"Liz! What the hell is going on?" A man wearing a dark brown suit, white shirt and black tie ran up to Elizabeth. His short hair waved as his gaze darted all around. She shook her head. The sky was dark and ominous with screams and explosions being heard in the distance.

"I don't know Mark. But we need to hurry." Elizabeth scanned the ground and swallowed a lump in her throat. Nothing. No clues at all.

"We should split up." Mark suggested. She shook her head.

"This isn't the same world we left all those years ago. I don't know what is going on here, but we need to find some friendly faces and get some help."

"I don't like this." Mark argued. "It's been over a millennium here. The chances we know any Digimon are slim to none."

"And yet we don't have a choice, do we?" Elizabeth waved her arms around. "Think! Mark, we don't have the luxury of a long search. Iggy and Edward are out here, alone and scared!"

Mark took deep, calming breaths. "Fine. You're right." He pointed at the mountain, looming ominously in the distance. "Divinity Mountain. If there are any Digimon who still have some semblance of sentience, they'll probably be there." Elizabeth wrapped her arm around her husband's arm, leaning into the comfort of his presence.

"We'll find our little babies, I promise." Mark embraced her and kissed her forehead. Arm in arm they started moving, only a large forest standing between them and finding their kids.

"Iggy! Edward!" Mark shouted as they walked, both scanning the ground for any sort of indication of where their precious children may be. So engulfed in their search as they were, the pair didn't notice a jet black streak hurtling towards them from the sky. Just in time, Mark glanced up and threw both him and his wife to the ground, crimson nails just grazing over them as strong winds from the passing force ruffled their hair and coats.

"Into the forest!" Elizabeth yelled. That was insane! They had only gotten here and already something wanted them dead? The two scrambled to their feet and desperately sprinted, salvation of skyscraper-sized trees so close.

But not close enough. She heard the wind rush behind as their assailant dove in for another attack. Just at the last moment, Mark and Elizabeth pushed themselves away from each other, falling to the ground in time for the creature to pass between them. Now that it was in front of them, they got a good look at it. Tall and dark like the midnight sky, it looked like a dragon from hell itself with razor sharp teeth, ragged wings and long crimson claws. Four blood red eyes stared back at them, and Mark ran protectively in front of his wife.

Devidramon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/2/2d/Devidramon.jpg/480px-Devidramon.jpg]

The creature snarled at them, drool dripping from its mouth.

"What evil," Elizabeth looked in horror at the creature. "I - I never imagined anything like this would happen here ." She squeezed her eyes shut and flinched as their enemy lunged for them. All that work, all their dreams, only to end like this ? There was no escaping this time.

And then, a searing heat flashed above them, and she heard a wild shriek from the creature followed by a loud crash. Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes. What happened? She was still... alive?

In front of them stood a large quadrupedal dinosaur covered in orange and red armour. Wings of bright orange flame blazed from its back emitting a strong warmth.

AncientGreymon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/4/4e/Ancientgreymon.jpg/480px-Ancientgreymon.jpg]

It turned to them, the blue data bits from their nameless foe flying into the wind behind it, convalescing to a point far away.

"What are you?" The beast's voice rang with authority. "I sense a familiarity from you, yet you are unknown to me."

Elizabeth stepped forward, arms extended to show she meant no harm. "We are humans. We came to this world to find our children, whose minds have been inadvertently trapped here."

The great Digimon looked surprised. "Humans? The last of your kind left us over a thousand years ago!"

"That... Was us." Mark stepped forward. "Time, it flows a lot differently here than in our world."

"Then, I am sorry creators." Wings of flame folded in as he bowed his head. "I have seen no other humans. My name is AncientGreymon, and should I be of any service, I will try my utmost."

"AncientGreymon!" Elizabeth cried. "Is there any Digimon who might be able to help? Any central point they may have gone? Our kids can't have been here any longer than a day or two!"

He shook his head sadly, and Elizabeth's heart dropped. "We Digimon are all spread out, and scattering more and more. Come though, we will spread the word. If there can be some salvation in these dark times then we shall fight for it."

Elizabeth and Mark shared a look. Hope was still alive. "Why are you so eager to help us?" Mark asked as they walked towards the trees with AncientGreymon. "And what exactly happened here? When we left, the Digital World was at peace. A paradise with everything living in harmony."

The great beast shook his head. "Humans. A myth of the old days, revered as legends. You created us, that much is known. I help you because I can, and to refuse will be to give in to darkness." Elizabeth looked around at the world. The skyscraper size trees became more clear as they got closer, and she could see them torn and damaged. As scorched as the earth around them, branches lay strewn about blown around wildly by powerful forces.

"As for what happened? Sin." AncientGreymon continued. "Sin given form and power beyond measure in the Seven Demon Lords. Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Greed, Sloth, and Wrath. All given the form of seven ultimate level Digimon. Their purpose is to spread darkness, and we are doing all we can to hold it back." AncientGreymon shook his head. "But, it is a losing battle."

"Ultimate level?" Elizabeth asked. After the eggs themselves, she was only aware of Baby, Child, Adult, and Perfect.

"A power so great it shakes the very world itself." AncientGreymon responded. "There are only 17 Digimon at our level; the seven demons and us ten Legendary Warriors, who wield the very elements of the Digital World."

Elizabeth soaked all that in as they continued into the forest. The Digital World should have been so simple. How did it evolve so far as to give form to the very components of the world itself?

"YOU PIECE OF GREY SHIT" Elizabeth looked up, shocked by sudden shouting ahead. A Tyrannomon stood angrily shouting at a Monochromon.

tyrannomon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/2/29/Tyranomon.jpg/480px-Tyranomon.jpg] Monochromon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/1/16/Monochromon.jpg/480px-Monochromon.jpg]

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

They looked on as the red Dinosaur grabbed the quadruped's horn and tossed him aside. Gathering crimson flames in its mouth, it shot a torrent of fire at the downed creature.

AncientGreymon jumped in front with blinding speed, the flames glancing off the orange armour harmlessly. "ENOUGH!" He roared. "Both of you, fall back and cool your heads." Tyrannomon and Monochromon both stared daggers at him, but eventually upon seeing that the powerful Digimon would not falter, retreated.

" This is why we're losing." He said quietly to Elizabeth and Mark, bowing his head as he dragged his feet back to them. Elizabeth clutched her jacket; the feral look in those Digimon's eyes was like nothing she had ever seen. Just pure... Wrath.

She suddenly felt naked, not even layers of her thickest winter coat would be able to keep out the feeling of darkness creeping up all around her.

"Liz?" Mark sounded concerned as she grabbed his arm tightly. AncientGreymon growled, turning his bright blue eyes above the thick canopy.

"Both of you. Run towards the mountain; Leomon is close." Elizabeth followed his gaze, and shuddered violently as she took in a demonic horned creature, covered in red fur and purple wings. Its claws were blood red and it wore an evil smirk.

image [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/a/a4/Demon_beast2.jpg/480px-Demon_beast2.jpg]

"HAHAHAHAHAHA" The creature laughed maniacally. Purple flames gathered in its mouth and shot towards them.

"RUN!" Gusts of hot wind blew Elizabeth and Mark back as AncientGreymon launched towards the evil being. "Not this time Demon!" Purple flames collided with bright orange as the Warrior of Fire covered himself in a protective shield of his wielded element.

In the chaos, Elizabeth felt Mark drag her away, and they both started to sprint. After running for what couldn't be more than a few minutes, she dropped to her knees, panting.

It wasn't just the sprint; she had never felt so heavy before. Never felt such fear cover her like the weight of a blanket of black lead.

Explosions rang out from behind them, and through the thick cover of the leaves above, a tornado of bright orange covered the horizon, the heat of which threatened to singe their eyes if they kept looking.

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the tornado burst apart in a purple flash. Mark picked Elizabeth up and they both jumped as fast as they could behind the giant tree.

The forest was ablaze. Leaves like her daughter's green blanket burned and cindered. Charred branches fell to the ground in a deafening crash.

A purple glow in the distance appeared, and Elizabeth heard the guttural scream of AncientGreymon. Her heart fell, and she could almost feel his pain; if he died there was no hope for them.

And then, as in response to a silent prayer, a bright white light shot past her and her husband towards the battle ground. As if in slow motion, Elizabeth could make out the newcomer and to her great relief it gave the familiar presence of light to oppose the darkness.

The warrior had the face of a wolf and was clad in armour of bright white with a purple trim. It wielded two large blades of gold. Steel rang out as it arrived, and Elizabeth felt the darkness subside. At least for now.

AncientGarurumon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/b/be/Ancientgarurumon.jpg/480px-Ancientgarurumon.jpg]

She and Mark stared at each other, hearing their hearts beat quickly with adrenaline through the roar of the forest fire. They survived.

"Come on, we should get going." Elizabeth looked towards the mountain in trepidation. Only one way to go; the flames were only going to spread further. Taking her hand, Mark led them on.

"This is insane." Elizabeth whispered, once they had left the fire behind. "We never should have created that cursed machine." She squeezed her eyes, tears welling up.

"Hey, come on Liz. We could have never known this would happen." Her husband tried soothing her.

"Yet it did! Mark, this entire world is falling apart, and our babies are right in the middle of it!" She knew things were going to get worse. The Internet had grown exponentially in the few years since they had last been there, and she just knew it was only the beginning.

"It will be okay, Liz. Look at me!" Mark stopped and grabbed her shoulders. "We'll find Imogen and Edward, and then we can find a way to adapt this world to everything happening."

Elizabeth shook her head, tears falling free from her eyes. "The machine was never completed, Mark. It was so stupid of me to turn it on so soon! We were too eager... But the read-write loop was never completed." She could see her loving husband's face lose its colour. "I just wanted to see if it worked! Why? Why did I even feel the need to build the cursed thing?" She was always so cautious, yet something inside nagged her to turn it on despite the possible danger.

"Shh," Mark whispered, caressing his wife in his arms. "We'll save our kids. Then, we can complete the machine and figure everything out again."

"Now that is interesting." Elizabeth and Mark whipped around, words causing their skin to crawl. A creature black as night stepped forward, evil grin on its contrasting pale face. It spread its tattered wings and pointed long, sharp claws at them.

Devimon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/2/29/Devimon.jpg/480px-Devimon.jpg]

"I quite like the way this world is. I would much rather you not try to change it." Elizabeth stepped back, sweat beading down her face. This was an intelligent creature, not like the first one they ran into.

He started laughing. "Oh but you look oh so much tastier than the two smaller humans I came across." He licked his lips.

Elizabeth's world spun. No, not her babies. It couldn't be. She didn't even register Mark's wail of anger and his blind rush straight for the creature from their nightmares.

Just as the evil Digimon struck out at her husband with pitch black claws, a ball of fire shaped like a Lion's head hit him square in the chest. Grunting, he recoiled back.

Then Mark, fueled by the rage of a father with nothing to lose, hit him right in the face. The Devil turned his head, barely phased by the other man's punch. Elizabeth screamed and shook her head as claws moved in slow motion.

And then salvation. A yellow Digimon swooped in, grabbing her husband and jumping him out of the way. Throwing him back to her, he drew the sword from the back of his waist and parried the incoming strike. The newcomer stood steadfast in front of them - a powerful humanoid body with the head and claws of a Lion.

Leomon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/6/68/Leomon.jpg/480px-Leomon.jpg]

Elizabeth fell to her knees, holding Mark tight. The Lion-man roared and launched himself at the devil, sword extended. "DEVIMON!" The blade swung with blinding speed, Devimon moving back just in time for it to pass inches from his throat.

The creature of darkness struck back with deadly claws, but the Lion pirouetted to evade and countered with an elbow to his side. Devimon winced and flew up. "Leomon." His voice was pure venom. "You always seem to interrupt at the worst time. NO MORE!" Spreading his wings, a dark wind emitted from them. Leomon braced himself in front of Elizabeth and Mark, holding his sword defensively.

The humans felt dread and evil wash over them, and Devimon smirked. "Always the protector. That will be your downfall."

"Not today!" Leomon yelled as the wind subsided. "You shall feed on sorrow no more!" Gathering flames in his hands, Leomon shot it towards his opponent. As soon as the lion-shaped fireball left his fist, Leomon himself followed.

Devimon lost his smirk as the fireball singed his outstretched hand. A blade fell overhead immediately after, clipping tattered wings as the Nightmare Soldier just barely evaded a lethal blow. "Before this war is concluded, Champion, I will see the life snuffed out of your eyes." Devimon seethed. Jumping back, he flew into the moonlight.

As their foe retreated back into the darkness, Elizabeth let out a wail of sorrow, tears falling freely down her pale cheeks. Mark held her tight, neither of the grieving parents registering Leomon's footsteps heading towards them.

"My friends, do not fret. Your children are alive." The calm, booming voice pierced the grief, and both of them stared at their savior. "I've been trailing Devimon for days now. He did come across two small humans a couple of days ago, but they were saved by a Digimon known as Wisemon."

Hope and gratitude followed and the spouses looked at each other in relief. Wisemon, that was a Digimon they knew well! If he was the same one, things couldn't have been better.

Mark climbed to his feet and walked up to Leomon. "Thank you. For saving us and putting our minds at ease." Leomon nodded, and Elizabeth joined her husband.

"I hate to ask this, but can you take us to them?" She looked pleadingly at the lion. Leomon turned and pointed a clawed finger towards the mountain.

"I do not know exactly where they went, but Wisemon makes his home on the other side of Divinity Mountain. Walking, it will take almost a week."

Elizabeth's heart fell. How would Iggy and Edward make that kind of trip? They must be so scared, alone with a stranger in a strange place. Mark placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Wisemon won't let anything happen to them."

"Come. We should get going." Leomon said, starting to walk. "Wisemon can fly, so they're very likely already there."