LoaderLiomon dispersed the energy form he had taken and returned to Ryan's side, looking at the spot where MetalGreymon Alterous had been with a disapproving frown.

Miyuki watched the final movements for the battle with tension in her expression. Her eye brightened when LoaderLiomon made the final strike, but dulled when she saw the frown. What's his problem? She thought, going over the battle in her head. Miyuki couldn't see anything wrong with what Ryan or his partner had done.

She was about to congratulate the pair when she realized that Dracomon had started fidgeting. Miyuki wasn't sure why, though.

"Are you okay, Dracomon?" She asked quietly, crouching down to be closer to her partner's height.

Miyuki observed him squirm a bit more, not having any clue on what was making him uncomfortable. "I'm fine." Was all she got out of him, but even she knew that wasn't the truth.

Miyuki wasn't going to press Dracomon again at the moment. She guessed that he would tell her when he was ready, whenever that was. Miyuki stood up and looked towards Hikaru.

"What's the plan now?" She asked her friend, who she deferred to as her team leader.

Hikaru took in one final glance at where MetalGreymon Alterous had been, before he turned towards Miyuki. "We will need to eventually do some research into some stuff. But for now, we can take a short break from the fighting." Pausing for a moment, he looked at Ryan. "How are you holding up?"

Miyuki watched Ryan take a shaky breath in, before he looked at both of them. "I'll be fine, I think. Up until now, I had considered Digimon my brethren. I'm only seven and it's something my father taught me. But now I see it's actually quite the opposite. Oh boy..."

Miyuki's expression softened as she heard the doubt in the young boy's voice, like his whole world had been shattered. She started walking towards him to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, when he glanced at her with a troubled look in his eyes.

When she stood beside him, she looked down at him with nothing but understanding. "I know it's tough now, but things will get better, Ryan." Miyuki murmured so only he could hear, as she gave him a hug. There was silence as Ryan's sides heaved as he fought to control his emotions. "You can cry."

Miyuki hugged Ryan a little tighter as she looked over at Hikaru, who smiled at her. She smiled back, understanding that this was what being part of a team was all about. Being there for your teammates, supporting each other and all that that involved.

"It's okay to cry." She repeated to Ryan, who was now a sobbing mess. Miyuki felt bad for the younger boy. He probably hadn't had something like this happen before and the world that had been built up by a parent had now been ripped apart.

Moving here from Glasgow had definitely been worth it.

Several minutes later, when Ryan had finished crying and she'd helped the process by rubbing his back, she watched him turn towards her. "What the absolute hell?" Miyuki breathed in awe from seeing him use his powers for the first time. "Your powers… They were so cool."

" Miyuki ." Hikaru only spoke one word, trying to warn her that she was treading thin ice.

Ryan blinked, surprised. He shook his head at Hikaru. "It's quite alright." She could see that her reaction had caught him off-guard and he hadn't been expecting it. A second later, however, he responded to her with a smile. "Thank you for your kind words. I do try not to use them, unless I absolutely have to. But perhaps now that this current situation has escalated, I'll be using them more often. Who knows?"

Miyuki had been about to glare at Hikaru, but stopped at Ryan's reply. She hadn't expected the in-depth answer from him and gave a small smile of her own. "Are you happy with me?" Miyuki asked her teammate.

What he replied with next caught her off-guard. "I am. You're doing well in learning new things. However, you do need to repair your friendship with Dracomon. He's your partner Digimon, Miyuki, and does not deserve the abuse you've put him through. His DigiCore is crying. I feel it in my own."

Miyuki swallowed, suddenly nervous. "I-"

"Don't interrupt me, please. Talk to your partner. Help him heal. We will get nowhere if you don't."

Miyuki had been stunned into silence by her younger teammate and desperately glanced at Hikaru for help. His eyes were narrowed, she noticed, and he said nothing. Oh boy . What would she do now? Hikaru normally always helped her when she had some trouble. Did she have to apologize herself?

Not sure how her conversation with Dracomon would go, she slowly turned crouched down to his level again. Miyuki looked up once and observed that Ryan was watching her from the corner of his eye after turning to his own Digimon partner. She swallowed again, her throat dry from nervousness. Ryan was definitely right, she realized. Miyuki had done the wrong thing by Dracomon and it was time to set things straight.

She looked at her partner in the eyes for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. "I am sorry I hurt you as badly as I did, Dracomon." Miyuki found herself saying. Did she mean what was coming out of her mouth? Absolutely. Gone was the girl who reacted out of terror and hate. She wanted to move forward with everyone else and she accepted that this was the only way to do so.

"I'm not sure I believe you." Dracomon's words cut to her heart. "Prove it. Prove you're sorry."

Miyuki expected that this would be his response and, at first, wasn't sure how to reply to him wanting proof she was truly sorry. Her eye was stinging; was she about to start crying? Then it began.

"Please, Dracomon." Miyuki normally didn't beg or put herself on the ground in front of others, but she considered this a necessary circumstance. Hopefully it would only be the once. She was crying now, sniffling and constantly trying not to let the tears show. Miyuki looked up into Dracomon's eyes.

Was Dracomon still unconvinced by her pleas? Was she not good at this whole Chosen thing after all? Miyuki sighed and prepared to get up and walk away, when a small clawed hand on her shoulder dared to change her desperation.

She hesitantly stared into the eyes of her Digimon partner. Dracomon was crying too, albeit silently. The tears were streaming down his face.

"I believe you, Miyuki. You've shown me your desire to change is genuine. What happens from here will affect everyone and I don't just mean us or the other Chosen Children. Everyone will be significantly affected."

Intrigued by Dracomon's comment, Miyuki finally drew herself up out of the position she'd been in. "What do you mean?" She asked, noticing her partner's statement had also peaked the curiosity of her teammates as they all drew closer.

Dracomon took a few moments to gather his composure before speaking. "Put simply, shit is about to get real. Battles are going to become tougher. The rest of you are likely going to learn things along the way, too. Mostly about yourself. All of this will culminate in our final battle against Vamdemon."

Miyuki got to her feet, with Hikaru's help. "Who did you want to reach the Perfect level next?" She asked her Digimon partner, looking at him curiously.

Dracomon thought for a moment, before sighing. "That is up to the remainder of the team. I would advise discussing it amongst yourselves and decide that way. I'd decide quickly, though."

Hikaru turned to glance at Dracomon. "Are we that short on time? How long until we need to fight Vamdemon?"

Miyuki observed her friend ask her Digimon the question and it got her thinking. How much time did they have left? How would the other Chosen team get back from being locked in the Digital World? Was Wizarmon okay?

Miyuki heard Kiyoko clear her throat and looked in her direction. "What's up, Kiyoko?"

"I'd say we don't have very much time at all." Dracomon admitted, before nodding at Kiyoko.

"I can go next with reaching Perfect level if you want."

Miyuki observed Kiyoko glance at Hikaru for instructions and saw her friend nod, with a hand gesture to come join a team meeting.

"Have you got a good bond with Bokomon?" Miyuki heard Hikaru question the half-African girl, giving a quick look at the small Digimon beside Kiyoko. Kiyoko nodded, with a smile. "Then, yeah, you and Bokomon can go next to reach the Perfect level. At this point, I don't know who our next foe will be. So we should be prepared for anything."

Miyuki watched with a snort of amusement when Kiyoko mock saluted. "Got it. Thanks, Hikaru."