As soon as the process of transportation to the Digital World had drawn to a close, Taichi, Yamato, and Sora sat down on the grass, their partner Digimon in their laps. Taichi pressed his hands against the ground as he turned his face up in the direction of the sky, allowing the warmth of the sun to pass through his skin. It was warmer in the Digital World than it had been in Odaiba, and while the difference was small, it was still enough to catch his attention.

"We should probably focus on finding some food first before we go to do anything else," Sora pointed out. "The Digimon have already been doing so much fighting today, and they aren't going to be able to defend us if we aren't able to feed them as soon as possible."

"Some sleep wouldn't hurt either," Yamato murmured as he glanced down at Tsunomon, who was on the verge of falling asleep with his cheek pressed against Yamato's hand. The blonde boy smiled gently and stroked affectionately at his partner's face with a shake of his head. "But I guess that's out of the question at this point, so we might as well go and see what it is that we can find."

"We're all going to need a break soon," Taichi declared, and the others in the area nodded their agreement. Koromon's eyes were drooping shut, and Taichi winced at the sight. "Maybe we can meet up with the rest of the group soon. That should make it easier for us to figure out what it is that we're supposed to be accomplishing."

Sora reached for her Digivice before she began to examine its radar. "It seems to me like everyone is in the Digital World now, but they're all kind of far away. It'll be a while before we're able to actually catch up to any of them, so we should probably go on and focus on getting food for these three," she suggested.

Taichi's stomach grumbled, and Pyocomon let out a weak laugh. "I guess that all of us need to eat, as a matter of fact," Taichi commented as he rose to his feet. Every part of his body seemed to protest the movement of his body, and he almost stumbled back down to the ground one he was on his feet once again. "Okay, let's go on and get this over with. We aren't going to be able to get anything done as long as we're sitting around here."

"Why did everything have to happen all at once?" Yamato muttered to himself. He pulled Tsunomon up into his grasp fully once again, and the small orange Digimon allowed himself to start dozing off again a moment later. Yamato let out a half-hearted laugh, though it was clear as could be that the sound was falsified, not that he made any attempts to convince the other members of the group of the concept that he wasn't lying about his own sense of enthusiasm. How could any of them truly put on a mask of confidence at this point? It felt like the world was falling apart around them, and all they could do was try their best to push through it in the face of such difficulties.

"There has to be some food around here somewhere," Sora declared, clearly trying to keep herself busy so that she didn't fall prey to her own negative thoughts. All of their eyes were starting to droop as the adrenaline rush they had experienced in Odaiba began to wear off. The rest of the battle to come was bound to be difficult, but they had to be ready. That was part of their job, and they were hardly in the position to abandon it even if they wanted to. They just had to take it one step at a time for better or worse.

Meiko felt hopeless, if she was being quite frank.

Koushiro, Miyako, and Ken's partner Digimon had all reverted back to the Baby stage because of the energy that they had exerted during the previous battle, and that left Meicoomon as the most powerful of the Digimon among the group. The trio of Baby Digimon weren't going to be able to do anything to fight against any impending attackers until after they managed to get some food into their systems. Meiko was glad that Miyako had decided to grab as much food as possible from the store, but it would still be a while before the Digimon were prepared for what was bound to come next. There was no way of saying when the next attack was, and the brief period of time without any protection had Meiko on edge to the point that she felt as if she was on the verge of riding a knife's blade.

Meiko gave a brief glance over in the direction of the Baby Digimon as she paced around the area. Despite her legs being completely exhausted, she couldn't bring herself to stop moving. She had too much to do, and she couldn't afford to be distracted yet. Too much was riding on their success in the Digital World. They had to figure out what it was that their enemies were after whether they wanted to or not, and Meiko wouldn't be able to help anything if she complained about the situation. She would just have to wait until it was all over.

Something about the Digital World felt eerie, Meiko had to confess. They were in an area that appeared to be similar to a desert with vast expanses of red sand in every direction. There was an imposing cliff on the distance, but there was one positive to the area. It was nowhere near as hot as a real desert would have been. The Digital World had always been a strange place as far as Meiko was aware, and she was glad that it decided to break the mold of reality and its expectations at a time like this. The heat would have only made the situation worse.

"Meiko, you really do need to sit down," Miyako said for what felt like the seventieth time in the half hour that had passed since they first entered the Digital World. "You're going to tire yourself out if you keep pacing like that, and we need to be able to keep moving in case something bad happens. Come on and take some food, would you? You look awful."

Meiko was about to ask what it was that Miyako was talking about, but she was ultimately cut off when Ken pushed his computer in the direction of Meiko's face. She could see that the screen was turned off, and that left the space blank and black to act as a mirror. Meiko could see Miyako's words in action immediately as she stared back at her own reflection, noting how pale her skin was and how dead and sunken her eyes appeared to be.

"Okay," Meiko finally yielded as she sat down beside Miyako, fully returning Ken's computer to his grasp along the way. She pulled her legs up against her chest, wishing that she could feel small enough to just disappear for a little while. It wouldn't do much to ease her woes from the general world, but Meiko found herself dreaming regardless. Why was everything so exhausting all of a sudden? Was there even a way for her to escape this? For the twelfth time that day alone, Meiko found herself in the dizzying cycle that questioned if she was even meant to be doing this at all. The rest of the Chosen Children were clearly cut out for this, but no matter how many times Meicoomon, Maki, Mimi, or anyone else tried to reassure her, Meiko never seemed to get that idea into her head. It was all just too much to deal with at once, and she absolutely hated it.

"Do we know what we're supposed to be looking for in the first place?" Ken questioned as he reached for a bag of chips and pulled it open. He pulled a chip out and popped it in his mouth before handing the bag to Miyako and Meiko. Both of them took a chip for themselves before distributing the bag to Koushiro's hands. Koushiro looked up from his rapid typing to take a bite before repeating the cycle by passing the bag back to Ken. Meiko noticed that Koushiro's expression was notably quizzical. He began to count up something on the screen, but when he wasn't satisfied with the response he received, he restarted once again. Meiko looked away before anyone could accuse her of staring, but part of her started to get worried regardless of how much she tried to deny it and shove her fears down.

"Not really," Miyako confessed with a laugh. "We're going to have to figure it out, I suppose. There has to be something around here that we can use as a clue to find the one responsible for all of this."

"The one responsible for all of this must be involved with the Gennai figure that we've already seen," Ken pointed out. "I don't want to think that Gennai is the one behind this, but that's the only lead that we have at this point. We saw the gate open because of the person who looked like Gennai, and with how much he's been avoiding us as of late... It really does seem like something is going wrong."

"There has to be something that we're missing in this picture," Miyako muttered. "Maybe there's a clue that we haven't picked up on. I guess that we aren't going to figure anything out until we start looking around for ourselves though, so as soon as the Digimon are done, we should get going."

"Um... You should all come and see this," Koushiro suddenly said, pulling the attention in his direction before Miyako could even fully process the words that she had spoken. Meiko bit down on her lip, suddenly wondering what it was that had caught Koushiro's attention in such a negative way. She got to her feet and walked over to him, noticing immediately how much her legs hurt. Maybe she needed this break even more than she thought.

"What is it, Koushiro?" Miyako questioned as she sat down behind him. Ken's head tilted to the side as he found his own place near Koushiro so that all of them were able to stare at Koushiro's computer screen together.

"I noticed something while I was looking at the surrounding area on the radar," Koushiro explained. "It seems to me that there are nineteen signals here in the Digital World rather than only thirteen."

"Nineteen?" Miyako echoed. "That means that there are six people that are here that we aren't aware of yet. Well, we know that they're there, but we don't know for sure why they're there or who they are... Do you have any ideas as to who they could be?"

Koushiro shook his head. "That's where the problem comes in. The signals... They don't match anything that I've seen in the past. Over the last few years, I've learned how to refine the radar to figure out who is where on a map of the Digital World. This can only work if I've met them and have their Digivice signals in the system. But... These aren't like anyone that I've ever seen before. That means that we're dealing with six new Chosen Children with Digivices that we haven't ever met before."

"Now?" Ken questioned, his eyes going wide. "This is the worst time that we could possibly have to encounter a new group of Chosen Children, but if we have to go and help them, then it seems as if we don't have much of a choice."

"There's another strange piece of this puzzle," Koushiro chimed in. "You see, these signals and their corresponding Digivices... They aren't like either of the two Digivice models that we've gotten used to over the past few years. They don't match the original models that my first team has, and they aren't at all like the second generation models that you, Miyako, and the rest of your team possess either. That means that we're dealing with a new type of Digivice on top of all of everything else."

"This cannot be happening," Miyako sighed, pressing one hand against her forehead. "I know that you wouldn't joke about something like this, but... There is no way that this is actually happening, right? It just can't be happening. Where would a new Digivice model even come from at a time like this? I don't understand why the attacks in Odaiba would have anything to do with this. You know, that's assuming that the two events are correlated in the first place, and if they're not related, then that adds an entirely new mystery to the pile of things that we have to figure out."

"How does everything just keep getting worse?" Meiko murmured under her breath. On one hand, something deep inside of her was almost relieved in a twisted way that she would no longer be the only inexperienced member of the group. If these other six Chosen Children were really as new as they seemed to be, then Meiko would be able to confide her fears in others who lacked the experience that the rest of the group possessed. On the other hand though, all of this just made Meiko feel sick. Why was all of this happening then? It didn't make any sense.

Ken reached for his Digivice and held it up to Koushiro. "My Digivice isn't picking up on any of the signals that are on the screen... I suppose that the models don't allow them to be recognized," he remarked. "Your laptop is more refined in its parameters on this level, I suppose, and that's why it's the only device that's picking up on these signals."

"That means that we're the only ones who are aware of these new Chosen Children right now," Miyako commented, one hand coming up to rest on her chin. "We have to pass this message on so that the rest of the group knows about it, right? I don't think that it's a good idea if we keep all of this a secret. Maybe they'll get lucky and run into these newbies before we do. It's not like we can drop everything to search for them right now."

"Our first priority has to be getting rid of the ones who have been responsible for the enemy Digimon attacks up to this point," Ken declared. "As much as I hate to say it, these new Chosen Children have to wait for a while. We'll be able to manage their appearance with much more success soon, but we need to concentrate on the Digimon for now. After all, if we aren't careful, another attack could take place in Odaiba, and we need to make sure that doesn't happen before things can spiral out of control again. We got lucky this past time, but that might not carry over once again to a repeat of that scenario."

Meiko wants to slam her hands over her ears, if she's being honest. If she tries to hum to herself loud enough, maybe she'll be able to block out the screaming that the rest of the world seems intent on pressing into her head. She just wants it all to stop already, but she knows that it isn't that easy. Nothing is ever that easy, and Meiko is fully aware of that. If life was truly as simple as she had been led to believe in the past, then she wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place.

Every new hour seems to bring with it a new complication. First, it was the Digimon attacks in Odaiba. Everything started getting so much worse than she even thought possible after that, and it was impossible for Meiko to run away from such an undeniable truth. On top of that, there were these strange new Chosen Children. Even if Koushiro had never meant to stress her out, it felt like one extra burden that she had to account for on top of everything else. Meiko was desperate for everything to just stop already, but she wasn't about to say that out loud. She knew that she would only look pathetic if she tried, and Meiko felt as if she already suffered from such an affliction enough as it was.

Before Meiko had the chance to say anything in response to Ken's words, the world seemed to shatter around her all over again, and she let out a gasp. A roar had pierced the air, and it belonged to a Digimon. The specific culprit of the sound was as of yet unknown, but to Meiko, it didn't matter. It was another burst of adrenaline injected directly into her system, another threat for her to fight off with what meager skills in combat she had come to possess by watching those who were so much more worthy of the world and its gifts than she ever would be. She wanted answers regarding the one responsible for such an agonizing cry, but at the same time, Meiko couldn't help but feel that she never wanted to experience anything that would bring her close to such pain ever again.

"Who was that?" Miyako questioned, her voice starting to edge on desperation as she jumped to her feet. Meiko couldn't help but notice just how sunken Miyako's eyes appeared to be all of a sudden, as if she was on the verge of falling apart rather than Meiko. Miyako glanced around with all of the alertness in the world, and Poromon began to perk up at her words. As soon as he was finished with his current snack, Poromon's shape began to change, and he was Hawkmon again without a beat of hesitation. The other Digimon followed suit, and Tentomon and Wormmon both retreated to the sides of their partners as Ken threw one hand out to retrieve the bag of food that they had been using for sustenance up to that point.

A lumbering figure of a Digimon appeared on the horizon, and Tentomon was ultimately the one to explain who the newcomer was. "That would be Assasultmon," he proclaimed. "We have to be ready to fight him off. I doubt that he's here to be friendly with us, and his colors are so much darker than they should be."

"Great!" Miyako cried out, though the sound was merely an ancient echo of her normal unshakeable confidence. "Hawkmon, come on! Let's get this out of the way so that we can figure out what we should be doing next!" Her hand reached for her Digivice, and she pressed it through the air in Hawkmon's direction. Her partner nodded solemnly before flying in the direction of Assaultmon.

But nothing happened.

Miyako gasped after a few moments of silence, and she shook her D-3 around briefly before pushing it in Hawkmon's vicinity once again. For a second time, nothing took place, and Miyako let out a shriek of rage and agony as one hand came to press up against her forehead. "What's going on?!" she cried out. Her previous image of confidence had been shattered, leaving behind a young girl who was nothing short of terrified of what the world around her was capable of.

Koushiro reached for his own Digivice when he caught onto how legitimately frustrated Miyako was, and he tried to reach it in the direction of Tentomon. His partner seemed to expect a sudden surge of evolution, but in the end, such an event never took place, and Tentomon remained his same small size. When Ken attempted the same with Wormmon, he was met with the same outcome of nothingness that both of his companions had seen, and Meiko felt like she was going to be sick as the pit in her stomach grew wide enough to threaten to swallow her whole.

"The Digimon are too tired from what was happening back on Earth to evolve beyond this," Koushiro explained through a tense, heavy frown. "We spent a lot of time fighting against Digimon that are much stronger than they are at present. Even if we were only surprising our foes, that was more than enough to drain their energy, and that means that we aren't going to be able to fight off Assaultmon until they're prepared to fight once again."

"Who knows when that will be?" Miyako questioned in poorly-masked frustration. "We can't just stand here unguarded right now! Assaultmon is going to be here any minute, and I somehow doubt that we'll be able to get away right now even if we wanted to! We're just going to have to find a way to turn and face him, but I don't know how that's even-"

"Meiko," Ken suddenly cut in, his head whirling in the direction of the dark-haired girl. Meiko found herself squealing in surprise against her wishes, and she hated how sensitive and small she sounded for those fleeting moments. "You and Meicoomon are going to have to be the ones to remove Assaultmon's dark patch of data. You're the only ones who stand much of a chance against him with how tired the other Digimon are."

"What?!" Meiko shrieked before she could stop herself. What was Ken thinking by saying something like that?! Meiko wasn't like him or the rest of the Chosen Children. She was hardly strong, and he suddenly seemed to have an unsettling amount of faith in her. Meiko's head was spinning before she could register what was happening. What was Ken trying to imply? She wouldn't be able to fight off the enemy Digimon. Meicoomon hadn't even found a way to evolve to the Perfect level the same way that the other Digimon in the group had, and Meiko didn't think that she trusted herself enough to push her luck in a fight. What would happen if Meicoomon got hurt? They were all in danger, and running away seemed to be a much better option in Meiko's eyes.

"You can do this," Koushiro assured her, his eyes so full of belief in her that it hurt to see. Meiko wasn't deserving of this. She never had been, and as far as Meiko was concerned, she never would be. Why was this happening? She didn't want this to happen. She couldn't fight the way that the rest of the group could. Why were they so confident that she would be able to rescue them when Meiko hadn't even been able to rescue herself in the past? It was completely ridiculous, and Meiko felt sick at the mere implication that she was going to be able to do anything to help them when she couldn't even look at her own reflection without feeling like she wanted to claw her skin off half the time.

"Meiko, I believe in you," Meicoomon suddenly said, looking up at her partner with those solemn green eyes that Meiko had come to such a degree. Meiko didn't realize when she had started to feel so dizzy and nauseous, and for a brief moment, her mind flashed back to what had taken place in Odaiba when she lost track of her focus for a while. She had nearly lost herself, and if she lost control this time, the consequences would undoubtedly be worse.

But it wasn't as if Meiko could truly protest. Everyone was watching her with such hope in their eyes, and Meiko knew that she had to do something to try and help them. They were in danger, and even if Meiko scarcely believed in herself, she knew that she had to try to help them out for their sake. She owed that much to both herself and those who she cared for so deeply. That wasn't something that she could debate regardless of how terrified she was.

"O-Okay..." Meiko murmured as she looked up. Assaultmon had gotten much closer, and Meiko knew that they were out of time to debate this subject. She was going to have to charge into this regardless of if she was ready or not. The least she could do was try. That was what everyone was counting on her to do, and Meiko refused to let them down if such an outcome could be avoided. "Alright, Meicoomon... Let's do this." Meiko's partner nodded from her place beside Meiko's feet as she dashed off to confront Assaultmon. Meiko felt the dizziness rise again, but she shoved it down as quickly as she could. This was hardly a time to be distracted. Others were counting on her, and she couldn't let them down after all that they had done for her. She refused to allow that to happen no matter how much it ate her alive inside to imply that she would ever be a soldier. After all, the safety of others had always been more important to her, and such a fact would never change.

Mimi found herself feeling oddly at home as she curled up in the shade of a nearby tree. She, Jou, and Daisuke had wound up being deposited in a forested area of the Digital World, and Mimi was more than happy to take this chance to rest. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the side of the tree trunk, allowing her exhaustion to claim her briefly. Sleeping was out of the question, but all of them needed a break. That much had become blatantly obvious a long while ago, and Mimi wasn't about to protest such an undeniable truth.

Jou stroked gently at Pukamon's head as he sat down for himself, and Daisuke followed suit with his own partner in his arms. The three of them were completely silent, almost as if they knew that the world would threaten to fragment itself into a million pieces if they dared to speak too loudly. Mimi rubbed at her eyes, desperate to be given the chance to wait until she was prepared to fight once again. Mimi had never been a fan of combat in the first place, if she was being honest. Seeing others get hurt had always been too much for her, and even after her revelation that sometimes fighting was necessary to see the peace that she so desperately craved, Mimi remained hateful of the concept. She knew that it was part of conserving peace, but that didn't mean in the slightest that she had to enjoy the idea, and she most certainly did not like it when push came to shove.

"There has to be a clue around here somewhere," Daisuke declared, and Mimi was surprised to hear how tired his voice was when it reached her ears. Daisuke had always been so full of energy, practically buzzing in his own skin in an attempt to reach out and create a positive space for himself. Something about him was strangely infectious as far as his optimism was concerned, and Mimi had come to enjoy such a thing even though she and Daisuke could hardly be considered close.

However, Daisuke was far from being this excited image of himself in that moment. He sounded tired, and even though Mimi wasn't looking at him, she was confident that he appeared to be far more weary than he had any right to. She would find the truth soon enough, she was sure. With the immediate danger and pressure to survive gone, they were finally allowed to relax, and Mimi wondered if that was entirely a positive thing. On one hand, not having to run for one's life was a welcome sensation, but on the other, that meant that the anxieties she tried so desperately to avoid were given the chance to seep in through the corners of her mind. In the darkest corners that she refused to acknowledge, there were whispers of doubt and fear, claims that she should roll over and block out the world until this had all blown over. That was hardly an option, but Mimi would have been lying if the idea didn't seem tempting. She was sure that Daisuke would agree behind his smile as bright as the sun.

Jou pulled his D-Terminal from his pocket and began to check for any messages from the other members of the group. He frowned to himself as he bit down on his lip, working the skin between his teeth. Mimi wasn't sure when Jou had picked up on this nervous habit or if perhaps he had always had it, but she decided not to bother focusing on it. After all, there were much more important matters that required her attention first.

"There aren't any new messages from the rest of the team yet," Jou declared. "I'm going to see if I can get a response from them that will give us a place to meet up. If we're going to search for clues, we might as well be together. After all, we've been separated for so long because of the fighting in Odaiba, and I would like to see everyone in one place again, you know?" The laugh that followed was painfully hollow, and it seemed to ring in Mimi's ears for a decade even after Jou had fallen silent.

"Okay," Mimi told him, going completely on autopilot. For a few brief moments, sitting beneath the trees, Mimi felt as if she was ten years old again, a child fighting in a war against the Dark Masters. She remembered sobbing into an empty sky for the lives of Digimon that had died because they believed in her and the rest of the team. Times had been hopeless back then as well. Mimi shoved the memory aside as soon as the chance arose. If she concentrated on that abstract concept too much, it was going to make her feel sick, and that was hardly something she could afford when there was so much on the line. Her issues didn't matter when the weight of the world was resting squarely on her shoulders.

All too quickly, Mimi was dragged back to reality, and she was glad to finally feel the return of the sensation that came with air in her lungs. Daisuke was the one that had pulled her away from her thoughts with a small noise that made it sound like he was clearing his throat. "We should probably get up and going again soon," he pointed out. Mimi was left to wonder if perhaps Daisuke was saying such a thing because he was just as desperate for a distraction as the rest of them, and movement was the best way for them to keep pressing on.

"Yeah," Mimi murmured, though the word came out as a hum that was barely audible. Her eyes swept closed, and she forced herself to her feet through the use of her palms pressing against the grass on either side of her body. She had to get going. If she didn't start doing something to distract herself, she was going to start thinking about the past once again, and she didn't think that she would be able to handle that.

"Okay," Jou announced, seemingly finished with his message to the rest of the group. He got to his feet, still holding Pukamon close to his body. Pukamon grinned up at him with endless hope and optimism, and Mimi found herself wishing that she could press such an outlook into her own mind. Instead, she just felt like an empty shell of her regular self, and every memory seemed to reek of pain as it was pressed white and hot against her mind once more.

But she didn't show any of this outwardly. The world was counting on her, and Mimi wasn't about to fail its expectations. She refused to do such a thing, so she let out a sigh and pretended that it was all of the pain of the past being released into the atmosphere so that it could spiral high into the sky where Mimi would never again need to see it. Her fingers lazily stroked at Tanemon's head, and she allowed the warmth of her partner beneath her hand to comfort her. Tanemon had been clinging to her shirt as she rose to her feet, and she seemed to be glad to be able to return to a place that was secure and careful. Mimi smiled to herself. Even if the world felt like it was falling apart, at least she knew that she would never be alone anymore. Tanemon was there for her, and that was what mattered.

The group started walking soon after that, and Mimi forced herself to concentrate on placing one foot in front of the other so that she didn't completely lose track of what they were doing. She had to stay concentrated for as long as possible. She would have time to think about the events of the past again later on, but that time had not yet arrived. For a short while longer, she would pretend that everything was fine and pretend that it didn't feel like her heart was being torn free of her chest and then stomped on by a boot laced with spikes. She was a good enough actor when she tried hard enough, right? Nobody needed to know a thing.

Takeru, Hikari, Iori, and their partners had wound up in a part of the Digital World that all of them knew well. The China Town segment of the Digital World had become a home for fond memories to all of them after the time that they had spent there prior to the first appearance of Shakkoumon. It was strange how the space could be comforting given that they had been locked in such an intense battle after the fact, but the truth remained that they enjoyed the area when they were given the chance to visit every once in a while.

"I guess it's time for us to go and get some food for all of you," Takeru smiled as he glanced down to Tokomon. The small white Digimon nodded his agreement enthusiastically, and Takeru let out a laugh in response, seemingly just glad to be alive for a few precious moments. "Alright then. Let's go and see what we can do about that hunger then. I'm sure that we'll be able to find something around here. After all, the food here is pretty good if my memory serves correctly."

Hikari nodded her agreement as she gently stroked the spine of Nyaromon. The cat Digimon was curled up against her grasp, a gentle smile on her face. Hikari glanced up to Takeru a moment later before exchanging a brief glance with Iori. They were all in agreement, and so, they began to move. It was amazing that they had wound up in this specific location when they were simply planning on traveling to a part of the Digital World where they would be able to find clues regarding their enemies.

The process of walking was slow and seemed to last for a thousand years. Given the events of the day that had already taken place, it felt like a painful lull in the action. Adrenaline was finally giving way to peace and calm, but it was debatable as to if this was actually a positive thing or not. Instead of feeling as if all was well and safe, the group was left in a position of silent insecurity, as if they were going to fall apart if they weren't careful. This was a precarious place to be in, and they were fully aware of it. They had no way of saying for sure that they were going to be safe for a long time. Instead, they were all fully aware that they were bound to come under fire soon enough, and this was just the interlude between two climactic battles that they would never be able to escape.

Still, they managed to arrive at a restaurant without any issues, and from there, none of them objected to settling down to eat. This was what they needed, and whiel the idea of resting and taking a break from the rest of the world was painful and scalding, they knew that this was their best option. The world had given them a choice on what was to come next, and they couldn't entirely defy it even if they wanted to.

Takeru kept his D-Terminal open on the table, something that he would never do under other circumstances, though the group was fine with making an exception just this once. They had to be able to communicate with the rest of the Chosen Children if push came to shove, and it would be for the best if they were able to hear about new facts as soon as possible. After all, there was still a heavy curtain of uncertainty that rested on all of their shoulders, and they had to remain careful and alert. The world wasn't going to wait for them to be ready for the next battle, so they would simply have to ensure that they were prepared for themselves.

The first thing that Meicoomon did after she launched herself towards Assaultmon was leave a nasty scratch down the front of the Digimon's face. It wasn't enough to truly deter Assaultmon from getting closer, but it did certainly distract him for a few precious moments. This gave Koushiro the chance to let out a quick hiss in the direction of Miyako and Ken. It didn't take long before all of them were going on the retreat, leaving Meicoomon to handle the Digimon that was chasing after them.

Meiko felt like she was trapped in place because of her fear, as if it was going to start suffocating her if she gave it the chance. Everything felt like it was falling apart. The rest of the day had been bad enough as it was, but this situation seemed to take the cake in a way that she hated more than she could ever hope to explain. Meiko's mind screamed at her to get away from the fight, but her body refused to move, and it was only after Miyako's fingers closed around Meiko's wrist to drag her off that Meiko finally responded physically. She really wasn't cut out for this, and that was all it took for the doubts to start screaming in the back of her mind once again. Why was she even in this situation? She had to get away from it. She would be able to escape if she tried hard enough, right?

The sound of gunfire cut off Meiko, and she let out a gasp at the familiar boom that came with violence. When she glanced over her shoulder, she could see that Assaultmon's gun was firing in the general direction of her and the rest of the group. There had only been one attack, a singular laser that scorched the ground below, but that was more than enough in Meiko's eyes. Ken had jumped out of the way at the last minute, but that did little to lessen the impact of Wormmon's notable paranoia that Ken had been in such danger in the first place, and he seemed much more clingy to Ken than he had been a few moments prior, not that Meiko could blame him.

"We're going to be alright, okay?" Miyako told Meiko, and the dark-haired girl allowed Miyako's voice to be the one thing keeping her tethered to plane of the present. If she got too caught up in her own thoughts, she wouldn't be able to do anything to help Meicoomon to fight off Assaultmon. A Digimon couldn't evolve without a human partner under most circumstances, right? She had to find a way to do that thing that Mimi had mentioned once. What was it? She had to lend her energy to Meicoomon? How was that even possible?

Even if Meiko was confused, she knew that she was going to have to figure it out soon. Assaultmon was a powerful Digimon, and all it took was a wave of his arm for Meicoomon to be sent sliding backwards against the ground, her back making a skid mark in the dirt. Meiko cried out for her partner, but the sound was foreign and distant, as if she was hearing it from the other side of glass. Perhaps she had been dunked in water and simply not noticed it, and that was why she felt so disconnected from reality. Was that even possible?

Meiko quickly criticized herself for wondering questions of possibility at such a critical moment, and her fingers drifted to her Digivice without any conscious effort from her. She looked at her Digivice carefully with wide eyes, as if she feared that the device was going to betray her at a moment's notice. She let out a strangled cry a moment later, and it was only after the noise had pierced the air that Meiko noticed that it was a sob. She was crying, wasn't she? How could she have not noticed that up until this moment? It didn't even feel real to her. Nothing felt real anymore.

But there was one thing that Meiko knew above everything else. She had to help her friends. Even if the world felt like it was falling apart at the seams with her caught among the chaos, Meiko had to do what she could to help those around her. They were counting on her, and the world didn't care in the slightest if Meiko thought that she was worthy of the duty that came with being granted as the bearer of their trust. She had to protect them no matter what. That was what mattered above all else, and she had to remember that.

Meiko glanced down and saw that Miyako's fingers were still closed around her wrist, though she suspected that Miyako didn't even notice that she was grabbing onto Meiko even now. Meiko let out a careful breath once again. She had to defend them. Her doubts didn't matter when push came to shove. The world was a difficult place to survive, and she had to fight against that struggle with everything that she had. She couldn't give in. Not yet. There was too much riding on her victory for her to do such a thing.

Meicoomon jumped towards Assaultmon once again, her fingers ready for a claw swipe. Assaultmon was hit by the attack, but he didn't notice in the slightest that she had put so much effort into hurting him. His armor was simply too thick, and he was a level above Meicoomon on the hierarchy of power within the Digimon universe. There wasn't going to be much that Meicoomon could accomplish unless she found a way to evolve. Meiko had to share her energy with her partner even though she didn't even fully understood what that meant or how it worked.

I have to find a way to do this. Everyone is counting on me, and I can't let them down. I don't want to feel like I've somehow contributed to them getting hurt if I don't pull this off. I don't deserve their trust or care, but I'm going to try with everything that I have to make sure that they're alright. That's the least that I can do. Even someone that can barely do anything right can still accomplish something positive every once in a while, right? Let this be the moment that I finally do something well.

Before Meiko could fully process the thoughts of self-deprecation spinning through her head like the contents of an internalized tornado, her Digivice began to explode with light. She glanced down and saw that dark pink illumination was slowly starting to spread outwards. The glow was the same color as deep wine, Meiko realized, bordering somewhere between dark pink and a pastel red in a strange way that she didn't know how to describe. However, she did know that the light felt weirdly right to her, as if all of the pieces of her life had suddenly come into view.

Something is wrong something is wrong something is wrong-

Meiko's mind came to a screeching halt when she looked up at Meicoomon, and all of her instincts fell silent in favor of simply staring at her partner. Meicoomon's shape was starting to shift, and when the glow around her body faded, she was much larger than she had been previously. Everything about her exuded an aura of power, and Meiko knew without even having to ask that she had somehow managed to do it. By some stroke of a miracle, she was able to help Meicoomon to reach the Ultimate level. She didn't know how she had pulled it off, but that barely seemed to matter. The deed was done, and that was the most important fact in that instant.

"Meicoomon, super evolve to... Meicrackmon!"

Meicrackmon. So that was her name. Something about it certainly felt right to Meiko in a way that she didn't know to describe, but she figured that it wasn't important that she put words to this sensation anyways. Her partner had managed to reach the Perfect level, and that was more than enough for her. After feeling like a burden for so long, she had finally managed to do something that would place Meicoomon in the position that she needed to be in so that she could help out with the rest of the team's issues. Meiko corrected Meicoomon in her mind to Meicrackmon a moment after the thought passed through her consciousness, and she let out a small sigh to herself. Something about this just felt right.

But below that, Meiko could sense that something was off. She couldn't describe it because of how deeply the sensation was buried, and Meiko couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was imagining it somehow. If it was all her imagination though, then why was her stomach starting to churn with the promise of coming anxiety? Was there truly something amiss with Meicrackmon that she wasn't seeing? All too quickly, Meiko remembered her bout of dizziness when she had still been back in Odaiba. That was certainly something strange, and Meiko hoped with everything she had that the two situations were not connected.

Meicrackmon didn't seem to notice that Meiko was bothered, and she rushed towards Assaultmon with renewed vigor. Meiko practically forced herself to move on from her paranoia, knowing that it wasn't going to help anyone if she was too worked up about her own sense of anxiety to speak. She couldn't think about this when everyone was in danger. It simply wasn't an option, and she wasn't about to defy the world around her simply because she was desperate to scream about something that likely wasn't even dangerous in the first place. Maybe she was just being ridiculous about all of this and there was nothing wrong to begin with.

Meiko was cut off when Meicrackmon lunged towards Assaultmon once again, and all it took was a single scratch to Assaultmon's face to stop the Digimon in his tracks. Meiko was about to wonder how it was that Meicrackmon had pulled off something so impressive, but that was when she noticed the pair of flickering trails that followed behind Meicrackmon's body. They were glowing with a gentle orange crackle, and Meiko realized that they were alight with electricity. The trails had made contact with Assaultmon, and if Meiko had to guess, she would assume that the electricity had paralyzed Assaultmon, giving Meicrackmon the perfect chance to lash out while he was distracted with forcing his body to move once again.

Meicrackmon jumped backwards, and everything about her motions was effortless and crisp. When she rushed forward once again, her claws gleamed sharp in the sunshine. She stuck out against the redness of the desert ground below, and it was impressive how incredible she appeared to Meiko's eyes. It was as if Meiko was staring upon the heavens themselves with how awestruck she was at Meicrackmon's first appearance.

Meicrackmon pulled her claws up before bringing them down on Assaultmon, making easy contact with the dark patch of data. She kicked against Assaultmon's body after that, and the metallic Digimon was sent spiraling backwards through the air before he slammed against the base of a nearby cliff that overlooked the area. Assaultmon didn't bother to get up after that as his color scheme started to fade away, giving into something much paler. Meiko was familiar with this part of the process, but that didn't stop her from smiling to herself out of pure relief that they had managed to pull this off. Her previous confusion had ultimately been unfounded, as when push came to shove, it truly wasn't that difficult for Meicrackmon to do what was necessary to rescue the group.

In a way, it almost felt too easy to Meiko. Meicrackmon hadn't appeared in more than five years of companionship between Meicoomon and Meiko, and that was beyond unsettling to her. There had to be more to this situation than she was seeing, right? How could it be true that Meicrackmon was able to just slide into existence without any issues. Meiko tried to convince herself that she was being paranoid and that she had earned this alongside her partner, but if she was being honest with herself, the excuse felt weak and paltry, a pathetic way of explaining away the fear that seemed to want to strangle her.

Something felt off about Meicrackmon. Meiko had been told that each of the Chosen Children had Crests that allowed their partners to evolve to Perfect and beyond, but Meiko had never heard about what hers was. She didn't even think that she had one, but then Meicrackmon appeared. The magenta light made it clear that Meiko certainly did have a Crest that corresponded with Meicrackmon's evolutions, but there was definitely more to it that she wasn't yet seeing. What was her Crest trait in specific detail? Why was she so completely unaware of it? There had to be a reason behind something like that, right?

Something is wrong something is wrong something is wrong-

"Look at you go!" Miyako suddenly hollered, her hands coming up to cup the space around her mouth as she abandoned her tight grip on Meiko's wrist. Meiko looked down, not understanding why she missed the sensation as her mind slowly gave way to little more than static. All of her anxieties buzzed around at the back of her head, and she hoped that they would stay there permanently instead of deciding to bother her on a regular basis.

Meicrackmon turned to face the rest of the group, a gentle smile on her feline features. She took a few steps towards them before her form began to shift, and when the magenta light faded away, she was a smaller Digimon that seemed to resemble the dog Digimon that Tailmon had become a few times. It took a moment for Meiko to recall that someone had called that Digimon Plotmon in the past, though Meicoomon's form didn't seem to share that name. Instead, Meicoomon's smaller stage was orange tinted rather than being simply cream, and that was enough of a difference for Meiko to tuck the detail away into the back of her mind.

"I'm glad that you're safe," Meiko whispered as she leaned over and scooped her partner up into her arms. The small dog Digimon nuzzled up against her, and Meiko smiled. She was being paranoid and ridiculous over nothing. There wasn't anything to be afraid of. Meicoomon was just the same as she always remembered even if she was in a different form. Speaking of being in a different form, Meiko let out a gasp and glanced down to the Digimon in her arms. "Um... What is your name now?"

For a long moment, Meicoomon's new evolution was silent, and when she replied, she spread a smile on her face. "I think that my name is Meiamon now," she replied. "But I guess it doesn't matter either way! We were able to defeat Assaultmon, so we can focus on trying to meet up with the rest of the team now!"

Meiko nodded, and her fingers came up to gently stroke at the top of Meiamon's head. Why was it that Meiamon felt like a more natural stage of Meicoomon's than Meicrackmon had? Meiko forced herself to stop thinking in such a way as soon as possible. She was being dramatic. There was nothing wrong with Meicrackmon, and there never had been. Everything was going to be fine.

"Alright," Miyako declared, her hands finding a home on her hips. "I think that it's time we start doing that searching that we mentioned before. We've still got a lot of work to get done, after all, and we aren't going to get any of it done as long as we're standing around here."

"Getting some more food in our stomachs would be a good idea as well," Hawkmon pointed out. "I'm afraid that I still will not be able to evolve at this rate. We need to find something that will be a bit more fulfilling to all of us before we can truly consider ourselves prepared for the inevitable next encounter with whatever enemy just so happens to find us."

"I don't like that you're talking like this is going to happen no matter what we try," Meiko admitted before she could stop herself. It was the truth, but she felt awful for saying it without bothering to censor herself. It was just her lack of experience talking, wasn't it? Perhaps her unsettled sensations around Meicrackmon, which kept rising to the surface despite her desperate attempts to suppress them, were responsible for an added dimension of worry.

"That's probably the fact of the matter," Koushiro told her softly. "I know that something is amiss here in the Digital World. We need to find out who's responsible for all of these attacks so that we can truly resolve this issue. How does that sound?"

"Okay," Meiko finally forced herself to say. The word felt strange and foreign on her lips, but she knew that holding herself back wasn't going to do a thing to make herself feel better. She let out a sigh, forcing herself to remain grounded in the present thanks to the sensation of Meiamon within her arms. The Digimon seemed to be able to sense that Meiko was upset, and she nestled herself deeper within her partner's grasp.

"Food first, and then, we start our search," Ken declared. There were no objections to that, and Ken took that as his cue to reach down and pick up Wormmon with a tender smile on his face. Wormmon was all too happy to find a home within Ken's arms, and Meiko smiled to herself as well. They truly did have a sweet dynamic like the rest of the Chosen Children. This was meant to be in some weird way. Her emotions regarding her thoughts on being a fighter were radically shifting, and it felt as if she had the potential to completely switch her opinions on a dime due to issues with self-esteem and perpetual self-loathing, but for at least a few precious moments, she thought everything was going to be okay.

But that was only because she was telling the voice in the back of her mind to be quiet, so it prattled on in ignorance silence instead.

Something is wrong. That evolution shouldn't have happened. Meicrackmon is different from the rest. She just is. Something is going on that you can't see. What's wrong with her? What's wrong with me?

"I think that we should split up."

Maki's voice nearly made Daigo jump out of his skin, and he glanced over to see that she was looking solemnly down at the device in her hand. Daigo was about to ask her why, but she explained before he had the chance to question her on the matter. "We have to find them, but I somehow doubt that they're going to be together. Come on. We're going to see one another again soon enough, but for right now, this is what we have to do. It's been fifteen years, Daigo. I have to go and see him again," she explained.

Daigo nodded to himself. If he was being honest, he completely understood the desperation that Maki was feeling. It was what had driven him to take up work in the field that he had. His time as a teacher was unrelated to his true purpose, but working as an agent within the data bureau most certainly was not. He had done all of this because he wanted the chance to find that peace once again, and if the chance was within their grasp, then he had to take it.

"Alright," he forced himself to say. "Just... Promise me that you're going to stay out of trouble, okay? I don't think that I'm going to be able to take it if you never come back to me. I think that we've had enough of goodbyes to last a lifetime."

Maki's shoulders grew tense, and she nodded to herself. "I promise," she murmured. "I'm going to make sure that we find each other once again. Hell, I'm going to make sure that we find the others as well after all of this is over. I'm sure that they're around here too, and that means that we have to find them."

"I bet that they're looking just like we are," Daigo told her with a small smile and a stab of fear that they were going to find themselves in danger. The Digital World was a dangerous place, after all, and they were going to be wandering through it alone until they could fulfill their shared sense of purpose.

"I can tell that they are," Maki admitted. "I can... I can just sense them. I can sense him too, and I have to go and find him. He's still alive even after all this time, and... I bet that the rest of them are too. You'd have to ask Chisane for details about that though. She's better with this sort of thing than I am."

Daigo let out an empty chuckle as he nodded. "I'm sure that we'll all be back together soon," he said, though it was more for his own sense of security than anything else. He wanted to believe Maki that they would be back together soon, and he was choosing to cling to her words above all else when his uncertainty was starting to grow to be too much for him.

"I'll see you when the time is right then," Maki declared. She turned on her heel, giving him one final firm salute as a sign of her loyalty to him. Daigo's expression melted into a genuine grin as she began to walk away, looking down at her silvery device the whole way.

Daigo didn't bother waiting for her figure to melt over the edge of the horizon. Instead, he glanced down to his own device and let out a sigh under his breath. He knew that his target had to be around there somewhere. He was going to have to start searching sooner rather than later. He figured that there was no time quite like the present, so he took yet another deep breath and then started to walk. After fifteen years, he was finally going to be given what he craved so deeply, and he was going to take this opportunity and embrace it with everything he had.

He needed this. They all did.

Oh boy! It's an update!

This chapter is a bit less intense on the battles than the last few have been, but I really like how it turned out. If I'm being honest, Meiko has turned into one of my favorite characters to write for in this story. There's something about her that just feels so weirdly right even though I never saw that coming. She's a lot of fun to work with, and luckily for me, she's going to be used a lot throughout the remainder of the story.

This chapter is another one where I've got a bunch of little foreshadowing details sprinkled throughout. That's just my hobby at this point, huh? Tri had a huge overarching plot that drove its conflict the whole way through, and the same applies to this story. Granted, you can quite clearly see that this plot is very different from the canon of Tri, but it's still there. Since this is a story where I can work at my own pace rather than cramming everything into a short span of time, I can make it as slow and foreshadow-y as I want, and I fully intend to do so. I think that Tri deserved to be a slow burn style story with what it was trying to do, and so, I am fulfilling its wishes.

I'm going to leave this author's note here so that I don't wind up slipping up on some important plot details. Oops. I'd love to hear your theories about everything that's going on though, because we're really starting to get into the fun stuff as far as foreshadowing is concerned! Anyways, when we come back together next week, we'll be once again pushing on with act two. It's hard to believe that this segment of the story is already halfway over now. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital