Digimon Adventure 08: Vaccine

by YukiraKing

Moments after the finale of 'Digimon Adventure 07: Virus' the core group of characters are faced with internal struggles of coping with the horrors they have finally escaped from. For some, the nightmare continues, and for others it is impossible to forget, but they will have to work together to move forward and face their newest and final foe.

10. Old Wounds

U/N: So this is the halfway point of the first arc, but we get a glimpse at some people we haven't seen in a while. Again, Matt was hard to write, but Katsue is always a fun person to be, and Amai quickly became one of my favourites. Matt here is distancing himself from his friends but he doesn't seem to realize he's making new ones, which we thought might be fun for him to accomplish. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and we have no idea when the next set will be up, but I'm sure it'll be soon. Like maybe tomorrow, maybe a week from now. It might be two weeks. We're not sure. But we're just about done writing it so we might just dump the whole story in soon. I dunno. Anyway, Merry Christmas (as if you could read all of these in the next ten minutes because Christmas is just about over...)

Title: Digimon Adventure 08: Vaccine

By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing

Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 1: Incomplete

Chapter 10: Old Wounds

Yamato Ishida:

"I can't see why you like those things so much," Katsue said, with a wave of her hand. She was standing in that way she always did when she felt any emotion at all. Her one arm was crossed over her stomach and around the wrist of that arm rested her other elbow which gave her a world of possible belittling hand gestures. She was looking over the top of her green glasses frames to the bike I was still sitting on.

The rush of driving the motorcycle still hadn't escaped and I was pretty relaxed and comfortable just sitting with it until someone made me stop. I really missed having one and I was glad Amai had gotten me to get this one too. She was here as well. She stood near Katsue and she was smiling down at some bug on the pavement. I was pretty ecstatic to have her around more often now. At first I wasn't even sure if she liked hanging out with me because she was always looking off into the distance or thinking up some story about something that was entirely irrelevant to the topic at hand, but I realized now that she was just odd. She was pretty, intelligent and original. I liked her a lot. She had been opening up a lot more too over the past couple months since we'd originally met. She had been so shy, but she told me that was because she had no friends. Now that she had some people to talk to she was able to open herself up to other possibilities. Right now she wasn't wearing jeans and a bulky sweater, but rather shorts, a t shirt and a cool vest. She was being more Amai and less of her outer protective shell.

"I can't see why he does either," Takeru responded in a hazy sort of voice. He pulled himself off of the back of the bike and looked like he was ready to hurl. "I can't seem to get used to it again."

"You were never used to it before," I reminded him. Takeru, looking dizzy stumbled toward Amai who grabbed him by the shoulders and guided him around the bug she had found. He looked down and smirked when he saw it. "Guys, I'm starving."

"We know, Yamato," Katsue said. "That's why we're here."

I was thankful for that and I was quick to slide off of my bike. I had slept in and hadn't gotten anything to eat. I slept in because I was nervous about today though. I had been forced to come, and I would have definitely preferred to stay home with Gabumon and watch some movie or something else that was entirely irrelevant. I just didn't want to be in public in front of the man who was searching for me. We were here to attend Rida's press conference.

Well not here but we would be getting to that point later in the day. I wasn't excited necessarily but I was interested to see what Katsue had to say to him. I knew she had been planning this since she heard about the conference two weeks ago.

Amai reached up to my head and adjusted my hair, paused and then smiled, seeming to find it to her liking. She then turned and skipped off toward the quaint little restaurant where Takeru was already holding the door open. Katsue looked to me, almost annoyed, and then followed after the two of them.

Inside was like a cabin with a fake fire in the center, protected by glass. It looked like a pretty authentic restaurant and I was confused for a moment how I'd never been here—then I remembered how adamant Mimi was that we always ate at her establishment. We couldn't now, not until she fixed it again, so it was our only chance to get out and experience new things.

The food was good, but I was disappointed. Mimi knew how I liked things and I kind of missed that, almost to the point where I didn't think the food was worth the money I would have to pay for it. When Amai had been looking at the menu she pulled out all of her loose change and began counting it. I knew she didn't have much money, her family was apparently poor—or that's what she'd implied anyway—so she sat there counting all the money to see what she could afford to buy. I obviously agreed to pay for whatever she wanted and she was super happy about it, ordering more than she probably would have normally. I didn't mind.

What I did mind was that my kind gesture was overshadowed by the man in the table next to us who got down on one knee and actually proposed to his girlfriend. Amai shrieked with excitement when the girl said yes and she, along with Takeru seemed very happy for the couple. Katsue clapped along with the others in the restaurant, but she was like me. Rather unenthusiastic at best.

When the restaurant had settled down, Katsue offered her coleslaw to Amai who thanked her and took it onto her plate. "Do… you want my bacon?"

"You love bacon," Takeru gasped.

I ignored him and slid the plate to Amai who looked confused. Katsue slid the plate back to me and looked to me like I was a fool, "She's a vegetarian dummy." I felt my face turn red and I looked down to my plate awkwardly.

Amai didn't seem to mind, she was busy staring toward the newly engaged couple. "Marriage is silly, but so sweet."

"Silly?" Takeru asked.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "A piece of paper to validate your relationship? Shouldn't love be enough?"

"I don't know," Takeru said. "I love marriage. It's a ceremony where everyone comes to celebrate the love that you share. The love is enough, but the marriage is just another way to show that person that you love and trust them."

"I don't see why it matters," I said flatly.

"Exactly," Katsue agreed. "None of us are anywhere near the concept of marriage."

Takeru looked between the two of us as if to question why we were trying to shut the conversation down and then realization washed over him. "Oh that's right!" he exclaimed. "You two almost got engaged."

"You did?" Amai asked with a hand over her mouth.

Katsue looked to me sharply and her face turned red and she looked away. We hadn't exactly gotten close to an engagement, but Katsue had been misinformed that it was coming. I had however thought about marriage with Katsue, and that was pretty much close enough. She had so far been to two of the three weddings my friends had had and so she was kind of linked with the idea in my mind. Actually, she had specifically been to Momoe and Miyako's weddings, I wondered if she had a thing for Inoue vows.

Katsue looked to her phone as it lit up and I saw Yutaka's name. She ignored it and looked up to the rest of us. "Okay, here's the thing. Marriage is a serious thing and I thought Yamato and I were serious enough to want that. I later learned that I didn't even want it for myself—maybe ever. My mother always told me that the stars would align for everyone when the time came. I don't think I want the time to come."

"Maybe she meant something different," Takeru offered. "Maybe she just meant that your life would someday fall into place—whatever place you want it to be."

"No," Katsue said seriously. "The reason I thought I wanted marriage was because my mother was so obsessed with making sure I did in fact find the right man to complete me. I think she was scared I never would, and I'd be unhappy—or maybe she'd be unhappy. I don't know—look, it doesn't matter. I think marriage is dumb."

There was a total silence until Amai dropped her hand. We looked to her and seemed confused still, and then finally she said, "Yamato and Katsue, sitting in a tree—" Takeru burst into laughter as Katsue hung her head.

"Eat your soggy cabbage," I said, rolling my eyes. It occurred to me then that I didn't know a damn thing about Katsue's life. But what she had just said, though I was sure she didn't want it to be true, had given me a lot to think about. Her mother had wanted her to get married so the reason she was excited when Hideto told her I would be doing so was because she sought validation from her. She was bitter because she never got what she wanted and instead always did as she was told, but did so out of love and admiration for her mother—and possibly father too. I didn't even know if he was in the picture. Though, the way I could remember Katsue talking about my parents' divorce I had always had the impression she'd gone through something similar. She was always seeking to please her mother and never herself—was she even aware of the person she really was, or was she just pleasing her mother with every aspect of her life?

I didn't think it was any of my business though, and when the check came, Takeru and Katsue conveniently left me to pay, so I was more focused on that until we had met outside and agreed to meet up once more at our final destination for the day.

"Can I go with Yamato?" Amai asked, looking over Takeru's shoulder to where my motorcycle sat.

"Please," Takeru pleaded, switching spots with her. Katsue looked up to Takeru and patted his back.

"Looks like it's you and me, little-Yamato," Katsue grinned, but Takeru looked amused at his new nickname and followed Katsue to where a cab was waiting for the two of them.

Amai was admiring my bike and waiting for me. She was honestly the cutest thing. "I trust you," she assured me as she grabbed Takeru's helmet and placed it on her head. Her pretty red hair was sticking out the bottom. "I'm ready!" she exclaimed, punching a fist into the sky. "Let's do this thing!"

And so we did. Amai held tight around my waist. It was a nice feeling—to have someone so close, even if she was only holding on for her own life. She cheered with excitement at every red light and shouted over the engine how much fun she was having. Eventually though, we found Takeru and Katsue waiting in a parking lot near a very large and mostly glass building.

I felt uncomfortable the moment we stepped through the glass doors and into the large open space. I could see escalators in the distance that could take us up to the higher floors if we so chose to do, and on those higher floors, behind protective railings, I could see people making their way around, busy and blissfully unaware that their lives could be in danger. It was too bad no one had bothered to find Gaia yet. The walls of the building were sturdy and made of large white bricks, while the floor contrasted that with clean black tiles that I felt guilty for even stepping on due to the dirt I had inadvertently dragged in from outside. There was a very cool globe off to the side of the room and it had many glowing lines tracing the continents. It reminded me of the globe Takeru had told us about from the maze. There was a wooden desk with a two women and one man sitting behind it, working diligently it seemed. I could see an area with seats lined up, and an area with payphones, and a place where one might go if they needed a cup of coffee. But none of the things I was seeing matched up particularly well inside my head.

"What kind of place is this?" I asked. When I received no answer I turned my head to the others only to find that they'd all run off. I caught sight of them, Katsue in the lead, making their way toward the lined up seats. Embarrassed for having spoken to no one, I didn't bother to look around to see if anyone had seen me and instead hurried off to catch up with the others.

"We'll sit right in the front," Katsue was saying, pointing to the nearest corner. "We may as well. No one is here yet."

"Why not?" Takeru asked. "What time does this thing start?"

"In an hour or so," Katsue said sheepishly, but when she caught my eye she knew she hadn't convinced us. "Okay so it's in about two and a half hours but I wanted to get here early."

"Just so we could get front row seats?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"I happen to adore sitting in front of everyone," Amai said with a cute smile. "I'm not much of a fan of trying to see over everyone's heads."

"Well yes," Takeru said, "That is typically the advantage of the front row." Amai smiled at him and took him by the arm, dragging him toward the seats. She left the two corner seats open for Katsue and I, and began chatting away with Takeru about the likelihood of dragons existing in real life and if perhaps the legends were just that of digimon.

I however noticed that Katsue was looking over my shoulder, trying to find something. "What's up?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she said casually. "I'm just trying to scope out the competition. If there are any other well known reporters here then I might not get a chance to get involved."

"Do you really have to get involved?" I asked while suppressing the nervousness that was building inside. Katsue looked to me sharply but I cut off whatever she was about to say. "It's just that annoying him might not work in our favour. You know that your original documentary didn't go over well—"

"I don't know that at all," Katsue said pointedly. "Yes, it's true that issues arose in terms of who and what was accepted for society, but it's also clear to me that things are getting better already. And they will never have gotten to a place where digimon are accepted in society if the humans never knew they existed."

She had a point of course, but I wasn't about to remind her that the virus came as a result of that debate. I didn't want to win the argument enough to shove that in her face, and besides it wasn't her fault so it wouldn't be fair to accuse her of such a thing. "What if digimon aren't meant to be accepted?"

"Yamato," Katsue said, already knowing where I was going with this. She grabbed my arm roughly and looked me dead in the eye, "They used to live here in peace—"

"And that didn't work!" I reminded her. "It didn't go over well and the digimon were all sent to the Digital World that Gennai eventually created. After that they lived peacefully in a place where they could never die. It was like a perfect little purgatory world that no one had a desire to escape from."

Katsue's nostrils flared momentarily, "Yamato, listen to me. This is their home and it's only fair that we bring them back here!"

I ran a hand through my hair. I couldn't describe my feeling any other way than exasperated. Why was it that no one could see what I was saying? Was it so far off the mark of logic that not a single person was able to see through the poor word choices I made to what I really meant? "If a person was born on an island that housed only poisonous snakes, and then their mother dies and they are finally rescued would it be fair to return them to their home? No, because it is safer for them in their new home. They can be happier, live longer and have a better chance of expanding their homes."

Katsue paused for a moment, "That actually made sense." I had a small taste of what relief might feel like, but Katsue was quick to crush that, "But they can be happy here too. Yes, it's true that many humans want to hurt them, but so do many digimon. Either way, the argument is pointless because you and I don't make the final decision. That's for some all mighty powerful god to make."

"Like Taichi," I said, rolling my eyes.

Katsue looked up to me with one eyebrow raised, "I thought he was your best friend."

"He was," I nodded, "Maybe. It doesn't matter. What matters is that whatever he says goes, and I'm pretty sure he's stubborn and bull-headed enough to not bother looking at the facts or thoughts of anyone else simply to make his own life easier."

"He's always been that way," Katsue said. "That's how Rei described him to me when we started talking about boys." I was confused, and apparently looked that way too because Katsue saw it in my eyes, "Rei and I went to school together? That's how she knew me to set me up with Taichi in the first place. She had a crush on him but wouldn't admit it so I was testing the waters and went on a date with him, to your friend's wedding."

"So what boy did you have a crush on?" I asked with a smirk.

"That is none of your concern," Katsue said as a blush rose in her cheeks. "Maybe if you just talk to Taichi calmly you can explain what you think," she changed the subject quickly, "And then he can explain to you what it means for the digimon to live in hiding. Do you know what it's like to live in exile because of the way that you are? They were forced to hide themselves and even now they feel the need to blend in by using costumes or the spell that fairy placed on the world. They are trying to pretend they are not themselves so that people will love them. That isn't fair." Katsue seemed genuinely hurt and it struck me as odd that she was so invested in their lives.

"And that's why they should be in the Digital World," I said firmly. "I don't want it either, Katsue, but they don't have to live in fear if they're all together."

"The Digital World changed their entire make up," Katsue felt the need to remind me, "Can Gabumon have children?" I shrugged my shoulders, "D'arcmon had a son. She was able to conceive children and to love and to grow. What happened to that ability? It was eliminated in the evolutionary process because there was no need for it. By locking them away you have changed them in a way that they may not have ever wanted."

"I did it?" I asked, feeling rather accused.

"I just mean people in general—"

"Could you two stop arguing?" Takeru asked, looking around Amai's head toward us. "Just sit down and enjoy the show." Confused and curious, Katsue and I shared a look but made our way toward the two of them to find that Amai was putting on a sort of play using her fingers as different characters. Katsue and I shared another look as we sat down, this time of bemusement at Amai's adorableness. Damn she was cute.

After Amai's play, which was about two people trying to find love in the face of adversity, mainly a horrible dragon creature who was meant to represent society apparently. It reminded me of the digimon and I felt bad for all I had said. It also caused a strong longing to tug at my chest because I just missed Gabumon now. I was going to be sure to spend the entire night with him when we got home. Except I knew Patamon would want to watch the television and Takeru would be pestering me about finding a new place to live… But he was right. I really should have been.

So, since Katsue had sat next to Amai and was now in a conversation with her and Takeru and I was out of the loop, I used the opportunity to use my phone to look at places to live. It was clear to me immediately that not a single one of them appealed to me. There were some nice ones, but they were small. They had nowhere for me to safely park my bike, and I just didn't feel like staying stationary in my life. Takeru was always telling me to move along and let go of the past. Maybe it was time to do that. Maybe I should follow his advice.

He wasn't the only one who thought that way either. And he wasn't wrong. It was clear to me now that I had planned out my life when I was young. I knew what I wanted and when I wanted it. I knew Sora and I would end up together. Hell, Taichi and I promised that we wouldn't live in our apartment for three years and that if we had not gotten married and moved out by that point then there had to be something wrong with us. I now lived in that apartment for a total of six years, I was in a relationship now but I had been so caught up on the stupid plan that I made that I didn't know what to do when it didn't work out.

Sora and I were never going to be together, and knowing that really helped set things in motion. I didn't need to wait to be married to start my life. My life was mine and mine alone. Two lives should not rely on one another, they should be firm and solid in their own right so they can grow and live together well. No matter who I was to end up with, I needed to get my life in gear. I had a vehicle, a job, some solid friends in Katsue, Jou and Iori—and maybe Taichi—I had hobbies and ambitions and that left only one thing to have. Then my life would be perfect.

It was a good thing I had so much money saved up from all of my singing and only paying for my dirt cheap apartment because my next investment was going to take a lot of money.

"I really hope you get her someday." I shook Katsue's words from my head. If only I'd straightened my life out back then, I could be happy right now. Katsue and I had been happy together. We could be married now. We could even have a child maybe, but we didn't because I was stupid. I'd missed my chance with a great girl—but I knew now that there were other girls. I mean, I knew that before, but it was different now. I didn't have to tether myself to one person forever. I'd only ever dated three girls—and then almost kissed Hikari that one time. I mean I'd been on dates with other girls, but they weren't the same because there were no feelings.

The time we had to spend waiting passed by quickly since I was so distracted, and the seats surrounding us slowly filled with people. Katsue visibly stopped listening to Amai and Takeru's conversation because she was nervous now, and Amai seemed to realize that and she patted her knee comfortingly. Katsue jumped at the touch and nodded, reaching into her bag to pull out a note pad and a pen.

"How old school of you," Takeru noted with a smirk.

"I heard you used a typewriter to write your book," Katsue retorted quickly, "So let's not judge now."

"Hey now," Takeru warned jokingly. "Typewriters are cool."

Katsue smiled, but immediately tensed up when Rida made his way to the stage. He was surrounded by men and women wearing perfectly tailored black suits and sunglasses as if he thought he was in the secret service or something. The crowd reacted quickly, jumping to their feet and shouting out to him, taking pictures as quickly as they could. I pulled my hood up over my head to hide myself. It was true that people had trouble recognizing me, but I didn't want to risk it. Sitting in the front row was dangerous in itself.

Rida's assistant hushed the crowd quickly and spoke into a microphone, "All questions will be held after Rida's session. Circumstances have changed and the event will be shortened by one hour."

"What?" Katsue was clearly annoyed. "That only leaves a half hour in total!" She was more than annoyed it seemed as her eyebrows twitched. She looked back up to the stage where the assistant was making his way to the side to make room for Rida to stand tall in front of us all.

He cleared his throat and I realized that he was kind of short. I'd only ever seen pictures of his face before and it was impossible to judge how tall someone was in comparison to normal people by just a photograph, but I guess I just expected him to be taller. And less portly. "No doubt you are all aware that I am here to speak of the virus that our facilities crafted and sent out." He looked seriously to the crowd like he was trying to make a personal connection with every one of us. I made quick note to tie my boot as he looked around, I didn't want him to stare too long at me. It was obvious what he was doing though. I did it all the time in my shows. Showing everyone that you cared—it made them feel special. If they thought that Rida found them to be important they would be on his side. I knew Katsue at least wouldn't fall for it. "I am aware that the measures were drastic and perhaps pervasive, but they were crucial. We sent a message with that Trojan horse. The message read that we come in peace and we seek peace, and we do not accept dangers to our home. Our home is Earth, and we do not fear the Digital monsters. We have known about them for years, decades even, and it is clear to me now that we had waited far too long to take a stance. I am proud of the actions my team has taken part in because it will keep our home world safe from invaders. We, as a human race, have always feared the unknown, and we have feared a higher power, but what we never realized is that there is no higher power. We are the highest in the chain of authority and control. I deeply regret any who were harmed in the process, but the virus was nothing but a message, and I stand by our decisions."

Rida looked over to his assistant who, like the rest of us, had been expecting the talk to be much longer than that, but when he realized Rida was finished he scampered over to the microphone and said in his high voice, "Now we will be taking a few questions from the crowd." People were immediately shouting out that they wanted to be the first to take the role of interrogator, but the assistant, as he reached into his bag, seemed nervous. When he pulled a separate microphone out, he dropped it onto the stage. It rolled until it fell down to the floor near Takeru.

Takeru reacted quickly and grabbed the microphone, and looked back to us. Katsue was motioning for him to bring it over to her, but he had a different idea. "Here you are," he said politely. Katsue was fuming, but the assistant blushed with how nice Takeru seemed. He looked up to Rida who looked irritated, so the assistant hurriedly made his way around him and hurried down the stairs of the stage. He scanned the crowd and Katsue was hissing whispers to Takeru who held up his finger to silence her and then pointed to Katsue with his other one. The assistant smiled and moved forward, handing the microphone to Katsue. So he was trying to make it their idea? I didn't know what he was up to exactly but I knew it made sense.

Katsue however straightened her back and thanked the assistant before turning to look up to Rida. "You say the virus was planned and that you are proud of the message you sent, but were you aware of the dangers you posed to the humans inside the Digital World at the time you sent the virus?"

"Of course not," Rida said, shaking his head fervently, "I never would have harmed a human intentionally."

Katsue did not miss a beat, "Would you care to comment about the threat to one Mimi Tachikawa?"

Rida hesitated, probably hating himself for forgetting that at all—or maybe he hadn't even been aware people had seen it. I didn't know, but either way he looked flustered, "It was not a threat to her specifically."

"It seemed pretty specific when you called her a stupid girl," Katsue said, tapping her chin with her pen thoughtfully, "Unless you meant that all girls are stupid, and that just sounds offensive." Amai was holding back a giggle, but Takeru wasn't so lucky and found himself laughing quietly. I was biting my lip, more nervous than excited about it all.

The best part though, was that everyone was gasping behind us all and writing this all down as if it were a new headlining story. 'Sexist Ambassador Kills Whole Race and Insults Little Girl'

Rida leaned back and looked down to Katsue in a way that clearly read 'belittlement' and he said, "You're twisting my words."

"Were you a part in the virus?" Katsue asked, moving on quickly.

Rida rolled his eyes, "Of course."

"How many times have you taken part in a mass genocide?" Katsue asked. She was roasting him. Firing down all the hard hitting questions and he didn't seem to like it much.

"Clearly you have no idea what a 'mass genocide' really is," Rida said through gritted teeth.

Katsue let out a soft "Ah," and then flipped through her notebook, "I've actually written down a solid definition just in case I ever forgot." I looked to her book and found that she in fact did write it down. "'The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.'" Rida turned his nose up at the definition, particularly at the word 'people' but I was sure digimon counted as people. They were just as clever if not more. Other than the slight tilt of his head Rida said nothing to her this time. "Oh, okay," Katsue said, looking down to hide the malicious grin growing on her face. "You blocked out the ambassador of the Digital World—who you specifically sought out and hired—from your meetings with no explanation. You hired him, and you wanted this connection. What changed? What caused you to plot for months to separate yourself from a nation who was doing nothing to harm you, only to attack with a plague that had only one reason for existing, to delete?"

Rida stared, this time taken aback either by Katsue's knowledge or her nerve to ask such direct questions. "I was doing this to protect people from their nation."

"Which brings me back to the 'stupid girl' whom you knew to be inside the targeted world—" Again gasps erupted from behind us at Katsue's words and Rida seemed furious.

"Could we have questions from someone different please?" Rida shouted above the murmurs of the crowd. Katsue seemed content with her damage and happily handed the microphone off to the assistant who began searching the crowd for someone to hand it off to. I hadn't expected someone so close by to catch the assistant's eye. Takeru was holding his hand up, looking directly in the eye of the assistant, making that same kind of connection Rida was so familiar with.

And he got the microphone. Takeru stood up and looked to Rida with a smile, "Hi," Katsue looked to me, confused but I was his brother, not his other half. I hadn't a clue what he was doing.

"Hello," Rida replied stiffly.

"I'm writing a book," Takeru explained, "So I was just wondering if you could help me out by answering a few simple questions." Rida did not reply, so it seemed that Takeru had the permission to continue. "What's your first name?"

Rida looked startled, like he hadn't expected the question to be so straight forward, "Jouden," Rida answered quickly.

"Last name?" Takeru asked.

"Rida,"

"Date of birth?"

"The twelfth of May, 1958," Rida seemed proud of his age.

"Motivation for destroying the population of an entire world?" Takeru had asked it so casually that I couldn't help but snort as I tried to hold back laughter. I felt horrible about laughing because it was not a humorous topic, but the way Takeru had delivered the line was perfection. Rida's face turned beet red and his grip on the podium in front of him tightened immediately.

"That is enough questions for this evening," Rida said sharply, "Thank you." He bowed his head gently and then turned to allow his guard system to form around him quickly. His assistant apologetically took the microphone from Takeru who looked back to the angry reporters surrounding us. We had ruined this for them, but it certainly worked out in our favour. Takeru looked to the three of us and shrugged his shoulders, "Let's get out of here," he suggested.

Willis Kennedy:

My eyes snapped open as painful memories plagued my dream.

I found my body to be covered in a cold sweat and my heart was pounding hard. As my eyes adjusted to my surroundings I found that I had fallen asleep outside again. My eyes fell to the flattened grass next to me where I was sure Kiyoko had slept, but he was nowhere to be seen. I squinted into the darkness of the trees surrounding our hideaway but I could not see him out there.

Instead I ignored the dryness of my throat and pulled myself into a seated position, curling my legs up to my chest as I listened to the silence. It was hard to be calm around here anymore. Nothing seemed to want to sit still. Every resident of the world had something that was going on, and they were all trying to work together to see results. I didn't want to see results though. I just wanted to go home.

I ran my hand through my hair to pick out any stray leaves or twigs I had picked up while sleeping on the ground, and looked back into the trees. My heart leapt up to my throat when I saw a white figure slinking through the trees, but I calmed quickly as I made it out to be Gravimon. He did not stop or even look toward me, but instead kept moving as though his only purpose was to pace the forest floor.

But he had a purpose and he had a life. That was more than I could have asked for.

"I need you to check on Gravimon," Kiyoko had demanded of Witchmon. "Please! I don't know what to do, he's in danger. He's hurt! Astamon tried to kill him and I can't watch him die!" Witchmon threw her arms around Kiyoko to comfort him but that wasn't what he wanted or needed. He pushed her away and she stumbled backwards, "I need him to be okay!"

"Witchmon," Zanbamon, the leader of the Wizards, commanded with his loud booming voice. "Do what you can for the fallen warrior. He did what he could to protect Kiyoko, it is the least we could do to do the same for him."

Witchmon rounded on her leader with wide eyes, "What am I supposed to do? I'm no healer!"

"Find someone who is," Zanbamon suggested, turning away and making his leave. Witchmon looked nervously to Kiyoko, like she wasn't sure how to tell him that there was nothing she could do, but a moment later Mummymon had intervened.

He placed a hand on Witchmon's shoulder and looked back to Arukenimon, "Perhaps I could help," he offered, "I have been speaking closely with Terra about the healing process. She did not leave much behind in her wake, but I may be able to use what little supplies we have."

"Please!" Kiyoko pleaded loudly, tugging at a loose strand of Mummymon's bandages. "Please..."

It had been a rocky process, but with the help of Mummymon and Witchmon, Gravimon had made his way back to full health, and there he was again, strolling through the forest he called home. Only now he wasn't quite as territorial. He did not overtly object to any and all who attempted to step past the borders, but instead he chose to allow visitors—if only for brief lapses of time.

I groaned and rubbed my sore neck thinking that sleeping on the ground surely wasn't the best idea, and tried to remember the previous night. I couldn't seem to piece much together aside from Kiyoko asking to watch the stars with me. We had talked—about what, I did not know—for hours, and fallen asleep together, watching the sky.

Kiyoko was my best friend now. I hated that. Not because I didn't like him, but because it meant that I had been here too long, and that I could not return home to my family and friends. As it stood now, the shy and broken boy who I once knew very little about, was the person who I knew forwards and backwards. And there were many unpleasant stories to be told.

"What's the most scared you've ever been?" I had asked, wincing immediately. It wasn't fair to bring up Sigma into the conversation again, not so suddenly like that. But Kiyoko's answer surprised me.

"When I was eight," he said without missing a beat, like he had already planned to tell me this, or that it was always on the back of his mind. "I had tried to run away from home, like children do. I didn't tell my parents though, and they never found out I had gone. I'd never been outside alone, and I thought I would be lost forever." This had not been what I was expecting at all. "But I soon found my way. I found a building that I thought was abandoned, so I crawled through a broken window, thinking I could make it my new home. But I soon found that I was not alone. I was scared," Kiyoko said quietly, "scared I would be found where I wasn't supposed to be. But I didn't do it—I hadn't done anything."

"What would they have thought you'd done?" I asked softly.

Kiyoko didn't answer right away and when he did, his voice had broken, "There was a man, and he had been shot." I sat bolt upright and looked down to Kiyoko who did not look away from the trees in which he had suddenly found o be fascinating beyond compare. "He was dying, and then I heard more people, and I ran. I don't know what happened to the man who had been shot, but sometimes I dream about him."

"What happened next?" I asked, worried.

"Neo found me," Kiyoko shrugged it off. "Funny how a world with so many people can seem so small..." he thought back to the memories and smiled fondly, so at least that was something. "What about you? When were you the most scared?"

I didn't need time to think or to deliberate because the answer was obvious and it would always be the same, "I was scared when I had created a monster, but that fear hadn't had time to settle in. The most scared I've ever been was when I couldn't return to my partners. When I wasn't sure if Michael was alive or dead. When I couldn't be sure that if I were to die in a separate world if I would join the same afterlife as my sister. The time I couldn't tell if anyone I had ever known would ever be present in my life again." I paused and Kiyoko finally looked to me with a sort of sympathy. "I have never been more afraid than right now."

I'd also learned that Kiyoko had met Sigma at the age of nine when his parents had kicked him to the streets because of his preference in dating partners, which seemed crazy to me, because my mom had never expressed anything against the likes of that. I couldn't imagine what a nine year old might think as they enter their new life alone. Apparently not good things because Kiyoko had accepted Sigma into his world moments later for protection. And I knew that he had developed a sort of fondness for Sigma that was never love, but something more twisted. It was an obsession—a need to have him around and a craving for his validation. Kiyoko had begun to rely on Sigma out of fear that he would fail on his own. Until Yoshie Izumi came about and told him that his fears were pointless because with enough strength and love in your life, you could do anything you set your mind to. Cut down the line, and Sigma's trying to kill him. Kiyoko won, and the man was dead.

Only he was dead before too, so that didn't make much sense.

I tried to be as open with Kiyoko as he was with me, but it was just too hard. I didn't know how to put my feelings into words, and whenever I tried I painted the wrong picture and had to ask Kiyoko to erase it from his memory. I had a past, and I could relay the events with ease, but what I could not do was explain the feelings that I experienced during those times. I knew Kiyoko understood, but he sometimes seemed upset like he thought I just didn't trust him. I just wasn't as in tune with my emotions as he was. I hadn't had the time or need to get to that place.

When Gravimon had finally made his way I got to my feet, looking around for Masks Square. I couldn't remember if we'd had it out, but upon seeing nothing aside from a grassy ground, I realized that if he had taken it out, Kiyoko had taken it with him wherever it was that he had gone. I took one last look for anything we may have left behind, but came up empty handed and set off into the trees.

The grass we'd slept on had not been dead, but in fact fresh. It was interesting, because when Gaia had left, the world had begun to flourish. Perhaps 'flourish' was a bad word choice as it hadn't been long enough to see any really big changes, but seeing the world grow again was not uncommon here. The grass was growing in messy patches along the surface of the area, the trees had begun to sprout buds and their bark became lifelike again, shedding its greyish colour for something much more vibrant and there was even a single flower near the bonfires. The digimon had declared that flower as sacred, even though it looked a lot like a red dandelion to me, so I was sure it was a weed, but it had been the first wildflower they had seen in a long time. It seemed to me, and Kiyoko agreed, that Gaia's garden had been sapping all of the world's energy. Like she could not create on her own, but had to borrow the power of other life to expand her little empire. It also explained why only this area was free of flora and fauna. The Veemon village had grass and even trees that lived and bore fruit, but to me it made sense that they were far away, so Gaia had not needed to use the life of their area.

It didn't matter now. The bitch was gone and she wasn't coming back. I knew she had promised Astamon that she would return to him, but it was clear to me that she was never returning, and that she had never intended to. Astamon had served as a very loyal companion during her time here in a world that she did not call home, but it was now time for her to thrive on her own. She did not need him anymore.

If only he knew that.

As I walked near the prison he was held in, I remembered his final words.

Zanbamon and Tactimon had been working together, something I hadn't expected to see. Zanbamon swung his two thin blades toward Astamon who leapt aside and wielded his guns, ready to strike, but as he began to fire toward the Wizard's leader Tacimon threw himself in the way and used his massive sword as a protective shield. When one bullet travelled down, his armor caught it, though he had felt the pain. He cried out and staggered back where Zanbamon had caught him.

Zamielmon let out a wicked laugh as he spun on the spot, bringing his massive spearhead toward the opponent who ceased fire and dodged with a quick backwards jump. He flipped in the air and landed on top of one of the smaller huts in the bonfire circles. "You will not catch me," Astamon declared, "I am stronger than you all. I have lived longer and seen more."

"Snake bandage!" Mummymon cried out, sending his bandages flying toward Astamon who did not hesitate for one second. He wrapped his hands around them and caught them as they soared. He held tight and pulled sharply, bringing Mummymon forward, crashing into Reapmon and several smaller digimon.

"Hey!" Arukenimn shrieked, "Spider Thre—" her voice had faded into a scream of pure terror as a bullet shot from Astamon's gun and tore straight through her shoulder. Witchmon joined in the scream as she ran to help the fallen digimon, sending her cat off after Astamon who wrapped his fingers around the throat of the feline and threw it back down to the pile of bodies Mummymon had caused.

As Tactimon and Zanbamon looked to one another, I knew they had a plan, and when they charged toward Astamon—this time together—his eyes filled with fear and he jumped straight upward only to be caught by Karatenmon who wrapped his arms around Astmon's waist. Phelesmon appeared next to them and grabbed Astamon's gun, pulling as hard as he could and pushing off of his opponent with his feet for leverage. And after enough pulling and shouting, he had taken the weapon away from Astamon, giving Karatenmon enough motivation to drop the digimon who came crashing to the ground near NeoDevimon. Astamon clambered to his feet, desperate to escape, but NeoDevimon silently reached down and wrapped his large hands around him, holding him in place.

"What now?" Reapmon questioned as he pushed Mummymon off of him finally.

"We put him in prison," Tactimon suggested, turning to Zanbamon who simply nodded.

Astamon let out a shriek so fueled by horror that Kiyoko grabbed my arm tightly in surprise and fear. "Gaia will return!" Astamon screamed loudly, "She will come back for me!" he was struggling like a mad man against NeoDevimon's grip, "She will destroy you all for threatening me! Mark my words! You have not seen the end of me or my master!"

And then Astamon had been thrown in a wooden prison that had been crafted long ago for anyone who needed a time-out basically. There was no escaping, no matter how hard he tried. He was also unable to pretend that he hadn't tried, as he'd like to have been able to do. As I walked by I saw him in his very same position as he always was, leaning against the back wall, sitting on the dirty floor with one foot extended and the other bent. If I hadn't heard him trying to break free of his cage every night I would have assumed he was dead because of his lack of movement and because he had not said a single word ever since we'd locked him up. I thought maybe he was ashamed. Gaia had not yet come, and he had been proven wrong. Whatever the reason was for him not to speak, I didn't mind. I was not a big fan of him personally. And now, no one else was either.

They all took him very seriously though. There was a constant guard of twelve digimon, big and small and their only purpose was to walk around the general area of Astamon's prison and report any unusual sightings such as a door appearing out of nowhere—which would signify Gaia's return—or Gaia herself.

As I passed the FlaWizardmon that was currently standing guard closest to Astamon he shot a glare at me, and lit his match on fire. He'd never liked me much. I didn't really care. I moved past the prison and the guards, a pair of which were laughing about something. It was nice to hear laughter even if it did sound like hyenas in the night time coming from two Strabimon.

The prison was not far from the bonfire rings, and so I was back quickly, listening to the chattering going on around me. With the moon always rotating in the sky like a massive orb it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. It sounded like mid afternoon judging by the way everyone was talking and acting, but I'd only just woken up and that didn't seem right somehow. I moved to the well near the center ring and found that Arukenimon and Reapmon were both there, drawing water up by the thick coil of rope that fell into the rocky depth.

"I was just saying the same thing to Mummymon," Arukenimon said with a friendly laugh, "Honestly, it's a nightmare." Reapmon merely nodded but said nothing. It never bothered Arukenimon much if the person she was talking to didn't talk back. "More time for me!" she would always say. "Oh Willis!" Arukenimon said brightly, "come for some water?"

"Y-eah—" my voice was broken and thick and Arukenimon winced, as Reapmon finished pulling the bucket. Arukenimon used a tin dish to scoop some water from the iron bucket and handed it to me. I thanked her without words and downed the water. It tasted awful, but that was because it came from a dirty well in the middle of an undead town. The well had the cleanest water around though. Typically speaking Kiyoko and I would take walks down to the Veemon's and fill up all the empty water bottles in Masks Square, but I didn't know where he was, or if there was any left, so this would have to do. "Thank you," I said as I handed the dish back to Arukenimon, "You seen Kiyoko?"

She thought for a moment and then shook her head, "No, sorry."

"S'okay," I decided, turning back to the huts. I made my way over to the newest addition to the inner circle and stepped around the bonfire itself. There were burning embers hidden under the ash and coal, and that gave me a better idea what time it was. I had to be early if the embers were still hot. When I came up to the building made of stone straw and wood I hesitated, then thought better of it, pushing aside the thick curtain that kept bugs out.

"Willis!"

I looked up to the bed at the far end of the hut and forced a smile onto my face. It wasn't good to see her like this, it wasn't fair. Rei sat in the bed with a thick quilted blanket cast over her, but she was smiling now. But it wasn't right. She didn't deserve this.

"What do we do?" Kiyoko asked nervously, "how do we help?"

"You must stop the bleeding," Reapmon offered. We looked up to him and nodded. We needed something to stop the bleeding. Mummymon was quick to help with that, but all he knew to do was soak it up, rather than to stop the flow.

"O-okay," Kiyoko stuttered, thinking fast with his eyes closed, "I-is her pulse fast?" I checked and winced, nodding. "Is s-she alert?"

"Rei," I said gently, "Hey."

"Willis," Rei said weakly.

"What's going on, do you know?" I asked, keeping my voice low and calm even though I just wanted to scream in a panic. It wasn't fair. Rei opened her eyes and gave me a look that was far too similar to her brothers resting face to be a coincidence. "Yeah I think she is," I said to Kiyoko.

Kiyoko opened his eyes and slammed his hands down to his legs, "Rei," he said sharply and she winced, "Are you nauseous?" she shook her head ever so slightly.

"What does this mean?" Porcupamon asked loudly.

"I-I'm trying to find if sh-she has internal bleeding or n-not," Kiyoko stuttered with shaking hands. He reached for Rei's wound, but I slapped his hands away quickly. It wasn't worth it to even try to do anything if he wasn't able to stay calm. And of course there was internal bleeding. What else would the bullet have done? I didn't mean to be rude—even if it was only in my head—but I needed to vent somehow. I needed to find a way to make this all okay.

"Maybe I can help?"

"Porcupamon brought me toys," Rei said with a wink. I let my eyebrows rise as I looked to the pile of junk that Porcupamon had thought to bring for Rei. He was sitting on a stool next to her bed with a terrifying Barbie in his hand. The doll had been burned across her face, her hair was covered in grime and had been cut and dyed by some child, and she was missing a leg and half an arm. He looked to me with glee and then turned back to the pile of toys, holding up a deformed monster truck for me to play with. I shook my head politely and pulled a chair toward Rei. "We're having fun."

I didn't know if she was being sarcastic or not. It didn't matter, because this was what she had asked for. She refused to return to Masks Square again, because living in total solitude was not enough for her. She craved interactions and the least we could do was to give her that. Kiyoko and I still slept and lived in the Masks Square, and occasionally Rei would ask to join us, but more often than not she stayed here, in the home Zanbamon and Tactimon agreed to build for her. I swallowed thickly as I looked down to Rei's legs with a solemn expression. They were the reason she had to sleep out here at all. If they still worked she'd be able to come and go from Masks Square just like Kiyoko and I.

But her legs didn't work anymore. They hadn't worked since she'd been shot. And that wasn't fair. She had been gifted a cure by Gaia, and mere days later that gift had been taken from her in the most painful of ways. She cried. A lot.

Rei took my hand and squeezed gently, and when I looked to her she had a faint smile on her face, "Where did you run off to last night?"

A flash of the previous night in which Kiyoko had fled in a hasty run after Rei started talking about Neo. "I just went after Kiyoko," I explained, "Fell asleep watching the stars."

"Cute," Rei cooed, and I rolled my eyes. "Where is he now?" I shrugged and she seemed to understand. Kiyoko was always off exploring now that he felt more comfortable in the world. There were many things he had learned that the residents did not even know. It was hard to know things about your world while living in such segregated ways. Gravimon's forest held antidotes to poisonous gasses that some of the fish spat out, and they'd never have known that if Kiyoko hadn't bridged their world. Using the church ground as a laboratory of sorts was an idea Tactimon had that Kiyoko was happy to go along with. He spent a lot of time there messing around with the things he found. He was probably there now, but I obviously had no proof. "Witchmon was here earlier," Rei told me, "I think the cat is starting to like me."

"Never been a fan of cats," I told her wrinkling my nose. Rei smiled but knew there was a connection there to Terriermon. I didn't say anything else for a while and chose instead to watch Rei and Porcupamon play. When I started to get hungry I thought to go out to grab something to eat, but didn't trust most of the berries or fish that were natural to this world, so I chose to wait for Kiyoko. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long because he was there after about an hour of waiting.

He came stumbling through the curtain, holing a large wooden bowl full of dead plants. Porcupamon jumped in shock, dropping the doll from his hands, but Rei was quick to calm him as she looked up to Kiyoko with a smile. He looked to me and grinned, but moved to the table instead, slamming down the heavy looking bowl and heaving a sigh of relief. "Found some more of those plants."

"Which?" Rei asked.

"Gaia had some in her garden," Kiyoko ignored Rei's question as he panted, trying to catch his breath. "More to come too." When he finally found himself ready to stand normally, he grabbed one of the plants from the bowl and removed the hard round budding shell from the top. He took the pale brown sphere and moved to Rei's side, slipping between me and Rei's bedside table. Kiyoko took the bowl that sat there and cracked the sphere in half, pouring the slimy green liquid that the shell was filled with into the bowl. "Gross," Kiyoko said, turning his nose up at the smell. I had already covered my nose, knowing that the stench of the slime was far from sweet. Rei didn't seem to mind, because she understood that the contents of the plant were to help her heal.

Rei tossed her quit away from her torso and she pulled up her shirt shamelessly to reveal the puffy scarred skin around the place where the bullet had hit. No one batted an eye because we had all seen it plenty of times. Too many times. The very first time we had seen it had been too many times in my opinion. Because it wasn't fair. Kiyoko was quick to use a clean sponge-like item to apply the serum to Rei's wound. It was lucky we'd had someone who was so accustomed to the world and to wildlife that had found such a useful healing agent. At first I had been sceptical to the point where I had resigned any lingering hope for Rei's survival, but seeing it work over time was astounding.

Before Kiyoko had finished, Norn had followed him through the door, holding a second bowl of the plants they had gone to collect. Her supply was smaller, but as she herself was smaller, that seemed fair. Norn had been useful in helping the world come to peace with itself. The wars and fighting had ceased with her guidance. Kiyoko really seemed to take to her too, since she wanted what he wanted. He was always seeking validation that what he wanted was reasonable and Norn, the guardian of all the worlds was the perfect person to give him that. Norn set the bowl she was carrying next to Kiyoko's on the table and turned to Rei with a pleasant and comfort filled smile.

This was our group now. Broken, crumpled and sad. Norn had fallen from her place as the queen of all worlds, Kiyoko was forced to learn to cope without the crutches of his friends to keep him up, Rei had lost her ability to walk and I was nothing without my two best friends. But I had made new friends too. And so had the others. We were all that was left of our previous life though, and that was what kept us so close.

But there was one other member of our little group too. And as I turned to look to the doorway I saw her slipping passed the thick dusty curtain. She spun around as the curtain hit her on her way in and she looked embarrassed over to the rest of us.

Lalamon.

I knew it was wrong to live in such disbelief, but I could not wrap my head around what I was seeing. Here she was, alive and breathing and—well, I didn't know how. She spun her little head piece and lifted into the air, fluttering forward and landing at the end of Rei's bed, holing a tall pink flower in her hand.

"For you!" she sang as she placed it gently at Rei's feet.

Rei looked up kindly and thanked her with just a look, and Lalamon crawled toward her and over the pile of toys that Porcupamon had collected. She sat next to Rei and sighed, cuddling up to her.

"I don't know if she'll make it," Kiyoko said as he left Zanbamon's hut where we had chosen to keep Rei the night of the shooting. "Thanks for the advice, Lalamon." He looked to the small digimon who nodded, but looked worried for Rei's safety.

"Mummymon thinks Gravimon is going to be okay." I filled him in, thinking he needed some good news, and relief washed over him quickly, but as he looked back to Zanbmon's hut, his face fell again. "Kiyoko, I know you want to worry, but that won't help. There's no one who ever said worrying could fix a situation." He looked upset and sat on the bench next to me, where Lalamon was sitting between the two of us. "Praying might help. Hoping might help. Anything could help, we don't know. But worrying won't."

"The flowers Lalamon found might help," Kiyoko added optimistically. "If they don't..."

"They will," Lalamon said with a curt nod, "They will if she can hold on long enough. If she's strong, she will live."

"And if she doesn't?" Kiyoko asked in a defeated wavering voice, "I can't lose her."

"Losing someone is never a forever arrangement," Lalamon said in a quiet voice, "One day you will meet again no matter the outcome of this event. Rei will not be gone forever."

Kiyoko and I looked to each other and nodded, turning down to Lalamon again, "Speaking of which," I said quietly, "I don't know how to ask this, and feel free to leave the question unanswered, but it's something I think we're both dying to understand." She looked up and nodded, ready for the question, "H-how are you not dead?"

She looked surprised at the bluntness of my statement and she flopped her head back and forth, thinking for a moment and humming to herself, but finally she seemed to have her answer prepared. "I died," Lalamon told us blankly, "Ogudamon killed me because I had been too reckless. I hadn't thought he would be that strong, but he was. And then I woke up here."

"That's it?" Kiyoko asked. He, and me too, had been expecting a much more detailed story with an explanation of sorts, but Lalamon didn't seem to have a true answer.

She looked sad about that too, "I have thoughts," she said in her tiny sing-song voice, "I'm not like other digimon, you see. I'm... well, I guess I'm a fairy—or maybe I'm human. Or perhaps I really am just a digimon. I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

I was surprised to hear Kiyoko fill me in with an answer, "When Summer gave Tapirmon to me, she created him with her magic. She used the emptiness inside of me to create a digimon that was meant to be my partner." I wondered if that was how partners were typically made. It didn't seem like it, and yet there was a partner specifically crafted for each person, so it made sense that Terriermon had been created out of the emptiness inside myself. But somehow I knew that wasn't quite true. "Hideto's self confidence was so two sided. On one hand he was so selfless and sad that people could walk all over him—which was where Warg was created, to pull him up to a place of warmth and confidence—and on the other hand, he had a very narrow opinionated mind in which he thought he was correct, and found that few things could prove him wrong—which was why he received Melga, who anchored his rampant arrogance and opened his mind to new horizons."

I was sure I understood now, "And so Lalamon was created of Mari's emptiness," I said in understanding, "Mari needed someone who was open and thoughtful and kind to fill in the void of love, and yet she also needed Lalamon to simply understand." I knew enough to know that Mari had never felt heard or wanted. Lalamon was clearly created by Winter for that very purpose to change. "So you're created by fairy, from a human in the form of a digimon?"

"I think that's right," Lalamon confirmed. "I feel a tether..." she stopped talking to reach in front of herself as if to show us where the tether might be. "I feel a connection to the place that I died. It feels—"

"The flower?" I cut in sharply, remembering the pink flower that had not wilted since Lalamon's death. It was growing right in my backyard, how could I forget? Lalamon however, did not know what I was referring to, and she simply stared at me. "There's a flower where you died."

"Is there really?" Lalamon asked, blushing, but I couldn't see why. "Well, whatever the reason, my data—or spirit—or whatever became some kind of tether and since I did not truly die—perhaps because of my fairy lineage, as they can never truly die—I came here. Instead of dying and passing on, I simply found myself to be lost. And I woke up here after a long time. I was floating through darkness for a while, needing to recover, and when I did, that's when I found the shore. I washed up with a bunch of silly broken things, and I found a mean woman—"

"Gaia," I nodded firmly, "Or Terra, she might have called herself."

"I've heard it both ways," Lalamon confirmed, "She did not want me around, but I do not know why. She brought me to her garden and it was beautiful. I loved it there, but she tried to kill me. I ran and I hid, and I told whoever I could find—but when she found out who I had told she found them and she killed them. All of them. No one who was left alive knew of her attempts to take my life. But the reason the others had been killed was because... of me." Lalamon paused in her story and looked to the ground. I didn't know how to comfort her, but Kiyoko seemed to understand. He put his arm around her immediately and drew her closer to himself. "I hid away in the Dump. I didn't want her to find me, and with me out of the way she didn't come looking. I think she knew where I was, but she never came to get me."

"Out of sight, out of mind," I said quietly and Lalamon nodded her agreement.

"I didn't want anyone else to die, and so I kept my time with Gaia to be a secret." Lalamon's voice was wavering now as she remembered all of the other digimon who had lost their lives to the sociopath that called herself Gaia. "I saw you before Willis—and then both of you while you were arguing. I t-tried to tell you it was me but you both ran off—"

"I'm so sorry!" Kiyoko cut in sadly, "If you weren't wearing the scary cloak I would have stayed, I swear!"

"It gets cold at night all alone," Lalamon said in a quiet voice. It was then that her story really sunk in. All of Mari's bitterness and sadness had been mirrored in Lalamon and her separation from her partner, but Lalamon was alone. She lived her life out in a dump filled with only broken or forgotten items, too afraid to speak to anyone who might learn too much and meet a terrible fate. "Gaia was making the two tribes hate each other. She wanted their love and if they had something to fight about, she could give that to them more readily. I tried to help them, but they never heard my whispered hints." She cuddled up closer to Kiyoko. "So I don't really know what I'm doing here, and I don't know why you're here either, but I sure am glad we found each other."

"Me too," Kiyoko said in a voice that was barely audible even to me who was so close.

"Now," Lalamon said, pushing gently away from Kiyoko. "It's your turn to tell me something." We waited a moment and she straightened herself up and said in a very composed voice. "How is Mari?"

Of course we had told her, but she never ceased her questioning, always thinking up more interesting or more outlandish questions, and we were happy to fill her in with what we knew, but Mari was private. Very private. We didn't have any idea what she was really experiencing, but what I did know, was that we had Lalamon. I knew that if Mari couldn't be with her, she would be happy that Kiyoko was, being the next best option, and I knew she would be happy that even if she wasn't here to see it, that Lalamon was alive and well. And that was all I could ask for really. All I wanted was for Mari to be happy.

And to see my partners again, but that one didn't seem likely.

And while that made my heart ache again and again, I knew that someday soon I would find myself getting used to all of the oddities of Witchenly, and one day I would be comfortable with the way we ran our new lives, drinking from a dirty well and eating canned beans. I knew I would be okay because I had this group of fragile people who knew what it was like to be broken, and together we could put our pieces back together. Things weren't perfect, but they would be okay. We would be okay.

Next on Digimon Adventure 08: Well now that we've seen our first glimpse of Witchenly we're going to jump back to where the story arcs are really happening and Neo and Izzy get to start off the next block of chapters!