Another day, another falsified story regarding the attacks playing out on the news.

"This has to stop – someone is going to get hurt."

Hiroaki turned towards Matt as they sat on the couch in the living room, a look of disdain on his face.

"Nobody should be advocating for violence through all of this."

"Yeah, well from what's being told, you can almost bet that something awful is going to happen."

"Matt!"

His father's voice was firm this time around.

"If anything were to happen to Gabumon or to anyone else, we would do our best to defend against the offensive remarks."

The teen stayed silent for a few seconds before saying, "I was reading a bit on the military – you know, in case. It could go either way on who could try us in court…the ground or maritime could easily make—"

"The self-defense forces won't attempt it."

Matt gawked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes – at worst, you would all be tried as juveniles in defending your homeland against a force the likes of many have never encountered and may as well never encounter in their lives."

"People probably said that the last time this happened," Matt responded, "and even if we were tried as juveniles, murder is a serious offense which is what all the police would need to send us to a higher court."

His father chuckled, "I thought you said the forces would get us, but now it's the police?"

Sighing at the loss of the argument, Matt said, "Okay, maybe I'm overreacting…but this never happened before. Our partners never accidentally killed people and then were framed to make others think differently."

Hiroaki placed his hand on his son's shoulder in comfort. "As I said, we have our defense at the ready. Don't worry, it'll all work out."

Matt nodded before asking, "So, I've been also thinking about plans for New Years'. Do you think it would be possible for us to have the station that night?"

"Leading into the celebration? Wouldn't it be better to host here?"

"…No, because there's not enough space."

"What do you…"

It took Hiroaki a second to catch on with Matt's request.

"I mean…I don't think it's being used. If everyone is courteous and watches after themselves, there shouldn't be any issues."

"We will, don't worry," Matt replied as he pulled his D-Terminal out to relay the message.

"What made you guys want to celebrate?" Hiroaki asked as he rose from his seat, readying himself before leaving for work.

"I think it'll be more of a rewind than anything…keep us alert, but still enjoy the festivities as they occur."

Hiroaki smiled and nodded before excusing himself to work. As Matt remained on the couch and watched the onslaught of reporting, he shook his head in disgust.

"…As he said, don't worry about it," he muttered, "but still, it's hard."

"What's hard?"

Matt was alerted when he heard Gabumon ask as the reptile took a seat on the couch.

"All of the negativity surrounding the battle…I don't want anything bad to happen."

"Why would it?"

Looking towards his partner, Matt shook his head, "People were killed – we know it was horrible and a complete accident, but nobody else knows. To take that as a defense is going to be a bit rough."

"…Would it be wrong to lie?"

"Yes, very. And plus, how would we try to spin what happened when everyone can see with their own eyes?"

Gabumon shook his head, looking down at the floor in defeat. As his father comforted him, Matt did the same with his partner.

"Hey, you let me do the worrying for the both of us."


As he flew back to his residency, Hawkmon felt more at ease, knowing what needed to be done. Landing on the balcony, he slid the glass door open and stepped into the living room only to be greeted by Momoe.

"What've you been up to, kid?"

The avian shut his eyes and breathed in harshly. "I've been enjoying my morning until I heard that."

Momoe chucked. "What can I say, it's me getting to know you bit by bit."

"I can't argue with you there," Hawkmon muttered before asking, "Do you know if Yolei is awake?"

"Yes – she's been wanting to talk to you for a bit. Are you ready?"

With a silent nod, he made his way into her bedroom, where he spotted her partner lying on the bed.

"Morning," he greeted.

"Morning," she returned the gesture.

As Hawkmon closed the bedroom door, the two remained in silence for a long minute. Neither of them knew where to really start.

Yolei broke it with a simple question. "Where did you go?"

"Oh, I headed over to Sora's for a quick talk with Biyomon and Palmon."

"Let me guess – I was the topic."

The silence confirmed Yolei's answer.

"Look," Hawkmon said as he made his way onto the bed, "it wasn't anything bad. All I did was discussed what went down with us and—"

"You want to tell me that that wasn't bad?"

"Honestly, I think you're overreacting; you were the same way last night."

Yolei shook her head and turned away from her partner. "Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore."

The avian's face scrunched in disgust, hopping off the bed and running to the other side to face his partner.

"Oh, don't you give me that," he said as soon as he made it over, "I came here so we can discuss the battle in the hope that you would want to continue."

Yolei wasn't fazed as she turned the other way. "No more talking."

"As I said in the way beginning, I got stuck with a defective human."

"The same could be said for everyone else on the team!" Yolei snapped as she finally turned her attention towards Hawkmon. "Everyone has their flaws, there is nothing wrong with that!"

"Your flaws, in accordance to what Momoe discussed last night, intertwine with your traits." He kept his voice calm – he was not here for an argument.

"You two…talked?" Yolei looked flabbergasted at the realization.

"We did, after your episode. She told me that you apparently care in a way that you don't want anyone hurt, and that you would kill if anyone was in great danger."

The girl nodded, "Those are my good traits."

"Yet you were hesitant in killing LadyDevimon."

"We could have gotten more out of her than we did."

"I believe we have everything we needed when we faced off against Daemon."

"That was later on," Yolei responded, "we could have easily gotten answers earlier."

"You were in great danger – you were close to being killed!" Hawkmon firmly stated.

"I was…" Yolei shift her eyes curiously, "distracting her."

"Ah, got it, so your rant towards Gatomon was not needed."

Yolei deeply sighed, "It was in the heat of the moment."

"But you just said that it was part of your plan."

She cocked her eyebrow as she gazed cluelessly, "…What?"

"Your plan – distracting LadyDevimon looking into more information on why the Corps was there so that Gatomon could kill her. If that was it, then your rant afterward was meaningless."

Once again, Yolei shook her head, and at that, Hawkmon chuckled.

"Oh, Momoe told me a bit more about you as well…how we're one and the same in that we can become a bit delusional when we are wrong."

"…and we're both a bit pompous when we are right."

Hawkmon glanced at his partner, who now showed off a smile.

"So, does that mean I'm right."

The girl inhaled deeply before slowing letting her breath out. "…Yes; I was irrational, and I wish I wasn't."

"Ah, there we go," Hawkmon replied, clapping his wings together.

"Hey, you aren't Mr. Perfect yourself."

"I'm well aware of that," he responded as he got back on the bed, "and maybe, when everything is all over, we can help each other out with our flaws."

Her smile slowly diminished as she thought of his words, tripping over the latter part.

"Yolei…" he saw her attitude adjust and needed to aid before everything done prior went to waste, "don't you want to help your team?"

Tears began to form in Yolei's eyes as she shook her head, "I…I don't know. It's not that I don't want to help…but the thought of not doing enough, and seeing anyone else get hurt…it's all too much."

As the tears streamed down on her face, Hawkmon deeply sighed, "I…it makes sense. But that shouldn't stop you from going out and trying. What if we sit out and something happens because of our absence? I guarantee you that will eat away at you far, far greater than your worry."

Yolei shut her eyes as she didn't want to break down altogether. "All of this…it becomes too much. Tell me, what do you think I need to do?"

"You already know – we fight, and then afterward, we talk."

The girl sat on her partner's answer for a few minutes, allowing herself to return back to a state of calmness. As she opened her eyes and wiped the dried tears from her face, she slowly nodded.

"Okay…one more battle, and then we can begin to heal."

Hawkmon smiled and wrapped his wings around Yolei's neck. "I'm glad you came to that conclusion."

Yolei returned the gesture; as she felt her partner close to her, she began to feel overwhelmed with compassion.

'He is here for you…he is going to protect you. There is nothing to be afraid of.'

As she thought this, she began to smile once more – this will be better for both of them in the end.


Ever since they reunited in the morning, something felt off. Not that it was hard for Davis to figure that out on his own.

It was early afternoon, and all Veemon did for the last couple of hours outside of normal needs was laying on Davis's bed staring straight at the nearest wall.

No talking, no sleeping…only staring with the occasional blink.

Davis couldn't take the questionable attitude much longer.

"Okay, what gives?" he asked as he entered the bedroom, "You've been like this all day; what's gotten into you?"

His partner closed his eyes and shook his head, obviously not wanting to discuss.

"Listen," Davis said as he made his way over to the bed and sat down next to Veemon, "if it's about the past few days, we can talk it out like we always do – no harm in that."

As the boy ran his fingers up and down the dragon's back, the critter broke his concentration and glanced at him.

"I…I only want to see her."

As soon as he responded, he watched his partner rise from the bed only to head to the bedroom door to promptly close it and return to his side.

"There," Davis responded as he continued comforting, "a little privacy. So, you only want to talk to Gatomon right now, huh?"

Veemon nodded solemnly; it was clear that Davis had his answer.

"Alright, let me see what I can do."

The dragon perked his head up towards his partner. "What are you thinking?"

"…It's going to be a simple request of heading over there to talk…nothing more, nothing less."

With that, Davis retrieved his D-Terminal from his nightstand and sent Kari a message. Upon receiving the response, the boy blew a sigh of relief.

"Okay, apparently Gatomon is in a rut of her own, and everyone else in the family is doing their own thing, so it'll be fine."

"Really?" Veemon asked as he rose from his position, a hint of eagerness in his eyes.

"You said you wanted to only talk to her, remember?" Davis asked as he put on his jacket.

"Well yes, but I didn't think it would have been that easy."

"You two are good friends," was the boy's response as he lifted his partner up from the bed and placed him within the contents of the jacket as a means to shield him away.

"Umm…Davis?" Veemon looked curiously after being placed close to him – a bit too close for his liking.

"I don't want to take any chances."

The dragon sighed and wrapped his hands around Davis's neck. "Fair enough."

As the duo headed outside, they were instantly greeted by a harsh wind that was gone in an instant. This pattern would recur throughout their journey, and as faint sirens rang within Odaiba, a feeling of dread crept within Davis.

'Everything seems so doom and gloom – it shouldn't be this way.'


"So, remind me again what this is supposed to do?"

Armadillomon looked on as Cody prepared for meditation, lighting the incense.

"This practice is going to help ease your mind and allow your thoughts to become free of anything negative."

The rookie had no response due to the scent hitting him.

"Eugh," he blurted as he stuck out his tongue, "do we really need that smell?"

"You'll get used to it – plus, you did suggest this yesterday during our talk. Now, come back to the mat and calmly exhale."

With his face all puckered, the armadillo returned to his mat and breathed in the aroma, immersing deep into thought with every inhale and exhale.

'Hmm…Cody is right, this incense does take some getting used to. Alright, so now what? Should I ask?'

Armadillomon glanced at Cody in his current position – closed eyes, slow breaths…all very natural.

'He is really into it…I guess I can wing it.'

As the armadillo copied his partner by closing his eyes and breathing steadily, he resumed his thoughts.

'Okay, so this is supposed to help me erase all of my bad thoughts. Isn't that impossible? Couldn't I think of something bad right after this? Or is this anything bad before I started? Is it only thoughts, or actions as well? Something bad…'

He pondered heavily on that – something bad within the last few days, something like…

'The battle! Alright, I'm making some progress! Maybe after a few of these, I'll be right up there with Cody. So, the battle…didn't go as planned, at least the beginning. We killed three members of the Corps and are now waiting on Daemon to come back. Man, that fight was truly—'

A small bulb flickered on as it clicked at that moment.

'Cody and I have been on bad terms since then. Something's been eating him up inside lately, and I…I need to figure out what that is. Was it nerves? Was it being his first time? Was it…was it me? If it was, I would like for him to say that. Maybe we can work something out…but I have my reasons. I'm supposed to protect him at all costs. Whoever is reading my thoughts…help me understand Cody a bit better.'

As he opened his eyes, allowing himself to resume reality, he glanced up to see Cody looking back at him with a genuine smile.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

He nodded in response before saying, "It helped in some ways…but still, I feel something…kind of there."

Cody exhaled softly. "We never finished our talk, huh?"

"No – why not get it over with."

The boy nodded in agreement as he put the incense out before retreating towards the door.

"I'll meet you in my room whenever you are ready."

As he left, Armadillomon waited a solid minute before he exited the meditating room and headed towards Cody's room. Upon entering and closing the door, he laid eyes on his partner who sat on the bed.

"Okay, so where do we begin?"

Once Cody asked the question, silence filled the room for the next few minutes. With nobody else at home, as the adults were off running errands, the silence lingering throughout the house crept in, making the duo more uncomfortable. They were both ready, but neither one couldn't seem to begin.

"So…" the armadillo finally said, "our biggest disagreement was handling how we fight, correct?"

Cody nodded before saying, "Something along those lines."

"Alright, what do you think we could have done differently so that we had an outcome that would have favored us?"

"I have said this yesterday, and I'll stick with it now – better preparation, including knowing our strategy and retreating points. I think that, had we stopped and ran, things wouldn't have gotten chaotic."

"And we wouldn't be pained as the bad guys, right?"

The boy glanced to the side as he deeply exhaled. "It would have been nice to have that going for us."

"…Please don't hate me for asking this…but what would have your father say in this situation?"

Cody turned his attention towards his partner, who was waltzing towards him – he was caught off-guard.

"I…" he began but stopped.

"Take your time," Armadillomon responded as he reached the bed and leaped onto it.

One minute of pondering turned into two – many thoughts were swirling around him, but he wanted something perfect. After another minute, he was ready to answer.

"He would have said that life isn't always going to be fair; I'm sure he had those days where things didn't go according…to plan…"

Seeing the youngster close to breaking down, the armadillo offered a consulting rub on the shoulder.

"Cody?" he asked.

When his partner turned, tears close to forming, Armadillomon continued, "Your answer was good enough for me. Sometimes things don't go according to plan, but we still move forward to do better."

As the boy broke out in a smile, he embraced his partner.

"Oh, thank you. I needed to hear that."

"I'm glad to be of service anytime you need it," was the response Armadillomon gave while returning the embrace. "I'm sorry for lashing out yesterday."

"You? No, I should be the one saying sorry…and I mean it; I was a real downer."

As the two broke away, the sound of sirens coming from outside alerted them.

"Cody…you don't think that—"

"Don't be silly, they wouldn't be coming after us."

The boy comforted his friend with some gentle pats on his shell, but inside, he was swirling with thoughts.

'This can't be happening…please, Mom and Grandpa, come back soon. I don't think I'll be strong enough if something does happen.'


Upon hearing the doorbell sound, Gatomon's ears perked up – he was here.

'Finally! I thought they would never arrive.'

As Kari answered the door and ushered the duo in, the feline remained on her partner's bed waiting in anticipation. She closed her eyes and drew in a breath until…

"Knock knock."

Veemon's tapping on the door alerted her of his presence.

"Oh, hey!" she said cheerfully, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"…So, is it fine that I come in?"

Here he was – all that she wanted, in his truest form.

"Yes, please close the door," she needed.

As the dragon obliged, she rose from her seat and waited until he faced her again before she scurried for an embrace.

"Well hello to you, too," Veemon responded as he returned the gesture.

They stood in silence, allowing their affection to linger until she spoke.

"…I needed this a lot."

"I can tell; I needed this as well."

Gatomon nudged her head against his neck, not wanting to lose the feeling.

Eventually, they broke free and retreated towards the bed, hopping onto the covers and laid on their stomachs facing each other.

"…You go first," she said, twirling her claw against the outside bedsheet.

Veemon kept his lips tight as he thought of what to say.

"I guess…" he said, breaking the silence, "…I was nervous about losing…"

As she looked at him in a gawking manner, he quickly finished.

"…losing you."

Her look didn't diminish in the slightest. "You know that I've fought before, there was nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say, I was shaking like a leaf on the inside."

They kept their voices to a minimum hush, not wanting to alert their partners.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked baffled, her paw touching her chest.

"How did you really feel?"

"…I…you can't make me go through that again."

She shook her head, determined to win this battle.

"Okay," Veemon responded with raised hands, "fine, then tell me why you looked shaken up after I got clobbered by Daemon?"

"…It's all one and the same."

With that, she retreated off the bed and headed towards the balcony, sliding the glass door open.

"So, that's it?" Veemon asked as he got off the bed.

"Give me a bit more time," she responded as she closed the door.

He shook his head in disgust as he headed towards the door, opening it and stepping out on the balcony.

"We're not done—"

"Keep your voice down, I don't want anyone else to hear!"

Veemon could sense that she was starting to feel tense as her tone came off tougher than his.

"…We aren't done discussing," he whispered in a low tone.

"I said give me more time."

"Why? I thought you were ready to talk?"

"Yeah, I thought I was too!"

Within each response, her body flared inside – she thought she was emotionally drained.

"What happened between you and LadyDevimon that has you acting this way?"

Gatomon shook her head. "I said I'm not ready."

"…Fine, I'm guessing you want to know what I felt during my fight. I got my butt whooped – twice in fact because I liked it the first time and figured I could handle the pain. It was embarrassing to say the least to not be able to keep up with the rest. Davis and I are still feeling on edge – that's why I came here, hoping to talk to you so that I can freely discuss my feelings with my own partner."

"You didn't need me to do that," Gatomon responded, "you could have been open and honest with Davis right from the start."

"Yeah, but you ate away at me more. When I saw your expression after I was handled by Daemon, it shook me to the core. I needed to know what had you feeling that…defeated."

She looked at him crossly. "I wasn't defeated! I did my part and killed LadyDevimon!"

"Good for you, but it seemed as though she did more of an effect on you than what you did to her."

As the feline shook her head, the emotions started to come back. Doing her best to fight back tears, she said, "You wouldn't understand"

"Why wouldn't I? Please, Gato, I want to help you."

He pleaded as he felt his mind racing a hundred miles a second – nothing mattered more than seeing her feel safe and sound.

"I get that, but I…"

She retreated towards the door in a swift manner, but Veemon jumped over that, sprinting towards her and placing himself in front of the door.

"Please, Veemon, I—"

"I want to help, let me—"

"No!"

Gatomon had enough as she broke down, tears streaming down her face and her paws clutching her head.

"I said it again and again and again, and yet you pushed…" she said through closed eyes and a weary voice.

His eyes lit up as she spoke that phrase.

'That sounded a lot like…me…'

"Gatomon, I'm sorry."

As he apologized, she opened her eyes and flung herself at him in another embrace. This time, it wasn't one of passion, but one of fright.

"If you care for me as much as I care for you…you would let me be. Please, let me go back to normal."

"Okay," he said as he returned the gesture, rubbing his hands along her back, "I'll go. When you are truly ready, we'll—"

"Hey, what in the…"

Muffled yells came from inside, alerting the Digimon.

"What…what's going on?" Gatomon asked in worry.

Her answer was given as an officer in black stepped out on the balcony wielding a pair of cuffs in one hand and a gun in the other.

"Hands where I can see them!"

The dragon reacted in defense. "What do you want!"

"Veemon, please," Gatomon whispered from behind.

"You two are under arrest in part of negligence to the city of Odaiba."

"It wasn't our fault!" Veemon bellowed as he approached the armed officer.

"You take one more step and—"

"What are you going to do, shoot me?"

"Enough!"

Gatomon sprinted towards the two and stood between the pair, arms stretched towards them each.

"Please, he doesn't know what's going on."

"Tell him to back down."

She shot a glance towards him before saying, "Listen to him – we'll have our time to talk, but we need to make it there first."

The dragon took a few deep breaths before stepping back.

"Thank you," Gatomon responded before returning her attention towards the human, "now please, tell us what is happening."

"You two," he explained again, "are under arrest, along with the rest of your group, due to failing to keep the citizens safe from harm or from aiding in terrorist activity to harm them. Depending on how the accuser frames the argument will determine how you all will defend."

Even though she wanted to respond, she knew that it would be wasting breath.

"Understood," was the response Gatomon gave as she raised her hands.

"Does he understand?"

Veemon raised his hands in solidarity, answering to the cop before he placed the pair in cuffs and led them away.

"Where are you taking them?"

They could hear Davis asking another office aggressively as they stepped out of the front door and spotted a large, white van.

'Well, we have our answer,' Veemon thought as they headed towards the vehicle in silence.


"As I said before, your partners and all of the other creatures are to be placed in solitary confinement for the evening until the trail takes place tomorrow afternoon. There, you and your group will defend one of two counts that will be brought against you. Seeing as this will be the first bout of initial questioning, a lawyer will not be present and based on the outcome, you may not need one. The only people that are to be present there will be members of the accused party, members of the defending party, and those in the civil matter. Do you understand?"

Davis nodded his head in silence after listening to the officer's explanation, leaving him and Kari speechless. As he left the two, it took a couple of seconds before Kari finally broke the silence.

"I can't believe that they…Davis, this is not good."

"I know, but what else can we do? I assume that everyone else is waiting for someone to start a group session, but—"

"Do it."

He was taken back by the quickness and the severe tone. "How would I—"

"Davis, if Tai was right here wanting you to do the exact same thing, how would you respond?"

Pondering on that point only took a few seconds before he whipped out the D-Terminal and began the chat.

'It's about time you show some leadership skills…'