Sora looked back at the others. Taichi, with his talent of being able to sleep anywhere, had fallen asleep on the ground with Agumon watching over him. Koushiro was still working on his laptop, wanting to understand why its battery was perpetually full, but he was taking occasional glances at Taichi. Good to know her idiot of a best friend had someone looking after him while she was gone. Mimi and TK were having some sort of stick fight. As obnoxious as the other girl was, Sora had to admit she was a very good friend to TK. And it was pretty surprising to see the pampered princess playing so roughly. Tsukaimon and Tanemon were… betting leaves? Okay. And Yamato? He was watching- no, make that glaring. Ugh.

"Is everything okay?" Jou asked. Sora let out a sigh and looked at him.

"Go ahead of me, will you?" she asked, "I need to talk to Yamato-kun about something."

"Uh, sure," Jou sounded a little confused. She looked at Piyomon.

"Uh, Piyomon, this is going to be very personal, so can you please go with Jou?"

"It would be easier if I wasn't there?" Piyomon asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. Just enough to make Sora hate herself for even considering this request.

"I'm really sorry, Piyomon, but this is going to be a very delicate thing for Yamato-kun to discuss." And I'm not exactly good at this. She had to fight the memories of her attempts at trying to talk to Taichi about the Mistake, leading to their worst fights by far. Hopefully talking to Yamato would be easier. He was more mature, after all, and it wasn't like he had anything to do with the divorce.

Piyomon's face lit up a bit. "So it's not about you?!" Sora blinked in surprise, mostly at herself for forgetting how single-minded their partners tended to be.

"Of course not." She gave the little a bird a smile. "I'd never keep anything about myself from you." Piyomon's face brightened right up.

"Oh! Okay! Um, I'll go make sure Pukamon doesn't bug Jou too much!" Piyomon still sounded a little disappointed but at least she understood it was for Yamato's sake. Sora turned her attention back to him and took a deep breath and started towards him.

"Hey, Yamato-kun?" He looked up at her, his expression saying he wasn't in the mood for talking. Go easy. Don't push. She remembered her final, and worst, attempt at talking about the Mistake. Taichi got so mad, he punched her, but the expression on his face showed that she had managed to hurt him far more. Remember, you're picking at a wound here.

"What is it?" He barely managed to hide his bad mood.

"I'd like to discuss something with you," she looked over at TK and Mimi, "Privately, if it's okay." She would've preferred not to have Gabumon there too, but that wasn't her choice to make. Oh well, Gabumon was very levelheaded, so maybe his presence would be a good thing.

"Fine," Yamato responded, looking back at TK and Mimi. His voice lowered to an angry whisper. "Not like I'm needed here." Go easy on him. She lead him some ways away, over to another tree, where they wouldn't be overheard.

"It's about TK-kun," she started, "and why he was-"

"It doesn't matter why he was there!" he snapped, "It was dangerous! You saw the condition Yagami-kun was in!" This was not going to be easy.

"I agree, he shouldn't have. But I just mean why he went in the first place."

"I know why he went," he growled, glaring at Taichi.

"That isn't it," Sora tried to reason, "TK-kun does look up to Taichi-"

"Of course he does! And the idiot encourages him!" What?! Okay, now Sora was getting mad. Yamato knew full well that Taichi never encouraged TK to do anything dangerous.

"No, he doesn't, and you know it!" She forced herself to calm down. Don't lose it. Remember, you're trying to help him. Not win an argument. She found herself looking at the back of his head, his body almost statue-like and his fists tightly clenching, making his rage obvious. And he was looking in Taichi's direction.This is a lot more than just their personalities clashing. It was almost like Yamato truly hated Taichi, but Sora refused to believe that. He was bad tempered, sure, but not hateful."Why are you so mad at him?" she asked.

He was suddenly facing her a with fiery glare, causing her to take a step back. "You saw the condition that idiot came back in! All because of his own stupidity, too, right?! Koushiro-kun isn't exactly a good liar! I don't even want think about what he's teaching TK!"

"TK-kun saw the injuries!" Sora countered, "He's smart and you know that! And Taichi?! He knows better than anyone what it means to be a role model! He won't even watch a movie unless it's something he'd be okay with Hikari or TK-kun watching!"

"Of course! The great Yagami-kun!" he threw his arms up, "How dare I question Perfect Brother Yagami-kun! I mean, I've only known TK his entire life!"

"But you're gone for so much of it!" She immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. How could she say that?! The look of shame and rage on Yamato's made her want to kick herself. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean- look, it's like with Taichi and Hikari-"

"I'm sorry I can't be a perfect brother like Yagami-kun!" he growled and turned away from her.

"I'm not saying that, Yamato-kun!" she pleaded, "TK-kun thinks the world of you but when you get mad like that, you scare him! You make him think-"

"I'm a lousy big brother! I get it! You made your point!" Yamato stormed off towards the building. Gabumon gave an apologetic look and followed.

"You make him think you don't want him around," she found herself finishing. Staring helplessly at the building, she felt tears roll down her cheek, and turned away, looking back at TK who was still playing with Mimi. How could she have said something so cruel?! She was supposed healing that wound, not pouring salt over it! And then there was the fact that of all traits Yamato could have shared with Taichi, it had to be their complete obliviousness, if not outright denial, to how much their younger siblings loved them. And while Taichi's overcompensating was one thing, Yamato was making TK think he didn't want him around. Whenever he scolded the boy, TK would start thinking Yamato was going to start hating him if he kept bothering him. And if Yamato-kun doesn't realize this, TK-kun will stop "bothering" him altogether.

"Sora? Did everything go okay?" Piyomon's voice sounded behind her. She turned back around to see a very concerned looking pink bird. "I saw Yamato and he looked real upset. Gabumon told me not to ask. Did something happen?" Sora managed a weak smile.

"We kinda got into an argument," she answered, "and I ended up saying something really, really thoughtless to him. Something really mean." She almost added a crack about Taichi rubbing off on her but stopped herself. Even Taichi at his worst wouldn't have brought up how little of TK Yamato got to see. How could I forget? Yamato-kun was around Hika's age when his parents divorced. That had to affect him.

"But you're so nice!" Piyomon protested, "It couldn't have been that bad!" Sora shook her head. How to say this? How much did she even have a right to say? I'll just be very vague.

"Something bad happened to Yamato-kun a long time ago," she explained, "I can't say what. It's too personal, but it hurt him very badly. And I didn't even think of that when I brought it up." Just like with Taichi and the Mistake. Why was she so bad at this?

Piyomon wrapped her wings around Sora in a hug. "I'm sure Yamato will forgive you. You're just too nice to be mean and he knows that." Sora returned the hug, feeling more than a little grateful that this little bird was her partner. The two headed towards the chapel with Jou and Pukamon waiting. Jou was examining the door. Um, Yamato-kun? I'm going to help examine the door now. Can you please be ready in case we open it? Normally it was a pointless question, but…

Fine. I'll remain on call. He actually answered. That was a relief, though she felt a little ashamed at doubting he would. In the days- weeks, she'd known him, he never once came off as the type who would turn his back on others, no matter how mad he got.

That's the easy part done. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the apology Tmail she owed him. Apologies, she felt, should always be in person, but if she looked at Yamato now, and saw how much pain she caused him, she'd lose her nerve. A Tmail was her only option.

And listen, Yamato-kun, I am so, so, so sorry about what I said. I didn't even mean it that way. I just meant that TK-kun doesn't know you as well as you think. When you scold him like that, he gets scared. He doesn't realize how much you love him. Just let him in. No response. Well, she tried. Maybe it would at least calm him down a little.I'll apologize again later. In person.


Jou sighed as he stared at the massive doorway before him. It was a gigantic rounded door made of a dark metal that opened in the center. The tops of both halves each had some kind of symbol but they were violently scratched off. The digivices- other's digivices, he angrily reminded himself (because, of course, he, the oldest, wouldn't be able to use his) couldn't translate the damaged symbols but studying them Jou could tell they weren't the same symbol.

In the middle of the doorway was a large ring of six other symbols the digivices translated as Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Purity, and Reliability. They weren't defaced but the ring itself was with some crudely scratched in writing in the center. Jou had no idea what the writing was but the digivices managed to translate it.

Danced wes in joys and triumphs

over the Deadsie Metal and Falsie Plastic.

With us the Woodsiemon
danced the Foolsie Unlifemon.Rose the storms in shouty glee,
the darkness in feary shades,
the fires in happy greed.Danced wes away, and fed the saddy
Unlifemon-fools to their
devourings for our thanks.

None of the children had any idea what any of it meant and to be honest, Jou was perfectly okay with that. In fact, if there was one bright spot about his digivice problems, it was not stumbling across more of that creepy writing and actually reading it. Besides, with it added on the way it was, it probably didn't matter. Just symbols did.

The symbols were a way to open the door. Jou was positive of that, but he just couldn't find out how. He angrily clenched his fists. It was so frustrating not being able to do this little thing. It wasn't right! Taichi was taking charge and keeping everyone together! Yamato was silently watching over everyone! Koushiro was just so smart! And yet, here was Jou, the oldest, and he couldn't even figure out how to open a stupid door! A stupid door that probably doesn't even having anything behind it, with my luck! Or some kind of monster!

"One of the symbols is glowing!" Pukamon pointed out, "The usual one!" This happened sometimes. A certain symbol would just start glowing whenever Jou started to feel his frustration. Reliability, apparently, but he really didn't care since the doorway remained sealed. He just wanted to know what was behind the door they were all sleeping so close to.

He looked away from the door in time to see a pretty crestfallen Sora with Piyomon perched on her shoulder coming over. "Um, are you okay?" he asked, "Did things not go well with Yamato-san?" She let out a sigh and put a hand on the door.

"Did you have any luck?" she asked. Jou shook his head, overlooking the topic change. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to push. It wasn't like he was good at this type of thing.

"Still nothing. I got that usual symbol to light up but nothing else." Sora fell silent. Jou looked at her and she clearly wasn't thinking about the door. Well, fine. It was pretty much a lost cause anyhow.

"I said something really terrible to Yamato-kun," she suddenly said.

"Not on purpose!" Piyomon added.

"It doesn't matter," Sora said, "I should never have said it." She sighed. "I just can't stand watching Yamato-kun messing up things with TK-kun." Jou took a breath to calm his nervousness. He didn't know why she was telling him when seconds earlier she avoided the topic. Did she actually want advice from him? Or was she just venting and he just needed to stay quiet and listen? He could never tell these things and, in his admittedly limited experience, girls didn't take it too well when he guessed wrong.

"Why don't you just let him figure it out for himself?" Pukamon asked. Jou inwardly winced at the complete lack of tact. But Sora merely shook her head with a sad smile.

"It'll be too late by then," she answered, "and besides, he's always watching over us and that can't be easy. If I can at least let him stop worrying so much about his relationship with TK-kun, I should."

"But why?" Pukamon asked, "I mean, it doesn't sound like it concerns you."

"He's my friend," Sora answered in a firm tone, "That makes it my concern." She placed a hand on the doorway and lowered her head. "I won't just sit when my friends are hurting like that."

"A symbol's lighting up!" Piyomon interrupted. Jou and Sora stepped back from the doorway while Piyomon hopped off Sora's shoulder and began flapping her wings. One of the symbols had lit up.

"That one means Love," Sora said. The two lights began to move towards the center of the circle and melted together forming a new one. "Protectiveness?" With a creak the doorway started to swing open. Jou started to place himself between Sora and whatever was inside, but she moved faster and was right in front of him. He clenched his fist, knowing full well he had no business taking point. Sora had the DigiScanner, the weapons, and evolution. All he had to offer was his allergies. But still, the only thing worse than having to hide behind a girl was hiding behind a younger one.

A cloud of dust emerged from the doorway, bringing its own itching powder right into Jou's nose and eyes. "Are you okay?" Sora asked after his third sneeze.

"Uh, f-fine," Jou answered, trying to ignore how watery his eyes were getting. Hopefully the tears would get that stuff out.

"Jou and plants just don't get along," Pukamon said.

"You know I only mentioned us working on the door to get Mimi-san off TK-kun's back, right?" Sora reminded, "If you're not up to it-"

"I'll be fine!" Jou interrupted, ignoring the growing burning itching in his eyes, "I mean, we sleep so close to this place! We need to know what's in here!" And he wasn't about to turn down a chance to finally do something other than apply some bandages and worry. He focused his eyes on the mess of green covering the floor inside. Grass, clover, and other weeds. Even a few flowers. Thick enough he'd have to walk carefully to avoid tripping over anything hidden.

"The DigiScanner's not picking up anything," Sora pointed out, "It should be safe." She started inside with Piyomon flying just ahead. Jou slowly followed with Pukamon next to him. His eyes quickly fell on the remains of the wall ahead, through the vines dangling from the ceiling. It was just one piece sticking up with what looked like stems or roots digging into its sides, like they were growing from it. And now that he was looking, they had some sort of faint green light pulsing through. That couldn't be natural.

Focusing back on the stone, he noticed some sort of image in its center. Moving closer, he found it was a crudely scratched dark-looking mass with a circle containing a symbol in the center. Poking out of the scratchings were six lines spreading out, like they were originally spreading from one source. On each of the six lines was a circle with one of the symbols from doors outside.

"These symbols must be important," Jou said.

"To whoever ruled File before and the Wardens," Sora added, "That new one means Darkness. I wonder what was there before." Good question. The scratchings were large enough to cover two, maybe even three of those lines stacked on top of each other. Maybe it involved those scratched out symbols on the top of the doors?

Stifling another sneeze, Jou looked around. It was dark. Very dark, almost looking like night, though he could see traces of that faint light coming off of the trees and plants, somehow making the place seem darker. He looked back through the entrance. Still daylight.

"That leaf canopy sure got thick in a hurry," he said, praying that's all it was.

"And right past that slab," Sora added, "Maybe this is the darkness it meant? I wonder how those smaller trees are surviving?" Jou had to wonder too. There were quite a few normal sized trees he could see and, while it was hard to tell in the dark, they did seem healthy. Was the Warden of Life sustaining them? The much larger trees were off in the distance, shadowy pillars serving as a warning not to approach. Numerous strange looking plants were scattered around though Jou couldn't be certain if they just looked that way from the strange light.

Wait a minute! There are no walls! Looking around, the wall holding the doorway and the piece of the rear wall were all that was left. Other than that, he could see the treewall extending into the distance from both sides. "The, uh, treewall is a bit thinner than I thought," he commented, trying to hide his growing panic.

"Still stronger than steel," Sora responded, staring at a river going from the left to behind the wall fragment, "but you're right though. I don't think the stone this chapel or whatever is made of will be nearly as strong as the treewall." Jou grimaced and looked up to see if they at least had a ceiling. He really couldn't say. It was dark and vines were hanging everywhere. He sneezed again.

A brighter green light caught his attention. It was coming from the slab! He felt his body freeze up as Sora stepped in front of him. "Stay behind me," she ordered. Both Piyomon and Pukamon flew in front of her.

"But-" he started to protest but stopped, instead settling on cursing his own helplessness and backing away. The slab brightened further and it suddenly gave off a flash right in Jou's face. "Gah!" he screamed and fell back.

"Jou!" Sora and Pukamon both cried out. She knelt over him, fearful concern filling hers and Pukamon's faces.

"Are you okay?!" Pukamon asked.

"Th-That beam!" Sora stammered.

"I-I think-" Jou panted. He stopped talking and focused on taking slow, deep breaths. As he calmed down, he began to notice how nice the grass was to lie on. If it wasn't for the creepy, snake-like vines covering what hoped was a ceiling, it would actually be kind of nice in here. It hit him. "My allergies! They're gone!" He was breathing perfectly clearly!

"Hang on," Sora said, her eyes starting to look distance, "Okay, the DigiScanner is saying that you were struck with some sort of healing energy. A very powerful energy. No harmful side effects." Jou blinked as he stood back up.

"So that light cured my allergies?" He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sure, it was great being able to breathe in here and actually take in this surprisingly pleasant air, but he wasn't sure he liked the idea of strange lights tampering with his body.

"I guess so, but we should get out of here, just in case that light gets any other ideas." Sora sounded as panicked as he felt. Disappointing as it was, this was about as much as Jou could do now. Now it was time to let the younger kids take over and do the actual dangerous stuff.

"Help!" a distant voice cried out. Jou looked at Sora. She heard it too. "I could really use some help here!"

"I have to check this," she said.

"But-" he protested. It didn't sound that far, but it was still in that darkness.

"We don't have any friends here," she pointed out, "We can't waste chances like this." With that, she hurried off along the river behind the stone slab, in the direction of the shouting. With an inward groan, Jou found himself following her.


Sora hurried as much as she dared in the direction of the voice down the dark path, grateful for Scout Mode's night vision. She didn't have the map up; it would clutter her vision too much, but it would still fill in. She did have the DigiScanner going but it wasn't turning up anything. Was this forest blocking it somehow? That was a comforting thought. Piyomon was ahead of her and she made sure remain partially concentrated on the evolution command in case it was needed. Of course, this wasn't exactly a good environment for Birdramon, but it would still be better than nothing.

The DigiScanner finally turned something up! It showed an image of a small, blue, humanoid, reptilian digimon called Veemon. Veemon didn't have any real powers but their small bodies carried considerable strength. And she was just starting to be able to make out some sort of mass.

"Again!" the voiced from the mass' direction, "I could really use some help here!" She pressed on and the mass became the Veemon tangled up in some extremely long grass.

"I'll take care of it," Piyomon said and bolted on ahead. A burst of hot wind later and the grass retreated, shrinking into the ground. "Tanglegrass," Piyomon said, "It's annoying but it can't handle heat."

"It tried to eat me!" Veemon complained, slowly standing up.

"Tanglegrass can't eat digimon," Pukamon said, making Sora jump slightly, "We're too big." And if Pukamon was here, so would Jou. Oh boy. She wasn't exactly surprised but if a fight broke out, he wouldn't be any help.

"Someone forgot to tell the grass that," Veemon grumbled and then looked at Piyomon, "Anyways, thanks for saving me."

"No biggie," Piyomon answered with a proud smile. Veemon looked at Sora and his eyes widened?

"Humans? Here? Now?"

"Um, hi?" Sora really didn't know what to make of that reaction. "Is it normal for humans to come here?" Veemon shook his head.

"Uh, no. In fact there hasn't been any since, uh…" he trailed off, "well, really, really long ago. Back before the Wardens screwed up File so badly." His eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Are you the ones who got rid Phantomon?!" Sora immediately went on guard.

"What do you mean?" she asked as innocently as she could.

"You know, creepy ghost in the palace? Warden of Death? The Warden of Life is really gonna wanna meet you! He hated Phantomon. I mean, really, really, hated him."

"So the Warden of Life isn't a bad guy?" Jou asked, stepping next to Sora.

"Does Warden of Life sound evil?" Veemon laughed, "Seriously the Warden of Life created this little paradise. Okay, so the plants are a little psycho, but the not-plants aren't really much better. The Wardens are supposed be Server's guardians!"

"That's the continent we're on, right?" Sora confirmed. Veemon nodded.

"It was a real nice place once. Well, a little of it still is," Veemon gave a shrug, "Way, way, way, way back there was a really big war. And I mean big." He stretched out his arms, emphasizing the size. "Lots and lots of digimon died. The Rebirth Cycle was so overloaded it couldn't save them all. Many were lost. And then some necromancers, and I mean real necromancers, not like that poseur Phantomon, gathered up all those lost digimon spirits and created a demon. The demon ended up burning Server to the ground before it was defeated. And between the losses and all the black magic users, most of us are still stuck in procreation mode."

"Procreation mode?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, you know, part A into slot B?" Sora's face heated right up at that little "explanation". Jou looked completely stunned. Piyomon and Pukamon were pretty red faced too.

"Th-That's not wh-what he meant!" Sora stammered. She was so glad Taichi and TK were not here to hear that.

"Oh. Oh." Veemon's eyes lit up, "Sorry 'bout that. Thought you'd know by your age. In fact, you really should given that you're here without adult super-"

"Stop that!" Jou interrupted.

"They just know about the Rebirth Cycle!" exasperation filled Piyomon's voice, "Stop being so dirty minded!" Veemon blinked.

"Oh, that. Right. Um, okay. Us digimon can reproduce but it's supposed to be rare. I mean, if we're getting reborn our numbers are pretty stable. But with the whole black magic thing and Rebirth Cycle having a limit, well, sometimes our numbers need a little pick up now and then." He gave an annoyed sigh. "Or at least, that's how it's supposed to be. According to the stories, that war had us at the brink of extinction." Sora's mouth dried hearing that. And given that the Rebirth Cycle needs digimon to maintain the world…

"The Digital World must be as messed up as Server," she said. Veemon nodded.

"The Wardens were given special blessings of Life, Death, Equality, Miracles, and Destiny, but Phantomon had his own plans. The Warden of Life is the only one who's made any real progress. And he really wants to meet you, so come with me!"

"Well, I suppose," Jou answered, his voice containing the doubt Sora felt. We're here for weeks with no contact with other digimon except for the Tailmon attacks, and now we suddenly have a guide? And she didn't exactly trust that story either. But it's not like we're in a position to argue. What if he is telling the truth?

"Are you telling Koushiro-san or Yamato-san about this?" Jou whispered as they started to follow Veemon. Sora's jaw dropped at the realization. Jou's eyes widened. "You haven't told them?!" he hissed.

"I-I was distracted-" Sora started and stopped. There was no excuse for that kind of carelessness. Did my brain shut down today or something?! Okay, she'd better Tmail either Koushiro or Yamato. She'd rather Koushiro but he was watching over Taichi. So Yamato then. "I'm contacting Yamato-san. You go on ahead so Veemon doesn't notice me." She looked at Piyomon. "Go ahead with Jou. He needs the extra protection more than I do."

"Right," Piyomon's answer was filled with her reluctance, but she did as she was told. And now Sora had to fill in Yamato on the many things he had just missed. Way to go Sora. As if you hadn't given him enough reasons to be mad at you. Yamato-kun?

What is it? She hoped she was only imagining the answer sounding so annoyed. Did anything happen?

We somehow opened the door. And we found a native inside.

Just like that? Oh boy. This was not going to be fun.

No, it was a bit further in. The doorway leads outside the treewall.

And you're just following a stranger into that jungle?! With Jou-kun?! She could practically hear the shout. What the hell are you thinking?!

I'm sorry! I-I wasn't thinking, and that other digimon, Veemon, he was calling for help! I couldn't ignore it! I mean, we have no friends here and-

I get it! I get it! I'm not mad, okay?! It's just that if something to you and Jou-kun, we'd have no way of knowing!

You're right. I shouldn't get distracted like that. Look, inside the doorway there's a piece of a wall and a river going behind it. We're following the river.

I'm on my way. There. Now if Veemon did try anything, Yamato would be nearby. It was so nice to be on speaking terms with him again. Jou was a little ahead of her so she made sure to quickly follow. Grassy appendages wrapped her mouth, body, and legs, and pulled her into the trees.


Jou nervously followed Veemon through the increasingly claustrophobic forest. Those giant trees, the way they blocked out the sun, they just seemed evil to him, and not just that unnatural green light. Was their bark that darkly colored or just a trick of that light? Seeing them now, it felt like they were vultures, waiting for their prey to die. And what was living in the forest? Logically there shouldn't be any wildlife, if Veemon was right about its origin, but he kept seeing faint lights. Did the Warden of Life have followers? That was a frightening thought.

And where were Piyomon and Sora?! It was barely a minute when Piyomon noticed Sora wasn't following and went to check on her. And that was minutes ago! Where were they?! Pukamon's usual smile was growing increasingly nervous as well. Jou's instincts were screaming "run" but what if Veemon really wasn't a bad guy? The children didn't have any allies or anything here, and Jou didn't want to risk burning what could be a good bridge. He just didn't know what to do. The sole comfort was that they had stayed next to the river the entire time.

He looked back ahead and immediately regretted it. It was the biggest tree yet, or maybe a bunch clustered together, almost looking like a fortress. Lights were poking out like eyes. His mouth dried as it grew closer. "W-We're going in th-there?!"

"Yeah, neat isn't it?!" Veemon chirped, "Its in the central meeting place for the Order of the Green. "They're not bad mon but they are a little on the technophobic side."

"But isn't this world called the Digital World?" Jou asked, "I mean, that sounds a little, uh, high tech."

"Yeah, don't mention it to them. Just trust me on that."

Reaching the entrance to the tree fortress, Veemon sat down against its wall next to the entrance. "I need a break," he panted, "That dumb tanglegrass really took it out of me." Jou peered into the entrance and found a green creature eating something. A pile of what looked like fruit pits were next to it, Jou quickly recognized them as plum pits. Specifically green plums that didn't look at all ripe, but they were sweet and almost exploded with juice. They were just one of the amazing fruits that grew near the camp site. The creature eating them had yellow eyes, a short red mohawk, and pointed ears. Lying next to it was a club with some screws sticking out. Its large jaw, hands, and feet told Jou this thing was strong. It spit out a pit on to the pile and laid back against a tree.

Veemon poked his head next to Jou. "You see something? Oh, a Goblimon, I forgot that there were a few in the Order. They're jerks. Better stay away from him." A scream sounded and a second Goblimon came running up.

"My sweetsie plums! Where bes my sweetsie plums?!" he shouted. The first Goblimon looked around with a panicked expression. Uh oh. Jou found himself slipping back behind the wall. Food grudges could get ugly- a solid kick from behind sent stumbling towards the Goblimon, landing on his knees.

"What are doing,?!" Pukamon snapped. Jou looked back and saw Veemon looking away with an innocent expression.

"He did it!" a Goblimon shouted, "He eaters thems up!" Oh, no. Jou looked back at the Goblimon, the blood draining from his face. The second Goblimon, the one who was robbed, was advancing on him, club raised.

"I-I didn't!" he protested.

"You say me liar?!" the first Goblimon demanded.

"No! I-I mean I didn't-" Jou stammered, "I didn't eat anything!"

"He really didn't!" Pukamon said, "Seriously, does he look even capable of lying?!" Jou could only wait in terrified silence as the second Goblimon glared down on him. His club lowered. Jou released the breath he discovered he was holding. The Goblimon was listening. Please don't ask who did! Please don't who did!

The Goblimon set the club down and raised a hand, revealing his claws. "I cuts my sweetsie plums out of you!" The blood left Jou's face again. Sora! Piyomon! Where are you?!

"Hold it there, guys," Veemon said, "Let's not overreact here." The blue traitor stepped in front of Jou. Pukamon hovered next to him, glaring.

"You got him into this," he hissed. Veemon shrugged. The two Goblimon looked surprised at seeing him.

"Friendsie Veemon? Why you here?" the first Goblinmon asked.

"Just keeping an eye on some troublemakers," Veemon answered.Troublemakers?! It was official. Veemon lead him right into a trap. And Sora? His heart shattered at the only reason she wasn't rescuing him now. Veemon already got her. I knew Piyomon should've stayed with her! Not with me! But it was too late for regrets now. Worst of all, he couldn't even warn the others.

"Troublemakers?!" Pukamon exploded, "You invit- oof!" A sudden leaping headbutt from Veemon sent Pukamon flying into the river.

"Pukamon!" Jou cried out, lunging for his partner, but a solid weight landed on his back, pinning him down. The feet were too small to be a Goblimon, so it had to be Veemon. "Veemon, why?" he pleaded.

"Shut up, already," Veemon said, his formerly cheerful voice ice cold, "The first law of the Order of the Green is not to take needlessly. Theft is not tolerated."

"B-But I d-didn't-" Jou stammered, feeling the panic overwhelm him, "Y-You were-"

"For your crime, you face the The Judgment of Woodsiemon."

"Woodsiemon!" the Goblimon chanted, "Woodsiemon!"