Hello! I hope all of you are doing okay and not letting yourself down in this difficult time. We're all in this together guys! We'll get through this!

So at this point I'd like to take the time to thank you for reviewing and keeping up with this story. You can't imagine how much it means to me. Sooo. THANK YOU!

Oh also, I finally got the chance to watch digimon adventure last evolution kizuna... there's probably no movie on this earth that broke me as much as kizuna did. I'll better stop babbling about the movie right now so I won't spoiler anyone here who hasn't seen it yet. But if you have the chance, watch it! It's worth the pain!

And nooow. Onto other matters; I think this chapter is the one a lot of you have been waiting for. I put my heart into this. I hope you like it.

As always; I do not own digimon but I own my OCs. English is not my first language so please excuse some possible grammatical errors.


I will leave a light on

The rustling of what I assume must be the chain of his belt wakes me up from my light slumber. I lazily open my eyes and although I didn't expect anything else I feel the all too familiar feeling of disappointment wash over me.

I turn around and sit up slightly, supporting myself on my elbows. The sheets slip down to my waist. I don't bother to keep them up though, I feel way too comfortable around him.

I silently watch him buttoning his pants and fixing his belt before he bends down and grabs his white t – shirt which I threw through the room earlier when we were at it. His cinnamon colored skin seems like it's glowing in the light ray of my bedside lamp. The muscles on his shoulders and back flex when he lifts the shirt over his head. For a swift second I am blessed with the sight of his perfectly ripped stomach before the white fabric blocks my view. Although he looks fucking hot I can tell by the stiffness of his movements that he knows that I am observing him, but he won't turn around anyway.

Instead, he walks over to my dresser and grabs his digivice, his D – Terminal and his watch. He's moving ridiculously slow, bracing himself for what comes next. We both know that the upcoming argument is inevitable.

While he fumbles with the lock of his watch, he slowly turns around. He leans against the dresser while his eyes lock with mine. His gaze is enough to set me on fire again; images of earlier when I was literally melting in his hands pop up in my head. Every inch of my body he touched is still pulsating and the longing is getting worse the longer he looks at me. I would do anything to feel it again.

I am lost in his chocolate brown eyes he inherited from his father. However, while my uncle's eyes are always filled with warmth that makes everyone who looks into them feel comfortable, his are impenetrable. He's never giving away what he's thinking. But I guess this is one of his features I like most.

He's so unpredictable. Like a storm.

He sighs lightly before he averts his gaze;" Please don't look at me like that Jess."

I lean back into the cushions, exposing my chest even more than before;" Like what?"

His reaction is exactly what I expected; his eyes linger on my bare skin and I can see him gulping nervously. He's clearly turned on... and dying to come back to me.

"You know I don't do sleepovers."

I shrug as apathetically as possible although his words hurt me immensely;" you've done it before."

Instead of answering right away he bends down and grabs his sneakers:" I'm not your boyfriend. And I don't want you to build up false hopes."

The sexual tension is gone in an instant. My previous frustration of wanting him turns into hot anger and I can almost feel how my patience is slipping through my fingers. I turn around and pull the sheets over me again, punishing him in the only way I know hurts him most; shutting him out.

"I know that. Because if you were my boyfriend I would not tolerate you treating me like a whore every other night!"

I wrap the sheets tightly around me and give my best to prevent my eyes of welling up with tears. It is always the same with him and I; he sneaks into my room in the middle of the night, we hook up, he leaves.

And every time he does, my heart breaks a tiny little bit more. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep doing this to myself. He's not worth it.

Hell, no guy in this world would be worth this kind of emotional abuse.

But I love him nevertheless. I fell in love with that asshole although I knew that it would be the biggest mistake of my life. I knew he would destroy me.

As soon as I hear him set in motion I hope for a second that he changed his mind – as usual – and comes back to me. But rather than coming back to the bed I can hear him make his way towards my bedroom door.

I hear the door crack and him exiting the room without saying anything more.

The door closes behind him and I can't prevent the tears escaping my eyes. I knew he'd leave...I am prepared for this outcome of our nights every time he steps foot in my room. But it still hurts.

Every time, a little bit more.

I hug my pillow and close my eyes, trying to fade out the ache in my chest.

The left side of my bed giving in lightly makes me snap my eyes open again and look over my shoulder. He unzips his pants again and throws them on my dresser, closely followed by his shirt. He doesn't look at me and for a swift second I am not sure what to think, let alone say.

I just lay down again and keep my back turned towards him. He silently grabs the other side of my bedsheet and slips under it, wrapping his right arm around my lower stomach. I feel his bare chest on my back and exhale lightly.

I debate whether I should say something or not but he beats me to it.

"I can't sleep without you." His voice is a mere whisper but I heard him just well. His words are enough for my heart to do backflips and forget about the pain that was piercing it up only minutes ago.

His hand is resting on my stomach; he's obviously not sure how far I'll let him go after shouting at him.

I know I'll regret this, but I grab his hand and bring it up towards my chest, hugging it like a pillow. He finally relaxes; his breathing normalizing what makes it clear to me that he's falling asleep.

Today his feelings won. Tomorrow I am sure, his ego will win and I will lose.

This is just how Dylan is...

But I'll never stop loving him.


JESS' POV

My joints ache and I am seriously sick of following a stupid, mystical light through the depths of the digital world. After what feels like weeks full of hiking I walk up a hill that just gives me the rest. I can't help but wonder just when this stupid thing will stop finally. Or when the last bit of strength will simply leave my body and force me to stop. Honestly at this point, both would be fine by me.

I hold aunt Sora's bow in one and an arrow in the other hand, ready to shoot at anything that might cross my way. I am prepared for everything; there's absolutely nothing that could catch me off guard. I've trained long and hard enough to be absolutely aware of my surroundings at every second of the day.

But the digital world is silent.

More silent than ever actually.

After I left the base behind I noticed that not only my surroundings got a lot quieter but that at the same time the sky started to change. The never ending grey color of the demon lord's clouds turned into a deep shade of red, engulfing the whole area in a sick reddish light. The environment here resembles more a scene of a cheap horror movie rather than a giant world full of digimon. In all those years I've been a digidestined I've never seen something like this.

I read some paragraphs in Gennai's books about it. But no matter how hard I try to remember what that means, I can't. This is why I grab my D – Terminal and open up a new message; if there's anyone who will know what red skies in the digital world mean then it's Ayame.

I look up and spot the red light floating through the gates of a giant city. While I type my message, I walk down the hill towards it; maybe I'll find some Digimon who can answer me a few questions.

17:02 PM, JESSICA :" Time to prove how smart you are. What does a red sky mean?"

I click "send" and wait for a few minutes because Ayame usually answers my messages right away. And sure enough, she does.

17:03 PM, AYAME:" Trouble."

"Duh", I can't help but groan in frustration but the "bing" sound of my D – Terminal shuts me up again.

17:04 PM, AYAME:" It means that the current ruler of the dimensions is leaving this earth."

What?!

17:05 PM, JESSICA:" This is impossible. Alec is the ruler of the dimensions."

Alec is a badass. There is no way in hell that these bastards finished him off.

17:06 PM, AYAME:" Whatever you're doing Jess. Do it faster."

"God dammnit!" I shout out in frustration, kicking the nearest object what happens to be a broken arrow into the depths of a rundown house.

I was so engulfed in my conversation with Ayame that I didn't even realize that I've made it to the city already. So much for being aware of my surroundings…

I look for my companion and sigh in relief when I spot the light that is dancing in front of me. I slowly approach it and wait for it to move forward; like it did every other time for the last two days. But instead of moving forward it slowly sinks down towards the dusty ground. I frown lightly, not sure what to think of the weird behavior of that damn thing. But as soon as it touches the ground the red light intensifies for a swift second before it vanishes completely.

"No! You stupid thing can't just vanish! I don't even know where I am!" I shout towards the ground.

I cringe as soon as I realize that I'm talking to a damn lifeless object that isn't even there anymore.

Now I'm sure that I have lost it completely.

Okay Jess, there has to be a reason why that thing led you in this city, right? There's a reason for everything. So let's find out.

I take a deep breath and grip aunt Sora's bow harder, walking deeper into the city. The air is still filled with a lot of dust, making me cough every once in a while. I grab my helmet from my belt and put it on, closing the visor so I'm able to breathe properly.

While I walk through the mostly destroyed city I can't help but wonder just what the hell happened here. The streets are covered in dirt and debris of what must have been skyscrapers. A fight took place here, obviously. But when? And who fought?

The longer I walk and the more I see, the smaller my hopes become that I'll find any Digimon here. I jump over some small heaps of ruins and come to a halt when I spot a giant, round market place. I scan the whole area and stop right in my tracks when I see big chains attached on the ground.

The sight is enough for me to finally realize just where this light has led me. Although Gennai told me that the digidestined were here, I forgot about it the moment I encountered that light. Weird enough, it took me to the exact place I needed to find; this is Belphemon's city.

Or rather, what remained of it.

"Damn…", I whisper quietly, not believing what I'm seeing right now.

I knew that there must have been a horrible fight that resulted in my aunt and the twins to die… but this? Judged by extent of the destruction all around me I find it hard to believe that anyone got out of here alive.

I keep staring at the ruins all around me; the longer I look at them, the clearer I can hear the shouts of the Digimon echoing from the walls. I'm so engulfed in my own thoughts that the sudden sound of something shattering makes me jump.

As if on cue I can feel my heart beat accelerating and my palms start to sweat. I gulp nervously and nock an arrow; ready to shoot it at whatever the hell caused that sound.

I slowly walk over to where I assume must be the source of it and focus on my breathing. One thing my aunt taught me among a lot of other things is that I'll surely miss my aim if I can't control my breathing.

Judged by the volume of the shattering, the Digimon must be right around the corner of the next building.

I crouch down lightly and approach the building. As soon as I reach it, I lean against the wall so I can steal a glance at my enemy before he or she sees me. I open my visor to have a clearer sight and look around the corner. My breath hitches and my tight grip on my bow loosens the moment I catch sight of the one person I least expected.

I straighten myself again and round the corner, fixing the bow on my back while doing so. My legs feel like jelly and I have trouble to see clearly because of the tears that come to my eyes. I can feel my hands shaking violently and a lump forming itself in my throat. Although I only caught a swift glance of him, I recognized him right away. Most people would probably mistaken him with his dad because of their similarity.

But not me.

I close the distance between us and come to a halt right in front of him. He doesn't seem like he even heard me; he's hunched down, his face buried in his face. His back rises and falls lightly. I bit on my lip and examine him for any injuries; parts of his uniform are shredded and his helmet has a dent, but beside that he looks fine to me. I take off my helmet and fix it on my belt again before I slowly squat down in front of him and place my hand on his knee, causing him to jerk violently and jump back on his feet. He draws his dagger in only a second; ready to defend himself against anything that might be coming at him.

He looks at me with wide eyes, as if he can't believe who's standing right in front of him.

I slowly get up again and hold his gaze, mirroring his shocked but at the same time immensely relieved expression.

"J – jess?" His voice breaks and before I even know what is happening, I can feel his strong arms around me. As naturally as ever I return his hug and bury my face in the crook of his neck. I didn't think I'd ever be able to do that again.

I thought I lost him. Forever.

He cups my face in his hands and looks me in the eyes:" How is it possible that you're here right now?"

"I – I – ", I'm too stunned to form any coherent sentence. Instead I just shake my head and embrace him again.

However, it is the voice of sanity in my head that forces me to get a grip again and focus on my mission. I let go of him and take a step back.

"Dylan. What the hell happened?" Although we're at a healthy distance right now I still feel electrified by his sheer presence. I hesitantly intertwine my fingers with his and grin lightly when I feel him tighten his grip. So much for hating to be touched…

He knits his eyebrows, obviously trying to remember the events that led us here but I know his answer before he says it out loud.

"I honestly don't know. The last thing I remember is Daemon and then – poof – blankness."

I only nod and look around the city again. We're not that far away from the market place; if Belphemon woke up there, they surely must have fought somewhere here.

"Do you know something Jess?" His voice snaps me out again and I turn towards him. He looks at me with these puppy eyes of his and the confusion in his gaze rounds the look up perfectly. I'm melting right now.

Ok, just say it out loud. It's like ripping off a plaster:

"You died."

He keeps looking at me, but rather than looking troubled like I assumed he would after receiving such news, he looks like I've just confirmed something he was presuming all along.

"He killed mom then? I thought I dreamed it." His gaze seems hollow all of the sudden; as if he's in the middle of being deep in thought and completely lost.

"Damn. My dad must be devastated", tears well up in his eyes by the sheer thought of his father. I can literally hear how my heart is cracking. Not only because it hurts me to see Dylan like that but because he's absolutely right about Tai.

But we don't have the time for this now.

"Dyl", I whisper before I step in front of him, placing a hand on his right cheek. He closes his eyes and leans into my touch; something he never did before. He plants a feathery kiss on my palm before he reopens his eyes, his brown orbs shining in a certain intensity that is completely new to me.

"You being here means that aunt Sora isn't dead", I speak out loudly what I was thinking the moment I entered my aunt and uncle's empty bedroom.

He slowly nods, his expression not changing for a second. He takes a deep breath and finally let's go of me: "You're right Jess. But first of all, we need to find my sister."

"I assume this was the reason you flipped there for a second?" I ask, gesturing to the shattered D – Terminal on the ground.

Dylan follows my gaze and just shrugs:" I've been looking for her for two days."

"You've been alive for that long and didn't bother to contact anyone?!" I shout out, not believing the foolishness of this guy. All of the sudden I feel the immense urge to slap him but I can tell he saw right through me because he takes several steps back.

"First thing I thought about after I woke up under this debris was my sister. And she's been my only concern ever since. I'm definitely not going to apologize for wanting my twin by my side", he says, walking away from me.

I can't believe that 5 minutes into our reunion we're already arguing again. I groan in frustration and follow him into a different alley.

"Is there any spot in this city you haven't checked before?"

He rolls his eyes in annoyance:" Of course not."

I don't have the strength to continue this conversation any further. Although he gets on my nerves with his attitude, I can't get myself to be really angry at him. He's just worried about his twin sister. If I can recall it correctly, they've never been separated for more than a few hours. And now they are constantly apart from each other, no wonder he's in this foul mood.

My D – Terminal vibrates all of the sudden, indicating that I've just received a message.

I open up the message and my heart skips a beat when I check the sender's ID.

17:47 PM, COMMANDER TAI: "Whatever you did. Thank you."

I knit my eyebrows in confusion. What is he talking about?

17.48 PM, JESSICA: "Care to enlighten me uncle Tai?"

17.49 PM, COMMANDER TAI: "Sora's back at the base. Are you saying you didn't do anything?"

"YES!" I jump up into the air, feeling absolutely ecstatic because of these news. Dylan stops walking and turns towards me, looking at me as if I've gone crazy.

"Okay? What are we so happy about?"

I feel my D – Terminal vibrating again but I can't stop to hop on the ground like a little girl that just got ice cream.

"Your mom is back in the base!" I squeal, clapping in my hands because I don't know how to get all that joy out of my body in another way. I guess these are the times when the genes I've got from my mother come to the surface.

Dylan keeps staring at me in confusion before realization slowly sinks in and he cracks a smile:" She's okay?" He whispers more to himself than to anyone.

I stop jumping and grab his hands, squeezing them encouragingly:" She is!"

His grin turns into a genuine smile and he looks like a couple hundred bricks were lifted off of his chest. But I can almost see how the thought of his sister crosses his mind because his expression darkens momentarily.

"We'll find her Dyl."

He looks at me skeptically, his dark expression not brightening in the least.

"And then? How will we find the others? And what about Alec? Did you see the that?" He gestures up to the sky. I didn't think I'd ever say this but I wish the grey clouds would be back. I bit on my lip, thinking about all our options and how we'll get out of this situation.

It's needless to say that we have to find Kazumi first. Then we'll eventually have to find Sora too since she has to be somewhere wandering around the digital world. And then we have to find the digidestined… and Alec. I just hope he'll be alive when we do.

My D – Terminal vibrates again and I finally open it up to check the newly received messages.

17.50 PM, COMMANDER TAI:" Give me an update Jess. What happened?!"

17.51 PM, COMMANDER TAI:" Did you find the twins? And Sora?"

18.02 PM, COMMANDER TAI:" Could you please stop ignoring me?"

I can't help but snort with laughter at the last message. Normally my uncle would never be this edgy but I can tell he's dying to know what is happening.

18.05 PM, JESSICA:" I found Dylan. He's okay. Still looking for Kazumi though."

18.06 PM, COMMANDER TAI:" I guess you haven't used the DNA tracker then?"

My mouth hangs open when I read his next message. I feel like slapping myself. How could I've been so dumb? And how the hell does my uncle know about the tracker?

18.09 PM, JESSICA:" Dad told you?"

18.11 PM, COMMANDER TAI:" Who do you think gave him the tracker so he could give it to you?"

In an instant I feel lighter than ever before. Although I tried to suppress the guilt, I've felt for deceiving my beloved uncle, I still felt like shit. But I obviously misjudged him, as so often. I'm too overwhelmed by the fact that my uncle obviously knows me better than I ever thought was possible, than to be able to respond. Judged by the fact that Tai isn't sending me another message, our conversation is over now anyway.

Dylan and I round another corner when I finally snap out of my confusion and pull out the DNA tracker out of my many pockets. As soon as Dylan realizes what I'm holding he starts to frown.

"You've been carrying this for the last hour we've been walking through the city and didn't once bother to use it?"

I look at him apologetically:" I forgot I had it with me actually."

He just rolls his eyes in annoyance:" sometimes you're as blonde as you look."

I turn on the device while I glare at him:" Fuck you."

He just raises his eyebrows while he continues to walk:" Actually my dear, I'd rather fuck you."

I stop walking and stare at his back, my mouth hanging wide open. He's never so straight forward with me. And the boldness of his statement both; excites me and unnerves me at the same time.

I choose to ignore him for now and focus on the DNA tracker. All of our and our parent's team's names are listed alphabetically. I click on Kazumi's name and wait for that thing to load the data or whatever the hell it is doing. I catch up with Dylan again but refuse to look at him although I feel his gaze on me.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see him grinning smugly what only flushes me more. I feel my cheeks heating up by the sheer memories that are overflooding my mind at this very moment.

"Do you remember the last time when I did that thing with my tongue – ", Dylan starts but the sudden beeping of the DNA tracker interrupts him for which I am beyond thankful for.

I wouldn't be able to focus on my mission if he'd start to recall all the dirty things he did to me.

The playfulness in Dylan's expression is gone. He approaches and looks over my shoulder at the blinking green dot that is a couple of hundred meters in front of us. He takes the device away from me and starts walking, this time a lot faster than before. I grab aunt Sora's bow and an arrow as a precaution; after all, you never know what to expect in the digital world.

Dylan follows my example and puts on his helmet before he draws his dagger. We both close our visors and take off in a run.

The nearer we get, the faster the beeping sounds. The destruction of the city gets worse with every meter we pass and I cringe when I think about Kazumi being here somewhere. If Dylan hasn't had any luck in finding her then she must be buried somewhere under these tons of ruins.

We come to a halt in the middle of the remains of what must have been giant skyscrapers. I gulp nervously and scan the area for a familiar brown shock of hair, in vain. I look over to Dylan who's just staring at the device's display that shows with no doubt that Kazumi must be here somewhere.

"She's immortal Dylan. She'll be okay." I could slap myself for sounding so hopeless. He lifts his gaze from the display and turns his head towards me. Since his visor is closed I can't read his expression but judged by his slumped down figure I can guess that he's devastated.

"I don't even know where to start", his voice cracks. He looks over the destruction, his shoulders trembling lightly.

I place my hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him somehow:" We'll find her."

I take a deep breath and get a grip on my own emotions that dare to overwhelm me soon; they're only in my way right now. I jump over a few rather big bricks and start to move all the debris away that is separating me from the ground. She has to be somewhere under all of this and I'm determined to find her.

After a while I hear Dylan farther away, doing the same thing. Since he's way stronger than I'll ever be he's moving faster and lifting up huge cement blocks. I try to focus on my own task because if I start staring at him now I'm sure I won't ever be able to stop again.

I don't even realize how much time passes but I inwardly register that our already bad sight worsens even more because of the sudden darkness. The sun must have set behind these endless red clouds. Although deep down I know that it's of no use for us to continue to look for her in this darkness, not to mention damn dangerous, I stay silent. Dylan should decide when it's time to stop.

I can feel my muscles burning but rather than giving up because of the pain I squat down and try to feel her somehow. We've been trained to feel each other's aura but Kazumi must either be heavily injured or unconscious because no matter how hard I try to feel her, I can't.

This is useless.

"This is useless", Dylan speaks out my thoughts out loud. He pulls off his helmet and looks over to me. His hair sticks to his face and he is panting heavily.

"God damn it!" He throws the helmet into the nearest wall with such a force that I expect the helmet to burst. But it's actually the wall that is left with a deep dent.

Damn, uncle Izzy and uncle Ken must have meant it literal when they said our helmets are indestructible.

"Dylan. What about we rest until it gets somewhat lighter again and then we can continue to look for her?" I say, expecting the worst. But instead of shouting angrily at me like I expected him to do, he just nods. He takes out the DNA tracker for what feels like the hundredth time for the last three and a half hours and checks his twin's location. Sure enough; she hasn't moved.

I get down from the ruins I am standing on and walk over to the wall where Dylan threw his helmet at. I grab a few small rocks and form a circle. Dylan obviously gets what I'm trying to do because he walks over to the nearest building and comes back with a handful of wooden blocks. God only knows where the hell he found them in all this chaos but I'm just glad he did.

He places them in the middle of the rocks and with a swift motion of his hand the wood catches fire immediately. He sits down on the ground right next to me and stares into the flames.

I hesitantly reach out for his hand and smile lightly when he doesn't refuse my touch. I trace my fingers over his bruised hands. He has several cuts on his fingers and when I caress his palm I can feel his calloused skin he got from lifting heavy weights every other day.

I lean back on the wall and stare at his hard profile. His cinnamon colored skin stretches around his chin, indicating that he's grinding his teeth: a habit he took up whenever he's deep in thought. His endless long eyelashes are glistering in the light of the fire, if from sweat or tears he might have shed I'm not so sure. He's still trying to catch his breath after wearing himself out that much.

I can feel his thumb caressing my hand and it takes me a second to adjust to that completely new side of him. He was never that affectionate with me; at least, not outside of a bedroom. He's still looking straight into the flames. The dark light makes the brown color of his eyes look like molten chocolate.

All of the sudden I feel my chest tightening when I remember how I've felt two days ago when Gennai told me the news about aunt Sora dying. I thought I'd lost him forever.

I thought I would never be able to look into these eyes again.

"Dylan?" I whisper softly, not daring to speak too loudly in fear that my voice will break.

He turns his head towards me:" Huh?"

"I – I'm sorry for what I said to you."

He looks at me with raised eyebrows. The corner of his lip is twitching lightly but he's not giving in to that grin:" What do you mean?"

Ugh.

"That I want you to rot in hell. I – I would never – "

"Jessica", he interrupts me, catching me completely off guard by calling me by my whole name. My mom is the only one who's calling me that. He cups my face in both of his hands and looks me right into my eyes.

I can see his inner battle and the hesitation clearly but I can't come up with an explanation on what is troubling him now. He lowers his gaze and takes several deep breaths. All the while he's still holding onto me. He lets go of my face and takes my hand in his. He still looks down on the ground, taking his sweet time to prepare himself to say whatever he has to say. His palms are sweaty and I can feel his hands trembling.

I'm just about to ask him what the hell is wrong with him when he finally speaks out.

"I uh… I love you." He mumbles finally.

I'm stunned. Shocked actually.

"I know it's not the right time for this kind of conversation and I know I've been a huge dick to you most of the time", he continues still looking at the ground. His voice quivers lightly and judged by the fact how hard he's holding onto my hand this small monologue of him is costing him huge overcoming.

He finally lifts his head and looks me straight into my eyes:" but I genuinely love you Jess."

I can't do anything than gape stupidly at him. Never in a million years would I have expected him to say those words to me. Hell, I never expected him to feel anything beside sexual attraction!

"I'm sorry it just took me way too long to realize it", he adds. His raspy voice is a mere whisper but I can clearly hear his unsure undertone. He's surely alienated by the fact that I haven't said anything yet.

But damn. What on earth am I supposed to say?! How dare he affront me like that?

I shake my head in complete disbelief before I finally come up with a coherent sentence:" Damn Dylan. It took you to vanish from this earth to finally realize that?"

He laughs out loud:" Y – yeah. You could say I'm a little bit slow."

"Damn you." I whisper before I close the distance between us and press my lips on his.

We're way better in physical actions than with words anyway. He lets go of my face and wraps his left arm around my torso, pulling me closer towards him while his right hand remains on my neck.

It's an innocent kiss without any intention of getting further than where we are now. It's a completely new sensation and I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the endearment he's holding me with.

He separates from me and leans his forehead against mine. I close my eyes and inhale his unique scent I've missed so much. I didn't realize how bad I was longing for his presence until now and now that I have him exactly where I ever wanted him, I won't ever let him go.

"Aww man you guys are so lovely and I feel awful for ruining your moment. But it's getting quite uncomfortable down here sooo… would you mind?" A woman's voice sounds.

Both of us turn around towards the source. Dylan grabs a flashlight and turns it on, holding the light ray directly at the person who's stuck under what looks like a giant snack machine.

"Kaz!" Dylan exclaims. He jumps up to his feet and runs over to his sister. I follow him as fast as I can, taking the flashlight that fell out of Dylan's hands with me. He stops right next to her and examines the snack machine.

"Hold on. I'll get you out in a sec."

He squats down and gets a hold on the snack machine's edge. I can see the muscles on his arms and legs tense through his uniform when he straightens himself up again; lifting the machine up with almost no effort.

He holds the machine high enough so I can kneel down on the ground and hold onto Kazumi's arms, pulling her out from underneath it. I wince when I hear the rustling of the dirt beneath Kazumi's back. She's biting on her lip so she won't make any sound but it's clearly written on her face how bad that movement just hurt her.

As soon as she's out, Dylan let's go of the machine and turns towards his sister.

Kazumi's panting and judged by the way she's squeezing her eyes shut I can't help but worry that maybe there are some serious injuries we aren't aware of yet. Dylan slowly kneels down next to her and places his hands on her legs.

"Does that hurt?" His voice is full of concern but relief washes over his face when Kazumi just shakes her head.

"No. I have no broken bones. My back is just killing me."

As soon as the words are out it's like something clicked in both, mine and Dylan's heads and we turn into an autopilot like state – as usual when we're out on the field and someone's injured.

I help her get into a sitting position while Dylan unzips her jacket. He carefully takes her right hand and pulls on the sleeve of her jacket while I do the exactly same thing with her left one. I can't help but frown at the fact that she's not even trying to do it by herself – normally she wouldn't let anyone help her do anything. This is how stubborn she is. But there's not a hint of that stubbornness coming to the surface right now.

Something's seriously wrong with her.

While I examine her face for any injuries, Dylan pulls her shirt up her back, checking the bandages she has from the whipping incident.

Although the wounds are healing way faster than they would on a normal person, it still takes some time for the skin to recover completely. Dylan slowly pulls on the bandages and within seconds Kazumi's back is revealed to him for the first time. Guilt washes over his face and his gaze lingers on her wounded back for longer than necessary. His mouth is left slightly open and I spot a suspicious glistering in his eyes. However as soon as he feels my gaze on him he shakes it off immediately.

We learned that strategy years ago; emotions have no place during missions. They only hold you back so it's better and more efficient if you just keep them out of your head.

He gets back on his feet and grabs the bag I was carrying with me. He gets out the antiseptic, new bandages and a pair of gloves before he kneels down behind his sister.

"Dylan you really don't have to – ", Kazumi starts bust doesn't get the chance to continue because we both interrupt her.

"Shut up."

"O wow you've been together for what? 5 minutes?" She smiles lightly before she looks up to the sky, her face darkening the moment she does so.

"How long has it been like that?" She asks directed at me. Her chaotic hair gives her a wild look and the fear in her gaze rounds the look up completely. She looks lost.

"Almost two days", I say, preparing myself for her break down that will surely follow as soon as she realizes how bad things could be concerning Alec.

Dylan stops cleaning the wounds on her back as soon as the subject of our conversation gets to him. He looks at his sister expectantly; obviously waiting for the same thing as I am.

But Kazumi remains silent.

I exchange a worried look with Dylan but he just shrugs. She never behaved like that. In all those years we've been together she was always the loudest, the bluntest and the bravest one of us all. So her being silent while looking at a deep red sky what obviously predicts her boyfriend's death is highly unusual.

"We'll get to him Kaz. I'm sure he's okay", I say because I cannot bear her silence.

She unglues her gaze from the sky and looks me dead in the eyes:" no he's not. I doubt any of them are."

Since I really don't know how to respond to that kind of statement I just stay silent. No matter what I say now it won't comfort her anyway. So I don't bother to try.

She hisses in pain when Dylan applies the antiseptic ointment on her back but regains her self control almost immediately. She takes a deep breath and waits patiently until her brother is done with the new bandage. He carefully covers her wounds again and pulls her shirt down again before he gets back on his feet and looks down on her.

She clearly relaxes as soon as he's done and looks up to him.

They exchange a long look before Dylan finally sighs and starts to pack my bag again. I always wondered how that non verbal communication works between them.

Kazumi slowly gets back on her feet again before she reaches out for me. I silently grab her hand and get up too, looking at the twins in confusion.

"I guess we're leaving then?" I ask since they probably forgot – as usual – that not everyone can participate in their mind reading shit.

"Yeah there's really no point in staying in this damned city anymore. You didn't happen to find my trident?" Kazumi asks while she zips her jacket back up.

I look over to Dylan who shakes his head:" Nope."

"This day is just getting better and better", she mumbles under her breath before she unzips her jacket again and starts fumbling inside of it. After what feels like hours she sighs in frustration and takes out a heart shaped necklace.

"What is that?" Dylan asks, looking at the red ruby in awe.

Kazumi places it on the ground before she grabs the nearest brick:" Mom gave it to me in case I'll ever be weapon less."

Now that she mentioned aunt Sora I can see the symbol of the crest of Love engraved in the necklace. It's nothing too extraordinary but it's still cute.

"But how – ", Dylan starts but the shattering of the red stone interrupts him. He gapes stupidly at his sister.

I'm just about to ask her what the fuck she just did when all of the sudden a very intimate red light appears right above the shattered necklace. I feel my heart sink and can't do anything but stare at that stupid light that helped me get here. It slowly elongates, forming a very familiar silhouette.

Kazumi gasps in surprise as soon as she registers what it is. The light dies down suddenly and what's left is a perfect copy of her trident.

"Damn mom", she whispers in awe.

"Our parents are so awesome", I say, remembering a very similar necklace my mother gave me a while ago. I can't remember what she told me back then but I certainly remember the crest of sincerity being engraved in the green sapphire.

"They sure as hell are. And they need our help so we should not waste any time now", Dylan says. He shoulders my back and draws his dagger before he starts walking towards the gates of the city.

"What about mom?" Kazumi asks as soon as we caught up with Dylan.

"What about her?" Dylan says while he gestures for me to hand him the DNA tracker.

"She died here too Dyl. Didn't you bother to look for her?!" Kazumi counters, an angry undertone appearing in her tone.

Dylan stops right in his tracks and frowns at his twin:" Why should she be here? She's surely with the others."

"We two died here and woke up here. Why should it be any different with her?"

All of the sudden I feel pretty damn stupid and kind of guilty for not thinking about my aunt's whereabouts anymore.

After all she was the one I was looking for because her damn corpse just vanished.

"Uh actually guys. She was brought back to the base after Daemon killed her", I say. The twins turn around in unison and look at me with equal wide eyes.

"But you being here alone means she isn't there anymore", Dylan puts the pieces together in high speed.

I just nod silently. Dylan's frown deepens and he looks back at the city we left behind us.

"Where the hell is she then?"

"Uh… I have an idea", Kazumi says, catching both of our attention again. She points towards what looks like a giant fire at the horizon.

Although it's pretty difficult to spot anything around here, I have no trouble to make out the bird like digimon, that shots up from the fire all of the sudden. It flies high into the sky before it spreads its wings and sends a bright shimmering golden attack at whoever must be down there.

"Is that – ?" I start.

"Phoenixmon", the twins answer in unison.

"Let's not waste any more time then", I exclaim before I take off in a sprint.

The twins follow me and together we run down over the open field and towards that giant inferno. The nearer we get, the hotter the air around us becomes and the better my sight of the scene in front of me gets. While before I thought something was set on fire I can make out now that the flames are actually creating a circle.

"I'm asking you again. Where are they?!" A beyond angry, feminine voice sounds from behind the flames. Alone by the sound of her talking I feel myself getting lighter. A couple tons of bricks are lifted off of my heart and I am finally able to breathe again.

I hear the twins exhale next to me and I can't help but grin from ear to ear, mirroring their happy expressions.

"If you're asking so nicely I might as well tell you; they were at the front." A strange, second voice sounds.

Although I don't recognize that foreign Digimon I can't help but feel relieved; I was expecting Lucemon, and this certainly is not him.

"We have to get to her", I whisper so whoever enemy Sora is facing right now won't hear us.

"Give me a sec", Dylan says before he unzips his jacket and takes out a pair of goggles that resemble the ones my uncle Tai is wearing all of his life. He puts them on and stares directly into the flames while he's spinning some modulator on the goggle's side. Whatever technology uncle Izzy and uncle Ken put into them; it obviously helps him to see right through the flame – wall.

"Uh oh."

"What do you mean by uh oh?!" Kazumi hisses, grabbing her brother by his elbow with more force than necessary.

"It's the chaos lord", Dylan whispers.

My blood freezes in an instant.

Kazumi's knuckles are white and she's staring at her brother in pure shock.

"Dylan this is impossible. If the chaos lord is here than that means that the chaos generals were defeated and – "

"Well I guess we know now what happened to Alec. And I really do not want to think about what happened to the others." Dylan interrupts me.

"So, bearer of Love, who came back from the dead. Would you mind to break off your little show so I can go and end what my generals were too stupid to finish?" Chaos lord's voice sounds again. The meaning of his words slowly sinks in and a tiny little flame of hope flares up inside of me.

"You can go and fuck yourself", my aunt replies cockily, causing me and Dylan to chuckle lightly.

"Wait. This is mom's inferno?" Kazumi says, looking at the flames in confusion.

Wait a moment… if these are aunt Sora's flames then we can –

"You certainly know how to piss me off. CHAOS CANNON!"

I can feel the energy of chaos lord's attack through the flames and instinctively grab my bow and an arrow, ready to shoot through the flames. But Dylan is way faster than me.

He raises both of his hands and with a powerful wiping motion with both of his arms the flames get directed to the left side. Whereas before, there was a fire circle, the flames now accumulate on one side and reveal my aunt who was standing on the right side.

The flames engulf what I assume must be chaos lord's attack completely and vanish right in front of us, revealing also our enemy.

"Don't you dare to lay a hand on my mother you motherfucker", Dylan shouts out, anger clearly marking his voice.

Phoenixmon, chaos lord and aunt Sora turn towards us in unison and while my aunt cracks a huge smile I can literally see chaos lord fuming with anger. His red chrome digizoid that covers most of his machine – dragon like body blazes dangerously and I can see smoke coming out of the cannon on his back.

"I'm so glad you're okay", aunt Sora says, wrapping her arms around both of the twins. Although I feel the deep desire to do the same to her I must admit that it surely will freak her out since this younger version of my aunt does not really know me.

But she surprises me nevertheless. She lets go of the twins and hugs me tightly before she whispers in my ear;" I knew you would find them."

I'm too stunned by her words than to be able to respond.

She lets go of me and just gives me a wink. "We'll talk later."

I just nod and let my gaze wander over her quickly, looking for any sign of injuries. She has several cuts on her cheeks, her bottom lip is burst open on one side and there's a gash over her left eyebrow that is painting her temple deeply red. Apart from that she looks okay, quite worn out and messy, but okay.

"Please excuse my rudeness to interrupt your happy reunion of undeads. But you're in my way", chaos lord speaks out again, taking a step towards us while doing so.

Phoenixmon immediately blocks his way and spreads her wings. "You're not going anywhere."

Chaos lord growls angrily:" All of you should be dead! Why are you still here and bothering me?!"

"Your demon lord's aim sucks", Sora says before she grabs her bow and an arrow. "Mine sure doesn't."

The arrow pierces through the air but seeing that there's no special feature of aunt Sora's weapon yet, it simply breaks as soon as it hits chaos lord's chest. His laughter roars through the air and I angrily bend my bow, sending one of my aunt's arrows at him.

But weirdly enough, it doesn't catch any fire as usual when my aunt shoots them. The arrow, similar as Sora's, simply breaks as soon as it hits the chrome digizoid.

"What the fuck?" Dylan looks at the bow in confusion.

"Is it broken?" Kazumi asks, looking at the weapon in my hand. Although I can literally feel it pulsating in my hand it doesn't seem like it's working properly.

Why would my aunt want me to have a broken weapon?

Chaos lord's laughter intensifies:" You are lovely. Now back to my question."

He eyes Sora for several minutes before his blood red eyes get wide:" I know now how you did it bearer of love."

Sora knits her eyebrows:" did what?"

"You being alive surely has something to do with our precious master Phoenix huh? What do you say? Am I right?"

Sora stumbles and for a swift second, I think I saw a nervous glint in her eyes but she regains her self – control in milliseconds. Her expression darkens and she glares at the Digimon:" How dare you."

Chaos lord laughs again:" he is not rotting in hell like he's supposed to do of that I am sure. However…", he trails off and turns towards Kazumi who tenses up next to me.

"His older brother surely is."

I can feel the heat coming from my best friend and all of the sudden the ground starts shaking beneath us.

"Don't bring Alec into this", Kazumi hisses before she stomps on the ground with her right foot, creating deep cracks under chaos lord.

He doesn't have the time to react and stumbles over the cracked ground, giving Phoenixmon a perfect opportunity. She flies up in the air like before and spreads her wings:" CRIMSON FLARE!"

Phoenixmon's flame hits chaos lord at full force, causing a great stir. Simultaneously all of us close our helmet's vizors.

"PULSE BLAST!"

The attack comes so suddenly that we don't have the time to react properly. Although Sora somehow tries to create a shield, the attack simply breaks through it, sending us flying over the plain land. As soon as I fall down on my back I turn around and get up again – things like this do not affect me in the least.

"You chose the wrong blonde to mess with, you stupid can!" I shout out before I spread my arms.

I feel the electricity run through my veins and accumulate in my right hand. I haul off as if he were right in front of me and bring my fist forward. A bright, sparkling blueish – green energy beam leaves my hand and hits chaos lord directly on his chest.

He falls down on his back and both, Phoenixmon and Kazumi take that opportunity again.

"STARLIGHT EXPLOSION!"

Phoenixmon's golden rain comes down and combines with the flames that are coming out of Kazumi's palms, creating a massive energy beam that hits the ground where chaos lord is lying.

The earth shakes violently and I'm just about to stumble over my own feet when I feel a strong hand on my elbow, stabilizing me. I look over and although I can't see his eyes through the visor and he can't see me smiling we understand each other perfectly. He gives me a quick nod before he takes off in a run, sprinting towards the giant dust cloud that is covering chaos lord's lying figure.

Dylan's just about to pierce the dagger into what he assumes must be the enemy, when all of the sudden, chaos lord's claw appears from the dust cloud, missing Dylan only by a few inches.

He takes a few steps back and waits for chaos lord to approach him, which he does in an instant.

"You think you can fight me? Don't make me laugh!" He launches forward, his spear like arm aimed directly at Dylan's chest but before he can hit him, a big, heart shaped shield appears right in front of Kazumi's brother.

"Don't you dare to lay a hand on my son from the future!" Sora shouts out, citing Dylan's words from before when it was the exact other way around.

Chaos lord's spear bounces off with a loud bang and only a second later he screams out in pain when Dylan sticks his dagger right under his right armpit – one of his body's parts that are not covered in chrome digizoid. Most of the people do not know that but we were taught these details about almost every Digimon. We know their weak spots.

I can't help but feel a certain kind of pride; my boy did his homework.

Chaos lord stumbles back, Dylan's dagger still sticking inside of him. Chaos lord pants lightly before he grabs the handle of the dagger and pulls it out, sending it flying to who knows where.

Dylan takes a few steps back while small flames slowly start to flicker on his hands.

"You little – !" Chaos lord tries to grasp Dylan with both of his hands but he takes another step back and raises both of his hands, engulfing chaos lord with his flames. However while most of the enemies which encounter Dylan's fire attacks burn down to ashes in only a few seconds, chaos lord doesn't seem bothered by it. Not in the least.

"HA HA HA. You think fire can harm me in any way?! I am made of METAL!" Chaos lord shouts out before his spear like arm pierces through Dylan's flames, diving right into his right shoulder.

"No!" We shout out in unison.

Dylan stumbles back and winces in pain before he sinks down on one knee, holding onto his shoulder. His hand is painted red within seconds and I run over the field towards him, regardless of the possible consequences of forgetting about my defense.

I squat down in front of Dylan and press my hand on his shoulder as hard as I can.

"I guess I should have payed more attention when aunt Yolei was teaching us physics", he says before he chuckles lightly.

"Didn't uncle Ken cover that topic in chemistry?"

"Isn't that the same thing?" Dylan counters, grinning, although I can see how much he's suffering.

"I'm glad the two of you are enjoying yourselves. But you are getting on my nerves really bad", chaos lord's voice snaps us out again. Both of us turn towards him and his raised claw.

I raise my hands, ready to create a shield to protect us but Phoenixmon catches him off guard.

"FLAMING WING!" Phoenixmon comes down form the sky like lighting, tackling chaos lord on the ground.

He however is not having any of it; with one swift motion of his arm he throws the bird off of him and gets back on his feet.

"CHAOS CANNON!"

His energy blasts are aimed directly at Phoenixmon who is still struggling to get back on her feet. Two of them unfortunately hit her before Sora's shield prevents the rest of them to hit her Digimon partner.

"Phoenixmon are you okay?" Sora shouts out, her crimson eyes shining in a lightly reddish color. Her palms show several burn marks already and I'm not sure how many time's she'll be able to safe our asses again. She's panting hard and the trembling of her knees indicates that the gash on her forehead might have done more damage to her than I previously assumed.

"Don't worry about me Sora!" The bird shouts before she shakily straightens herself again. Judged by the way how worn out both, Sora and Phoenixmon look, they must have been fighting chaos lord for a while already before we arrived.

"Kazumi are you insane!" Dylan exclaims all of the sudden, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I turn towards the other side where chaos lord is standing, his gaze fixed on Phoenixmon who's flying in the air again. He completely forgot about his defense and Kazumi takes advantage of his imprudence.

She grabs the trident harder what causes it to ablaze immediately before she sticks it into his other, uninjured armpit with full force. Chaos lord screams out in pain before he sinks down on his knees.

Seeing that the trident's blades are much longer they probably caused much more damage in chaos lord's body.

However Kazumi is not done yet, she grabs the trident with both of her hands and lifts the Digimon up as if the trident was a dung fork and chaos lord is the dung. She bends her knees lightly and turns her torso before she hauls off and sends the chaos lord flying through the air.

"Shock him Jess!" Kazumi shouts, her trident still burning in her hand and her gaze completely focused on her enemy.

I don't waste a second and get back on my feet before I raise both of my hands and send another electric energy beam at him. Chaos lord's just about to get back on his feet when my attack hits him, causing him to tremble heavily before he falls down on his knees again. Smoke is coming out of his body and the reverberation of my last attack is still visible on him since he's still shaking.

But he's also damn furious.

"CHAOS CANNON!" Chaos lord's attack comes so suddenly that Kazumi doesn't even register that it is aimed directly at her.

"Kazumi!" Dylan and Sora shout in unison, causing the brunette to turn towards the energy blasts that are coming at her.

"SKY STRIKE!" Phoenixmon appears from nowhere and attacks Chaos lord, diverting his attack while doing so. The energy blasts miss Kazumi by a few inches but are enough for her to lose her balance and fall down on the ground.

While Phoenixmon and chaos lord continue to send several attacks at each other, the brunette gets back on her feet and runs towards us. Sora joins Dylan on the ground and presses gauze on his injury. She takes off her helmet and takes several deep breaths. I inwardly register that she's still bleeding out of her wound and her slightly disoriented gaze makes it clear that she's in bitter need of medical treatment.

She obviously feels my worried gaze because she turns towards me and just gives me a wink:" I'm fine Jessica."

I'm just about to argue when Kazumi finally approaches us.

"Guys. This is useless. We have to hit his core somehow", Kazumi says, looking at the digimon that are fighting each other tirelessly. The more chaos lord attacks Phoenixmon, the slower I can see her getting.

"Aunt Sora's bow is not working, Dylan hasn't his spear and you haven't your original trident", I say, realizing how bad equipped we actually are.

"What does that mean Jess?" Sora asks, unzipping Dylan's jacket and pulling his shirt aside so she can patch him up properly. Dylan just grits his teeth but weirdly enough, doesn't refuse her touch.

"Our weapons all have the ability to overcome chrome digizoid. But seeing that we don't have them with us we have no chance to break his damn body", Kazumi explains, looking at her trident in her hands.

"I don't get why mom's bow isn't working though." Dylan says, looking at the bow in my hand in confusion.

I just shrug helplessly. I can't come up with an explanation why my aunt would give me a weapon that is completely useless. This is not something she would do.

"CHAOS CANNON!" Chaos lord's voice pierces through the air, louder and angrier than ever before.

I hear the younger version of my aunt gasp causing us to follow her gaze simultaneously. The golden bird like digimon screams out in pain when chaos lord's energy beams hit her all at once. She falls down on the ground, creating a huge stir.

Sora lets go of Dylan's now freshly bandaged shoulder and gets back on her feet.

It takes her about two seconds to register that Phoenixmon is not going to get up again. This is the amount of time she stares at her partner before something in her head clicks and she starts running.

"Mom no!" Dylan tries to reach out to her but she's too fast.

Chaos lord approaches the fallen digimon and raises his claw, ready to end what he begun. He hauls off but before he can hit her, Sora blocks his claw with her scythe she drew during her sprint. The weapon shines in its usual reddish light that comes from the crest of love.

Although chaos lord is clearly struggling to drive his claw further, it's obvious that my aunt from the past can't hold him off for too long.

I can already see her legs shaking. Her arms are giving in and chaos lord's claws are slowly but surely nearing her cuirass.

"She needs help", Kazumi whispers, gripping her trident harder again.

"Let me do it", I say before I bend my bow again.

"The bow is useless Jess", Dylan says from his sitting position on the ground. He's still holding onto his shoulder with one hand and supports himself with his other. He looks at me with his deep brown eyes that are filled with doubt.

"Yeah but I have to try it anyway." I exhale deeply before I send an arrow directly at Chaos lord's claw.

The arrow flies through the air and the nearer it gets to its aim, the brighter I can see it shining. I gape stupidly at the item that all of the sudden catches fire.

Sora's arms finally give in but before Chaos lord's claw can pierce her up my arrow hits him, catching him completely off guard. He stumbles lightly and his claw sticks into the ground right next to Sora. She's lying on her back, supporting herself with her elbows.

All of the sudden an insane idea pops up in my head and before I know what I am doing I'm already calling out for her.

"Aunt Sora! CATCH!"

She looks over to me and raises her hand in time to catch the bow I threw to her. As soon as she touches the weapon an immense fire ignites and the bow starts shining in its usual bright, red light.

Chaos lord frees himself from the ground and is just about to launch himself at Sora's lying figure when she draws an arrow and bends the bow. The arrow catches fire immediately and before chaos lord even has the time to register what is happening Sora already shot the arrow directly into his chest, breaking the chrome digizoid with ease.

Chaos lord stumbles backwards, clearly stunned by what just happened. He looks down on Sora who slowly sits up, another arrow ready to be shot.

The bow is still shining immensely and a reddish aura starts to surround her. She finally resembles my real aunt.

"You messed with the wrong girl", she says, standing up slowly.

Chaos lord stares at her with wide eyes. The arrow in his chest is still ablaze, burning him up from the inside:" I – I underestimated you."

Sora glares angrily at him. The red aura that is surrounding her intensifies:" Are they still alive?"

"Your friends? I – I don't think the demon lords have enough daggers to kill all of them. You became immortal sooner than we expected." Chaos lord sinks down on his knees; his canon on his back already starts to dissolve into data.

"Where are they?"

"There is a camp near the front. They were there when our troops attacked them."

Kazumi and I each place Dylan's arm around our shoulders and approach the two of them. Sora is still standing in front of Phoenixmon who slowly regains consciousness again and follows their conversation with interest. While Dylan leans on the bird digimon, Kazumi and I flank Sora's left and right side, ready to attack if it needs to be.

"And where is that?" Sora asks, her arrow aimed directly at Chaos lord's forehead.

"About 75 miles southwest from here."

"We can be there in about an hour Sora. I can make it", Phoenixmon whispers, trying to gain Sora's attention. But I can tell by the way how tense the younger version of my aunt is that she is desperately trying to put a lid on her anger. But she's failing miserably I can tell.

"Okay. I don't need you anymore."

"What? No! Bearer of Love. I can help you! I can – "

Sora's second arrow sticks right into Chaos lord's forehead, setting him completely on fire. I hear his digicore shattering. He sinks down on his knees, the red light in his eyes dims and he dissolves into data:" Damn the demon lords."

"Say that again", Sora whispers, looking at the data that is floating in the air. She slowly lowers her bow and turns towards her digimon partner.

"I had to do it By."

Phoenixmon just blinks at her before she nods:" I know. I would have done the same."

Sora smiles lightly at her before she looks up to the sky.

"Does anyone know what a red sky means? I was wondering about that the moment I woke up in front of Belphemon's city."

Dylan and I exchange a nervous glance before he looks over to his sister. Kazumi takes off her helmet too. She sniffles lightly before she fixes her trident on her back and turns towards the younger version of her mother.

"The redder the sky gets, the more chaotic the dimensions are. An imbalance of the dimensions means that the one that is ruling over them is dying."

Sora stares at Kazumi with wide eyes:" Are you implying that Alec – ?"

"I doubt that he's dead yet. But we should get to him sooner rather than later", I say, still holding onto my hope.

"Wow I wish I had your optimism", Kazumi mumbles before she climbs up Phoenixmon's back.

"Let's hope for the best", Dylan says, following his twin's example. Sora and I quickly climb up too and together we finally let this damned city behind us.

The flight is spent in complete silence in which I can't help but steal several glances at Sora who seems deeply in thought. Kazumi cleans up the wound on her forehead, patching it up the best she can.

"I tried to close the wound somehow but I'm sure you need stitches mom", Kazumi says, fixing the last patch on Sora's temple.

Sora for her part doesn't seem like she's even listening to a word Kazumi says, her gaze seems very far away while both of her hands rest on her stomach.

"Are you okay mom?" Dylan asks her. He's looking at the same thing as I am and as soon as Sora realizes where he's looking at she bends her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"I'm fine Dyl, don't worry about me", she smiles warmly at him. The twins and I exchange a few glances but decide to let the subject drop for now. If she'd be injured she'll surely tell us.

"You probably want to take a look at this", Phoenixmon says, catching our attention in an instant.

We look over the burnt desert and I feel my throat getting dry. Whereas before I thought Belphemon's city looked awful, it was nothing compared to what sight is revealed to me now. Hundreds of tents are burnt down completely, leaving nothing back but black piles of ashes. The hills on both sides show deep holes in them.

But what makes me almost tremble in fear is the giant crater right underneath us.

And the twelve people scattered all over the place.

"Oh my god", Sora whispers, her face is paler than ever before and she grabs Phoenixmon by her feathers with such a force that I fear that she'll hurt her partner.

"Phoenixmon you have to land here."

Phoenixmon does as she's told and before she can land properly Sora already jumps down on the rocky ground. We follow her example and before I even register what the hell is happening I can hear her already shouting.

"TAI! Oh my god Tai!" Sora runs over to one of the lying figures and falls down on her knees immediately.

Kazumi doesn't waste any time and runs towards the second figure that is only about half a meter next to the younger version of my uncle. She slows down all of the sudden and I can see her starting to shake lightly. From the distance I can see Alec's sprawled figure but what disturbs me most is the item that is stuck in his right hand. Kazumi sinks down on her knees next to him, her face buried in her hands.

"Oh no", Dylan whispers, taking his twins reaction as a pretty bad sign. He runs over to his sister while I go over to Sora and try to calm her down somehow.

She's shaking her unconscious boyfriend violently, trying to get any reaction out of him.

"Wake up Tai! Please don't be dead! Please – "

"Aunt Sora", I grab both of her wrists and force her to let go of him. She looks up to me with her disoriented eyes. She's panting heavily and tears are running down her cheeks.

"He'll be fine Sora. We will take care of him and the others... but right now there's someone who needs more help now", I whisper, glancing over to Kazumi who's staring down on her boyfriend's unmoving body.

Sora looks over to him and catches sight of the dagger within a second. She looks down on uncle Tai's battered, but resting face.

"I'll be right back Tai", she whispers quietly before she bends down and presses her lips against his.

She shakily gets back on her feet and looks over the whole field, looking at each of the digidestined who are all lying unconsciously on the ground. Their digimon partners are either right by their side or lying several meters next to them. But none of them have a dagger stuck in them, of that I am sure.

"Alec", Kazumi whispers while she runs her fingers over the left side of his face. I gulp nervously when I spot the black hole where his eye was supposed to be.

I silently kneel down next to his right hand where one of the demon lord's daggers is stuck.

"Why the hand – ?"

"Whoever did this wanted Alec to suffer from the venom before he actually dies", Dylan says before he grabs the item and pulls it out. Dylan presses his middle and index finger at Alec's throat before he sighs in relief.

"He's not dead."

"But he is dying. Right?" Kazumi asks, her gaze directed at his face. Her hair falls down on either side of her face, blocking our direct view on her face.

"Not for sure", Sora says before she runs over the field, looking for something, or someone. She passes what looks like my mother, my father and uncle Izzy before she kneels down next to someone I can't recognize from the distance. However as soon as I spot the giant red cross on his bag I conclude that she must have looked for uncle Joey.

She rummages through his bag before she obviously finds what she was looking for and comes running back to us. She holds a syringe and a small vial with a transparent liquid inside of it.

"I think that is the cure Joey saved me with", she says before she hands me the two items. I gape stupidly at the vial before something inside of me clicks finally and I fall into my usual autopilot like state again.

I quickly stick the syringe into the vial and fill it completely with the cure before I kneel down next to Kazumi. She looks over to me, uncertainty clear on her face.

"Do you think that will work?"

I just shrug:" It saved your mom."

I silently unzip Alec's uniform and stick the syringe right into his chest before I lean back again. We all stare at his chest, waiting for it to move again finally.

Maybe we came too late.

God only knows how long he was lying here with that damn dagger stuck inside his hand.

Maybe it was just too much for him.

Maybe he gave up in the end.

I wouldn't blame him honestly...

Maybe we –

"Oh my god!" Kazumi exclaims, bending over Alec who is panting for air all of the sudden. His one eye is wide and a weird, bright grey light appears right above his chest before it vanishes again. His eye finally falls on Kazumi before it gets even wider.

"K – Kaz?"

"Yeah. It's me babe. It's me", she says before she bends down and presses her lips against his.

"Thank god", Dylan whispers next to me before he gets back on his feet. I follow his example and walk away from the two of them. They surely need a moment.

Dylan briefly squeezes my hand:" Try not to freak out now okay? I'm sure they're all in a pretty bad shape."

I gulp nervously and glance back at Alec whose condition is already too much for me. Dylan knows me; I can't handle my loved ones being injured but I also can't just stay back and refuse to help them. I take a deep breath and give him a reassuring smile. He grins lightly before he gives me a peck on my cheek and walks over to my parents. I'm beyond thankful for that since I'm in no condition to do that myself. Instead, I jog over to my aunt Kari who's lying a couple of meters next to uncle Tai.

"Please open your eyes!" Sora is kneeling next to her boyfriend again. From my spot next to Aunt Kari I can see my uncle Tai stir all of the sudden.

I look down on Aunt Kari who luckily does not look as if she has any serious injuries. The only thing that kind of disturbs me is a deep gash on her temple that painted the left side of her face red. I take out gauze and soak it with antiseptic before I start to clean the wound. She stirs lightly before she opens her brown eyes.

"Jessica?" Her voice is a mere whisper.

I grin happily at her:" Yes. It's me!"

"What? – ", she starts but I just shake my head, interrupting her. "We'll talk later aunt Kari. We have to get you all out of here first."

She's just about to say something when Sora's voice sounds again, this time more urgent than before.

"Wake up!"

I turn towards her again and bite down on my lip nervously. She surely has a concussion and being stressed like that surely worsens her state even more. She shakes Tai tirelessly without any reaction coming from him. He's completely limp and for a swift second the thought that maybe he was stabbed a second time pops up in my head.

No. He's immune to that venom. He's just unconscious.

All of the sudden she hauls off and slaps Tai across his face and only a second later I can hear him inhale sharply.

"Sor?!"


END OF CHAPTER 21.

I hope all of you saw how the previous chapter and this one come together. If not, please feel free to ask me!

How did you like this one? I'm so happy to welcome our beloved Sora back to the story and I guess all of you are as happy as I am about this huh?

also... I dropped a huge bomb in this chapter - those who read between the lines surely found it. Or at least; have an idea.

Share your thoughts and emotions in a Review - I'd love to find out what you think about this one here.

I really wanted to upload this chapter before the 27th because I have to undergo surgery and I don't know how long I won't be able to write again. It's nothing too serious but I won't be able to use my right hand freely, this is why I wanted to give you all this update before it would be delayed due to my surgery.

I don't know how long it will take me for chapter 23... I hope not too long.

Until then. Be save everyone!

25/10/20