Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Genesis ❯ Shadows of the past ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: ok I own nothing, there's a shocker huh?

Ok god help us all... 5 is done..... I rushed to many parts in this one, technically this should have been 2 chapters not 1.. But after the torrent of e-mails, deadlines (which I missed, sorry), and threats to my life (gee, nice fans huh -__-' just kidding) I have actually finished this part. Sorry about the last ending, but I am afraid I left a cliff hanger on this one too.... I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment.. Well there is a little bit of taiora in this one.. Tai thinks a bit too... and Sephiroth is revealed! (For those of you who didn't already know... it was a bit obvious ^_^) well bring on the charcoal because here it is.... genesis part 5 in all its sucky glory.

Mail me at: logan91235@aol.com

Genesis

5

by Logan

"Shadows of the past"

'Taichi... I have a name now... my mission has been achieved.. I know.. The memory comes to me in a strange manner... I see what I once knew for the first time.. I was a fighter.. This I already knew though... but the side I fought for was once for good... Now I fight for evil...

I am the one who walks alone... in the shadow of humanity.. In the wake of the empire... in the darkness... that is where I dwell, where I was born and raised... it is my place..

I have discovered a key to my old life... the girl who I know within the heart I never knew I possessed... she is my light.. I find myself as a child before her...seeing her as a child. Her name was what struck me... I learned from Collin that it means the place where heaven meets the sky.. They named her well.. We are enemies.. I for the empire.. And her for the dawn... but she looks at me with love.. And... I return the gaze... for so long love has been no more then a word to me.. A useless adjective that fails me in every respect.. Yet now as I look down upon her tender and breathtaking face I feel this word as though it were emblazoned upon my soul...

For so long I had preyed for my life to be illuminated again to me... I was a fool... as I look upon Sora I feel things that I should not feel.. Guilt... I have murdered thousands... I have killed, and tortured, and burned away the innocent as well as the guilty... and as I look at the angel of my old life I find hatred for what I am... I can't see it all yet.. But I do see something in the memory that was once a part of me.. Innocence.. I didn't posses it long.. In the old life I see blood upon my hands.. But also, farther back, I see beauty too... and that beauty now sleeps within my arms...

Genesis paused as he glanced down at her... she was beautiful... His hand no longer ached from her blade.. But there was a new pain as he held her sleeping frame in his arms.. He had missed so much.. He had seen her as a child.. And now he can see her as a woman... but he missed the metamorphosis.... genesis had never known these feelings... to hold her.. It was strange, someone who has never known love suddenly feels the deepest and most true love in one heartbeat. His mind was alive with emotions as he stroked her hair... she cooed softly to his touch.. Seeking out the warmth of his fingertips with a deep longing. He allowed his scared hands to touch her... caress her... they glided across her soft cheek with the depth of a solitary shadow. They drew tiny patterns upon her with a strange pleasure genesis was only recently coming to know.

They had talked for hours into the night and then to the morning... eventually she simply curled up against him and fell asleep. She trusted him so deeply.. He was a killer.. And she happily nuzzled against him within her sleep. He felt memories flood back to him with a slow and yet constant trickle.. Most were of faces... Sora helped him remember... not as much by description, or by giving him a name to know them by, though she did do that a little... the real key was to touch her.. Or to be close to her.. It was as though proximity to Sora was able to unlock the memory...

That is what genesis had discovered about his alter ego known as tai: Sora was a key.. She unlocked bits and pieces of what he never dreamed he would come to possess... humanity. The idea frightened him as something new might inspire fear due to the uncertainty of it.

He winced as he recalled the evening... she had thrown her arms around him so tightly that even the genesis strain infused bones would snap like twigs under her touch... she had pulled away and asked why he wasn't hugging her back... when he told her he didn't remember her...

he shuddered as he recalled the look... she understood why he couldn't... but she had cried softly.. And as she cried he knew her... he must have known her... known and loved her.. Because as she whimpered softly in his arms he broke.. He wanted to cry with her.. And for the most part he was incapable of tears... but he knew her.. He knew that he could trust her... that he must defend her... and that a part of him would die for her... she was able to speak to the ghost within him.. And genesis marveled at the specter... the side of himself that miraculously knew what to do with Sora.. How to cease her tears...

He embraced her softly.

I walk alone through life.. Through the darkness... Thus is the call of the dark prince... he shall walk the edge of light and dark. Of evil and of good.. And he shall walk that path alone.. And he shall be the one to usher in a new beginning for the worlds... a dark genesis.

it is my destiny.. That is what Dayus had told me when I once asked for my fortune... I was so young then... new to the power... I suppose if this life had a childhood, that would have been it... yet now I have spent years with the genesis power... Dayus cannot see into me anymore.... the dark powers overwhelm his capacity to see into my destiny. too bad.. I would like him to read my fortune again..

He read it for me before... yet now that I remember my life.... does that mean I have altered my destiny... does that mean I may actually avoid the grim future of a life of shadow and solitude... does that mean... I could be Taichi once more?

"Upon my lips I should taste the blood which I spilled upon the cold earth

upon my hand I should experience their grip as they faced death with trembling hands

upon my chest I should feel the brides of those I killed clinging sorrowfully to their husbands

upon my eyes I should see the lives that I have ceased

upon my ears I should hear the cries of their children

upon my mind I should remember the faces of those who shall never be looked upon again

upon my heart I should suffer the grief at what I have done

I should regret...."

I forget the poet.. But.. It was written for me... I should feel sorrow at what I have done.. Yet I have two hearts.. One is the heart of Taichi.. The other.. Is the genesis... a weapon... the tool of Armageddon and creation in one... my destiny... I don't know where my life stands... am I a hero or a villain... am I a destroyer? Or a creator? Am I evil? And... will I be held responsible...'

"Tai?" he was broken from his thoughts by the soft voice of Sora.. She looked at him softly from where he had thought her asleep... he normally would have known.. The breathing is different in sleep.. The muscles, more relaxed... he assumed it was the result of his current mind set that caused his failure to notice.. Yet... he knew it was a lie.. He felt comfortable with this lady Kamiya. Somehow his body knew he could be at ease with her... it was poetic... she somehow was able to bring peace to him.

"I thought you were asleep..." he murmured softly in a tone he was unaware of previously using.

"No... just thinking...."

"About?"

"Well it's like god finally remembered me.. Like he decided he would make everything up to me... first I get you back.. And with your help... we can stop the emperor and destroy his empire! The war could finally end!" Sora smiled happily until she looked upon genesis's darkened eyes...

"I can't help you Sora..." he replied coldly. Sora stared at him quizzically as she moved away from him with a look of shock and hurt...

"But tai... you remember..."

"My name is genesis... and yes I do... but... I stopped being Taichi when he died. Now I am part Taichi and I am also genesis... The emperor's brother..." he turned away...

"But how!?! you remember yourself.. You remember US!" tears filled her scarlet eyes..

"Yes..." he choked out in a voice of sorrow.

" I remember you Sora Takenouchi... and I remember that..... that I loved you... for that reason I will not let him kill you... but ken is my brother, not by blood, but he is my family...."

"DAMMIT GENESIS, YOU HAVE A FAMILY ALREADY!!!" she snarled

he was taken aback by the comment... but continued.

"I love ken.. He is my brother.. Sora... I can't help you kill him... please..... How can I choose one person I love over another... the life of my brother or the life of the woman I love..." Sora paused as she looked at him.. He had turned to face her with tears in his eyes.. Sora stared at him silently.. He looked so much like tai... the hair was different now.. But it still glistened the same brown... he was Taichi... the same Taichi she had loved before... But.. He was also genesis...

"I love you... I lost you once... and losing you taught me just how much I need you... I hate ken for what he has done to us all... he has killed and tortured and done the most horrible things I have ever seen in my life.... I will kill him.... he must pay for what he has done... but... I won't ask you to be a part of it... I couldn't ask you to kill a brother..." she whispered softly as she looked at him. It was a silent understanding that it had taken all his strength to refuse her once... if she asked him again.. He would comply...

" I have been hurting for so long.. I have lost so many... I don't think I could live with causing you to lose someone you care about... genesis..."

He looked at her with a strange gaze.. She wanted ken dead more then anything.. But she was willing to take up a losing battle to spare him the pain of betraying his brother. His memories were few still... yet he did know that this was because she loved him.. She looked at him with a sad smile...

"Sora... you can call me tai..." he smiled to her.

A slow smile spread across her angelic face. As she grinned at him he felt something new... a strange need within himself that he had never known before her... by instinct alone he drew nearer to her.. His hands hesitantly took their place upon the small of her back as he began to draw nearer to her. Their eyes locked as he recalled a memory... he saw himself as he kissed her for the first time.. It was no real kiss... yet to them it was... Taichi felt tears burn in his eyes as the memory came flooding back to him... the image of Sora from the other side of the plated glass... the tears he had shed for what might have been.... Sora hadn't gone into detail about his death... she had avoided the issue... and now he knew why... his heart ached for her as he suddenly cast aside the restraint he had previously been hindered by. Sora gasped in shock as she felt his lips touch hers in their first true kiss...

Her eyes slowly sank closed as she allowed herself to immures herself into his lips.. He was all she had hoped for... their lips danced against eachother in a impassioned combat where both forces were victors.. His tongue caressed her hot moth in passionate ministrations as Sora swooned. They were both so innocent to lust.. Sora had refused herself the love of a man as she felt it would betray Taichi.. And genesis refused his own pursuers by some unknown force which he now knew to be Sora... they hadn't expected this.. Yet they could not deny the obvious attractions they each felt..

He had so many questions.. He was only vaguely aware of who he had been... of the relationship to this girl he had never before met, yet loved with all his heart... he tried to break away, yet found he could not... some force held him to her as her soft hands slid through his hair. The genesis was at her mercy.. And she his... they had been denied so much in their new lives...

She was a leader... isolated from all others by her position...

He was a weapon... the most powerful and feared tool of destruction ever to exist...

He knew so little about himself or about her.... but he did know that this felt right.. More right then anything he had ever known.. He needed her.... Needed her lips.. Needed her touch... needed her love...

*********************

The room was of blackened stone and twisted iron.. The metal was strong, and yet it seemed aged and darkened as the burned steel of a blacksmith's shop would be. It was dark and demonic as it protruded up from the rocky ground as long hooked claws ready to snatch away human morsels.

The air was thick of sulfur and the tangy aroma of burning flesh... the concoction of stench was so potent that it burned both the lungs and the eyes... it was the smell you would expect in hell.. And ironically that was the decorum of the vast labyrinth known as the Pit. Dayus had been given domain over this hellish land... On the outskirts of the empire's capital the prison was a grim figure upon the landscape.. It was fashioned by the interior decorate of hell, Dayus himself. He had chosen to alter this landscape to make it more fitting for the final resting place of the damned.. He chose hell... the biblical location for suffering and damnation.. Basically Dayus to a 'T'

the lord of plague had dominion over much more then this prison.... but he preferred it here... it was his home away from home.. A place filled with fire jets and burning rivers of magma courtesy of a Drimogamon who was charged with sacrificing his life in the effort of creating a spring from the tributaries of lava which flow deep within the earth's mantle.

The burning springs trailed the complex as a great moat of burning death... also, the lava provided Dayus with a series of other such luxurious for the art of creating hell on earth.

The sulfur of the water had distilled to make a vast sea of poisons and toxic black gasses which would billow outward from the gaping jaws of the prison... the complex was subterranean as to prevent escape... there were no escapes however...

Like a great hive of insects the catacombs of tunnels and lava rivers stretched onward. The cells were no more thin gaping wounds in the Stoney wall. They gleamed darkly in the light as thousands of blackish gaping jaws of stone and iron bars... and behind those jaws waited the damned.. "criminals of varying degrees." they sang out to him... sang out as a choir of screams... Dayus enjoyed the music of the artificial hell... it made him feel at home..

He was a demon in more ways than any of the other lords.. Genesis is called the demon prince.. And Grendle looks like a demon.. But neither of the two were Dayus.. His power was mysterious to many... he could enter the mind of a normal human with effortless action.. He could create webs of illusions.. Horrific images fed directly into the mind of his victims.. And god help he who Dayus enters... men were known to claw their skin away, haunted by images of clawing and gashing insects or serpents who were scuttling about beneath the skin...

How do you call a victim of life guilty. Dayus was the result of his injury... watching your arms pulled from your body in slow and demonic hours of torture... Being so disturbed that you would pluck the eyes from the socket... Dayus was a creation of the empire.. Yet he bore it no ill will.. For from his shattered mind he loved the empire... loved the blessed opportunities he was granted to further his art...

He had once been an artist of sorts... before the end of the world he was a sculptor of great prestige. Ironically his sculptures were things of beauty and hope.. But after his arms were taken his craft was killed... yet.. Upon the addition of his taloned hands he was able to continue his art... only now it was a masterpiece of atrocity...

After torturing his victim to the edge of death and beyond the threshold of agony and madness he would incorporate them to his masterpiece...

Within the center of the pit it stood... a mountain of horror encircled by a steam of burning magma. The sculpture was his throne.. A great cushioned throne sitting surrounded by his 'art.' By using a process of dumping white hot chrome over his victims, then cooling it he was able to create horrific sculptures of evil. They were still locked in their final postures... expressions of terror and agony etched upon their metalic features. The chrome bath preserved them eternally. His quaint concept of damnation. Staring out over the ghastly room with the soulless steel eyes of a preserved corpse... most were alive when he chose to add them... but the thousands of human and digimon sculptures formed a great mountain of hell which led up to the throne where he would sit.... at the throne's side, holding it in place was the horrified faces of four young children who were among his first to be altered...

They stared on with thousands of horrific and hellish visages... screaming in horror as they felt the searing touch of the burning metal.. There were thousands of them. each unique in both agony and in features.. Men, women, children, and digimon of all breeds and levels were incorporated... into Dayus's shrine to hell... to his hell..

The throne sat atop the piles of silvery offers to hell with a vast and winding stairwell from floor to thrown... it was massive in it's girth and it's touch... any who looked upon the shrine of hell knew fear... true terror locked in steel. There were sporadic spears of impaled humans... also locked in silver... he had taken up the task of depicting every form of death... some of the victims were impaled by swords.. Or bore gaping holes in their bodies from various artillery. And among his more artistic was a man being ripped apart by wolves who were also locked in hellish silver. He had done all from crucifixion to burning a silvery man within one of the flame geysers... he was quite creative in his art.

The burning dawn wanted the emperor and his lords dead to stop his rule... they wanted Dayus dead to save the world... many who were convicted of a crime against the empire chose suicide over Dayus... and for good reason...

He approached the young man... his sickle claws twitched with anticipation of slicing through another victim. He liked to toy with his prey before killing them.. To prolong their agony... stretch it to its utmost. It was the key to getting the most expressiveness when it was time to add them to the shrine... he was chuckling softly as he slowly made his way to the bound young man. He was shirtless and bore a deep array of wounds from previous taskmasters.. Yet he was now ready for Dayus... his breath came in horrified gasps as he stared with quivering lips at the figure who drew nearer...

"Hello..." Dayus chuckled softly in a sinister tone.. The man mearly whimpered in reply.

"I can see into you... you stink of terror... I think I will have to show you the real meaning of the word..." he smirked as he traced a claw across the man's chest, cutting a tiny gash where the blade traveled... Dayus was pleased to find tears began leaking from his horrified eyes..

"You know what? Your future is black... black like a corpse's skin... ironic... soon you will be just that... another deadman to decorate my throne room..." Dayus grinned.. He loved giving them a coming attraction to the hell that was awaiting.

"Do you know what it feels like? To have burning chrome poured over your flesh while you are still alive enough to feel it.. It is only a minute before I would cool the chrome.. Crushing your bones as the hot changes to cold so rapidly... but my god... it will seem like a year.. Feeling your skin melt under the white hot metal... soon you will know that pain... the feel of your flesh as it sizzles under the fire... you will have just enough time to make a pose of agony... a pose worthy of my art..."

At one point Dayus had all newcomers to the Pit received their orientation in his throne room... yet due to almost 100% suicide the first night of their stay... he chose to only initiate a few... show them the horrors of his art, then return them to their peers so they could describe it...

"I bet you would like to try and escape huh? Well alright..." Dayus swiped away the rope which held him to the pyre... it fell to the ground as would a decapitated serpent.. The man was still held in place by fear.. Yet managed to break into a run for the exit... this impressed him... most were too terrified to run... he would have fun with this piece of meat he smirked.

He loved to hunt his prey....

As the man was to the doorway a crack of thunder roared in the still, dank air. There was a flash of red mist as the man was split in two.. Time moved slowly as he died instantly, yet his torso, complete with spilled entrails flew through the air until coming to a sickening thud upon the charcoal black ground..

Dayus sighed in defeat as he watched lady kale appear from the shadows.. Her heat rod was glowing a sinister red.. As it squirmed as a serpent on the ground.. The steely coils danced on the cold ground before being retracted into the shape of a strange sword-like rod... heat rods are keyed to their user's mind.. By use of neural implant kale was able to move the whip-like weapon with the same effort one may use to move a limb.

She smirked happily as she used the rod as a walking stick. She made her way to him with seductive movements as she seemingly glided... her blond hair glistened like spun gold in the dim light of the fire pits. Dayus was beyond attraction to her... his black heart was only kindled to flame by the cries of death.. Or the bloody wounds his claws could administer. But he was aware she was beautiful.. In a sinister way she was a goddess...

"Why did you kill him? He died far to fast then to be any fun for me..."

" I could care less torturer. I wanted your undivided attention.. That means killing off any distraction..."

"My... you are in a simply charming mood, milady.." he bowed dramatically.

"I came to ask what happened when you touched that bitch's mind... you have never once had any problems entering a mind other then ours..." she snarled

"First: I am sure she has a name other then bitch, lady Kamiya I believe.. Or better yet, Sora....

And second: I am able to enter all minds except the emperor and his brother, and in some ways Sephiroth... genesis power is a natural nullifier to my own... thus the genesis knight and the emperor, due to his ring, are beyond me... Sephiroth I can see into with some effort... he is just harder to read... I am not permitted to read the minds of the lords under the emperor's orders.. Unless the lord gives me permission that is..." he replied smugly

"Well... why couldn't you see into the Kamiya bitch then?" she snapped

" I could, for a time...

That is how I learned of her name.. And bits and pieces of her destiny... yet.. When I touched a part of her mind she had hidden... she was somehow able to overpower me.. It was troubling.. The image of the boy she loved and continues to love is what triggered it. He was the key to it..

It is as though she bore some bond to the genesis power... I hit a sore subject and she was able to tap into the power to throw me out... she is a unnaturally strong even for a child of the digital... perhaps she was even a digidestined once...."

"There are no more digidestined... they died out when the worlds merged to one. You know that! If there was an actual digidestined alive... don't you think the emperor would have killed them!"

she was slightly unnerved by the accusation he made... the digidestined were a class above the children of the digital... they were a power fabled to topple empires and challenge gods.. They had been employed since the beginning of the digital world to defend it.. The chosen... chosen by the order of light to defend against all evils... it was rumored that there were digidestined.. That somehow there were even children of the digital who evolved to the position...

" regardless... she was somehow able to throw me from her... I have never felt a power such as that... it was like I was a child to her... she threw me out without effort... I fear the repercussions if she were able to master that power.. If she were able to use it against us... I only mentioned the digidestined because they were fabled to possess godlike power from certain traits in themselves... I believe some of the stronger powers were: courage, love, hope, and light... "

"I would expect this from Grendle... he is the one with all the nostalgic ideas of loyalty and courage... that or genesis..." she softened as she mentioned the last name.

Dayus groaned.

"Which brings us to the second thing you wanted....

You want me to divine your future... tell you the key to winning the heart of the demon prince..." he chuckled.

"I thought you weren't allowed to read our minds..." he mearly chuckled at her

" I can only see the destinies for you.. His are beyond me... but I can help you..." He began swaying to nonexisting music as his long black hair danced in the wind.

"You fight a battle you could never win... the one you seek has two hearts... one of darkness, one of light... you hold none... the soul of darkness is beyond the touch of human hands.. Yet the soul of light is held by the one destined to kill the genesis... "lady kale paled

"In time the twin hearts shall beat as one.. And through their union genesis shall perish... but from the ashes of the demon he shall be resurrected anew...

Your rival shall win over you... You are a being of darkness... while she walks the edge of light and dark with him.. She can touch his heart in ways you cannot..."

Dayus looked to kale who was visibly troubled by his commentary...

"You can't defeat her kale... she will win his heart... simply because she will return his heart to him."

Her eyes darkened...

"That's simple Dayus... to win.. I must simply kill her.. How can she return his heart of humanity to him if she is already dead?" she chuckled sinisterly.

"Glad I could be of service... please tell the guard to send in another playmate... I really should do a bit more work on my art...." he chuckled evilly.

"Very well..."

*********************

Sora smiled softly as she studied him.. He seemed happy and content... he wasn't yet ready to reclaim his name.. Though he had given her permission to call him by it. She understood why he was hesitant to accept it... for as he would become Taichi once more he would be made to accept all that came with the name. The life that was once his would clash with what he had now. But Sora was not without hope. He was still new to his old life, it would take time for him to reclaim all the memories he had once possessed. Sora estimated it would take months for him to fully remember his whole life... but she knew tai was worth any wait. She had waited years already.

He stirred slowly only to find a pair of loving red eyes upon him. He smiled softly to her as he awoke from his silence. His hand slowly touched her cheek lovingly as he murmured a soft comment about how beautiful she was. It was obvious the memory he had been focusing on was a good one by the way he was acting tword her.

"Where were you just then?" she questioned as his smile broadened at the question.

"You were five and utterly enraged at your mom for something... so you decided to run away from home.. You didn't want me to come along, but I was worried you would get lost so I started to cry until you agreed that I could run away with you too." Sora's eyes lit up as she recalled the image of the young tai crying to come with her.

"I remember now!" she laughed happily.

"You were so cute when you cried. I remember that we spent three hours walking around the block over and over again because we weren't allowed to cross the street." Sora grinned.

"It's kinda cool remembering things from my old life. As I think back, I guess I was pretty happy with you.... for the most part."

Sora caught the hint of sorrow at the comment. She knew what was coming next.. Knew and was not relishing opening the oldest of wounds...

"You.. Never dated since me?"

"No." she replied sharply.

"Not even yamato?" He regretted mentioning the name he had only recently became reacquainted with. This was one of the cases where he was happier not remembering... matt... the boy he hated... he had possessed Sora for so long.. Possessed and loved her. It still stung...

"Matt was gone the second you told me that you loved me...my heart began and ended with you Taichi.. Matt couldn't come close to matching what I felt for you..."

"Is he a part of the burning dawn?"

"Matt left us all right after you died... he abandoned his own brother and his friends..

When the emperor attacked the digital world during the second digital war we would hear of a lone digidestined fighting now and again... the reports were sketchy, but we assumed it was matt.. After a while we just stopped hearing about him.. We assume he was killed by the empire.. Or maybe he lived long enough to die in the emperor's siege of earth... but we know he is dead..

Matt was a powerful digidestined... if he were still alive we would have gotten word of a powerful digital human... but we have heard nothing about someone matt's level for years..." Sora's voice was dark as she spoke of yamato...

"Any regrets with him?"

"Yeah...

He left his own brother to die in a fight against the emperor... I have serious regrets with him.. I regret I couldn't snap that son of a bitch's neck."

Genesis stared at her with a soft remembrance of the girl he had known. Once there was a Sora who would never dream of hurting anyone.. Especially someone who was once a friend.. But that Sora was gone.. Washed away in the bloody tides of war... she was the great lady Kamiya... not the innocent and naive Sora Takenouchi.. Perhaps they were more similar then he had once thought... she too now had a darkness within her... but still, he was drawn to her.

"Earlier you said something that I have been meaning to ask you..." Sora seemed welcome to a change of subject...as she quickly asked him what he was wondering about.

"Earlier you said I already had a family...."

Sora paused sadly.. She wasn't looking forward to the inevitable question that she now faced...

"Yes.... you have a younger sister... her name is Kari."

Genesis paled at the name... he had known of the general known as Hikari... the sorceress... she was among the empire's greater threats... a being who can enter minds like Dayus... but also is capable of bending reality to suit her needs.. The sorceress was a figure of fear and hatred through the empire... as was lady Kamiya... the more Taichi remembered it became steadily more obvious that his two lives would not mesh.. Every new memory he possessed clashed with the life he had made as genesis..

"Seriously? Damn... do I have anyone I knew who isn't now technically a mortal enemy?

Are my parents part of the burning dawn too?!?" his laughter was silenced by Sora's dark expression..

"You don't have parents anymore..." she said softly.

"What?..."

"When ken first attacked the earth he made it a point to kill thousands as a way of showing he was for real....

In one day thousands of thousands cried out, and were silenced.. It is the way of the empire.. And why I hate it.. Because among those who were silenced were our parents. Both your mother and father and my mother were killed within the first wave.

When ken descended from the digital world your parents came to try to protect my mother who was alone in her shop... but the city was one chosen to be eradicated... the digimon came to us as a swarm of demons... they killed and burned thousands.. For what it's worth to you.. Your father died a hero.. He tried to save our mothers from a tyranomon... he was killed of corse... My mother was burned to death...but yours managed to escape the fire... she was caught in the apartment's collapse...

I had gotten there too late.. When we arrived the brunt of the assault was over.. I saw my mom as she lay there.. She was burned and buried... but as I was about to leave... I heard someone call me by name. When I looked... I saw the face of your mother..

Oh god tai... if your parents had stayed in their building they would have lived.. The emperor's forces never made it there.. We were able to stop them at our part of the city...

But regardless... we found her.. Brought her to our temporary base... she was hurt too badly... she had internal bleeding that we couldn't stop.. Kari was able to say goodbye to her before she was asked to leave. Your mom didn't want her there when she died...

I held her hand when she died.. And.... she asked about you.

She asked why you weren't there with us when we brought her back...

I lied to her tai... I couldn't tell her you were killed.. So I just told her that you were out saving people.. And that we weren't able to reach you... But she made me promise to tell you something when I saw you next... even though I knew it was pointless, since you were gone, I memorized it" Sora paused as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Son, I just want you to know that I love you. We were always proud of you.. And though I wish I could say goodbye to you in person I know you are out doing what's right and good.. Just like I always expected of you.. You are a hero tai... my little boy is a hero. Someone who would give his life to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I want you to know that I always have, and will love you. I was always proud that you were my child.. And even though I won't get to see you again, I want you to know that I will always be here in your heart... goodbye, my little Taichi...."

Sora finished quoting her and turned her attention to the boy. He had tears in his tender chocolate eyes as he stared at the ground intent on not losing control and bursting into tears. Genesis was unable to cry.. He could not mourn the loss of life.. Yet as he drew a hand to his cheek he found them wet with tears.. Perhaps there was more tai in him then he had previously thought.

"I.. I never knew her... I can barely remember her now... then why is it hurting me so much to know that she is gone?..." Sora ran to him and threw her arms around him.

Something in genesis snapped as he felt her arms make their way around his slim frame. Some part of him knew that he needed Sora now.. Needed her to help him remember... needed her to hold him, to comfort him, to love him... he cried his heart out as she held him to her. His head slid down to her lap where he mourned the loss of his parents for the first time... her hands tenderly stroked his soft hair as he continued to take solace in her arms.. In her..

"It just hurts because even with the genesis... you are still tai... and tai was the most caring and loving boys I have ever known... I love you Taichi...."

"I love you Sora." he returned.

The two spent hours like that.. Sora was amazed by how good it felt to comfort him. She had been needed for so long by so many, yet now she was needed by the one person she hadn't been there for in the past. She continued to slowly stroke his hair as he allowed himself to shed tears for the parents he never knew.

"Hey tai... you free today?" she replied after his sobs had subsided.

"Yeah.... why?"

"Well I want to confirm something... I am almost 100% sure I am right.. But I was hoping to get a technical analysis of your genetic makeup from one of my tech specialists."

"You have a truly disturbed concept of a date.." he quipped

"Well... ok a needle is not exactly the most fun... but we really should get an idea of what genetically, is dominant:"

"But, I've had all that done here..." he whined, thoroughly unenthusiastic about the idea of getting a blood work up.

"But you had it done by the imperial scientists... I don't trust the empire for an honest reply..." she snarled bitterly.

"Why would they lie to me?" he asked softly.

"Because they may know what I know.. That there is more Taichi in you then they would like to admit." she stroked his cheek softly "what could it hurt?"

"As you wish.. But when you learn that there is nothing more to me then a weapon, try not to be hurt by the truth..."

"Dammit, for the last time.. You are not just a weapon! But, alright, I'll try if you do."

*********************

I am he who walks alone... what have I managed to get myself into.. I told her I loved her... I know a part of me does love her, yet how can I admit to myself that I love. How can half a soul love while the other hates? Sora evokes things in me, or does she put them there? Would I love without her?

Am I destined to kill? Or.. Do I already know that answer... am I lying to myself with all this playing nice crap? Yes.... genetics are irrelevant.. I know my heart.. It calls to me, sings of darkness and blood..

Sora means the world to me, yet I still hear the call... the voice of the destroyer sings to me... I know I am tai.. But I know I am genesis... I long for combat... for war.... for darkness

the air was thick with a variety of spices. They were thick and exotic. Tai breathed in the aroma.. It was strangely floral... not unlike Sora's scent which the genesis could detect as a bloodhound could distinguish a single wafting aroma in the wind. Tai detected the sugary scent of jasmine and heather in the air... they were dominant as they were being burned for incense by one of the peddlers.

Genesis was heightened in senses... for this reason he tended to shy away from the open market. Though he did enjoy the humanity of it all, his heightened olfactory sense and capacity to hear could become overwhelmed if not guarded against. But some things were worth it.. Sora had contacted her resident genius, yet she had chosen a relatively late meeting time.. This intrigued the naturally curious genesis who was wondering what she had in mind to spend a day doing.

For the time being it appeared shopping was her main goal. He was constantly guessing with this lady Kamiya.... she would leap from one extreme to another. On one side she was a brutal warrior.. The next she reminded him of a teenage girl who was happily awing at all the pretty things that were for sale in the vast labyrinth of shops.

Taichi was able to forget himself for a time with her.. Push off the knowledge that despite her efforts.. He was a destroyer. He walked to where she was flagging him over only to find her awing over the display of an elderly Indian gentlemen. The man was dressed in a lavish green cloak that advertised he had found some success in the trade industry. He wore a thick silvery beard which complemented his richly colored skin. He wore a simple turban of white cloth which hung neatly against his head. His voice was a deep and yet a strangely kind tone, most likely an asset in instilling trust in those he wished to part from their money.

Tai glanced down upon the cloth covered table. Like a hundred glistening stars of various hues the trinkets shimmered upward in the midday light. There were various pins, necklaces, and broaches.. They appeared to be quite regal as they glistened like polished glass. They were entwined with gold or other such metals in intricate artwork. The jewelry was quite beautiful...

"My, such a lovely young lady." he motioned to Sora "surly this lucky young man would buy her something to accentuate her beauty..." he lifted a diamond studded necklace.

"I believe this would go quite well with your complection young miss.... never was a finer stone crafted.." he offered the trinket to their examination. Yet was slightly taken off as Sora and tai exchanged a light chuckle.

"does it not please you miss?" he asked with slight question

"No, it is quite beautiful... but also quite fake"

"I would never!" he was cut off by genesis who smirked

" there are shot glasses who are more diamond-like..."

"Also... there is that 'made in china' which is scratched out on the left side of the brace" Sora smiled.

He was slightly taken back by the comments of the two teenagers.

"My.. You both are quite good at identifying a false diamond... but since you are so adept at distinguishing true from false.. Perhaps this could catch your interest..."

He reached to the table and withdrew a simple pendent. It was bound by a black cord to a black onyx colored dragon. The creature was curled into the shape of the infinity symbol. It was carved quite well, and the strong stone was not marred by a mis placed chisel strike.

"Though not quite as showy as some of my other trinkets.. You shall find no greater then this..The Dragon's tear. It was carved from a fragment of the stone of destiny just before it was destroyed in the digital wars.. It is fabled to posses great power... A steal at a mere six hundred golds... but for you two, I'll price it down to a solid five hundred..."

"Tai.. It looks authentic.. That is the right type of stone for the stone of destiny..."

"If it is.. It belongs in a museum, not a shop.." tai commented as he drew nearer

"I'll give you fifty gold for it."

"You must be joking! It is easily worth eighty times that!"

"Yes it is... but.. For fifty I would overlook the emperor's private insignia upon some of your more... authentic trinkets..." tai smiled evilly as he reached to his side and drew the genesis mask to his face for a moment before returning it to its pouch. The man paled as his hands began to tremble.

"You know.. The emperor only puts his insignia on some of his personal trappings.. Meaning that since you have them.. They are stolen.. And that is a very serious offense.. One worthy of incarceration at the pit...."

The peddler turned a ghastly white as he handed tai the necklace before hastily refusing tai's gold pieces.. He simply began to hastily draw up his wares before fleeing.. They had never seen someone move that fast.

He smiled at her softly as she chuckled a comment about how she could get used to the perks of dating the genesis knight. She fingered the necklace softly as she kissed his cheek. It was nice.. Just being in the middle of all these people and not being feared as genesis.. They were just another young couple...

"Here Sora... I think this would look better on you.." he replied as he slipped the necklace over her head. She gasped lightly as she felt the cool stone against her skin.

"But you said it belonged in a museum..." she awed

"I was wrong.. It belongs with you...lady Kamiya." his lips softly touched hers as they continued to make their way down the abustle marketplace.

The day passed slowly as tai and Sora continued to play normal.. It was strange for Sora as she looked at him.. He wasn't like the tai he had once been.. He was much more serious.. And things now seemed so distant to him.. The ideas and inclinations of humanity were alien to him. But there were moments where Sora would catch him looking upon something as a child would with awe. That was a quality common to tai. He had always marveled at things as a child.. Though he was far from innocent, he always had that trait... that is what proved to her that this was tai. Maybe he was just off the track... but he was still tai...

"Where are we going now?" He asked softly

"I have been meaning to check in with a friend who lives near here." she replied as she continued to make her way forward through the crowd. Genesis glanced up to the hot midday sun which rained down on them with the gentle touch of heat. It had been a good day so far... he was amazed by just how good a day it was in fact... he felt free with her.. Despite the fact that the darkness was always there, he was almost human with her...

"Who's your friend?"

Sora smiled lightly

"Her name's Aeris... she was orphaned during the first wave of the emperor's assault on earth. She's a powerful child of the digital. For a time I was debating assimilating her into the burning dawn... but she doesn't have the same hatred for the empire that we do... so I decided I would just set her up with a job and keep watch over her. Hate can ruin a person.. You would know that... but Aeris doesn't have a mean bone in her body... I couldn't let her sacrifice that part of herself... like so many others have...."

Tai caught the sadness in her voice as she said that... it was obvious to him that she hated what she had become. Hated the loss of her own innocence..

"Sora... I feel something in me that I think was tai... he was proud of you for what you have given up as leader... I'm not sure if that helps...but I do think he was proud of you" Sora smiled sadly.

"It helps..."

As they drew nearer to Sora's friend's shop they saw a young girl with sand-castle blond hair. The young child was crying softly as she sadly played with a array of crushed flowers still bound to the earth through their crushed stalks. The girl was no older then seven.. She had a soft and childish face with a small and cute nose along with soft pinkish lips. Her skin was the hue of soft ivory blended with the pinkish flush of a rose on her round cheeks. She wore a light pink dress which was swaying softly in the hot midday sun.. There was a vague similarity in appearance between this girl and one he once knew... he glanced over to find Sora running to her as a mother would run to her child in times of tears. The girl glanced up and in a second recognized her.. She too bounded up from her place to Sora in three great steps. She flung herself into her arms with limitless enthusiasm as Sora began to calm her tears with all she could. Tai stood there unsure of what to do in this situation... this was obviously a very human moment.. Something he would be less qualified to handle.. Thus he just hung back and listened.

"Oh god, Aeris.. What happened? Why are you crying?"

"Sora... there was a fight.. And all my flowers were trampled when the soldiers came..." the girl sobbed..

Flowers?... why is that so familiar? A girl.. A girl who works at a flower shop...

It's almost like I remember...... something....

"Oh.. It's ok sweetie.. Lets take a look at them... I'm sure they'll be ok.." she soothed.

"NO THEY WON'T! They're all dead..." she cried bitterly against Sora's embrace...

Why is she so sad? They're just flowers....

"Oh sweetie... they were just crushed a bit.. They'll grow back... " Sora's words were soothing, yet the young child took little solace in them... she was crying bitterly as she cast an occasional glance to the mangled remains of what once was a very beautiful little garden... as tai glanced down he saw various petals laying upon the brown soil like lifeless corpses... they were dead.. He was good at distinguishing death from life... so either Sora was wrong (which he doubted) or she was simply trying to coddle the child... but as he glanced to lady Kamiya he saw something in her that he was previously unaware of.. She was so caring... it was obvious as she stroked the child's hair... she felt the young girl's pain as her own...

By a strange force which he did not fully comprehend he made his way to the flower bed... he knelt at its boundary as he scooped up a handful of rich brown earth.. He allowed the soil to run through his fingers slowly as he glanced over to the two girls who were now staring intently at the silent young man.. Sora cast him a questioning glance as to what he was doing.. Instead of returning the gaze, he simply returned to the soil...

He removed his black gloves slowly and deposited them gently upon the cobblestone ground underfoot. He stretched his scared hands over the earth... his eyes slowly slid shut as Aeris stopped crying and joined Sora in staring at the strange young man.. His hands began to tremble slightly as a strange golden light began to radiate from his palms. Their eyes went wide as the dead plant life began to slowly rise up to a normal posture... the severed stems began to mend themselves under the golden light that was now shimmering softly around tai's entire body.. His hair now danced in the golden fire with a strange calm...

The buds suddenly burst open with blooms of every hue and pattern.. They stretched skyward as open hands to the warmth of the sun... and as the petals opened up delicately the air was filled with a sweet scent.. The aroma began to become more heavy as the ground continued to burst into bloom... the light gradually faded away to the gentle gold of day.. Yet as the last wispy tendrils of gold vanished Taichi fell forward onto his hands.. His breath was ragged as he began to shiver violently.. Sora quickly ran to his side and threw her arms around him in a gentle warming effort..

He shakily put on his gloves once more with Sora's help. He looked weak and fragile as Sora tried to help support him as they bid a hasty goodbye to the stunned Aeris who was on the verge of asking more questions then they were ready to answer.. Before she had time to murmur out a solitary sentence, Sora had pulled the disabled tai from the growing group of onlookers.. They were barely able to hear the young girl call out a hasty "thank you".

*********************

the air was cool in the shaded refuge from the midday sun... the bar possessed a quaint quality of humility and endearment. It was a small establishment by comparison to the emperor's private establishment.. But for a privately run business it was quite successful... the fact that it was a actual building spoke that fact. Many of the establishments were nothing more then crude tents and matts upon the ground.. But the merchants and businessmen who were able to afford the rent were able to procure an actual shop.

The bar was abustle with traffic as several waitresses flew back and forth from bar to table as would a miniature swarm of bees fly from flower to flower. The majority of the bar was to serve liquor, yet they did offer several non intoxicating foods and drinks. But for the most part the item of the greatest calling was a frosty mug of some extremely potent stuff... something that to Sora's horror tai was drinking like ice-water... his comment was simply that it warmed him.

"Why did you do that tai?" she asked softly as her eyes fell upon him, locked in an intent staring contest with his drink. He looked up from the shimmering dark liquid to her..

Why did I help the girl? why do I care if one little kid is crying?

"I don't know why.... I.. Just wanted her to stop crying." he said in a calculating voice..

Sora cocked her eyebrow in a unconvinced expression.

"Don't get the idea that I did it because I cared about one human..."he growled as Sora giggled at his expression. Tai had no clue why he did it actually... he didn't know why he was doing a lot of things nowadays. It made no sense to him that he was acting so human... it frightened him in some ways that all he had known before this girl was suddenly coming into question...

"What happened back there" he asked?

"There are a lot of outlaws in the empire, people who are driven to lawlessness to make a living. They tend to steal and raid from the merchants.. Aeris just got caught in the middle of a fight with them and the empire"

"Why didn't they help her?" he asked darkly as he took a sip of his drink.

"She was just one girl with one shop... who would care if she loses that?" tai was silent as he looked away slowly. The empire had its faults, yet he had never been there to witness them first hand..

Sora paused for a moment as she hesitantly took his drink. He had an amused look on his face as she first sniffed the liquid, then took a sip. Tai burst into laughter as he watched her eyes grow huge and begin to water as her cheeks flushed. She quickly put the drink back as far as she could from herself casting it a hateful glare.

"How in hell can you drink that?" she choked as she tried to get the taste out of her mouth.

"It's not that bad."

"Tai.. It's like drinking arsenic flavored gasoline...." she gagged for effect.

"You want to live forever?" he chuckled as he took another long sip of the toxic beverage.

the silence of the moment was shattered as the front doors burst open with a hellish gust of dusty air which swirled around the room as the two figures emerged from the door they were dressed in faded whites and browns. Their cloaks were thin billowy canvas which was tattered and worn in various locations. They wore hoods, blackened goggles, as well as thin fabric masks over their noses and mouths. They were clearly from the western range... the dead zone to be more precise... the dead zone is the name of the long stretch of burning sands that were formed from the merging of several small deserts. The range was impossible for agriculture, as all that would grow in that razor-like sand was stone formations.... the people who inhabited these arid regions were notorious as assassins and thieves for hire.. Though there were more freelancers then mercenaries who inhabited the dead zone..

The harsh climate caused the humans to adapt to a more rugged state... the gritty sandstorms were cause for their skin to turn much more durable.. They lost less water, and were more capable in un-habituated areas.. They too would be a threat to the emperor if they were more organized.. At the time they were little more then tribes... nomads at best... thus the emperor was able to keep them thoroughly under his boot by offering trade discounts for water.. Which was a very rare and precious commodity for the desert people... the majority of the tribes were located deep into the desert..thus they could not make brief trips to town to gather supplies. The true desert people were reliant on what they could buy, trade for, or steal... these desert people were known simply as the Clan...

The room grew silent as the two skulked in. They moved in a predatory way which genesis recognized easily... it was a common fact that the desert people tended to rely upon questionable methods to obtain mates.. The arid climate had an adverse effect on many of the females of their tribes. Remnants from the genesis phase 1. The sands conducted the energy in a strange form of radiation which had left a good deal of the females barren.. Thus the animalistic males would be forced to breed with other females to keep the population high..

The two men made their way to one of the waitresses who was shaking as they drew nearer. They sniffed the air lightly around her before growling slowly and moving on to another waitress. It was documented that they had digressed due to the radiation to a point that seemed slightly more animal than man. They still used weapons of both high and low technology, but also they had a keen sense of smell. This they relied upon to tell of one of the females would produce a suitable mate.

They passed several customers who clutched their wives and girlfriends close as the desert men passed. They spoke little more then the occasional growl to one another in a way that hinted at a native language. They were capable of speaking English, yet they were more at home with the grunts and snarls.. They paused at the bartender's daughter..

she was no older then thirteen. Soft strawberry blond hair hung softly at her side. She was a cute young girl.. Though her eyes were fearful they were also a breathtaking soft blue. Her soft pink lips were quivering with fear as the two desert men looked at her. They looked at her hungrily...

The bartender suddenly heaved out a club from beneath the counter. He had not time to swing the weapon before it was split in half. One of the figures had effortlessly pulled the blade from his side and in one great heave split the weapon to splinters of wood. He now held the short, rectangular blade at the man's frightened face...

The air was still as the grave until a shot rang out like earsplitting thunder. The shell shattered the blade in his hand causing him to yelp loudly as he and his companion leapt back several feet. The sword's crude pommel now lay on the ground amidst a small pile of steel fragments.

All eyes fell to the origin of the shot only to find Sora glaring at the man with ruby daggers. Her arm outstretched and clutched within her hand was a black hybrid desert eagle magnum. Izzy had taken the liberty of remodeling many of the stronger weapons in the burning dawn's arsenal. This model gun was already a particularly powerful gun... but now with some digital adaptations it was among the strongest handguns you could possess. It had a serious kick to it, yet as testament to Sora's training she held it effortlessly. The power of the weapon was easily capable of punching a foot-wide hole in the armor of a Monocromon. The steel of the animal man's sword was nothing more then tin to her...

"Leave now..." she growled out in a commanding snarl as she returned her weapon to its holster.

Tai smirked at her as she grinned cutely to him. They both were aware of the two men as they drew nearer to them. it was a thing of humor to the two that these desert men had no clue exactly who they were about to pick a fight with. The two men now stood directly next to the two. Their hands moved to their faces and removed the masks to reveal their true faces. They looked very far from human.. More like wolves then men. Their eyes were a reddish yellow which glowed fiercely in the light. They each had a soft matt of fur that was result of never cutting their hair or shaving.. The fur was thin on most of their face, yet it did grow darker as it reached their necks. The two had long hair.. One was a rich brown, while the other was more a grey showing the aged difference. Also as they grinned, they brandished an oversized set of incisors.

"You are a stupid bitch.... we were just going to take the girl, but it looks like you would bring us better genes if we chose you... and I think you would be a bit more fun..." the dog man snarled at Sora as tai grinned widely at what was on the verge of happening.

"That really isn't a good call Fido..." genesis smirked as he took another deep sip of his drink.

"Ah, so she is your mate? Well.. Then it looks like you'll have to pay for her rudeness... but we will be taking her too...." the elderly beast man smirked as his friend lifted a gun to Sora's head.

"You are really not going to have a good day..." Sora smiled as the elder traced the tip of his rectangular sword against tai's face. He grinned evilly as he ran the blade edge against his cheek.. As the sword traveled his skin it cut a thin wound from his forehead to chin. Yet tai only grinned to him in reply.. The creature looked at him puzzled until his eye fell upon the gash he had carved on him.. Before his very eyes he could see the wound heal itself to a thin pink scar.. Then vanish.

His eyes widened as Taichi suddenly leapt from his seat upon the dog man who yelped in horror. As he felt himself being overpowered he frantically bit and clawed at his attacker who was able to effortlessly pin him to the wood floor.

Sora gracefully slapped his weapon away with surprising ease. And as the wolf was still stunned she kicked him square in the stomach, forcing him to double over in pain as he drew back. His head shot up with a low snarl as he prepared to charge upon her. Yet as he regained composure he caught sight of what Sora pulled from her cloak's folds. In each hand she held three long, spear-like arrow bolts. He was momentarily confused as to what they were for until Sora's wrists flicked forward. In the motion she hurled the pins upon him.. They were weighted so that they would bury themselves deep in the body.. Each of the three darts sunk in at three inches into his upper chest and shoulders. They punctured through his cloak which was now painted a bright red as well as the thick skin.

The beast leapt backwards and howled in agony as he felt the cold steel painfully imbedded within his muscles. He woozily tried to remove the quills.. Yet found he was having trouble gripping them.. It was then that he became aware of the warmth which was now making its way through his arms and to his chest.. His muscles turned to jelly under the chemical's influence.. He glanced to Sora with a look of pained question on his slackened expression...

"A muscle relaxing agent... you couldn't lift a hand on me if you tried.. Much less a gun.. Six darts will simply make it impossible for you to use your arms... if I had aimed for your chest.. They would have stopped your heart by now..."

"Fool... you have no idea who you tried to attack... be grateful you will die quickly dog! I could do much worse... attack with intent to kill is a punishable offense in the empire... I am simply the instrument of your justice..." genesis snarled as he lifted the beaten figure up from the floor by his throat. His eyes were wide with horror as he stared into the cold evil eyes of the young man in the dark cloak. With one hand he was able to lift the wolf from his feet...

"Tai?...." Sora asked in horror as she watched his eyes burn with delight.

"P-please! Mercy!" he choked out in a gravely voice.

Their eyes met as predator to prey...

"No...."

Sora's eyes went wide as she watched tai happily make a fist around the creature's throat. All ears heard the blood chilling crunch as every vertebra in the animal's neck suddenly was ground to marrow and splinters of bone. His eyes went wide as the lips made a great wheezing sound. But most horrible of all was the eyes as he crushed the thing's throat. As the pressure was produced several blood vessels exploded causing his eyes to pool a blackish red. Tai opened his fist slowly, allowing the man to fall to the floor like a toy..

The younger creature frantically tried to hobble away, yet as he was to the door he glanced back to see the demon boy had grabbed his companion's blade and was now drawn back to hurl it. The girl's poison had slowed his mind as well as his body.. He made no effort to dodge.. Mearly to run as fast as his numb legs could take him.

Tai was about to hurl the weapon forward upon him.. He would not miss.. Genetically he could not miss.. He was made to be an assassin.. A killer.. A predator, and like any predator he loved the chase.. Though since his game was wounded it would not get far enough to be a challenge.... he drew back, ready to kill it.

"Taichi stop!" Sora called from his side. He paused as he stared at her.. She was looking at him in a way that effected him. Her eyes, they burned sadly into his as she watched in horror at what he was doing.. And as she looked upon him he saw himself. He was on the verge of striking down a fleeing enemy.. A young enemy who was unable to defend himself. He slowly lowered the weapon.

Allowing the creature to escape...

Is this the genesis? A mindless killing machine?

And if I am a killer, have my actions killed what once was tai?

*********************

the animal ran.. He ran aimlessly as the fear pushed him onward. He was vaguely aware from the shrieks and cries of onlookers as the blood soaked creature nearly plowed into them. as he ran he collided aimlessly with tents and shops and merchants.. Each time being recoiled from and pushed away.. Under normal circumstances that would result in his wrath.. Yet the young mutated human was now beyond thought.. The residual genesis power had taken all humanity from his people..

No one knew why they looked canine.. But now he truly felt like an animal.

He was running like one. Fearful of his predator as he frantically ran. It was hard to continue.. The darts were still effecting him, making each step more and more strained. His feet fell like lead against the ground as he slumped upon the Stoney earth. His ribs throbbed along with his arms and shoulders in a combination of the silvery spines and the exertion.

"Are you alright?" he felt a pair of strong hands help him to his feet. His vision was blurred as he tried to focus on the citizen. Yet the world around him was no more then a fuzzy blur of color and white pain. He was aware of the arms as they led him to safety. To a cooler place, out of the hot sun.. He was grateful for the shadows, they would hide him from the demon.

"He... killed my father..."

"Who did?" the voice probed softly

"The demon... we were looking to take a female back to our pack.. But.."

"Go on...."

"The demon stopped us.... he killed my father.. Crushed him in his hand....he... wasn't human... wasn't one of us... he was evil!" the creature panted in a horrific frenzy as he shrieked in horror as he relived the death of the alpha male, his father.

He felt the good-Samaritan embrace him in a tight hug as he patted the creature's back. The animal was human enough to return the embrace and began crying softly onto his cloak. He was a child without a father.

"It's alright.. I know it's hard to loose a father... I remember how hard it was for me...

But you didn't know he was evil when you saw him? Don't the clan have heightened senses?"

"I.. I didn't.. He was evil!" the creature ranted

the Samaritan drew his lips to the creature's ear. "Didn't you know?"

"K-know what?"

"We're all evil..."

As Sephiroth spoke the words his forearm erupted with a whoosh of steel as the blade buried itself in his abdomen. The young member of the clan lurched forward in the throws of death. His eyes were wide in agony as he felt the blade slice through his intestines and organs with the flare of an icy razor. Then with a jerky movement the blade retracted back into his arm.

The clan was slumped on his knees as his eyes managed to focus on the face of the hooded man. He could see nothing in the way of features.. Just pure evil black... his mouth opened to speak, yet only black, tarish blood leaked from his gaping jaws. His eyes were soft as he stared at his 'savior'

"You know they say there is nothing more painful then a wound in your stomach.. You see the blood? It's black.. That would be bile spilling into your blood."

He took the clan's hands and pressed them tightly to his gushing stomach, stopping the bleeding.

The young creature screamed in agony as he felt his hands brush against something that he dared not look upon

"You have a choice animal.. Be grateful for it.

You hold that wound tight, you live for twenty minutes... but those twenty minutes will seem to last for days of agony...

You let it bleed.. You die in five and it's much faster, but still.. Those five minutes will last forever..." he chucked softly.

"You have however, a third option.. This one is entirely up to me. I know he was with someone... but the demon could have sensed me if I were close enough to see who... but my little clan friend... tell me about who the genesis was with.. If you tell me I can make it go away..."

"She.. Was beautiful... her hair was long... red... eyes o-of.. Fire... she.. was.. his mate... she smelled of the evil...it was on her skin, and her hair... p-please... help me...." he cried out in agony, his voice week and slurred.

"Thank you.. That was most helpful... now for your reward..." Sephiroth spoke softly as he lay his hand atop the creature's head. The last thing the animal heard was the metalic shriek of the blade as it plunged into, and through, his forehead... as the blade retracted, the creature slunk to the ground amidst a pool of black blood.

The hooded figure smirked softly to the dead animal at his feet. Ultimately that is all he was.. a dog who died in the gutter.. And as the great lord of death, Sephiroth rose upward he dismissed the fallen creature with as little more regard then a dead animal.

"Most helpful...."

*********************

"Tai... what happened back there?" she questioned with a look of mixed emotions on her face.

"I killed a killer and a rapist." he replied darkly as he refused to meet her gaze.

"That's not what was bothering me..." she whimpered as her hand took hold of his cheek. She gently guided his gaze to hers in a soft expression.

"Killing in the heat of battle is different then what that was. Tai, you murdered that clan."

"Sora... why can't you understand? I am genesis... a weapon... it's my nature.. My identity.

I may have been tai once, but now I am genesis too. Killing is a part of my nature, it's as simple as that... I agree that I am Taichi... the evidence is too clear that I am, but I am also the genesis."

She looked at him sadly as she continued to stroke his face with her gentle hand. She was amazed by how deeply she had been sucked in now. It had been so little a time since she had been his enemy. Technically she still was... but here she was. Same Sora, still hopelessly in love with tai. Yet this was not the same tai, despite her best efforts she knew he was not...

"You care about me?" she asked hesitantly, afraid of a negative answer's effect on her.

He studied her for a moment.. He had been unsure of this question for so long. He had one half of himself that really did love her, yet he also had the side of himself which was genesis.. The side that was meant to kill and to destroy.. The warrior side of himself...

But the side of him that gave him his heart, and his soul did love her. It loved her with every fiber of its being.. Loved and needed her...

"Yes... I do..." he whispered softly

she smiled softly. "Then make me a promise....."

she guided his eyes to hers as she asked him softly.

"No more killing..."

"Sora... I am the genesis. It's my nature to destroy, it's who I am... I would have to be crazy to make a promise like that. It would be like asking me to cut a part of myself out, like asking me to abandon my own nature!" he snarled.

Sora turned away from him as the tears began to burn down her cheeks. She knew what she was asking him... knew that it would be almost impossible for him... but how could she have a life with a killer? Not a warrior, but a killer. Tai had always killed to protect them.. To eliminate threats to his family... but genesis killed simply because it was what he does.. She knew there was no life for her now... she could not live with tai if he was a demon with the angelic face of her past. And she could not live her old life now, knowing he was still alive... she was dammed by fate by every angle...

"I'm sorry Taichi..." she tried to run, yet found his hand firmly locked on her own.

"I would have to be crazy... or in love..." he whispered softly

Sora turned to face him with a look of growing hope in her crimson eyes.

"You ruined my life Sora.. But I think you also are giving me a better one, with you."

Sora moved slowly to him. He was giving up so much. More then she should have asked. The genesis was evil, but it was also a part of him.. A part that he was willing to cast aside for her. She had so many questions about all that he was..would the demon sleep, or awaken over time in him? Could they find peace together? But despite the questions she proceeded to move closer to him. His sad brown eyes lit slowly as his lips instinctively found their way to hers. He kissed her hungrily as his arms moved by their own power to embrace her. He was amazed by how much he was drawn to her.. She was his key to all that was, and all that was yet to be.

Their mouths hungrily met in a symphony of attraction and romance that remained about them as an aura. It permeated their bodies with it's essence which swirled around them as a dervish of need and longing.. As they parted each wore a pinkish blush upon their mature features.

"C..Come on.. We need to get to the rendezvous..." Sora stammered lightly as she tasted more of tai's drink upon his lips. He mearly grinned lightly as he complied.

*********************

the sky had given way to dusk now.. The air was cooler, though still a tad on the dry side. Izzy glanced around the scenery hesitantly as he waited patiently for lady Kamiya to make her appearance. He growled lightly as he slumped onto the cool earth underfoot. He grumbled hatefully as he cast a glance to his watch. He could have spent the evening in the lab... or better yet in his quarters with his fiancé. He had never really expected a romance between himself and the pink one as Davis called her. It was something that simply came about without knowing.. They were both isolated in the group, him for his intelligence, and her for the distinct qualities that dubbed her the pink pain back in the old days.

He sighed sadly as he thought of her.. There would be no romance between them if it hadn't been for the war.. Yet it was the war which killed her.

Mimi had always been the lightest of them all.. She had taken tai's death with the most ease, though by comparison to the others she was scared for life by it. But she had managed to survive the pain and move on from the death of her friend... but when she watched the war escalate from a vague threat to a grim reality. She died... she had been walking through the remains of primary village.. And what she had seen killed her.. Killed the Mimi they had all known before... after she got back she was a different girl. A quiet one who was no longer vocal about the evils of discount shopping or her adoration for shoes... koshiro had always felt guilty for being happy about her change... for he did fall in love with the new Mimi. They were so similar at times.. She was now a silent young woman who was content with simplicity. She was proud of izzy for all he did, as he was with her.... but still the question remained... would he have fallen in love with the true Mimi?

His eyes fell upon two shadowy figures who made their way steadily tword him. He recognized the frame of Sora, despite her long billowing black cloak... yet the second figure was alien to him. The hood obscured his face, yet from casual observations izzy was able to make. He was tall, of good build, muscular... and powerful.

"What kept you?"

"Just had a few things we needed to get done first..." she smirked as she threw back her hood, freeing her long fiery hair which danced in the wind. She smiled warmly to izzy who rose up and returned the smile.

"Tell me Sora, who's your friend there? A new recruit?"

"No..."

"Then who is he lady Kamiya?" a new voice echoed from above. On instinct Sora's hands flew to her side withdrawing the magnum form its resting place at her side. She held the weapon at a direct level with the voice, yet as she looked it her eyes fell upon the familiar face of the young Takeru.

"Getting a bit jumpy?" he smirked as he leapt from the high branch to the ground.

"TK, what are you doing here? I asked for izzy to come alone." she growled as she stowed the weapon.

"Yeah.. I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I know you're boss here... but you have been giving some seriously questionable orders. First you cancel the assassination attempt after one failure. Then you start dragging our tech specialists out of base without an escort of any kind..."

"I don't remember asking you what your opinion was."

"I know you're in command Sora, but izzy is out top intelligence officer and tech specialist. He has a bounty on his head almost as big as ours. And if we lose him the war just got about fifty times as hard to win..."

"I don't need to be reminded of just how many people want us dead. And I also am not required to explain myself."

"I'm sorry lady Kamiya."

"But since you're here I guess you're buried, just like the rest of ourselves. I didn't call in a guard because that guard would be in a dangerous situation for seeing this... also, don't forget that izzy originally was a general like you..." Sora paused as she motioned for the hooded figure to draw nearer.

"TK.. If you see this then it puts you in a difficult position with Kari.. She can't know this yet... if she did it would cause a lot of problems for her and us..."

"If it involves Hikari then I need to know it...." he replied icily.

"Tell me... who is this guy with you?"

She sighed...

"That's what I called you here for Izz... I need you to run a genetic scan to find out exactly who this is.. And how much of him is human..." their eyes went wide at the comment as they stared at the cloaked figure... he stood perfectly still as he looked to them from under the cover of his hood.

"Guys... this is genesis...."

before Sora had a chance to say any more the two immediately fell into battle posture. Izzy leapt backwards, and as he was suspended in air his arms flew to his side revealing a pair of miniature chain guns of his own design. The two weapons suddenly sang out with fire as the pistons spun out rounds of fire within seconds. Yet as they were about to make contact with the motionless figure he effortlessly sidestepped the blast of firepower which blew through a tree as it continued on its path of annihilation.

"Both of you stop!" Sora snarled out, causing the two teens to freeze in their tracks. Their eyes fell on her enraged rubies which glowed with wrath. TK whimpered lightly under Sora's expression while izzy quickly returned the smoldering weapons to their place at his side.

"B..but Sora! That's GENESIS" TK growled as he made no effort to stow his weapon.

"Listen to me Takeru! Izumi! I will not condone thoughtless action. If genesis was not with me you both would have been dead by now... frankly I'm a little disappointed by your lack of faith in me..."

"Genesis is with you!?" izzy choked out.

"More or less.... just be grateful that I warned him you might have a reaction like that..." the two cast a questioning glance at one another before relaxing slightly. Genesis was a serious fear for all the burning dawn, thus they all were a little quick to rush to the pyrotechnics at the idea that the demon prince was no more then four feet away...

"Sora... have you recruited him to our side?!?" TK gaped.

"No... it's complicated...."

"But how?"

She sighed in defeat as she motioned for genesis to show them. their faces went pale as they watched the hood give way to reveal the strong face of Taichi. His hair was long, and whipped violently in the wind as he glanced at the two who were now in dismay over the face that stared back at them. he looked at them with a expression of great strength as well as a vague curiosity as to the faces he could almost remember.

"Oh my god...." TK gasped as he allowed himself to sink to his knees....

*********************

"So do I have a clean bill of health?"

"If you were looking for a physical I would recommend joe.. But as far as I can tell.. Your genetic structures are amazing."

"That had better not have been a pickup line." Sora chuckled from her place at tai's side.

"Funny... but seriously. His genetic structure is identical to that of a human.. However his genetic helixes are comprised of both organic material and digital coding. I've never seen something like this before. The digital and the organic are synchronized perfectly within him... he's both digital and organic at the same time..."

"So I'm not human..." Sora glanced to him with a soft smile as she stroked his cheek affectionately.

"Actually you are human.. Just a different type of human... when we were in the digital world we were data... when we got back to earth we were organic again... you are human.. Just, both at once... tai... I don't know what to say, the genesis strain is completely harmonized with your human side..."

"So is he more tai or more genesis?" Sora asked as her hand tightened on his.

"That's just it... there is no tai or genesis... they're one and the same..." tai's eyes widened at the statement.

"I don't know how to explain it... "

"Tai... there is something we need to talk about." TK said softly as he rose to his feet, followed by tai. The two stared at eachother for a moment in complete silence.

"I can't be who I was TK... I have a life in the empire... and though I can't begin to understand all this I know that I don't belong here... yet..."

"And Kari?" he choked out as his eyes teared.

"It would hurt her if I stayed..." TK nodded softly, on some level they understood eachother in a way Sora or izzy couldn't comprehend, warrior to warrior. TK turned to walk away, yet was halted by tai's words.

"TK... Kari has a new protector now...." he walked over to the young blond who looked up at the slightly taller tai. Taichi smiled softly as he offered his hand to TK. The young boy studied the hand for a time, and then suddenly took it in his own in a deep embrace. Man to man.

"I just wanted to shake the hand of the boy my sister loves.. I'm proud of you Takeru.." Sora watched with moist eyes as the two embraced in a tight hug, tai had once acted as TK's brother.. Now it was clear the bond still existed despite the circumstances of their lives. They parted without a word as Taichi threw his black cloak back into place.

"And you Sora?"

"I'm not quite ready to come back... there's a lot of stuff I need to sort out..." she replied as she glanced to tai.

"Sora... I feel I must advise you to the danger of going back with him... the empire knows you... they'll be looking for you... if you are staying in the heart of the empire the odds of them finding you rise exponentially."

"Izzy.. You know I have to go with him..."

"Yeah, I do..." he replied softly

"Thank you..."

"Just remember to check in dammit. I have a hard enough time keeping track of the others without having to deal with you." TK smirked.

"I will... come on tai..."

And with that the two vanished into the night. The world was uncertain, it could turn on them at any moment, yet they continued onward despite the swelling tides of war that were now crashing against the shore at a escalating level. The world was crashing around them... and things were showing no sign of lessening. TK and izzy looked on with a silent reverence at what they were seeing.

"You know.. This can only end badly...." izzy observed.

"Yeah... I know."

*********************

Sora awoke slowly as the first golden rays of dawn brushed against her face. She groaned softly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced around the room. Tai was already gone... Sora had come to acknowledge over the corse of the week that tai no longer was a late sleeper.. In fact she was beginning to question if he slept only for her benefit. For no matter how early she would wake, he was always up and dressing. She smiled softly as she came to recognize the pair of warm eyes which were synonymous only to tai.

She had given up on trying to understand him over the week they had spent together since meeting izzy. They had come to accept the questions as they were.. And as the days passed they learned to dodge the questions too. They were happy playing house together. Content in the game of normalcy.

"Do all humans sleep this late?" Taichi joked.

"Ahh.. shove it ya digital hybrid."she grinned.

"Sticks and stones.." he grinned as he kissed her good morning.

"Gee.. You're in a good mood." she smiled as she rose to a sitting position. He slipped into bed with her happily as he kissed her once more in a chaste manner. Having Sora with him this much was having the same effect on his fragmented memory. He was able to recall more at a faster rate. It had come to be that he could recall faces more easily now, and events were less muddled in his mind. He had been able to keep his promise to Sora thus far, though he still felt the call beckoning to him from across the boundaries of the empire walls where the war still raged. Sora was still commanding the dawn... she did so by communicator, or by secret meeting. Most of them were mystified as to why she was on leave.. Yet the senior digidestined all were happy for her that she was getting a bit of piece.. Despite the fact that they didn't know who she was with...

"Hey Sora.. I have been meaning to ask you something..."

"Yes?"

"Every tear at this time the emperor holds a formal ball.. It's kinda his way of showing off for dignitaries." she nodded

" Well normally he finds a way to get me out of them, but this time I am going to have to attend for posterity's sake. Now if you don't want to go I am fine with it... but it isn't safe for you to run around the empire without me there to give you a cover story. And staying locked up in our room would be a bit boring for you..... so... would you like to go with me?"

"You are asking me to a dance?" she asked incredulously at the memory of how tai had hated dancing with a passion.

"I'm not promising anything.... and I apologize in advance for your feet. But over the last week you have shown me so much, from the world outside the empire to the person I was... I would just like to give you a taste of one of the empire's good sides.. They are kinda cool in a stuffy and overdressed kinda way." he laughed nervously.

Sora grinned broadly as she cocked her eyebrow. Tai had never actually asked her out on a date of any form. They ran errands in the city, or took walks, but they never actually made it clear they were dating, though it was obvious to any onlooker. She drew nearer to his lips as she breathed out a sultry 'yes' that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise to attention. Tai smiled a boyish grin as he kissed her neck in thanks.

"My hero, saving me from a night of aristocrats." he chuckled.

"Shut up Kamiya." she grinned

"Yes, sweetie" he quipped

*********************

The soft song of music wafted through the brightly lit hallway as an aroma would gently waft through a home. The music was instrumental and soft.. It felt as velvety sand to the ears, gliding gently through the fingers with no pebble to interrupt the fluidity of the flow. The violins sang out in a lavish and nostalgic manner to the ear. The song was a light one, written before the merging occurred and the world was thrown into chaos. Yet somewhere in the aspect of the tune it sang of darkness.. Perhaps the immortal melody was trying to warn humanity of the tide which now crashed over mankind, yet its efforts were lost due to the simple beauty of its song.

As he glanced across the room his eyes fell upon the ballroom. A room which advertised the sheer elegance of the emperor's taste. It was a vast room of velvety red tapestries and shimmering marble floors. In the far corner the musicians played with the aid of several gekomon who were mearly preforming backup to the musicians. He had never seen so many suits.. The hall was alive with dancing and polite conversation. But his eyes were more to the dancing.. The people swelled and shrank back as a great tide of black tuxedos and lavish dresses. They withdrew and advanced to a great unspoken command, which was not unlike the movements of a battle. Yet here the combat was gentle and symbolized. He cast a glance to where his brother would be, somewhere near the head of the congregation, only to find him dancing gracefully in the arms of a young blond woman who tai was unacquainted with.

His gaze fell skyward to the large domed glass ceiling. Above them the stars shimmered in a gossamer dance of their own. Though they were more stationary in their ministrations, they did dance without question. In the center the moon hung low. It radiated with an ivory light which painted the occasional wayward cloud a shade of silver. He could breath in the air from the sea. The castle was set with one end hanging over the vast cliffs of mount Infinity which gracefully sloped downward at a sharp degree to the blackish blue tides of the nightly water. The ballroom had a vast balcony which overhung into the night air outside as open arms to the world beyond the ornate. He could almost hear the rhythmic crash of the waves and spray of the frothy foam from the sea, as it crashed against the cliffs. He glanced further through the open doorways to the balcony where his heightened vision caught several couples holding eachother as they listened to the soft words of the ocean against the melody of the orchestra.

They had agreed to meet inside the formal hall. It had been a light debate as to if they should go on with this due to the fact that Sora was a wanted individual, yet there was little known about lady Kamiya besides a brief description which could match a thousand girls. For the most part it was decided that she would be safe with him so long as they kept together. No one would question the genesis thoroughly about anything. And since the four lords rarely ever attended, they were no threat to her... tai paused as he glanced to the clock which hung ornately upon a nearby wall, she was late...

He was slightly nervous as to why she was so late... She had said she needed to run a few errands before the event, and despite a minor argument, he allowed her to go off alone. He cursed his weakness to her now as he cast another worried glance to the clock, who's face did no more then illuminate further concerns. He made it a point to remind himself that Sora was no helpless teenage girl. Yet as he was on the verge of going out in search of her his eyes found her...

She cast a tender smile from across the crowded room which melted him. Her hair now hung at her sides as shimmering flame made silk. Two tiny tendrils made their way down her face from either side in a way which framed her angelic face. She wore light makeup which was a shock to him since he could not recall her doing this from when he first met her, or from when he first remembered her. It gave her beauty an augmentation that he had never dreamed capable. Yet as his eyes traveled her he found no words capable of depicting her accurately. She wore a simple gown which he assumed was the cause of her delay. It was long and ivory white as is the moon when it hangs mournfully over the sea. It was held to her without straps in a manner he had not quite seen before. She grinned broadly as she playfully twirled for him giving him a greater perspective of the dress and body with which it hung. It had no back, just a delicate downward curve which ended at her waist in a manner that made the throat dry and gape. Around her neck she wore the dragon's tear, which perfectly accentuated her soft and milky skin.

She made her way to him through the crowd of elite, and yet incomparable women who held no candle to the fiery angel before him. As he watched her make her way to him it occurred to him that next to her, he was drastically underdressed. His hands subconsciously began the task of straitening and dusting off his black tuxedo. He wore a midnight black suit which framed him, and made him appear more slender and shapely. The white undershirt was tucked neatly into place as was the black cape which advertised his position as one of the royals. It was simple in contrast to ken's. The emperor favored more decadent attire. Clothing more fitting to a regal figure such as himself... but genesis was content with simplicity.. Though he would drastically rethink his degree of casualness if he had seen Sora before tonight.

"So what do you think?" she beamed.

"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." he gaped as he hesitantly offered her his hand.

"You look very handsome tai." she commented as she straightened his tuxedo for him before accepting his arm.

He was glad he didn't wear the genesis mask tonight.. It was not acceptable for this formal occasion.. But more tonight he was happy to not wear the garment. He wanted to see Sora as himself, not the genesis. And... he wanted to be seen as tai tonight above all other times.

The evening passed quickly as the two separated slightly from time to time when genesis would be needed to politely address a dignitary with his brother. Sora tended to shy away as ken beckoned tai.. She didn't want to address him directly for fear that she would not be able to contain the desire to kill him with her bear hands. Tai agreed that it may not be the nicest possible party behavior.. Yet as he returned they would be drawn back to the other's arms as they would listen to the music happily.

Sora did note that tai was adamant about avoiding dancing. It was humorous to her that despite all the changes, he was still so much like the Taichi she had known. Yet she would not let him get away with this... 'girlfriend's prerogative' she smirked. With considerable petitioning she managed to coax him to the center of the dance floor.

*********************

the music began to play a slow waltz known as the Waltz for the Moon. It was a softer song, which sung of innocence and of love. The music danced softly around them as tendrils of wispy smoke. It glided against them in a caressing manner as Sora took the role of dance teacher.

"Ok tai.. This is a little on the hard side.... the key to this dance is the hands. At all times one of our hands must be together, just an inch away from touching. It's basically a simple waltz with that adaptation. Just try to keep your hand to mine the whole time... and... try not to break my feet too." she smirked

"Gee, thanks for picking such an easy one for a beginner." he whimpered.

"Well, dancing is a bit like battle.. Look at them tai... one side moves, the other counters. It's kinda like a war. Except you tend to kill your partner less." she grinned.

He smiled darkly. "Battle... I can do."

The music picked up, and as it did tai and Sora took position to one another.. Sora moved one half step back and he followed hand to hand. Then he took the step away and she followed. He smiled softly as instinct took over and he began to move in time with the song. Soon the two were preforming intricate maneuvers to one another. The genesis was a fast learner. Soon Taichi's heightened balance and agility were in full gear as he and Sora glided against eachother in a way never witnessed. Their hands remained tied together by the invisible grip which bound them.

The crowd began to part for them as the two danced, both oblivious to the fact that they were now the center of attention. Tai was smiling softly as he continued to make turns around Sora as she did the same. They drew togther in a way that left their mouths mearly inches away from one another before pushing away to arm length, then making more spinning turns.

Meanwhile at the other end of the hall the door silently opened giving way to the figures of the four lords. Several guests paled as they passed by. Dayus was thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to cast a wayward glance at a guest who would begin to quiver in fear.

"What are you doing here?" ken snarled silently

"Checking a lead." Sephiroth stated in his cold voice.

"We beg your forgivenessss emperor, but we have located the asssssassssin." Grendle hissed in his deep reptilian snarl.

Ken's eyes glanced to his brother who was still engrossed deeply in dancing with the young girl. The two were unaware of the dark eyes which were now studying them. ken's expression darkened considerably as he cast a glance to the young blond at his side.

"Get away from me." he growled, causing the young girl to go white with fear and hastily depart as Grendle pulled back his lips in a deep snarl.

"My word.. I had no idea he could dance like that..." kale commented as she studied the face of genesis. But as her gaze moved to his features she was troubled by what she saw... he was smiling broadly in the arms of this girl who they knew to be lady Kamiya. As she studied the girl's expression she tightened her grip on the heat rod which now glowed hatefully at her side.

"It would seem the genesis knight has turned on us... I humbly ask for the right to kill him my lord." Sephiroth snarled as he studied the face intently.

As Sephiroth spoke lady kale blurted out a hasty "NO!" as their eyes fell upon her she quickly amended the comment. "I mean.. Why should we sacrifice such a valuable asset to the empire when all we need to do is slaughter that bitch he's with..."

"Lord... I advise you to choose your actions carefully. The destinies speak that this moment should be a decisive one for our future." Dayus whispered softly as he ran his bladed claws against one another.

"Please lord... allow me to strike him down and show the price for betrayal"

"No Sephiroth.. No one will be killing my brother unless I permit it." the emperor snarled icily as the others looked at him with question as to his very rare mercy. He motioned for them to accompany him as he made his way through the crowd, sword in hand....

The dance was at its close as tai and Sora were now in a frenzied series of turns and motions. Sora's hair danced happily in the wind as she watched Taichi's eyes on her, lit like the eyes of a child as they behold a thing of beauty for the first time. The turns ended abruptly as tai and Sora slid into eachother's arms. And then as their lips joined the two hands closed over one another signaling the dance's end. They continued to kiss as the sky was illuminated with fireworks of every hue. They cast a luminescent glow over the crowd who were applauding the couple. As they drew apart their eyes never left the other's.

"I love you, Sora..."

"And I you, Taichi..." they were about to join together for another kiss, but were frozen as an icy voice cut through the moment as if it were a sword.

"My, how touching..." Sora's eyes went wide as she stared in horror to Taichi who was pale also. They hesitantly turned to find themselves staring upon the face of the emperor who was smiling darkly upon them.

"H..Hello b..brother." genesis stuttered.

"I was unaware you were such an accomplished dancer genesis.... we couldn't help but notice.." he motioned to the lords who were now surrounding them.

"I trust that I owe my brother's recent skills as a dancer, and a liar to you.." he motioned to Sora who now had a look of hate upon her crimson eyes.

"Please brother... let her go, this is my doing." genesis pleaded as he rose to his feet.

"No... I think I would like to deal with lady Kamiya myself.

What kind of fool are you. You dare try to corrupt my brother into thinking you have feelings for him... then convince him to lead you here... to finish the assassination...

Genesis, it pains me to say this, but this girl has been lying to you from the beginning." he smirked

"Taichi, it's a lie!" she replied as her eyes met his. He was silent.

"You think you can use my brother like this!? I promise you will regret trying to do this to him." ken growled.

"Me use him!? You have lied to him since you made him. Turned him into a monster, made him kill for you. You made him help you torture this world! You made him kill innocent people for you! How can you call him your brother when you use him like this!?! you never loved him as a brother! I love him!" Sora spat.

"That is enough!" he snarled as he swung the blade of his sword upon her. Her eyes closed as she waited for the weapon to end her life. Yet the end didn't come. As she opened her eyes she saw tai snarling as he held the sword within his grip. His eyes burned darkly into the emperor's as with a jerk of his fist the blade shattered to steel fragments which rained to the floor.

"You would betray me brother? Me, your brother, for a girl you have known no longer then a week!?!" he snarled

genesis leaned forward with a dark expression. "I have known her since I was four years old...."

Ken's eyes widened at the implication of what he just said. "You.. Remember who you were?" he stuttered.

"I love you brother, but you were a fool. In the beginning god created heaven and earth.. But when you made life you did so blindly. You simply knew too little...

You didn't know that I had a life before...

You didn't know that I would remember that life..." he drew nearer.

"You didn't know that I was a digidestined!" as tai spoke ken withdrew several steps back to the lords.

"YOU?... A.. DIGIDESTINED!?!?!"

"And the soul of light shall be rekindled amongst the darkness, and together he shall be reborn...." Dayus whispered softly as lady kale stared in horror.

Hey eyes suddenly flared with hate as she caught sight of the figure she hated. Sora turned just in time to see the burning whip as it glided hatefully to her. time moved slowly as she recalled every memory she had of tai and her life before.. She had no regrets for any of the time she spent with tai.. She had lived to see him again.. And to finally say all she had longed to say before. Yet just as the whip was about to slice her in two tai leapt into its path. Lady kale shrieked as the burning whip cut a deep wound into his arm before she was able to withdraw it back to her side. She stared at him with a pained expression as he glared hatefully at her... he had been willing to die for this girl... yet her eyes suddenly turned white with terror as they fell upon the figure behind her.

Tai sensed her gaze and spun around only to find Sephiroth standing no more then two feet away from him. Time froze as Sora screamed in horror at what she heard. The cold metallic whoosh of Sephiroth's blade as it embedded itself within him. Taichi stared blankly outward as all eyes were fixed upon him. He gasped lightly as the wind was expelled from his lungs. He blinked as his gaze met Sora's tear-soaked eyes.

He could vaguely hear Sephiroth mutter: "The heros are always first to die..."

The blade protruded through him. It hung from his side in a fashion that seemed unreal to behold. With a steely jerk the weapon returned to Sephiroth's arm as he watched tai sink to his knees with a sickening thud, and a splash of crimson. He glanced up to Sephiroth with the same expression of disbelief he had before. Sora managed to rush to his side and grab him before he fell to the marble floor. She cradled him in her arms as she wept.

"Don't cry Sora..." he whispered weakly as he tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. Tai nestled his head against her chest as his eyes slipped shut and he grew still. She snaked her arms around his still frame and held him to her, rocking him within her arms tenderly.

Is it my destiny to die like this? I still am needed.... I can't leave Sora, not again...

But, do I have a choice?

She looked up to the hooded figure who towered above them laughing evilly. His cloak danced maliciously in the wind as he smiled down on her. Then with slow movements he drew his hands to the shadowy hood which masked his identity and pulled it away revealing his true face. Sora gasped as she stared up at the long flowing golden hair as it glided in the winds like a nest of winged serpents. His pale skin glowed as a ghost of the past in the dim light of the now nearly vacant room. And as his sapphire blue eyes met hers he grinned darkly to her as he smirked hatefully to the bleeding figure in her arms.

"Matt......" she whispered with a horror.

He chuckled coldly.

"No autographs, please...".

The past is what was

it was either good or bad

some cling to what once was while others run from it

but you can never escape the past. It is a part of you, be it good or bad

thus you must live each day with the knowledge that your action have consequence

and that a wrong decision can summon evils you never dreamed capable

do not forget the past, for those who do are dammed to repeat it

do not cling to the past, for those who do are dammed to take no part in the future

simply respect what once was for what it was

be it good, or be it evil

Not The End....