Harriet sat awkwardly, feeling the cold metal of the bike rack beneath her. Shivering, she pulled her arms closer, wishing she’d grabbed something else in the hurry to get out of the house. To one side were her parents, trying to comfort her baby brother as he cried in her dad’s arms. Not that he was the only one crying. Several of the young children in the area were acting up, and a few were having full-on screaming fits.

And it didn’t just seem to be the human children doing so.

Something shifted to the other side of her, and she peered up, seeing the great hunk of wood sway just few feet down from her. It turned slightly, and a pair of blue eyes peered out of its bark. Several other somethings shuffled within its hollow shell; dozens of tiny blobs – pink, red, blue, furry and gelatinous, some with all mouth and some with all eyes - jostling about and having their own emotional crises.

Harriet swallowed, and gently shuffled sideways, allowing the Woodmon a little more room to move. He snorted, and looked away, his skin creaking as he moved. Harriet decided to keep her head down, focusing very intently on her phone.

“Why me...?”

Much as she tried to focus on messaging, it was impossible to block out the reality of her surroundings. The order to evacuate had come from up high first, with community support officers already barricading residential areas even as she’d left her house. Many had already left, travelling inland, but not everybody was so mobile, and the damage to the road systems of the town had already led to a gridlock spiralling through the high street.

And that was just the people; with everybody out in the open the number of Digimon to come out of the woodwork had been both mesmerising and terrifying to many. But with reassurance from the tamers, they had remained with the others. Those who could move, did so. But those who were injured, or trying to grab the babies who couldn’t run anywhere on their own, were stuck here with the rest of them.

Up ahead, Lonnie was rushing from station to station, sending off as many as she could and talking at a million miles a minute. Lyra was at the other end of the courtyard, passing out food and blankets where she could, and behind both of them, there came a rumble as Dimetromon slammed his tail through a wall, revealing daylight behind. Without full use of the roads, it seemed the best option really was to make new ones.

“Harriet! I thought I saw you.”

The girl’s eyes widened, and she turned around, struggling to hide the relief on her face. “Courtz, you made it! You have no idea-“

The girl went pale, her words catching in her throat as her bestie sauntered up, flanked by her two brothers. All three of them had their arms nestled in front of them, each holding squat little white blobs. The one in Courtney’s arms hooked its little stubby hands over the edge, and gave Harriet a grin, its puppy-like lips peeling back to reveal a wide mouth of piranha-like teeth.

Harriet’s screech was louder than she intended, to which end the Woodmon behind her stood up and shuffled away, muttering something about bloody intolerance. Courtney held the blob closer, stroking her head.

“Don’t be so loud; you’ll scare her.”

“I’ll scare her? What is that?”

Courtney ran a hand over the blob’s head. “This is Tokomon.”

The blob waved a paw.

“Hi. I’m Tokomon!”

Harriet looked up into her friend’s eyes, almost pleadingly. “Please don’t tell me you’ve become one of them too.”

“They needed help. We thought we’d bring them along.” Courtney pushed her bottom lip out. “A lot of them are hurt, y’know. It’s not fair on them to be so jumpy.”

“I know, it’s just...”

Harriet fiddled with her phone for a while, before sighing, sitting back down on the little wall. “Just nothing. I know exactly how I look right now, but I’m scared.”

Courtney sighed, and shuffled over next to her. “We’re all scared. We just need to get through this.”

“You mean before or after the giant sky worm comes and crushes us all.”

“Don’t say that.”

Courtney looked forwards, squeezing Tokomon tightly against her chest, as she watched Lonnie from a distance. “She’s doing everything she can to make sure that doesn’t happen. And that means we need to do everything we can to help her.”

Harriet raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you become the one making sensible suggestions?”

“We all need to start somewhere, don’t we?”

The redhead turned in the distance, nearly falling over her own feet as she tried to head in three different directions at once. She double-took, seeing the girls, and waved excitedly, before disappearing outwards towards where Aaron was. Harriet moaned.

“How did she get mixed up in all this?”

Courtney hummed to herself, but Harriet raised a palm. “Actually, scratch that, of course she was going to get mixed up in all this. It’s just who she is.”

She looked at Courtney, who stuck her lower lip out. “Well...she did always promise us she was gonna save the world.”

“She sure did.”

Dimetromon trembled, losing waves of data in a quick stream as he reverted to Velocimon. He jogged forwards towards Aaron, who was rubbing his jaw.

“Are you alright? Not too much on you?”

“I’m fine. Just keep it to short bursts of movement for the moment, okay?”

Velocimon gave him a hard look, but before he could say anything Lonnie rushed up towards him. “We’ve got all of Broad Crescent. That should be everyone who was left in the Oval.”

Aaron looked up, wincing at the crowd in the courtyard. “That’s still a lot of people to move, Lonnie.”

“They are moving.” Lonnie gestured sideways, to where a few cars were dipping in and out, and where clusters of humans and Digimon were walking away from the edges, heading towards the suburbs. “It’s just slower than we need. Lots of families around here.”

She looked up, her eyes meeting with Aaron’s, and she gave a reassuring smile. “I know, I know. We don’t have any time.”

“Of course we have time. We just don’t know how much.”

“Look, we’ve gotten everyone out so far, so long as we can stay standing then we can start to speed things up-“

CRASH

“Lyra!”

The two turned, watching as Lyra scrambled in the dirt, having just tumbled and slammed her head into a half-demolished wall. A couple of people were gathering, but Tsurumon flapped inwards, holding his wings up.

“Back off, please, don’t crowd-”

“Tsurumon, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

Lyra winced, but pushed herself to her feet, turning around. A small trickle of blood fell from her nose, and she held her forearm, hiding a large graze up the side of it.

“I’m fine, I’m.. fine, really, I...”

She took a step, and wobbled, shaking her head and holding up a palm.

“...just give me five minutes...”

The crowd parted, letting her out the back towards the empty streets, with Tsurumon rushing after her. Lonnie bit her lip. “She’s been rushing around like that all day. I told her to be careful.”

Aaron ran a palm over his mouth, before looking back at Lonnie. “I’m gonna have a talk. Do you think you can get people moving out?”

“I can try...”

“You’ll need more than try.” Aaron looked down at Velocimon. “You, give her a hand, alright? There are a few roads inwards now; go round the civilians and start getting them on the move.”

“I think I can handle that.”

Velocimon clicked his gauntlet, before running forwards with Lonnie and Dendromon. Aaron winced, and called after his partner.

“Velocimon? Be gentle.”

“If you insist.”

Aaron sighed, and turned round the back, wincing slightly as he already began to hear the dinosaur barking militant orders in his absence.

Lyra planted a hand against the wall as she turned, taking a gulp of air. The wall shifted slightly as she touched it, and she pulled away, trying to stay balanced. Her vision was flashing, and she waited, tapping her foot impatiently for the world to catch up with her.

When it finally did, it revealed Tsurumon standing before her, his wings pulled in and a stern look on his face.

“Are you alright?”

Lyra swallowed, dryly. “I’m fine. I just needed a few minutes.”

“Lyra, when did you last eat?”

“I swear, I’m-“

“Lyra!”

The crane’s voice was unusually ragged; a mixture of anger and fear. Lyra pulled her legs together, fiddling with the strap of her violin. “I don’t remember. I think I had something back at the house. I’m not sure.”

Tsurumon’s head sagged forwards. Then he reached under his wing, pulling out a couple of energy bars. The young woman shook her head.

“I can’t right now; other people need them-“

“You are on the verge of collapsing. If you don’t have something then somebody’s going to need to carry you and then you’re definitely not helping matters.”

Lyra’s shoulders fell, and she stared at the crane, looking almost hurt. But eventually she sat down, pulling one of the bars over towards her. She ate slowly, the grains sticking in her mouth, and took several attempts to swallow it, choking on the last mouthful. All the while Tsurumon stood there, his body pulled in, looking dour. Lyra pulled her legs up, her violin case resting beside her.

“I know you want to say something.”

Tsurumon tapped the ends of his beak together. “This keeps happening. Every time, things get worse and worse and you just...forget.” He turned his head, and his brown eyes fell upon her. “It’s like...you’re so focused on being independent and not a burden that you forget how to survive. And it scares me.”

Lyra pulled her legs up further, and ran a finger over the rough pavement.

“Do you still remember? The first time we met like this?”

The crane nodded, pulling one leg up beneath his torso, perfectly balanced as always.

“How could I forget?” He gave a small laugh. “Everything’s changed for us since then, hasn’t it.”

“But it hasn’t though! Not really.”

Lyra gritted her teeth, and slid her violin case up in front of her. “Nothing that matters has changed. No matter how much I try. I went from having everything except an identity I could love, to having absolutely nothing except a name I picked. I’ve beaten and stolen for a tyrant and I’ve fought to stop this town from breaking apart, but...it’s all the same! I always end up like this, just...just utterly sick to my stomach and I can’t do anything about it. I can’t do anything about anything. I...I-I...”

She raised her hands, clamping them round her head as she rocked forwards, looking smaller than ever before.

“I just feel so helpless. So lost. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

Tsurumon stood stock still, taking in every iota of the outburst. He remained silent, listening to his partner breathing heavily into her arms, before they gently subsided again. All the while he kept quiet, unable to think of anything to say.

Something clattered to the right of them, and they looked up as Aaron stood at the corner, holding his body awkwardly. Lyra readied herself to get up, but the young man shook his head.

“Don’t rush yourself. We’ve got more than enough help right now. No need to create even more of a kerfuffle.”

Lyra pulled back, her brow furrowed. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough.” He placed a hand in his pocket. “Mind if I join you for a couple minutes?”

Lyra looked away. He wandered forwards, and sat himself down next to the woman. She bundled up, looking away.

“Working too hard?”

“A bit. Probably.”

Tsurumon huffed. “You mean definitely.”

“Thanks,” said Lyra sarcastically, and buried her head in her hands. “You’re both ganging up on me now.”

“We’re worried.”

“You’ve always been worried. That’s the only reason I’m alive today.”

Lyra ran a finger through one of her bangs, and looked up at the crane, her eyes glistening. Aaron watched her, before placing a hand on his own cheek. “You know, feeling helpless isn’t uncommon with what we do. It comes with the game.”

“At least you actually have a place here though.”

“You have a place just as much as all of us.”

“Everyone’s saying that but it just isn’t matching up.” Lyra pouted, and pulled out her digivice, waving it in his face. “This hasn’t helped anything. Alasdair didn’t know what to do with it. I’m not part of the grand plan to save the world from this; I couldn’t be part of anyone’s grand plan. I’m just some random person who was found by a Digimon. I want to help; I’m desperate to help, but...I’m just a nobody.”

Tsurumon tiptoed forwards, and gently nudged his beak against her hair, cooing in a melancholy fashion. She smiled, and reached up, running her hands around his neck.

“Sorry. Too much came out.”

Aaron leant back. “I wish I could say I disagreed with where you’re coming from.”

“What’s that?”

Lyra and Tsurumon looked at the boy, who reached inside his pocket, pulling out his D-Nexus, which glowed dimly in his palm.

“Just some random person. I sure as hell wasn’t ready. I did my best, but my best wasn’t quite good enough. I ended up in the rough state I’m in now. Maybe I could have been stronger, or a better leader. Maybe that would have changed things. It’s always easy to think of ways you could have been better.”

He sighed, and his arm fell down to his thigh. For a moment he seemed wistful. Then he turned, a new glimmer in his eyes as he faced the young woman.

“But...even after all this, I don’t think I regret choosing to stay. Back then, or right now. I may not have had the power to make a change, but I made the choice to try. And I’d...I’d like to think that I made things a little better. I may not have been able to save the world. But I saved someone’s world.”

Lyra pulled her arms in, looking down at the ground. She shifted, and felt her violin case moving beside her. Gingerly, she reached behind her, and pulled it onto her lap, stroking her hands over the beaten leather. The same leather from when she’d first received it, so long ago that the memory was just a dot in her mind. Staying with her all this time. A simple, battered old instrument, still playing just as well as the first time.

“You know the main reason I never forgot that day?”

Lyra looked up, as Tsurumon crouched down in front of her, the corners of his beak turning up.

“The day when we first met?”

He gazed down, and tapped the leather, just lightly, not enough to leave a mark.

“I really liked the song. And I wanted to hear it again.”

He rested his head forwards, the beak turning sideways, nestling along the length of the leather. Lyra grinned, and stroked the top of his head, gently pressing and prising the papery crest. She looked aside at Aaron, and nodded.

“Thanks.”

The man gave a weak salute. “Never let anyone tell you you’re not one of us.” He reached out, and tapped her shoulder. “Least of all yourself. You’re as messy and chaotic as the best of us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Lyra scowled, but playfully. She opened her mouth, when she suddenly paused, her nose wrinkling up.

“Do...do you smell smoke?”

Aaron’s face fell, and Tsurumon stood up in an instant, his head tilting like the head of a compass. The other tamer pulled up his D-Nexus, looking at the screen, which was now beginning to flash; a warning of increased stress.

“Something’s wrong...”

The two stood up hurriedly, and looked up into the sky, which was starting to get hot and claggy, plumes of purple ash trickling skywards from just a few blocks away. There was a bang, and the sound of screaming, and another cloud burst forth, closer again.

“Oh god...”

The three could hear the chaos even before they turned the corner, and when they did, it was a horrifying sight. A vast wall of flame, over twenty feet high and clawing at the sky. Smoke was pouring down the alleyways in every direction and the air was thick and acrid, with the cries of the bystanders present not helping matters. Lyra and Aaron looked left and right, for a brief moment disorientated by the chaos. Then the smoke parted, and Lonnie rushed forwards, holding her arm across her mouth.

“I don’t know!”

“...you don’t know what?”

“Where this came from! Any of it! Something just rushed us out of nowhere!”

The something became slightly more evident as the smoke parted again; only briefly, but enough to reveal the silhouette of a sword swinging downwards. It hit the ground, and another column of flame spurted up from the concrete. Andriamon burst from the smoke, holding her body in front of the blast and crying out as she did so.

“We’re still missing some!”

Lyra turned around, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the several people now corralled into the safe haven they had found. Two of the walls of the old building were now engulfed by fire, and the trapped ones gathered together; about eight large Digimon and five humans.

A roar pierced through the sound of the flames; a roar which may have once been human, but was now completely without limits; a roar to tear vocal chords and break minds. Andriamon rushed forwards again as another wave of flame burst forth, and she yelled as the brunt of the heat struck her dead on. With an outward breath she collapsed, revealing the creature beyond. Lyra gasped.

“That’s...it can’t be!”

Lonnie gritted her teeth. “It is...”

The silhouette rose in the shadows in front of them, for a moment seeming almost human. A pointed helmet, sword in hand and flowing cape Mistymon’s form was instantly recognisable to both tamers. But he swayed forwards, and lashed out with his weapon, and all of a sudden the image changed yet again. Mad flames danced over the sword, extending it into a lance. The other hand held close, pulses of light forming over the arm, almost like a shield. The mage morphed, for a moment turning almost knightly, before its figure burst apart into a demonic creature of flames once again.

Something sputtered in the flames, and Velocimon rolled backwards, holding a hand over his shoulder as he hissed from the pain. Aaron rushed forwards, pulling the dinosaur back before he could make another move.

“Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know...” Velocimon pressed his teeth together, looking up into the orange inferno. “But...but I’ve seen this behaviour before.”

Aaron swallowed, dragging his partner backwards as the wall of flame grew in front of him.

“I know. So have I.”

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

The scream was intense; so much so that it instantly drew the tamers’ attentions back towards the remaining evacuees. The Woodmon was amongst them, and he scuttled backwards, holding out a ragged stump into the fire.

“He’s here! He’s come for me! The Red Beast!”

Aaron and Velocimon turned back, and together they saw the second silhouette in the flames. It leapt out, and its figure was clear. Martyaxmon stood, almost impervious to the inferno as he cut a striking figure in the flames. He looked back, and saw the tamers. Their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity. Soldier to soldier.

“It’s happening again!”

The Woodmon double down on itself, his wards clamouring around inside his body as he ground his bark teeth together. “ Oh god, the world’s burning again! It’s happening AGAIN!”

Martyaxmon let out a breath, and disappeared back into the flames before anybody could stop him. At the same time Velocimon stood up, pressing his fingers together as sparks burst out from between them.

“Lonnie, Lyra; take the others and lead them round the long way. They can’t stay here.”

Lonnie turned around. “But we have to-“

“There’s no time!” The dinosaur’s eyes turned to the two Digimon. “Dendromon’s already taken a beating, and Tsurumon won’t handle something like this. And right now, there are several people who need you.”

Lonnie bit her lip, but Lyra grabbed her arm before she could say anything else. The young woman nodded backwards, gesturing towards the south-eastern end of the plaza.

“We’re out to save people right now. Let’s go.”

Lonnie turned back, looking down at Velocimon. “We know this Digimon. How are you going to manage?”

“I don’t think we’re going to be alone.”

A roar pierced the flames; Martyaxmon’s yell of pain and anger as he struck, or perhaps was struck down. Velocimon looked behind him, holding out an arm. “That wasn’t a request! Go now!”

After a moment’s hesitation, the two tamers backed away, their Digimon flanking them as they gathered around the remaining evacuees. Aaron looked behind him as they shuffled backwards, squeezing through the rubble behind them one after the other. The young man reached into his pocket, his hand gripping his D-Nexus tightly.

“I notice you didn’t ask me to get out the way.”

Velocimon rolled his eyes. “Would there have been a point?”

“Not really.” Aaron’s face fell. “Fire Tyrant?”

“Near as damn it. We can’t let it move much further or we risk setting the whole town ablaze. And that’s just what everyone needs right now...”

“Why has it suddenly popped up here anyway?” Aaron frowned. “It was my understanding these guys needed some kind of...”

“External guidance on which direction to burn things?”

“That’s what I thought.” Aaron’s eyes darted down towards the little dinosaur. “And what about Martyaxmon? What do we do about him?”

“Well now...”

Velocimon barely moved. But his eyes flicked back, and Aaron saw the flames dancing in them. Flames of war, that he’d hoped he’d never need to see again.

“...that’s up to him, isn’t it...”

Aaron lowered his head, pulling his shirt up over his mouth to block out the smoke.

“Go.”

The two ran forwards towards the inferno, where the inhuman cackling continued.

Only a single pair of eyes watched them; beady and yellow, and high up from a rooftop vantage point. Their owner gave a quiet hmph, and with a scattering of black feathers, set off across the rooftops after the escapees.

At the southernmost edge of the town, the cry echoed across the beach, followed by the roar of the waves as HelMidgarmon’s very movements ripped across the surface of the sea. From her position at the edge of the river walk, Ladomon could see the titan spinning around, coming closer than ever before. She shivered, holding her wings tightly against her body. Colchimon came up next to her, gently brushing his wing with hers.

“It’s going to be alright. We can beat him like we’ve beaten everyone else.”

“That’s...that’s not it, Colchimon.”

Ladomon held her head down, and looked dispiritedly into the black dragon’s eyes, a hollow look in her own.

“He was once a partner, like us...wasn’t he. What...what kind of evil force could drive someone to that level of madness...?”

Colchimon’s eyelids fell, and he clicked his beak. “Ladomon...”

“What...what if that was to happen to us...?”

“Come here.”

Colchimon spread his wings, holding the white dragon in an embrace; fast, and far too short, but with as much comfort as he could muster. “It won’t happen to us. We have each other. We always have, and always will. I promise to keep you safe from this, just as I know you have for me.”

“There you two are.”

The dragons turned round as a small hatchback pulled up, which opened as Eloise and Kai leapt out the back seats. Colchimon flew up to his partner. “Are the south-east blocks clear?”

“Nearly.” Kai turned round. “Sara just needed to collect essentials.”

The car pulled back, and Sara ran the window down, peering out towards the sea. “So that’s the Digimon that’s caused all this chaos.” She adjusted her glasses, and her eyes darted towards Kai. “You said that was...Alasdair’s partner, right?”

The man nodded, and placed his hand in his pocket, his shoulder juddering. Eloise bit her lip, squinting through the fog. “He’s getting closer.”

“How many more people do we need to clear?”

“More than I’d like.” The young woman reached for her pocket, pulling up her D-Nexus. “I think we need to call it. Give the others a chance while we try and slow it down.”

Ladomon swallowed. “Do you still think we’ll be able to do that?”

“Grace and Jack could evolve. The digital world’s opened up even more. We have the energy to call upon.” Eloise turned towards the dragon. “And to be honest we don’t have any other options right now.”

Ladomon said nothing. But she still held her wings tightly against herself, her expression revealing the depths of her terror. Kai reached out, gently running his hand over her crest, before turning back towards his old counsellor.

“The transporters are near the upper greenbelt. Are you okay to head there on your own?”

“Of course.” Sara beckoned the man close, and held the top of his palm, her face deadly serious. “Take care out there. Promise me you’ll both come back safe.”

Kai smiled. “I’ll give you my usual promise.”

Sara sighed, looking older than ever. “You’ll try, but no guarantees?”

“That’s the best I can do.”

“Hey, you’ve always done the best you can do. And I couldn’t be prouder of how far you’ve come. You know that, right?”

Sara reached up, and tapped the young man on the shoulder, before pulling back into her car. “Good luck out there.”

The car’s engine puttered, and the car rolled away, disappearing north through the streets. Kai watched her go, for a moment frozen in place. A sickening feeling edged through his heart; the same one from when he and Eloise had helped his family out of their temporary lodgings. The horrendous feeling that it might have been the last thing he’d ever say to them. Already he was thinking of better responses, or any responses. Any reassurance he could have given.

A hand curled around his, and he felt Eloise’s head resting against his shoulder. He turned round, unable to see his girlfriend’s eyes. She’d been struggling as well, although she was always better at hiding it.

“We need to buy them time.”

“I know...”

The young man turned around, and held Eloise tightly against him, the both of them trying and failing to block out the tragic sounds emanating out from the sea. There was a flutter of wings, and Ladomon and Colchimon joined them, and for just a moment they were younger again, holding themselves all together in a broken world, remaining strong, remaining upright, remaining the last hope. Four broken souls, holding each other together. Never letting each other go. Never giving up.

They pulled apart, standing in a quartet. Kai looked for the words, but couldn’t find any. Neither could Eloise, or either of the dragons. They just nodded in silence, and as one, they ran off towards the seafront.

Off to the west, Jack was also staring out at the steadily approaching HelMidgarmon, with Perimon on his shoulder. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned around as Owen, Kevin and Mark ran up.

“Are we cleared here yet?” asked Owen, crouching over and holding his knees.

Mark pointed back. “There’s a few more roads further north. We can do it in the next couple of hours if we hurry.”

Jack gritted his teeth, and turned around. “Is there any way we can split up? I don’t like how close HelMidgarmon’s getting.”

Simeamon clicked, twirling her pistol. “Yeah, uh...I don’t think we’re in a position to whup his arse just yet, Jack.”

“We need to at somepoint.” Jack looked up at his partner. “Perimon and I can still evolve; we know what we’re up against now. It’s just if we leave it too late we could still lose people.”

Owen bit the side of his cheek, and looked over at Mark, who was trying to run things up in his head.

“Excuse me.”

Simeamon whipped her head round. Perimon and Chromon tensed as well, as a familiar-looking goat stepped forwards from the side of the road. Another Digimon was draped over her back; it was Lilamon, holding onto her neck as her own body shone dangerously.

“You...you’re with them. The crusade.”

Simeamon’s eyes widened, and she held out her pistol. Oryxmon paused, holding her front hooves tightly together. Her eyes scanned the tamers, before falling on Owen.

“You’re the son of Vex, aren’t you?”

The monkey charged up her weapon even more, grinding her teeth. “Now really ain’t the time, beardy-“

“Simeamon, hold off a minute.” Owen held out a palm, before looking at the gate. “What do you want?”

“Sciamon has him. He caught him a few hours ago.” The goat nodded solemnly. “You are his kin. If you want to rescue him you’ll need to hurry.”

Owen’s eyes widened, briefly lost for words. Mark stepped forwards. “You work for Sciamon, don’t you? Don’t you hate Vex? Why are you telling us this?”

“I do hate Vex. But I can’t stand by Sciamon now. He’s lost whatever cause he was held to once.”

Oryxmon looked over her shoulder, at the broken body of Lilamon, barely holding onto life. Up close, the tamers could see the extent of the sprite’s wounds; torn petals, blackened and flaking gouges, the imprint of a vicious armoud hand over her back. Jack swallowed.

“He did this to her?”

“He has been tainted. All that he cares about now is pain. Not justice. Not protection. Just vengeance. No matter how many of us happen to be in his path.”

Lilamon moved slightly, and gasped in pain, before falling back to near unconsciousness. Oryxmon turned around. “He’s in the remnants of the music centre. You’ll need to hurry. I don’t know how long your father will hold out.”

“Wait-“

It was too late; Oryxmon had already begun to run, pulling herself and Lilamon away from the oncoming storm. Simeamon holstered her gun, and looked up at Owen, who was frozen in place. His eyes were twitching. His mouth was dry. Simeamon clicked her teeth.

“What do we do, boss?”

Kevin nudged his boyfriend, but there was still no answer. At least, until Mark turned around, scanning through his phone. Chromon jogged back, looking up at his partner. “What are you thinking?”

“We only have three streets left. And where Kent said he was arriving...”

Mark flipped his phone shut, and cleared his throat as he addressed the others. “Chromon and I will handle the rest of the evacuation up here. Jack, Perimon, head out to meet up with Eloise and Kai; they’ll probably be going after HelMidgarmon as well.”

Owen looked back and forth, and raised a finger, but Mark held up a palm. “Do what you need to do.”

“Are you sure? We don’t have time-“

“Your father won’t have time if what Oryxmon said is true.” Mark placed his hand on Owen’s shoulder, a softness coming over his expression. “Don’t let anything happen that you’ll regret later.”

Owen held his breath for a moment. Then he nodded. “Thank you. I mean it.”

“Just go, for god’s sake. All of you.”

Owen turned on his heels, and rushed off down the road, with Simeamon running close to his heels, and Kevin lagging a few metres behind, calling for Owen to wait up. Jack gave a quick salute, before he began running the opposite direction, his D-SEND already in his hand as Perimon glowed next to him. Mark was left alone with Chromon, who swung his tail nervously. “A-a-are you sure we can manage alright?”

“Please. We’re competent. We’ll be fine.”

The young man pocketed his phone, and turned round with a dark look in his eyes. “Besides, if I’m right, we can time it for when and where my brother’s going to arrive. And frankly I need some time with him by myself...”

Chromon paused for a moment as his partner marched on, not a single iota of hesitation in his step. The dinosaur shuffled nervously, padding against the pavement beneath him.

“Oh...c-c-crap...”

Without the buildings to shield them, there was nothing to block the whirling winds and spurts of energy that came from HelMidgarmon’s spiralling form. Especially since he was now travelling closer, close enough now that the four warriors could see the pale blue eyes, glowing faintly in the mist as they stared towards them.

Eloise felt them boring into her, and a sudden pang of painful familiarity struck her, and she glanced over at Kai. Immediately she felt the guilt, looking away, but the man had already cottoned on himself.

“It’s just like me, huh...”

“Like you used to be. Not anymore though.” Eloise held her elbow. “Just...that’s not a look that you forget easily.”

Kai gripped his chin. “Then...that’s not how he is. Or at least not how he was. Something or someone’s driven him to be like that.” The young man swallowed. “I’m sure of it...”

“Isn’t that always the way with the monsters we fight?”

Kai hesitated, his words catching in his throat. Eloise reached out, holding his wrist as she looked into his eyes. “You know we don’t have a choice. People’s lives are in danger. Whether...whether he’s at fault or not, he has to be stopped. And we can face our own consequences later.”

Kai’s shoulders fell. “Sinners once again, huh?”

“Of course.”

Ladomon looked back just for a second, pressing her lips shut to stop herself from saying a word. Instead she hovered back, flanking her partner. “The longer we wait, the closer to everyone else he’s going to get. We need to go to him.”

The two tamers split apart, and their hands went down to their digivices. Colchimon flew up to his own partner. “Are you ready for this?”

“No. We might all be a bit rusty.”

Colchimon nudged him, “Hey, I’m with you from now on, remember? There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Kai still didn’t look convinced, and neither did Colchimon sound it. But they shuffled together nonetheless, facing the foe before them. Eloise closed her eyes, holding her D-Nexus up to her forehead, and feeling the pulsing light within.

“Stay close, alright?”

Kai nodded, holding his own D-Nexus up. The two moved in a mirror fashion, holding their arms out as lights danced over their arms, and then pulling the device inwards, the glow resonating over their whole bodies. Ladomon and Colchimon spiralled up above them, their serpentine bodies coiling together, then pulling apart again, trailing particles of white and black behind them. The glow was spreading out now, forming bright orbs around them that expanded, and all of a sudden they were all floating over the water, surrounded by sunrise and sunset, solstice and eclipse. The four figures were obscured by the energy passing through them; two the brightest white, and two the deepest black.

And as their power grew, so HelMidgarmon moved closer, like a demon towards a beacon of salvation.

“Nexus Fury!”

The figures shimmered, and the energy reached out, two spheres melding into one. Bolts of light fired up into the sky, and webs of shadow reached out towards the turbulent sea. A crossing between worlds. Light and darkness, perfectly balanced even after all this time.

“Evolution Activate!”

The voices rang out as once across the ocean, as the waves of energy followed. HelMidgarmon curled up, the movements rocking the sea below as spikes of emerald crystal grew on the surface. His body groaned, the tendrils coiling and uncoiling as all his focus remained on the brilliant orb in front of him.

Two figures held tightly in the centre, held in an embrace, while two others orbited around them, trailing energy behind them. As the orb touched the surface of the sea, images flashed up across its surface, showing reflections of those inside. Younger, braver, more frightened. Luminemon and Achromon. Azdajamon and Lyublanamon. White and black etched over the surface of the sphere, neither overtaking the other. More images. Dark reflections. Pain and guilt. Dark elves and light spirits. An angel of justice and a demon of judgement.

The figures pulled apart, still holding one palm together. Then the tips of their fingers. And as soon as that broke, the orb dissolved around them, revealing them in full.

They were mirrors of one another, moving completely in unison. Winged angels, hovering above the water’s surface. Adorned in holy rings, and with serpents tails spiralling beneath them. Equal in every way, and yet also opposite. Where one had white feathers, the other had black leathery spines. One shimmered in shining gold and red and yellow, where the other glistened in moonlit silvers, blacks and blues. They both held double-ended staffs in their hands; one tipped in a splayed crossbow and a circular halberd, and the other terminating in a forked trident and a crescent sickle.

The two spread their wings, and flew up high, spinning their weapons as the light and shadows bowed to their every whim. And they turned in unison, facing down the world serpent as he barrelled towards them, looking to consume their brilliance down to the last speck.

“Eosmon!”

“Astraeusmon!”

They didn’t even hesitated, coiling around one another and holding out their palms, as their spears glowed in their hands. Wings burst out from between them as the energy surfaced once again, just as pure as it had been nearly five years ago. When they spoke, it was with a single voice of defiance.

We will not fall here.

This world will not fall here.

Not now.

“Chaos Quetzal!”

The staffs crossed, and a dragon of light and shadow spread its wings, spiralling forwards towards the approaching leviathan. It slammed into HelMidgarmon’s left-hand jaw, and a blast of energy spiralled outwards. HelMidgarmon let out a gasp, the entirety of one side of his head engulfed by an explosion of energy, sending bone and crystal fragments flying far and wide. He veered to the left, but his momentum kept him going, forcing the twin angels to fly upwards to avoid the behemoth slamming into them. Eosmon corkscrewed upwards, slowing herself with her vast wings as she looked down at the beast below her.

There was a black shadow beside her, and Astraeusmon was there in seconds, knocking a volley of crystal away. “Did it work?”

Eosmon grimaced. “Not even close...”

The energy faded, with the rushing sound replaced by a deep, echoing gurgle. The two backed away as HelMidgarmon’s head tilted upwards, revealing the extent of the damage. A whole side of his face had been torn apart, dropping crystal and dust into the ocean as a haze of black matter swirled around the wound. But already it was beginning to glow at the wound, and even from this distance they could see crystal being pressed outwards from the void, like a mountain range being pushed up. Structures reforming and apertures resealing, leaving only the scorch mark around the edge.

Astraeusmon gripped his spear with two hands. “Oh good. He can regenerate. That’s just brilliant.”

Another gurgle, and the vast eyes suddenly swung up towards them, the pupils narrowing to tiny pinpricks. HelMidgarmon was on the move before the wound was even half-closed, curving up towards them as he released a horrendous roar. The angels pulled apart, but Astraeusmon misjudged the movement, going low. A cloud of crystal particles erupted from between HelMidgarmon’s bony structure, and Astraeusmon ploughed straight through them, the contact instantly latching them to him.

The dark angel spun, holding his spear out in front of him as bits and pieces of his body began to black out. His abdomen felt numb. One wing was moving erratically, and when he tried to aim the weapon before him, he could feel his arm not moving properly. Still he had barely any time to react as HelMidgarmon twisted, one of the bony tendrils flying up towards him, threatening to gore him in mid-air. He forced himself down far enough for his tail to skim along the water, and brought the point of his spear upwards.

“Shadow Nova!”

Black light shot from the end, crashing into the bone and taking splinters away. HelMidgarmon didn’t seem to feel it, but he kept going, pulling the tendrils out of Astraeusmon’s way. With the imminent danger gone, Astraeusmon chanced a look at his shoulder where the green cloud had struck him. There was still crystal covering his shimmering skin, and it was digging in, releasing tendrils into the flesh. Where the particles linked, the flesh disappeared, simply blinking out of existence.

“Shit!”

Astraeusmon clawed at the mass, thankfully pulling most of it away, before briefly disappearing beneath the waves. He pulled up again, only to hear Eosmon’s voice clamouring in his ear.

“Where are you? What happened?”

“Took a wrong turn. Are you in a better position?”

“What do you want me to do?”

Astraeusmon looked up at the beast’s underbelly, not seeing many opportunities for escape. “Try and pull him upwards slightly. And don’t get close and don’t breath in any green crystal clouds.”

Eosmon exhaled up above. “Make it easier for me, why don’t you?”

“Love you.”

“Eff off,” muttered the angel, but she edged slightly closed, twirling her staff as light glowed at the end; similar to before, but this time with an intense brightness.

“Empyrean Serpent!”

She swung it wide, and immediately ducked upwards as the green blast rocketed all around her. The beam shot out, spiralling sideways and crashing into the top of HelMidgarmon’s head, disrupting his movements again. The skeleton at the head rattled worryingly, with the bones of old limbs careening sideways from the movement.

Eosmon didn’t have time to look; she rolled upwards as a tendril shot out towards her, grazing her tail and tearing the metal bands. She swung around, stabbing downwards with the circular end, before pulling the staff upright, releasing a wave of light all around.

“Holy Convergence!”

The light moulded around her, releasing plates and spikes that formed a glowing armour. She turned, and held out a palm as another bone shot towards her, the energy shattering it in an instant. HelMidgarmon’s head swung to the right, more bones lashing out as if they had minds of their own, but she spun around, breaking and slicing them one after the other. She spun to release another wave of energy, and found herself position just above HelMidgarmon’s head, with both eyes focused entirely on her. The great head shifted, and the eyes crackled, white lights pulsing beneath them.

Before she had a chance to move, they erupted; blasts of lightning shooting out and striking her clean in the chest.

“AAGH-“

The energy was so fast that it barely even sounded; a tiny blink in the air. But the effect was instant; cracking the light armour into pieces and causing Eosmon’s body to instantly spasm, lights bursting from her skin.

“EOSMON!”

A dark explosion struck HelMidgarmon again, knocking him aside with an echoing moan. Eosmon was already falling, but Astraeusmon caught her, pulling her away even as more lightning dotted the surface of the waves behind him. After a safe distance, Astraeusmon held the light angel out in front of him. There were wounds in her body from where her own power had spat out, but where the lightning had struck there was no physical damage. Still, her body was shifting, held in some kind of stasis as the energy crackled over her skin. Then, it dissipated, and she gave a horrific, pained gasp, her wings going into overdrive for a few seconds.

“I can’t breathe! I can’t-“

She held up a palm, her movements stabilising as the light armour fell away around her. “I...I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe. Everything just stopped...”

Astraeusmon let go of her, and held his palm over his mouth. “Okay, so don’t get close to his eyes, or his body in general, but keep him occupied. This is getting better by the second.”

Eosmon swallowed, resting on her staff for a second. “There is some good news.”

“What’s that?”

The angel pointed. “He’s entirely paying attention to us now.”

Astraeusmon looked, just in time to see HelMidgarmon barrelling towards the two of them again, eyes dancing with electrical energy and body glowing brightly from the regenerations.

“Cimmerian Phoenix!”

“Elysian Pulsar!”

A dark serpent coiled around a spear of light, both striking one eye socket as the angels flew back again. They wove between the swiping tendrils, very nearly dodging all of them, before emerging just behind the leviathan’s vast head module. Sure enough, he turned around, his smoking eye already tilting towards them with a sickening squelch. Astraeusmon rolled his shoulders.

“Mind telling me when our lives went so wrong that that qualifies as good news?”

“Astraeusmon, look!”

Eosmon pointed up towards the sky, with a silhouette piercing through the clouds. They split apart, revealing the unmistakeable form of Cyclomon as he let out an almighty cry. And as he did so, his body began to glow crimson, concentrating at a tiny point just at the top of his head.

Jack stood up, balancing proudly on top of his partner as he held his D-SEND out in front of him. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re not finished with us yet!”

“Soul Coalescence! Evolution Activate!”

Cyclomon flapped his wings, spiralling forwards as his body dissipated into energy. It trailed behind him, before shooting forwards, forming a vortex that streaked through the air towards the dragon’s head. Then, the lights fell away, revealing Ouranomon at the head, his golden armour glowing from the charge.

“Spiral DRIVER!”

He arced low, and struck HelMidgarmon’s underbelly, the blow rupturing the bone and crystal all around. The impact rippled along HelMidgarmon’s body, and he screeched, flying upwards as crystal fell away all around him. Ouranomon dodged several of the larger pieces, before a whistle caught his attention. He looked up, and flew towards Eosmon and Astraeusmon, hovering just in front of them.

“Sorry about that. I was feeling nervous.”

Astraeusmon shrugged. “I’m not complaining. We could really use the help.” His face fell. “He’s not going to go down in a single battle; not by a long shot. The best thing we can do now is keep him busy. There’s no way we can take him down completely.”

Ouranomon’s head fell, his winged arms fluttering by his sides. Then he blinked, his green piercing eyes looking between the two angels.

“No reason we can’t try, though, is there?”

Eosmon braced herself. “He’s coming back around.”

The three Mega levels turned, watching HelMidgarmon strike the surface of the sea, before skimming over the surface, aiming his entire body towards them like a freight train. Eosmon spun her staff, summoning light at the edge.

“Whatever you do, keep moving. Don’t get caught.”

She went left, Ouranomon went right, and Astraeusmon went high as HelMidgarmon charged towards them, bolts of energy already bursting out from his body, accompanied by that same, tragic call.

“Elysian Pulsar!”

“Shadow Nova!”

“Stratus Bolt!”

Forks of lightning stabbed at the sky, shooting between the three warriors as they dived between the rampaging coils of the flying juggernaut before them. For something so vast HelMidgarmon’s movements were getting harder and harder to avoid; a laser focus, or perhaps the increased loss of any inhibition. He dove down as Ouranomon flew overhead, but Astraeusmon hovered just below him, spinning his staff while a dark matter erupted from his other palm.

“Fury of the Void!”

The black mass corkscrewed outwards, piercing between the ribcage and spreading out over the leviathan’s crystalline skin. Blasts of electricity shot out from the impact zone, heading straight towards the dark angel, but he veered sideways, holding out his spear as the energy crackled at the end of it. He narrowly deflected it, before spinning the spear around, slamming the sickle dead into the centre of the black energy.

With a roar it exploded outwards, sending out spears of shadow that burrowed even further into HelMidgarmon’s body. Chips of crystal and bone showered downwards, with the void shifting around and wriggling as if it were alive, burrowing further inside even as the flesh healed around it.

“How many times do I need to hit you for it to stick, damnit?”

The dark angel struck again and again, the void swinging back and forth in the direction of his blows, slashing more of the leviathan’s body just as hard as he was able to heal. HelMidgarmon backed off, releasing a spray of green crystals into the air, which Astraeusmon looped around to dodge and hit again. But he never got the chance; HelMidgarmon’s head swung sideways suddenly, and his tendrils reached out, slamming into Astraeusmon one after the other. He fell back, winded and disorientated, as HelMidgarmon rushed sideways.

Astraeusmon felt a rush of wind beside him, as Ouranomon followed the beast’s rolling movements. “Don’t worry; I’ve got this!”

He kept pace, but the faster he flew the more HelMidgarmon seemed to speed up to compensate. His great tubular eyes swung sideways, and his entire body shook as he let out another great wail, sending energy out towards the sky warrior.

“I’m not going down that easily this time! Stratus Bolt!”

Ouranomon veered upwards, swinging his arms sideways as spears of wind shot out, one after the other. They curled over HelMidgarmon’s body, many of them simply spiralling away in the beast’s great eddies, but a few broke through, spearing into the crystal and leaving vast craters over the dragon’s body. HelMidgarmon cried out, tears falling from his eyes, and before Ouranomon could strike again there came a blast front and he tilted sideways at a near ninety-degree angle, so fast that he sent the sky warrior off balance.

“No you don’t!”

Ouranomon thrust both arms out, spears of wind following both of them and intercepting one another in the dragon’s path. HelMidgarmon struck them, and convulsed again, turning back. Then right. Then straight up, and each rapid turn sent more and more turbulence outwards until even the skilful Ouranomon couldn’t stay upright, spiralling backwards from the rapid movements.

He righted himself, and hissed, his golden armour pitted with a thousand tiny particles of crystal, gnawing away at the lacquer. Astraeusmon hovered up towards him as they stared at the rising dragon.

“I don’t get it; I don’t know whether he’s trying to attack us or not.”

“Neither does he, I don’t think.” The dark angel rested on his spear, trying desperately to catch his breath. “But the problem comes when he changes his mind and ends up attacking the town.”

Ouranomon turned his head, his pupils shrinking as he saw the southern districts beneath him, seeming far closer than they had a moment ago. His wings fluttered outwards, and he trod against the air, gaining height as he climbed up towards the rising dragon.

“We’re gonna knock him back. Someone give me support.”

Astraeusmon gripped his spear, but Eosmon flew up beside him, in a slightly better shape for the moment. “I’m on it.”

She flapped her wings, heading up after Ouranomon as he beat against the thin air, trying to gain the height on HelMidgarmon. It took an incredible strain, but he just managed to rise a few dozen metres, the wind beneath his wings shimmering as he built energy. In a single fluid motion he positioned himself above, spreading his wings apart as the dragon roared up towards him.

“Vacuum Rend!”

Thousands of tiny red shards rocketed downwards, a majority of them striking HelMidgarmon directly in the left eye. It ruptured instantly; clear fluid bursting out as he shook and screamed and went unstable. Ouranomon saw his chance, flapping backwards before looping round and spiralling towards HelMidgarmon’s throat.

“Get...BACK!”

As fast as he was going, HelMidgarmon was faster, the entire body curving to the right. Ouranomon tried to adjust himself, aiming for the beast’s underbelly, but to his shock the dragon kept spinning, leaving trails of energy in the sky around him as he spun in a vast corkscrew. Ouranomon soon found himself flying for his life as the bony tendrils swung through the air, shuddering with a terrible power and letting off a vortex of bolts. He swung left and right, trying to pull himself away, but the turbulence held him close and he was forced to weave between the deadly pillars, until one clipped his wing and sent him spinning off into the sky, his body burning with terrible energy.

“STOP HIM!”

Eosmon was just below, seeing the full extent of HelMidgarmon’s twister as he rushed up towards her. He wasn’t stopping. If Ouranomon couldn’t pull out of that there was no way she was going to. All she could do was attack, and as the great head curved around above her, she saw the heaviest segment of crystal around the leviathan’s head, pulsing with a spectacular energy. She pulled her spear back, light dancing from her fingertips as she gained momentum, judging the movement precisely.

“Empyrean SERPENT!”

She lunged upwards, the dragon of light spiralling into the head of the vortex and striking HelMidgarmon between the eyes. There was an almighty flash, and HelMidgarmon stopped, his eyes going completely white. His momentum kept him going and the energy spiralled out of control, sending rings flying into the sky all around.

But as Eosmon looked up again and saw his head hanging directly above her, the green light pulsating beneath the crystal, she couldn’t believe her luck. The dragon was catatonic.

“We can bring him down after all!”

Not wanting to waste her chance she flew up higher, spinning the spear again ready for another blow. She could see the crystal in the beast’s head more clearly now; pale and shimmering, with the draconic skeleton embedded in the stone, waving like a puppet. She ignored it, focusing on the impact zone as the light from the previous attack swirled beneath, illuminating chambers below the creature’s skin.

She raised her arm, building energy as she prepared to stab deep into the creature’s head again.

And then the lights illuminated something, and she nearly stumbled in mid-air, her muscles freezing.

No...it was a trick of the light. An illusion.

But he wasn’t going away.

A man. Hovering alone, far beneath the crystal. Suspended in place. Clear as the day.

Eosmon shook her head, spinning the spear to maintain the white light as she became vaguely aware of the beast moving once again. Of Astraeusmon and Ouranomon flying up towards her, yelling at her to get back.

And then Alasdair looked up, and his eyes met hers. She swallowed, her heart beating in her ears.

“...it can’t be...”

TO BE CONTINUED…