"Well?" Kousei pressed as he took another step forward. "How long have you known about this? Why didn't you say anything? Koji, what's going on?"

Koji just stared, his eyes flickering back and forth between Kousei and Satomi in a wild frenzy. Kousei was too close, and Satomi was too quiet. He didn't understand. He had been so sure that everyting was fine. He had thought Kousei wouldn't invade his personal space to check on the picture. He had hidden it on the other side of the frame he had been using it for years. Why had Kousei gone so far? How had he known to look there in the first place?

"How did you...?" Koji questioned, the words coming out frail and breakable. If Koji spoke too loud, he was going to crumble. He could feel it based on the tightness in his chest, the lack of air in his lungs, and the shakiness of his knees. He was going shatter, and he had no idea what to do about it. 

"I was visited by someone today who said you knew something you shouldn't have," Kousei went on. "I wasn't sure of what he was talking about, but I see it now. You know about your mother and brother, and you hid it from us. I didn't want to believe that you were hiding this, but here we are. Yutaka was right."

Yutaka. 

And suddenly, everything made sense. 

Yutaka had been following him and the rest of the Legendary Warriors around for ages by now. He knew just about everything a person could want to know about them aside from the fact that they were Digimon. He had been stalking them for ages. If Koji had thought Yutaka wouldn't stoop so low as to tell their parents about things behind their backs, then he had clearly been mistaken. Yutaka had been wanting to hurt all of them from the start, and now, he had the perfect opportunity to do so. 

Kousei's irritation only continued to rise as Koji refused to offer him an answer. Kousei took another step forward, and Koji's back pressed against the door. He was trapped. "Well?" Kousei asked again. Koji looked to Satomi, desperately trying to figure out what she knew or how she had uncovered it, but she remained silent and motionless. Kousei, on the other hand, was just too close, and the Warrior of Light's chest grew tighter. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like the world was on the verge of destroying itself with him still inside. He had to get away. He had to be safe. He had to--

Koji ran. 

He wasn't entirely sure of where he was running or what he was going to do, but he was confident that he had to get away. Kousei's presence was stifling and suffocating, and every loss of Koji's space was another punch to the stomach that only made him feel worse. He didn't even bother to ask questions about where Raika was or how he was supposed to reconcile with the fact that his father was now aware that he had been keeping so may secrets. He just had to escape his father for a little while longer. He needed time to himself. He needed to be okay even though he knew nothing was ever going to be okay again, not as long as Kousei knew the truth. 

Koji reached for his phone and started to send a text to Koichi, his fingers fast and frantic. Koji barely processed what he was saying above the panic in his mind and the spinning of his vision. He was confident that one of the other Warriors of Light was instructing his hands to ask Koichi for help while Koji himself continued to collapse in on himself. He certainly wasn't the one strong enough to be of any help with all of this. All Koji wanted to do was hide and wait until this nightmare ended even though he knew that ship had sailed the instant Yutaka had arrived at the Minamoto home earlier that day.

Cna I come over tnoight? 

Koji ignored the typos in his plea of a text as he hit send, continuing to dart away from his house as quickly as possible. He could hear Kousei and Satomi crying out for him in the distance, but he didn't look back, instead just allowing muscle memory to guide himself to the nearest train station. The sun had set early on account of the autumn season, but the station would still be open for a while longer. He just had to get there and then go to see his brother. 

Koji's phone went off, and he looked down to see a response from Koichi. He could barely read the message around the tears in his eyes:

Yes. What's going on? Are you okay? Why do you ask?

That was all it took for any other defenses Koji had to come crumbling down, every wall falling with him trapped under the bottom. He couldn't hold back his sobs any longer, and he forced his fingers to move against the panic in his chest. He needed to keep moving. He had to run, but he couldn't convince his body to move. Nothing wanted to cooperate with him, not as long as he had done so much to stab his father in the back. He had kept a secret, and he was being punished for it inside and out. 

I'll explian when I gt thre. 

Koji hit send again and wondered if perhaps he would feel better if he called his brother. At the same time, he couldn't bring himself to entertain the idea too much, knowing that he would have barely been coherent at all. Something in the back of his mind told Koji that he was having a panic attack, but he ignored the whispers of his brain to instead just focus on getting to the train station. He could worry about all of this when he was safe. He could worry about this when he was with his brother and mother, his true family. 

Koji bought a ticket quickly and quietly, his body acting without his commands as he retreated into his own mind. He wasn't certain which of the Warriors of Light had taken control to look after their shared body, but he didn't ask questions about it either, too distracted on keeping himself from openly hyperventilating or crying to bother. Another piece of his mind told him that he was dissociating now, and while that wasn't much better than having a panic attack, Koji was willing to take it. At least that would shut off the awful feeling of tension and terror in his chest. 

Koji sat down on one of the benches of the train as soon as it arrived, and he thanked the universe for its mercies in not making him wait too long. The longer he was left on his own, the worse he felt. He needed to get back to his brother and mother. He didn't know what would happen if he was abandoned to the horrors of his own thoughts for any longer than he already had been, but it was a thought best left ignored. He was going to be fine. He just needed to be patient. 

The conductor of the train announced that they were departing soon, and Koji didn't even bother to listen. He knew the stop that would take him to the Kimura apartment by heart, and he had never been happier for it. The car was primarily empty, and Koji made sure everyone else was busy before he pressed his face into his hands, covering his eyes as much as he could. The tears refused to stop now, flowing freely down his cheeks and leaving his face irritated and reddened. Koji couldn't bring himself to care about how he looked or what people would think of him though; he was just glad to be away from there. 

He wouldn't be able to escape his father forever though. Sooner or later, Koji was going to have to tell the truth about knowing about Koichi. Well, he would have to tell part of the truth. He couldn't just tell his father about the Digital World. That was out of the question, especially given the increased frequency of Digimon attacks over the course of the lsat few months. Koji would have to come up with some lie about how he found his brother and mother, and he would need to do it as soon as he got home. 

But that was something that could wait as far as Koji was concerned. Right then, he was just concerned about surviving, and so, he continued to cry silently into his hand. He hadn't cried like this since Koji had woken up from his coma. Koji liked to think of himself as someone who didn't cry often primarily because of how much it exhausted and drained him. Anger had always been easier than letting his sadness and grief run rampant, and so, he turned to rage in his hour of need. 

But now, Koji couldn't even bring himself to be angry with Yutaka. He was just terrified. If Yutaka had gone behind his back to tell his father that he was aware of Koichi's existence, then what else had he said? Did Yutaka know about him being one of the human monsters as the media had come to call them? What other secrets was he keeping about the Legendary Warriors?

Koji's mind hadn't stopped racing when he arrived at the station that would lead him to the Kimura apartment. He got off the train quickly, darting through the station and putting all of his miserable adrenaline to good use. He would be okay soon. He had to be. If he could just get into the Kimura apartment, then everything would be alright. He would be home. 

Koji's fingers fumbled clumsily for his spare key when he got to his destination, and he jammed it into the lock as soon as he could find the dexterity. Koichi and Tomoko were both talking in the kitchen when Koji finally got inside, and they fell silent as soon as they realized he had arrived. The room went perfectly still, and Koji watched them for a few seconds, his heart screaming in his ears. 

But that was all it took for Koji's knees to finally give way beneath him. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, his arms cradling his torso as gently as he could manage in his state of breakdown. Koichi and Tomoko rushed forward to hold him, and Koji happily melted into their grasp. He had been wrong to assume that finding them would bring him salvation right away, but he was feeling better already. As long as he had the two of them there at his side, he would find a way to be okay. He just had to. 

"Koji, what happened?" Tomoko questioned. She rubbed gentle circles across Koji's back, and he grounded himself against her fingers. She was there with him, and she would make sure he was safe. He just wished he could believe it so easily. 

"Dad... He..." Koji began, the words faltering and flaking away from his lips like ashes on the wind. He couldn't stop the sobs that wracked his body again a moment later, and he shook his head. "H-He found out... He knows."

Koichi's eyes went wide, and Koji continued, a new wave of adrenaline crashing against his body and nearly ripping him apart in the process. "I-I got home, and he was waiting for me. He said s-someone had come by to tell him that I k-knew about you, and he started y-yelling, and I just... I couldn't be there anymore. I had to g-get away."

"Oh, Koji..." Tomoko whispered. She took his hand in her own and squeezed it gently. "Can you breathe with me? In and out... In and out..."

Koji followed his mother's instructions for a few minutes, though it took an agonizingly long time for him to finally ground himself in the present again. He swallowed back his lingering fears and sighed, allowing his body to melt into Tomoko's arms fully. She continued to rub circles on his back, and Koji forced that to be enough to pull him back to the present. 

When Koji had finally managed to calm himself for the most part, he let out a heavy sigh. His eyes were still filled with tears, and he was exhausted from his sudden flight from the Minamoto household, but he was feeling a little bit better. He shook his head and pressed his eyes closed. "I... C-Can I stay here for tonight? I can't g-go back yet... I just c-can't," he murmured, the words shattering again and again with each passing moment. 

"Of course," Tomoko assured him. "We were just about to have dinner, but I'll set out an extra portion for you. It's going to be okay, Koji. We can figure out what to do in the morning. You don't need to worry about that right now."

Koji nodded, and he allowed Tomoko to guide him to the couch. She retreated back to the kitchen to make dinner from there, and Koji leaned his head over on Koichi's shoulder when his brother sat down beside him. Koichi continued to hug Koji as tightly as he could stand, and the Warrior of Light let out a strangled sigh. "It was Yutaka," he whispered. 

Koichi froze on the spot. "What?" he asked, all the color draining from his face in the blink of an eye. 

"The one who told Dad that I know about you... It was Yutaka," Koji explained. "I don't know why he decided to do it now, but Yutaka... He was the one who did it. Dad told me himself. Yutaka's been gathering information as he stalks us, I guess."

"Damn it," Koichi muttered. He shook his head and pulled Koji in a bit tighter. "Mom is right. We can figure out what to do tomorrow. For right now, you need to rest. We're going to find a way to find a way out of this. I promise." 

Koji nodded. "Thanks," he murmured. He would have been lying if he said he didn't hear the underlying dread in Koichi's voice. Of course he did. He knew his brother well enough to understand when Koichi was afraid, and right now, they were both terrified. Yutaka's involvement only made the situation worse for them both, and it opened countless questions about where the Legendary Warriors were meant to go next as long as their covers had potentially been blown. If Yutaka knew this, then what else did he know too?

There was no peace for the Legendary Warriors. Koji should have known this. And yet, the reminder still caught him off guard, and all he could do was cry and hope the fear went away soon. 

It never did.

~~~~~

For the fifteenth time in the last hour, Mayumi checked her phone. 

More than sixteen hours had passed since Saki's last message in the group chat with the Legendary Warriors. They had told the rest of their team to not trust anyone, and after that, they had gone completely silent. No matter how many times Mayumi checked the chat, she was never greeted with a new message or an explanation for Saki's sudden lack of responses. She kept hoping there would be something, anything, that would ease her fears, but she was disappointed each time. 

Mayumi wanted to send another text. She wanted to ask if everything was okay or if there was something she could do to help, but she knew the answer would be neither. If Saki was okay, then they would have said something by now. If there was something she could do to help, then she would have already been made aware of it. All she could do was have faith that Saki knew what they were doing no matter how much the suspense was killing her. Mayumi didn't think she had ever been this afraid, and the paranoia and horror was like a knife against her throat, a constant threat even when she was able to breathe against the blade. 

"Still nothing?" Haroi asked from his place on the couch next to her. She didn't know why he was bothering to ask; the answer was going to be the same it had been all day. They had both checked countless times for any signs of a response from Saki, and they had always been met with nothing. Why would this time be any different?

Mayumi sighed and nodded. "I'm getting really worried," she murmured. "I know Saki can handle themselves, but it's not like them to send something like that and then just go completely silent... Maybe we should do something to help them."

"It's too late for us to go to the Digital World tonight," Haroi pointed out. "We still have school tomorrow, and if we go to the Digital World right now, we're probably not going to sleep all night. I'm worried about Saki too, but..."

"We can go in the morning before school then," Mayumi suggested. "If they still haven't gotten back to us twenty-four hours after the message was sent, then we can go and find them ourselves. I know they said that they have a plan, but why would it take them this long to fill us in? What could have possibly gone so wrong that they're being forced to stay quiet about it for this long? It's a bad sign, and I'm tired of just sitting here being scared. We have to do something about it."

Haroi thought about it for a moment before nodding. "If we're going to sneak off to the Digital World before school starts, then we're going to need to get some sleep as soon as possible," he told her. "We need to go to bed early so that we're not completely exhausted when we go to help Saki."

"I can do that," Mayumi nodded. "I'll do just about anything at this point to make sure they're safe. All of this is giving me an awful feeling I just can't shake, and I refuse to sit with it any longer than I already have. We have to help them. I just... I need to make sure they're safe."

"I understand," Haroi agreed. "If we're a bit late to school, then so be it. As long as we can make sure Saki is safe, it'll be worth it... But first, we have to get some rest. We wont' be able to help anyone if we're exhausted."

Mayumi hummed at that, wishing Haroi was wrong. She checked her phone one more time, finding nothing there that would be able to help her to understand what was happening with the Warrior of Steel. It was an unsurprising result, but the cut was bitter and deep regardless. "I'm glad worrying all day drained me so much," she admitted softly. "That certainly makes this next part easier."

"Then let's get to bed," Haroi said. "We have a lot to do tomorrow, and school doesn't have anything to do with it anymore."

Mayumi nodded, tucking her phone into her pocket before starting off toward her bedroom. No matter how many times she read over the message Saki had sent, reminded herself that they had a plan, it was never quite enough to make her feel better. She knew Saki was in trouble, and she would do anything to make sure they were okay. 

She finally had a family of seventeen, and she refused to let that number drop. 

~~~~~

Hours upon hours went by before Saki and Miriamon were safe enough to return to the fortress. Bokomon, Neemon, and the Celestial Three had been able to take care of their end of the plan, and they had successfully distracted Alastomon and Biastamon long enough for the reconnaissance mission to go off without a hitch. Still, Saki and Miriamon waited for as long as they possibly could before going back to the fort, not wanting to risk being caught when they had just managed to grasp victory. If they were caught back there after the Digimon had claimed they had gone missing, then all of them would have been in more trouble than they knew how to fight off. 

Saki let their hand drop as they appeared with Miriamon in the entryway of the fortress. They sighed and offered a glance to the front door over their shoulder. Coming in via teleportation was safer and didn't draw any attention from the outside world in case there were spies lurking outside, but the paranoia from the night before still ate away at their nerves. No matter how many times they told themselves everything was fine, they still feared being watched. They couldn't let the plan fall apart now. They had come too far to let something like that happen. Everyone had. 

"I'm so glad to see you two are okay!" Bokomon exclaimed as he came dashing down the stairs as quickly as his tiny legs could stand. He crashed straight into Saki, and the Warrior of Steel sunk into a crouch to embrace him and the rest of the Digimon guides as the quintet bombarded them. Bokomon looked up at Saki with watery, tearful eyes as he continued. "Were you able to do it? Did you find what you were looking for?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Saki nodded. They reached into their pocket as soon as the embrace around them was dispelled, and they held up the folded letters they had acquired in Biastamon's room. "I read over these earlier while we were waiting to come back to the fort. I can say with certainty now that we were right about there being a traitor among our allies. These letters were found in Biastamon's room, and as far as I can tell, they're correspondence and communication between the mastermind of the Void Fragments and those working under them."

"Biastamon was the traitor, huh?" Lopmon questioned, and Saki hesitated before nodding. Lopmon looked off to the side, an uncertain frown on his face. "I... I don't know how I feel about that."

"You wouldn't be the only one," Saki admitted in return. "But the evidence doesn't lie. This is clearly a sign of someone planning something awful. The mastermind was in contact with many other Digimon who were helping them to orchestrate the Void Fragment attacks. We even found a letter here between the mastermind and Makuramon, the one responsible for the assassination attempt on Rubrum last night. They were planning to attack Miriamon to keep her quiet for the exact reasons we anticipated. This is the proof we've been looking for, and as far as I can tell, it's going to push us forward to finally end this nightmare once and for all."

"I don't like how Biastamon is the traitor," Neemon confessed. "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right to me. We heard so much about him after first meeting him, and I didn't think he would be the type to stab us in the back like this. Does it bother anyone else?"

"Yeah," Miriamon admitted with a shake of her head. "We heard a lot about him while we were on Inaie, and hearing that he's a traitor now just... I don't know. It doesn't sit well with me. I know there's nothing we can do to change it now though. The letters were found in his room, and that means he must have been at least vaguely involved with all of this. Even if he's not the mastermind, he was clearly speaking with those who were behind all of this. The letters are proof of it."

"We need to share these with the rest of the Legendary Warriors as soon as possible," Saki announced. "I understand why everyone is unsure, but we have to stay focused. I would be lying if I said I liked what we found, but this is what we've been given, and we have to go with it until we see some evidence that this was all wrong."

"I feel like there's more to this than meets the eye, but we'll just have to see," Patamon murmured. "I was hoping he would be our ally... Then again, I was hoping for that with Alastomon too, and one of them must have betrayed us. The letters..."

"We don't have any other evidence right now. That's all we have, and it has to be true... Right?" Salamon asked. Everyone went quiet at that, exchanging nervous glances but not daring to speak up on the matter. They knew where they stood, and whether they wanted to admit it or not, Biastamon appeared to be the traitor. They could deny it all they wanted, but that was the path presented to them. 

Saki took in a thin breath and pushed it out through their nostrils. "We can talk to the others about this tomorrow. I want to stay in hiding for a little bit longer so we don't blow our cover. I told all of them that I have a plan and that they just need to trust me. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep them from getting involved."

"I understand," Miriamon nodded. "If we come out of hiding too soon, then Alastomon and Biastamon are going to get suspicious, and that's not something we can deal with right now. We can wait until tomorrow, explain everything to them, and then mount a counterattack."

"Besides, if they realize we took the letters, then someone is going to get upset, and I don't want to be made the target of another late night assassination attempt," Saki sighed. "We can leave it alone for now, and we'll see what to do tomorrow. I don't want to leave this be for too long, of course, but..."

"We understand," Bokomon assured them with a shake of his head. "You and Miriamon should leave this place just to be safe. It would probably be for the best if you hid where you were before for the night. We can come back together tomorrow and come up with a plan of what to do next."

Saki nodded and turned to Miriamon. "Are you ready?" they questioned, and Miriamon hesitated before nodding. Saki glanced back to the rest of the Digimon. "We'll be in touch. Stay as safe as possible, okay? We don't know what's going on, and we have to be careful."

"Of course," Lopmon said. "We'll look forward to hearing from you again tomorrow."

Saki took in a careful breath and pressed their hands in front of their chest, creating a flash of purple light around their feet. The glow consumed them and Miriamon in a matter of seconds, leaving behind no signs they had been there at all. When the light faded once again, they were back in the abandoned building the had been hiding in the night before. Saki did a quick check outside to make sure nobody had found them, and once they were sure they were safe, they let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the ground. 

Miriamon sat down as well, leaning her head against the wall behind her. "I have a weird feeling about all of this," she admitted. "I don't know. It just feels like all of this is too convenient and easy. Biastamon was nothing but kind to us, and... I know the same applies to Alastomon, but I'm worried. It feels like this isn't right."

"We should talk to the others about it when tomorrow comes," Saki agreed. "I would be lying if I said I liked what we found either. Of course I don't like it. Nobody wants to admit they were betrayed by someone they trusted. At the same time though... These letters talk about the attempt on your life. There was someone out for your blood, and the two of them are the only ones who would have had the information that would lead to someone wanting you dead. This is what we have right now, and we have to go with it."

Miriamon nodded once again despite her reservations, and she allowed her eyes to fall shut. "I'm exhausted, but I don't know how I'm going to sleep," she confessed. "I'll figure something out though. We have too much ahead of us tomorrow to stay up all night."

"You can say that again," Saki hummed. They stared up at the ceiling of the building for a few moments, wondering darkly just how they had gotten to this point. They had hoped to leave their lack of trust in others and their struggles with opening up to people in the past, but here they were. Somehow though, Saki felt at peace with it. They didn't like this outcome, but they weren't anywhere near as afraid of it as they would have expected themselves to be. Maybe the truth hadn't kicked in yet. It was hard to say. They would figure that out when morning came. 

In the meantime, Saki laid down on the hard ground of the building and sighed once more. They were exhausted, and it didn't matter how uncomfortable their accommodations for the night were. They needed sleep, and they were going to get it one way or another. 

Part of them hoped they would wake up from this nightmare of treachery when morning came. They already knew that wasn't going to happen though. Nothing was ever that easy, especially for the Legendary Warriors. 

~~~~~

To put it simply, the air was heavy and awkward. 

Izumi didn't know what she had expected. She hadn't been able to share a meal with her sister in quite a while between her work as a Legendary Warrior and her paranoia about what would happen if Masae pushed her too hard. Izumi had tried her best to distract herself so she wouldn't have to think about how complicated her relationship with Masae had become these last few months, but it didn't mean much in the long run. Masae still wanted to ask questions, and Izumi still couldn't say anything to ease her fears. 

The two ate in tense silence for much of dinner. Izumi had prepared something somewhat nice for them since their father was out late working, but she knew better than to think a single meal would be enough for her to fully earn her sister's forgiveness. What Masae wanted was honesty, but that was the one thing Izumi couldn't offer. It was too great a risk, and Izumi wished with everything she had that she could fix it even though that would be too easy. 

They had gone through a few simple questions at the start of dinner, asking one another how their days had gone. They didn't offer detailed answers though, instead just giving one or two words in response. Izumi was desperate to just ask what she could do to make it up to her sister, but she knew that wasn't going to help her situation at all. If anything, it would probably just upset Masae more. And so, she resolved to eat in silence instead, wishing the quiet didn't have a death grip on her body inside and out.

"Why are you hiding so much from me?"

Izumi only had about five bites left of her food when Masae broke the tension hanging around them. The question immediately drained the remainder of Izumi's appetite, and she almost dropped her fork from sheer shock. She wanted to answer honestly, to say that she was trying to keep her sister safe no matter what it took, but the words died away on her lips. It was too dangerous for her to tell the truth. Izumi didn't know what would happen if the wrong person figured out she was a Legendary Warrior, but she couldn't risk it either. Hinoka had been attacked directly because of her identity since people in the Digital World knew the truth. Izumi refused to put herself or her sister in danger by talking about her secrets any more than she absolutely had to. 

And so, Izumi returned to the game she knew so well. She pressed a smile on her face and pretended the action didn't feel like acid against her fragile heart. "Nothing is wrong. I'm fine," she tried to assure her sister. She attempted to take one of her remaining bites of food despite the way her stomach was twisting in her torso, threatening to destroy her from the inside out if she pushed herself too far. 

"You're lying," Masae countered immediately. Her gaze hardened into a glare as she leaned forward by a few inches. "You've been lying to me constantly for months now, and you expect me to just... Be okay with that? The last time you were hiding so much, you could have died. I don't know how to tell you that I'm not going to let you get away with hiding so much after what happened back then. I'm worried about you, Izumi, and you won't let me do anything to help. What, do you not trust me? Are you scared of talking to me?"

"That's not it at all," Izumi tried to reassure her even though she knew it was pointless. The words refused to come easily, and she opened her mouth before pressing her lips together repeatedly, though she never found what she was searching for. In the end, she forced herself into silence once again, refusing to meet her sister's eyes. 

"Then what is it?" Masae questioned, her voice cracking at the edges. "I just want you to be honest with me, Izumi. I'm scared. I don't know how many times I can tell you that before you'll finally get it. I don't want you to get hurt, but I can't help you if you don't let me. Please, just... Just give me the chance."

Izumi bit down on her bottom lip. It shouldn't have to be her sister's problem. Izumi had gotten better about accepting help from other people, but it still didn't feel right for her to place so much on Masae's shoulders. Izumi was the one who should have been looking after her, not the other way around. Masae deserved better than to have to deal with this. Even if it didn't place her sister in danger, Izumi still wouldn't have wanted to tell the truth, not when it could have been too much for Masae to handle. She was the older sister. She was supposed to set a good example. She was supposed to keep her sister safe, damn it, even if the monster was Izumi herself. 

Masae was able to sense that she wasn't going to be receiving the answer she wanted, and she let out a sigh that broke Izumi's heart in two. "I just want you to be honest," Masae whispered, the words so raw that Izumi could have mistaken them for a knife to the chest. The Warrior of Wind watched Masae for a few moments, tears welling up in her own eyes, before the younger girl rose to her feet and walked out, leaving Izumi alone at the kitchen table. 

Izumi waited until she heard the distant tapping of Masae's door when it closed behind her. Afterward, she allowed herself to start crying in full, burying her face in her arms and slumping over the table, her food forgotten. She just wanted to help her sister, but she couldn't do that as long as she had to lie. She wanted to keep Masae safe, but in doing so, she was only making the rift between them larger. She couldn't even protect those she cared about without somehow messing it up. 

Izumi remained there at the kitchen table for a long time, crying until she had no choice but to get up to wipe at her face with a tissue. She put the dishes from dinner in the sink slowly and silently, and once she was finished, she retreated to her bedroom and practically collapsed onto her mattress. Her tears rushed back as soon as she was alone in the comfort of her room, and all Izumi could do was sit there and sob. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why did it have to be this way?

She knew why. She just wished she could make Masae understand too. 

~~~~~

He was there again. 

It wasn't surprising to Flamemon at all. Or, at the very least, it shouldn't have been. He had fought off this dream countless times over the course of the last few months. It was only getting worse though. It felt like nearly every night dropped him off here to wait for the end of his life. 

Duskmon stood at the far end of the train station's platform, and deep gray smoke swirled around his feet. Blood dripped from his blade, leaving behind ominous echoes in Flamemon's mind. He clapped his hands over his ears on pure instinct, unable to bring himself to move beyond that. He was so, so tired. He couldn't fight anymore. He had forgotten how. 

The world was made of static around him, but Flamemon didn't dare to bring it into focus. If he dragged others into this nightmare, then he would never forgive himself. He would be fine. He just had to stay focused. It was just a dream. He knew it was just a dream...

Then why couldn't he stop it?

Flamemon sunk to his knees, and all chances of escape were thrown out the window as if they had ever existed in the first place. Duskmon's blade continued to drip blood onto the steel floors below, and Flamemon forced himself to not think about where the liquid had come from. It was Koji's blood. Koji had taken a hit for him. He had been a fool for thinking his optimism and good heart would be enough to save the world, but Koji had seen the truth. 

If Duskmon's hand hadn't been swayed to mercy at the last second, Koji would have died. 

It should have been him instead. 

A train passed between Duskmon and Flamemon, and the Warrior of Fire breathed heavily as he saw Duskmon's silhouette appear in brief flashes between the cars of the train as they whirred by. After about four cars though, Duskmon vanished, and the other side of the station was left empty. Flamemon felt the air leave his lungs, and the world around him began to blur from a loss of oxygen and from the formation of tears. Where had he gone? Why couldn't Flamemon speak those words out loud?

The next drop of blood came from behind Flamemon, and he forced himself to whirl around despite the agony that shrieked through his body with every movement. He looked up just in time to see Duskmon standing there, his sword raised high. Flamemon didn't even try to run. He knew he wouldn't have the energy even if he wanted to. So instead, he just raised his arms high--

As the sword came down--

~~~~~

And he woke up in his room.

Takuya sat up quickly, adrenaline coursing through his veins at breakneck speeds. He pressed his hands against his chest to make sure no gaping wound was going to greet him, and when he found himself uninjured, he let out a sigh. That wasn't enough to fully calm him though, and his hands continued to shake despite his best efforts to calm himself. The trembling soon spread to the rest of his body, and Takuya collapsed gracelessly into his bed, pulling his blankets in close like he thought they would save him from the potential of death that had come with his dream. 

Takuya forced himself to breathe slowly when he recognized fully that he was in no danger, but that was much easier said than done. Each time he blinked, the backs of his eyelids would play his dream back to him, reminding him of how close he had come to death at the hands of Duskmon. Even if his trip to the world of the Dark Trailmon had all been a figment of his imagination, a manifestation of his darkest demons, he still remembered it like it had really happened. He had felt trapped, and when he recalled it all... He couldn't escape then either. 

Takuya stared up at the ceiling, only blinking when his eyes felt like they were going to rupture from the force with which he was glaring at the world above him. Part of him was considering going and getting Chihiro or Shinya just for the sake of having somebody there to talk to him after all of that. Shinya wouldn't be able to understand what he had endured on account of not knowing about the Digital World, but it would be nice to have someone with him. 

As soon as the thought entered Takuya's mind, he threw it out. Getting Shinya was pointless since it would just get his brother to ask questions about what had woken him up in the first place. He would feel guilty for waking Chihiro up given how many issues they had been having with their paranoia as of late. He needed to be there for them, not the other way around. 

All of the Legendary Warriors were struggling, as a matter of fact, and Takuya couldn't force them to do anything for him. They needed his help, and he was happy to offer it. Takuya wasn't suffering in the same ways his friends were, and so, he would give them what they required whenever they asked. He would be fine. He just needed to get one night of good sleep, and then everything would come back together. He had been enduring this nightmare too often for too long, but he would be okay. He had to be. 

Takuya reached for his phone, hissing when the bright light flooded his eyes. 2:56 AM. In other words, it was much too early for him to be getting up for the day. He would just have to go back to sleep. He would be fine. He just needed to calm down. 

Takuya noticed another message in the group chat on his list of notifications, but when he saw it was from Koichi and not Saki, he put his phone down again. He could worry about that in the morning. The last thing he wanted was to end up more freaked out than he already was given Saki's disappearance. It could wait a few hours. 

Everything would be fine. It had to be. It just had to be. 

~~~~~

The first thing Haroi did when he woke up the next morning was check his phone. 

All things considered, he shouldn't have been surprised when he saw that the group chat was almost entirely empty of new messages, and none of the new texts had come from Saki. There was one message from Koichi that stuck out to Haroi though, primarily because it was the only one that wasn't pleading with Saki for an answer and an explanation. Instead, it seemed to be an explanation in itself:

Something happened last night with our father. Koji is staying with me for now. Don't go to the Minamoto home for a little while.

That only opened more questions than it answered, and Haroi's stomach sunk into his feet and then into the ground below at the sight of the message. He sighed and shook his head, forcing himself to get ready for school as quickly as possible. Koji went to his and Mayumi's school, and even if he was in a different grade, perhaps one of them would have been able to find him and convince him to explain what had taken place. Haroi didn't think he could have stood the suspense of waiting for answers from two separate Legendary Warriors at the same time. He was anxious enough as it was without even factoring in Koichi's concerning text. 

Mayumi had finished getting ready by the time Haroi arrived out in the main area of their home. She had one hand pressed on her hip as she looked over the chat once again, no doubt trying to figure out just what had happened to prompt Koichi to say something like that. A quick dinging sound from Haroi's pocket told him that she had asked for answers, but Mayumi didn't wait for a response. Instead, she just tucked her phone out of view. "Alright. We should get going," she told Haroi. "We need to act fast if we want to be back in time for school."

Haroi nodded. He reached for a small notepad sitting on the table at the center of the living room before scrawling out a note about him and Mayumi leaving earlier so their parents wouldn't worry. He left the page out on the table and started for the door, Mayumi hot on his heels. They exited the home into the bitter autumn air a few moments later, and once they had retreated into the shadows their home cast across the surrounding area, Haroi opened his laptop and raised his D-Tector. 

When Mayumi and Haroi arrived in the Digital World, they were dropped off just outside the fortress. Mayumi took a step forward, a frown spreading across her features. "I don't think anyone's in there," she murmured. "I would have thought I would at least sense someone's energy, but... There's nothing. Even the Digimon are gone."

"I see..." Haroi said with a frown. Somehow, the situation had gotten worse, and he had been sincerely hoping that wouldn't even be possible. He glanced over to Mayumi after forcefully snapping himself back to the present. "We should try to ask around for information. Maybe we could go to the Crystal Citadel and see what we can find."

Mayumi nodded, and after a brief flash of light, the two had been replaced by Kirismon and Orionmon. Flying and running as Digimon was going to be a lot faster than walking, and they were limited on time, so they took off as soon as they were able. The Digital World bled into an indistinct blur around them, but they paid it no mind, instead concentrating only on the mission ahead of them. 

When the two arrived in front of the Crystal Citadel, Kirismon tilted her head to the side, trying to sense if anyone was inside. She clapped her hands together in excitement a moment later. "Let's go in," she told Orionmon. With that, she pushed through the front doors, and Orionmon followed hot on her heels. 

Kirismon led them through the castle to the central room, only stopping outside the audience chamber where the Legendary Warriors had first met Alastomon and Biastamon. She knocked twice and paused, waiting until she heard a voice from inside instruct her to enter. With that, she pushed the door right open, and Orionmon did the same for the left. 

Inside the room, Biastamon stood alone. He was lost in thought, his eyes closed, but he opened them when he realized who his company was. "I wasn't expecting any guests today," Biastamon confessed. "This is a rather unusual time for you to be in the Digital World. What brings you here?"

"We're worried about Saki," Kirismon began. "They went missing a few days ago, and we haven't heard anything from them since. We know they were here in the Digital World though, so we were hoping maybe you would be able to point us in the right direction."

"I see..." Biastamon hummed. "I knew of Saki's disappearance. The rest of your Digimon friends told me and Alastomon yesterday that they had gone missing. They vanished without a trace in the middle of the night, and nobody knows where they are now. I want to try and find them, but I'm afraid I'm at a loss for what to do next... It's difficult to search for them when we understand so little of what is happening."

"We should try to find them," Kirismon suggested. "If they had gone back to Earth, then we would have known about it already. That means they have to be here in the Digital World, and if we look around, then we might be able to find them."

"Would you be able to help us search for them?" Orionmon asked of Biastamon. "I understand that you have a lot going on, but we need all the help we can get. All of us are incredibly worried and don't know what to do about it."

"I would be happy to help," Biastamon nodded. "I wanted to help when I first heard of what was going on, but I've been at a loss for what to do. Now that you two are here, we can work together to ascertain their location."

"We're on a bit of a time crunch, so we might not be able to stay for as long as we would have liked," Kirismon told him. "We have to get back in time for school, so we need to be fast."

"I understand," Biastamon said. "For now, we should look around the immediate area and see if we can find any signs of them around here... Unfortunately, since Saki has the ability to teleport when Spirit Evolved, we may run into a few issues with finding them. They could be anywhere in the Digital World by now."

Kirismon and Orionmon shared an uneasy glance at that. Biastamon was right, but none of them wanted to admit it. Saki could have been long gone by this point, and they never would have known it since they had been so terrible at maintaining contact with the rest of the group. To say it was worrying was a grave understatement, and it made both the Warrior of Energy and the Warrior of Cosmos tremble inwardly with anxiety. 

"We had better get started then," Orionmon concluded. He started back toward the doors, and Kirismon nodded before trailing after him. Biastamon took in a careful breath and followed them toward the front of the castle, none of them saying a word along the way. They knew what needed to be done, but it wasn't going to be easy. 

In the silence, Orionmon's mind cast itself back to the last message he and the rest of the group had received from Saki. They had been firm about telling everyone to not trust anyone outside of their inner circle. If Biastamon already knew about Saki's disappearance though, then that had to mean it was alright to speak with him on the matter. That begged the question of why Saki had brought up such a concern in the first place, and Orionmon could only hope the answer wasn't too much of a punch to the stomach. 

Until Saki was found though, the best Orionmon could do was try to track them down. They had to be out there somewhere, and he would make sure they were found no matter what it took. He refused to abandon one of his friends in their hour of need, especially with so much on the line. Everything had to be alright, and he would make it so by force if the universe tried to refuse him. 

Come on, Saki, Orionmon thought anxiously. Please be safe. For everyone's sake, please be okay.

~~~~~

Tomoki hadn't stopped worrying for the last two days, but somehow, this was the worst it had been. 

He was on his way to school after a restless night, deciding that if he was going to be forced to stay up by the whims of his body and mind, he might as well put his energy to good use by going to school early. Tomoki gripped at the straps of his backpack and tried to focus on the chill sinking into the air with the arrival of autumn. It wasn't the weather he would have liked since it wasn't yet snowing, but he liked the cold much bit better than the heat of summer. 

Tomoki just wished that was enough to calm his raging nerves. He hadn't been able to soothe himself since receiving that text from Saki the day before, and he was still worked up well beyond what he was comfortable with the following day. Hearing from Koichi that something had happened to Koji the night before without any elaboration only worried him more. There had to be something going on, and Tomoki wished he knew what it was so he could find a way to help. 

All of that was bad enough, but that morning, the universe decided to present Tomoki with something worse just to make his life that extra bit more miserable. He could feel Yutaka following him, and while Tomoki was doing his best to ignore his brother, that was much easier said than done. He was sleep deprived, irritable, and worried about his team. All Tomoki wanted was a bit of space to try and work through his feelings while he was struggling from so many different angles, but Yutaka was going to put an end to all thoughts of peace. Nothing could ever be serene as long as Yutaka was wrong. 

It was this boiling frustration that prompted Tomoki to turn around and face his brother. Yutaka was walking quite the distance away from him, leaving the span of a few yards between them. When Tomoki stopped walking, Yutaka continued on, his breath fogging up in the chilled morning air in front of him. His hands were shoved into his pockets as he watched his brother with eyes that lacked any sense of care for those around him. Tomoki had learned early just how apathetic Yutaka could be when he so chose it, but in that moment, he was too tired to even argue about Yutaka's detachment from others. 

"Yutaka," Tomoki began, and Yutaka finally stopped walking. There was a small distance between them still, but it wasn't enough. As far as Tomoki was concerned, no distance would ever be enough when it came to keeping his brother as far away as possible. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I just come to visit my little brother every once in a while?" Yutaka questioned. Something about his tone was a bit too innocent, like he was forcing it even more than usual. Yutaka was used to putting on a facade for the sake of deceiving others, to ensure they didn't understand what he was doing to hurt his younger brother. This felt even more exaggerated than ever before though, the sort of tone he only took on when he had done something truly atrocious that needed to stay hidden. 

"You can't," Tomoki countered. He stared at Yutaka and the ways in which his brother was trying to seem like a much better person than he actually was. His posture was too relaxed, but his eyes were filled with a darkness Tomoki couldn't describe or understand. The Warrior of Ice found his mind being cast back to what he had read that morning about Koji ending up in trouble, and Tomoki realized why his brother was acting so strange in the blink of an eye. The revelation was like a punch to the stomach, and he glared up at Yutaka with all the vitriol in the world. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Yutaka echoed, his eyes going wide in feigned surprise. He had been hoping Tomoki would ask about this. He wanted to lead his brother to the truth in the way that would make it hurt the most. That was how Yutaka had always played these games; if he could earn the misery and suffering of others, then he was doing it right. "I didn't do anything."

"That's not true," Tomoki snapped back. He took a step forward against all the fear churning in his stomach, and he realized just how much Yutaka was putting on a show. Beyond that, he was enjoying it. He liked being able to make his brother squirm so miserably. He relished in every bit of pain that streaked across Tomoki's face as the seconds ticked by in all their slow agony. "What the hell did you do?" 

Yutaka cracked at that, and he allowed his hands to fall out of his pockets and to his sides. "I shared some common knowledge with someone who wasn't yet aware of it," he explained. "Many others were aware of the truth, and I thought it was only right that others heard about it too. If anything, he should have learned about it a long time ago."

Tomoki's stomach churned with rage, and as much as he wanted to ask his brother what he had done specifically, he knew Yutaka was hardly the person to count on for a truthful answer. All that exhaustion and worry from the last day started to boil over, and in doing so, it sparked against the fear that came with Yutaka having followed him and his friends around constantly for ages now. The result was an explosive reaction deep inside Tomoki's body like a blizzard on the verge of tearing apart the city, but he couldn't bring himself to temper the storm. They were well beyond that point. 

"I don't understand you!" Tomoki shouted. "Why are you doing this?! Do you just like making me miserable?! Are you that upset that I exist?! You did so much to hurt me when we were growing up, but that just wasn't enough for you! Now, you're trying to ruin the lives of people you've never met just because you have it out for me! What is your problem?!"

Yutaka's previous detached expression shattered, and he took a step forward with all the rage in the world starting to flicker behind his eyes. There was the Yutaka Tomoki had come to know so well over the years. The sudden return of the brother who had done so much harm to him forced Tomoki to step backward twice, but Yutaka's rage would not be quelled so easily. "You've always been so naive," Yutaka muttered, his words quiet and terrifying. "Our parents gave you everything you could have wanted, and that wasn't enough for you. After that, you just had to move on and take what I had from me too."

"Take what?!" Tomoki cried out. "You're my older brother! You should have been taking care of me and protecting me! Instead, you hurt me constantly because you couldn't get over being jealous of a child over ten years younger than you! Now, you've moved on to hurting my friends, and you don't even know them!"

"I'm only doing this because you're around them," Yutaka countered. "If you would just leave them alone, then you could prevent all of this. You're the one who's selfish here, Tomoki. You should walk away now and spare us both the pain. You need to understand all that you're worth. You're a parasite, and you do nothing but take from those around you. I've had enough of it."

Tomoki's hands began to shake due to a combination of rage and grief. He didn't have a proper response for that as much as he wished he did. He had heard things to that degree from Yutaka many times over the years, but it never fully explained or justified what Tomoki had gone through. How could it? All he had wanted was to be understood and loved by his family, but Yutaka had taken that away from him. And now, Yutaka was only making things worse by hurting his friends. Tomoki didn't know what his brother had done to Koji, but he wasn't going to stand for it. 

Before Tomoki had the chance to say anything else, to tell his brother to leave him alone permanently, the ground shook, and it took everything the Warrior of Ice had to not fall to his knees. He looked up on pure instinct, and he realized immediately that this was no normal earthquake. No, this was something far more sinister. 

It was the Digital World. 

Wide holes appeared in the sky, tears promising violence from another realm. Digimon came flooding out of the rips in the heavens, and Tomoki didn't need to wait to see them up close to know they were all possessed by Void Fragments. His heart sank, and he froze. 

Why now?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there's the next chapter! Woohoo!

This chapter was a lot of setting things up for the next string of chapters. I hope you liked the middle of act three of the first book where everyone was scattered and frantically fighting three battles simultaneously. We're going back to that, but this time, it's going to lead into the ending of the third act directly. I'm looking forward to it, but first, we have a chapter to analyze, and this one... Wow. It's a lot. 

I feel like any chapter is going to be when it starts off the way this one does. Kousei knows that Koji knows about Tomoko and Koichi, and Yutaka was the one who told him. That was established in the last chapter, but picking up right here... Yeah, it's a lot. Koji's panic attack was heartbreaking to write, and it's one of the only times we see him fully breaking down with all of his defenses shattered. He's usually so guarded, but this is a very different side of him we don't get to see often. Luckily, he was able to get to Koichi before he could completely fall apart, but it's still an awful situation. Poor Koji. I would hope for him to get a break from this soon, but given what comes next... That's not happening for a while. 

Next up, we have the first scene with Mayumi and Haroi. Since the two of them live together, they get to talk about Legendary Warrior things on a regular basis, and that means they get the confidence to do things like this. Chihiro is currently having a mental breakdown that has lasted for multiple weeks, so they haven't gone to Takuya to talk about all of this, hence why it happened with Mayumi and Haroi instead. Plus, going to look for Saki gives these two an extra thing to do, and who doesn't love that?

Speaking of Saki, they're still in hiding. I really like this scene with them and the rest of the Digimon even if it's not the highlight of the chapter by any means. Once again, it's a note of build up for what's to come, and I love how it turned out. Everyone is uncertain about the idea of being betrayed given what has happened, and who can blame them? This scene also explains why they haven't followed up with the rest of the team yet. Their gambit is still going, and that means they need to stay in hiding for a little bit longer. They intended to follow up with the rest of the group the following day, but... Well, we all know how that turned out. 

Next is the scene of Izumi and Masae. It's been a while since we've seen something extensive with the two of them, and they're as much of a joy to write as usual. One of the more tragic pieces of this story has been the steady downfall of their relationship, and seeing it happen in real time is like a stab to the chest. They're both going through it, but they can't talk about it because of the roadblock of the fact that it revolves around Digimon. These two need therapy and to talk to each other as soon as possible. 

And on the note of needing therapy, Takuya has a martyr complex along with his severe nightmares. These nightmare scenes have been small pieces of the chapters they're part of, but they're important to show one key thing about Takuya's character: he's just as prone to putting himself on a pedestal now as he was during the first book. He learned to stop running away from his problems when he went to the realm of the Dark Trailmon, but he still wants to idolize himself and act as "the reliable one" by never talking about his issues. That is not helpful in the slightest, but here he is anyways. Takuya hasn't let go of his complex about being the team's beacon of hope, and since he's in close proximity to Chihiro who is struggling so much and so openly, he seals away his issues for the sake of helping them. Once again, I diagnose him with needing therapy really badly. 

Now, let's follow up on the scene with Mayumi and Haroi from before since this is where the action happens. There was no answer from Saki, and Koichi vaguely alluded to something bad happening to Koji, so they decided to head to the Digital World. When they get to the fortress though, it's empty. Interesting, isn't it? We'll get to that later on, but for now, the two of them go to see Biastamon. Knowing what Saki does, that doesn't bode well, does it? This scene is a lot of dramatic contrast between the earlier scene with Saki, and it's a bit terrifying. Hm... I wonder how this one will end. Well, I already know, but I like torturing my readers, so... Sorry. 

Lastly, we have the ending scene of Tomoki and Yutaka. Everyone is getting stressed because of the lack of information from Saki, being stalked by at least three different groups, and the worsening Void Fragment attacks. That stress finally makes Tomoki snap, and it gives us a minor insight into Yutaka's mindset. The secret is that he's just a shitty person. He perceives his brother as having stolen something from him just by existing, and everything he did to Tomoki is his idea of "getting back" at his brother. Yutaka sucks. A lot. And the situation sucks even more since we have yet another cliffhanger with Digimon showing up en masse on Earth. Surprise, everyone! I still love cliffhangers and torturing everyone who reads my stories. What can I say? It's fun. 

Next week, we'll pick up right where we left off with the arrival of the Void Fragment Digimon. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital