Daichi: There are about a dozen different ways to go about this. Ultimately, they'd all get to the same point, anyway.
Verity: Is that why you've blown off everything for Pokemon?
Tsukaimon: To own this, we'd probably need a schedule beyond 'whenever not playing most currently interesting RPG.'
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They all agreed, an hour after returning to the Real World from their first meeting with Arukenimon, to never mention that day in detail ever again. It had not been a good day in the slightest.
It had started with the group getting split in half, which wouldn't have been so bad since they could track each other, aside from the fact that they couldn't focus on anything in the mass of bugs. That was the first sign it was going to be a terrible day.
Okay, so the first sign should have been getting that message in the first place. They had a tendency not to think things through. Tai had sort of grown out of it, but not really, and Davis was… Davis.
At first, that was really the only problem. Up until T.K., Ken, Matt, and Davis found Arukenimon. At which point she altered her tune. At which point Ken and Stingmon fell unconscious from negative telepathic feedback, and the others had to deal with a brainwashed Digmon and Kabuterimon.
On the bright side, Izzy had managed to reactivate his Crest of Knowledge, but other than that…. Definitely not a good day. Especially since it had meant they then needed to deal with a brainwashed MegaKabuterimon
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"Wasn't MegaKabuterimon the coolest?" Yolei gushed on the way back. Cody sighed.
"You say that about every new Digivolution we get." Which was entirely true. She'd gushed about ExVeemon, she'd gushed about Ankylomon, and T.K. was willing to bet she'd gushed about Aquilamon, from the fact he was her partner as much as the trend.
He was sure she'd grow out of it eventually. They were just kids, after all, even if they weren't really able to act like it. Even if he hadn't felt like a kid in a very long time. Not since they went into the DigiWorld to lead the final assault against the Digimon Emperor.
If even then. He'd be the first to admit that his childhood hadn't exactly been conventional, what with spending roughly half a year in the Digital World, not much less than half of that being by himself. Also the incident with Devimon and… yeah… he had no idea how to be a normal kid.
Maybe that was why all his friends were Digimon and the other DigiDestined. It wasn't too bad, there were a lot of them, it was just that everyone he knew was just as deeply entrenched in the world of crazy as he was.
"Just wait until she sees me as MagnaAngemon," Patamon spoke up.
"MagnaAngemon?" Yolei asked. "Is that your Ultimate form, Patamon?"
And then it was T.K. who ended up… well, not gushing, he was more composed than that. But he was certain that he had the best partner in the world, and couldn't really help it. The fight against Piedmon had honestly been one of the least painful ones.
Etemon didn't count. He'd never actually been involved against Etemon.
Sure, the other two were more than a bit apprehensive about the Gate of Destiny, both for its power and the possibly liability it posed. And it wasn't like there hadn't already been a rift between them and T.K.. But it still hurt.
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-T.K.? Do you know any way to stave off nightmares?
-Depends on what you're talking about, really.
-Okay, I was not expecting a response that quickly. It's two in the morning.
-Like I said, it depends. I don't know how to stop them, but recovery's easy. If it's the usual stuff, just keep your partner close and you'll calm down soon enough.
-The usual stuff? Wait, did you know those nightmares included Kimeramon?
-Why wouldn't they? And even if it's not the usual stuff, it'll still help a bit.
-I'm almost scared to ask what you mean by that.
-I'll tell you later. It's personal. Like, we shouldn't be having this conversation on the D-Terminal at two in the morning. That sort of personal.
-Right. Later, then. And thanks. For… for everything, I guess.
T.K. stared down at the last message Ken had sent him. Sighing, he closed his D-Terminal and lay back on the bed. Well. There was no taking it back now. He'd have to tell him.
It wasn't that he hadn't wanted the other boy to know. It was something he'd been thinking about since… since they'd first become friends, actually. But it wasn't the kind of thing you just brought up in casual conversation. Or at all, really.
Patamon stirred against him. He hadn't realized he'd woken up that much, but if he could have a coherent conversation, that was probably a sign of it.
Thinking about it wouldn't change anything. He'd figure out all the little bits and pieces- and the main conversation- later. In the actual morning.
At least the conversation had calmed him down enough that he could get back to sleep.
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He still wasn't entirely sure that afternoon, when they were working on clearing out the remaining Control Spires so Arukenimon couldn't use them. There were no older kids that day, just them, though T.K. wasn't sure whether that made things better or worse.
After all, it was the kind of conversation that more or less had to be made in private. So he decided to make it private. "Hey, Ken and I are going to go start work on the other side of the forest, okay?" He suggested.
"Do you want me to come with yout?" Kari asked, and any other time, he would have agreed.
It ended up being a moot point anyway, what with the creation of a BlackWarGreymon just a few seconds later, and T.K. could only conclude that the universe was conspiring against him. Stranger things had happened, after all.
They had to bail after that, because four Champions and two Ultimates against a Mega was probably the worst idea possible at the moment, and even Davis seemed to realize that it would be suicide.
So he didn't end up opening that can of worms that day. It could wait another. Or maybe more than that, but hopefully not because of a Control Spire Digimon far out of their league. So at most until Tai or Matt had use of their Crests again.
To T.K., if that day ever came, it would be too soon… and likely, not soon enough.
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Daichi: He will tell him. Very soon. Really. It's just that the universe is sort of conspiring against him at the moment.
Verity: Yeah, when these people are right… it will always be about the worst things possible.
