I run until my lungs burn and my legs scream and the buildings on either side of me blur into gray streaks. Impmon is light in my arms — too light, like he's made of paper and spite — and his breathing comes in shallow, uneven hitches against my chest.
"You're okay," I tell him. My voice sounds wrecked. "You're going to be okay, Impmon."
He doesn't answer. His eyes are half-closed and one hand grips the fabric of my suit, bunching it in his small fist. The cut above his eye is still bleeding, a thin line of red tracing down his purple skin.
I don't know where I'm going. Away. Just away.
CRACK.
An energy beam sizzles past my left ear, close enough that I feel the heat of it. It hits a fire hydrant ahead of us and the metal explodes, sending a geyser of water into the air. I stumble, nearly drop Impmon, catch myself.
"Leaving so soon?" Shaujinmon's voice carries from somewhere behind me. Calm. Amused. "The entertainment has only just begun."
Another beam. This one clips the pavement at my feet and I feel the concrete shin splinters pepper my calves. I veer left into an alley, my boots slipping on wet ground.
"I must admit," Shaujinmon continues, and I can hear him walking. Not running. Walking. Like he has all the time in the world. "I expected more from the Chosen Child's companion. A few tears, perhaps. A dramatic declaration of friendship. But running? How pedestrian."
I round a corner and my shoulder slams into a dumpster. Pain flares across my back — the same spot Shaujinmon's staff hit — and for a second my vision doubles. Impmon whimpers in my arms.
"Almost there," I whisper to him. To both of us.
I burst out of the alley onto a wider street. There's a small park ahead — trees, benches, a fountain that hasn't worked in years. Open ground. Nowhere to hide.
BOOM.
A beam hits the fountain and it disintegrates. Chunks of concrete rain down around us. I shield Impmon with my body and keep moving.
"You cannot outrun what you cannot defeat," Shaujinmon says. He's closer now. I can hear the soft tap of his staff on the pavement behind me. Methodical. Patient. "But please, continue. I am enjoying the exercise."
My legs are giving out. I can feel it. The adrenaline is fading and everything hurts — my ribs, my back, my arms from carrying Impmon. My vision keeps going fuzzy at the edges.
I'm not going to make it.
The thought settles over me like a cold blanket. I'm not going to make it and Impmon is going to get hurt worse because I wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, wasn't—
The sky catches fire.
Not literally. But a wall of flame erupts between me and Shaujinmon, a curtain of orange and red that stretches across the entire street. The heat washes over me even from fifty feet away and I feel my skin prickle.
A massive shape drops from above and lands in the street with an impact that cracks the asphalt. BurningGreymon. Ethan. His armored body radiates heat and fury, and the golden weapons on his arms are already glowing.
"Jessica!" Angewomon swoops in from the left, her eight wings catching the light, and positions herself between me and the flames. LadyDevimon lands on my right, her crimson eyes fixed on Shaujinmon, her claws extended.
"Behind us," LadyDevimon says. Her voice is sharp. Cold. "Now."
I don't argue. I stumble backward until my back hits a parked car, and I slide down to sitting, still holding Impmon. My arms won't stop shaking.
Through the wall of flame, I see Shaujinmon stop. His staff is raised and the dark energy around him has intensified, forming a shield. The fire washes over him and dissipates.
"Well," he says. His composure cracks, just slightly. Annoyance creeping into his voice. "The Chosen Child arrives with his entourage. How predictable."
BurningGreymon roars. The sound shakes the windows on both sides of the street.
"You want him?" Angewomon calls out, her staff of light already forming in her hands. "You go through us first."
Shaujinmon's eyes narrow behind his mask. He looks at BurningGreymon. At Angewomon. At LadyDevimon. Then past all of them, to where I'm sitting on the ground with Impmon in my arms.
I see the calculation happen behind his eyes. The beads on his necklace pulse once, twice.
"Another time, then," he says quietly.
He raises his staff and the air behind him tears open — a dark portal, swirling with corrupted data. He steps backward into it, his eyes never leaving mine.
"This isn't over, little hero," he says. "The harvest has only just begun."
The portal snaps shut. He's gone.
The silence that follows is enormous. My ears are ringing and I can hear my own heartbeat in my throat, fast and hard.
BurningGreymon's form shimmers and contracts. The flames die down, the armor recedes, and then Ethan is standing there in his regular clothes, breathing hard. He turns and jogs over to me.
"Jessica." He drops to his knees beside me. His eyes scan my face, my body, checking for damage. "Are you—"
"Impmon." My voice cracks. "He's hurt. Ethan, he's—"
"I see him." Ethan pulls out his Digivice. "Cutemon, I need you."
A flash of pink light and Cutemon materializes, her big ears perking up as she takes in the scene. She doesn't waste time with questions. She places her small hands on Impmon's chest and a soft green glow emanates from her palms.
Impmon flinches. Then his breathing steadies. The cut above his eye closes. The tension in his small body eases.
Cutemon pulls her hands back and looks up at me with those round eyes. "He's going to be okay, chu~," she says. "Just needs rest."
Impmon's eyes flutter open. He looks up at me and there's something in his expression I've never seen before. Something raw.
"You're an idiot," he says. His voice is hoarse.
"Yeah," I say. My vision is blurring and I realize I'm crying. "I know."
Ethan puts a hand on my shoulder. "Can you walk?"
I nod. I think so. Everything still hurts but the sharp, desperate panic is fading.
"Okay." He stands and offers me his hand. "Let's get you two somewhere safe. We can head back to my place, or — if you want something with more security — Stark Industries. Tony's got a lab there. Medical equipment. The works."
I take his hand and let him pull me up. Impmon is still in my arms and he doesn't protest, which tells me more about how bad he's feeling than any words could.
"Stark Industries," I say. "I don't want to disturb Olivia."
Ethan nods. "Stark Industries it is."
Angewomon and LadyDevimon exchange a glance. LadyDevimon's mouth curves into something that might be approval.
Angewomon lands beside Ethan. "The area is clear. For now."
"Then let's move," Ethan says. He looks at me. "Can you hold him a little longer?"
I adjust Impmon in my arms. He's warm against my chest and his breathing is steady now, slow and even. He's fallen asleep. Actually asleep, not unconscious — his face is peaceful in a way I've never seen.
"Yeah," I say. "I've got him."
***
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