Welcome back everyone! New year, new chances to continuously torture the characters I grew up with. Let's not waste time and start the show!

I own nothing.


Chapter Forty-Three-Hear Your Fear

Tai wondered if this was how military commanders felt reading over mission reports and newsletters. He had to admit, he really had grown to hate this feeling over the past month or so. If he'd learned anything it was never would he pursue a career in the military, not that he ever had given much thought to doing so. Perhaps politics should have been added to the list as well. He'd deeply grown to resent having the lives of so many people thrust upon his shoulders: kids, teenagers, young adults, adults, and the elderly. This was different from dealing with Myotismon and even his more evolved forms, this was dragging on too damn long and costing way too much. Skimming over the reports he was able to take cold comfort in the fact that from the outset they'd scored a string of victories.

Operation Bang Break was a success, on paper anyway. Looking at the photos of the aftermath Tai found himself continuously asking what had they won. In place of the volcanic wasteland was now nothing but a city-wide bowl of destroyed buildings, unnatural valleys and canyons, sink holes that could fit sports stadiums, and not even in the least millions of refugees who'd more than likely been traumatized by the unexplainable horror they'd been subjected to. As he shifted through the papers Tai became increasingly aware that at best Bangkok was a pyrrhic victory; yes they'd stopped Barbamon's advance, but they'd paid a heavy cost for it. Though they'd closed the DigiPorts they hadn't managed to delete all the Digimon that came through the portals. At best they'd eliminated at least half of them which meant there were still possibly thousands of wild, feral Digimon roaming southern Asia; in the coming weeks odds were many would find their way into the mountains of India and China, and from there the situation would only worsen. That was another problem they'd no doubt have to address somewhere down the line.

All that was just in Bangkok, there were others, some had been disasters the magnitude Tai could barely comprehend, and others had been successes that eased his recovery. Tai had come to believe the others snuck in successful reports along with the bad ones to keep his spirit up. According to the doctors he was going to be on bed rest for almost two more weeks, and even after that he'd still be dealing with residual pain. Agumon had for the most part healed, not for the first time the brown-haired teen was envious of his partner's stronger physiology.

"You have to stop doing that." Sora chided.

"Doing what?"

"Thinking depressive thoughts, you know it's not helping things right. I know there's at least one thing in that report for you to be happy about." The redhead directed crossing her arms.

Meeting her expression with a lazy smile Tai let his sense of smell become overtaken by his fellow DigiDestined's lingering shampoo. Amongst the storm of activity how she'd found time to wash was an amazement to Tai, then again Mimi always managed to find time somehow. "Must be a girl thing. Come to think of it when was the last time I had a decent shower?" It had been a long time since he'd showered and gone to bed like a normal teenager. Actually, it had been a long time since he'd done any of the things normal teenager was supposed to do. "You…ever miss it?"

"Miss what?" Sora questioned with an innocent smile. "Not having to sleep over at the hospital? Not having to worry about the fate of the world which has been placed in your hands? Not having to worry about your friends and family being in mortal danger?" Leaning back in her chair a little she laughed, Tai joined her and before either knew it the small hospital room was filled with their laughter. "Hey, I got him laughing, that's a victory for the day." Even if he was lying in a hospital bed with his dominant arm in a sling, mission reports spread across the sheets and his face wrapped in a few bandages Tai's laughter was still amongst the most beloved sounds Sora could ever hear. It'd been a long time since they could sit back and have a laugh together, even if it was a black comedy laugh.

He always loved hearing her laugh, it always seemed to do the trick in lighting his spirit. "Be honest with me, did you have any say on what gets sent to me?"

"Nope, I may have skimmed through some of the names, but I had no input on what landed in front of you." The joy on her face slowly evaporated. "If…I had my choice I wouldn't have let any of these reports get to you period. I…at least that's what I like to think, but knowing you…you would have been angry with me wouldn't you?" she finished looking down to avoid meeting her leader's eyes.

Smiling kindly the Goggle Head reached over and placed his left hand over the brunette. "I wouldn't have been angry, why would I be when I knew if you did it just meant you were worried about me." He waited for her to meet his eye before continuing to speak. When she did he could see the sorrow building behind her eyes. Ignoring some of the pain in his sides he creased Sora's cheek. "I know you're worried about me, but I can't let that stop me Sora. I still have a job to do. I can't let Katsumi do all the heavy-lifting, as her sempai that would be irresponsible of me."

Placing her warm hand over his Sora felt the first tears escape her eyes. "Whatever happened to that loudmouthed kid who wanted to do nothing but spend all day playing soccer with his friends?" Sora laughed at the image of the ten year-old joyfully kicking the ball halfway across the field. Would they ever be able to return to those days? "You know, sometimes I have to remind myself you're still the same stupid Tai that threw up in my hat and didn't tell me about it until it was too late."

"I can save the world from ultimate evil and cure cancer, but you're never going to let that go are you?" He cracked. Retracting his arm he groaned at his body reminding him just how injured he still was. Not like he needed a reminder.

"How long have you been having nightmares?"

"What?"

Smiling another sad smile she ran the rim of her finger underneath his eyes, along the shadows under his eyes. "I'm not as blind or as busy as you think Tai." Were the first words out of her mouth. "I've talked to some of the doctors and they've told me you've woken up screaming in the middle of the night, and if you weren't screaming you were babbling in your sleep. What else am I supposed to make of that?"

At first Tai didn't do anything but dumbly stare at his longtime friend, then he started chuckling. "The Crest of Love goes to the team mom, how is it I'm not surprised?" He must have taken a few too many hits to the head to think he could pull anything over Sora's eyes. Rarely was he, or Matt for that matter, able to hide anything from her. Even if she couldn't tell what it was Sora always seemed able to pick up on the fact he was hiding something from her. Some days he hated it and others he was grateful for it. At this time and in this situation he was leaning more towards the latter. Heaving a heavy sigh he sat up a little more in his bed then cleared his voice. "I think some of the charms are either getting weaker…or my anxiety is becoming too much for them to contain. Heh, knowing me it's probably the second one, you know how I am."

Once again gripping his head Sora whispered, "You know you're not the only one suffering here or going to bed every night scared. Just because the rest of us aren't leaders doesn't mean we don't know what it is you're going through."

Tai knew he had to pick his words carefully for fear of Sora reacting the wrong way. It was times like this he missed being the hotheaded idiot he was in his youth. Unfortunately now wasn't time to dabble in returning to that mentality, nor would his friends and his partner stand for such a thing. "If you…want the truth…I don't think it's Dagomon, it's…Sora, it's me." Casting a side glance at her he found she was waiting for him to elaborate. "Honestly, I don't need Dagomon or Daemon messing with my head, it's already screwed up enough with all the crazy shit I've had to deal with. Most normal people my age…worry about simple things ya' know. Things like getting a girlfriend, a car so they don't have to rely on their parents or public transport, making enough at their job so they can learn how to manage money, hell, managing a credit card or something, and who's talking about what at their local school. In addition to all of that…I have to juggle the fate of two worlds in my hands." He laughed bitterly staring up at the white-tiled ceiling. "Sora, some nights…long before this mess I woke up with nightmares. I dream about everything that nearly killed us during our first adventure in the Digital World: Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters, and everything in between them. I dream about the choices I made…then about what would happen if I made a different choice. If I'd run away or taken another option that was available. I'm sure you can guess how that went…for example when I was MIA after me and MetalGreymon deleted Etemon…I wonder if you guys would have been better off if I hadn't come back. Would we have ended up in that entire mess if I'd been just a little smarter beforehand?"

"Matt once told me you told him something like that before." She calmly responded. "You don't think the rest of us don't have nights like that?"

"I'm the leader Sora, when you're the leader you feel like everything that goes wrong is on your head. Everyone tells you it's not, but a little voice always tells you rather they live or die is up to you. Up to the choices you make." Pausing for breath he wanted Sora to fully absorb what he was saying instead of flying off the handle. It wasn't as if he was trying to demean any of the hardships his friends were facing, he simply wanted to voice the ones he felt were specific to him. "I don't know if all leaders go through this kind of thing; my parents say anyone put in a position of leadership does so here's hoping. Anyways, I wake up and tell myself I made the right decision because everyone I love is still breathing…now that's getting harder because…I can't control any of this."

"Like you could control any of it before?"

"I've never had to face anything this…massive." It was a struggle to find the words to fit the situation as well as the mental image Tai had in his mind. In a manner of speaking he felt like he was attempting to stop a hurricane or a volcano from erupting; a powerless human fruitless trying to stand against the forces of nature. Were it any other time Tai would have found it laughable. "I literally…can't see an end to this in sight, and even if I could I can only see it ending with a lot of people and Digimon dying. Oh, and maybe more collateral damage than World War II. All of us have already lost our homes."

"Do you see any of us dying? Is that what you're scared of?" Sora inquired.

A few minutes passed during which Sora patiently waited for her older friend to answer. Between the machines, TV, and the soft raindrops it was eerily silent perfectly matching the mood.

"Sora…that's exactly what I fear." The teenager answered with a faraway look in his eyes. For fear of the nightmarish visions he refused to shut his eyes, he even feared blinking because he thought he'd see brief flashes of the worst endings possible. "Bodies floating in the water, I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse they're face down, or if they're floating in pools of their own blood. Drowning, that's gotta be painless right? Right? Right?! I'm standing there up to my ankles screaming but I can't hear my own voice! Do you know what that feels like?"

She didn't' want for him to go any further, if she did there's a good chance he would have lost himself and she wouldn't be able to pull him back. Pulling his head into her chest she muffled his voice and rubbed her hands over his mess of bark-colored hair. She knew for a fact Tai's hair had started to go grey, almost a week ago she showed her a small collection he'd amassed over the past month. It wasn't like he was the only one who had grey hairs, but it was still disconcerting to see Tai, not even twenty, pulling them out of his hair. Sora held onto the DigiDestined leader for as long as his shivering continued.

"It's not Dagomon doing it, not even Daemon…it's me Sora." Tai muttered into her shoulder sounding almost ashamed.

"Why do you sound like that's something to ashamed of?" The brunette offered. "Anyone with a sense of humanity would scared. Do you think you're supposed to be able to handle all of this without breaking down at some point?"

"That's just it Sora, I don't want to breakdown. Not…not until all of this is over."

"Can you see an end to this in sight?" Sora softly challenged tightening her hold. "Do you think you can afford to hold out until then?"

"How do you think everyone will take it seeing me, Tai Kamiya, break down right in front of them?"

If the leader broke down then those under him would surely follow that would bring the entire pyramid crashing down. There was always the chance it could be rebuilt, but the damage would be done and live on in memory. It would remain in the back of peoples' thoughts as a constant what-if, a what-if that their enemy would use when they saw an opportunity to sow doubt amongst their ranks.

Tai knew if that situation came to pass it would be game over for their side. It didn't matter that they had digital pets that could demolish buildings like toy models, it didn't matter that they were spread across the continents of two worlds, or that they had allied with dimensional beings strong enough to flatten cities with a snap of their fingers because in the end…they were still an army of kids.

Kids had a tenuous relationship with fear.

"Tai, I'm not even sure trained soldiers could handle this situation better. I mean, not to be rude but you've seen just as many movies as I have." It was her attempt at easing his pain, rather it worked or not she'd have to wait for his immediate reaction.

"Sora," he whimpered trying to regain a bit of control. "That doesn't make any of this easier. I…I hate this feeling. This helplessness, I…I don't think I've ever hated anything as much as I do now. I hate myself for feeling so weak! I hate Dagomon and Daemon for making me feel this way! I hate, gah! I don't even know where to start!"

"You can start wherever you want." The brunette soothed feeling the cool drops of Tai's tears against her shoulder.

A thick silence fell over them as Tai desperately tried to regain his composure. He'd held onto it tooth and nail over the last few weeks, and trying to regain it after letting it slip was proving harder than he thought. "…I'm sorry I'm making you put up with this."

Gently shaking her head Sora countered his statement, "Actually, seeing you like this…it's making me feel a little better because I know I'm not the only one scared witless." Slowly Tai withdrew himself though he never fully left Sora's arms. His eyes were red form strain and tears. "Like I said, you think you're the only one scared? If I can see how many other people do you think can see it? They see you're scared and they still choose to follow you and believe in you Tai. Do you know why?" Once more framing his face using her hands she spoke in a deadly serious voice with eyes that conveyed nothing but the truth. "They see you suck it up, and push ahead for everyone's sake. They see that and they say to themselves, 'if he could do it then so can I'. Do you know why no one's contested you for leadership? Because somewhere inside everyone knows there's no one more qualified to lead us than you; the other leaders see that and that's why the other leaders are still sending you these briefings." Moving a hand from his cheek to the tag around his neck she gripped it firmly feeling the heat and light that was omnipresent soak her palm. "The Crest of Courage chose you for a reason. You remember when we had our final confrontation with Etemon? What you had to learn to get Agumon to Digivolve into MetalGreymon?"

He'd been bathed in the despair of the past so long the chocolate-eyed teen rarely stopped to remember what that despair had given him, or rather, what he'd discovered to conquer it. "Courage isn't knowing no fear, it's knowing fear and still being able to press onward in spite of it." At the time Gennai's words had been a soft reminder of something he always knew, now they were very much needed. Combined with Sora's words Tai could almost feel some invisible hand slapping him or voice calling him an idiot for thinking his fear was in any way an unpassable roadblock. All of this resulted in a hollow chuckle that left him resting his hand on Sora's shoulders again. "Sorry you have to keep putting up with an idiot like me."

"It's fine," She laughed happy she could detect some of his old optimism. "After all the crap you put me through, I've gotten used to it. If you want the truth I actually think it's kind of cute how you always need someone to give you a good kick in the teeth."

Unlike the cold world outside Sora's body was warm and inviting. Tai knew the time of peace wouldn't last long and so did she, but they'd enjoy what time they did have for all its worth. After all, you never know when your next moment would be your last in wartime.


Peace in absolute darkness would have been preferable compared to what Davis' guest decided to drag him through. That was what his dreams were, him simply floating through the dark abyss until he was awoken to cruel and uncaring reality. Compared to what the waking world was like the empty void he floated through was much more preferable and comfortable, even if he couldn't feel anything. In a time before all this madness Davis might not have minded being pulled out of this void.

He most certainly would have minded the person yanking him out though.

The first indication something was wrong was when Davis felt the temperature around him quickly rising to absurd levels. The feeling of his skin drying is what first alerted his sleeping mind that something was wrong. Without warning the heat went from startling to searing, enough for him to feel as if he was being hung over a giant bonfire. Eventually the heat got to the point he couldn't ignore it and lay ideally by.

Jumping up with a startled shout Davis found himself floating in a sea of black darkness that was gradually being burnt away from some unseen light from above. When Davis himself tried to discern what the light was he found he was blinded; it was as if he were attempting to look directly into the sun while in the middle of a burning desert. The rays of light and grew harsher by the second further the feeling he was being cooked alive. Around him the darkness caught fire and seemingly burnt away leaving columns of pitch-black smoke in the aftermath. Before long Davis had to shut his eyes to keep from going blind.

"Ah, isn't this so much more preferable to that disgusting cesspool Dagomon offers?"

"Daemon!" The words flew from Davis' mouth and his body was moving before he'd even comprehended the situation in full. All he did was zero-in on the voice and throw himself in that direction with all his might.

"I still can't believe I let myself be beaten by an imbecile like you. Oh well, least I can rest assured it won't be happening again."

Of course he hit the hard dirt when he sprung forward in a near animal-like lunge that would have brought down a grown man. For a brief moment he felt a wave of hot air pass over him before he and the ground shared a rather sloppy kiss. Immediately picking himself up he saw the cloaked form of his hated enemy standing barely eight feet from him. It only took one look at his face to tell Davis he was laughing at him. And that was why he threw himself at him again.

The robed Demon disappeared in a shower of flickering flames that left nothing for Davis to hit, he reappeared some distance away from him still chuckling to himself. Catching himself before he could fall Davis spun on his feel and charged again. Instead of disappearing Daemon easily evaded the wild punch and follow up. From there it became a game for Davis to take a swing and Daemon to evade while falling back. His chuckling turned into rumbling laughter further inflaming Davis who attacked with greater ferocity.

"Ah, does it make you angry knowing no matter how hard you swing those fist they'll never touch me? You'll never be able to hear my bones break? Make me beg for mercy? Make me pay in blood for everything I've done to you?"

"SHUT UP!"

The ground beneath Davis' feet cracked and the air around him exploded into blue then red-colored fire that pooled itself around his fists. Daemon's moment of shock was Davis' window of opportunity he'd been waiting for.

His left fist knocked the air out of Daemon's digital lungs leaving him stunned, and his right met his chin in a truly satisfying uppercut ripped straight from a boxing movie. Not letting the momentum be lost Davis tackled Daemon to the ground and proceeded to rain down blow after blow with his empowered fists. His own voice was lost to the violent screaming and profanities he leveled at his downed enemy. Besides the accessional grunts of pain Daemon made no sound as the human pummeled him deeper and deeper into the ground.

Reeling his right fist back Davis felt all the hatred and frustration he'd amassed gather into his hand turning it into a mass of blue and orange flames with traces of black licking at the outlines. Pausing for a moment he locked eyes with Daemon who merely laughed at him through his broken jaw.

"Tell me Davis, how does it feel?"

The Goggle Head's fist came down with a thunderous cry that was preceded the explosion of rock and earth that obscured the two beings from view.

After a minute or two the smoke and fire receded revealing the fourteen year-old boy laying on his knees in the middle of the ten-foot crater flacked by embers eating away at the edge. His breath was haggard, his knuckles bruised, and his fingers twitching. Davis' cheeks were smeared with dirt and ash from the explosion; his own breath came as hazy clouds almost a similar color to the patches on his cheeks.

"Felt good didn't it? Letting all that rage you've been holding in out into the open? Almost feels like ascending to Nirvana eh?"

Shocked the teenager looked up from the blackness of the crater to find his hated foe staring down at him with insane joy cackling in his red eyes. Very quickly Davis felt a sneer split his face. "I swear to God I'm going to kill you, no matter what it takes or what I have to do."

"I believe you."

Those three simple words knocked the wind from Davis' sail completely. He stared dumbly at the Demon Lord of Wrath unable to predict his thoughts or even guess at his next action.

"Davis, while you may find this hard to believe I DO know how much of a threat you are. You've always held a certain…power, a willpower that even we demons have to admit is cause for concern. It's just such a pity you can't ever seem to find it when the game starts, only when we're in the last five minutes of the game."

"Let me guess, we're not even close to the last five minutes are we? We're not even past the first half of the game." The younger Goggle Head snorted.

Heheh, how astute for you. We're getting closer to the end of the first half though. The thing is, if you continue like this you won't make it to the last five minutes where you can use this amazing gift to turn the game around. Of course, if you could tap into that power whenever you wanted there wouldn't be a need to."

"What?"

"That's assuming you even survive that long. Blind luck can only keep a person alive for so long after all."

In an instant Davis was on his feet and ready to make another go at the Demon Lord. This time though, he was able to hold his temper in check long enough for him to evaluate the situation. There was no way in hell Daemon was going to do this song-and-dance with him unless he could get something out of it. "What game are you playing at?"

"Heheh, there you go again Davis. What they say is true, misery does build character."

The Demon Lord vanished in a column of flames and when the flames disappeared there was a six-foot wooden door in his place. Sensing no malice or trickery Davis covered the distance between him and the door then put his hand on the knob. Said doorknob felt exceedingly warm giving Davis the impression there was some kind of fire raging on the other side. As comical as him opening the door only to be torched was he knew Daemon had something else planed. This wasn't a comic book or Saturday morning cartoon after all.

Upon pushing the door open Davis was blasted by a wall of hot air and smoke that reminded him eerily of a forest fire. Ironically what he'd stepped into was the urban version of such a thing.

The neighborhood he'd grown up was burning. Above his head the moon silently watched the night sky become tainted by several shades of red, orange, and yellow, the very same could be said for the ground. What was sad was that by this point Davis had gone so used to seeing it the sight of his hometown burning barely fazed him. He unflinchingly walked through the maze of burning buildings that had once been a thriving city he'd called home. The streets he walked were painfully recognizable, they were the same ones he'd walked during his elementary school years.

"Your parents always said you were born lucky, and they might have had a point you know. How many times have you towed the line and walked away almost completely unscathed? From what I can gather you truly have been kissed by Lady Luck."

"SHUT UP!"

"Oh, does that bother you? The idea that you making it this far wasn't a result of your own skills or abilities, but sheer blind stupid luck? You know that fits your character description a whole lot more than classy leadership and tactical thinking right? Those are both things that belong in Tai's department." The Demon Lord paused to enjoy the look of sheer rage that flashed across the young teen's face. Wherever he was he had a front row sent to Davis' emotional reactions giving him further incentive to keep going. "He's handling this better than you are, well that's to be expected though. When all is said and done he's the real leader of you Odaiba bunch, Matt's the XO and Sora can probably play the role of third. You're position of leader is really just for show more than anything. It's a wonder why T.K. or Ken haven't openly challenged you for leadership yet."

Davis' feet stopped dead in their tracks leaving him frozen at the edge of the Rainbow Bridge. His head hung stayed low so the Wrath Lord couldn't possibly see him if he was looking down on him from overhead. Somehow though, Davis had a feeling he could see the maelstrom of emotions materializing on his face. He could feel his hands tightening into fists so hard he could have sworn he'd drawn blood. Why had he chosen that nerve to go after?

"Let's do a review of how your team is doing. Ken's pretty damn close to losing his mind over the guilt he feels for being at the heart of this situation, not to mention Dagomon wants his head on a stick for obvious reasons."

"You brought him into this!" Davis bellowed "If it weren't for you and your stupid meddling Ken wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Davis." Sounded off the disappointed Demon Lord. "How it happened is of little consequence Davis, what does matter is how you handle the situation at hand. You're the group's leader, as such ensuring the safety of your team is your responsibility. How do you feel you've handled that duty so far?"

In an effort to block out the Demon Lord's voice he began power walking down the burning bridge heedless of the potential instability of the structure. Truth be told, he was almost grateful to hear to hear the cracking and groaning caused by each step he took. Unfortunately his attempt to block out Daemon's voice led the Demon Lord to using physical prompts to get his attention. Around him the flames twisted and turned into familiar shapes he'd done his best to forget.

"Ken is sitting in a hospital room fearful he's slowly going insane and Yolei is doing her best to consul him along with Wormmon and Hawkmon. As his leader, as his best friend shouldn't you be there by his side? More to the point, what kind of person would allow their friend to end up in a state like this in the first place?" Sensing the emotional rise in Davis Daemon knew he'd found the right nerve to press on. Really, it was almost too easy to push this kid's buttons. "Cody seems to be managing, but hey, the kid's been put through the grinder enough already as it is. Who knows when he's going to have his breakdown. That leaves…T.K. and Kari."

Davis went from a power walk to a flat out sprint in a heartbeat at the name drops. He didn't try to cover his ears, that was what the howling wind and flames were for; he wanted them to block out anything the Demon Lord had to say. His feet steadily began pounding against the burning metal of the bridge creating a dull ache he shoved down.

"Contrary to all the jabs and pot-shots, T.K.'s just as important to you as Kari is. Speaking of which, does it burn you up to know for all your supposed skill and abilities, your track record, you can't protect her? Are you scared she'll end up suffering the same fate as Chiyo?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Are you scared she'll end up like me Davis?" Cried a voice amongst the sea of flames he was running past.

Grinding to a halt Davis spun around expecting to see his fallen friend staring back at him, instead all he saw was a wall of jet-black and scarlet-red fire heading for him. For a minute he could have sworn he saw faces forming in the fire, either screaming in rage or hanging their hands in sadness.

The minute the wall surged forth he was sprinted down the mangled Rainbow Bridge with absolutely no intention of looking back.

"You see Davis, this wall is reality, and the strength pumping through your legs is your lucky streak. Eventually it's going to run out, and when it does you're going to crash and burn!" Daemon accused. "How long do you think your luck will hold out? How long do you think your little band of misfit brats will be able to cheat death? Who do you think is going to be the first to fall? Cody? Sora? Izzy? Yolei? Ken? Tai? Kari? Yourself?"

Davis wasn't looking ahead as he ran, he'd shut his eyes and done his best to block out Daemon's voice. He well and truly wanted everything in the dream world to go away or at least shift back to the abyssal darkness he'd formerly been floating in.

"Run all you want child! It doesn't matter how far you go or where you run to! You can't escape the inevitable! You can't escape ME!"

Something tore at the ground beneath Davis' feet, an explosion, throwing him into the air like a ragdoll. The sudden loss of control and stability threw his eyes open revealing a world that was going up in fire and ashes, and he couldn't do a thing about it but scream in fury and terror. Suddenly an iron-like grip was around his throat and dragging him down to the ground. His head smacked against the burning concrete erecting a shrill cry of pain that was silenced upon laying eyes on his assailant.

He'd come to hate those red eyes with a passion he never knew he possessed.

Daemon knew Davis possessed that passion, it was what he both admired and despised about the fourteen year-old.

"All that boasting and bragging, and this is where it ends for you. Pathetic brat." The demon spat shaking his head in disappointment. "Everyone always told you how much potential you had, but as usual you always squander it until the last minute. This time that's not an option. The stakes for this game are too high, and you're in way over your head. You've lost your home and your sister! Tell me, who's next on the list?!"

Not ceasing in his struggle Davis roared, "What the hell do you want from me?!"

"I want to know why is it everyone places their faith in such a loud-mouthed loser like you? Everyone believes you to be some kind of hero, but I don't see a hero. All I see is a little boy who's mere seconds from shitting his pants. Why Dagomon thinks you're a threat is beyond me. Look at you! You can't even protect your dear sister despite having saved the world multiple times!"

Orange fired exploded from Davis' eyes as new strength coursed through his body. Tearing Daemon's hand from his throat he smashed his fist into his face then pushed his entire body upwards. They were back in the same position as earlier, only this time there was now a raging inferno coiling around the teenager's body. His empowered fists shook the ground metal framework beneath them, each blow a miniature earthquake onto themselves. Daemon offered no retaliation as the beat down continued.

"All of this is YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HAD JUST STAYED QUIET NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! NONE OF IT! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU SHE WOULDN'T BE IN THAT HELLHOLE! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU SHE WOULDN'T BE FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE AGAINST GOD KNOWS WHAT! MY PARENTS WOULDN'T BE LYING IN A COMA! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU MY SISTER WOULD BE HERE SAFE AND SOUND!"

"You really want to call the state you and your friends are living in safe and sound?" The Demon Lord of Wrath croaked through his bloodied wrappings.

Infuriated by his words Davis grabbed the hood that concealed Daemon's face from the world and pulled it back so he could get a good luck at the monster beneath it. What he saw literally took his breath away.

Though it had been bloodied and mangled it was still possible to make out the face of Matt Ishida through the blood and bruises Davis had inflicted. All those things just made his sickening grin even scarier. "Felt good getting it out of your system didn't it? All that fear and rage that you've been keeping locked up, believe me, I know the feeling." The eyes, those crimson eyes that burned with the heat of a raging inferno, cackled with maniacal glee at the look of shock on Davis' face. "You've wanted to do this for a while haven't you? Just let it all out on the person you hold responsible. Feels almost…liberating doesn't it? Now if only you could get your hands on Dagomon, just imagine what you'd be able to do to him with that power running through you." As the teen backed away and stared in shock at the supernatural fire dancing between his palms Daemon stood up, still wearing the face of the DigiDestined of Friendship. "Yes Davis! That's it! That feeling you feel inside of you, burning like a furnace is what drives you! It's always been what kept you going even when all others were ready to give up! It wasn't anything as pure or noble as hope, no, it was something far darker than that. It was your desire…to see your enemies pay in blood for what they'd done to you." With each step Daemon took towards him Davis fell back unsure of how to respond, if respond at all. Eventually his back was pressed against the hot metal of the bridge leaving him no space left; a mere three feet separated him from the Demon Lord who smiled at him wearing his friend's face."Word of advice Davis, don't let that feeling inside you stay locked up. That rage, hatred you've fostered for those who've wronged you, use it as fuel. Let it empower you to the utmost limits imaginable. With it…you'll be able to produce a miracle, one that may just be the salvation of everyone you hold dear." The brief chuckle that followed was so wrong and inhuman Davis felt it'd say with him for years to come in his nightmares. "The ones that are still left anyway, after all, you can't save the damned."


Bolting up as if he'd been struck by lightning Davis would have startled anyone who'd been by his bedside at that moment. His heart monitor flared to insane levels perfectly embodying the rush overwhelming his body. His hands clawed at his chest as if trying to tear it open to get to his thundering ticker. Sweat poured from his exposed skin staining his sheets and hospital robes while his eyes frantically shifted from side to side. Only when he was sure the room he was in was real did he fall back into his pillow allowing his hear to return to a steady pace.

If a doctor had been by his side they might have commented how close he came to having a heart attack. Faintly Davis remembered someone joking the Demon Lords actually could kill humans via entering their dreams and giving them nightmares so real they died of heart attacks in real life. The fact Daemon hadn't done such a thing to him spoke volumes of what the Wrath Lord had planned for him.

Ten long minutes passed before he could even begin to grasp the fact he was safe in the hospital room with his friends and teammates merely a few rooms away. Almost thirty minutes from the hospital his partner lay sleeping off his exhaustion. Had Veemon felt what he felt? Had the Rookie-level Digimon been visited by the same nightmares he had? Groaning Davis ran his hands over his messy hair, there was still a dull ach from the literal curb stomp Valére had dished out to him. Just the memory alone was enough to ignite the fires of wrath inside of him.

"Next time I find him I'll return the favor." The young DigiDestined thought bitterly clawing at his skull. "Return the favor ten folds for what that bastard did to me!" Once they got going those thoughts permeated Davis' mind like a plague. His eyes were hidden by his bandaged hands, eyes that held a mixture of sadness and mounting anger. "I'll make him pay for this…I'll make him pay….pay…pay…"

As the Goggle Head continued his mantra beside his bed his D-3 began to pulsate and the monitor lit up. The image inscribed on the screen only appeared for an instant, but if any of the DigiDestined saw it they would have had reason to be alarmed. It seemed to be a solid bar with two vertical lines at both ends, the one on the left slightly longer than the one on the right. From each bar a sideways L jetted up, the one on the left extending to the other side and coming up between the two vertical bars forming a trident-shape. The image was bright orange like that of hot flames.

There were a few beeps then the screen went dead and the pulsating stopped. Outside the hospital room a new rain shower had passed over the city causing countless citizens to take out their umbrellas to shield themselves. For Davis, who stared at the grey clouds with hardened eyes, the rain invoked something inside him. Clenching at his chest again he felt a hot warmth well up inside him and continued to grow as his mind ran wild with images of a sky not covered by storm clouds, but of one stained crimson by a sea of flames licking at the sky. Amongst the conflagration the teen saw an aquatic figure screaming in agony hellfire ate away at its being. All the while Davis watched with uncaring eyes, enjoying every second of the creature's unsavory demise.


I'd like to apologize to everyone for taking so long to get this chapter out. Between schoolwork, my part-time jobs, and my other writing I've been a little swamped for time. Sorry for giving anyone the impression this story might have stopped dead in the water. I fully intend to have the next chapter up sometime within the next two weeks or so.

How was the first chapter of 2017? Was it a nice cool down from the last few chapters were it seemed like every other scene being described was nonstop action? Let me know what you guys think in reviews!