Nexusworld

Run only as fast as I can, but my mind is free.
To celebrate universes in binary.
Spend all day in the clouds in our definitions now.
So high… we're not coming down.
- Approaching Nirvana, "Virtual Is Where We Live"

Episode 19

Davis Motomiya soaked his feet in the creek, clangs of steel against armor behind him. The battle made it hard to relax the way he wanted to. Providing transportation and emergency backup for the response team was a crapshoot. Sometimes it was hours standing by for a call that never came. Sometimes it was an open field or a beach or an island offering an hour or two of peaceful downtime with Veemon and Ken. This was that unpleasant middle, a batch of corrupted Tortomon that would never pose a threat to Takato and Yolei but blasting nasty noises into the air and ruining any hope of clearing his mind.

"So groovy!" shouted Astra and Musimon as they whizzed by him, splashing into the water and spraying it over Davis. The river was only a couple feet deep, plus two more inches for the mud they landed in. Were it any deeper Davis would have been soaking in it already.

"Now we're talking!" exclaimed Veemon, jumping in after them.

"Davis!" Musimon called out. He and Astra stared at him, hands (and ears) raised in expectation. Davis fell backwards on the grass, groaning.

Astra and Musimon turned to Veemon, who shrugged and said, "It's complicated."

They pulled themselves out of the creek, Musimon producing a towel for his buddy. Astra kicked his legs in the water, but peered at Davis, still holding a sneaky smile. "Let's see… problems with Kari?"

"I guess you could say that," said Davis. It wasn't Kari that was the problem…

Astra leaned in. "If you need to spice things up, I could jump in."

"Eh, we got one too many already." Davis turned to him. "Turns out trying to have a relationship with both her and the god living in her head has a downside."

The appdriver pondered for a moment, scratching his chin in an exaggerated show of deep thought. Then he asked, "Like what?"

"Well, first I thought they were sharing just fine. But they kind of got into it last night. I don't think Kari has much control at all."

"That's not okay! Guess you gotta dump the god."

"I don't want to dump the god," Davis moaned. "I like the god!"

"Yeah, but more than Kari?"

He had to pause and think. "In like a girlfriend way? Kinda, yeah." Quickly, he added, "I mean I'd do anything for Kari but… we were just friends until she started kissing me all of a sudden." He paused longer this time. "TK thinks that might have been Rhythm."

"So not okay," said Musimon.

"We don't know if it's on purpose! Like maybe Rhythm being into me is bleeding over into Kari being into me?" Davis groaned. "Uh, why does life have to be so hard?"

Astra nodded. "Sorry to kill your vibe but I think you gotta split 'em up."

Davis flinched at the obvious truth he didn't want to acknowledge. Even if he could accept it, it only complicated things. "But that's the worst part! How the heck do you even do that?" His best idea was angrily demanding Rhythm leave Kari's head. No amount of goading from TK or crying from Kari could bring him to do that to someone he cared for.

Musimon's eyes lit up. "Astra! You could do the thing!"

"The thing?"

"Ooh, yeah, karana-chado!" Astra stretched out his arms. "Tea ceremony!"

Davis stared back, dumbfounded. "Uh… you lost me," said Veemon.

He was all too eager to explain: "Okay, so you know how your usual tea ceremony is about appreciating the blend of internal spiritualism with the natural world?"

"No," replied Davis. "I thought it was just wearing kimono and pretending to like bitter tea."

Astra pointed at him. "I'll let that slide just this once! Anyway, the Asuka school has a secret method to lure in evil spirits to banish them forever."

"Through a tea ceremony? For real?"

"Yeah, officially the family's had it banned for centuries, but uncle showed it to me at the temple once." Astra winked. "I teach it to our students on the DL. The kids love it."

It sounded insane, but Davis wasn't one to doubt insane. "So what do we gotta do?"

"Get Kari to sit through a tea ceremony. Bring a couple friends, it'll be fun!"

Veemon climbed out of the water. "And that'll get Rhythm out of Kari?"

"Sure, unless my uncle's full of it!"

Musimon jumped in. "His uncle is so not full of it."

Davis frowned. "It won't hurt Rhythm, will it?"

Astra thought for a moment. "Hurt her? Shouldn't. Sure won't like it though!"

"Aw, don't say that!" Groaning, Davis turned away. He didn't stand to do anything bad to Rhythm. He was her one outlet from an eternity of loneliness, and disconnecting it in any fashion seemed unreasonably cruel. But living through Kari was untenable, and he couldn't ignore the compromises she had to make every time Rhythm wanted to talk. It was dangerous, it was painful, and he couldn't accept Rhythm perpetuating it as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey…" With a contemplative frown, Astra cast his eyes into the water. "I'm sure it's hard, but I wanna help. I haven't known Kari as long as you or TK but… she needs something stable. She's the coolest when she's got that. She was so happy to get with you. But if she's thinking that was Rhythm or whoever… she's gonna have doubts about everything. Even, like, sure-thing gut instincts. We live on those, you know? Can't let her wonder whether those are coming from her or Rhythm. She already doesn't get enough of them."

Davis sighed. He couldn't argue with any of that. He relied on gut instincts more than anything. Without them, he had nothing. The one speaking right now told him there was only one move.

"So… do we need to get dressed up or… how do we do this?"

Astra grinned. "Follow my groove."

Tagiru Akashi jerked around in his chair, pumping himself up for the mission briefing. With the patrol team hiding away in the right positions for the big plan, it was his turn to march out and lead the enemy generals into the trap. He had long since rationalized the job Daigo still called "bait." Being on the front line meant heroism, sacrifice, and gave him first crack at taking down somebody big. Now he just wanted to get out there and prove himself.

Daigo, to no one's surprise, was still not sold. He slumped down in his seat next to Tagiru, nursing a cup of coffee with only the occasional sip. An untouched donut sat on the table in front of him.

"Jeez, you sure that's not decaf?" Tagiru asked him.

"We don't bother with decaf." Across from them, Matt took a long drink from his mug. He wasn't as sullen as Daigo, but the bags under his eyes suggested he was just as tired. "You're gonna have to wake up sometime, Nishijima, we need you out there."

"I'll be fine," muttered Daigo. "Just a lot of banging from the room next door. Like… all night."

Tagiru broke into a toothy grin. "Banging like pounding the wall or banging like the good kind?"

"Both."

"Guys, this isn't appropriate," Matt mumbled.

Tagiru ignored him. "Ooh! Who's your neighbor?"

Daigo paused, then smirked at Tagiru. "As a matter of fact, it's Sora."

Bouncing to his feet, Tagiru pointed back. "No, that doesn't prove anything!"

Matt pounded his fist and appealed to the head of the table. "Takuya, say something."

Takuya waved him off, grinning. "No, no, I want to hear more!"

"So who she was with?" asked Mikey. With the remaining person in the room speaking up, Matt shook his head in futility.

"Sorry, I was trying not to hear them." said Daigo, sheltering his donut from Gumdramon's swipe attempt.

Mikey snickered. "I've got a guess."

Takuya nodded. "I know who you're thinking."

"Just drop it, okay?!" Matt protested.

Before anyone responded, the door opened. Yuujin and Haru entered with their buddies, sliding behind Matt to get to open seats.

"Morning, Yuujin," said Takuya and Mikey in unison.

Their singsong tone and knowing smiles made Yuujin pause and regard them. "Morning," he said kindly, with a purity ill-suited for the room.

As Gatchmon passed behind Matt, he said, "Hey, why don't you have any decaf? Haru won't let me have the regular."

"With good reason," added Haru.

It made Daigo note the tall cup in Yuujin's hand. "Long night, huh?"

Yuujin returned a confused look. He glanced at Haru, who only smiled back sweetly. "Nah, I've never been a night owl." He held up the cup. "This is juice."

"Oh, so you weren't the one screwing Sora last night?" asked Tagiru.

Takuya, Matt, and Daigo winced. Mikey buried his face in a hand and mumbled, "Too blunt."

Yuujin only chuckled. "No… I went to bed early. But hey, good for her."

"Woo!" Tagiru cheered, jumping on his chair. Both hands pointed at Daigo. "Called it!"

"Called what?" asked Haru.

Slumping, Daigo replied, "We had a bet going on whether Yuujin and Sora would get together."

"I won!" gloated Tagiru. Haru smiled at him and chuckled along.

"Yeah… now I have to let him try to get me and Maki together."

"Huh. I thought you two were already together," said Yuujin.

Daigo grimaced. "Nope."

"But we're gonna fix that!" Tagiru rattled Daigo's shoulder as he returned to his seat.

"It won't end well," muttered Matt.

Pointing at him, Daigo said to Tagiru, "You should listen to him. He knows my future." He stopped and stared harder at Matt. "Does that really happen?"

"Okay, okay, okay," said Takuya, staring at the door. "I don't know where the heck Koji is but we better get started before this turns on me."

Mikey smirked. "Why? Who're you with now that Sora's moved on to… someone?"

"So the patrol team's in position around the forest. I'd tell you where, but I forgot. Ask Koji. Tonight you guys will head to the mountains and get ready to strike on Merukimon's army to the north. We figure two things could happen. One is they'll go straight after you, which is great because-"

The door flew open, Koji bursting in, a scowl on his face. "Change of plans."

"You're not sending us into certain doom?" asked Daigo.

Koji stared back. "No, your team and Mikey's team are still going. That's the same."

As Daigo rolled his eyes, Takuya asked, "O… kay? What's up?"

Izzy followed Koji in. He pointed at Haru and Yuujin. "I need to borrow the appdrivers."

"What for?" asked Haru.

"Might have a lead on stopping whatever caused Yaddith and Gizumon," said Koji. "Not something we want to drag our feet on."

"Right, and only Appmon can hit it?" Takuya said, only barely hiding his annoyance.

Izzy nodded. "That and I believe they have to engage it from inside the network."

"Inside the…" Tagiru's eyes widened. "You mean they get to go inside the internet?! Jealous!"

"It's not that exciting," Matt muttered.

Gatchmon pointed a claw at him. "Hey I don't dis where you're from!"

Mikey raised a hand. "Wait, aren't we kind of in the internet already? How does that work?"

"Well…" Izzy took a deep breath before eying the room. "We're about to find out." He nodded at Haru and Yuujin. "Please?"

Yuujin nodded and stood, picking up Offmon and sliding out without a word. Haru reached across the table to clasp Tagiru's hand. "Take care, okay? I'm sure you guys will do great."

Tagiru shook it aggressively. "Yeah, you don't got anything to worry about! We got this!"

After releasing, Haru extended a fist to Daigo. "Good luck, Daigo."

Daigo knocked it with his own clenched hand, a smile sneaking out. "You guys really love your fist bumps in the future."

Haru said shorter farewells to Mikey and Takuya, before following Yuujin and Izzy into the hall. Once the door closed, Daigo asked, "Okay, so we're down two. What now?"

"Yeah, what now?" asked Takuya, turning to Koji. "Offmon's shutdown thing was a nice wild card."

Koji stared back, a clenched look that made everyone give him time to think. "Now… Matt's going to sweet-talk Nene into joining you."

"I'm going to what?" Matt fired back.

Tagiru grinned at him. "Hoo! Sora won't be only one getting some action."

Before Matt could respond, Mikey blurted, "Yeah if it's me, Nene, and Christopher, that should be all the backup we need. And the aim is to drive them around to Marcus, right?"

"Exactly," Koji replied. "They might go after you or stand their ground. In that case, take as many out as you can before they bail. But I bet they'll think the castle's exposed and try to get around you to go after it. That's where Marcus will be."

Takuya nodded, facing Mikey, Tagiru, and Daigo. "We'll keep you up to speed on where everybody's positioned and what to watch out for. For now though, any questions?"

Mikey shook his head. Tagiru smiled and nodded eagerly. Daigo took a deep breath.

"Well, I have one…" Matt raised a tentative hand. "How much time do I have to sweet-talk Nene?"

Rei Katsura was already in the second meeting room when Izzy pulled in Haru and Yuujin. Scanning Izzy's code samples, he could see the concern. For all the hacking tricks he knew, an inconspicuous, seemingly empty gap came off as a nasty trick if filled with something undetectable. When Hackmon took it for a spin he didn't even notice the space.

"There might be something alive in there?" asked Haru.

"Precisely. A Digimon, or Appmon, most likely," Izzy explained.

Gatchmon jumped on the table in front of Rei, scanning the screen. "But we're made of code. Why can't it read it?"

"Different language," Rei mumbled.

"And smaller," Izzy added. "When you look at code, you're looking at its cellular structure. Finding the code for a program or being living within that structure requires another level of magnitude."

"If it's that small, how are we supposed to find it?" asked Yuujin

"Because inside the network you can see with your eyes. Our text reader can't find the code because it's so small. But odds are that tiny code is assembled to form something large and powerful."

"So how do we get in?" Gatchmon turned back to Izzy.

He shifted. "Um… I was hoping you'd answer that. I'm not sure what you use to enter the network, only the way we've done it before probably won't work here."

"You're suggesting an AR Field within the Digital World," said Hackmon.

"I… suppose I am."

"Rei, is that something we can do?" asked Haru.

Rei shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Izzy nodded at Tentomon, who passed out earpiece communicators to everyone. "I understand the hesitancy, but there is a network in this world, and I don't see any reason your appdrives can't tap into it. It may not resemble what you're used to, but you should be able to get in regardless."

"And don't forget this is to stop whatever made Yaddith and Gizumon happen," Tentomon added.

Haru looked back at Yuujin, who smiled and set a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "This is the best way we can help. And it's not like we haven't faced the unknown before."

"This is nuts," said Gatchmon. "Let's do it!"

Izzy smiled at them. "I'll be in contact with you at all times. Good luck."

Clipping on their earpieces, Haru, Yuujin, and Rei gathered close with their Appmon. Izzy stood off to the side, waiting in expectation. Then nothing happened. "What now?" Rei asked.

"Oh, you're fine to head in whenever. I just want to see how this works!"

Haru grinned. "Okay, well… I guess we're-" Before he could finish, Rei opened the AR Field and sucked them in.

They landed in a narrow, unpaved alley between a pair of multi-story buildings. They would have guessed two floors, but the thick fog enveloping everything made it hard to determine. It also diminished the telltale color patterns and floating artifacts that marked an AR Field. Past the large waste bin and the rain collector, the alley opened up to the wider street.

What they could see of the main drag didn't impress. Fake storefronts squeezed the dirt road on both sides, limiting it to only ten feet with no room for sidewalks, only some obstructing oil lampposts failing to cut through the fog. Cubic packets of data crowded the street, some zipping forward as far as they could before a swift stop to avoid colliding with the one in front of them. Most floated ahead at an agonizingly slow pace.

"I would have expected the internet to move faster," said Yuujin.

"You haven't been on the internet here," Rei replied.

"Rei's right," said Izzy, through everyone's earpieces. "This isn't what I would have expected from a visualization of the network, but I must say it reflects how I feel accessing it."

"You can see what we're seeing?" Haru asked.

"What Gatchmon's seeing. I routed a video feed through him."

"I didn't say you could do that!" Gatchmon shouted.

"The search engine you're based on does," Hackmon said.

Yuujin surveyed the area. As unique as the atmosphere was, nothing jumped out as misplaced or troublesome. "What are we looking for? Or I guess, what are you looking for?"

"You can look?" Offmon moaned. "I can't see anything."

Izzy answered, "For starters, anything that looks alive. Everything I can make out right now is either network infrastructure or traveling data packets."

They struggled to squeezing between all the data packets in the street. The humans crouched down to navigate the limited space between them and the ground. The Appmon jumped from packet to packet, forcing them to keep moving and outpacing their buddies below. Lingering too long threatened to crash the packet and hold up traffic further.

Outside of town, digitized trees replaced the surrounding buildings, keeping the path narrow. The road diverged into several branches, a bottleneck that not only slowed the packets more, but required communication to keep everyone going the same direction.

"Sure we shouldn't split up?" asked Haru.

"If my theory's correct, it would come from this direction," Izzy answered.

Offmon looked back. "Yuujin, are you still at the junction?"

"Yeah. Are you past that?" Yuujin replied.

"Yes. We should slow down," said Hackmon.

"But how?" whimpered Offmon.

Hackmon jumped into one of the trees, landing in its interpretation of branches. Gatchmon and Offmon followed his lead. The fog persisted, preventing them from seeing the trees on the other side. They could make out the tops of the packets, and the gray shadow riding one of them in.

Gatchmon caught it first. "Hey, what's that?"

The shape suggested a round ball with tiny ears and stubby tentacles leeching onto the data.

"That is exactly what we're looking for," said Izzy, as Gatchmon lowered his magnifying glass to search further. "Not surprised that it's Kuramon either."

"No, I'm getting Algomon."

"Algomon?" Haru's voice rang over the communicator. "But Astra had a video about that being one of the gods here."

"Knead, knead…" Offmon mumbled.

"It can't be Algomon," said Izzy. "Algomon is enormous. That's clearly a…" He fell silent as the packet drifted closer, revealing the creature's green body and purple tendrils on either side of its single eye.

"Izzy?" asked Haru.

After a pause, Izzy mumbled, "Well, that's new."

Offmon leaped into the air. "Switch Lazy!"

"Wait!"

The attack connected, destroying the creature… and knocking several packets out of the air, scattering them through the woods. Some crashed in front of Haru, Yuujin, and Rei.

Yuujin smiled up at his buddy. "Nice hit."

"So… problem solved?" Haru asked, with an awkward smile.

"No…" Izzy answered with a sigh. "That alone couldn't have been the entire problem. So now we need to find more, track where they come from, and figure out why Algomon has a new form."

With a whimper, Offmon said, "So… blowing it up was…"

"Not helpful, no."

Offmon bawled his eyes out. After a few seconds, Izzy removed his earpiece and waited for it to subside.

Torajiro Asuka smoothed his kimono, focusing on the tools in front of him the same way he had done countless times before. Normalizing his routine was the first crucial step, no matter how abnormal the ceremony was. He had to get used to the low-pile rug and how it held his equipment, grateful Suzie had come through on the deep clean he imposed on her earlier. He had to overlook the couch against the wall that nestled a flower arrangement between its cushions. He had to drown out the steady hum of computer servers on the opposite end, only partially hidden from sight by a scroll Musimon hung bearing the character representing "self."

All of these distractions would have been grossly inappropriate for a standard tea ceremony. But karana-chado deviated so far from standard that such departures suited it well. When the knock came from the door, Torajiro steeled himself, nodding once at Musimon, who opened it, then backed up to allow the guests in.

"Welcome," he said, head down in full bow. A piece of plywood clamped from the ceiling obstructed the doorway and forced Kari, Davis, and TK to bow themselves as they entered. Torajiro had to clear his mind when he saw how stunning Kari looked in her kimono.

She hesitated at first when she saw the setup. Torajiro wanted to direct her to the position closest to the couch, but waited for Musimon to assist. Everyone had their roles. They couldn't deviate. Davis sat next to Kari, TK around the side of the hearth… or portable hot plate in this case.

Noting the unique arrangement on the couch, Kari said, "Oh. Flowers." She surveyed the room. "This came together pretty well."

Torajiro could only wonder how his father would have judged the decor. He bowed. "Thank you for your kind words."

Davis and TK looked at each other to affirm their confusion before turning to Torajiro. "So… I've never done one of these before…" said Davis.

Generating a practiced, comforting smile, Torajiro bent down to clean his tea whisk with slow, formal strokes. "Welcome. Please take your time to appreciate the house as I prepare the tea." Before Davis could comment on the "house," Torajiro presented the whisk to the guests. This, and all his tools, were authentic, ordered weeks ago as a reminder of home. For all the compromises he made on the environment, even if they worked for karana-chado, he would never settle for brewing inferior tea.

By the time the initial preparation rituals were complete and the tea was on the kettle, Davis was mesmerized with the process. Kari sat with patience and respect. TK fidgeted. "So… how does this-"

"The calm energy allows us to detach from the outside world and puts us at ease with ourselves and the spirits. I hope our fourth guest Rhythm enjoys the tea as well."

Torajiro poured the prepared tea into the bowl, turned it, and placed it on the rug in front of Kari. She bowed as she accepted the bowl into her hands, fidgeting for a moment as she determined the right way to hold it. Kari turned the bowl again as she took her first couple sips. Torajiro fought off a smile: he forgot to brief the guests on their role in the ceremony. How to turn the bowl was the most crucial and Kari nailed it.

She stared into the bowl. "It's really good," she said with some surprise.

His nod was almost a bow itself. "If Rhythm would like to drink, please turn the bowl again."

Kari flashed a look of confusion, but obeyed and drank again. TK and Davis leaned in to catch a reaction, but nothing happened. She wiped the bowl with a cloth and passed it to Davis. He forgot to turn the bowl before his drink. As much as Torajiro screamed internally, he said nothing. It probably wouldn't matter.

The tic subsided when TK turned the bowl properly for his turn, even remembering to turn it so the front faced Torajiro when he finished. "Would anyone like more?" asked the host.

When no one did, TK asked, "Is that all?"

"Now we will allow the tea to flow through us with a series of deep breaths, with a mudra to focus ourselves."

He held his hand up to his chest, extending his outer two fingers while folding the middle two on top of each other, watching as Kari did the same.

TK stared at his hand. "Wait, isn't this that hand gesture you always do?"

"It's similar." The only significant difference was his thumb wasn't extended. That gesture inspired his uncle to teach him karana-chado in the first place.

"Now we need silence please, yo," said Musimon, mimicking the correct gesture with his ears.

Torajiro didn't trust anyone in the room to hold the pose for the ten minutes usually mandated. He hoped the tea was strong enough to cut down the necessary time.

Kari, Davis, and TK all closed their eyes. Torajiro didn't, staring hard at Kari, focusing his energy on Rhythm. After a couple minutes, her head twitched, a pained expression crossing her face. "Keep holding it," he encouraged. "No matter what."

She did, but her slow deep breaths became stuttered gasps. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. The twitching turned into a prolonged head shake.

"Is that supposed to happen?" asked TK as his eyes opened, fixed on Kari. Davis's popped open to watch as well.

"I think so?" Torajiro was supposed to give a more certain answer for the ceremony's sake, but he didn't expect a reaction this strong.

"Please stop," Kari whimpered. Or maybe it was Rhythm. With her eyes closed nobody could tell.

"Don't stop, Kari. You need to see this out." Torajiro gulped. He wasn't sure what was at the end, but stopping in the middle invited all sorts of chaos.

"No… no, no, no…" Kari's head convulsed at random, her free hand clutching her stomach. "Davis, do something!" TK lunged forward and set a hand on Davis's shoulder before he could.

He still leaned forward, abandoning his mudra, hands planting on the rug. "Rhythm? Is that you?"

"What's going on? It… it hurts! Stop it!"

"Just a little more…" Torajiro mumbled. "Musimon?"

"Roger!" his buddy replied.

Kari's whole body jerked, both arms flailing, one hand still somehow holding the mudra in place. Through her panting, she cried, "Why are you doing this? I can't… Davis, help!"

TK kept both arms on Davis, frozen to the spot in shock and terror.

"No!" Her scream carried for seconds as tears streamed down Davis's face.

"Rhythm, I'm sorry!" he wailed.

She heaved, a jerk accompanying each labored rasp. Musimon dove in with a bucket. Kari threw up her tea on him instead. Eyes rolling back, her entire body seized for several seconds before crashing to the floor unconscious.

TK released Davis and flew to Kari, checking her breathing and opening an eyelid. The first was stable and the second revealed her normal human eye. "Davis, find Joe!" Davis was slow to his feet, but picked up speed as he stumbled out the door, head banging against the plywood. TK seethed as he cradled Kari. "You didn't say it would be that bad!" he spat at Torajiro. He didn't get a response. "Astra?"

Astra's hands fell limp and his mouth hung open. Had he really done this to Kari? He never imagined it could be so gruesome. Of course, he had never done the full ceremony with a guest who definitively had a spirit inside her. The whole process: the discordant environment, the proper ceremony, and the inviting tea, all worked to pacify the spirit, luring them into a false sense of peace before the mudra expelled them forever. He never considered the toll on the host.

As he tried not to throw up himself at the sight of Kari's suffering, he mumbled, "Okay, I think I see why we banned this."

Nene Amano was more surprised at the timing of Matt barging into their practice room more than the actual act. In the middle of the day, most of the key staff had jobs to do around the castle. She was happy at the lack of investigation team activity freeing her from any sort of obligation.

"Song idea you're desperate to get on paper or did you just want to see me?" she asked in a playful tone. She expected the former.

"You're going on a mission," he answered. "Sounds like they want to get going pretty soon."

"Is that so? Isn't Izzy busy with research? And I thought Haru and Rei were going with Mikey."

"Izzy found something and stole the drivers from us. You're replacing them."

She frowned. "To go with Mikey?"

He nodded, understanding her hesitance. "The exact orders were to sweet-talk you into agreeing."

"Oh?" She waved her arm towards him. "Well let's hear it then."

"Are you for real?"

"You wouldn't disobey orders, would you?"

With a glare and a grumble, Matt approached her as she set down her guitar, smiling back at him. He rolled his eyes a few times and painted his face with a charming grin, the one she never quite got over, falling to a knee. "Hey, I know it's asking a lot but your team needs you out there. Mikey, and Christopher, and Tagiru, they could get into some real trouble and we need to support them. We can count on you to step up and help them out, right? If not for them… for me?"

Nene shook her head. "You were doing fine until that last part. Too cliche."

Matt stood straight up, glowering and shaking his head. "What else do you want?"

"Oh, nothing, of course I'll go. I just wanted to see what you'd say." She looked down. "Though, if you had nailed it maybe I would reconsider the idea of us."

"What?" He stepped back, looking around the room. "That came out of nowhere."

"Perhaps." She chuckled to herself. "Jeremy got me to admit our status yesterday. Which means I'm sure Zoe knows as well."

Matt frowned. "Izzy too… I guess."

"The way he and Zoe are it's a good guess. It just had me thinking, that's all."

"Thinking what?" Matt stepped back, falling into a chair behind him. "Should we just get it over with and tell everyone?"

"That's one option. Jeremy's not the best at keeping secrets. And I'd never put him in a position to lie for us."

"Then there aren't other options."

"Well…" She leaned towards him, flashing dewy eyes and her most suggestive smile. "I can think of at least one."

Matt recoiled. "What?! Are you serious?!"

"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted, sitting up straight again. "On one hand, I had a good reason to end it and I don't have a very good reason to start it again. On the other hand… I can't say I'm any happier now."

He popped out of his seat and paced the room. "So find somebody else."

"That's the problem." She lifted herself up and joined him, stopping him in the middle of the room. "Nobody else in the castle quite does the trick. For all of your flaws…" She faced him directly, only a few inches away. "You're still the best option here."

Matt didn't respond out loud, instead eying her up and down, discomfort across his face, his arms not sure what to do with her so close.

"It's something for me to think about while I'm out." She smiled again, smaller, more sincere. "We'll pick this up again when I get back."

"W…" Matt struggled to get his words out. When they did, he blurted them at once in a raised voice, "What if I'm not interested?"

Nene chuckled, then leaned in, pursed her lips, and kissed him, holding long enough for his protests to die. She pulled back and shook her head. "Now that's not an option."

Haru Shinkai and the other appdrivers followed the trail of data packets through the endless dense forest, no idea how far it led. Izzy assured them he was monitoring their course and they were going the right way, and even traveling farther than walking normally could take them. Navimon only repeated the same thing. They didn't know this part of the world's geography anyway, so any reference to landmarks meant nothing.

An hour into their hike, Gatchmon said, "Where are you taking us anyway?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe you'd be able to get there on foot," Izzy replied.

"Try me. I'm on Haru's shoulders anyway."

Haru moaned. "About that…"

"I believe it's Yaddith's origin point. It's where I noticed the most corruptions in test data."

"Isn't that all the way down by the settlement?"

"Yes. Normally it would take hours by train. But you're actually halfway there."

Haru sighed. "Only halfway, huh?"

Yuujin patted his back, then pulled Gatchmon off Haru's shoulders and onto his own. "We can make it." Haru smiled, gaining another wind. He turned to Offmon. "How about you?"

"I'm fine," Offmon said, floating along in his miniature, transparent chip form.

Hackmon, also unrealized, looked up at the packets overhead. "Rei."

Rei looked up in time to see Algomon's tiny tentacles sticking out over the side of a cube as it drifted by. "There it goes," Hackmon added.

"Do we have to go after it?" asked Yuujin.

"There's no need," answered Izzy. "I locked onto its origin point. Take out the source and it should eliminate the smaller ones scattering about."

Haru groaned. "Back to hiking then?"

Yuujin smiled. "Should I carry you next?"

Over the next hour, Haru considered taking up Yuujin's offer several times. All three were tired when they reached a stone tower, rising high beyond the mist, at least as tall as Leo or Ophani Towers. Vines covered every inch of the wall, with a swarm of tiny Algomon patrolling the perimeter.

"This better be it," Rei muttered.

"It is," replied Izzy. "Focus on whatever's at the top of the tower. Don't worry about the little guys."

Except the "little guys" saw them and attacked at once. Gatchmon jumped out and slashed at them. He destroyed the ones he hit, but the mob overwhelmed him. "Ah! Little help here!"

"Switch Lazy!" Offmon's attack blasted a good dozen away. A dozen more replaced them.

Watching the chaos, Hackmon said, "Rei. I'll go to the top." Rei nodded, realized Revivemon, and sent him flying away.

Haru cringed at him as Gatchmon struggled. "Okay, but…" He turned to Yuujin for reassurance and got a smile back, but only before his best friend dove into the fray himself, kicking and pawing at all the Algomon he could.

"Yuujin?" Offmon wondered.

Yuujin held his own, his height, athleticism, and speed able to react to all the Algomon jumping after him. He didn't have Gatchmon's power and did little to destroy, but he found it easier than expected to keep them at bay.

Another blast from Offmon wiped out another batch, but they kept coming. Yuujin slowed and let more get closer, drained from both the effort and the long hike. One Algomon smashed into his side as another leaped onto his shoulder.

With a scream, Haru smacked it away, stomping it into the ground and deleting it.

Yuujin smiled at him. "See, not so bad."

Beyond the swarm, another Digimon flew over the side of the tower. It was larger than the horde, with longer tentacles, two curled up into fisted arms, all flailing as it plummeted, crashing on the ground beyond the mob.

Gatchmon jumped back from his fighting to investigate. "The hell was that?"

Squinting, Haru spotted Revivemon floating above. "Whatever it was, do you think that did it?"

"Saver Strahl!" Revivemon shouted, firing a beam from one of its heads. The blast obliterated the Digimon, with a shockwave that wiped out the entire swarm of Algomon.

"That did it," Rei said.

"The heck?" Gatchmon pulled his magnifying glass back up. "Came up as Algomon again."

"It what?!" Izzy asked, voice raised in concern. "Another form? This is getting more worrisome."

"Is it though?" Haru asked, adding a chuckle. "Seems like Revivemon took care of it."

After a long pause, Izzy answered, "I'm not sure. I started tracking the one you passed along the way and it's still out there. And if it really is Algomon, there's a bigger problem."

"Haru said something about it being god…" said Yuujin, eying the vines still covering the tower. They slithered along the ground towards the blast mark.

"Yes, whatever you do, you can't kill Algomon. You have to drive him out somehow."

"Maybe coulda said that before Revivemon blasted him into the dirt!" Gatchmon shouted.

Yuujin tapped him on the shoulder. "Heads up." The vines surrounded the spot, swirling around until it glowed. "What's happening?"

"I don't know, but this might be a good time to realize into something stronger," said Izzy.

Globemon and Shutmon arrived just as Algomon completed its transformation. Its entire enlarged head was now blue, as well as what passed for its arms, both fused with metal claws not unlike Gatchmon's. It stared down the Appmon and their drivers, all waiting for someone to make the first move.

"Clearly he's learned some new tricks," mumbled Izzy.

When neither of the Appmon acted, Algomon fired straight up, catching Revivemon off guard and knocking it out of the air.

Even before it crashed, Globemon rushed in. "Schwert Cutter!" The slash knocked Algomon to the ground, cuts across its head, with several tentacles severed and the rest exposed to Shutmon. He charged next, but the tentacles flew at him, wrapped around his torso, and sent enough electricity through to stop the wolf and drop him to his knees.

"Shutmon!" Yuujin shouted, dashing out halfway to meet him before Globemon jumped back and charged a shot. "Glanz Gazer!" Algomon's body wasted away, dissolving into a pile of decaying vines.

Haru checked Revivemon and Shutmon, but focused on what was left of Algomon. "Izzy! How do we drive him out? You've done this before, right?"

"Well… we had help last time." Izzy's lack of certainty worried Haru.

"Can we shut him down?"

"Without killing him? I hope that would work."

Haru turned to Yuujin. "How is he?"

Shutmon staggered to his feet, wobbly and snarling, but capable. He needed slow, labored steps to approach Algomon, howling the whole time. As everyone watched him, no one noticed the vines slithering around Yuujin's foot.

"Forced-" Before Shutmon could finish, Yuujin screamed as the first jolt of electricity coursed through him. A second vine shot out from nowhere, wrapped around his torso, and shocked him again, holding longer. Yuujin dropped unconscious, both vines still around him.

"Yuuj-" Haru's voice broke before he could finish his cry. The rest of the world turned black, Yuujin the only tangible thing in it, showing no sign of life. Haru ran to him and slid in, grasping Yuujin's wrist to check for a pulse he couldn't find. Yuujin breathed, barely, but the lack of response kept Haru from any solace. Shutmon growled, facing his buddy, his back to Algomon, reviving again.

The vines rose almost as high as the tower, Algomon taking a more human head. Neither Haru nor Shutmon acknowledged the Ultimate form.

Izzy did: "Okay, that's definitely Algomon."

"How dare you humans look away?" Its mouth didn't move, its eyes stayed closed. "I am the master of destruction and creation. Of earth and heaven. Of death and life. Of darkness and light."

Haru popped to his feet, hand clenched in a fist, defiant eyes at the enemy. "Not for long. Globemon!"

Globemon flew in again, slashing at Algomon's vines. More flew up to lash him out of the sky, but he read them and dodged, getting more hits in before the flailing tentacles forced away to regroup. He paused for just a moment, enough to see the opening to Algomon's face, building the momentum for another charge.

"Schwert-"

The response came in silence, a beam from the eyes on Algomon's true limbs. It knocked Globemon out of the sky, crashing to the ground in front of Haru. Haru watched his buddy struggle to get up, radiating a pulsing white glow. He gave away no concern, steeled eyes turning to Algomon.

Behind him, Shutmon snarled. Haru snarled back: "Absolutely. Appmon Chip- Ready!"

Despite their injuries, Globemon and Shutmon linked effortlessly, the wolf gaining shiny red armor and wings of precision. The combined form stood healthy and ready to avenge. He launched into the air, detecting the flailing jungle of vines and evading or slicing through them with no effort. Algomon fired another beam, but Shutmon dodged it, never swaying from its marked path towards Algomon's face.

"Luna Impulse!" Algomon wailed on impact, wobbling and then crashing, its vines shriveling around it.

As the vines receded, Haru walked up to it, slow and purposeful, no smiles or celebration of any kind. His communicator crackled with Izzy's voice: "Haru, I implore you. Do not kill him."

Haru and Shutmon hovered over Algomon's decaying body, watching it writhe for a moment before the appdriver said, "No more."

Shutmon activated his Forced Termination. Algomon fazed into black and disappeared.

The two stood there for a moment, staring at each other, uncertain as to the next move but dreading the inevitable.

"Haru?" Izzy said. "Good job. Is Yuujin all right?" Haru couldn't bring himself to check. He couldn't bear to face the reality. Avenging his attacker was much easier.

Izzy continued, "Hmm… the main Algomon form is gone, but the others are still spread throughout the network. Unfortunately-"

Shutmon jumped into the air, Globemon's Ultimate Search ability kicking in, spreading through the network, finding every instance of the scourge, and using Shutmon's power to end it.

"Nice work Haru, Shutmon," said Yuujin, walking up to them. Other than his charred clothes, wilder hair, and a missing shoe, he looked fine.

All of Haru's cold determination shattered. "Yuujin?" His eyes welled up and he burst into tears, running and leaping into Yuujin's arms. "You're okay! How…"

Over Yuujin's shoulder, Haru spotted Rei and Hackmon. Glancing to the side, Rei said, "You forgot I have a revival Appmon."

Haru clutched tighter, crying. "I thought I lost you again."

Yuujin frowned. "Again?"

Rather than explain, Haru pulled away and wiped a tear. "Never mind. Let's go home."

Haru walked away, as did the separated Gatchmon and Offmon, both bumping fists (or fist equivalents) with Haru as they headed away from the tower.

"You lost me?" Yuujin asked again. Haru turned around. Yuujin was serious. "When did you lose me?"

"When… you know…" Haru didn't know how to word it. After such a close scrape, he didn't want to talk about it. "When we stopped Leviathan?"

Yuujin froze for a moment. He exhaled and said, "Don't worry about it."

Haru shrugged and walked away, Gatchmon alongside him, grumbling, "Wait, do we have to walk all the way back now?"

Behind them, Yuujin followed along, keeping his distance. Occasionally, Haru or Offmon would turn around to make sure he was still with them. Whether by luck or by choice, they never noticed the red lasers refracting through the fog.

Rika Nonaka would never be caught dead crying over a boy. She hadn't cried once over losing Ken, neither alone nor with Renamon. But the urge had come over her a few times, and that alarmed her. She was above this, surviving years here with no human intimacy and scoffing at weaker girls who insisted on regular companionship. As long as she had Renamon and a stable of friends she could talk to from time to time, she was supposed to be fine.

This breakup was about more than that, however. It had nothing to do with two people growing apart or acts of unfaithfulness like the kind that almost cost Jeri Takato. She and Ken had been fine, and he suited her to a surprising degree. He understood her, gave her space to be herself, and was not only smart enough to actually give helpful advice when she needed some perspective, but worded it in way she could listen to without feeling lectured. Few could provide that enough to be a suitable match for Rika, and she knew even fewer would have the patience to see her in the same light.

Losing him to what amounted to a philosophical difference was hard to swallow. Her need to see Renamon again was pure and beyond dispute. Rika's life was not right without her. She questioned whether she'd survive, or if there was even a point to. Of course she would aggressively support doing whatever it took to bring their Digimon back. She fed off that hope for years. And ultimately nothing happened and they were reunited here the more traditional way. She moved on, grateful that chapter was over and furious that anything would reopen it. Flash forward, and it was this past unwavering yearning for stability and love in her life pitted against Ken's past exposure to the consequences of such desires.

Rika had no doubt an apology would have salvaged them, but she couldn't show remorse unless she actually meant it. Insincere apologies for the sake of convenience where beneath her to give and infuriating to receive. And this wasn't an indictment on her personality or compatibility, but an attack on a genuine feeling she carried through the worst time in her life. She couldn't deny it, or take it back, or pretend it was a severe, unhelpful reaction to her problem. It was her reality without Renamon, and she refused to suppress it.

What she was left with, however, was the anger and frustration over such a stinging rejection with no outlet to express it. She almost snapped at Thomas for leaving her off a second straight response team mission. Laying waste to some corrupted Digimon sounded like a delightful stress reliever. Instead she was stuck at the castle for another day, settling for a punching bag and ping pong against whoever passed by. They didn't occupy the hours as much as she needed, leaving her back in her room to seethe in solitude.

She barely reacted to the door opening. With a sigh, Jeri said, "Still?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Rika moaned back. "Thomas only sent Takato and Yolei today. Does he thinks he needs to keep me and Ken apart?"

"Does he?" Jeri asked, a little too playfully.

"Don't be stupid. Henry quit his job. I didn't."

"It's okay." Jeri joined her on the bed. "I've been there too."

Rika shook her head. "I hate this. Why is this bugging me so much? I can't be downstairs for five minutes before I want to punch something."

"Oh." A chuckle escaped Jeri. "I'm doing out with Takato tonight and was going to ask if you wanted to tag along, but-"

"Yes," Rika blurted. "Please. Anything."

"Promise not to punch Takato?"

"I can't promise that on a good day."

Jeri laughed, loud and infectious enough to annoy Rika to the point of sitting up on the bed. "I think you're going to be okay."

"About Ken?" Rika stared forward, giving it some thought. "Yeah. If he's going to ditch me over this Yaddith crap, that's his loss."

With some pause, Jeri added, "And plenty of us care about you and want to help."

"You don't need to say it out loud."

"And no matter what, you still have Renamon."

Rika didn't respond, falling quiet as her head fell.

Jeri scooted closer. "I would have thought you'd rely on her more through all of this."

"Renamon," Rika called. She waited but, as expected, nobody appeared. "That's happened a lot lately."

"Where is she?"

Rika scoffed. "How should I know? She spends half the time invisible." Eying the floor, she admitted, "I'm not sure she likes the idea of Yaddith either." They hadn't spoken about it since the day after Yaddith struck. Rather, Renamon hadn't spoken about it. She listened to Rika's defensive ranting, but said little in support. It annoyed Rika, but rather than risk a confrontation, she stopping talking about it. Now, when it was the only thing worth discussing, there wasn't much point spending time with her partner at all.

"Jeri…" Rika bit her lip. "You wouldn't ever abandon me, right?"

Jeri wrapped an arm around Rika's shoulder and pulled her in. "Of course not. No matter how wrong you are."

Izzy Izumi surveyed the network as he had been doing for the last few weeks. This time, it was with contentment and pride rather than panic and frustration. Usually, proving the absence of something was harder than proving its existence. This process was validating, confirming a sanitized network everywhere he looked. The appdrivers' discovery of Algomon's activity filled in enough blanks for him to call the assignment a success.

Everyone knew Algomon would return to make their lives hell someday. It was literally its purpose. Two years after its death and rebirth, they should not have been surprised to see its first overtures toward reclaiming its place in the world. What they hadn't foresaw was its new life giving it new forms and abilities, rebooting into something more flexible, capable of unleashing the same harm with less power when managed with the aptitude of a god.

Once they exposed its presence, the plot was clear. Through the army of its smallest forms, Algomon would scour the data on the network for concepts it could bring to life outside it. It discovered Yaddith when Henry looked it up. It must have had Gizumon ready to go after Thomas downloaded its records. If it had code and a tailor-made Digital World form, it was fair game. The truly sinister part was supplementing Gizumon with code it picked up from Yaddith. Its ability to pass on useful abilities would have made it a powerful threat if it had been allowed to continue, especially considering Gizumon's ability to prevent regeneration in its kills. Izzy shuddered to imagine the damage the next program could have done.

Still, enough questions over Algomon's involvement concerned Izzy enough to seek further confirmation. Given what that entailed, it was an awkward step for him. But his need to know outweighed the fear, and he stepped into the operations room with confidence.

"I need to contact Kari," he declared. When Takuya and Koji turned to him, he clarified, "Um… following up on some things with the mission."

"Mikey's team is still en route, so we don't need the channel open right now," said Miki. "Have a seat."

The pressing need for information overruled any lingering awkwardness over dealing with Kari. At the same time, he preferred to keep his distance and the wait while Miki made contact forced him to dwell on what he would be asking. Awkwardness was impossible to avoid.

At least it would have been had Kari actually answered. "Go ahead, Miki," Thomas said.

"Oh, hey Thomas." Miki added just enough flirtation to her voice to make Izzy even more uncomfortable. "Izzy would like to talk to Kari."

"As would I. She and TK have been out all afternoon. So has Davis for that matter. With Henry's resignation, there's only two of us up here."

Izzy sighed. "It shouldn't be urgent. Perhaps another time."

Miki frowned. "Another time we might need to keep the channel clear for Mikey and Marcus."

"Why do you need Kari?" asked Thomas. "How did the operation go?"

"Theoretically it was a tremendous success," Izzy answered. "They got in, isolated the source, and eliminated it from the network."

"So what's the problem?"

"The source was Algomon."

A few seconds elapsed before Thomas said. "That's unexpected. I didn't think it would be strong enough for such measures."

"He wasn't as strong as what we saw in the past, but he adapted with a number of lower forms to manipulate the network.

"And now you need to make sure the world's still stable after clearing him out."

"Hold on, 'world's still stable?'" Miki turned to Izzy, concerned.

"I'll explain another time," Izzy replied. "Yes, Thomas, I was hoping Rhythm could confirm that we won't run into the same challenges as last time."

"Understandable. I'll check with Kari next time I see… actually, one moment." Louder, and turned away from the monitor, they heard Thomas say, "Davis, where's Kari?"

"W… why you asking me?" Davis's voice was loud and defensive enough to pick up. "I don't keep a leash on her!"

Miki smirked. "That's a visual I'm stuck with now." Izzy squirmed in his chair.

Silence followed. Izzy and Miki assumed a two-pronged glare attack from Thomas and Tai, because Davis shouted, "Okay, fine!" More serious, but just as loud, he said, "We tried to do an exorcism through a tea ceremony to get Rhythm out of Kari and she's in medical now."

The shuffling of footsteps that followed was easy to read. "And there goes Tai," said Thomas.

"Oh no, you're staying here!" Tai exclaimed. "Sounds like you've done plenty."

"But!" Davis protested, but the silence gave away the answer. He fell into Kari's chair and muttered, "I'm stressed too you know. I'm worried about both of them!"

Izzy and Miki stared at each other, not sure how to proceed. He leaned in to the mic and said, "We'll take that to mean Rhythm's unavailable."

Thomas cleared his throat. "We'll keep our eyes open for signs of instability. Anything else?"

"Um… no, that should do it," Izzy stammered. Miki disconnected so she and Izzy could continue staring in disbelief.

"Did I hear something about a tea ceremony exorcism?" asked Takuya, leaning over their chairs.

"Good, I'm not the only one who heard that," said Miki.

"Man, that's way cooler than wondering who Sora's hooking up with. I'm jealous."

TK Takaishi held Gatomon up to watch Kari in the infirmary. He didn't mind the extra companion, even if it wasn't his partner. Patamon didn't need to be subjected to the sight of Kari, unconscious, with an IV of fluid in her arm. Joe assured everyone there was nothing to worry about and she'd wake up healthy at some point, but the vague prognostication and troubled looks at her head scan didn't fill anyone with hope.

Astra shuffled in his seat, head down as Musimon continued to fail at reassuring him. He had been the only steady visitor after the ceremony participants took shifts to change out of their kimono. Davis didn't stay long, but they knew he'd be back. They dreaded when Tai would appear.

He came without Davis, charging into the room, brushing past TK and leaning over the rail on Kari's bed. Tai looked her up and down, seeing nothing peaceful in a sleep like hers. Overwhelmed with shock, his head snapped to Astra. "This is from a tea ceremony?!"

Astra forced himself to look up. "Tea ceremony's serious business." His head lowered. "But… I didn't think it would do all this."

Tai shook his head. "You know, your team really isn't my favorite right now."

"Where's Davis?" asked TK.

"Upstairs helping Thomas. With Henry gone we're super shorthanded. What was this was all about?"

"These bozos decided Kari needed an exorcism." Gatomon didn't hold back her bite.

"She did!" TK insisted. Gatomon jumped onto the bed to face him. "Rhythm was taking over! We had to do something! We didn't think it would take this much out of her."

"What part of an exorcism makes you think it's going to be pleasant?!" Tai asked.

"Well, the tea ceremony part, mainly."

Gatomon shook her head. "TK, of course it's going to take a lot out of her. Yeah, Rhythm was getting too comfortable in there, but Kari's never alone in her head. There's always someone telling her something or leading her somewhere or trying to take over. That's her fate, and she's had to deal with it all her life."

"So what's wrong with trying to free her from it?"

"Imagine something going on in your head one day that just goes away suddenly. You don't think that's going to leave a hole? As much as Rhythm was in there, that could be a pretty big hole."

"Well, if you were so sure this was a bad idea, you could have said something earlier."

"I did." Gatomon turned back to Kari. "I explained all of this. I thought I got through to her. She said she'd try working it out with Rhythm herself."

TK lowered his head. "She probably convinced herself that's what Rhythm wanted her to think."

Gatomon groaned. "What am I supposed to do with this girl?"

"That's why I got in on this," said Astra, standing up. "She couldn't trust her own instincts. That's so not groovy."

Tai gestured at Kari. "And this is?! Jeez…" He took a breath to calm down. "So what about Rhythm?"

With a raised eyebrow, TK asked, "You're really worried about Rhythm right now?"

"We've already seen what happens when we endanger the gods here. And being able to reach one any time we want is really useful. She's the only reason we knew we'd have so many new kids showing up. I don't like that she goes through Kari, but it's nice having her in our corner."

TK winced. "Yeah, didn't think about that either."

Kari stirred, drawing everyone's attention. Astra and Musimon stood to crowd the foot of the bed. She cringed and shuffled around before forcing her eyes open. Squinting through a pained expression, she acknowledged the figures in front of her.

"Sorry I threw up the tea," she mumbled. Tai covered his face and stepped away. Astra almost cried.

"How are you feeling?" asked Gatomon.

"I don't know. My head is swimming. It hurts to focus my eyes."

Tai returned to say, "Hey, just get some rest, okay? Everything's going to be fine."

"I hope so. I don't… feel right."

Sharing a concerned look with Tai, TK asked, "And Rhythm?"

Kari paused to listen, then shook her head. "I don't sense anything. It's like she's… gone. A lot's gone. It's weird."

TK gulped. "Good weird or bad weird?"

"I don't know." She shuddered. "It's like I don't know anything anymore."

Astra covered his mouth and rushed out of the room, Musimon chasing after him. TK and Tai couldn't dream of leaving her side, even after she drifted back to sleep. The ceremony must have been a success: Rhythm was gone. Now they had to worry about what was left.

Ryo Akiyama hated being saddled to a Digimon who ran after trouble. He knew he had to take Cyberdramon as a complete package, destructive instincts and all, but there was nothing fun about his alarm buzzing him awake in the middle of the night to make sure his partner wasn't about to give away their position. The entire mission relied on the patrol team being a hidden trap. The sorts of trouble Cyberdramon could stir up threatened their exposure.

The vibrating alarm strapped to his shoulder warned Ryo any time Cyberdramon was more than 400 yards away. By the time Ryo was dressed and prepped, it was half a mile. These early morning runs had become so frequent he didn't bother exercising in the day anymore. At least Cyberdramon was running back towards the castle instead of new territory where the enemy might be lurking.

He found his partner in the middle of the clearing, conspicuous as always, ready to terrorize the next innocent creature who dared sniff around for a midnight snack. Before joining the patrol team, Ryo never bothered to stop it back then, letting him roam for miles overnight, never causing problems Tai or Thomas couldn't manage. Once he even eliminated a troublesome Apemon fifteen miles away that the response team had planned to deal with the next day. Ryo still got a lecture for it.

"Okay, come on, let's get back before we're spotted." Without his electric whip to back him up, a forceful voice wasn't an option. Coaxing Cyberdramon out of his urges usually worked.

This time, the Digimon remained fixed on his target up ahead, whatever it was. "Something's coming," he growled. "It's bad."

"Wake up the others bad or get out of here bad?" Ryo asked, peering ahead as much as the moonlight afforded. "Because it's one or the other. You know Marcus hates it when we take a fight from him."

They spotted the shadow before the creature, walking up the path at a steady but casual pace. It wasn't the large, dangerous Digimon Ryo expected. It wasn't large at all, and not even a Digimon. Its size and stride both suggested a human. Ryo didn't order Cyberdramon to stand down yet: miles away from either Isthmian or the mountain camp stationing Mikey's team, something resembling a human out here was even more unusual.

The shine off its metal armor reflected the moonlight back at Ryo and Cyberdramon and fed their suspicions this wasn't quite human. The next light came from within the armor itself as a familiar white laser charged.

"Get down!" Ryo shouted, trying to force his partner to the ground. Instead, Cyberdramon lifted himself into the air, dodging the beam but charging after the attacker. "Desolation Claw!" The energy bursts looked to land but had no effect.

Their mini-explosions did provide enough light for Ryo to get a better look at the attacker. He found the reddish-brown hair familiar, recognizing the face as someone from Isthmian but failing to recall a name or anything about him. The red glow in his eyes must have been new: that would have stood out more, as would his blue armor and ability to replicate Gizumon's signature attack.

Everything about it screamed too much danger to engage. "Cyberdramon! Get away from it!" But he kept charging, preparing to swipe at him with his claws. The attacker extended an arm and electricity shot out, halting Cyberdramon's momentum and dropping him to the ground, snarling. The laser charged again.

"No!" Ryo shouted. He ran after his partner, but he would never reach him in time. The laser fired straight into Cyberdramon for several seconds. Ryo's legs buckled, forcing him to crawl the rest of the way to his partner, mumbling, "No…" repeatedly as the laser finished firing. Ryo clutched Cyberdramon's plated arm for just a moment before the Digimon disintegrated.

"Target eliminated," said the attacker, with a voice low and flat, but not quite monotone. "New target acquired." Ryo looked up at him, eyes wide and restraining tears. But he stepped around Ryo and walked away, toward the patrol team's camp.

Ryo clutched the rising egg, gulping for a minute as he tried to compose himself. In all the years he'd been a tamer, he often ran through the scene in his head. Every time he insisted he wouldn't lose it, that he wouldn't break. He wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction. He'd be a survivor. That fantasy shattered the moment the digi-egg did, falling to dust and fading to nothingness before it hit the ground. When it wasn't a dream, when the reality of a life without a Digimon—without merging with his Digimon—sank in, the reaction was destined to be different.

"You're just leaving?" he spat, angry energy raising him to his feet and marching toward the attacker. "He was my partner. You don't get to kill just one of us!"

The march became a full charge. The enemy didn't turn around as Ryo raised an arm and launched it forward. At the last second, a hand extended back, a thick vine shooting out of it, wrapping around Ryo's waist and dragging him to the ground. A jolt of electricity ran through it, coursing through Ryo's body and leaving him weakened and disoriented.

The vine unraveled on its own and returned to Yuujin's arm as he continued on, undeterred. In his fading moments of consciousness, Ryo pawed for his D-Power, somehow mustering the focus to send out the code purple alert before he passed out. The alert alone wouldn't tell the patrol team anything, but it was a clue. It told the world something horrible had happened.

Next Time on Nexusworld- Episode 20: "Human After All"
Tai's anger about Yuujin impacts Astra, Eri, and even Meiko. Tagiru and Daigo fret over the news while trapped on their mission. Another casualty of the battle lands in the care of Ryouma and Ren.

"If anybody here could get what he's going through right now… I would have thought it would be you."

Author's Notes

So… karana-chado! Obviously that's not a real thing. Most of the ritual's structure resembles an improvised attempt at authentic tea ceremony (that's the chado part). The karana part is named after a Buddhist mudra meant to expel demons and negative energies. And yes, it bears a coincidental resemblance to Astra's hand gesture. Tea ceremony has Buddhist origins as well, so the two get rolled into one here.

Obviously, Algomon's various forms represent the first (and being honest, probably only) element from the rebooted Adventure series to make an appearance. How about that reboot, using the concept of an Algomon that just won't freaking die? I won't lie: I was dreading having to introduce a random villain to be responsible for Yaddith and Gizumon and Algomon in the new series gave me a much cleaner option.

Pretty sure this is the first time Gatchmon successfully called up a Digimon with his search. With any other Digimon, that may not be possible. But since Gatchmon did have a previous run-in with Algomon at the end of Neverworld, it would be archived as a prior result.

The code purple Ryo issued was introduced in Neverworld as an emergency communication to everybody that a partner Digimon was killed. There are surely other codes in the system, but they've never come up.