Justimon was there to meet the Digidestined as they walked in to the hall of the Digital World Confederation's main building at a spot that was roughly the center of the Digital World. The Questioners had been in the Digital World for a week but, needed the time to rest and, set up the meeting. Everybody was dressed neatly in copies of the outfit given to them by the Powers that Be.

Justimon held out his hand, "Greetings General Hayashi."

Haru took the hand, "Greetings. Perhaps we can skip the formalities. We need to know what Tempusmon did while you were gone."

Justimon nodded, "Of course!" He gestured out, "If you'll follow me." As they walked Justimon commented, "I think you have reason to be proud of your Confederation."

Steven spoke formally, "Just because unifying the Digital World was our idea it was its citizens who did the work. If it is anyone's Confederation, it is the Digital World'."

Yuki whispered to Beelzemon, "I thought it was the Digital World Confederation."

Queenchessmon overheard, "That's Steven's point."

Yuki nodded in understanding as Justimon laughed, "True enough. However, we do have to thank you for suggestion unification without suggesting that it be your Confederation and, for that it is yours enough."

Haru sighed, "We're a neutral group of guardians."

Their guide laughed again and, then laid out a fact, "The Confederation is yours the same way the title of Digidestined is. You did not ask for it but, you appear to be doing right by it."

The Diplomat cut in to get them back on track, "Since it is clear that we have a difference of opinion on the matter and, neither side appears to be able to convince the other it might be best to move on."

Justimon nodded, "Of course." He led them into a conference room, "Well first you must know that the citizens of the Confederation have pretty much all gathered to a center point while Tempusmon's followers are keeping to the outer edges."

Steven sighed, "So I guess pretty much everyone has picked a side."

Justimon nodded, "The prelude to war is over. The battle has begun. Tempusmon's forces attack almost every day but, the only lost was when we lost the Demon Lords. Every prisoner is given trial and, we strive to maintain a balance between Mercy and Justice. We are putting a school system in place. Induvial nations are still respected but, our currency is the same throughout the Confederation. In addition, Confederation forces have destroyed three different wedding venues on three different occasions."

Queenchessmon was shocked by that, "Well Tempusmon has certainly gotten bold if he's building wedding venues."

Petra was horrified, "Three of them! Why?"

The Lord of the Dead had the answer, "I'm guessing because they keep being destroyed."

Justimon kept his voice light as he mentioned, "Invitations burnings are become scheduled events."

Haru spoke slowly, "He's sending out invitations. How crazy is he?" The General of Trust realized that Yuki was paying more attention to her Digiwatch then to the conversation, "Yuki! Pay attention!"

Yuki sighed as she dropped her wrist, "I'm sorry. I stopped paying attention when I realized that we we're talking about Tempusmon's obsession with me."

Steven was aghast, "Why? His obsession with you concerns, well, you!"

The Programmer whined, "But it's old news. Like since that picnic with Tempusmon old news." She was clearly put out, "Snice he isn't after me right this moment I don't care anymore."

Steven was about to fuss some more when Wormmon leapt to her defense, "She's right. We're all acting like this is new information but, it's not. I'm more interested in the fact that the Confederation citizens are all in the central part of the Digital World."

Justimon nodded, "Of course. We lost the Demon Lords a few days after you left for the Real World. After that several nations proposed the idea of coming together so that way there wouldn't be as many gaps. It wasn't long before the rest followed. Right now the Confederation Council is discussing building a wall."

Haru shook his head, "I'm not sure about that. If we do that it will be like ceding part of the Digital World to Tempusmon."

Justimon reminded the Questioners, "The Questioners have a seat on the Council. The next Council meeting is tomorrow."

The Diplomat dipped his head in respect, "Thank you for the reminder. However right now we do need more information about what happened while we were gone."

Justimon flicked a switch to dim the lights and, then pulled up a display, "It would be my honor."

**Scene Change**

Sometime later the Questioners left the Confederation building. Haru let out a groan, "I hate political organizations. Military groups are much simpler."

Steven laughed, "That's why you have me. I'll take care of the politics. You just worry about beating up the enemies."

Haru grinned, "Sounds like a plan to me." Then he shifted to the tone of voice everyone present recognized as his General tone, "Speaking of politics I need you to go to the next Confederation Council Meeting to do two things."

The Diplomat asked, "Which are?"

Haru answered, "Advise against the wall but, recommend regular patrols along the edge of Confederation land. That seems like a good compromise between safety and freedom to me."

The Digidestined of Ambition nodded, "Understood. And the second thing."

The Digidestined of Trust sighed, "I want to see if you can convince the Confederation that the time dilation should be the main priority. We might not actually be cut off but, we might as well be. We need to fix that."

Steven nodded, "Can do."

Haru reminded him, "We don't want to be controlling. They can stand on their own, obviously. Just let them know what we think."

It was clear that Yuki was trying not to be condescending, "We think that while the time dilation is important it would be next to impossible to fix right now."

Haru was confused, "What do you mean?"

Yuki sighed, "I thought I told you this already. The time dilation might be a Hack but, it is also tied to the Core of the Digital World and the Psychic Net. Part of the reason it's so bad is because Digimon are thinking it that way."

Peter was still confused, "So we just pick a date and time to have all the Digimon think, 'Time in all the dimensions synch up' for however long it takes. Right?"

Yuki shook her head, "You would need more than a majority in all the worlds to do so. We could go to the Real World and, maybe make it work but, not here in the Digital World. Or did you not see that map Justimon showed us?"

Terriermon got it, "There are more followers of Tempusmon than there are Confederation citizens. Even if we got the neutrals to think it, it still wouldn't be enough."

His twin continued, "That doesn't even count however many followers he has in the Real World. We don't know how of those there are how Digimon agree with us or how many neutrals there are in the Real World."

Patamon summed it up, "We can't fix it Haru. I know we want to. But we can't."

The looks on Agumon's and Haru's faces were matched disbelief. Agumon whispered a question, "Then what do we do?"

Worrmon dejectedly spoke, "We wait for something to change. That's all we can do right now."

Haru was angry and, he paused to throw a punch at a wall, "This isn't right, Tempusmon has the advantage. He always has and, he always will."

Venusmon rushed to remind the General of Trust, "That's not true! For one thing we have four Melds now and, he only has three Demon Lords."

It was Agumon's turn to play reminder, "Yeah but, the moment Ambitiomon showed up he gave the Demon Lord the Planet Hack. How long until he figures out a way to combine the Legion Hack and the Planet Hack? How much do you want to bet that he has activated his own Legion Hack? It's a damn arms race. Every war is and, we just can't keep up."

There was silence until Haru spoke with his fist still against the wall, "There's nothing we can do to get ahead. We just have to hope we catch up fast enough to stand a chance."

Then Anubismon quietly asked, "Then what do we do now?"

There was silence. No one knew the answer to that question. In fact, it was just another in a long list of questions they didn't have the answer to. The more the group of fifteen though about it the more they realized that they would just have to keep doing their best; just like they always had. No one said that out loud though. That wasn't what the Lord of the Dead had been asking and everybody knew that. He wanted some action they could take. That was what they all wanted. That didn't mean any of them knew the answer.

Steven looked from face to face and, saw the same expression on everyone no matter how hard they tried to hide it. They were all tired. It wasn't physical exhaustion. It was mental as they struggled to think passed the loop they all had been stuck in snice they had been first called as Digidestined. It was an emotional weight that had dragged on them ever since deciding that Tempusmon was their enemy. To put it simply the Questioners were tired of this war that had been going on for so long that no one really knew how long it had been. They were exhausted from the battles were there had been next to no reprieve. They were looking for the end and, when there was no end in sight they despaired. No one dared voice it though. They didn't want to been seen as weak, or cowards or, make it seem like they wanted out. Steven pressed his lips in determination. He knew what the next action should be.

The oldest of this batch of Digidestined spoke carefully, "We should play a game."

Haru had been looking at the ground but he turned to look at his best friend in disbelief, "We don't have time for games Steven."

Steven fooled everyone except his Partner and Keeper into thinking he was nonchalant about the whole idea, "I was thinking soccer or baseball or kickball or something. The Digimon could all Warp Digivolve and, then we could split into two teams with one referee. It seemed like a good way to work on our teamwork. But whatever."

Haru latched on to the idea, "No! It is a good idea. There's an exercise my old high school coach used. It wouldn't take that long to set up a field. It would be three teams of five each though and, it's not really proper soccer."

Petra shrugged, "I'm game if everyone else it."

Her Partner nodded, "Me too!"

Peter and Terriermon shared a look before Peter answered for the both of them, "Sounds more fun than regular training exercises. Count us in."

Anubismon spoke right after his charge did, "Works for me."

Queenchessmon was very impressive with her student's manipulations and, given that she agreed with the true purpose nodded in agreement, "Very well. It's not like we have anything better to do."

Alphamon was game but, he just said, "If I might make a suggestion. We should mix things up so Partners, Keepers and, Digidestined aren't all on the same teams that they are used to. It might make situations like the one where the Programmer and I went after the spy just a bit easier."

Yuki looked up at Beelzemon, "If we do that you can't cheat."

Beelzemon nodded as he smirked, "When have I ever gone easy on you in training?"

Patamon was eager, "When do we start?"

Haru was flat out grinning in pure anticipation, "As soon as we get playing field set up."

When that was said and, the whole plan had been approved there were exclamations of happiness and eagerness. The Questioners hurried to a playing field close by that they knew the Confederation wouldn't mind them using. Steven went with them with a smirk on his face instead of a grin. It wasn't perfect. The group really need a break from the entire war, including training but, the Diplomat would take what he could get. With a little poking in the right place and a little prodding at the right time the so called training would devolve into good clean competitive fun between friends. That was just what the young warriors, incredibly brave and determined but still so young, needed; good old fashioned, nothing to worry about fun.

**Scene Change**

The soccer game had been interesting since Haru said there were no team goals. If the ball made it into a goal that team got a point. Haru, Steven and, Alphamon had been selected as team captains. Haru's team, the blue team, consisted of Petra Beelzemon, Queenchessmon and, Metalgargomon. The yellow team, Steven's team, consisted of Anubismon, Venusmon, Wargreymon and, Seraphimon. The last team, the blue team, consisted of Yuki, Peter, Banchostingmon and, Cherubimon. They were led by Alphamon. Then Haru said that any attacks were fair game and, any abilities were good but, there couldn't be any injuries. Other than that normal soccer rules applied. At the last moment Jusitimon showed up and, volunteered to be the referee. Then the game began.

There was no time limit, it was first to ten and, for the first ten minutes people just played like it was regular soccer. Then Haru took a shot he knew he couldn't miss to gain the first point of the game. Suddenly a brick wall appeared at the goal area line causing the ball to bounce off. The General turned to see his Programmer with glowing eyes being protected by his Keeper. That was when Haru realized he was going to lose. Than Petra send down a burst of Heart Core energy right behind Yuki. The Digidestined of Victory jumped and, the wall fell. Haru grinned; maybe he wouldn't lose after all.

He had been erroneous the second time. The red team didn't manage to score more than a couple of points and, the yellow team got three. All five points had been early in the game when Yuki was distracted. Then the blue team figured out how to play to their best advantage. Peter and Alphamon guarded Yuki while she Digiprogrammed to block the goal for anyone but her team. Banchostingmon and Cherubimon were the ones that actually played. Once Steven got the bright idea to use the Psychic Net to cause the Digimon unbearable pain. Peter just sent a spark of Soul Core energy every time that happened to mess with his focus. Still the red team and the yellow team gave a good showing and, it took the blue team three hours to get the required ten points.

At the end of the game Haru collapsed to put his head between his knees. He looked up as Yuki came over, "Good game."

Yuki laughed as moved to copy the actual athlete's pose, "You can't beat Victory."

Haru laughed slightly, "Are you saying you've never lost once in your life?"

Yuki shrugged, "It depends on your definition of Victory I suppose. I didn't win a lot of sporting events at school and, I don't always beat carnival games." She shrugged again, "But I never considered those worth the effort it would take to win." She smiled again, "I beat every computer game I play the first time I play it though and, I survived living with an abusive father with most of my sanity. That's Victory enough."

Haru laughed, "Well if we aren't every going to beat you at soccer you're on my team next time."

Petra heard that last part, "Will there be a next time."

The General laughed, "I expect so because I Trust that the next time Steven thinks we need to take a break he'll tell us."

Steven winced but, smiled, "Ouch. Found out."

Haru got up to start stretching, "You hate soccer."

The Diplomat shrugged to concede the General's point, "Did it work?"

Haru look at his group of warriors. They looked a lot better than they had three hours ago. They were exhausted true but, they all had smiles on their faces and, looked ready to laugh their heads off at a moment's notice. They were starting to look like people again instead of zombies. Haru nodded to answer Steven's question.

He told the Diplomat, "You did good. I think tonight we'll each take an impossibly long bath and, then play one of those slumber party games you see on America television. We'll fall asleep when we fall asleep and, wake up when we wake up. After a big breakfast we'll spend tomorrow being people. Then the day after we can go back to being warriors."

Steven nodded, "Sounds perfect."

Queenchessmon commented, "And wise."

**Scene Change**

Yuki sleepily protested as she felt her pillow move, "No." She wrapped her arms tighter around the warm body, "Sleepy."

Petra was desperate, "I know but, I need to go to the bathroom."

With a sleepy sigh of displeasure Yuki released her captive. She didn't open her eyes as she twisted to get comfortable again. She found something solid but, that fit the curve of her neck perfectly. She wrapped both arms around it and, sighed happily. Peter twisted just a bit at the added pressure on his right arm but, didn't move much. Petra came back and, studied the pile for a moment before squeezing back in next to Haru at the edge of the pile. Haru's arm was just lying out and, the older twin placed her head on the curve of his shoulder and, wrapped her arms around his abdomen. Haru didn't stir at all.

Beelzemon, Queenchessmon and, Alphamon didn't need much sleep so they had traded off watches. Alphamon was coming in to wake Beelzemon up when he saw what he did. Steven was the center of the pile and, he was on his back with both his arms outstretched. Haru's head was on one shoulder with his arms out as well. One was pinned beneath Steven's back and, the other shoulder had been claimed by Petra's head. She was on her side with her arms wrapped around Haru. Steven's other arm had both Peter and Yuki on it. Peter was on his stomach with his arm trapped by Yuki. Her knees were bent. Wormmon was curled up on Haru's chest while Agumon was squeezed in-between Steven's and Peter's knees. Patamon was an orange ball in the space created by Haru's and Steven's heads. Terriermon was between Yuki's knees and chest and, Lopmon had one paw on Peter's back with her feet on Agumon's head. Her ears were pinned between Yuki and Peter. It was a massive dog pile of fluff and cuddles made up sleepy young adults and their Partners.

Alphamon scoffed good naturedly before shoving at Beelzemon who was a sleep on the couch, "It's your watch."

The Demon Lord stretched out, "Alright." He carefully stepped over the Digidestined, "I'll wake Queenchessmon up in four hours."

Alphamon fell onto the couch, "Got it."

Author's Note: LadyAnnaLee here! How are you all this week? So this chapter is mainly for our heroes to unwind. The war is about to begin so they have to be at their very best. I didn't get any reviews. I hope everyone is doing alright and, isn't dead or injured or sick. Please don't be dead or injured or sick because that's bad. It's a short Note this week but, please remember to review and, ask questions and, forgive typos! I'll see you next week. Love, LadyAnnaLee.

PS. I do not own Digimon. Anything you recognize is not mine.