Author's note: To Jackie Mueller. Please read chapter 3 again. There is the answer to your question.

Sorry for the late update. I haven't been able to upload due to a birthdate in my family. Well... It doesn't matter now because here is the first character chapter. Hope you like it. ^^

Chapter 20 – Reliability and Honesty

A week passed. As always when Yolei argued with her older siblings, she cycled around the area with her bike and Poromon. Although her partner generally always sounded male, the baby level of him had a female voice. But she didn't care. Instead, she was angry with her older brother Mantaru. He had insulted her that she still had her toy Poromon. Unlike Cody and Ken, Yolei had never told her family that she was a DigiDestined and her toy was actually a digimon named Poromon. She just couldn't do it. However, she also knew that Davis had not told his parents about it as well. Still. Sometimes she wondered why she didn't tell her parents and siblings.

"Yolei," Poromon said.

"Not now," she raved.

"Stop."

She made a full brake, causing her partner to be thrown out of the basket near the ground. She immediately apologized.

"You should tell your parents." he said.

"No... How would they react?"

"I..."

"Not everyone has understanding parents like Ken or Cody has them," Yolei sighed.

"But you shouldn't hide it..."

"Or I'll put you in Ken's place," she said, smiling: "After all, he had already taken care of you!"

"Yolei!" Poromon rebuked her: "You're my partner, not Ken."

"Despite this... How can I teach my parents and siblings that I am a DigiDestined?"

"I don't know... But you shouldn't run away!" Poromon flapped his small wings.

She sighed heavily and looked at the river. This one rustled gently. In the distance, Yolei could see a ship. Presumably the captain made his ship tours and showed the sights of Tokyo. The tourists would definitely be happy about such a trip.

"Yolei!" her partner shouted, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What did you say?" she asked, confused, looking at Poromon.

"How about talking to one of the older DigiDestined... For example, Izzy."

"He's busy deciphering the legend," she waved.

"Ken? I mean, you've got a crush on him."

"Poromon! I don't bring out a word when I'm supposed to talk to him!"

"Right... Hm...", he thought something: "How about Joe? I mean, he's the oldest of us all."

"Good idea. I call... No, I'm going to Joe."

She pedalled and drove in front of Joe's apartment block. When she rang him, Ms. Kido opened the door.

"Huh? Who are you?" she asked kindly.

"I'm Yolei and a friend of Joe," she explained, holding her partner with her arms.

"Ah! So then you're Joe's girlfriend," she concluded.

"Like, what? No, no, no, no, no!" she chuckled with her hands in front of her torso: "We are only friends, only friends! I don't love him!"

"Then who is Joe's girlfriend?" Ms. Kido put her head to the side.

"Can we finally leave the topic... I want to see Joe. It... is urgent. I need his advice."

"Okay. Joe! Your girlfriend is here!" she exclaimed.

"I'm learning, mother. Please, can you tell her I am busy right now!" Joe replied from his room.

"Yolei needs your help," his mother replied.

"Wait. Yolei? I'm coming!"

Within seconds, Joe and his partner, Gomamon, stood next to Ms. Kido and watched the visitors.

"What's going on, Yolei?" the young man asked.

"We... need your advice," Yolei said.

"Okay. Come in," he made a hand gesture to urge her to enter.

The apartment of the Kido family was very spacious. Next to the elongated hallway with a chest of drawers on the left were several pictures of the family on the walls. A picture, Yolei assumed, had just been taken, as Gomamon could also be seen on it. Other pictures showed Joe and his older brother Jim, another picture the whole family without Gomamon. One image attracted Yolei's attention in particular. This showed a young Jim holding a baby in his arms. She looked into the camera with big eyes, while the older brother smiled broadly.

"That's me and my older brother Jim," Joe said.

"Aha," she said, "Where's Jim now?"

"He works as a doctor in Kyoto," Ms. Kido replied.

"I was there with my class once," Yolei smiled: "It's very nice there."

"I know," Joe replied: "I and Gomamon once visited Jim there. By the way, he works with Sora's father."

"I already know that. They helped me once."

They both chatted a little before Ms. Kido asked:

"Do you want a tea?"

"Yes, Ms. Kido," she smiled.

"Good," she nodded to her and walked into the kitchen.

"And we go to my room in the meantime."

When Yolei entered Joe's room, she realized that everything was very orderly. Next to a bed was also a desk with several books stacked on top of each other. Right next to the table was a simple oak wardrobe. Above the table hung three tapestries with Japanese characters to motivate you to learn. The young man sat on the chair while Gomamon made himself comfortable on the bed.

"So, why do you want my advice, Yolei?" Joe asked her.

"It's like that..." she looked to the side and bit her lower lip.

"Yolei wants to tell her parents and siblings that she's a DigiDestined," Poromon said.

"Poromon!" she rebuked him.

"Hm... How about telling just one of them," Gomamon suggested.

"And who?" she sounded slightly annoyed: "My siblings tell everything. Everything!"

"Then tell your parents," the young man said.

"No..."

"You should be really honest, Yolei. If you hide it from them for longer, the stronger the shock will be if they find out."

"I've been hiding it for over four years! I can't do it now!' she shouted, putting her face in her palms.

"Are you not overreacting, Yolei?" asked Poromon.

"I don't... But I can't tell my family... My family is far crazier than Ken's or even Cody's!"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Joe slightly tilted his head to the side.

"It's so bad," she said: "When I brought a puppy home, for example, my dad shouted at me to let him run again."

"Your parents have a supermarket... For hygienic reasons, they forbade you," Gomamon said.

"And imagine when I tell my parents that Poromon is a digimon! They will then suspend him and I will get house arrest for years!" she shouted.

"Okay..." the young man looked at her sceptically: "You really are overreacting. Just try it. And-"

Suddenly, a distortion appeared, causing Guilmon to appear. He briefly looked around and finally recognized Yolei. He smiled slightly and threw an object at her. When she caught it, the object began to glow.

"What kind of light is this?" asked Yolei's partner: "Poromon digivolve to... Hawkmon!"

"A crest?!" Joe said, terrified.

"It is logical that Yolei also gets one. I mean Meiko and Cody have one," Gomamon said.

"And done," Guilmon said, shook briefly: "King Drasil's subordinates are really stubborn."

"How exactly do you mean that?" was Hawkmon's question.

"Actually I should bring the crest to a place somewhere in the digital world... However, King Drasil's subordinates are after the crests. As long as the bearer does not touch his crest, the crest can be negatively affected," explained the red dinosaur: "But fortunately the Homeostasis suggested that I deliver the crest of honesty to its bearer. As I made my way here, several subordinates of King Drasil attacked me."

"Wait... Honesty? My crest is honesty?" asked Yolei.

"Yes," he confirmed: "Your crest is honesty. According to the Homeostasis, you are a very honest person."

"How can I be honest if I constantly lie to my parents?!" she shouted, throwing the crest on the floor.

"Yolei!" her partner shouted, taking the crest with his beak.

Then he handed it back to her.

"Sometimes you have to conquer the darkness in yourself to ignite new forces," Joe replied: "It was the case with me and Gomamon. By accepting what my duty as a DigiDestined means, Gomamon was able to digivolve to his ultimate-level."

"But Hawkmon can't even digivolve to his perfect-level," she said, looking at her partner, who pulled his head in.

"Don't blame him... Otherwise, he will never be able to digivolve to the perfect-level," the red dinosaur replied, before a distortion appeared behind him: "Well. I have to move on. See you later."

In doing so, Guilmon jumped into the distortion, which disappeared a few seconds later.

/Honesty... Why?/ Yolei thought, looking at her crest, which formed some kind of a flame.

"And I think I already know how your crest will activate, Yolei!" cried Gomamon.

"Me too," Hawkmon replied.

"It's pretty obvious," Joe said.

"And how?" she asked.

"By telling your family that you're a DigiDestined," the young man replied.

"Never!" she screamed, rushing out of the room.

"Yolei!" her partner shouted and rushed after her.

He still realized how Ms. Kido came out of the kitchen with a tray containing four cups. She looked at the falcon in amazement.

"Sorry, Ms Kido. We have to go again," he said, flying outside through the open door.

Hawkmon was looking for his partner for a while. He flew through the streets, through the parks, through the alleys. He searched for her continuously. After a while, he sat down on a branch and sighed.

/Yolei... Where are you?/ he asked himself.

Someone walked past the tree. It was Yolei's older brother Mantaru. He was wearing a white T-shirt with blue shorts. There were headphones in his ears. Like Yolei, he wore glasses. Hawkmon flew down from the branch and landed right in front of him.

"Wah!" he was terrified, jumping a meter backwards.

"Mantaru," Hawkmon said earnestly.

"A... a Digimon?" his eyes had wide open.

Incisively, he rubbed off the glasses on his T-shirt and put them back on. But the Digimon was still not gone. Then Mantaru took the headphones out and started shaking. He hoped he would hallucinate because he believed Digimon's were terrible monsters.

"Mantaru." the falcon said, "Have you seen Yolei?"

"What... what do you want from my sister?" was his question.

"I'm her partner. Yolei herself is a DigiDestined and was chosen to be my partner," he explained.

" DigiDestined? Hold on... You are this toy that Yolei owns."

"Exactly. My name is Hawkmon and I am a Digimon. But that is now irrelevant. Have you seen Yolei? We were with a friend because we were looking for advice. But then she left without a trace."

"Like a year ago..." he recalled how Yolei had disappeared without a trace and reappeared after a month completely exhausted.

"This time it's different. Yolei was not kidnapped by a digimon. She hides from her family that she is a DigiDestined."

"How long has it been?"

"For four years."

"So long..." he closed his eyes briefly: "Good. We are looking for them."

"Thank you, Mantaru... I'm really worried about Yolei," he flew back into the air: "Don't you mind that I'm a digimon?"

"It's a shock... However, you don't seem to be malicious... On the contrary. You seem to be very formal and polite."

"That's who I am."

"Good... Then we'll look for Yolei."

So the two searched for Yolei together. As they passed a river, they recognized her under a bridge. Lost in thought, she threw a few stones into the river. She didn't even notice Hawkmon and her older brother. It wasn't until they both stood in front of her that she looked up.

"How, what?" she asked, confused, because she had not expected both her partner and Mantaru to stand in front of her together.

"Hey, Yolei!" her brother replied, smiling, and sat down next to her, "How's it going?"

"What do you want, Mantaru!" she cried, turning her back to him.

Hawkmon flew right in front of Yolei and made a worried face.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, Yolei," he said, "I was worried about you."

"Why are you with Mantaru, Hawkmon?" was her question.

"Hawkmon was looking for you and came across me," Mantaru explained: "He told me that you are a DigiDestined... and what happened to you a year ago. You were kidnapped..."

"Yes... But please don't tell our parents, Mantaru," she asked, throwing a stone into the river again.

"Yolei. Do you want to run away?" her brother asked, "You have to tell our parents."

"Have to? No... I've been hiding it for four years... I can do it."

"Yolei!" said Hawkmon angrily, "but I don't want you to hide it any longer!"

"Then you will live with Ken," she argued.

"I'm your partner, not Ken's," the hawk said.

"He's right, Yolei. Besides, I now know that you are a DigiDestined and befriended by a Digimon... So tell our parents and siblings," Mantaru replied, "I'll help you, Yolei. I'm your brother after all."

He put an arm around her and pulled her over. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the hug. After a while, she separated from him and thanked him.

"No problem. What are older brothers there for?" he laughed.

"Thank you. So..." she got up and stretched out, "Then we'll go back home, right?"

"Yes. And as I said, I'm with you, Yolei. And I will help you."

So the three went to Yolei's apartment. As Yolei and Hawkmon sat down, Mantaru summoned the rest of the family together. After everyone took their seats, there was a crushing silence.

"Well... I..." Yolei began unsure and kneaded her hands.

However, she did not continue and eventually took Hawkmon in her lap.

"What's going on, Yolei?" her mother asked her impatiently, as she had to go back to the store.

Mantaru looked briefly at Hawkmon before saying:

"The toy on Yolei's lap-"

"Mantaru, wait," his sister interrupted him.

"I thought we would agree?"

"But... But I will tell them myself."

"Did you steal several yen from us, Yolei?" was her father's question.

"No.", she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before her eyelids reopened and she said in a heavy voice: "The toy on my lap is a digimon and I-"

"What?!" cried Chizuru, the younger of Yolei's two sisters.

"Yes..." Hawkmon began to move and nodded.

Everyone except Mantaru and Yolei looked at him with big eyes.

"And I'm a DigiDestined. I once protected this and the digital world from a terrible digimon," she explained, as her crest began to glow.

Then the light faded and she smiled at her family.

"And for how long have you been a DigiDestined?" asked Momoe, her eldest sister.

"For four years," she sighed, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was afraid that you would take Hawkmon away from me because you just took away the puppy I found at the time."

"Because we have to comply with the rules, Yolei. No animals in the supermarket," her father sighed.

"And what about Hawkmon?" asked Mantaru, "He's not an animal. He's a digimon."

"And that's the problem. Digimon are vicious and brutal!" her mother said.

"Partly yes..." Yolei admitted.

"But Hawkmon is not like that!" her brother exclaimed: "He is friendly, polite and formal. He would never go to the supermarket if you forbid him! In addition... I don't mind if we get another family member. I mean Hawkmon is a man."

"Actually, we digimon don't have genders," the hawk explained: "It's just that sometimes we sound like men and sometimes we sound like women. That's the way it is."

"So I don't see any problem with leaving Hawkmon with us," Mantaru concluded.

"It... "It's okay," Chizuru said after collecting her thoughts: "Nothing changes except that we get another family member."

"And he's Yolei's friend," Momoe smiled: "A friend of her is also our friend. Don't you always say that, mom?"

"Yes... But Hawkmon, right, is a digimon," her mother replied.

"Well? Hawkmon is a friend of Yolei!" argued the eldest sister.

"Well... What do you say?" she asked her husband.

"I don't mind," he smiled: "I think Hawkmon means a lot to Yolei."

"Thank you," Yolei said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you..."

"We are a family, Yolei! And we're holding together!" her brother said.

"I know..." she wiped away her tears.

"So... How exactly did you became a DigiDestined?" was her father's question.

"It was like..." she began to tell how she got her Digivice, how she met Hawkmon, what she experienced with her friends, why she disappeared without a trace for a month a year ago.

She told her family all this. The more she told them about it, the more relieved she became. Hawkmon and Joe were right. She should have told her family much earlier.

In the afternoon, Yolei and Hawkmon watched TV. A science programme about the Middle Ages of Europe has just aired. Suddenly the show was interrupted and a message was released.

"We apologize for having to interrupt the current program. This is an urgent message. A digimon has just appeared in the park of Edogawa. The police are asking all residents to remain calm and follow the instructions," the news reader said.

Yolei jumped up and pulled her Digivice.

"Hawkmon! We have to go to Edogawa!" she cried.

"Okay!" he confirmed, rising into the air.

Then they rushed to the door.

"Yolei?" her mother asked.

"I have to leave, mother. A digimon has appeared in Edogawa," she explained, "I have to go!"

"Be careful, Yolei."

"Don't worry, I will."

She and her partner left the apartment. Then they ran down the stairs because the elevator was broken. On the way out, the falcon asked:

"Yolei, shouldn't you ride on me so we can be there faster?"

"Good idea," she replied after jumping down the last few steps.

On the square in front of the apartment blocks, Hawkmon began to envelop himself in a light.

"Hawkmon digivolve to... Aquilamon!" he shouted, before his partner climbed on his back.

Then the eagle flew off towards Edogawa. Once there, they saw Joe fighting a bird digimon with Zudomon. When the young man saw Aquilamon, he cried:

"This is a perfect-level digimon! Aquilamon has no chance against it! Wait until the others come!"

"But we're going to fight anyway, aren't we going to fight?" she asked the eagle.

"Yes!" he confirmed her words and landed on the ground.

Yolei climbed off his back before Aquilamon lifted himself back into the air and followed the black bird.

"What kind of digimon is this?" was her question.

"According to Izzy, a Yatagaramon," Joe replied.

"It's too fast for me," Zudomon said, "I can't catch him."

"Why don't you digivolve to your ultimate-level, Zudomon?" she asked.

"That wouldn't do anything. I can fly, but I'm still too slow."

The three watched as Yolei's partner chased behind the Yatagaramon. It flew high into the air and fired an electric charge at Aquilamon. He dodged to the side and sent several circular lasers to the enemy. But he flew to the side and dropped to the eagle with an outstretched leg. He was thrown to the ground by the force.

"Aquilamon!" shouted Yolei, and rushed to him as the Yatagaramon flew menacingly over her.

"Urgh... It's strong," the eagle said.

"Come on... Don't give up!"

Aquilamon straightened up again and flew towards the black bird. He wanted to piece it with his horns, but he did not succeed, because Yatagaramon dodged him and threw him back to the ground with a wing.

Meanwhile, Yolei gritted her teeth. It would probably take half an eternity for the others to come. And by then, her partner could be killed. She had to think a little bit, and she did it quickly. Determined, she threw a stone at the opponent's head.

"No Yolei!" Aquilamon shouted to her, straightening up.

The black bird screamed before attempting to attack her. But Zudomon stood protectively in front of her and hurled Yatagaramon away with his hammer.

"Why did you do this, Yolei?" the eagle asked her after he flew to her.

"I don't want you to be killed, Aquilamon," she admitted, looking at him.

"But it is my duty to protect you and both worlds."

"I know," she sighed heavily: "But you also have to take care of yourself. You are a friend of mine. And besides..."

She interrupted and closed her eyes.

"And besides?" repeated Aquilamon.

"You are a member of my family. You are a member of the Inoue family!" she said proudly, before her crest began to shine.

The eagle smiled at her before he wrapped himself in a light.

"Aquilamon digivolve to... Velgremon!" he shouted.

Velgremon looked like a skeletonized bird with two narrow legs, each embroidered with three claws. Two of them were facing forwards, one backwards. The body had a rust-brown colour, while two grey feathered wings held it in the air. On each of the wings sat a kind of yellow horn, which served no other purpose. The head of the skeletonized bird seemed really scary, but somehow Yolei wasn't scared at all. She knew her partner. Velgremon had three eyes. Two on the side, one on the forehead. Yellow hair was on his head. The two shoulder plates looked as if they were half-heads, while the long thin tail without a feather balanced it.

"Unbelievable," Joe marvelled: "He digivolve to his perfect-level!"

"I'm Velgremon!" he cried, "And I'm going to protect my friends."

"Why are you digivolving?" Yolei asked him.

"Because you're honest. I always wanted me to be a part of your family. You told me that and that's why I was able to digitize to Velgremon!" the skeletonized bird explained, before turning to Yatagaramon.

He flew high into the air and wanted to escape because it had not expected a sudden perfect digivolution. No, it didn't flee because of the digivolution. It fled because it was afraid of Velgremon.

Velgremon rushed after it and attacked it from above with his claws. Yatagaramon growled a little and wanted to chase its right claw in him, but he immediately stopped beating his wings and let himself be plunged into the depths. The black bird followed him, but then it noticed Velgremon putting his one wing on the ground. Then the skeletonized bird flew a circle while Yatagaramon tried to escape.

"Master of Darkness!" shouted Velgremon, creating an explosion.

The black bird screamed in pain, but flew away after the attack.

"You will not escape me," said the skeletonized bird, shooting a black laser from his forehead eye at him.

Yatagaramon disintegrated into data particles and died while Sora, Izzy and their partner arrived at the scene. Velgremon flew back to Yolei and nodded to her. Meanwhile, Zudomon returned to Gomamon.

"Who-," Sora began to ask.

"This is my partner, Velgremon," Yolei said proudly.

"Velgremon?" asked Biyomon.

"Yes. The perfect-level of Hawkmon," she replied.

Izzy opened his laptop and looked for the digimon.

"It's really Hawkmon's perfect-level," the redhead explained.

"It's unbelievable! Congratulations to you two," Joe Yolei and Velgremon congratulated.

The latter began to envelop itself in a light. First the shape changed to Aquilamon, then to Hawkmon, and finally Poromon emerged, who jumped into the arms of his partner.

"You were incredible," she praised him.

"Thank you..." he moaned: "I want to eat now. I'm hungry!"

"Okay. When we're back home, my mom will cook us something delicious."

"I'm looking forward to it!"

Yolei said goodbye to everyone and went home with Poromon in her arms.

"You see?" said Gomamon: "Your advice has made Hawkmon digivolve to his perfect-level!"

"I don't think I have anything to do with it," Joe said.

"Don't worry, Joe," Sora replied: "It helped her. Even if only slightly."

"But we should be glad that Hawkmon can finally digivolve to Velgremon," Biyomon smiled.

"I wonder what Wormmon's, Veemon's and Armadillomon's perfect-level look like..." Tentomon said.

"We'll certainly find out," Izzy replied, folding his laptop again: "And by then I'll have deciphered this old legend!"

"And by then I will have figured out what exactly our relationship with Omnimon is!" the insect exclaimed.