Author's Note
For anyone interested in progress updates, early previews, or fic commission services, I now have a Patron set up! Patron perks are set up for fic commissions, beta reading, or even turning your story into an audio book! You can find me there at arpulver and please let me know you're here for the fic as it's mainly tied to System Restore.
Nexusworld
I'm obsessed when you're near me.
I confess I get tightly wound. It's a relative theory.
Ain't no way I should risk it, but every time you come around,
I play the game I've resisted.
- Eric Stuart Band, "Lipstick and Barbed Wire"
Episode 16
Ewan Amano scoured every corner of the kitchen for traps even before he unpacked. Every cabinet, every appliance, every doorway carried the threat of a potential welcome present from Airu. Escaping her clutches forever was a futile thought. This was home now, and extended far beyond the kitchen to points he needed to reach but couldn't inspect as thoroughly. All he knew for certain was from the moment he arrived, he was a hunted man.
Tommy didn't go along with such paranoia, but at least helped put the silverware back in the drawers. "Part of me wants to say you're being ridiculous. But I've had times with Suzie where I've felt like doing this."
"You don't appreciate what sort of force we're dealing with here, Tommy," said Ewan, ducking under the table to check for explosives.
"You really underestimate Suzie but okay. If you really think she's a problem you can get Command to ban her from the prep area."
"There's two problems with that. One is she won't care. Two is I'd have to tell them what happened when she cornered me at the festival."
"You made out with her."
Ewan stared back, mouth agape. "How did you…?!"
Tommy met him with a bright smile. "Airu had to explain what happened to Michael, Michael mentioned something to Yolei at the festival, and once Yolei hears something like that forget it!"
"Wonderful…" he moaned.
"Do you think you might be focusing all your energy on avoiding her instead of figuring out how you really feel about her?"
In a sudden burst of rage, Ewan shouted, "I know exactly how I feel about her!"
"Good!" Tommy grinned back, undaunted. "Cool! How exactly do you feel about her?"
Ewan glared back. He wasn't lying: he did know exactly how he felt. Saying it out loud would only invite more problems.
Tommy only laughed. "And here I thought I wouldn't have any fun without Mimi. This'll be great!"
With another laugh, he walked out, his job done for the day. Ewan was grateful Mimi had already prepped a service so he wouldn't have too much on his plate his first day. This was his time to familiarize himself with the area, organize everything to his liking, and prepare for unwelcome visitors.
Half an hour later, he found himself taking a full inventory of everything in the pantry, unnecessary but a more practical obsession. New menu ideas had formed, along with a picture of what they needed for his usual options. For a fleeting moment, he was comfortable.
He didn't hear the door open behind him, so he jumped in shock when it slammed shut. There she was: no traps, no smirk, not even a partner Digimon floating alongside her. Airu looked naked without them. That only made him more anxious.
"Drew the short straw, huh?" She locked the door behind her. "Lucky you."
"Ryouma told you about that…" He gritted his teeth, voice hushed.
She shook her head. "Sora told Mimi, Mimi told TK… one of my secret microphones picked it up." Her hands settled on her pronounced hips; his eyes strayed down to them against his will. "So… why didn't you want to see me after all the fun we had last time?"
"Fun?! I…" Thinking back to the festival made his veins pop. "I shouldn't have done that. Even if you don't feel guilty about… God, anything you do… I crossed a line."
Airu laughed in response, only upsetting him further. Part of him hoped maybe she'd back off after he more or less assaulted her. Yes, this was a terrible thought. No, it wasn't the reason he did it. The truth was far worse.
"Lines are for losers." She swayed closer. "And we aren't losers. We're two superior people who enjoy each other's company."
"I don't enjoy your company!" His raised voice made her recoil. As he forced it down, his hands shook. "I don't want to be anywhere around you!"
Airu exaggerated a pout. "Really? Your lips say otherwise."
The shaking grew. Ewan forced his eyes off her. "You don't have any idea. Just… don't take that to mean I like you."
"You don't do that if you don't have any feelings for me. Spit it out."
He thought about trying to escape. Getting around her and reaching the door wouldn't be difficult. But he'd never be rid of her. Airu would keep hounding him, her relentless need to ruin his psyche continuing until he caved. Answering her wasn't going to make it stop, but at least the torment would be different.
His nerves still unsettled, he looked down into her eyes and confessed: "I detest you."
Airu's eyes widened and her smile fell, but that was as far as she'd be rattled. In fact, her lips curled back up with a vengeance as she giggled. She covered her mouth and looked down but couldn't contain a giddy excitement.
"That's…" Her tongue popped out through her teeth. "That's delightful!"
"How?!" In a reflexive, involuntary motion, his hands clutched the sides of her shoulders. Mere contact stirred something within him. Either it was the urge to strangle her or to pull her in close. He didn't know and he didn't want to. "It's horrible!"
Her hands brushed his extended arms. "Hate's a feeling too. It's all the same. In the end, cute, wonderful Ewan is still obsessed with adorable little Airu."
As he seethed, he only clutched her tighter. She drew closer. "And I know why too… getting all hot over someone you hate? That's pretty twisted."
He gulped. She didn't have to remind him. She really didn't have to remind him. His hastened breathing couldn't summon a phony denial.
"There's a dark side of you, isn't there? Something you don't want getting out." Airu wrapped her arms around his neck. "Show me."
"That's a-" It was all air. He misplaced his voice. With her body pressed against his, he somehow salvaged enough to say, "That's a bad idea." He knew what he was capable of. An entire far off Digital World knew what he was capable of. Avoiding Airu wasn't about his own peace of mind. It was about preserving hers.
She only shook her head. "Bad ideas are my favorite."
"Airu-" Before he could think of something to say, her mouth was on his, sharp and poisonous, leaving him helpless to control whatever either of them did next.
Pulling back only an inch, she whispered, "Do your worst."
Before she could take another breath, he had her pinned to the floor.
Sora Takenouchi stared over her prize: an empty kitchen in the same broken castle she'd been in the last two months. Winning the draw made this her new domain, exiling Ewan back to a cozier place with more of her friends than his. She fought back against that fate for idealogical reasons. This was about proving her move was about more than following a boy, thriving in a new land with the capability to act for herself. Demanding to stay, and even breaking up with Takuya, all supported her case. But what was she getting in return?
Performing the job itself wasn't a problem. She had the know-how and drive to keep everyone fed. Ewan's system was easy enough to understand, so she didn't bother reorganizing anything. Sora could hit the ground running without a single cheat day. She tied on her apron, rolled up her sleeves, and announced, "What do you think? How about we grill steaks for everyone?"
Nobody answered. No one was in the room. She looked around and frowned. She even wanted this, asking Biyomon for some time alone to get familiar with the space and generate some ideas without interruption. Without her, the tiny echo of her own voice annoyed her.
"No," she told herself. "I don't need B all the time." Sora convinced herself this was about kitchen logistics, that relying on Biyomon to get food out every day was a dangerous habit. If she couldn't do it alone, she was tackling too much.
She attacked dinner with plenty of gusto, finding the perfect recipe for a nice rub, gathering everything together, and whipping it up in no time. A bin carried all the potatoes she would need for a side, already peeled thanks to contributions from a surplus of bored hunters. Within an hour, meat was seasoned, potatoes were mashed, and a vegetable medley was ready for the skillet.
With a satisfied smile on her face and an even more satisfying smell in the air, Sora said, "See, I can handle this."
Again, nobody was in the room. Even if there was, she had nothing to prove. Nobody doubted her. That's why they wanted to her to do this at the other castle. Her impending success proved nothing.
Realizing that, she slowed down. Not to the detriment of the service, but enough to let her brain wander again. What happened after dinner? What was she doing? Who was she doing it with?
Before moving to Isthmian she never had to worry about it: she knew everyone and they were all starved for activity. Half the time she had been too social during the day and needed some alone time with a book or a nice bath. Now that her closest work relationship was Ryouma, that was never a problem. And without Takuya anchoring her nightlife, even the parts they didn't spend alone, she was left with few options. She couldn't say she didn't have friends around, but Izzy's idea of fun differed wildly from hers and the more she distanced herself from Matt, the more comfortable they both were.
Between the simmering steak drawing her into a trance and her mind drifting into depressing territory, the door swinging open came as a welcome distraction, even if it was only Ryouma. "Oh! You started already."
Sora checked the clock: she had another hour before dinner service began. Even going at it alone with a relatively cumbersome dish, she would still be ready on time.
"I found some steak we needed to use or freeze. I needed a head start."
"So I suppose I can send in the help now?"
She turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "The help?"
"Ewan suggested having more support in his exit interview with Matt. Hand-picked a couple hunters he thought could be trained to assist. Matt didn't mention that to you?"
"Matt hasn't said anything to me." She withheld the part about preferring it that way.
"That would explain why you're grilling those steaks now instead of the end of the month for the birthday celebration."
Sora's eyes widened in panic. "Birthday? Whose birthday?"
"Everyone's." Ryouma smirked. "Easier to keep track of."
She huffed. "Maybe Matt and I could communicate a little more…"
"Not to worry! I'm sure we can adjust the schedule. I'll even find the help for you. I bet they can boil water and everything."
"Yeah… um, sure." Messing up on the steaks was frustrating, but she could overlook that. With Matt in charge and Ryouma under him, it would probably be a regular occurrence. But she didn't know how to feel about assistance. The hunters as a whole were an odd crew, territorial and opportunistic. In a cooking competition, she reasoned plenty could whip up something miles better than she could. Working together to feed a castle? Then they were harder to trust.
But it was a start. Maybe they'd turn out to be decent kids. Maybe she'd even want to become friends with them. At the very least, maybe they'd drain her social battery enough to be content continuing to spend her nights in solitude. "Yeah, bring them in," she answered with more confidence.
"Of course." Ryouma bowed. "Oh, and happy birthday."
TK Takaishi wanted to pretend the command room wasn't engulfed in turmoil. That was getting harder and harder. Thanks to the fallout from the Yaddith attack, everyone upstairs had some sort of personal crisis to manage. The settlement denied outside leadership from both the team leaders and the five officers. That didn't change how anything functioned, not yet at least, but it was a harsh rebuke Tai couldn't help but take personally. Since TK's girlfriend was one of the dissidents, that threw him into the mire.
Then there was Thomas, supervising the investigation into how Yaddith emerged in the world. Even if Izzy did the bulk of the research, Thomas still carried the weight of organizing the information and delivering any findings, including anything damning Henry or the other tamers. The tamers were everywhere, the first allies to arrive in the Digital World after the digidestined. Their involvement with Yaddith shook everyone.
Henry wasn't in the room, preferring a more direct involvement with his Operations duties, no matter how mundane. For someone with the programming expertise to create a monstrosity like Yaddith, his sudden interest in auditing routine maintenance procedures to resolve inefficiencies was just sort of sad. Davis was out with the response team, no doubt hoping to help sort out the row between Ken and Rika. This time his pleas for forgiveness and acceptance weren't as impassioned as when Ken himself was on trial.
There was only one bright spot in the room, and it bewildered TK to no end: he'd never seen Kari happier.
Her infectious chuckle broke out even in response team communications. "Don't celebrate just yet, Tora. There's three more heading your way from the south." These were enemy positions she relayed. And to Astra no less, who had kept his distance from her since the festival. TK wouldn't usually question Kari having a bright attitude. But the timing was peculiar.
"Hey TK." Before he could listen in and gather hints, Tai called him over. "Hey, uh… you and Catherine are kind of a thing, right?"
TK expected this conversation. Not that anticipating it made it any more comfortable. He threw on a smirk and replied, "Hey, you're with Meiko now, you're not allowed to be jealous."
Tai narrowed his eyes. "Has she, uh… said anything?"
Despite the urge to stall further, TK skipped asking for clarification. He knew what Tai meant. "Yeah. She was really nervous the whole time, but everyone there was kind of on the same page. She's a little scared, but also really excited about the whole thing."
"Did she say what they were planning?"
"Tai, do you really think we spend all night talking shop?" TK raised his eyebrows and grinned. "We're way more fun that that."
"Do you…" Tai's eyes wandered. He settled on a half-smile. "Do you think you could ask?"
"Nope! I'm not playing mole." TK kept it cheerful. "At least not for you."
Tai raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you playing mole for her?"
With a bright smile, TK answered, "She's a lot cuter than you are!"
Before he made it back to his seat, Kari pulled off her headphones, stood, and faced both TK and Tai. "Tai? TK? I have an announcement to make."
"Please don't quit like Mimi did," said Tai. "I don't think I could handle TK running Communications."
TK smiled back. "Love you too, big brother."
Kari took a deep breath and unleashed: "Davis and I are now seeing each other."
Tai and TK both cocked their heads. Neither could come up with a sufficient response. TK couldn't decide whether the news itself or the method of announcement was more shocking.
Finally, Tai said, "Come on TK, where's all that sarcasm now?"
He couldn't summon it. His instinctual response was of concern. Now he was stuck figuring out why, and whether it was warranted.
"Tai, I'm only saying this because I don't want to keep it a secret from you," said Kari. "Is that all right?"
Tai shook his head, still bewildered. "I guess I'm just confused, that's all."
"Why? Is Davis really that bad?"
"No no… I'm confused he didn't announce it first." He shrugged. "If we're being honest I kinda thought this might happen. Don't do anything stupid, I guess."
"That's a high bar around Davis," muttered Thomas.
Still, with Tai's half-blessing, Kari smiled in triumph and returned to her chair. So did TK, though he was reluctant to say anything. He just watched as she resumed her duties… and whatever side conversation she had going with Astra.
"Okay, I did it. You were right, it feels good." TK forgot to put his own headphones on and missed Astra's response. By the time he donned them, she replied, "It so is! I'll let you guys finish up, okay?"
TK kept staring. Bad enough that he had all sorts of questions about how Kari could suddenly take a romantic interest in Davis. Now he wondered how Astra—who had gone out with both of them—had some sort of role in it all. There were too many variables to process, so he just sat there in bewilderment.
"You know you can ask about it, right?" she said. He wasn't sure if she was talking to him until she peeked over her shoulder.
"Can I?" He raised his eyebrows. "It's kinda weird to talk about."
"It's kind of weird to think about." She chuckled, facing forward again, a little smile still on her face. "But I kept Izzy a secret and that turned into a disaster. Maybe if we would have been more open we could have stopped it in time. So… unless you aren't comfortable."
"I don't know. You and Astra didn't bother me. Just meant you had weird taste." Her head bent down as her smile grew. "But Davis? I just… figured you both realized being friends was the right way to go. Like it was with us."
"I… thought so too." The smile fell. Her monitor turned dark as a page refreshed; her reflection revealed a blank stare. "But one night something just… clicked. And I knew what I wanted."
TK couldn't help but count the number of things wrong with that statement. He started with the first one: "One night?"
"Um… yeah. Every so often we'd get together to…" The eyes in the monitor looked straight back at him before diving back down. "…talk. You know… just about stuff."
He knew she wasn't giving him the full story. Deeply troubling as it was, he knew probing would only reveal worse. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.
Before he could decide whether to ask, she turned around to say, "You know what's weirdest about all this? I'm really glad this happened and being with Davis really is great and all… but do you know what makes me the happiest?"
TK leaned back, bracing himself for an answer that would disgust him. "What?"
Her head shook as she answered. "The best part… is just knowing this was the right thing. The first time I…" She paused, demurring for a moment before carrying on. "…kissed him… I was sure. You know I don't always feel that way. But I had this moment of, like, clarity… and I knew."
He smiled and nodded. "Well… congrats to you two I guess." She smiled back and turned back around, the monitor displaying a tracking log over her face. TK let his fake smile fall, glancing back at Tai, too busy staring out the window to read properly. It wasn't in the way he expected, but he was right: her answer disgusted him.
Izzy Izumi threw himself into this research project with more intensity and devotion than his usual work. He wanted to say it was due to the dire nature of the danger Yaddith posed. Anything coming that close to toppling a settlement needed to be understood and dealt with. But serious threats weren't uncommon in the Digital World. Every year or so something came along with the force capable of squashing them all. This one was special in its own way: it was the first assignment Command had given him since resigning as an officer.
That shouldn't have mattered. It wasn't his first crucial work since jumping ship. And he'd taken on a hundred others based on discoveries from his investigation team. Yet this time he had more pressure to find an answer. The fingertips on his keyboard carried more sweat and every false lead was a blow to his confidence.
It wasn't like he hadn't learned anything. He found Yaddith's code cached in Henry's computer, but it wasn't executed from there. The server hosting the file was buried under a wobbly tower fifteen miles west of the settlement. Nobody occupied it, but the patrol team made it a regular stop to make sure no unsavory characters tried to utilize it. They had last checked it only a month ago, with no irregularities reported. Izzy asked Thomas to have them check again.
He did at least confirm the reason for the Appmon vulnerability. Henry designed it to withstand Digimon, using a code to diminish the effects of any attacks. Since Appmon carried a different coding, Yaddith's code failed to recognize and stop them. This was the only valuable thing Izzy had discovered in his hours of hunting.
The door opened, which wasn't unusual nor worth his attention. The library had visitors off and on, but few stuck around and nobody bothered him. Nobody, that is, except Zoe.
"Ooh, what are you working on today?" Normally he welcomed her intrusion. She didn't always understand his work, but she never failed to be curious. He had a duty to feed it.
"I need to figure out how the program that attacked the settlement launched and make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Oh, thank goodness." She carried a chair next to him. "That's important. And time-consuming."
"Tired of socializing, I reason?"
"Sometimes you just don't want to people."
Izzy nodded. He certainly didn't want to people with all this on his shoulders, hesitantly making Zoe an exception.
It wasn't so bad at first. She stayed silent as he continued his work, examining Yaddith's code to find anything that could trigger it to life without human intervention. The process was tedious. Izzy found it soothing.
Zoe, though, wasn't as entranced. "You know…" she paused to see make sure he acknowledged her. A slight nod was all she got. That only came after years of conditioning himself to note when someone spoke to him, no matter how much more interesting his screen was. "You still never explained Matt and Nene to me."
His reply was automatic and flat: "I told you, it was only a suggestion and I'm not keen to look into it."
"That's… fine," she said, discouraged. "I just want to know why you thought that."
With an annoyed huff, he answered, "I'd rather not speculate. Matt is a friend. I don't want to pry."
Smirking, she said, "Well I do. I mean they still have their band and stuff. Nothing's changed. Isn't that weird?"
"It is possible to remain friends." Izzy raised his eyebrows. "Just because your relationships always end with an explosion doesn't mean all of them do."
She chuckled back. "Look who's talking."
He didn't laugh back. Maybe he invited her response but he wasn't ready for the reminder. His foolishness hadn't just cost him Kari. He gave up everything. Izzy turned back to the monitor. Instead of something productive, he wondered if Yaddith still could have launched if he had still been in Command instead of Henry.
"Too far?" He could sense the cringing in her voice. Still, he didn't answer.
Izzy almost had her presence tuned out when her hand on his wrist startled him. The tiny sensation flushed through him. He hated the feeling.
"Have you ever talked about it?" Zoe asked. He shuddered. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about it. He couldn't even explain it to Tentomon.
Looking down at his keyboard, and at the gentle, sympathetic hand on his arm, he replied, "Why are you so obsessed with other people's relationships?" The hand slid away.
"I mean…" After a few false starts, she forced out a chuckle. "What else is there to do around here?"
Maybe it was the thoughts of his mistakes still lingering in his head. Or her sudden interest in getting him to open up to her. But when Izzy looked at her, drawing his eyes to her face, so full of perk and light despite her soul worn down so often by reality, he finally realized the danger.
A shout came from outside: "Are you still in there?" Jeremy did nothing to mask his impatience.
Zoe frowned, calling back, "Be out in a second! Not finding anything!" She turned back to Izzy to explain, "Watching his kendo practice. It's… pretty boring."
She got halfway out before she stopped and thought out loud, "Hey, maybe Jeremy can get it out of Nene."
Izzy shook his head and tried to return to his work. After all that, all he could think of was how badly he needed to deliver Tai some answers, yet he couldn't get himself to move the fingers across the keyboard.
Ryo Akiyama smelled danger just in the fact that they asked for help in the first place. Legend had it seeing one Youkomon could leave one mesmerized and haunted for years. He tried not to be too awed to be in a den with not one, but three of them.
Most of the other patrol team members kept their composure, despite entering a tiny burrow and finding themselves in a dark, wall-less void lit by floating blue flames.
Marcus may not have even noticed. "Okay, you track us down, you ask for help, you lead us in here. You gonna explain what's going on?"
"We were hunting when it happened." The voice came without any of their lips moving. Nobody was sure which one was talking.
"Hunting?" asked Kazu. "Hunting what?"
"The prey doesn't matter. Only the act. We don't seek to kill." This voice was the same as the first. Ryo hoped it was the same Youkomon. "It… on the other hand…"
Cody kept a straight face at one Youkomon. "It? A Digimon?"
"It looked like a Digimon. It didn't feel like one. Our pack-mate aborted her hunt. Called for help. Tried to flee. When I arrived, I saw the beam. It…"
"Okay, okay…" Marcus nodded repeatedly. "Digimon going around killing stuff. I'm liking this so far."
"Marcus," Yoshi scolded. With a far more sympathetic voice, she asked, "So… your friend didn't make it, I assume?"
The three lowered their heads. After a respectful pause, Yoshi continued, "Did you get the digi-egg or did it float away?"
"The egg floated…" Youkomon's voice seemed more distant, more of an echo. "…then it shattered."
Everyone perked their heads up at once.
That detail was the only one on anyone's mind, enough to ignore the pocket dimension they walked out of.
"No digi-egg, huh…" muttered Marcus. "Well that makes things more interesting."
"If by interesting you mean terrifying," said Lalamon.
Ryo shook his head, dismissing the quiet panic in everyone's voice. "Hey, don't freak out. That's normal for my world."
"But not here," Cody said. "We don't want a repeat of what happened to Lopmon."
Yoshi stopped and folded her arms. "But what happened with Lopmon was a worldwide crisis. You'd think we'd have heard about it by now if it was happening again."
"But there's no Digimon that can stop you from being reborn when they kill you." Kazu looked around, expecting a round of head shakes. Nobody turned. They just kept walking. "Are there?"
Marcus and Yoshi eyed each other nervously. "Uh… yes and no," she said.
The woods the Youkomon directed them to had neither life nor color. The trees were black and leafless, the ground littered with dead branches. The Youkomon hadn't said anything about damage to the forest. Ryo had to assume such a dreary atmosphere suited them.
One glowing blue ball hovered over the air, a marker to the spot their companion fell.
"Guess this is where we split up and track this guy down," Marcus suggested.
"Not too far apart," said Cody. "Something feels really wrong here. We don't want to be caught off guard."
The ensuing discussion led to Marcus heading straight north, Yoshi and Kazu going northeast, and Ryo and Cody going northwest. On one hand, tracking down something with no physical description seemed impossible. But the forest was so silent and so devoid of life that a trace of anything was suspicious.
"Maybe we should make more noise and draw it out," Armadillomon said.
Ryo peered down an endless line of trees. "Maybe. If it's not scared of Youkomon it won't be scared of us."
With a sudden jolt, Cyberdramon picked his head up, nose in the air. "This way," he snarled.
"You smell a Digimon?"
"I smell… something. It's wrong."
Cyberdramon ran towards the scent, Ryo sprinting after him to keep up. Cody didn't bother trying, instead updating the other squads. In a small clearing of stumps and felled trees, they saw what appeared to be a Digimon, bipedal with a body comprising blue and white spheres connected by flat cables. It stared straight back at Cyberdramon, processed for a moment, then marched towards him.
"I guess this is what we're here for," said Ryo. "Take it down. Go in from the side."
His partner obeyed, charging in from an angle. "Desolation Claw!"
It was a direct hit, several of them in fact, as the energy bursts from his claws struck every part of its torso. Cyberdramon slashed it in the head one more time anyway, bending it backwards. Ryo didn't take his eyes off it, refusing to assume victory until he saw it.
Neither got a chance to react before it wrapped its arms around Cyberdramon and hurled him away. He collided with the one standing tree in the clearing, snapping it into kindling.
Ryo ran to his partner, knees sliding across the dry grass. Cyberdramon was groggy from the collision but conscious. He propped up his shoulders, trying to get him to his feet, pretending that if he could just do that they'd figure out the rest. They managed to get upright, only to find the strange Digimon approaching them.
Its laser turret glowed a powerful white. Ryo froze. He didn't know what he was dealing with or what condition Cyberdramon was in. He was out of moves. Cyberdramon reacted first, his massive arm forcing Ryo behind. "No!" Ryo shouted, bracing himself for one of the two to die, not sure which he'd prefer.
He heard the laser fire, but didn't see or feel it. Instead, he felt something ram into him, then the hard ground slamming his other side. When he opened his eyes, Cyberdramon was on the ground too, underneath Digmon.
Ryo found his own savior on top of him. "You realize how stupid that was, right?" he spat.
Through panting breaths, Cody answered, "The way Ken tells it? Yes."
The Digimon still bore down on them. "Okay, now who wants to save us?" Digmon asked.
Marcus's scream answered the question. He charged in from the side and landed a punch straight on the apparatus above its head. That got its attention. Marcus grinned and held his charged fist out. "DNA Charge! Over-"
"Forbidden Temptation!" From the other side, Rosemon overwhelmed its back with rose petals.
"Heh heh. Psyche," snickered Marcus.
The Digimon didn't succumb to the ambush. It turned around and rushed a beam at Rosemon. She dodged, but Yoshi backed away. "That didn't do it? That always worked before."
"He didn't even react to it!"
"Didn't react to us either," Ryo spat as he and Cody helped Cyberdramon stagger away.
The Digimon ignored Rosemon and Marcus and turned its attention back to the injured Digimon. "Rude…" Yoshi muttered. She ordered Rosemon to cover their retreat. "Marcus, if we can't hit it, we should fall back!"
After another attack from Rosemon failed to get its attention, Agumon nodded. "Yeah, this ain't right. Let's get out of here, boss!"
Marcus stared at his fist, looked up at the monster, then shouted, "All right, all right, let's regroup."
Once they got Cyberdramon far enough away, the escape was easy enough. The team re-assembled outside the woods. As Cody reported the situation and Ryo checked on his partner, Marcus and Yoshi stared back in.
"Man, that must have spooked you good to get you to run," joked Kazu. Marcus didn't respond.
"We hit that thing three times over," said Ryo. "It didn't care."
"It should have cared," Marcus huffed. "It should be dead meat. Something weird's going on."
"What was your first clue?" Yoshi shook her head in dismay. "What the hell is a Gizumon doing here?"
Airu Suzaki staggered to the river, her legs giving out and slipping on the dewy grass. She crawled the rest of the way, barely able to see in the moonlight, mud soaking into her hands, knees, and bare feet, splashing onto her skirt and camisole. Most days she would pitched a fit over this. Instead she focused on reaching the water. She bent down and drank straight from it, lapping it up like a dog, her hands too dirty to trust.
Her hair, clothes, and skin were filthy, even before she dragged herself through the mud. The compulsion came to fall into the water, but her aching body and exhausted mind made her more likely to drown than get anywhere near a state of clean. She reached a compromise with herself and dunked her head in. It didn't help, but it felt liberating. When this was all over, she promised herself an entire day in the bath. It was the least she needed after a disorienting, debilitating, degrading date with Ewan Amano.
It had been the best night of her life.
Like any girl with her kind of unique lifestyle, Airu had groomed her powers of flirtation and seduction. If she couldn't get the boys to do what she wanted, she wouldn't have had any fun. But she was smart and crafty enough never to let it get too far. Nor was she capable of taking an interest in anybody for sincere reasons. After experiencing the perfection of Ewan Amano when she was young, everyone else paled in comparison. The only boy who ever kissed her on the lips did so against her will. She arranged for him to have a rather karmic accident with a vice grip.
The way she would no doubt describe it in the future, her night with Ewan was a culmination of waiting for the right person and the right moment. They were destined to happen. She had known it six years ago, from their fated first encounter when he stopped her from hunting Cutemon. Theirs was a love transcending time and dimension, finally realized in a night of blissful glory.
In truth, her inexperience meant she had no idea what she was in store for. She knew she wanted him. She knew she wanted his hidden darkness. She hunted it and claimed it. Airu didn't know what any of that entailed, but that was the fun of it. To find out what he was capable of doing with a willing plaything. It didn't matter that she wasn't familiar with the normal mechanics. To her, normality was dirtier than anything they'd get up to.
Airu got everything she asked for. The darkness was real: once she removed his leash, the polite puppy became an angry wolf. All of Ewan's collective anger and lust for her poured out at once, throwing and bending her around like she was weightless. Hands and tongue and teeth covered every part of her. She was fairly certain sex happened at some point, but she couldn't have pinpointed exactly when. Ewan clearly wasn't confident about the mechanics either.
Somewhere in the middle of several collisions with the wall, the collapsed shelf, the busted bag of flour, and several screams Airu was not proud of, Ewan decided they were making too much noise and dragged her into the woods. To be precise, they walked to the front gate separately and inconspicuously before any literal dragging happened. The soft dirt gave him even more freedom to toss her around. Which he did, repeatedly, creatively, and all with the expression and demeanor of a man possessed.
Naturally, there were plenty of painful collisions and contortions. He gave her no time to catch her breath and asking if she was comfortable defeated the purpose. Ewan was too far gone for that and Airu was too intent on probing the depths of his depravity. Her prize was his lips on hers, his arms around her, and his soul in her hand. Nobody could have experienced this side of him before. The one that only came out when the lights were out and the trappings of human decency fell. Someone as good and honest as Ewan must have waited a long time for someone to give him permission to be a demon. She was happy to oblige, no matter the risks.
At some point it turned dark, but it didn't matter. She didn't know how long it continued before he ran out of gas, but she was limp and exhausted long before that. They passed out at the same time, collapsing next to each other, their feet entangled.
When she woke up in the middle of the night, she was proud of herself for making it to the river in such a state. It didn't help the hike back up. She slipped on the grass and sensed the jabs underneath every time she stepped on a stick or tree branch. With the euphoria of being with Ewan gone, the soreness was her only souvenir. This wasn't her idea of pleasure at all. Her place was in the sun, looking impeccable, making the boys swoon, and inflicting the pain rather than receiving it. What sort of power did he have over her?
Her knees gave out the moment she made it back to him. For the first time all night, she was as overwhelmed and miserable as she probably should have been the whole time. The pain was harder to bear, enough to urge her to cry. Airu never cried. That alone should have been enough to make her run.
Ewan was awake, leaning against a tree, gasping with panic-stricken eyes cast to the ground. His entire body trembled. His voice, weak and fragile, squeaked, "Are… are you okay?"
At once, her pain vanished. The tears never came. The girl who insisted on getting her way smirked at the boy who cared too much. She scoffed back. "You think something like that's going to faze me? You're too precious."
He lifted his head and stared at her. His eyes calmed, but his face still carried that haunted look. From his knees, he stumbled to her and jerked her forward for a kiss. The cycle began again. Two kids playing with knives, and she couldn't have dreamed of anything better.
Rei Katsura had plenty of space for his thoughts, even in a busy cafeteria. He ate in silence with Hackmon, not needing to tell him what was on his mind. The mission to revive Yuujin that occupied them for months was over. Haru was free to run around and play with his reclaimed friend. But where did that leave Rei?
The usual twinge of jealousy struck him, of course, but he did his best to dismiss it. Haru deserved to enjoy his prize. After rescuing Hajime, Rei knew the feeling. No matter how urgent the situation had remained around them, succeeding at bringing a loved one back carried an unshakable solace. The more time allowed to relish in it, the better. Besides, Rei enjoyed solitude.
It didn't last. With no warning, a tray dropped next to them. Maki sat down on the other side of Hackmon.
"Where's Daigo?" Rei asked, as gentle a suggestion that he didn't need company as he could muster.
"He's playing basketball with Tagiru." She took a bite of rice. "At least he's pretending to."
They ate most of their lunch in silence. Their shared disdain for idle chatter made her easy to tolerate.
"So where are Haru and Yuujin?" she asked.
"Tactical mission. Yuujin was happy to help."
Maki nodded. "That sounds consistent with his programming." Rei flinched, unable to decide if her remark was funny or callous. His eyes cheated in her direction; she waited for them to arrive before laughing.
Despite himself, a smile formed. "I guess going from Yuujin the concept to Yuujin the person isn't easy." He was guilty of that too, and he even knew the original Yuujin.
As her laughter subsided, Maki dried a tear. "I'm happy for Haru and Offmon but I have to admit I prefer Yuujin the concept."
Looking around, confirming that no one was listening and he could spare some brutal honesty, he said, "He's too nice. And too willing to sacrifice himself."
"He reminds me of Daigo."
"Which part?"
"The sacrifice part. Ask him about MetalPhantomon." Maki paused, pondered, then added, "Then ask me what really happened." They shared mean smirks.
"We love our idiot teammates," said Hackmon. Maki raised her glass.
"Unfortunately, that does mean the high of our success is already wearing off."
Rei sighed. He wasn't surprised. He couldn't admonish her despite what the "success" entailed. He wasn't going to say anything.
"At what point do we talk about what comes next?" she asked, causing a shudder. "I heard something about your brother." Both dipped their eyes toward Hackmon, leaning even more into his lunch tray, dismissing all interruptions.
"There is no next," he said, before he could let the temptation to deny it take hold. He should have said more. He couldn't. Not to her. Not to himself.
Whatever trace of joy she had vanished. "There's no next?"
"Saving Yuujin was a stroke of luck." He shook his head. "I can't wait for another idiot to turn up braindead."
"Not even for your brother?" Maki carried bite now. He winced at the words.
"You don't know how far I've gone for Hajime."
"I saw how far you went for Yuujin, and you don't care about him."
"I'm not doing it again." He shook his head. "That's all I thought about when Biomon was rearranging the body. I already went through hell twice. I'm done."
Maki pounded her arm on the table, leaning on it towards him. "But if you went through hell for him, how can you give up?"
Rei seethed. Did she think he came to this decision lightly? He had every intention of starting on Hajime the moment Yuujin was back. Hell, he already scoured the net for his DNA profile and even wondered if Bootmon was possible. It still came back to needing a human body. The fantasies that carried him ended up flying away. He knew he had to let them go, but only in the most bitter sense. Admitting, out loud, that he'd never see Hajime again destroyed him.
"Because it's not for Hajime." Hackmon, trusted Appmon buddy, came through with the answer. "Is it, Rei?"
With some reluctance, Rei repeated the same argument he forced himself to swallow multiple times: "We're alternate versions of ourselves here. Back home, Hajime is fine. We're together. We're happy." He stared across the cafeteria at all the assorted groups having pleasant conversations, each one their own solace against the conditions and constraints of the Digital World. "Bringing him here would be just for me. Yuujin deserved another chance. We gave it to him. Hajime doesn't need it."
"But…" Maki stuttered, fumbling for the words, for the kind of poised expression needed for what was still a discrete topic. The flashes in her eyes suggested it was difficult. "Don't you need it?"
Rei picked up his tray and stood up. What he didn't need was someone trying to convince him otherwise. He just might have been swayed by it. "I shouldn't," he muttered as he walked away.
Yuujin Oozora refused to let on how scared he was. The world still felt like a dream. He still expected that any moment he would wake up and be fourteen again, back in Fujimizaka fighting Leviathan. Now he was twenty and stuck in a whole new life. One that involved venturing alone into the wilderness with Offmon in search of a dangerous enemy.
In one sense he was grateful to be somewhere unrecognizable. It was the only reason he could imagine being comfortable with a body that aged without him. Back home he would have noticed seeing everything from a few inches higher or walking a familiar path in fewer strides. Yuujin didn't have those comparisons here. The castle, and the world around him, were as foreign as his body. He acclimated to both at the same time.
Offmon's worried moan kept his thoughts centered: "Why do we have to do this alone?"
Yuujin rubbed his head. "They're worried the bad guys can detect all of the others. But they don't know about us." Calming Offmon gave him the chance to calm himself. Isolating one of the top generals in Marsmon's army alone daunted him. He wondered if Koji was skeptical of his sudden arrival or Takuya wanted to see what he was capable of. Yuujin refused to let them down.
No matter his fear, he fell back to the one command grounding him: have faith in Haru.
He found her hovering over a frozen pond, pretending to ice skate with moon-shaped boots. Dianamon's dazzling movements, even if not genuine, entranced him for a moment. Somehow he reminded himself this was an enemy and whispered into his seven-code band, "Haru? She's here. Beginning operation."
"Okay. We're on our way," Haru replied.
Yuujin nodded to Offmon, who raised his arms. "Link Severance!"
If Dianamon noticed the black dome surrounding her, she didn't care, dismissing it as the next phase of the moon. It vanished just as quickly as the connections within in stopped working. All Yuujin had to do now was conceal himself until the backup arrived.
That wasn't as easy as it sounded. He was at the bottom of a mountain slope, behind a thin tree. When he climbed down, he could watch her movements and scramble between rocks when her back was turned. He couldn't do that going back up. Nothing bigger than his tree was in sight. He sat on the snow-dusted ground, leaning against his narrow cover, clutching Offmon.
The cold and the silence became unbearable. Offmon wrapped up tighter in his jacket while Yuujin wished he had one of his own. His hands shivered. The cold had never bothered him this way before. He had gone ice skating and skiing before, never noticing the weather. Now he knew how Haru felt retreating indoors after only fifteen minutes of sledding. At the time, Yuujin thought such frailty was cute. He never appreciated hot fires and cocoa.
"Arrow of Artemis!" Out of nowhere, Dianamon attacked. He couldn't risk turning around, but the call came from the middle of the lake. He would have heard something when the reinforcements arrived. The arrow landed high on the cliff in front of him, penetrating the rock surface. The rumble that followed made him realize what was going on. The massive sheet of snow slid down the cliff, inundating him and everything around him.
The avalanche pinned Yuujin against the tree and buried him up to his shoulders, his arms trapped. If the cold upset him before, now it was painful. Groaning, he looked around for Offmon, but he was fully under. Yuujin tried to have faith, reminding himself Haru and friends were on their way. Not in this cold. Not with his hands already turning numb. Hopelessness came too easy.
Before he could decide whether he needed to control his heavy breathing, increase it, or let himself drift away, Dianamon had her blade pointed at his neck from yards away. Drifting away felt like the best option…
The first strike from the cavalry came without warning, slashing Dianamon's back as it flew past. RaptorSparrowmon slowed, stopped, and turned around over the lake, waiting for Dianamon to fight back.
The enemy didn't get the chance. "Magna Rockets!" Yuujin perked his head up when MagnaGarurumon's arsenal struck her back, cornering her on two sides. Dianamon retreated to the lake, but the squeeze was on. RaptorSparrowmon disrupted both her major attacks and plans to escape.
When Yuujin saw Globemon flying down the hill, he knew everything would be fine. Haru jumped off and rushed up his friend, digging through the snow with his bare hands. "Yuujin! What happened?!"
"G-got a bit stuck," he said, trying to put on a chuckle but wincing.
"We'll get you out of here!"
Behind them, MailBirdramon dropped off Christopher. "Or we could do it the easy way. Stand back."
Globemon pulled Haru away as Christopher reloaded Greymon. "Mega Flame!" The fireball landed in front of Yuujin, melting away most of the snow encasing him in an instant. Yuujin fell over, but Haru caught him in time. Gatchmon checked on Offmon, disoriented and still with a column of snow on his head.
Haru touched Yuujin's cheek, then shouted back to Christopher. "He needs first aid! Get Nene!"
Christopher waited a second, eying the battle behind them. "Nene's doing what we came here for." He unzipped his coat and handed it to Haru to drape over Yuujin. "He'll survive."
"Yeah… I've been through worse," added Yuujin, still shivering.
Behind them, the newly fused MetalGreymon added more power to an already lopsided fight. "Giga Destroyer!" His lasers shot down any window for Dianamon to escape.
"Starburst Hunter!" MagnaGarurumon's light force crashed through her. By the time it subsided, only her digi-egg remained.
Yuujin smiled. "We did it?"
Haru still cradled him. "Don't worry about that. I just want you to be safe."
"And I want to help. I don't mind getting buried in snow if we won."
A couple tears trickled out of Haru's eyes. "Yuujin, you never change."
"Maybe I have." Another shiver came over him. "This weather didn't used to get to me like this before."
He was trying to keep it casual, but Haru's eyes snapped open and his face turned pale. With an uneasy smile, Yuujin backpedaled. "It's a joke. Avalanche… snow… of course it got me."
"R… right…" Haru backed away as Nene rushed in. Yuujin didn't register her taking his temperature and checking his limbs. He couldn't help but wonder about Haru's reaction. Was there really something to such a small change? For all the questions he could have been asking about his waking up in this world, he tried not to. Stuff like this made that harder.
"How is he?" asked Koji. Even the specter of hypothermia couldn't keep his grin off.
"Temperature's low, but he'll be all right," answered Nene. "This barely counts as dramatic."
"Well good." Koji nodded, turning to the pond. "That was a top target. You really helped us out today." Back to Yuujin, his grin broadened. "Not bad, new guy."
Yuujin's smile was genuine now. His urge to ask questions faded with the faintest of praise. He contributed to the effort. He was part of the team. That was all that mattered.
Eri Karan smelled trouble. The representatives running the settlement had declared independence, splitting themselves off from Tai and the officers to make their own decisions. The necessary actions to move forward and established their footprint in the world were underway. Then this happened. The timing was suspicious.
She couldn't do anything about it, other than stare at the closed meeting room door and hope the reps had similar reservations. If anything could undermine their work, it was a new transfer straight from Tai's team.
Meiko joined her outside the room. "Are they still meeting?" Eri nodded. She didn't worry about Meiko. Her loyalty to Tai was unquestionable, but she wasn't an influencer. She couldn't convince anyone to change course, forgive the officers, and accept their rule.
"They've been in there a while," said Dokamon.
Eri caught Meiko staring at her. "You look worried."
She didn't bother denying it. "The reps are doing something really brave. I don't want them to back down."
Meiko held her stare for a moment, then snickered. Fist clenched and face flushed, Eri said, "What? Am I freaking out over nothing?"
"Well… I don't think this whole separation thing is as big a deal as everyone makes it out to be."
"Have you said that to Tai?"
"Sure have!" Meiko looked down. "Still, I guess if you're worried about Mimi pushing everybody in a different direction… that's understandable."
"She's good at that?"
"Let's just say you're not the first girl to get me to dance for an audience."
Dokamon's eyed flashed wide. "Oh no!"
The door opened. Michael had an arm around Mimi's shoulder, both laughing with Betamon and Palmon behind them. "This will be fun! It's good to have you back!" Michael exclaimed.
"I know! And we've even got Meimei!" Mimi stopped and put her other arm around Meiko's shoulder. "How's Michael been treating you?"
Meiko smiled back. "Oh, everything's fine now."
"They're way past a couple angry forum posts!" added Betamon, drawing looks from everybody.
Michael waved him down. "Maybe we shouldn't bring all that up…"
"Eri, what are they talking about?" Dokamon asked.
"I have no idea…" she mumbled. The lack of context made her uncomfortable too.
Mimi's face remained bright as ever as she marched up to Eri. She leaned forward, hands on her hips. "So you're the famous Eri! That was a great show. Center of the universe, huh? Love the confidence!"
Caught off guard for only a second, Eri snapped on and began her dance: "That's right! And don't you forget or you'll be getting a Big Bang Punch!" She was disappointed the hallway didn't have furniture to stand on.
"Wow, Meiko was right, you are something!"
Palmon leaned in towards Dokamon. "She isn't going to actually punch her, is she?"
Dokamon smiled back. "No, Eri's the sweetest!"
"Oh… okay…" She didn't sound convinced.
Only when Mimi started walking did Meiko and Michael follow. Eri didn't catch on until they were a few steps down the hall. "So what are you going to be doing here?" asked Meiko.
Mimi linked her arm with Meiko's. "Well, first I'm going to help Michael and everyone figure out how to organize."
Eri rushed forward to catch up. "Why's that?"
"Mimi's been here since the beginning and knows more about why they set up their system of officers the way they did," Michael answered. "Understanding that helps us work out what we need to do differently."
"She's okay with us doing things differently?"
"Of course!" Mimi chirped. "I'm always up for different."
Eri fell behind, rubbing her eyes. Everything Mimi said sounded sincere and legitimate. There was no reason to suspect anything amiss, and both Meiko and Michael trusted her. Why was she having such a hard time getting on board? Were the trappings of this world and the constant obstructions tainting her pure soul?
"Oh, uh, so Mimi…" Meiko's voice and head lowered. "You were going to room with some of the other Americans but there's a… problem with your room."
"I'm sure it's not a big deal," Mimi replied, still smiling.
Michael grimaced. "Well… it's not there anymore. Yaddith took a chunk out of it and we're behind on repairing it."
"I'm sorry," added Meiko.
"Why are you apologizing?" replied Eri… and Mimi. At the same time. Mimi turned to Eri, smile brightening for a flash.
Blowing past the moment, Michael said, "We figure it will be a few days. The best we can do for now is find space for a sleeping bag."
"Or a futon," Meiko suggested.
Mimi spun around to her, still grinning. "Space in your room?"
"I mean… I… guess I do… but…" Mimi waited for the rest. "…well I guess the only thing is…"
With a cheerfully dismissive wave, Mimi interrupted, "Oh don't worry, I'll disappear when Tai visits."
Meiko's cheeks turned deep red. So did Eri's. Michael looked away, pausing a moment before saying, "So is that all right then?"
"Uh… yeah…" Meiko calmed herself down, even managing a smile. "Always happy to be there for Mimi."
Mimi grabbed Meiko's waist and pulled her in closer. "That's why you're the best." They still clung to each other as they kept walking, Michael, Betamon, and Palmon right behind.
This time, Eri didn't follow. The needs of the settlement had made her accustomed to meddling. She rarely felt she was somewhere she didn't belong. Working with Meiko and Michael on their own wasn't a challenge; those two had a complicated history and only a passing friendship. Mimi had deep ties to both of them, and expressed them loudly.
"Eri? What's wrong?" asked Dokamon. She folded her arms and frowned. Was she that obvious?
"I don't know." Everything she witnessed and her friends' reactions suggested Mimi was an awesome person Eri should love to befriend. Why she didn't was beyond her. Until she figured it out, she just wanted to stay away from it, no matter how much she needed to be involved.
Torajiro Asuka tried to talk himself into being amused by the situation. Aboard Imperialdramon there was no arguing, everybody keeping as professional as a response team mission required. He was pretty sure anybody on board would still take a bullet for anyone else. These guys were just bred like that. There was still idle chatter going on, but personal and too quiet for anyone else to pick up. Nobody organized anyone's placement, but everyone sorted themselves according to silent rules. Davis, Ken, and Yolei sat up front, with Takato and Rika in the back.
"Is it groovy?" he asked himself.
"Is it not?" Musimon echoed.
"So not groovy," they answered together.
He had a vague idea about the conflict. Davis's team was upset that Takato's team could stoop to creating Yaddith in the first place. Astra needed all his internal zen to not take a side. On one hand, he witnessed Yaddith's destruction and would normally be leery of anyone involved in its formation. On the other… Haru and Rei moved mountains to bring Yuujin back to life and Astra supported that all the way.
Trying to stay neutral proved difficult. For one thing, he wasn't sure how him talking to either side would be taken. Takato was the captain and deserved respect and loyalty. Davis and Yolei were Astra's closest friends. Eventually he stopped caring and approached the front.
"So how long is everyone staying mad at each other?"
"Oh, we're not mad anymore," said Yolei. "We've calmly accepted that friends we've known for years are actually kind of horrible."
"That doesn't sound much better," Musimon replied.
Ken sighed. "There wouldn't be a problem if they accepted what they did was wrong. That's the first step."
"Or at the very least, think about who could have gotten hurt," added Hawkmon.
Astra and Musimon looked at each other and frowned. The Yuujin revival project sounded really cool at the time. This made him think about the possible consequences. That brought on doubts.
Determined to get off the topic, he asked, "So where are we heading?"
"Don't know, never been to these parts before," Davis answered. "But when it freaks out Marcus you know it's bad."
"Didn't Thomas say it was from his world even?" asked Yolei.
Ken stared forward, haunted. "Yes. A manmade Digimon designed to kill without creating a digi-egg. And they couldn't scratch it."
They spent the few minutes of the rest of the trip in a hush. The patrol team met them outside the clearing. "Thanks for the help, but I don't know why Thomas sent you up here," said Marcus as he greeted Takato. "I don't think there's a lot you can do."
"If there's a Digimon permanently killings things we can't just ignore it," said Takato. "We have to try something."
"So what do you know about this guy?" Yolei asked.
"Gizumon? Created by some asshole to wipe out all Digimon," said Marcus. "Back home we dealt with them just fine. This guy's another story."
Kazu chuckled. "A manmade Digimon? Who'd have the nerve to make something like that?" He peered over to Ken, out of range with Davis de-evolving Imperialdramon.
Out the side of his mouth, Takato mumbled. "Maybe not the best time, Kazu…"
"It's moving." Behind everybody, Cody had been monitoring his D-Terminal. "Heading our way."
"Aw, but I wanted to yell at Kazu," Yolei pouted.
"Guys, we're going to have to pull together for this one." Takato's voice rose, mustering all the confidence he could. "Everybody stay away from it. Projectile attacks only. Let's spread out, but not so much we're shooting each other. Okay?"
With a huff, Yolei said, "Yeah yeah…"
"Good. Let's do this in two waves. One team throws everything it can, then another. Everything on our signal."
"Okay, someone from my team pair up with someone from his team and let's get going." Marcus slapped his hands together.
Astra found it an oddly rigid way of setting up an all-out attack, but didn't dwell on it too much. The created teams were predictable: Takato and Marcus, Yolei and Cody, and Rika picking Yoshi, leaving Astra with Kazu. With Cyberdramon still hobbled, Ryo stayed behind.
"So what do you make of this thing?" Astra asked.
"To be honest, we sorta missed him," Kazu answered. "Yoshi ran ahead once the fighting started. This bucket of bolts couldn't keep up." He turned around and smirked at Guardromon.
They didn't miss it this time, scrambling for shelter before they caught its eye. It was still 50 yards or so away, marching through the woods with a slow but deliberate swagger. Behind the remains of a tall bush, Guardromon said, "It seems to know where it's going."
"Right into our trap I hope," said Kazu.
It wasn't the greatest trap: all the dead vegetation made the cover sparse. This had to be the reason for splitting up and attacking by unit, avoiding giving Gizumon too many large, easy targets.
Over the radio, Marcus said, "He's getting closer. Get ready to digivolve."
Once Gizumon drew near enough, Marcus gave the command. Around the wood, WarGrowlmon, Rosemon, and Digmon appeared. Astra was so pumped by Guardromon evolving next to him he didn't catch Gizumon veer away from its course, straight towards WarGrowlmon.
Marcus must have noticed. "Fire!" he shouted.
"Rock Crackin'!" Digmon's attack at least forced Gizumon to stumble and fall.
"Forbidden Temptation!"
"Gatling Attack!"
"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon's attack triggered an explosion directly on Gizumon. The team kept feeding into the smoke for another minute. Astra loved it.
"Okay, hold fire!" Takato shouted over the response team's radios. "Second team get ready, just in case." Kyubimon and Aquilamon popped up.
"You think he survived that?" asked Musimon.
"Wouldn't shock me," said Kazu. "Just digivolve or… whatever you guys do."
By the time Astra ran through the process of realizing Entermon, the smoke cleared. Gizumon staggered to its feet.
"So not groovy!" Astra shouted.
At first it faced where WarGrowlmon had been. Then it turned to Kyubimon, charged, and fired a beam. She dodged it. From the clearing, Rika shouted back, "Hey, what are you shooting at us for?"
"Team Two fire!" Takato ordered.
"Foxtail Inferno!"
"Blast Rings!" Neither Kyubimon nor Aquilamon's attack did anything. Gizumon charged another attack towards Kyubimon.
Astra gave Entermon a tentative thumb's up. "Well let's see if we can save the day again!"
"Porte Melos!" Gizumon split apart on first impact, destroying itself in a tidy explosion, minuscule compared to WarGrowlmon's onslaught.
"All right!" Kazu shook Astra's shoulders in celebration. "Man, you just tore that guy apart like nothing!"
Entermon reverted back to Musimon and leaped for joy. "Sure did, yo! I'm like a secret weapon!"
Astra high-fived Musimon's ears. "Yeah!" He paused and let it sink in for a moment. "Something's totally messed up, isn't it?"
Takato ran into the battlefield, surveying where Gizumon had stood. By the time he got there, there was nothing left. "Thomas was right… Appmon again."
"Thomas was right?" Yoshi ran through the brush to join him. "What's that mean?"
"When he heard you guys couldn't stop it, he wondered if only an Appmon could hit it like at the settlement. That, uh… that was pretty clear."
"That wouldn't happen to be the reason you had our team go second, would it?" Yolei had an accusing tone.
Takato squirmed a little. "Uh… heh heh…"
"There was something else there too," Rika said, bailing him out and even earning a glare from Yolei. "Did you catch who that thing was aiming at?"
"Wait…" Yolei looked at Guilmon, then Renamon. "Again?!"
"Again what?" Kazu shot out of their cover.
Astra ran after him. "That's right, this one was going after you guys too!"
Takato stared back, dumbfounded. "That… doesn't make any sense… this thing's never seen us before."
"He's right though," said Cody. "When we first saw it, it targeted Cyberdramon more than anyone."
"Seriously?" Yolei darted her head between Takato and Rika. "What did you guys do this time?"
"What makes you think we did anything?" Rika barked back, taking two steps towards Yolei before Takato stepped between them. "We didn't do anything the first time!"
Yolei glared back, unable to answer the question but unwilling to back down. Astra raised his arms in surrender and mumbled, "Yeesh, these guys are really going at it."
"You're telling me," said Kazu. "Didn't think you could piss off the season two kids this much, but here we are."
"Right?!" Astra paused and thought before adding, "You guys really call them the season two kids?"
"I mean…" Kazu looked at Guardromon and rubbed his neck. "Not all of us. It's kinda-"
"That's so groovy!"
Next Time on Nexusworld- Episode 17: "Robots Don't Cry"
Tai's visit to Isthmian brings him face to face with Yuujin. TK realizes what's really going on between Davis and Kari. JP and Tommy feel the fallout from Ewan and Airu's relationship.
"Once I realize that… then comes the part of me that just wants to burn everything."
Author's Notes
Going off the Appmon/Digimon crossover episode, there's enough differentiation between the two to suggest Yaddith could be programmed to resist one but not the other. They're apparently coded differently, even if Appmon are considered part of the Digimon family.
Youkomon are basically blue Kyubimon. You can fill in some blanks from there.
Yikes, that Airu scene… this is one of those places where I'm trying to keep everything explicitly consensual while also conveying just how much these two mess each up. Going for something borderline absurd and also emphasis just how little experience these two have with this sort of thing seemed like the best way to navigate that. The whole thing is something of a reconciliation between the Ewan in Xros Wars and the one in Hunters, while Airu tries to figure out just what she wanted out of him in the first place.
This is the first new chapter that explicitly uses the official subtitled terminology for Eri and Astra's catchphrases. All previous usages have been retroactively updated. You don't have to go back and check, as it doesn't impact anything.
