A/N: All right then! We made it before midnight. Stupid dance. XD Xros-Hero, just wait! If this is going right, well, we'll be seeing that friendly face real soon! Queenie, the craziness is just beginning where you are.

Also, side note, please check my poll. I'm making the decision relatively soon. :D

XXXI. Shards

"Just drop it and let it break."

The fire roared at them like a lion. Kiriha and Nene moved, returning the armies to their Xros Loaders. However, X7 remained, stepping in the way. He snarled in pain, but threw back a burning Troopmon. The floating embers struck Kiriha in the arm and he hissed sharply. Zenjirou moved forward and pulled Yuu out of the way, just as the blue flames rushed toward them all. "Kudo Taiki!" he called over the bloodcurdling screams. "Is that tear still open?"

Taiki nodded, glancing at them. "I can cover you for a few minutes," he replied, glancing at the chaos around them. "He's killing his own army... not very practical..." And horribly cruel, his mind reminded him

"That's because they are weak. He has faith in no one, have you forgotten?" The other voice's mental snarl was rather amused at the possibility. Taiki smiled and shook his head. His original plan had relied on that weakness. However, he could not exploit it now.

"Go on, the portal's open," he called to Akari. Reluctantly, she nodded, racing after Zenjirou and Yuu. "X7, how are you guys feeling?"

"Almost one hundred percent screwed man," Shoutmon quipped. "How are we taking out this guy?"

Taiki shrugged and grinned, watching Nene wrap her fingers around Kiriha's arm. "A miracle. Or some well-placed aggression."

Or... The Code Crown hissed. You could use me.

I'm working on it.

X7 only snorted. "Sounds about right. Double Flare Buster!" He fired his gun at the approaching flames. "All right, Taiki, on three! One!"

"Two." Bagramon began to flap his great, jet-black wings.

"Three!" The two of them turned and bolted into the great tear, vanishing from the darkened palace. Taiki rolled onto dead grass and spat green from his mouth. The Human World... his dimension must not have been able to sustain the stress. Oh well. It had been only temporary.

"Lovely," Kiriha rasped, gesturing to the world around them. "Ain't it?" Nene quickly finished tying a white handkerchief onto his burned arm. He resisted the urge to clamp his fingers over it, glaring at the sky. "Are we too late then?" he asked Akari and Zenjirou quietly, looking at the great black hand stabbing into the water, at the statues of human beings. Their town... it was deathly quiet, hollow, and still.

Akari opened her mouth to deny, but a harsh voice broke in for her. "It is never too late, General of Blue Flare."

Taiki managed a weak smile as X7 turned toward the frozen water. "Omegamon."

"It has been a while, Kudo Taiki. It is shame that these are the circumstances we have met in."