel weird; it was usually Matt or Tai who led the way for me after all. But every time I look over to him nervously he just gives me a confident smile and encourages me to keep going. And I do.

And sure enough, we reach an impasse.

Fuck.

Disappointment washes over me I look down on my feet. I can feel my cheeks burn from shame and I can't bring myself to even look at the blonde.

I hear Matt place the flashlight on the ground before it gets silent around us again. I don't dare to look up; instead I continue to look down on my feet.

"I'm sorry Matt."

He doesn't respond right away, but when he does, my confusion only grows:" What are you sorry for?"

"I – I lead us wrong."

"I don't think you did."

My head snaps up at his words and the sight causes words to fail me; the giant steel wall in front of us slowly parts. Bright light blinds me and I have to shield my eyes with my hand because it's such a heavy contrast to what we've been in for the last hour – or two... or even three?

I feel Matt's shoulder pressing on mine and I look over to him, too stunned to say something.

"You give up too fast Izzy. There was a push button on the wall. You did everything right, your power is cool."

My power?

"Do you think that is my power?"

"What else? Divine revelation?"

I don't get to respond because the wall stops parting with a loud thud, driving my attention back to it. However it looks like this damned day is getting worse before it will get better.

Memories from a pyramid and a ridiculous monkey digimon come floating back at me and I grit my teeth in frustration when I stare at the electrical wall in front of us. It is a perfect copy of the wall Tai and I faced in Datamon's pyramid; the day where I understood that Tai's feelings for a certain redhead – although he was only a kid – went deeper than I thought.

"They've got to be kidding me...", I whisper, still not quite believing what I am seeing right now.

"What is this Izzy?" Matt slowly approaches the wall. This time I'm faster in reacting than before; just when Matt is about to raise his hand towards the wall I grab him by his elbow and pull him back.

"Matt don't! You'll get shocked – literally."

"It's just getting better and better isn't it", he says, pinching the bridge of his nose. I can tell he is getting irritated... I can relate after all.

We both stare at the wall that is sparkling dangerously. I can still remember how Tai wanted nothing more than to just run through it. Back then he didn't care if he got hurt, the only thing he wanted was to find Sora and get her out of there.

If I really think about it... he never really cared about him being hurt anyway, as long as we were okay.

So why do I care so much about me then? Shouldn't I return the favor? At least, once?

The most important thing right now is for him to be okay. That is the only thing I care about right now. And no knowledge on this world will help me in this situation. But I know that if I'll be selfless only this time, my best friend will be okay again.

I know he'll be alright.

The sight of the wall suddenly changes and I can see a rift like, digital disturbance appear in it.

Is this the spot that is save to pass? Similar to the one I found for Tai all these years ago?

It's worth a shot...

I slowly approach the wall and ignore the immense fear that is growing inside of me. It feels like it's gluing my limbs together, making it hard for me to move. But I know I have to do this. And I know that this is the only chance we'll get.

"Izzy what are you doing?!" Matt shouts out, grabbing me by my wrist and pulling me back.

But I won't let him stop me now. I don't know if my powers really activated, but if they did I am immortal. If this isn't the case... then chances are high that I'll receive a deadly electro shock.

Fuck it.

I free myself from his grip and take another step forward, walking right into the wall. I close my eyes and prepare for the worst; but nothing happens. I take another step, my eyes still closed and my body stiff as a poker. I didn't feel anything.

Maybe I'm dead?

"Izzy! Are you okay?" I can hear a muffled voice call out for me. I slowly open my eyes and take in my surroundings.

The first thing I see is a small pedestal with a pitched black sphere floating above it. A reddish – purple aura is surrounding the sphere, illuminating the whole room in a sick color that makes me want to run out of here immediately. The walls look like rocks and when I look up to the ceiling I can see several stalactites hanging low.

"Izzy!" The voice sounds again and this time I recognize Matt calling out for me. I turn around again and come face to face with the electrical wall again.

Realization slowly sinks in and I look down on my hands in disbelief; they're shimmering in a bright purple light, as well as my chest. Without granting it a second thought I reach out for the wall again and place my hand on it.

The light of my hands intensifies before it spreads all over the wall, making it crumble right in front of my eyes. It doesn't take too long before the whole wall breaks down on my feet.

"Whoa...", I whisper, my eyes still wide in shock.

"Damn Izzy, you sure as hell scared me", Matt says before I feel his arms around my neck. The gesture is so weird coming from him that it takes me several seconds to return his embrace.

"I'm sorry I – "

"Don't worry about it. Is this it?" He interrupts me, his gaze fixed on the sphere.

"Looks like it, or do you think there's another sphere floating in the air surrounded by such a dark aura?"

"Smartass"

I never said I wasn't one.


TAI'S POV (meanwhile)

I run as fast as I can through the empty streets, following the sound of the battle. I can feel the digidestined's auras getting stronger the nearer I get to them. I'm nervous... Not only because I am beyond worried about their safety but rather because I'm not sure how they'll react when they see me. After all, I'm a traitor, kind of.

Stop! They locked you in a cell!

The voice in my head shouts at me but this time I refuse to listen. Yes, they did. But if I really think about it, I should have locked myself away way sooner.

I take one final turn and come to a halt; the dust cleared enough so I'm able to see Belphemon in all of its rage mode's glory. I press my hand against my injury in an attempt to somehow ease the pain, but my sprint only worsened my already bad state. My head is spinning and I have some trouble to focus on what the fuck is going on but a rather familiar voice snaps me out of it almost immediately.

I look up to MetalGarurumon who fell down on the ground, a giant Belphemon hovering over him. He hauls off before he aims his horns directly at Matt's digimon partner.

I want to shout out but I feel like I lost my voice.

"TERRA DESTROYER!"

BlackWargreymon flies over my head and sends his attack at the demon lord, catching him completely off guard.

"AAAAARGH!" He's sent flying away what gives BlackWargreymon the time he needs to land right next to MetalGarurumon and get him out of there.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see movement a few couple of meters on my left side. I cross the street in high speed before I stop at a crossroad where dozens of dark creatures are zeroing in on the digidestined.

Fuck.

Red hair catches my eye and I feel my heart sink when I see her sitting on the ground, holding onto what looks like her left shoulder. She's bleeding.

Double fuck.

"WarGreymon! You came!" Phoenixmon appears over my head and lands on one of the roofs. BlackWargreymon for his part only nods before another attack drives all of his attention to the digimon who sent it.

But this time, I'm faster than him. And angrier.

"DRAGON INTERNAL FIRE!"

Flames come out of the foreign digimon's mouth, directed at the digidestined. Although their respective digimon partners are scattered all around the place, none of them will make it in time to cover them up.

Although my courage is begging me to let it get through, I refuse and decide to trust the power of darkness in me. It got me so far... why should I lose trust in it now?

I give in to the immense anger inside of me and focus on the fire that will burn my friends up in no time. I cross the last few meters before I draw my blades. One of the creatures turns its focus on me almost immediately and launches himself at me. I haul off with my sword – like blade and slice through its neck. Although my injury gnaws at me I keep going and switch on autopilot. I don't even realize that I reached my friends since I am too focused on the digimon's attack.

"Tai?!" Kari's voice sounds, followed by several others calling out for me.

But I don't hear them.

"GET DOWN EVERYONE!" I shout out. I can't contain my jubilation when I see one by one following my order and duck.

The fire is getting nearer and I can't help but grin lightly: this is just too easy.

I raise both of my hands and literally feel the fire making a halt about two meters over our heads. It almost looks like I'm holding a giant platform in my hands, causing the fire to spread to the sides, but never getting to us. Although the attack doesn't hit us, the heat is enough to drive me crazy.

"Okay you devil spawns, I am done playing nice", Dylan's voice sounds right next to me. I can see a reddish – orange aura surrounding him and his sister before they grab each other by their hands and spin around synchronically, sending beams of fire at the dark creatures.

"Damn guys! Why didn't you come up with that idea before?" Davis says absolutely out of breath before he fixes his sword on his belt.

I feel the heat disappear all of the sudden and let my arms sink, ignoring the ache in my muscles. I look down on my palms that show several burn marks and feel a weird feeling of satisfaction.

"We needed someone who bought us time", Kazumi says, her gaze fixed on me. I gulp nervously before I remember the reason that bought me here and turn around to Sora who's getting on her feet shakily. I am just about so say something when I feel thin arms wrap around my neck.

The gesture is so unexpected that it takes me a while to register that the girl that is hugging me is my sister and that I am supposed to return her hug.

"Impressive, very impressive. I told them that it would be a stupid idea to give you these kinds of powers", the red dragon like digimon speaks up, addressing me directly.

I free myself from Kari's embrace before I look over to the bastard who tried to kill all of us.

"Well they proved more than once that they aren't that bright", I still don't recognize my voice and from the weird looks I'm receiving I can tell they feel the same way about me right now.

"Why you... DRAGON'S – ", an arrow appears out of nowhere and sticks right into the dragon's throat, preventing him to shout out any attack.

Two more arrows that shine in a bright red light follow, forcing him down on his knees.

"Finish him off Phoenixmon!" Sora shouts out, still holding the bow in her hand.

"CRIMSON FLARE!" Although Phoenixmon was completely focused to help the rest of the digidestined keeping Belphemon busy she heard Sora just well

Her attack hits the red dragon at full force. He screams out and weirdly enough I have to avert my gaze so I won't see him burning to ashes.

"Sor", I whisper more to myself than to anyone else but she heard me, or felt it, I don't know. She looks at me and although she's wearing her helmet again I can sense the longing in her. I've known her long enough to read her body language, and she's dying to come over to me. But something's holding her back.

"GIFT OF DARKNESS!"

Giant, green claws appear next to her and I'm just about to scream out for her when a dark energy beam connects with Belphemon's arm, throwing him on the ground.

"I would not touch his girl man, you should ask Beelzemon what happens when you do that", Alec appears from behind a building, his face covered in dirt and dried blood and he's limping.

"Oh right you can't probably ask him... Tai killed him because he laid a hand on Sora", he makes a gesture as if he just remembered and I can't help but grin lightly. God only knows how he's still able to crack jokes.

His uniform is ripped and partially burnt, his left arm looks like it's been dislocated since it's hanging down on his side motionless. He has a wound that is still bleeding on his forehead and his lip burst open.

"Thank you for the hint, you had a very intense fight I see", Belphemon straightens himself and looks at Alec.

Alec only shrugs, his eyes darkening in an instant:" That bastard got away. I almost had him, care to tell me where he went? I'm sure you know it."

Belphemon's laugh echoes through the whole city. I press my hands against my ears and try to ignore another painful sensation, this time in my ears.

"Why would you think I'd tell you that?"

"Enough of that talking! We're your opponents!" BlackWargreymon exclaims angrily.

"Exactly! GIGA CRUSHER!" Imperialdramon's attack drives Belphemon's attention away from Alec and back at our digimon again.

With one, powerful move of his hand, Belphemon diverts the attack into the air. He flies high into the air, hitting Angewomon and Aquilamon while doing so.

"Alec?" I call out for him. He turns towards me and gives me a grin that makes me shudder. His teeth are painted completely red from his own blood.

"See? I promised I would come – ", he doesn't get to finish his sentence because he gets slapped across his face by a beyond angry looking Kazumi.

She takes off her helmet, her face red from anger:" You're a fucking asshole!"

I expect her to hit him again but instead she wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Alec is so perplex that he doesn't even manage to hug her back, let alone explain himself.

Good thing he doesn't, I definitely would know better than to piss off Sora's daughter more.

"METAL WOLF CLAW!"

"TERRA DESTROYER!"

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!"

The three attacks from mine, Matt's and Izzy's digimon partner illuminate the whole area and hit Belphemon who was busy dodging Imperialdramon and Aquilamon's attack, at full force.

"Take shelter everyone!" Cody shouts out, running to the nearest wall that somehow shields him from the impact of the attack.

We all run into different directions before Belphemon's lifeless – looking body crashes down on the ground where Alec and Kazumi stood only a few seconds ago. I immediately scan the area for Sora and sigh in relief when I see her leaning against a van that overturned.

"GUYS!" Matt's voice sounds from farer away, accelerating my heartbeat in excitement. I look over to where I heard him and feel my chest tighten in happiness when I see both, Izzy and Matt coming to a halt next to the twins and Alec.

"We got it!" They shout out in unison, revealing a pitched black core they covered with a black cloth.

I can literally feel how the core is screaming out for me to get there and take it away from them. I grip the remains of the brick wall next to me to prevent me from going there and do another thing I will deeply regret.

"Is that the core?" Yolei asks her eyes wide. She's nervously shifting her weight on one foot and another, refusing to take a step towards them though, as well as everyone else.

It almost seems like they're all following my example; none of them is moving.

"It is", Izzy answers, looking at the twins expectantly. Alec's eyes get wide and he looks at the sphere in shock before his gaze jumps over to me, fear growing inside of him. I can feel it clearly and I shot him a questioning glance which he's just about to react to when his girlfriend drives his attention to herself.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's destroy it!" Kazumi exclaims. She draws a dagger out of her belt and hauls off –

"No Kaz wait!" He shouts out, trying to get a hold of her arm but it's of no use. She's too fast.

Her dagger drives deep into the dark sphere. The dark, reddish aura surrounding it intensifies before an earsplitting scream sounds from inside of the sphere. It cracks in half before both halves shatter into million tiny pieces. Little black diamonds rain down on the ground before they dissolve into data.

Warmth – no, heat! – spreads through my whole body at once, igniting every cell inside of me again. The cold leaves my body in an instant and I can literally feel the brown color of my eyes come back immediately. A bright orange light appears over my chest, bringing me back to life. The pressure I've felt in my head is gone as well as the chaos in my mind. All of the sudden I'm in control of myself again. I can feel myself again.

And I can feel how bad my state actually is.

As if the power of darkness was the only thing that somehow held my injuries at bay it breaks down all at once. I can feel the warmth of blood drenching my shirt under my uniform and the nausea creeping up. My sight blurs almost immediately and I have trouble keeping me upright.

"Tai!" Alec shouts out for me, followed by Matt who seems to be nearer than Alec. I don't know honestly.

Where am I actually?

Black, weird dots appear in my sight and whereas before I was sure that I was actually holding up quite well I now feel like I just got hit by a freaking truck.

A sharp sensation on my cheek makes the dots disappear again and I blink several times, forcing my sight to get clearer again. I can make out deep crimson eyes that stare right into mine and all of the sudden I feel a hand press on my stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding. I look down on Sora's tiny, bloody hand and regret it instantly. I could throw up right here and now.

"Sor"

I can feel her hands on my cheeks, and only a second later her soft lips on mine. My heart stops a beat.

"You're okay. I know you are", her voice is so soft.

"Guess you're not that bright either huh... the power of darkness was the only thing that kept him standing upright you took that away from him. What a team you are", Belphemon's voice sounds again. He struggles to sit up but when he does he starts to laugh hysterically.

I can feel my legs shaking but I refuse to let the last bit of control I have to slip away. I grip Sora's shirt on both sides for halt and lean into her. She shifts lightly but holds me up easily. She wraps her arm under mine and places her hand on my shoulder blade, while she holds onto my hand with her other. I can feel her shaking, or maybe it is me who's shaking both of us.

"Sor I – I", I try to get something out but my lips won't stop shaking. I don't know what the fuck is going on with me.

"Ssshh I know that you're sorry. It's fine. I forgive you."

I feel a sting in my eyes but blink the tears away immediately:" I was going to say that I love you, actually."

She looks up to me surprised and I see something deep inside of her healing again. I know that it was me who broke it in the first place, and I will probably never forgive myself for hurting her so bad.

"I love you too Tai", she says before her whole body stiffens in an instant.

Her eyes get wide and her lips form a perfect – surprised – "O". Her grip on myself hardens and all of the sudden it is not her who's holding me upright but the other way around.

"Sor? What is it?"

Panic spreads through me. And I can tell only by looking into her eyes that I'm not the only one.

"Sor please talk to me!"

"O MY GOD! SORA!" Mimi screams out in shock. I look over to her pale face and just know that something went terribly wrong right now.

And my assumption is proven right when I hear that bastard speak up.

"Well. I guess now you regret not killing me when you had your chance, right?"

Images of my dream flicker in front of my inner eye with the only difference that I'm awake right now. I tighten my grip on my girl and turn around to face the motherfucker who's grinning evilly at me. Daemon looks worse than before I left Alec alone with him, but he's still standing. He opens his mouth to say something before I can see his eyes getting wide. He doesn't get the chance to scream out anymore. He sinks down on his knees, revealing Alec right behind him; holding Daemon's digicore which he just ripped out of his back.

Daemon looks up to Alec, not believing what he's seeing obviously.

"Rot in hell Daemon", Alec says through clenched teeth, shattering the digicore in his hands, causing Daemon to dissolve right after.

Suddenly, everything happens in slow motion. I can feel Sora's legs giving in all of the sudden, pulling us both down on the ground. I kneel down on the ground and hold onto her. The upper part of her body is on my lap, her arms wrapped around my neck.

"Sor what ? – ", I ask once again but suddenly Daemon's words sink in. I grab her by her shoulders and lean her forward so I can see the dagger stuck between her shoulder blades.

My heart sinks and once again I feel sick. So damn sick. My body obviously registers what is happening before my mind does because I swear to god I can feel my heart breaking into pieces.

No. Please don't do this to me.

"Sor – "

"Tai", she breathes out, her voice only a mere whisper. She places a hand on my cheek, her chest rising and falling faster than ever before.

"Keep them save. They need you."

No. Please shut up I don't want to hear this.

"Tai!"

I shake my head 'No'. I'm not hearing any of this. I refuse to.

"Tai please promise me you'll keep them save!" She urges me on and I finally look down on her tear strained face again.

My sight blurs again but this time it is because of the tears I can't blink away anymore.

"Please don't leave me Sor", I whisper quietly.

"Alec?" Kazumi's voice sounds out and I look up to the girl who's running towards her boyfriend. Alec unglues his eyes from me and Sora and looks over to her. His eyes widening while doing so.

"Kazumi?!" He reaches out for her but before he can get a hold of her she's gone already.

"What the fuck is happening?!" Mimi shouts out again, tears streaming down her face. I didn't even realize that everyone gathered around us, ignoring Belphemon who's still suffering from his injuries completely.

"Dyl!" Alec shouts out for Dylan. The brunette looks up to him, fear written all over his face.

"Uh guys... I don't feel so good", Dylan says, pressing his hand on his chest. He takes a step towards Alec before he too, vanishes right in front of our eyes.

I can feel a hand gripping mine again and I look down on Sora's ashen face again.

"I looked forward to have them with you", her words feel like razor blades sliding over my heart.

Memories of her dare to overwhelm me... Her passing me a soccer ball. Her rolling her eyes at me in annoyance. Me throwing up in her heat and she screaming at me afterwards. The email I sent her... The first time we slept together. Her laughing at almost everything I say.

Her crimson eyes looking like red diamonds when the sun blinds her in the morning.

I'll never see these eyes again.

"Sor, don't do this to me."

"Promise me you –"

"I'll keep them save. I promise."

She exhales deeply before giving me another smile:" I love you stupid Tai."

And I love you. So. Damn. Much. My. Love.

I feel her body going limp all of the sudden. The glint in her eyes is gone.

She, is gone.

I can't breathe.


END OF CHAPTER 18

I don't know what to say.. I'm sad. But trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Next chapter will be up in 2 months (maximum! Maybe I'll get it up in a month after I'm done with my exams.)

Thank you everyone for keeping up with me and this story!

I'd be more than happy to know what you all think!

MERRY X – MAS!

25/12/19