Nexusworld

Everyone's gonna see just who you are.
And everywhere they're gonna stop and stare,
'Cause what you are is a shooting star.
And nothing flies higher than a shooting star!
- Paul & Storm, "Go Viral"

Episode 9

Tai Kamiya's eyes crossed the room at the ten other people seated around the conference table at Isthmian. This sort of meeting—six leaders, three of Isthmian's top brass, another officer from home, and one stand-in while Thomas continued to treat victims—had no precedent. This was frustrating since Tai wasn't sure who was supposed to take charge or how they were supposed to come to any agreements.

All of the murmurs around the room were relevant. Tai stood, not so much to quiet them but to save them for the proper meeting. "Okay, um… thanks everyone for coming up here on such short notice. Obviously this is a bad situation. We've never lost anyone before. So what do we need to do going forward?"

"Uh, Tai?" Takato raised a tentative hand. "If we're getting all the leaders here, shouldn't we get Haru and the others?"

Staring blankly past Takato at the wall, Tai hesitated. The last meeting between the leaders had been so dominated by the new settlement plans they had to table who among the new group "counted" as leaders. "Yeah… we're still working on that." He wasn't satisfied by his answer since there was no doubt Haru counted.

"There's no more room in here anyway. Let's go," said Koji. Tai found this answer far more to his liking.

"Right, so… I guess the first thing to ask is what happened?"

"To Yushima or the castle?" asked Miki, taking notes on a laptop.

"Well… both. Guess we can start with Yushima."

"Mikey was closest to him." Koji stared at Mikey, still trained on Tai.

Once he saw everyone's eyes on him, he said, "Oh, uh, I don't know. I was as close to the blast as he was. Can't believe I'm fine and he's…" He scratched his bandaged arm and shuddered.

Takuya sighed. "Well, he said he was wearing down the other day. Could that matter?"

"Of course," said Izzy, Thomas's fill-in. He had the job of speaking for the doctors, keeping his head down as he tried to parrot the information. "Joe knew he had a weak heart. Being that close likely triggered some other trauma it couldn't handle. Unfortunately, they can't do an autopsy."

Matt shook his head. "They could have saved him if they'd already been here when it happened, right?"

"Uh…" Izzy's head lowered even more. "Hypothetically. Every minute counts."

"Then why the hell don't we have someone up here to begin with?" Matt pounded the table and turned to Takuya. "Or did you forget about medical emergencies when you planned all this?"

"Hey, we-!" Takuya shot to his feet, seething at Matt. "We have a whole room set up! And we can't make Joe or Thomas move up here! We called them up here as soon as the attack started and Davis got him up here in record time! It's not our fault that wasn't enough."

Matt huffed and turned to Tai. "If any of the international kids are hiding a medical degree I say we move 'em up here."

"Matt, Joe doesn't even have a…" Tai stopped himself. Familiar and cathartic as arguing with Matt was, it wasn't a good look in front of everyone. "I'll ask who they've got," he conceded.

Izzy scratched his chin. "It's actually very curious. We've always theorized that since everything in this world was an ageless digital entity, our injuries are interpretations of our cognition. The way he dissolved after death supports that. But unexpected organ failure, and even an unsuccessful resuscitation, suggests that-"

"Man, give it a rest!" Matt snarled back. Izzy's eyes jumped up to meet Matt's, which he instantly regretted. "Someone just died. Can't you save the science for after the funeral?" Entranced, Izzy stared into the ice before shirking back in his chair, one hand shaking on the table. He glanced at Tai but didn't get anything warmer.

Instead, Tai returned his attention to the whole group: "Okay, how about the attack in general?"

"Alliance between two opposing armies," answered Koji. "They combined to lead multiple attacks on us at once. The bomb came from long-range. A Tankdramon." He turned to Mikey for elaboration, but didn't get one.

"Think they'll come back?"

"Probably. We have to be on guard."

Tai looked down, eyes narrowing. "So we need to figure out a plan…"

"Wait, hold on!" Across the room, Takuya stood. "This doesn't have to be a big discussion! We can figure this out on our own."

Rolling his eyes, Tai looked up at him, ready to explode. "You just lost Yushima and a bunch of Digimon. If you need help-"

"If it weren't for Yushima you guys wouldn't even be here! You have to trust us to handle this!"

"You sure?" Marcus pounded his fist. "I need to wallop whoever did this."

"We all want to wallop them, but this is our job! You guys can't run in and take over the first time we run into trouble."

Now Marcus stood up. "And who else are you going to lose?! You've got Keenan running around up there. What if something happens to him?"

"Takuya's right." Tai's declaration silenced the argument. Marcus glared back but fell into his seat without protest. Which was good because Tai was working off instinct and hadn't yet pieced together exactly why Takuya was right. "We can't drop everything and meet up whenever something happens. We've got enough else going on. The team here can figure this out on their own."

"Then what's the point of getting together like this?" Marcus asked.

"We still need to figure out big picture stuff. Big picture here is not letting these guys kill everybody." Tai shrugged. "If Takuya thinks he can handle that, we need to let him." Takuya slumped in his chair, eyes down.

Koji glared at him before shifting to Tai. "Great, but can we at least get some more firepower?" His voice carried a bitter edge. "The hunters were pretty crap. We'll need better to hold these guys off. Plus we lost five of them." Takuya raised his eyebrows and conceded a nod, not picking up his head.

Tai stared at both of them, not sure how much to read into their conflicting arguments. He just knew he didn't want a fight with them after such a setback to their project. "Guess we'll see what we can do."

He tuned out for the rest of the meeting, mostly centered around the best way to memorialize Yushima, ultimately sticking the service plans on Marcus. More than anything, he was glad to get out of the stuffy, crowded basement room, inhaling the air in the hallway as if it was any better.

As Takuya marched past him, Tai asked, "Hey man, you okay?"

He stopped in an instant, freezing before turning back and stepping right into Tai's face. "What, you tell them you trust me to deal with all this but deep down you don't think I can handle it? We just hit some bad luck, okay?"

Tai recoiled, but stood his ground. "Hey, I just stuck up for you! Isn't that what you wanted? To deal with this your way? Now you've got it. It's your mess. Own it."

He saw the red in Takuya's eyes as they glared back at him. One twitched. He dreaded what would come next out of his clenched teeth, but Takuya jerked away and stormed off down the hallway. Tai shook his head. As immense and unfair a burden as this was, Takuya spent too many years asking for it for Tai not to oblige him.

Somebody approached him from behind. Somehow he knew it was Sora. "How is he?" Even with her arm in a sling she fiddled with the bandage around her wrist.

Tai stared down the hallway Takuya fled down. Another burden for him to pass off. He shook his head and patted her back. "Good luck."


Thomas Norstein insisted on helping Joe with the follow-up examinations in the wake of the attack. It wasn't that necessary, especially since it was too early to remove casts and bandages. Some patients to deal with had sensory problems that hadn't cleared up the first time they were examined. Others were just follow-ups of less severe injuries. Joe was probably capable of handling them. Something kept Thomas pinned here instead of doing his real job.

"It's looking better already," Joe said to Ren, peering under his bandaged hand. He wrapped it again. "Lucky the brick hit your hand and not your head."

Ren gave him a begrudging thanks and walked out. Joe sat on the exam table. "You don't have to stick around, you know. Isn't there an officers meeting?"

Thomas leaned back against the wall. "Yes, but I'm sure they'll either trivialize Yushima's death or be screaming in panic. Either way I doubt I'll be able to get a word in with all the leaders in the room."

"Tai listens to you." Joe looked at the closed door. "Don't know if he listens to Izzy anymore."

"I'm sure they want a report of what led to Commander-General Yushima's death. I'm not sure they care."

No matter what he could have said, nobody would be comforted by the circumstances leading to the first human death in this Digital World. They'd be hungry for something actionable, some plan of attack that would prevent this from ever happening again. At the very least, they'd demand a scapegoat. He couldn't provide any of those. He refused to doubt Mikey and Sora's lifesaving techniques. Everyone did everything in their power to save Yushima. It wasn't enough.

Joe fell into a chair. "If you want a guess, I would say the blast damaged his lungs and prevented his heart from getting enough oxygen."

Thomas nodded. "Good theory. I wish we could have run tests to confirm."

"I don't." A scowl formed on Joe's face. "He died because he was too close to an explosion. That's the end of it."

"You don't want to know more?" Thomas raised an eyebrow. "I'd feel better with a concrete answer."

"Can't we just move on?" Joe turned away, his hands clutching his slacks. "There wasn't anything we could have done for him anyway."

Holding back a reply, Thomas folded his arms and settled for silence. He wasn't convinced it was hopeless. Experts said that about his sister's condition and he proved them wrong. Between Thomas's years of research and Joe's years of practice, he was confident they could have saved Yushima after stabilizing him. Confirming this, and discovering any mistakes they did make, could prevent it from happening again.

Even if he wouldn't share his thoughts, and frustrated that Joe wouldn't want to follow up, he enjoyed the quiet. They were stuck here for the next few days for the memorial service and follow-ups, and Isthmian was sure to be chaotic after such an attack. He needed to savor the few moments of peace he could enjoy.

It ended too early when the door swung open. Nobody else was in line for examination so Thomas expected something worse. Instead Yoshi and Lalamon scanned the room and picked him out on the near wall. She slammed the door behind her, eyed Joe for a moment, returned to Thomas and asked, "So what happened?"

"Pulmonary contusion causing hypoxia leading to sudden cardiac arrest," Thomas answered.

"Hey, that was just a guess," Joe protested.

"A guess?" After another glance at Joe, Yoshi folded her arms at Thomas.

"Big words for someone who doesn't know anything," Lalamon added.

Yoshi raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

Thomas wanted to continue exuding confidence, but his shoulders slumped anyway. "The body converted to data as soon as he flatlined. Investigating further is difficult."

"I'm sticking with 'explosion' as cause of death," Joe said, head still down.

Head darting between the two, the irritation on Yoshi's face gave way to fear. "You really don't know? He just died and that's it?" Thomas nodded. "And you couldn't stop it?"

"We don't know that either." Thomas stared forward, avoiding her.

"This isn't funny! You've got all those degrees, all those brains, and you don't even know if you had any control over our commander-general dying?!"

He kept his voice composed despite the rise in hers. "The information's incomplete. I won't make false assumptions over a matter this serious."

"But where does that leave us?! We could just die and you're stuck shrugging your shoulders?" Thomas couldn't help but turn to her now. This sort of outburst from Yoshi was unexpected. Worse yet, he had no way to fight back. Any disrespect she was showing was the fear talking, but he had nothing to put her at ease.

Instead, Joe muttered, "It's always been that way." Yoshi turned to him. If anything, the panic in her eyes grew. "Back home I was borderline on even getting into medicine. I've been learning on the fly since we got here. And Thomas knows his stuff but he's more a researcher than a doctor." He shook his head. "Honestly, it's amazing we made it this long."

When Yoshi's hand, trembling, reached back for the door, Lalamon shouted, "That's not helping!" Yoshi backed out of the room, her partner just sneaking through the door before she pulled it shut.

With a chuckle he knew was inappropriate, Thomas said, "I know I disappointed her in refusing to offer false encouragement, but that was astoundingly tactless."

"What would have happened if we'd pulled him out of it?" Joe leaned forward, chin on his balled hands.

"We'd… run tests and scans to diagnose the problem." Looking around the room, Thomas realized the limitations of that as he said it.

"Then what? What if it's something bad? What if it's something we couldn't treat?"

Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. "That's awfully pessimistic, but under that hypothetical, he'd be the same as he is now. Only then we'd have an answer.

"Yeah." Joe stood up. "But then it really would be on us." He circled around the table, lost eyes wondering the room. Opening the door, he paused. "This was bad but… it only gets harder now."


Zoe Orimoto knew her priorities were messed up, but the opportunity was too golden to not indulge. The castle had every right to focus on the attack and losing Yushima. Those were the big stories and discussing anything else seemed inappropriate. At the same time, once the train dropped the officers and other leaders, Nene, Jeremy, and Zoe boarded the return trip to the new settlement. With the investigation team on hiatus due to the hostilities, Nene could get a head start working with Eri on Midnight Machete's role in the upcoming Cerealia festival. Jeremy added some skilled labor and leadership to the construction process. Zoe said she wanted to tag along to spend time with Jeremy. This was a lie.

Since it happened, Zoe couldn't shake the sight of Nene kissing Izzy. She had no good reason for this. It wasn't her business, it happened in a tense, emotional moment, and an hour later both active parties acted like it never happened. But Zoe was more than familiar with these matters, embroiled in them on both ends. Watched them spiral. Saw them unravel relationships in clouds of distrust and tension. Most of the time, the dramatic life-threatening situation was only one of the ingredients causing them. Zoe suspected something else led to this. She needed to know what it was, and what consequence Nene faced.

The first thing she had to do was shake Jeremy. An entire Trailmon to themselves and the three of them shared the same bench, Jeremy squeezing as close as he could to Zoe without direct physical contact. Regular train jostling made it happen anyway. She probably could have sat on his lap without Nene caring, but he was particular about such displays.

He was especially self-conscious with Nene around, something Zoe considered using to her advantage. Most of the conversation centered around either the shock of someone dying or the satisfaction of seeing Christopher squirm before pulling him off the hook. Zoe had little interest in either, tuning out and staring at the window for long stretches.

When the conversation hit an appropriate pause, she snapped back into the conversation "My dear, think you could find the refreshment cart?" she asked, flashing a sweet smile at her boyfriend.

Jeremy looked around the otherwise empty train car. "Do they do that on these things?"

"You should go find out."

Sensing his skepticism, Nene added, "Or we could talk about how you said you loved me the first time you laid eyes on me."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Jeremy shot to his feet and hustled to a different car.

Zoe's smile morphed into one of mischief. "You're too good at that."

Nene raised an eyebrow. "So are you. 'My dear,' huh?"

"It's cuter when it actually comes out as Italian," she moaned. The Digital World evolving to make everyone cognize a universal language ruined her speech quirk.

"So what was it you wanted to say that made you stop disassociating?"

"Are we going to ignore the fact that you kissed Izzy?"

Nene chuckled, touching her fingers to her lips. "It was all very sudden and he saved my life. What's there to discuss?"

"Well, is that normal when someone saves your life?" Zoe peeked down the aisle to make sure Jeremy was still gone. "Jeremy's saved your life before. Have you kissed him?"

"We were twelve."

"Old enough for him to have a crush on you."

Nene shrugged. "The feeling didn't come over me then. Back there it must have."

"Over Izzy? Did you talk about it with him at least?"

She shook her head. "I'm sure Izzy understands it didn't mean anything. He's very smart."

Zoe cringed. "Not when it involves girls. What if he takes that the wrong way?"

"I can handle that." Nene closed her eyes, grinning. "Frankly, I'd be surprised if he wasn't interested in me."

Facing away to frown, Zoe didn't like that sentiment at all. As far as anything romantic, Nene was too mature and Izzy too immature for anything good to come from confusing gestures and no communication. That begged for one or both of them to get hurt. She couldn't watch that.

She also knew she couldn't penetrate Nene's defenses without knowing if she was right. Tacking to the other area of concern, Zoe asked, "Have you told Matt?"

"Of course."

The last thing Zoe expected was such a simple reply. "…and?"

Nene still clung to a smile. "And what?"

"And what happened?" Zoe leaned in, concern in her eyes.

"Why do you think something would happen?" Nene's head shook.

"Because it's Matt." Nene blinked, offering nothing. "He's not exactly the most understanding about these kinds of things."

"Are you really so surprised everybody's handling this like an adult?"

"Yes!" This conversation exhausted Zoe more than she expected. "I'd expect Matt to be furious, I'd expect Izzy to be following you around like a puppy… and honesty I'd expect you to twist it to take advantage somehow."

Nene chuckled and scratched her chin. "Now I wonder if I missed an opportunity…" She shook off the thought. "But there's no point in getting worked up over nothing."

Zoe's hands flailed. "You kissed your boyfriend's roommate! How is that not nothing? That's never nothing!" She huffed. "All I know is if I kissed Izzy for whatever reason, Jeremy would be really mad."

"Well…" Nene shrugged. "Congrats on landing the one boy here more uptight than Matt Ishida."


Rei Katsura processed Yushima's death in a different way than anyone else. Most saw a warning haunt over everybody, a reminder of the constant dangers in the world and the consequences of a fight gone wrong. Takuya saw a stain on his command to overcome to restore some measure of pride. Joe saw his first loss as a doctor and searched for a path forward. Izzy saw a fascinating reaction and finally learned what happens to the human body when it dies in the Digital World. Some, Rei assumed, must have actually known Yushima and mourned him as a lost loved one.

Izzy's response matched Rei's the closest, but Izzy also had a years-long head start in understanding this world. Too many of the Digital World's concepts eluded Rei. What did and didn't constitute data? If something was data, did it have the sort of coding or composition he and Hackmon would be able to manipulate? The big one, and the one Rei couldn't easily ascertain: how much of this extended to lifeforms?

This was crucial to the Yuujin project. After all, how could they create a living being in this world without knowing what it meant to be a living being in this world? In a grim way, Rei needed something like a death to piece it together. Now he could see Digimon died differently than Appmon, who both died differently than humans. That meant all three had different, yet compatible, attributes. This macabre Rosetta Stone could help him figure out what they were and how they could be recreated.

Eager to continue processing the new information back in the lab, he and Hackmon headed down the hallway, frustrated at the blockade Mikey and Ewan made mid-conversation. "Excuse me," he mumbled. Ewan backed up right away. Mikey didn't budge.

Rei had enough room to slip by, brushing against Mikey's shoulder. Only then did Mikey say, "Oh, sorry."

He continued down the hall, not thinking much of it until Ewan said, "Didn't you hear him?" Louder, Ewan added, "Mikey?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rei stopped, rustling through his pockets and fiddling with his Appdrive as he eavesdropped on Ewan. "You've been… off since the battle."

"What do you mean?"

"Hearing loss?" Rei suggested, his back still to them. Neither responded. He looked over his shoulder at Ewan, raising his eyebrows at Mikey, waiting for a response that didn't come.

"You didn't catch what he said, did you?" Ewan folded his arms as Mikey stared back in confusion. "Jeez, this is serious! You need to get that checked out!"

Mikey waved him off. "Naw, it's no big deal. Sora and Miki had it for a bit too and they got better."

"And you didn't." Ewan huffed. "You were as close to that thing as Mr. Yushima. It makes sense that it would do more." He looked down at Mikey's bandages. "What happens if this is permanent?"

"Rei." One word from Hackmon was all it took to support Rei's thought.

He returned to them. "Follow me. I want to try something."

After confirming the bathroom was empty, he told Ewan to guard the door. "You are going to tell us what you're doing before you do it, right?" he asked, even as he obeyed.

Facing Mikey to make sure he could understand, Rei answered, "I'm going to hack him to fix his hearing."

Mikey blinked. "Uh, I don't think I caught that right. Did you say you were going to hack me?"

"Yes."

"You can do that?"

"I don't know."

"Rei and I can hack digital code," said Hackmon. "If the human body is made of code, we should be able to modify it."

"It doesn't work that way." Ewan eyed the floor with a heavy frown. "Injuries are permanent here. So is death."

"Have you tried?" asked Rei, still staring at Mikey.

"Um… it's not a subject I like to get into. Just say I had a harsh lesson."

Mikey darted his eyes between Rei and Ewan, before settling on the appdriver. "Will it hurt?"

"I don't know," Rei answered in a monotone.

"We won't know the effects or limitations until we try it," said Hackmon.

"Okay." Mikey exhaled. "Let's give it a shot."

"Do you even hear him? Not like you can read his lips!" Ewan shouted.

Mikey stood up straight, stared forward, and gave a nod. Hackmon drove his tendrils into Mikey's ears. On impact, he winced with a loud groan, his body curling up despite staying on his feet. He fell when Rei pulled his interface up and began scanning the output. Writhing on the floor and clawing at the wires, Mikey staggered his groans, checking them to avoid full on screaming.

Ewan screamed instead: "You're hurting him!"

"That's interesting," Rei mumbled back. He didn't expect this process to be as painful as Mikey demonstrated, and wasn't sure if that was from Hackmon reading Mikey's source code or simply the cords rammed into his head.

"Well stop it!" Rei ignored Ewan and kept working.

He found what he needed, taking a minute to determine the proper changes to make. The hard part was filtering out Ewan's protests and suppressing his own guilt over inflicting such pain. Thankfully Mikey was a good sport, restraining himself to loud, repeated panting.

With the changes in place and praying they functioned, Rei took a deep breath and muttered, "Here goes…"

Hackmon's tendrils glowed. So did Mikey's head. Now the screaming was unavoidable as part of his brain was rewritten.

"Hacking complete," said Hackmon, calm as ever. He pulled his wires out of Mikey's ears, shaking them off before fully retracting them back into his claws.

Left in a crumpled heap on the floor, Mikey caught his breath, hands covering his ears. Rei and Ewan gave him space, not daring to speak before he rose. It took at least a minute before he picked himself up, carefully minding his arm and shoulder bandages. Ewan stepped forward to prop him up.

"That's never happening again. Everyone understand that?" Through heavy breaths, Ewan glared at Rei.

Mikey jolted upright, abandoning Ewan's help and instead staring at him with wide eyes. "Oh man, you still can't hear me?" Ewan moaned.

After several blinks, Mikey replied, "I've never heard better." He turned around and shut off a faucet no one had noticed was dripping. He bent down and motioned at the pipes underneath. "Was the plumbing always this loud?"

Ewan slowly turned to Rei. "You fixed his eardrums…"

"His eardrums are still shot. Body damage can't be fixed," Rei stated. "But now he doesn't need them. His brain's coded to bypass them when interpreting sound signals."

"He hears digitally now," Hackmon added.

"Oh…" Mikey nodded, eyes at the ceiling. "Guess that's why everything sounds like a podcast." Rei smirked and nodded.

"But…" Ewan gestured at his teammate, frantic. "You… modified him… that's crazy. And morally it's…" He turned his head, choking on the possibilities. "Knowing what you're capable of, it's…"

"No different than having destructive monsters doing whatever we tell them," Rei answered. "I only wanted to see if it would work. Besides, it only helps with sensory and neurological functions."

"But that's a pretty big deal." Mikey leaned against the sink, stroking his chin. "Neurological? That could, like, cure some kinds of paralysis, couldn't it?"

"Sure. In a Digital World, someone in a wheelchair might not have to be," said Rei.


Angie Hinomoto couldn't believe her life was in Airu's hands. She took solace in thinking if the elevator she was trapped in somehow killed her due to Airu's "repairs," it wouldn't be a terrible loss. The Leo Tower elevator was never the most reliable, and it died once a month or so. This was the second time Angie had been trapped in it. The first time she at least had Nene and Suzie to help survive the hour it took JP to fix it. That was downright pleasant compared to being alone with no faith in her savior.

"Still good in there?" JP asked from the third floor where the top half of the elevator stalled. He checked up on her to keep her from freaking out. Angie wouldn't freak out at all if he'd just fix it himself. Without Airu in the picture, this was annoying but nothing to panic over.

"Why are you letting her do this?" she asked, only slightly raising her voice. With his door pried open she could hear him fine, even if her door refused to budge and the emergency lights weren't strong enough to let her see the ceiling.

"Letting her? I'm making her. Our response time's better if either of us can fix it."

"But does she know what she's doing?"

"Are you kidding? She knows more than I do!"

The elevator plummeted, dropping a full floor before the cables regained control and seized the carriage before it crashed. The pull almost lifted Angie into the air; she felt the mass of her body gather entirely in her head before gravity returned and dropped her on the floor.

Even before picking herself up, she shouted, "JP?! What happened?!" Once on her feet, she pounded on the door. "JP, get me out of here!"

The doors popped open, but revealed exposed shaft across the top two thirds. The bottom third offered escape… seven feet below. Even without knowing how she planned to handle the fall, she dangled her legs through the opening and over the edge, turning around so her stomach lied flat on the floor. The angle made it easy to get out, but impossible to see just how far she'd fall. She took a deep breath, pretending she was calming her nerves when she was really just stalling.

Another door in the hallway below her banged open. JP shouted, "Oh it's open! Okay, just uh… slide out and I'll catch you!" Good enough for her: she pushed off and slid through the gap, too fast for her legs to stay below her. She saw them flailing as she fell face-up.

Bracing for impact with the hard floor, she instead collided with a soft surface. JP's hands wrapped around her as both of them crashed. Angie rolled off him and sat up. She had a headache and her eyes needed to adjust to proper lighting, but she was relieved to find herself unharmed. She was equally happy JP and his big cushiony landing pad absorbed the fall with no damage.

Before she could thank him, the elevator shot back up a floor and the doors closed in front of them. If Angie had waited another fifteen seconds, it would have bisected her.

The stairway door opened again and Airu strolled out with a smug grin and a raised eyebrow. "Oh, you got out. I was going to tell you to wait."

Popping to her feet, Angie shouted, "How were you planning to do that?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Airu pouted. "Why would you say that? I wouldn't do anything to get you hurt… at least not while Joe's gone."

JP clutched his head. Through a pained expression, he said. "So it's fixed?"

"Yep! Plus I know how to make it randomly drop a floor now. That's fun."

Before either JP or Angie could react, Airu shot a hand up. "I'm taking the rest of the day off then."

"Hey, wait!" JP stepped forward before she could get through the door. "We still have a ton on our 're behind now!"

"JP…" Airu sneered back. "You've been working me to the bone all week. I don't know when the officers are coming back so I need to stage a coup while I still can."

Angie clenched her teeth in disgust. "Stage a coup?"

"Don't me you haven't thought about it. And since everyone but Kari's gone this week…"

"We're not staging anything," JP insisted. "We're going downstairs to check the list."

Airu's annoyed expression didn't last long. She straightened her posture, lifted her head, threw on a sinister smile, and approached him. "How about this… you take care of your list, I can take off when I need to…" She playfully poked his chest. "…and I'll be your date to that stupid festival thing in a couple weeks."

Angie rolled her eyes. Tempted as she was to explode at her, she figured JP wouldn't fall for something that ridiculous.

"My date?" She figured wrong. He was already vibrating.

"Just your date. Nothing pervy."

Burying her face in disgust, Angie was embarrassed for both of them. Still, if it meant Airu was less involved with elevator repairs, she could tolerate JP being a complete sucker.

"Wow, I've never had a date to one of these things before…" JP rubbed his neck. "But you know I'll have to help with some set up, right? You'll help me help?" Angie couldn't figure out if JP's words were clumsy or he was trying to sound clever.

"Just for that night?" He nodded. "Sure, I guess." Airu huffed, "You have no idea how to show a girl a good time." She slapped his shoulder. "We'll work on that. Let me know when you're picking me up!" With a smile closer to sweet, she spun around and rushed out the door.

"We're all taking the Trailmon up!" JP shouted far too late. "Jeez…"

Before Angie could figure out which way to escape, JP said, "Hey Ang', mind going up to Command and warning Kari that Airu's… Airu."

She scoffed. "No way! I can't show myself up there! I'll send Gatomon up when I get back to the habitat." Shaking her head, she said, "Seriously, why do you let her manipulate you like that?"

"Eh, it's easier than fighting her. I'm just happy with whatever help she can give me." He shrugged. "And it is nice to have someone to go with for once."

Angie sneered. This was pathetic. Enough that she said, "I'll go with you. No arrangements, no bargains. Let's just have fun." She quickly raised a finger. "Still nothing pervy though."

"Really? You mean it?" JP got excited for a moment, but slowed down. "Is Kenta really that bad?"

She sighed. Kenta always tried to keep his fondness for her subdued and and professional, so she was unsettled about it being widespread knowledge. "No…" she admitted. "But I don't like him that way, so doing anything with him feels like I'm giving up."

"And I'm any better?"

"You're different. I don't work with you every day." She shrugged. "And I don't think you're into me like that, so we can just have a good time."

The elevator behind them dinged and the doors open. "Hey! I had him first!" Airu cried, an accusing finger at Angie.

Angie spun around, jaw falling. "How?!" How Airu overheard their conversation or how she worked the elevator like that she wasn't sure. She just had questions.

Airu lunged forward, wrapped her arm around Angie's neck, and pulled. "JP, stay here. Us ladies need to discuss this in my office." Nearly strangled, she was helpless as Airu pulled her into the elevator, shut the door, and disabled it. Once alone, she released her captive and said, "Bold move, Angie. Didn't expect it." She cracked a smile. "I'm kind of impressed."

The praise made Angie defensive in an instant. "I'm only protecting him from you! You're only using him to get out of work."

Folding her arms, Airu said, "And you're only using him to not look pitiful."

"It's better than what you're doing! You're manipulating him!"

"He knows the terms. You're not winning this."

Angie stewed for a while, but she was right. Nobody out-foxed Airu. With a sigh, she muttered, "Fine, do what you want to him."

Airu not only smiled, but it grew as big as it ever had, her eyes lighting up with all the joy of spotting the cutest thing she could hunt. "I have an even better idea." She fiddled with the elevator until the doors opened.

JP hadn't moved. "You two weren't fighting over me, were you?"

"You wish. We came to a ladies' agreement."

"We did?" asked Angie.

"Nobody seeing us together will believe you could actually land someone like me. They'll wonder what sort of deal we made."

"Which we did," JP said.

Airu didn't care. "And if you went with Angie, everyone will just see two sad losers with no friends."

Angie sighed. "And they'd be right."

"So the solution's simple." Airu raised her eyebrows. "You're taking both of us."

"Excuse me?!" both JP and Angie cried.

"Sure. JP looks like king of the world walking in with a girl on each arm. Angie's a wholesome goody-good so everyone knows there's nothing sketchy involved. And I'm an adorable princess who elevates both of you just by being near me."

Angie was so dumbfounded she couldn't protest. The rationale for her was even simpler: the whole thing was a joke no matter what, so why not play it up? "Fine, whatever," she said. The only downside was spending time with Airu, but what were the odds she'd actually stay with JP the entire night instead of wandering off first chance she got?

"Wow, two girls?" JP scratched his reddened cheek. "Man I know it's all for fun, but going to a party like that's uh… heh heh…"

"Nothing pervy," said Airu and Angie in unison.


Takato Matsuki was surprised at the thoughtfulness of Yushima's funeral service. The leaders had decided the fallen's original leader would decide arrangements, leaving Takato curious at how everything would go. At first he questioned the minimal use of flowers and lack of focus on Kamemon, but Marcus knew what he was doing. Two crossed fishing rods formed a centerpiece, which seemed hokey to everyone who didn't know the guy. And Kamemon never liked being the center of attention, so letting him stay in his seat was the best way to keep from straining him further.

Instead of sentimentality, Marcus loaded the program up with speeches. He delivered a feisty one about Yushima's nagging tendency to pop in the weirdest places and offer vague wisdoms. Yoshi talked about her impressions of him at DATS, discovering him two years ago, and her amazement that he'd kept Isthmian standing almost single-handedly before then. Sampson got into their work prior to Digimon, including plenty of off-the-clock stories Yushima would have never shared when he was alive. Takato learned far more about the quiet old man than he ever did during his few Isthmian stints, and decided this kept his memory alive better than flowers or solemn ceremony.

He was surprised Kamemon insisted on serving the refreshments at the reception. He said nothing, walking around the gathering passing tea and hors d'oeuvres to everybody. As much as Takato, and no doubt others, wanted to ask him how he was coping and how being a partner Digimon with no partner even worked, his upright, modest poise suggested he was nothing more than the caterer, offering treats before moving on the next group, too busy and too in demand to engage in meaningful conversation. Of course Kamemon would want it that way.

"How do you think he's doing?" asked Rika as the trio of tamers watched the turtle make his rounds.

"Well, either he's moving on like a trooper or traumatized forever," Takato replied.

"Or both," added Renamon.

Terriermon swung around Henry's head. "Yep, definitely both."

Rika narrowed an eye. "Since when were you an expert on Digimon grieving?"

"What, after all those years thinking we might not see you again?" Terriermon shook a finger. "We had a lot of emotions to process."

Henry bristled, nearly causing his partner to fall. "Okay okay… can we talk about something else?"

"Something wrong?" Takato asked.

"Guess some of us aren't as in touch with our feelings," mocked Terriermon.

"No it's just…" Henry sighed. "I've been helping Maki with networking for the settlement."

Rika gave a knowing nod. "That'll do it."

"Maki?" Takato did not know at all. "Wait, isn't she one of the originals? The one who lost her partner?"

"Yeah." Henry's eyes strayed down. Terriermon jumped off him. "And then some."

Takato darted between Henry and Rika, searching for context. Rika's eyes widened. "You didn't go… there, did you?" When Henry didn't respond, she persisted. "But that wasn't until she was older. She's our age."

"She was thinking about it at our age. Still is." His voice was somber.

"Thinking about what? I'm really lost," moaned Takato.

Rika folded her arms. "That mess with King Drasil that locked up Ken and them?" She exhaled through her nose. "That was her."

Henry returned a slow nod. "Rebooted the entire Digital World just to see her partner again."

Even with an explanation, Takato was no less confused. Not because of Maki's actions or her fate, but the hushed tone when discussing it. "Okay… um… I mean that's kind of insane but…" He checked for anyone else in the vicinity, then leaned in and said, with a weak smile, "I mean, is that so different than Yaddith?"

"Takato!" For all the precautions, Henry's shout drew stares. He checked himself, and the onlookers, and lowered his voice. "We agreed never to bring that up."

"Really, still?" Takato narrowed an eye. "We agreed to that… man, we weren't even in the castle yet!"

"Well, nothing changed." Henry's breathing became louder, his eyes shifting more. "We can't let anybody know about that. Especially now."

"Takato, you dimwit," Rika groaned. "The crap she pulled nearly got all of them killed." She shivered. "They'd kill us if they ever found out what we were planning."


Eri Karan didn't understand how someone's death hastened the planning for her festival. She expected a push to postpone Cerealia, exhausted just imagining another fight to keep it locked in. Instead, she found herself perched on the stage in the settlement's assembly hall, waiting for one of the band members to plan a set out and talk requirements. By all accounts, Midnight Machete was a hit with everybody, and all the equipment they needed was available. To her great relief, Eri saw no need to meddle in a good thing.

This was also her chance to meet the other idol. She had always been amused whenever she mentioned her career while introducing herself, as Nene often come up. Despite her success and her stage persona, Eri tried not to see herself as exceptional. The presence of a colleague helped remind her how many idols there were nowadays, and she had no doubt someone who had helped save the world would have no trouble capturing its heart as well.

Both girls entering the hall were pretty, but Eri picked out the performer right away. The blonde staggered around at the sight of the room, twirling around to catch all of its enormity. The twin-tailed brunette raised her eyebrows and nodded in approval, but stayed poised as she joined the room full of strangers. Her elegance despite her loud red and pink dress screamed idol to Eri. Only she, far more than the other girl, popped in a way reminding her of her hero Izumi.

"You must be Eri," the girl said, prompting Eri to push off the stage and land on the floor below. "I'm Nene and this is Zoe. Pleasure to finally meet the new competition."

Eri grinned. She wasn't sure if Nene was serious about being rivals, but she didn't hate the idea. "Indeed. How are Haru and Rei?"

Zoe looked up at the ceiling. "Uh, besides trapping us in a burning factory, Haru seems nice."

As much as Eri needed this story, picking Nene's brain was her more urgent interest. She never passed up an opportunity to talk shop with strangers familiar with the industry. Trading experiences, good and bad, was not only fun but would help her size up Nene and the next stage of her entertainment career.

Much as Eri adored idoldom, she wasn't surprised or bothered to hear Nene's less enthusiastic account. Like many peers, the lack of free time and personal life turned her away. This was a common story. But her emphasis on the lack of creative freedom caught Eri's attention. Eri didn't just respect that complaint, she admired it. Not every girl mentioned that in her exit interview. Blessed with a cool manager and a good reputation, Eri had been lucky enough to get opportunities to show off her choreography chops, but not everyone had that chance. Rather than shun the spotlight completely, Nene used her time here to improve her songwriting and guitar skills. How could Eri not love that?

Before they settled into the concert planning, Meiko barreled towards the stage with a food cart holding a teapot, flatware, and some snacks. Eri sighed and held up a finger timed to the inevitable "Sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Eri obliged. Despite the eye roll, she knew the plan was to have refreshment for the guests on arrival. But the tardiness was not on Meiko—she drove them in after all—but whatever minor chaos interrupted the assigned staff.

After serving Nene and Zoe, Meiko said, "Ai had to deal with Impmon. He was, um… using the plywood stock to practice karate again."

Zoe released a laugh. "Some of these new kids need to learn to control their Digimon."

"Oh, well…" Meiko lowered her head, an unsettled frown appearing. "I can sympathize."

"Why, who's yours?" Zoe stared at a couple stray Hagurumon floating around the room.

As Meiko shriveled, Eri snapped into action. "Uh, Zoe, Meiko's partner, um…" She blurted it out so quickly she didn't include a way to steer the conversation away. "She, um, you know… uh… crossed the rainbow bridge." She cringed at her choice of metaphor.

Meiko tilted her head, then let out a sad chuckle. "Crossed it? Darn near destroyed it." Eri sighed in relief.

"Thank you for the tea," said Nene.

A crash in the corner drew their attention to a paint pan turned over and bleeding across the hardwood floor. "Hagurumon, you-!" Meiko shouted at the fleeing culprit. She groaned and excused herself to clean it.

"Need help?" Eri asked but got silence. She shrugged it off and finally began to talk about the concert.

They made instant headway. Nene knew what she needed and how it had been attained before, so all Eri had to do was write it down. Not everything she could do herself, but now she knew who to ask to rig lights (Jeremy), set up mics for the drum kit (JP), and run a soundboard (Yolei). At some point Meiko came back with cleaning supplies and a ton of discarded packing paper. Eri and Nene continued uninterrupted.

With most of the essentials down, Nene asked, "So are you interested in joining us for a song or two?"

Eri gasped. It was a natural gesture, but she was still honored. "You mean it? Of course!"

"Hey maybe Nene should join you for part of your opener," Zoe suggested. Eri smiled even more.

Nene looked away and scratched her cheek. "Well, you know I'd prefer to focus on my current work." Unable to escape Eri and Zoe's eager stares, she relented… maybe with less trouble than she let on. "…but I suppose the two of us on stage together would be rather hard for everyone to resist."

Eri shot her fist forward. "We'll hit 'em with a double-explosive punch to the heart! They'll love it!"

"Fine, fine…" Nene nodded along. "I trust you have pieces for two girls?"

Wincing, Eri said, "Uh… I had three in my main group. The harmonies don't work with only two."

"I suppose we need a third then." Nene grinned and turned to Zoe. "Seeing as this was your idea…"

Zoe flailed with her hands, a huge blush forming. "Oh no! I'm not getting up on stage with two professionals!"

"You'd better," Nene cooed. "Otherwise Jeremy will spend the whole song staring at me dancing around in a cute idol dress."

"That doesn't work on me!" Despite her adamant tone, her hands shook. "Jeez, crazy enough you got everybody to do that dance number on the fly two years ago."

"Dance number on the fly?" asked Eri.

Nene nodded. "I was very drunk."

Eri didn't push Zoe the same way. She already saw a lack of commitment, which wouldn't work once the rehearsing started. She needed a victim who would put in the effort, and to her fortune had finished sopping up paint and pushed her cart past them. "Meiko! You're gonna be an idol with us!" she declared.

Meiko froze, her back still to the other girls. After some hesitation, she continued pushing her cart away, faster now. Eri wasn't deterred, standing and shouting: "We agreed you owed me one after I took this job! I'm cashing in!"

She stopped again, this time turning around, leaving the cart behind, and slumping back to them, her face red and her body shaking. "Why me?"

"You work hard and you look fit enough. I bet you'll do great." Eri grinned. "Also, no one else owes me favors."

"But… but I don't like being in front of people," Meiko stammered. "Why not Mimi? She'd love this."

"Ooh, bad idea," Nene said. "Mimi and I don't have the best relationship. A guest vocal peace offering is one thing, but working on this would be a problem. I think she's still a bit sore from when I stole Matt from Sora."

Eri was taken aback. That was most definitely not idol behavior. "W…wow. That's not… very idol-like." Nene grinned and stuck out her tongue.

"Wait…" Meiko held a hand up, confusion all over her face. "Matt and Sora were together?"

"Allegedly," Nene replied, with a smile and raised eyebrows.

"When did that happen?!" All she got from Nene was a shrug.

"Anyway!" Eri blurted. "You two will have all the time to gossip while we're practicing. We go on in two weeks and we don't even have a song or costumes." She hopped to her feet and threw a fist out. "Ready to knock everyone out?"

Nene was more delicate to her feet, but joined in with a fist of her own. "If not figuratively, then literally."

They looked at Meiko. She darted between the two and every available exit in the room. "Come on…" Eri urged. "We'll be a big hit! Watch us go viral!"

Meiko sighed and relented. "Bad things happen when things around me go viral," she muttered as she tossed in a reluctant hand.


Joe Kido spent enough time providing comfort and support to everyone who needed it. Now, days later, on the train home, he needed time to himself and his dismal reality. He never found much joy in treating injuries. He earned the job because he was the only one suited for it at the time. Most of his duties were preventative: exams, vaccines, and consulting on the impact of Digital World life on the human body. Those fulfilled him. Emergency treatment was the unwelcome side, one he'd seen too much of.

He knew he'd have to return to Isthmian someday. Nothing about the attack suggested those responsible would go away. Sampson found a new kid with emergency response experience, and Joe was happy to train him, but that only relieved the easy stuff. Joe wasn't demoralized by his incapability—he had gained plenty of experience treating cuts and broken bones—but rather the high demand for such service in the first place.

Yushima's death was too sudden to label a failure on Joe's part. He didn't second-guess himself the way he might have in the past or others assumed he did now. "I'm sure you did everything you could" echoed all week, but Joe never doubted that. Instead, the death exposed a hole Joe knew about, but never grasped its depth. "I'm sure you did everything you could" covered him only in the sense that Yushima's heart gave in before Joe could figure out what was wrong. Had they stabilized him, the phrase would have meant something more sinister: Joe's "everything you could" wasn't at all adequate in this world. Yushima almost put that on full display.

"C'mon, Joe, how long are you going to worry about this?" To Joe, time to himself often meant time to himself and Gomamon. "Something on them breaks, you fix it. Someone gets knocked out, you wake them up. Simple right?"

He didn't have the stomach to explain the concept of internal organs to a Digimon. He was afraid the most cursory explanation would feel like the extent of his knowledge. For practical purposes, it may as well have been.

"It's… more complicated than that," he settled on. "Too complicated for me, even."

"Everything is with you, Joe."

When Joe spotted Yoshi walking down the aisle, his first thought was to hide. His grumbling to her on that first day was the opposite of the comfort he was supposed to be giving. He thought better of it by the time she reached him. "Hey, Yoshi?" She seemed to stop even before he said anything. "Uh, sorry for the other day. Guess I shouldn't have scared you like that."

She rubbed her shoulder, eyes down. "Actually, can we talk about that?"

Joe wasn't sure he wanted to, but refusing didn't make for a good apology. "Um… sure."

Yoshi stared at the seat next to him, and the Digimon perched on it. Gomamon needed a look from Joe to get the message and hop off. "Okay, okay… but you know I'm just gonna get Lalamon and eavesdrop."

As she sat down in his place, Yoshi watched him go. "Aren't they the worst?"

A chuckle escaped Joe. "I hope you don't want to yell at me again."

"No… this whole thing kinda scares me." She shook her head. "It was just so sudden. And also kind of obvious. Like, yes, some Digimon have really big guns. This isn't new information. But there really wasn't anything we could do?"

"We tried to pull him back. We couldn't. That was it. They can stick another first aid guy up there, but it still might happen again."

Yoshi only responded with an unsettled exhale. "This isn't helping, is it?" Joe asked with a frown.

"When I started off at DATS, the Digital World sounded like the worst place you could imagine. Deadly monsters… dangerous terrain… fighting everywhere… I was always afraid I'd have to go in." She looked up, a sad smile forming. "Crazy thing about Marcus is if you're around him too long you start to think you're immortal."

"You know Thomas wonders if we're even more mortal now." After a pause to process, Yoshi turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "Maybe while we weren't aging our bodies could handle more. Now that we are, things are more likely to go wrong."

"Jeez… so what you're saying is I'm right to be scared."

Joe nodded back. "All week everyone tried to cheer me up about losing him. At least you were being honest."

She folded her arms, shuffling deeper into her seat. "I don't want to be honest. I want to know I'm not going to die."

He shrugged. "I can't help. I only know the basics," Joe admitted. "Everything else I picked up as I had to. If someone needed surgery or something… we'd be out of luck. For a second I thought this was going to be one of those times. That scared me more than anything."

"And to think the first thing I thought when I first met you was 'at least someone here knows what he's doing.'"

"Sorry to disappoint. I'm the biggest fake here."

"No… either we're all fakes or none of us are." She sat up, facing him again. "You know, after Marcus joined DATS, he and Thomas took the Data Squad to another level. I was just kind of there. No way to keep up. I just felt useless… like even though I had all the training and experience, I was nothing compared to those two."

Joe had to smile. "Yeah… I know that feeling. How'd you get over it?"

"I didn't. Just did whatever I could to help and somehow got through it." Joe nodded along with her story. That was him. Faking it and hoping his inferiority didn't come at a price. He knew there was a reason he appreciated her barging in to yell at him.

"After DATS," she continued. "Marcus went to be some guardian of the Digital World and Thomas cured his sister and won a million research awards." With a huff, she added, "Yeah, I had no chance up against them."

He chuckled back. "You were a police officer, right?"

Her face turned serious in a flash. "Yeah. And a damn good one. It didn't matter that I was a phony compared to those two. There was something else for me. Maybe I had to work a little harder, but I did it. It was nothing compared to them, but it still made a difference."

Joe leaned away from her, the sudden intensity from her eyes and her voice catching him off guard. "So what's your excuse? Are you just going to accept that you can't do anything and let us die or are you going to get better?"

As thrown as he was by her change in attitude, he didn't lose track of the conversation. "You realize you're talking about me learning how to do surgery, right?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes."

He wanted to give in and feel inspired, stand up and shout out his new goal in life… but surgery? Him? "Honestly though, would you really trust me to do surgery on you?"

Yoshi flinched, her eyes softening as she pondered it. Joe resisted a smug grin. Good thing, since she responded, "You know, before this week I would have said yes." She lowered her head. "I meant it when I said I saw you differently than everyone else. For a long time I thought you were the only other adult in the castle. If you're just faking that… you faked it the best."

Joe knew what kind of compliment that was from Yoshi. Everyone was a child to her. She wasn't wrong. Knowing he almost fooled her into thinking he was some mature, well-adjusted professional, even if it was nowhere close to the truth, was as inspiring as her pep talk. He stared forward, in awe of himself as he mumbled, "I'm going to learn be a surgeon."

Slowing her voice to let his declaration seep in, Yoshi said, "Good. And if you need me to knock you into believing yourself, get in touch."

He nodded. He was going to need it. "Thanks."

They let the talk die there. Yoshi shuffled, wondering how long she was supposed to wait before excusing herself back to her seat. Instead, Gomamon chimed in: "C'mon, Joe, seal the deal!" Both Joe and Yoshi jolted upright, turning around to figure out where he was hiding.

Before they could find him, Lalamon said, "Shh, don't ruin it! Yoshi needs this!"

Yoshi gave up and faced forward again, loudly grumbling, "Like I said… the worst."


Daigo Nishijima looked around the grounds at all his new teammates in Isthmian Castle. He had heard about the attack on the castle and the losses suffered, but never imagined it uprooting his team. His job as captain of the guard for the new settlement had been comfortable, heralded as a necessary line of defense, but never pressed into battle in the weeks he'd spent on duty. So it was an unpleasant surprise when Sampson pulled his team into the temporary command office and announced they'd be moving to bolster defenses in a now hostile territory.

The logic was hard to argue. The hunters were untested, never scraping for survival in the Digital World, lacking the preservation instinct that could snap to life in an instant the moment a threat arrived. Daigo's team had that down, experience perhaps going to waste guarding a compound with several natural defenses in more peaceful territory. The clincher was one of his teammates had taken life-saving courses on his way to becoming a firefighter. Once others got wind of that, not only was he demanded at Isthmian, talk spread of him using that as a foundation for further medical studies.

Daigo had just one thing to say to him: "You and your big mouth."

He couldn't disagree with the decision, but he didn't like it. How could he be happy about his team facing an increased likelihood of danger? At the settlement, they were on the ground floor of something exciting, something theirs from the beginning, and something everyone could contribute to. At Isthmian, they were soldiers shuffled in on the whims of higher authorities, to follow orders and do their job. They'd grown sick of that feeling years ago.

Just as bad, Isthmian was a beaten up relic, battered by years of attacks and improved just enough to stay functional. As sparse as the settlement was, Daigo knew it would be modern and gorgeous someday. Here he had to watch his teammates attempt to paste pieces of damaged wall back together. At its best, it would be standing but misshapen.

As he pretended to supervise his team, he cheated towards the seaside cliffs nearby. Somebody sat on the rocks, staring off into the distance. Daigo thought he recognized him, but the idea created such a disconnect he needed to confirm it. He and Bearmon headed over, still not believing his eyes that Tagiru would be capable of sitting still for so long, especially with such a frown.

But there he was, alone and vacant. "What's up with you?" Daigo asked, jolting Tagiru out of the trance.

It didn't change his expression, just made him blink a few times. "You don't think it was my fault, do you?"

"What was? That guy dying?" Daigo didn't wait for confirmation; he already assumed it and was already mad, even without the details. "Who the hell said that?"

"Nobody. Not to my face." Tagiru sneered. "I did it to save Mikey. Any other hero would do the same thing!" he shouted at the ocean.

Daigo didn't know what happened, but he was intimate with the feeling. How many times had he run through his team's failures? How long was his list of things to do differently? It never helped. His team was still broken, kicking for a foothold to progress.

"No point second-guessing yourself. It's out of our control anyway."

Tagiru took a deep breath, taking in the advice with a strong nod. "I just… never thought someone might die in all this."

"Yeah well… unless you can raise the dead you just have to move on."

"And if you can raise the dead, please tell Maki," added Bearmon.

Daigo glared at him. "Not helping."

Too late. Tagiru's head lifted, his nodding intensifying. "Yeah… yeah, that's right. We're legendary heroes. We're out here making dreams happen! Being the best! Surpassing everybody! Of course we'll get hit with bad stuff! Is it going to stop us? Hell no!"

He wasn't sure if that was exactly the right lesson to take, but Daigo was just relieved Tagiru focused on the "just have to move on" part rather than the "raise the dead" part. "Well… glad I could help," he said, ready to back away and return to his team.

Tagiru turned to him, a wild grin on his face. "Hey you're cool, right?"

Daigo leaned back, eyes refusing to peel away from the madness. "Uh, no, I'm in calligraphy club."

"I bet calligraphy club is super cool! Come on, you gotta see this."

Tagiru hopped off the rocks and ran back to the castle, expecting Daigo and Bearmon to keep up. He stopped near the wall, stomping his feet in various spots on the grass. He looked ridiculous, but Daigo knew asking would only feed into it.

"Got it!" Tagiru said, stamping one spot two more times. The grass had more give to it, its thump lighter. Tagiru dropped to his knees, combing the grass for a small black hook. He yanked to the side, opening the secret panel and the ladder leading underneath. Daigo didn't find this silly anymore. Tagiru climbed down, motioning Daigo to follow.

At the bottom, a shipping container buried underground made Daigo wonder if he was being pranked. Tagiru chuckled and cracked it open. "GigaBreakdramon put in extra hours to get this guy under here!"

Inside, desks and tables filled in most of the tiny space, with barely a walkway to allow access to anything. Papers covered the table, mostly rolled out schematics with books serving as paperweights. Multiple monitors stood on each desk. Rei and Haru behind them. Both stared back at Daigo, Rei with suspicion, Haru with confusion.

"Daigo?" Haru pushed himself out of his desk and turned to Tagiru. "What are you…?"

Tagiru ignored all the suspicious eyes. "What, Daigo's living here now. We gotta get him in on this!"

"Why?" asked Rei. "We agreed not to talk about this."

"I haven't talked about anything! I just brought him here!" He must have registered Rei's glare now, but he patted Daigo's shoulder. "He's wearing goggles, we can trust him!"

"Trust me with what?" Daigo asked. His eyes strayed up at Hackmon, perched atop a monitor, scanning him with his obscured face. "Someone want to explain what's going on?"

"They're raising the dead!" Tagiru exclaimed. Rei rolled his eyes.

Haru approached with an understanding smile. "We're… working on an AI program of my best friend that can be installed in a physical form."

"That sounds nuts." Daigo didn't mean to strike quite that hard, and regretted it the moment Haru looked down.

Still, Haru didn't give up his smile. "It sounds like a lot, but Yuujin didn't deserve to die. This is the least I can do for him."

"That rings a bell." Bearmon drove it home. Of course Daigo couldn't be too harsh on Haru. He'd seen worse. And while he'd always quietly scoffed at Maki's ideas for seeing Tapirmon again, part of him admired the way Haru was at least taking steps to make it happen.

Also, he had to be amazed by the equipment they'd acquired for their secret hideout. "Where'd all this stuff come from?"

"It's a secret," said Rei.

Haru chuckled. "We have sources. Just need to hook up our 3D printer next."

"3D printer?" Daigo glanced at Tagiru, but his smile told him nothing. "Is that a real thing in the future or a Star Trek reference?"

Tagiru didn't answer. "Cool, isn't it?!"

"I guess… it's a lot to get thrown at randomly."

"Amazing what happens when you catch someone looking vulnerable," said Bearmon.

"Vulnerable?" Haru frowned, turning to Tagiru. "Are you okay?"

"Fine now!" Tagiru returned a thumb's up. "This guy straightened me out."

Haru didn't pursue it and approached Daigo. "Well, in any event, it's nice to have you in the loop. And feel free to tell your friend. I don't know if we can bring back a Digimon…" He turned to Rei and got a noncommittal murmur. "…but I'm sure she'd appreciate what we're doing."

"Uh…" Daigo looked around at all the friendly, expectant eyes. He hated disappointing them. "I don't know if I want Maki knowing about all this." Haru's smile fell. "You guys look like you know what you're doing but… I don't want to give her any more false hope. Sometimes I think it's the only thing she runs on." He shook his head. "It's just not healthy."

While Haru's eyes sank to the floor and Tagiru clenched his teeth, Rei muttered, "It's not. But good luck getting her to shake it."

"Thanks," he chuckled back. Rei may have meant it as a warning, but he chose to take it otherwise. "And don't worry, I won't narc on you anything. I'm not sure about what you're after but… it's nice knowing something like this is going on."

He got the smiles back, including his own, but he struggled to understand why he felt good about this. The pats from Tagiru and Haru gave him a sense of camaraderie he didn't earn. He had concerns about the project's ethics. But being invited to see an underground operation, three kids changing fate under everyone's noses? Somehow it gave him energy. Even if he wanted no part of Haru and Tagiru's plans, he had their trust and friendship. That alone was enough for him to hope they succeeded.


Next Time on Nexusworld- Episode 10: "Something Beautiful"
The Cerealia festival coaxes Maki out of her shell as she spends time with an unlikely date… and Davis, Ken, and Yolei. Airu seizes an opportunity to ensnare Ewan. Haru and Rei reach a critical juncture in their plan to revive Yuujin.

"I did lose someone forever once. It took me down a very dark road. It can lead you to do some terrible things."


Author's Notes
The new Frontier audio drama, which mentions Koichi getting accepted into medical school, put me in an awkward spot. Much as I loved weaving tri. plot details and character notes into Neverworld on the fly, it never impacted anything too heavily (bigger contradictions like Sora and Matt being separated in tri. went mostly ignored, although this story will circle back to that disparity). Meanwhile, the full events of tri. and the Tamers drama happened in the off-season and could properly be incorporated. While the sudden need for more medical help would seem like a good place for Koichi to step up, it would be a major shift from my plans obviously thrown in only because of the new info. Story-wise we can't treat this as new information: everyone should have known about his educational path already. Official explanation (which again, I can't even put in the narrative proper!) is that Koichi saw that Joe had the job already and didn't want to challenge him for it. That said, I fully encourage everyone to re-imagine all prior Tommy scenes visualizing him as tall, handsome, and self-assured!

Zoe saying "my dear" is her neutered attempt at saying "caro mio," the male version of "cara mia," popularized by Gomez Addams.

Nene was slacking off in her role of random references to the manga this season, so Rei picked it up with the obvious V-Tamer reference (where another Rei didn't need her wheelchair in the Digital World). Funny thing about that scene is the line came first! The throwaway reference ended up inspiring the concept of hacking human bodies. This won't be the last time we hear about that.

The joke about Meicoomon destroying Rainbow Bridge (that big bridge in Odaiba) instead of crossing the rainbow bridge (a gentle, obviously relevant, metaphor for beloved pets passing away) was one I meant to include in my blog but completely forgot about in the moment. I needed to use it elsewhere, and will probably sneak it onto the podcast at some point.

Nene's drunken dance number on the fly was documented in chapter 11 of season one. The scene was supposed to be just a mild Christopher/Yoshi tease but things got out of hand.