Digimon Adventure 07: Virus

by YukiraKing

Moments after the last story ended we find our heroes in a situation that there may be no possible solutions to. They find themselves in situations and locations that test the very fibre of their beings and force themselves to limits they have yet to see, all for a common goal that the world promised them: Peace. [took out the humor genre because there's nothing funny about death.]

21. You're Not Sorry

Y/N: Writing as Momoe, knowing that she only knows of a limited number of survivors, made this a very emotional chapter for me. It wasn't quite fun getting into her head, but I enjoyed getting to explore more of the emotional range of one of my characters. Not a lot of characters can really delve into that particular mindset—that of a mother that lost her child. I know I'm not doing it justice, because I'm not a mother, and I've never lost a child, and that's a deep, horrible thing to go through, and I can't access those emotions, but I hope that I've given it an honest try, and that you can at least feel some of what Momoe must be going through.

U/N: If I'm remembering correctly, Matt's dad is in this chapter, maybe only a bit but he's still there and I like his relationship with Matt so that's always fun. There's also a reveal here that you probably weren't expecting. I'm just guessing of course, but when you're not looking for a secret it's hard to figure out what it is ;)

Title: Digimon Adventure 07: Virus

By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing

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

Part 2: Digital World and Earth

Chapter 21: You're Not Sorry

Momoe Kido:

The table was smooth and shiny thanks to its glaze. Natsuni had kept it in pristine condition with the use of tablecloths at every meal. If it weren't for the scorch marks along the very edges of one side, I could have forgotten that it had ever been attacked by the vicious flames of the early DWD. The same could not be said for the walls. There were remnants of the wallpaper, but the rest was charred. There were very few places that were exceptions. After each propaganda video Katsue released, Akira and Takashi would scrub at the wall before painting whatever crest the video had been about. It was a reminder for us, so that we didn't forget the crests that were so vital to us now.

I knew there were more pressing matters that I ought to be working on, like helping Natsuni build her case against Morestuna, or being with Chiziru and Mantarou. They'd gone to our parents house, and while I enjoyed being in my father's presence, I couldn't handle my mother. Mom finally caved when she found out that the people she was supporting—aka the DWD—were the ones who tried to kill her family. She couldn't, however, believe that Yorokobi had anything to do with it, which irritated the hell out of me. Yorokobi was in the Digital World. She'd been in a position to attack the people I cared about, and she'd taken that chance when she started shooting at the convoy that was bringing Jun and my daughter to the Coliseum. She hadn't hit either of them, but she did get Palmon, which was horrible too.

But nope, Mom wouldn't believe that. She still loved Yorokobi and thought she was the best thing to ever happen to our family. Chiziru and I could think of very obvious exceptions—our children, for starters, as well as Jou, Chiziru's boyfriend, and Ken, not to mention my siblings and myself—but Mom wouldn't hear of it. Yorokobi was a godsend, and Mantarou was a fool for letting her go.

I thought Mom was a fool, but I couldn't tell her that.

It hurt though, knowing that Mom would pick Yorokobi over her own children, over her own grandchildren.

Another thing that hurt, was the fact that four days ago, when I'd been all raring to go, they'd banned me from getting my revenge on Arnold. I wasn't going to kill him. Probably. I just wanted to rough him up a bit, make him hurt just as he'd made me hurt. But no. I wasn't allowed to go, and then I'd seen Neo betraying us completely. I'd lost my daughter, my husband, my partner and my sister, and nearly all of my in-laws. I was feeling pretty horrible and they wouldn't let me do anything to try and feel better.

It didn't help that everyone was walking on glass around me, like they thought I was going to break—again—at any given moment. They didn't realize that they were doing more harm than good. I was stronger than they were giving me credit for, but by being careful and gentle with me all the time they were just ensuring that the situation was constantly on my mind. I would've been easier to handle all of my pain and sadness if they would just treat me like a normal person.

The pain was bad enough without the reminders. Day in and day out it felt like a part of me was missing, and that everything remaining was going to close in on itself, leaving me a shrivelled up version of my former self. I had to actively try to keep myself functioning each day, and every word spoken, every step taken was painful. It was a herculean effort just to eat my breakfast each morning.

I was also incredibly annoyed with Mantarou, who apparently decided he wanted to start up a relationship with Sora here and now, making everything awkward. Natsuni had glared at him almost constantly since the start of his date yesterday, and it was so obvious that Yamato was upset by the whole idea of it. I was just unimpressed. It was hardly the time for this drama. I wasn't going to deal with it. I had enough on my plate already, and my brother could just leave me out of it. I was not going to sit there quietly and listen to him complain about Yamato's frosty attitude.

It was obvious that Mantarou was going after Yamato's dream girl. I thought Sora was the only one that wasn't in the know on that front, but apparently my brother was oblivious to the blatantly obvious as well. It was a pity, but I really didn't care. If he got himself hurt, it was his own fault.

"How do you feel about Yamato?" Sora asked Katsue somewhere to my left. I might've known more had I been able to tear my eyes off of the shiny table with the burnt edges.

"That's not really any of your business," Katsue told her pointedly. "You're a taken woman now, aren't you? Don't think we didn't notice your date."

"I'm not asking for myself," Sora said far too defensively. "I'm his friend, a curious friend that's worried about his heart being broken again."

"I seem to recall you being the one to break it," Katsue said sharply. "If you're just a curious friend, just ask him yourself." The pair were silent for awhile, and I knew Sora had a defeated look on her face. It was the only thing that could explain Katsue's next comment. "We're not dating, if that's what you're asking. We didn't work out, and I wouldn't go through that again, even if he was interested. I'm not."

"Thank you," Sora said, sounding happy with that response.

It just fueled my anger at her. She was obviously toying around with my brother's feelings, and while he was oblivious to Yamato's feelings for Sora, Sora was not oblivious to her own feelings for our Digital Man. She was dating my brother, even though she was in love with another man, and it was just petty, rude and cruel to string my brother along when he may have actual, genuine feelings for her.

I wasn't really invested in their relationship, though. I was taking out my anger and jealousy on them, because they could be together, and my husband and daughter had been taken from me. I wanted Jou to be with me, at my side forever. I missed him, I loved him, and I wanted him back. But what longing I felt for my husband paled in comparison to the desperation I felt for Emiko. I was angry that the DWD had taken her from me, and I was angry that Mom was still choosing the DWD over her kids, after everything they'd done. I was angry that the DWD managed to steal Neo away from the digidestined, and I was furious that the DWD were creating monsters in their basement.

There was a knock at the door, and I ignored it. I was probably imagining things anyway. I could feel my mind growing wilder with each passing day. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that I could be hearing sounds that weren't real. Every morning I woke to the sound of Emiko giggling, calling for me to wake up. That definitely wasn't real. My little girl was gone. Ripped from me in the most permanent of ways and it was killing me inside.

Yutaka and Akira passed by the table, heading towards the door. I could hear Yamato talking excitedly to someone, and pried my sight off of the tabletop and looked to see who he was talking to. I saw the white hair and the smug smirk, and knew nothing but anger. I was seething with it. How dare he come here? He joined the DWD, he joined the people that stole my baby.

"Sorry for not waiting," Neo said with that stupid smirk of his that made him look like he thought he was better than everyone else. He probably did think that too, the smug, traitorous bastard. "I could have, but I supposed you would not appreciate it if I drew attention towards myself by knocking on the door to a public building."

I snarled at him, surprising myself with the ferocity of it. I was a mother ripped from her daughter, and I was like a lioness who'd just found her next meal. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Okay, calm down," Yamato told me, holding his hands out trying to placate me. Obviously they didn't think he was much of a threat, but I knew better. I'd seen him. Maybe I should've shared that knowledge when I'd gotten back, but I'd been too angry to say anything, and then they'd showed me the monsters, and it slipped my mind. I'd had something new to focus my anger on. "But yeah, Neo, how did you find us?"

"This is the location for all of the digidestined gatherings for the last several years," Neo said, rolling his eyes. "I would suggest you find a different base, if you're trying for secrecy."

"It's been working for us just fine so far," Sora said. "It's good to see you, Neo. To know you're alive. I was so worried about you."

"Momoe didn't tell you?" he asked, confused. I was angry that everyone seemed to turn on me in that instant, falling for his charm without hesitation. I ignored them.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded once more.

"I brought you a present," he said, holding out a blue bag he'd had slung over his shoulder. I eyed it suspiciously. "It's heavy, and you won't want me to drop it. I suggest taking it instead."

I grumbled to myself and took the bag from him and set it on the floor at my feet. I wasn't going to open it, but with the eyes of all three digidestined, the three teenage wolves, Natsuni and her father, Hiroaki, Jenna, Chi and Katsue I felt obligated to do so. I was thankful that the four original digidestined weren't there too, or I wouldn't have been able to keep the glare firmly on my face. I might've looked suitably chastised with so many friends against me.

Crouching to the ground I found the zipper on the bag and started pulling. Once the bag was open, I pulled the sides apart, only to have something white, orange and purple fly out of the bag at my face. At first, I thought maybe Neo was getting some sort of revenge on me, for discovering his secret double-agent status, and his connection to the DWD, but then I heard a loud shout.

"SURPRISE!"

"Gomamon!" Sora gasped.

"It's me," Gomamon said with a grin. "Did ya miss me? You did, didn't you? I know it!"

"How?" I asked, taking in every inch of him and feeling utterly ecstatic, knowing he was okay and in front of me. His hair could do with a little grooming, and he could definitely eat a couple extra portions, but he was whole, and he didn't have a tracking device on him anywhere either. I narrowed my eyes at Neo, wondering what his plan was. Did he want to lure me into a false sense of security just so he could pull a fast one of the lot of us? I couldn't figure out his angle.

"Hey, now Monimon isn't the only digimon," Yutaka said. "That's good, right?"

"Yeah..." I said still suspicious. I was also feeling a little guilty for not being more excited. I had Gomamon now, I had a member of my family. It was just that his presence was a stark reminder once again that Jou, Emiko, Bearmon and Monmon were gone.

"No they're not," Gomamon assured me. I was embarrassed for a second, at being caught thinking out loud. The second passed though, and my embarrassment faded into confusion. "I talked to them. I talked to Jou and Emiko. Neo helped me."

"What?" Sora asked desperately. "How is that possible?"

"When?" Yamato asked. "Did you learn anything about who else is there?"

"Where are they?" Katsue demanded. "They can't be in the Digital World. The virus was sent to destroy everything."

"Why?" I asked. "Why would he help you?"

"Because he's my friend," Gomamon said, looking at me like I was being ridiculous. "He had a mirror."

"It's not mine," Neo specified. "I can't leave it here, I must take it back with me as quickly as possible. I thought, though, that you may enjoy a few minutes of connection between the worlds." He pulled a mirror from his jacket. It was an ornate, square hand mirror. It looked so unassuming, but he looked into it, before turning it to face me.

I watched as the glass rippled like water, and then my reflection faded, replaced by a new image. There were two sets of bunk beds on either side of the small room, and bright yellow curtains with colourful fish scattered across them acting as doors. It was a room in the Coliseum. I'd heard Yamato talk about how our rooms here at the restaurant resembled them. It was the people though, that really caught my attention. Taichi and Mari were on the top bunk on one side. Tai was sprawled out, but Mari was perched on the edge, her feet resting on the ladder that brought her up there. Gatomon was curled into Taichi's side, while Agumon napped with Bearmon and Betamon on the floor next to the bunks. The bottom bunk was filled with Terriermon, Labramon and Wormmon who were all lying around Haruki who was rolling over. They made a game of jumping out of his way each time he got closer. He giggled incessantly.

Davis was sitting with an arm around Kurayami, also on the floor, rolling a ball across the floor towards Warg and Melga who had their backs toward the mirror. They sent the ball back within seconds of catching it. Veemon, Gabumon and Dracomon were crammed onto the top bunk on the other side, while Tapirmon floated next to them. They were playing a card game of some sort. Tentomon was buzzing through the air, and Palmon was on top of Goblimon's shoulders, trying to catch him with her poison ivy. Armadillomon sat on the bunk below the card game, with Monmon lying on his back

But none of them were more important to me than the sight of my little Emiko. She was sitting on her father's knee, looking up to him with wide eyes.

"I'm bored," Taichi groaned. "Jou, are you sure Neo's going to talk through a mirror? You weren't making it up? It seems pretty farfetched to me."

"Seriously, a talking mirror is where you draw the line?" Daisuke asked with a laugh.

"Neo said he couldn't do it," Jou admitted. "But I know he will. He saw Emiko's face, he's got a heart, doesn't he?"

"That is debatable," Mari joked.

"I still can't believe you had us lug this big heavy mirror down here," Daisuke grumbled.

"Like you did any of the work," Kurayami said with a tiny smile. He grinned at her and shot a thumbs-up at Veemon who saluted him before going back to his card game.

"If he doesn't come back soon, we're going to have to leave, you know that, right?" Taichi reminded my husband. "We can't sit around forever. There are digimon out there who need our support."

"I'm supposed to be heading out to Primary Village soon," Jou said with a sigh. "I can't really keep them waiting. But I don't want to miss this..."

"Jou?" I called hesitantly, wondering if this was just a one-way mirror. I could hear them, but could they hear me. I greedily drank in the sight of my family. "Emiko?" I said, still unsure.

"Momoe?" Jou said. His head whirled towards the mirror, and his face lit up. I wished I wasn't such a mess, but really when you have to bath in an industrial dishwasher, there wasn't much you could do. He didn't exactly look fresh as a daisy either. "Momoe! It's you. I knew I could count on Neo. I told you, didn't I, Taichi?"

"Jou," I said softly, looking at his face. He picked Emiko up and walked up to the mirror. I got a better look at her, and she looked beautiful. "Hi baby," I said, feeling tears drip down my face. "I miss you. I love you."

"I love you too," Emiko said, crying at the sight of me. "I thought you weren't ever comin' back. I hoped and I hoped. But I didn't think I was doin' it right. Dad said you would come, and I tried to believe him."

"Good girl," I said. "I wanted to come back, every day. I can't get to you, sweetheart. I thought something bad happened to you."

"I got in trouble today," she whispered. "That's bad."

"What did you do?" I asked, feeling a smile spread across my face, despite the tears.

"I kicked Masa 'cause he took the green crayon. I wanted the green crayon. He was drawing a bird, I was drawing Monmon. I needed the green crayon," she said. "Mrs Kae put me in time out for a whole two minutes. Literally."

"Good for her," I said, trying to look disapproving, but I was too happy that she was able to kick Masa that I didn't even care that she'd done it.

"Masa," I heard Sora whisper behind me, before raising her voice. "Someone go get him!"

"Sora?" Taichi asked, sounding excited. No. He couldn't talk to Sora. I was talking to my daughter. He could just leave us alone.

"It's me," Sora called with a watery voice. She was crying too. "Go get him. I'm going to call Chiziru. She should get back soon. She needs to see her son. She thinks he's—she thinks something bad happened."

"I'll get him," Daisuke offered. I could see him hopping to his feet over Jou's shoulder, and he slipped into the hallway.

As far as reasons to share the mirror go, letting Masa and Chiziru talk was a pretty good one. I couldn't be selfish, no matter how much I wanted to, because she was going through the same thing I was. She thought her son was dead, and if he wasn't, then she deserved to see him. I would've hated her if we'd been in each others' place, and she didn't let me see Emiko.

"Are you eating enough?" I asked Emiko. "Are you sleeping? Are you having fun?"

"I'm scared," she whispered. "But I get to play with Dad lots now, and he takes care of me, and brings me food and lets me play with Mr Ogremon's class. I get to go to school! I learn all the digimon stuff. It's fun." She turned to beam at Jou and my heart was breaking at her fear, but I was so happy that Jou was taking care of her alright on his own. I knew he was often afraid that he wasn't a good father. I knew without a doubt that wasn't true. The look on our daughter's face was enough to show me that. I hoped it was enough to convince him too.

"Have you made lots of friends?" I asked, trying to keep her talking. I loved the sound of her voice. I craved it more than air. I needed to keep her talking. As long as she talked, I knew she was alright.

"Uh huh," she grinned, looking back to me. "I miss you though."

"I miss you too, baby," I said, still bawling my eyes out.

"I want to talk to Gabumon," Yamato muttered.

"Don't interrupt them," his father scolded.

"Like you don't want to do the same thing," he countered. My heart squeezed again. Hiroaki's son was somewhere, and so were his wife and partner. I didn't want to give up the mirror, but Jou had heard them, and was stepping away, calling for Gabumon to come and take his turn. The digimon wasted no time whatsoever crawling out of the bed he'd been sitting on, and calling for Yamato.

"Can someone get my family?" Jenna asked hesitantly. "I need to see them. And Kudamon too."

"We can't," Mari told her, as Kurayami got up to go get them for Jenna. "Mary and your Dad are here, and Kudamon's fine. But Willis, Michael and Lopmon aren't."

"What?" Jenna gasped. "That's not fair. I just get hope back and then they're gone again, just like that?"

"Michael's with Mimi, Hideto and Tatum," Taichi said quickly. Agumon, who had woken up with all of our talking—along with Betamon and Bearmon—jumped to his feet.

"Palmon might've said that Lopmon was with them... but I can't remember, 'cause she told me awhile ago, just in passing," Agumon said.

"I did say that," Palmon said. "No one listens to me." I felt bad, because I hadn't even noticed her. She had been on Jou's other side, and once I'd seen Emiko, I hadn't cared enough to continue looking around. "It's like I'm still invisible sometimes."

"You didn't tell me!" Terriermon growled, causing Haruki to whimper. Labramon glared at Terriermon and he apologized. He took a few deep breaths and looked to Palmon. "You let me think my twin was gone forever for two whole months. You should have told me. I've been looking for her in the virus!"

"I'm sorry," Palmon said sadly. "I really thought you knew. I didn't know nobody listened to me at all."

"Gabumon," Yamato said, finally getting a chance to take his turn. "How are you buddy?"

"Angry," Gabumon said quietly. "Relieved. Happy. Angry again."

"Why so angry?" Yamato asked tentatively.

"You left me, without saying anything," Gabumon said. He broke down in tears, and I started crying harder again, just when I thought I might be able to stop. "You left me behind. I didn't know where you were going. I didn't know if you were safe. The virus came, and I thought you didn't make it. You left me alone, Yamato."

"I'm so sorry," Yamato said, his voice thick with emotion. He probably didn't want to cry in front of his former band mates, but I could tell he was pretty close to that breaking point.

"I was so scared," Gabumon told him.

"I'm sorry," Yamato repeated.

"Don't leave me again," Gabumon begged him.

"I gotta get to you first," Yamato reminded him.

Gabumon continued crying, and the yellow curtains fluttered as Daisuke carried Masa into the room. He was followed quickly by Sora's parents, who were staring at the mirror with desperate eyes. Natsuko Takaishi was last, but she was the first to get a chance at the mirror, as her son was still talking into it.

"Mom?" Yamato asked, his voice cracking a little. She looked over him, holding a hand to her mouth. Her eyes watered slightly, shimmering in the light of the small room.

"Yamato," she whispered. "You're okay. You're okay. You're alive. I was afraid you wouldn't be. I didn't know what I was going to do."

"I'm alive," he confirmed. "And you're alive too."

"I am," she said.

"What about Takeru?" Hiroaki asked. "Where's he? Is he there?"

"No," Natsuko choked. "I was hoping he was with you. Kurayami said...but I hoped. I hoped he'd found a way home to you."

"Where did Kurayami say he was?" Yamato demanded.

"She doesn't know," Daisuke said testily. "She didn't abandon him either, before you go accusing her."

"I wouldn't do that," Yamato said defensively.

"Takeru is one of our six unknowns," Taichi said from his place on the top bunk. "Takeru was with Ken and Miyako the last anyone saw any of them, but we don't know any more than that. Willis and Kiyoko left with Mimi, but they obviously got separated, because Mimi ended up going through a gate with Michael, Tatum and Hideto—and Lopmon, I guess. Palmon got separated from them too. The last is Rei. She left the Coliseum around the same time that Lopmon did. She was heading to our house, and then she was going to meet up with me. Apparently. I wouldn't know, because she never made it to the Temple. I have no idea where she is."

Neo's eye twitched and his jaw clenched, and I was reminded that we were talking about his sister. I felt bad for him, even through my confusion and my hatred. He was still a person. He loved his sister. Maybe this would be enough to pull him out of the DWD's clutches.

"We're reasonably certain everyone else is fine though," Daisuke said, trying to sound more upbeat, but listing off their potentially dead friends wasn't a pleasant thing. It was especially heart wrenching for me to hear, because my baby sister was on that list with her husband. I'd just gotten my family back, only to lose some of it again.

"Is Fumiko alright?" Hiroaki asked, looking awkward asking about his new wife, while his ex-wife was listening in. He was met with a long silence. He was starting to look worried by the time anyone could bring themselves to talk about her.

"We could try to go get her," Daisuke finally said. "But she's not really being responsive at the moment. She kind of shut herself off a little even before the virus hit. She's practically catatonic now. Meiyomon's with her..."

"No," Hiroaki said. "Let Meiyomon try to help her. I don't want to add more strain to her." Everyone on the other side of the mirror looked incredibly relieved by his decision. I got the feeling that talking with Fumiko wasn't very high on anybody's to-do list. I was worried about her, wondering just how bad she'd gotten to make them all act this way.

"And Iori?" Natsuni asked cautiously. "You said everyone else was fine...so he's okay?"

"He had a key," Jou said. "I know he used it. He's smart."

"That's it?" I asked. Jou shrugged his shoulders.

"What about Hikari?" Natsuni asked eagerly. They were roommates. It made sense. Goblimon was waving to her, and she waved back, blowing a kiss his way. He caught it and then looked embarrassed, because of all of the stares that were pointed his way.

"She went through a gate that Koushiro opened," Taichi said firmly. "We don't know what world though."

"He's gone?" Sora asked. "What are we supposed to do without him? He's always there when we come up with plans. How's Biyomon? How's Tentomon?"

"I'm fine," Tentomon buzzed. "I miss him, and you, and Mimi. But I'm okay. I know that you're all safe, just in other worlds. It's not much more difficult now than it was either of the times you were separated from us for three years apiece. Biyomon's still in Primary Village."

"We'll be going there soon," Daisuke offered. "If you want to send a message."

"Tell her I love her, and I'm sorry," Sora said. "She needs to know that."

"Okay..." he said, not asking what she was sorry about. He probably didn't feel it was any of his business, which was great and all, but I kind of wanted to know. I also wanted everyone to stop standing in front of Emiko, so that I could see her clearly again. I didn't like having her hidden from me.

"Sora," Toshiko said loudly. "I heard you were in prison. Tell me that was a nasty lie."

"It wasn't," Sora said. "I got arrested and they're still after me."

"My daughter is an escaped convict?" Toshiko asked, looking a little faint for a second, before grinning. "You're a tough girl. You don't let them catch you, no matter what."

"I'll try not to," Sora said.

Kurayami walked back through the curtains before Sora's father could say anything, and Mr Washington raced forward, desperately calling Jenna's name. Kudamon was wrapped around his shoulders, and the three of them had a nice touching reunion that I couldn't pay attention to, because Tentomon had finally moved and I was able to see my daughter again. She was twirling her hair around her finger, sitting on Jou's lap and kicking her feet. Masa was standing next to her and she was holding his hand tightly as he waited for his mother. She was so sweet when she wanted to be. I wished she wanted that more often.

But I'd take her as a terror right now if it meant I could actually hold her in my arms.

"I don't mean to break up any touching moments, but we need to talk about plans," Taichi said. "I need to know anything that you've got on Arnold or this Maugrim guys' plans."

"Who's Maugrim?" Yutaka asked. "We've only been tailing Arnold."

"Arnold is working with Veronica and her team from New York," Jenna offered.

"And Mimi's old friends, Michan and Tako," Sora added.

"The Fujimotos are also in his back pocket," Neo said.

"Yes," Natsuni agreed. "They've been going around with the Goutokuji's doing everything in their power to discredit everything that Yamato and Sora stand for. They've made it seem like Sora did a bunch of really terrible things, and they're the reason Yamato is public enemy number one."

"Neo works for the bad guys now," I pointed out. "We could just ask him."

He rolled his eyes when a suspicious silence settled over the groups on either side of the mirror. "I'm learning all that I can by integrating myself into the enemy's life. I'm...roomies"—he said the word with such utter disgust that I nearly laughed—"with Maugrim's son, and I talk with his daughter." Gomamon snorted, and Neo pointedly paid him no attention. "I've been trying to learn his plans, but he's playing this close to the chest. He's very nearly trusting me at this point. That is why I need to return the mirror. If I don't, he'll become suspicious of me, and all of my hard work will go to waste. I can't afford to stay much longer."

"But Chiziru's not here yet," Sora pointed out. "You can't take this from her. Even you can't be that cruel. Just a few more minutes. Please?"

"Fine," he said. "But it's not your head on the chopping block."

We didn't have long to wait, as it turned out, because Chiziru crashed through the front door right then, looking frantically around for the magical mirror Sora had told her would allow her to see her son. She took it right out of Jenna's hands—who had gently taken it from Neo, so he could rest his arms. She was thoughtful like that. The thought hadn't occurred to me. Literally.

"Masa," Chiziru called loudly. "Masa, come and talk to Mommy."

"Mommy?" Masa called uncertainly. He caught sight of her in the mirror though, and ran at it. Daisuke was there to lift him up so he could see into the mirror. "Mommy! I missed you lots. I got a partner now, but that meanie Willis took my digivice a'cause someone tooked his. But he's still my partner, not Willis' a'cause Willis already gots two."

"That's amazing sweetheart," Chiziru cried. "What's his name?"

"Kunemon," Masa said proudly. "We're bestest friends now. Mrs Kae looks after us with Wormmon. We always have lotsa fun. I miss you though. I drew lotsa pictures so that you can know all the fun things I did."

Chiziru was openly crying now, and I looked away, trying to give her some space—but mostly because Daisuke's elbow was covering up my view of my daughter, and I was disappointed by it. Mantarou was awkwardly standing by the door with a girl at his side.

"Why'd you bring her here?" Sora asked, getting defensive right off. At first, I thought she might be jealous—even though she was in love with Yamato while dating my brother, and would be a giant hypocrite if that were the case—but that wasn't it. "She shouldn't be here, not after all the work she'd put into setting it on fire."

The girl looked ashamed of herself, but didn't say anything. She just held out a hand, offering Sora a memory stick for a computer. Sora was caught off guard. She'd been prepared for a fight, not a potential peace offering. Sora reached out and took the offered piece of technology.

"It might help you," the girl said. "I can't stay. I'm betraying Michan by being here at all, but I couldn't just stand by and allow Michan to dictate my actions anymore. Michan has become a monster, and I don't like it." She stopped and eyed Gomamon uncomfortably. "I'm trying to be a better person, but I can't abandon hope for Michan yet. I'm giving you that video to try and make amends for my actions. It's not enough, and I know that. But it's what I can do for now. I have to get back before anyone notices it's missing. I don't want them to know it was me."

She ran out the door without so much as a goodbye. Sora eyed the memory stick, unsure of what to do. I was finally able to place the girl, realizing that she had to be Tako, if she was so dedicated to Michan. She was one of Mimi's old friends.

My eyes followed Mantarou as he made his way over to Chiziru. I was surprised to see Emiko was back to being in the front, with Jou holding her up next to Masa. I hurriedly followed Mantarou, and stared at my daughter, trying to get as much out of this short visit as I possibly could.

"Hey kiddos," Mantarou greeted them. They giggled at him. He asked them the same questions Chiziru and I already had. How they were doing, were they having fun? The usual stuff. "How's Gotsumon doing without me?"

"He's fine," Masa said. "He's lots of fun."

"He practices..." Emiko started. She waited for Jou to whisper the word in her ear before continuing. "He practices kendo now in Armadillomon's classes." Natsuni gasped and I knew the significance. I'd hung around Iori a lot over the years, considering he and Jou were practically the best of friends. Armadillomon had started teaching kendo as a way of honouring Iori. Obviously, they assumed Iori was okay, just in a different world, but it was a very sweet gesture on Armadillomon's part.

"Neo looks like he's ready to leave," Katsue said bossily. "I know you guys won't be my biggest fan, but I need to ask the tough questions. It might be best if the kids weren't there for this." Jou and Daisuke put the kids down, and the Washingtons led them out of the room. My heart broke a little as I watched Emiko leave. I never wanted to take my eyes off of her. The Takenouchi's, and Natsuko stayed with the digidestined and their digimon.

"First things first," Katsue said, pulling out a notebook. "Is Jun recovering?"

"I got her the antidote," Jou answered quickly and my heart seemed to ooze relief. I hadn't even remembered Jun in all of the excitement of seeing Emiko again.

"Were there many confirmed deaths?" Katsue asked next.

"D'Arcmon," Taichi said. "Jackie too. Jun said there were nine deaths over at ShogunGekomon's palace, and a couple more that we know of scattered across our region. Of course, there are probably a whole lot we can't confirm at all. I'm sure we missed a lot of digimon when we were putting up barriers."

"What about DemiDevimon?" Yamato asked. "We found his partner. Please don't make me tell her he's dead."

"He's fine. Really sad, but he's physically okay," Mari assured us.

"Morestuna is dead," Kurayami said in a flat voice. Natsuni started swearing up a storm, shocking her father and just about everyone at her language.

"Everything I've been working on is useless then," she said, once her initial anger had died away. She sank to the ground, and I felt back for her. She'd been working tirelessly putting a case together against that man, and now there was nothing to show for it.

"Not necessarily," her father whispered, comforting her.

"Just a couple of the crest digimon remains unaccounted for," Taichi said. "The digimon of knowledge, tenacity and pride."

"We also haven't had much luck in trying to get out of the Digital World," Jou said. "We're doing our best, but all three of our resident geniuses are gone, and we don't have much to go off of."

"I have to take it now," Neo said. He'd been patient, and we'd taken advantage of his peace offering, potentially putting his life on the line.

"I love you, Jou," I said quickly. Several other similar calls were shouted around me from either side of the mirror. "I love you too Bearmon. And tell Emiko how much I love her again, please?"

"I promise," he assured me. "I love you too. I'll miss you."

"And I you," I said, crying yet again. I was starting to wonder if I had ever stopped at all. The glass in the mirror rippled again, and then all that remained was my reflection. My shoulders drooped. I was so relieved to see that my daughter was safe. She was healthy, alive and mostly happy. That was far more than I'd hoped for.

"I can't promise that I can bring the mirror again," Neo said in his blunt way. "But, I may be able to get you something better: a way back into the Digital World."

Everyone was stunned into silence. During our shocked stupor, Neo slipped out the door, disappearing down the street before anyone could even try to wrestle the mirror out of his grip so that we could keep it. If I'd not been hung up on the idea of getting to the Digital World, I totally would've tracked him down.

"Well," Sora said. "We'd better see what Tako gave us." She plugged it into the nearest laptop, and we all held our breaths, hoping it wouldn't turn out to be a virus. It wasn't. It was a video. I saw the folding chairs, and the runway and knew what it was. "The security footage," Sora said in awe. She quickly fast-forwarded the footage, stopping when that horrid man tried to attack Haruki, after attacking Rei. She paused it when Biyomon used her Spiral Twister against him. She smiled up at Katsue, who had huddled in over her shoulder. Katsue smirked.

"Oh yeah, we can use this."

Yamato Ishida:

It was hard to want to do anything after the meeting with the others. Taichi was alive. My mother was doing fine. Gabumon, well he was upset, but he was still able to be that way, and so basically, I was ecstatic. Or at least I wanted to be. There were only a small handful of our number that were entirely unaccounted for now, and my brother was one of those people. I suppose small victories were something I was supposed to feel great about, but until the war was over, it wouldn't feel much like a victory at all. And Takeru was my victory. I just needed to know that he was okay, that he was alive. And with every passing day it seemed that was less likely to happen.

The others seemed to forget that we hadn't really won anything just yet, because each and every one of them was bursting with energy now. I wanted them to know it was okay to feel happy, but that we should look at things logically and with our heads rather than with our hearts, but none of them wanted to listen at all.

Natsuni and her father were immediately turning what she'd worked on for the past two months into a different case entirely, claiming that the chief police had been killed in the enemies attempts at taking the digimon away, as well as so many innocent people. It was something the police and the government were surely keeping quiet, and that meant it was something we could strive to exploit. Anything they didn't want to happen, we did. Mostly.

Katsue was working away with the Teenage Wolves, creating a new video using the footage Tako had provided us with to prove that not everything was as it seemed. Not only were the DWD—or EVOLVE, as Arnold had called them apparently—twisting true events to get what they wanted, they had also attempted to attack a baby and that was something we could most definitely use.

We had the original Digidestined, Junpei, Kouji, Koichi and Takuya out as our watchdogs. They were among the city looking for people who were supporters, and those who were not. If we could start sorting people accordingly we would be able to more effectively start an army. Amai had told us that there were enough of them out in the city to have a continuous rally, or meeting, or whatever it was they met up to do. Either way, we had supporters and we needed to locate them.

Momoe and Chiziru were both heartbroken in an oddly happy way. Each of them looked so pleased, and yet they were both crying, I supposed it was due to their lack of time with their children, but it was more than they could have hoped for them both to be alive, and that was amazing. And yet horrible that they had seen them, but only for a short time and now they knew they existed still, but that maybe they would never be with them again.

Unless of course, what Neo had said could be true. He had said he could bring us back to the Digital World, and while I didn't want to get my hopes up, I knew that could be a very good thing. Not because I particularly wanted to be surrounded by the virus, but because I wanted to have everyone trapped at the Coliseum be able to return home and join the world back in normality. Even if Sora and I couldn't, the others could. Except perhaps Taichi because his actual home was in the Digital World.

I heard a stupid laugh come from Mantarou and rolled my eyes. He was so annoying. He was charming and kind and he held doors open for Sora and he was open and honest and gave her space when she needed it and brought her flowers from the local shop and he shared his extra dessert with her... He was annoying and I didn't like him. He was the perfect boyfriend, and Sora deserved the perfect boyfriend. She could do better than me, and Mantarou was better than me. She deserved the very best—better than him even, and if that's what she wanted, that was fine. From her point of view at least. I didn't like it from his point of view though, because I didn't like him and wanted him gone. He couldn't date her—but she could date him...

It was confusing.

I looked over, and sure enough spotted Sora laughing and placing her hand gently on Mantrou's arm. She was flirting with him. I knew how Sora flirted. I could predict every move before she'd made it. She would play with her hair, laugh at whatever he said, make solid eye contact, and then break it so he would crave more. And with every thought that came to my mind, Sora practically obeyed me, like I was in control.

I shuddered, just thinking about it. Not only was controlling another person like that highly frightening and possessive, but also if I could, that would have meant I was flirting with Mantrou, and he was the last person in the room I would want to flirt with. Right next to my dad of course. He was sitting by himself, reading a book and eating an apple. His lunch breaks had been all but eliminated from his daily schedule, and whenever he got a moment by himself was when he would jump right into his lunch, which would last maybe seven minutes at most. He looked up and smiled to me, using his foot to spin a chair around near him. He wanted me to join him.

I had nothing particularly exciting to be doing otherwise because, for the most part, everyone left me out of the decision making process, thinking I wasn't good enough or something. I guess maybe they thought I was incompetent—I was a celebrity, see, so that meant I was only capable of writing cheesy love songs and causing public drama for publicity purposes. Obviously. I let out an agitated breath of frustration and moved across the room to sit with my dad.

He was chewing his apple still as I sat down, and it was kind of gross, because he spit on me when he went to talk, "Hello—sorry!" He wiped his mouth, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I shrugged, lying bitterly.

"I doubt that," He said, seemingly able to read my mind. I diverted my eyes to stare at the floor, unable to keep eye contact. "I know you're an adult, Yamato. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. I'm not trying to pressure you."

I looked up at him, but just from the corner of my eye and saw that he was still half-reading his book, hardly paying attention. If he was able to be so casual right now, then why couldn't I? Takeru was just as important to him as he was to me. He was a quarter of our family. Or my family anyway—Dad's family expanded recently. "I just..." I tried, sighing in defeat when I couldn't find the words to express the way that I felt.

"I understand," he said without any knowledge of what I wanted to say. "Takeru is gone, but maybe not forever. You just learned that your friends are alive—that Gabumon is okay. Does that not give you any more hope that your brother, a symbol of universal hope, could also be alive and well?"

"No," I admitted, "Not really. That Coliseum was my last shred of hope, and he's not there. Why isn't he there? He was supposed to be there."

"But he's not," Dad said, understanding. "I get it."

"And if that wasn't enough," I said, leaning forward and digging my elbows into my legs in an attempt to ease whatever pent up aggression I had coursing through my body. "Sora's dating a random guy, which is fine I guess, but I mean, it kind of sucks because I waited three years for her. I mean, I waited longer—but since the last time I told her I'd wait—it's been three years. I'm a wanted criminal because the whole world doesn't like my opinion? I guess, which is highly presumptuous of them all—literally like, all of them, and I just want to scream all the time, but I can't because if I do I'll be found and locked away for an eternity just because I love something, and obviously the world doesn't think I deserve love because everything I've ever loved has been ripped away from me in horrible, painful ways, and I keep having dreams about the virus—I don't know anything about it aside from a button. I keep having nightmares of someone pushing it and sending out more of the virus, this time to Earth, just to finish the job, but weirdly it doesn't make me sad or scared, because I kind of welcome it—it's only frightening when I wake up and realize that I just kind of willingly died, which is basically suicide even though it isn't, and it just sucks a lot." I took a deep breath, forcing the tears to stay back, "and I just want to destroy whoever pressed that stupid button. I want to watch them bleed and die."

I leaned back, frustrated as I dug my hands into my pant legs, and I saw that Sora was staring directly toward me, tears in her eyes. It wasn't just her though, everyone was looking at me now, and it was really embarrassing. I nervously looked toward Dad and he leaned toward me, "You love me, don't you?"

"Of course."

"I'm still here," he said calmly.

"I know," I told him, my voice weak. I looked up to him and he half smiled. "How are you?" I asked, not expecting an answer really.

"You know how I am," Dad had avoided the question, as I expected.

"I'm sorry for acting so much like a child," I practically pouted, "You're right. I'm an adult. I need to start acting like one. I want you to tell me, I can handle talking to you about Fumiko if that's the problem."

"Ah," Dad said awkwardly, "Well... you see, Fumiko and I—"

"Look!" Jenna's voice cut through our conversation and we all turned toward the television that we had recently moved out onto the counter. We all turned as one to see Shigoto Fujimoto standing in a grassy field on the television. I jumped from my seat quickly, moving directly toward the television. What did he want this time? Was it going to be more trouble?

"...actually understanding what he's up to is not as simple as you wish for it to be," Shigoto was saying to a pretty reporter woman.

"Who?" Sora asked, "What's he talking about?" Many hisses erupted from our little crowd, telling her to hush up so we could hear the monitor better.

"Not even I, his trusted companion fully understand the makings of the man's mind." Shigoto admitted, "But it just proves that to win a war, muscle and strength are not all that is required. Brains can sometimes win just as easily."

"You know they can." Katsue proclaimed, walking in through the studio with a sly grin on her face, "We've got him."

"How?" Jenna asked.

"We've got a great new video to show the people." Katsue seemed all too pleased with herself. She looked to my dad and tossed him a memory key. He caught it by the strap and looked up to her, "Broadcast it."

"As it seems, he is nearly ready to take action," Shigoto was saying on the screen as Dad pulled up a laptop. He couldn't seriously be planning to broadcast it from right here, could he? That would be insane. "As voted by the people..." I stopped listening because Dad was already heading out the door. He had smartened up and was getting ready to broadcast Katsue's video.

Natsuni, who normally chose to tag along with my father decided against this I noticed, as her eyes looked over to him and then back to the television, but Jenna and Chi had gone out after him. I decided it was time for me to get back outside too. They couldn't really stop me; my dad had just said it after all. I was an adult, and I could do as I pleased.

I rushed toward the door, not before collecting my makeshift disguise of a sweater and a jacket and rushed out after them. "Wait!" I paused and looked back to see Gomamon, rushing up to me, "I want to come." I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't my choice to keep him locked up like this, so I caught him as he jumped into my arms. I caught the others just as my dad had started the engine of his vehicle and I threw open the door to the back seats, jumping in.

"Shouldn't you be inside?" Chi asked me, eyeing me up.

"No," I said flatly. Dad and I locked eyes in the rear-view mirror, but he nodded and hit the gas. Whatever Arnold was doing had sparked something in my chest. It just felt like it was time. Time to get something done. If Arnold wanted to keep fighting, then I would fight back harder, and right now, the only way for me to do that was to get the hell out of that damned restaurant and into the real world. I wasn't going to let my friends be taken from me. Not that Arnold had directly threatened that, but I just found out that most of them were alive, and I wasn't going to risk whatever it was he was up to.

"What do you think Arnold is up to then?" Chi said, looking to me politely. For a second I actually thought he'd read my mind, but he just seemed curious. After all, he'd just seen the television too.

"Could be anything," Gomamon said nervously, looking out the window of the moving vehicle, obviously excited to be seeing something aside from the inside of a tent or a restaurant. He certainly had it worse than I had. At least I had a working shower—kind of. I had a flushing toilet, so there's that. All he had was a tent and some half-witted company.

"I think I have some ideas," Jenna said nervously. "A while back, when I first met Veronica, she told me about this kind of antenna thing that could keep digimon out of its boundaries. What if they created a larger signal so that any digimon in the world would be pushed from their homes and brought to one location? Or they could use whatever that radar thing is that Marshall mentioned, I don't know what that is, but it seems bad. Or, maybe they've come up with a way to delete digimon but not humans and plan to send that virus out into the world."

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Chi said, ready to hurl. "Can we change the subject now?"

Jenna looked to him, spinning around from her chair in the front and reached back to take his hand but his eyes were shut tight, "Sorry, I was just theorizing. I didn't mean to sound insensitive."

"It's not that," he admitted, "It's nothing, sorry."

"If you say so," Jenna said, her eyes narrowing in on him suspiciously.

Dad, without saying a word, pulled to a stop near a burger shop and pushed his seat back, pressing my legs against my own seat, but I didn't mind. He pulled the laptop into his seat and began plugging things in to an odd black box he had in his glove compartment. "This should be good. Katsue has a lot of new information."

We all sat and waited for the video to begin playing, excitement building. This could be the information we needed to exploit Arnold, get him sent to prison and shed some light on the situation. It wouldn't convince everyone by any means, but it would surely convince some people to join our cause.

And then a pop up appeared on the screen with a caution sign. "What?" Dad asked, his voice rising with anger immediately. He leaned forward to better understand what the dialogue was telling him. "This isn't right..."

"What's happening?" Gomamon asked.

"I don't... I don't know." Dad admitted.

"Give it to Chi," Jenna suggested, "He's good with computers. He's pretty smart."

Chi looked embarrassed to be receiving such praise, but did not have time to react in whatever way he was going to because my dad had handed him the computer quickly. Chi leaned forward, his expression straightening out as he examined the computer screen. "It appears," he said, and then paused. I could tell Jenna and Dad felt the same sense of anticipation that I felt as he began typing away. "Yes, just as I thought."

"What did you think?" I practically snapped.

"The signal is blocked," he said simply, "And, if you give me a minute or two I should be able to calculate the exact location of the block."

"How did they block it?" Jenna asked, her face screwing up in thought, "Did they block any radio or video signals? Did they block this computer? Are they on to us? Do they know what we're doing? What if—"

"As it seems," Chi said, cutting short her panic, "the block is a general act of privacy and control. The only signals that can make it through must be regulated back at..." he paused, "Arnold's base."

"Okay," Jenna said, "Can we stop giving him all the credit? He's just one douche bag. Let's call it the EVOLVE headquarters or something, because him going down in history as a big baddie is making my skin crawl. He doesn't deserve the credit."

"I will keep that in mind for the future," Chi nodded, looking back to the computer. "I can try to hack it, but you should know that it appears to have many codes involved and any or all of them could be a trap."

"Then don't," Dad said quietly, "We'll go to EVOLVE headquarters, and we'll take down the block from inside."

"Is that safe?" Jenna asked, worried. "I don't think I want to do anything that's going to cause an issue for, well..." she glanced my way but didn't bother speaking the name aloud.

"It's fine," I said, agreeing with Dad, "we should go. We can't let them think they have the upper hand because if they've set up this block right as Arnold is preparing to attack—" I was interrupted because Dad had started the van already and had hit the gas. I wrote out a text message to Sora and was about to send it, but instead changed the address to Natsuni, and then hit send. I needed to know what the rest of the program had said, and I just wasn't in the mood to talk to Sora anymore. At least not right now.

Dad had already driven half of the way to Kanto, which was where we all knew EVOLVE to be. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be hidden, but it certainly wasn't, and I wasn't complaining. It certainly made our lives easier at the very least. Gomamon repositioned himself in my lap to get a better look out the window and Chi grabbed Jenna's hand as she reached over her seat to comfort him. She could tell he was nervous even from where she sat. I looked to him and noticed that he was sweating and his leg was bouncing up and down. I guess he'd never been included in anything as intense as this before, it seemed odd to think someone so old hadn't been involved with digimon. It had made up most of my life now, or at least more than half.

When Dad finally pulled to a stop we were down the street from Arnold's base—or EVOLVE's headquarters. Dad turned to us and held up his phone, "Does everyone have one of these?"

"Yes, Dad," I said like a child listening to his father's warnings for the hundredth time.

"Use them." His voice was very serious as he shook the phone to ensure we all understood him. "I will only slow you down, I will stay outside. My legs can't carry me as fast as they once could."

"Oh boo," Jenna said, pushing his arm, "you're not that old." Dad grinned at her, I suppose he took it as some kind of compliment. "But stay if you want, keep Gomamon with you, it would be suicide to bring him inside. And I promise we'll use the invisibility and the shields. We'll be okay." Dad nodded and kicked his door open before pulling himself out into the streets. I opened my own door and held Gomamon in my arms. Chi and Jenna met us around our side of the car and as one we all activated the invisibility on our phones. "Pretty cool that we're invisible," Jenna said as I felt someone grab at my arm. I didn't know who it was, but it was smart to keep together. I was holding Gomamon so I couldn't continue the chain though. "I mean, did you ever think you would actually get to be invisible?"

"No," Dad admitted with a sheepish laugh. "That's true."

"It's not the strangest thing that's happened to me," Chi said, which I almost didn't believe. He'd only been involved in this ordeal for a few months, there was no way he'd gone through something weirder than walking invisibly through the streets of Kanto. No one really talked much after that aside from Jenna whistling softly so we could all keep together.

Then we all turned the corner together, or at least I assumed we were all still together, and we found the EVOLVE building. "I think I'll wait by the door," Dad said as whoever was holding my arm pulled me further. A car horn went off and Chi let out a mangled scream, which was troubling because he couldn't be this scared if he was going to be breaking in with us, but also good, because now I knew he actually was still with us.

When we'd come near enough to the building it seemed that there was some kind of barrier keeping our technology from working to its full capacity because as Jenna walked over the border she became visible again. She looked to her phone in a panic, but Dad had already followed her through, and I found that it was his arm holding mine. But just when it seemed I should have been making my way through the barrier I was stopped by something around my stomach and I flipped sideways before falling to the pavement, revealing myself. Gomamon fell to the ground a few feet away.

"Hey!" he complained, moving toward me, "Don't leave me out here!" He walked toward me and then seemingly walked straight into a wall. "Ow!"

"What's going on?" Chi asked from the other side of the barrier. Gomamon suddenly turned invisible once more as Chi scooped him up, "Why can't he get through?"

"I guess it's because of that antenna thing," Jenna said, "They don't want digimon inside. It's keeping their genetic makeup away from this particular location. It's gross." I nodded, it really was.

"If we can't remain invisible we should leave," Dad insisted, "I don't want to be seen, and I don't want any of you to be seen either. He was quick to move back across the border, and Jenna reached for me to help me to my feet. "Perhaps I can find a way to air this at work. It's not impossible to broadcast things there, you know."

"If you think it will work," I agreed.

"I want to go in anyway." Jenna said flatly. "I don't think we can just leave. This is a really good plan! I meant it isn't thought out well, not at all. But we'll never take down the block if we don't do it from inside."

"Maybe we can do it here?" Dad suggested, "Just using their network might work."

"I can try," Chi agreed.

"Come in the barrier," Jenna said quickly.

"Maybe we could use Tako?" I suggested, "She seems to have had a change of heart."

"Oh has she?"

Jenna and I spun to see a girl with a long dark braid, smirking in the light of the cloud covered sun. "Veronica!" Jenna hissed. To Veronica's left was Ricky or Tyler, and to her right was Marshall who was standing next to the other twin. All four of them looked angry beyond compare, but it was Veronica who had the wildness in her eyes, like she was ready to pounce.

"I knew I couldn't trust you," Veronica said with a sudden smirk, "Good thing I didn't tell you anything."

"Except a lie about how your parents are dead," Jenna said bitterly. "What kind of freak wants to be an underdog? Why would you create a tragic back story? You don't find yourself interesting enough? Well you're plenty interesting. I read once that sociopaths can be the most interesting actually."

Veronica wasted no more time with pleasantries, getting so angry at Jenna in such a sudden impulse, and she lunged forward, her hands out, ready to grab Jenna's throat. Jenna quickly moved out of the way and Veronica grabbed at her intricate braid, "I've been waiting for this!" Veronica screamed throwing Jenna to ground by pulling sharply on her hair, "to get revenge on the bitch who turned on me."

I wasn't about to let her beat Jenna up, and even though I already felt guilty about hurting a girl so recently, I knew I had to do it again. I pushed her sharply off of Jenna before she could bring her boot down on the fallen girl's face. Veronica tripped and fell to the ground.

Before I knew what was happening I was experiencing the sharpest of pains in the back of my head. I gasped and tried to see through the stars. I managed to make out Tyler and Ricky as they pinned me to the wall, the one on the left was prepared to punch me, but Jenna grabbed his leg and twisted, bringing him down too. With the change in weight I was able to slip out of the other twins grasp in time to see Marshall walking toward the barrier.

"I know there are more of you out there!" he shouted, his voice thick with rage, "Come fight me!"

There was a sudden crack as something smacked against the side of Marshall's face. I knew it had been my dad, but I wanted him to stay hidden, and I wanted him to take Gomamon and go. It seemed he had taken Gomamon suddenly because Chi had caused himself to become visible, standing with his fists raised. He looked a little scrawny, like he wasn't going to be any match at all for Marshall, and judging by the look on his face, he knew that too.

Marshall lunged for Chi who panicked and side stepped and stuck his foot out to trip Marshall. I didn't get to see the outcome of that because the twin who was still standing had grabbed me by the shoulders and actually thrown me through the air. I heard a loud scream from one of the girls, but couldn't see who it was because the twin was barrelling toward me with a fiery look in his eye. I knew I had to fight back, but how? I wasn't a warrior, I was simply... I was Yamato. I let Gabumon fight everything for me. But not this time.

I clenched my fist tightly and swung with as much force as I could muster, but the punch barely grazed the side of the man's face, and his fist, which somehow seemed to be at least twice the size of my own, slammed into my stomach.

I grunted in pain as he punched me again, and again, and then, I forced myself to move, no matter how much it hurt. I leapt backwards and watched as my limbs turned invisible. Sure it was playing dirty, but it was how they wanted to play the game, I was just following the rules. And there were no rules. I glanced over the twins shoulder and spotted the other twin fighting an invisible foe, my father, and Jenna and Veronica. The latter of the girls was simply trying to pull all the blond hair she could get her hands on, but Jenna was going for the kill. She was swinging her fists around wildly, ready to beat the crap out of Veronica. And then I glanced to Chi who was thrown back by Marshall and he slammed painfully into the barrier. I winced and realized I was fighting too.

I ducked my head down and ran full force toward the twin in front of me, knocking him over.

"This is getting old!" Jenna shouted loudly as she finally got a good punch in, hitting Veronica in the side of the head, knocking her off her feet. I grinned stupidly as Jenna winced in pain and together we turned to see the other twin being tripped, probably by Gomamon, as he fell into the barrier.

And then there was Marshall, grabbing Chi's throat, pinning him up against the barrier. Chi was gasping for breath, clawing away at Marshall's thick hands, unable to stop him. I was already on my way to save him, but my dad had gotten there first, hitting Marshall's face. He dropped Chi and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Why?" Jenna asked. I looked to her and she looked horrified. Marshall turned to Chi and swung his foot back, hitting him directly in the stomach, causing him to flop over. I took another step, but Jenna grabbed my arm. "Why isn't he going through the barrier?"

And then I turned, realization washing over me as Marshall kicked Chi one more time, causing him to groan in pain.

"Alright." Chi said, rolling over and jumping to his feet. He glanced to Jenna, horror and sadness written all over his face and he reached out his hand as something glowed before him. A long green pointed weapon, a scythe it seemed, formed out of thin air and he gripped it tight. "Back off," Chi said boldly. "Get away from my friends." He swung his scythe without hesitation and Marshall jumped backward and into the barrier where Chi couldn't reach him.

"Take them inside." I turned sharply at the sound of the new voice and found Director Arnold standing in the doorway, a smile creeping on his face when he laid eyes on me, "Oh good. You've finally come. I've been expecting you."

Marshall and whatever twin was still able to walk properly grabbed Jenna and I, but not before I turned in a last attempt to escape. I caught sight of Chi staring at Jenna, tears in his eyes. And then wings shot from his back and he kicked off the ground flying.

He was getting help. He had to be getting help.

We needed help.

Next Time on Digimon Adventure 07: It's chapter 22 next time, with Daisuke and Jenna as they try to find a way to safety.