A/N: If you have not seen the Digimon 20th anniversary memorial short Sora e ("To Sora", or perhaps "Toward the Sky"), which takes place just before LEK, you should do so before reading this chapter, as it will make much more sense. You can find it on YouTube here: watch?v=rtnwIuJy5BY. Also, as of the date of this posting, that short happened exactly 11 years ago today!

Chapter 6 – Unfamiliar Skies

Odaiba, Japan; August 18th, 2010 – 8:17am

"The sky is vast, because it was probably made to freely fly there. If you're ever worried to fly on your own, I'll be there to fly with you together. Because I'm your partner, Sora."

Sora Takenouchi squeezed the pink bird digimon tighter. She had been in a funk lately, feeling guilty for not going on the last several digimon missions in the area, and she was stressed about having to make something for the flower arrangement exhibit next Friday. But after an encouraging phone call with Mimi, and a pep talk from Biyomon, Sora was beginning to feel a little better.

"Thanks, Biyomon. It means a lot knowing that you'll be there with me. I feel like I've been pulled in so many directions for such a long time that I didn't know where I was supposed to go. But I think you and Mimi finally helped me figure it out."

Biyomon shut her eyes and gave her best birdlike imitation of a smile. "I'm so glad to hear that, Sora!"

Sora continued, "I felt like a bad friend for never being able to help the others with digimon incidents, especially since you're always so ready to go, but the two of you made me realize that it's not something I have to do anymore. I'll miss going on adventures, but I have my own things that I want to do, and I know the others can handle it without me. I believe in them. So...would you be okay if I stopped fighting? Permanently?"

Biyomon hesitated, as though she wasn't quite sure. Then she said, "If that's what you really want, then I'll stick by you, Sora!"

"Really, Biyomon?" Sora asked, relieved. "Oh, thank you! This will be so much easier with that off my mind. Now I can finally focus on making these flowers perfect and—" Sora paused, and her smile faded. "I wonder what Tai will think. He probably won't understand..."

"I'm sure he will if you explain it to him," Biyomon suggested. "You should do whatever you need to so you'll be able to spread your wings and fly freely. And if that means no more fighting, then I'm sure he'll understand."

Sora looked skeptical. "Hmm. Maybe I'll get Matt to talk to him", she mused. Sora stood and put her hands on her hips. She felt liberated. "I'm not going to fight anymore," she formally announced. "I'm Sora Takenouchi, and I'm going to walk down my own path."

An unfamiliar sound rang through the air, startling Sora and Biyomon.

"What was that?" Sora wondered aloud. It couldn't have been her phone; it had been a strange sort of chime, and none of her phone sounds were anything like that. She turned toward the direction it had come from and reached out for the top corner of her bookshelf where her old digivice lay, the thin layer of dust over it suggesting it had been unused for some time. She grabbed it and turned it over in her hand to look at its face where, to her surprise, she discovered a ring of light glowing around the screen.

Biyomon hopped up onto the table so she could see, and looked to her perplexed partner when she saw the light coming from the digivice. "What is it, Sora?"

Sora's eyes remained glued to the seemingly innocuous ring. Something about it seemed dangerous somehow, though Sora couldn't say exactly what. She lowered her hand and turned to her partner, a sour, inexplicable sense of foreboding settling in her gut.

"I...I don't know, Biyomon."

Answers came later that evening while Sora and Biyomon were having dinner, in the form of Gennai when he materialized unexpectedly through Sora's laptop screen.

"Master Gennai! What are you doing here?" Sora asked, trying to recover from the shock she'd just had—she and Biyomon had both screamed at his sudden appearance.

"Good evening, Sora, Biyomon. I'm sorry for startling you, but I've come to give you some important news."

Sora watched him with a guarded expression. "This is about the ring of light on my digivice, isn't it?"

"It appeared early this morning," Biyomon added. "We've been wondering about it all day."

"Yes, I'm afraid it's about that."

Sora glanced down at the digivice in her hand, the bowl of noodles in front of her completely forgotten. "There were seventeen marks on the circle before, but one of them disappeared a few hours ago, and another just a few minutes ago. It's the same on my phone. It's counting down to something...isn't it?"

Gennai looked uncomfortable, as if he didn't really want to be here. "Yes, it is."

"What is it counting down to?" Sora demanded.

Then Gennai spoke the words that Sora had somehow known he would say, and dreaded: "It's counting down...to the end of your partnership together."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?!"

"Your time with Biyomon is coming to an end. When the last mark of light on your digivice disappears, so will Biyomon, and your bond will be broken."

Sora was horrified. "No, you're wrong! That can't be true!"

Biyomon looked back and forth from her partner to Gennai and back again. "Sora, I don't want to leave you!" she cried, hugging her.

Sora held her close. "I don't want you to leave either, Biyomon! I love you."

"I am sorry, you two," Gennai said gently, "but it's true."

Sora looked up from where she had buried her face in Biyomon's feathers. There were angry tears forming on the edges of her eyelids. "Why is this happening?"

Gennai searched for the words. "It's...just time," he sighed. "Every Digidestined grows up eventually, and when they do it marks the end of the infinite potential they had as children, potential that their digimon need in order to digivolve. This was always going to happen, Sora, sooner or later."

"But...I don't understand."

"You will...in time. I don't fully understand how it works myself, to be honest."

Sora took a moment to soak in this new information. It was a lot to take. "What about the others?" She asked softly. "Will they…?"

"Eventually, yes. Tai, Matt, Izzy...probably soon. I'm a little surprised it hasn't happened to Joe yet, though T.K., Davis, and the younger Digidestined likely still have some time left. But one day it will happen to everyone."

Sora began to cry quietly.

Biyomon looked at Gennai thoughtfully. "Where will we go, me and the other digimon, once it runs out?"

"I don't know," Gennai answered gravely, "just that you and Sora will be separated."

"Are you...are you going to visit the others...when their time comes?" Sora asked in between sniffles.

"If they don't already know by then. They'll need to know what is happening, and I hope to break it to them as easily as possible for their sake. You all have done a great service to the Digital World, and we are forever indebted to you. I just regret that it has to end like this."

"If you do have to go to one of them soon, don't tell them that it's already happening to me."

Gennai looked at her in astonishment. "But why?"

"I-I want to tell them myself. They should hear it from me. But I can't do it now, Gennai, I can't." Sora was ashamed that she would be the first to lose her digimon, and it hadn't escaped her that the ring of light had appeared just after she had made her decision not to fight anymore. That could hardly be a coincidence. Is this happening because I decided to stop fighting alongside the others? Would I have had more time with Biyomon, even if it was just a day, if I hadn't abandoned my duty as a Digidestined? These questions haunted Sora, but she couldn't voice them aloud, not in front of Biyomon. Sora lifted up her tear-stained face to look Gennai in the eye. " Please, Gennai."

Gennai seemed uncomfortable with her request, but a look of understanding passed between them, and he said, "As you wish, my dear. But you can't hide this from them forever."

"I know."

"One last thing and I'll leave you be—I'm sure you two will want some time to yourselves: digivolving will only make the ring dissolve faster, so I would avoid doing so except as a last resort."

Sora nodded weakly, her head bowed toward the floor.

"Goodbye, Sora. Biyomon." Gennai turned to take his leave.

"Wait!" Sora blurted, standing. Gennai paused. "Does this mean I'm never going to see you again?"

"Yes...I believe so."

"Oh, Gennai...", cried Sora, and to Gennai's surprise she came forward and hugged him. He returned her embrace and they held each other for a few moments while she cried into his shoulder. When they let go, Gennai regarded her at arms length, his hands on her shoulders.

"Be well," he said, and then he bent forward and kissed Sora on her forehead, a most uncharacteristic and affectionate gesture for him. There was a flash of light, and he was gone. Sora stood there for several moments in shock. "Goodbye, Gennai..."

Sora spent the next two days fully devoted to Biyomon, trying to make their remaining time together as special as she possibly could. All thought for flowers, friends, and even food, except how it might bring joy to Biyomon, were utterly abandoned. Instead, Sora was consumed with creating memorable experiences with her partner: playing games, listening to their favorite songs, and bike rides on a windy afternoon so that she could feel the cool breeze under her wings. They stayed up late talking like they hadn't used to in years about the old days wandering around the Digital World. And even while Biyomon slept, Sora would not rest but contented herself with staring at her avian partner for hours at a time as she lay peacefully curled up by Sora's side, appreciating every last detail and trying to lock the image away in her mind before it was gone forever. Throughout those two days Sora tried her hardest not to look at the light-ring on her digivice, and her phone was turned off. But every now and then when Biyomon was momentarily distracted by something Sora couldn't help but sneak a look, and her heart broke a little more each time she saw how little time was left. They never spoke of it; Sora intentionally, and Biyomon because she sensed that Sora did not wish to discuss it. But what remained unspoken between them steadily grew into a great gulf in their hearts, a heavy emptiness that they felt would soon crush them.

And so when they arose on the third day, the atmosphere was different. They felt it, and could see it in each other's eyes: the inescapable melancholy of knowing that they would soon be parted. Sora powered up her phone, and only three spokes remained of the ring of light. It's going to be today. Sora walked to the window. The sky was grey and choked with the thick rain clouds that had appeared the previous evening; it didn't look like they would be going away anytime soon. Sora thought that it must be difficult for birds to fly in such conditions.

A sound came of tiny feet padding lightly over the tatami floor, and Sora felt soft feathers brush against her leg. "Sora?" Biyomon called.

Sora knelt down beside her friend. "Yes, what is it?"

Biyomon paused, gathering courage before she asked her next question. "What will you do...after I'm gone?"

Sora flinched and looked away. "It—It doesn't matter."

Biyomon hopped back into Sora's line of sight and stared her down. Sora had rarely seen fierceness like this from her digimon, and only when they faced grave threats. "Yes, it does! It absolutely matters to me."

Sora withered under Biyomon's gaze. "I don't want to think about it right now," she answered, trying to evade the uncomfortable topic.

But Biyomon persisted. "I need to know, Sora. You are the most important thing to me, and I couldn't bear it if you weren't able to move on and have a beautiful life without me. I know you, and I know how much you love me and how much it will hurt when I leave, but you have to move beyond that and keep going! You have to keep flying, Sora!"

Biyomon had gotten so worked up that by the end of her tirade she was flapping her wings in agitation and began to hover in the air. Loose papers on the table were swept in disarray from the gust. Biyomon realized what she was doing and came back down while Sora regarded her tearfully. "Oh, Biyomon!" she said, and flung her arms around her. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"And I'll miss you, Sora." Biyomon comforted her for a few minutes until Sora regained her composure. When they parted, Biyomon repeated her question. "Now, Sora, what are you going to do?"

Sora gave it some thought. "I'm going to be my own person. The flower exhibit is a week from now; I still have time to put my piece together, and I'm going to make it the best one there! I guess I'll continue to arrange flowers for a while, but I don't think it's something I want to do forever. That's my mother's passion, and I like it, but I want to do something more than that. Something that's my own."

Biyomon nodded encouragingly. "That sounds like a good start. What about you and Matt?"

Sora blushed a little. "I suppose we'll get married one day, once he's ready to ask me, and have children together."

"How many children, Sora?"

Sora chuckled. "I don't know yet, Biyomon. Some things are a surprise; you have to find out on your own. I think Matt said he wants at least two. I think four would be just right, two boys and two girls."

"That sounds lovely, Sora!"

Sora smiled. "I think so too."

"I wish I could be there to see it all. But I'm glad that you have a nice plan for your life, and loved ones you can share it with."

"Biyomon..."

"I think you should stay close to Matt when you can. You two are good together; he can help you, and I have a feeling he's going to need you when Gabumon is gone."

Sora blinked. She hadn't thought of that. Biyomon was right; Matt didn't have many friends outside of the other Digidestined, and even now seemed to keep people at a certain distance for the most part. He in particular was going to have a hard time without his partner, she realized. "I'll be there for him," Sora promised.

"Good, I'm glad," said Biyomon.

Sora found that she didn't feel so bad anymore now that they had talked. Though their impending farewell always loomed in the back of her mind, she felt lighter, and even a glimmer of sunshine was beginning to peak through the clouds outside. She smiled. "Come on. You want pancakes? I bet you're hungry."

Biyomon chirped an affirmative. "Okay!"

It was raining again. Sora stood near her window with Biyomon in her arms, watching the storm and listening to the occasional peal of thunder. The counter had gone down to one spoke around 3:00; it was after 7:00 now. Sora traced the path of a raindrop on the windowpane with her finger. Time was almost out. It wouldn't be long now.

Biyomon craned her head back a bit, trying to glimpse her partner's face behind her. "Oh, Sora," she sighed, "shouldn't we be joining the others?"

Sora had received several missed texts from Izzy, and a couple from Tai, dating from this afternoon to the past couple of days, about something involving a digimon that could steal a Digidestined's consciousness. Biyomon hadn't seen the content of those texts, but it wasn't a big leap to speculate they were about something digimon-related. And the funny thing was that Sora found she was almost inclined to participate: moreso than she would have been a few days ago. At least then she could have one last adventure. But it was too late now. If she went to help, Biyomon would most likely have to digivolve, which Gennai said would hasten her final departure. And at this stage, there was so little time left that who's to say Biyomon wouldn't just disappear in the attempt? Sora was desperate to hold onto every second she had left with Biyomon, even though something told her this was more than just the average digimon problem. She didn't know how, but she could tell when a bigger threat was on the horizon and her friends were going into serious danger. It could be that the long years of being a Digidestined had developed a kind of sixth sense within her. She was sure some of the others had something similar—probably, Tai, Matt, and Izzy, who were the most active of the older Digidestined. Kari certainly had it. And judging by her question, no doubt Biyomon sensed something deeper as well.

There was a sad finality in her tone when Sora replied. "I already decided I wasn't going to fight." She snuggled the bird digimon tighter, ruffling the feathers on top of her head with her chin. "I'm going to stay right here with you, Biyomon." Until the end.

They stayed there, watching the rain and drinking in each other's presence, and the minutes ticked inevitably by. Then, at 8:23pm, it happened.

Biyomon stiffened in Sora's arms. "Something's changed. Sora!" Biyomon began to glow.

Sora knelt to the floor and let go of Biyomon, who turned around to face her. The last remnant of light on Sora's digivice pulsed weakly. "Biyomon! Is it time?"

"I think so. I'm so glad I got to have you as my partner, Sora!"

"Please take care of yourself, Biyomon! I love you so much!"

Biyomon was flapping her wings and hovering at Sora's eye-level. "I love you too. Promise me you'll keep flying high, okay, Sora?"

Sora was blinking back tears as she smiled. "I will, Biyomon, I—"

But Biyomon was no longer there. A single pink feather with a blue tip floated to the floor, the only sign she had ever been there. A crackling sound caught Sora's attention, and she looked just in time to see her digivice petrify into stone. She took the stone digivice and clutched it to her heart, sitting with her back propped against the wall, and let the tears fall. Goodbye, my dear friend. I hope you are happy, wherever you are.

Sora wept and wept until all her tears were spent, and at last she passed into an exhausted slumber there on the floor. But at some point during the night she awoke suddenly. She couldn't identify what had roused her, only that she felt she was needed somehow. Slowly, she got to her feet, wondering what she was meant to do right at this moment. Normally after such an ordeal her senses would be murky and her thoughts sluggish, but she found her mind to be clear and her senses sharp. There was a crispness in the air like the first breeze of fall after a long summer, and her skin tingled with an electric energy. Sora peered out her window. The rain had finally stopped.

Suddenly a clear piercing sound filled the air, the echoing ghost of something carried from beyond space and time, something Sora instinctively knew only she could hear.

It was a whistle.

Sora gasped, and placed a hand on the glass. "Tai..." she called, knowing it was he who had blown it. Something big was happening, bigger than anything they had faced in a long time. The last few years had been relatively peaceful except for the odd rogue digimon that stumbled through a digital gate into the Real World by mistake. But this, Sora knew, was something else. She wasn't sure what specifically the fight was, but it felt more like one of their conflicts of old, where the entire world was at stake. Or at the very least, all of their lives.

Sora looked down at the lifeless digivice in her hand. Biyomon was gone, and whether she wanted to or not, she could do nothing tangible to assist them in the battle that was raging somewhere out there. Yet she knew deep in her bones that they still needed her. "I believe," she declared. "I believe in you all!" Her simple statement was born out of years of friendship and love and trust in the seven other people and their digimon she had depended on since she was eleven years old, and who now faced a new enemy that threatened them all. She had never been so sure, so full of conviction, about something in all her life, and she believed in her heart that they would triumph once again.

Nothing visible happened after that, but Sora sensed a great battle was being fought somewhere out there. She stayed by the window for several minutes, silently willing her friends to succeed. Whatever was happening eventually ended, and Sora felt that what she was needed for had been accomplished. The curious sensation abated, and Sora wearily changed out of her clothes and crawled into bed.

The next morning was difficult for her. She opened her eyes and Biyomon was not there to greet her. She got out of bed and looked around her apartment, and still Biyomon was not there. The solitary feather and stone digivice remained lying on the floor, but Biyomon was nowhere to be found. For the first time since she had left home, Sora was well and truly alone. Biyomon had been with her when she moved out to prepare for college; Sora hadn't realized how quiet it could be with no one else around. She bent down and gingerly plucked the feather from the floor, admiring it briefly, then tucked it away in a small vase on her desk. Standing in the middle of the empty room, she looked all around her as if searching for the next thing.

Sora sighed. She didn't know what to do. She sank into her desk chair, propped her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. I miss you so much already, Biyomon. I don't know what to do without you. I know you told me to keep flying high, but I don't know how anymore. Instead, I feel like I'm falling. I thought you'd always be with me, and I can't find my way through these unfamiliar skies. How can I learn to fly on my own…?

A/N: [Edited very slightly for spelling/grammar on 09/01/24] I'm sorry for not moving the story forward yet again, but I felt this was some necessary groundwork for what comes later, and I promise I'll pick up where chapter 5 left off next time. Anyway, this covered the events of Last Evolution Kizuna from Sora's perspective, who we saw far too little of in the movie. Her story is almost entirely inferred from subtext, so I wanted to flesh it out some more. It didn't sit right with me the way she just "Susanned out", as I like to put it (if you've read through all The Chronicles of Narnia, you'll know what I'm talking about) by giving up fighting as a Digidestined. Like I get it, especially at that busy stage of life, but I would have sooner expected it of Joe—similar to Tri—rather than Sora. And I wondered if it was that decision that "ended her potential" as a Digidestined and precipitated Biyomon's farewell. It would make sense, and if so, would definitely haunt Sora. I studied the degradation of the light ring on Tai and Matt's digivices in LEK meticulously to estimate the rate that it would run out with no digivolutions to speed up the process and, assuming Biyomon's bond ran out shortly before the final fight with Eosmon (which would explain why Sora wasn't present in the Neverworld—it was already too late for her), then I calculated that it actually would have begun around the time Sora made the decision to stop fighting at the end of her short. It also makes sense that Gennai would have visited her to inform her of the situation as well, considering he did the same for Tai. I could only conclude that he didn't tell Tai about Sora because she begged him not to out of shame for being the first one to lose her partner.

One final note in regard to continuity: In the short, the day of Sora's flower arrangement exhibit is circled on the 29th of the month (which month is not visible in the frame, but I assume August, since the short seems to be implied to take place the day before the Parrotmon fight in LEK), and on a saturday, judging by its position on the calendar. However, that doesn't fit perfectly with the timeline, as August 29th, 2010 was on a Sunday. For that date in 2010 to be on Saturday, Sora's short would have had to take place in May. I'm kind of stumped on this one, and being unable to reconcile this inconsistency, I have elected to adjust the date of the flower exhibit to August 27th for story purposes later.

Next time on Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution - Chapter 7. Tomorrow.