The wind was surprisingly tame even as the four teens and their partners sailed through the skies atop silver clouds. Gokuwmon using his power to carry them across the sea at high speed, it had only been a few short hours and already the shores of the western continent were in sight. Deciding to use Gokuwmon as their method of transportation considering her was much smaller than Gigadramon, and perhaps could allow them to arrive with less notice.

"We're almost there," Kai noted, arms folded over his chest. "It's getting dark, but it should still be mid day here."

"The Western lands were always a place of long nights," Darcmon noted, "But these cloud formations are unnatural, perhaps an effort by this Dark Lord to keep the land blanketed in darkness."

"Oh great," Cody scoffed, "First Dragomon, now we've got another asshole that controls the weather."

"So what's the plan?" Samantha asked, "It'll take a long time to search an entire continent, should we just head straight for the biggest darkest place and start kicking in doors?"

Cody shrugged, "Works for me."

Kai shook his head, "Perhaps a more deft touch?"

"Agreed," Thomas chimed in, "Once we make landfall, we should have the range on our digivices to cover a wide radius, we can start searching for Madison and Tsukaimon while remaining hidden."

Darcmon nodded to that, "Indeed, we shouldn't risk getting the Dark Lords attention unless we have too."

"Right," Cody sighed lightly, looking towards the approaching shoreline and remembering what Angela had said. "Many very large data masses or... Something." Noting that Samantha seemed perturbed by the mention of anything her mother had said. He looked to the other, Kai and Thomas, who likewise didn't seem interested in opening this can of worms. Unfortunately for Cody, "So, you're Mom was kind of a bitch huh?" He was never one for beating around the bush.

"Oh dude," Thomas put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "No."

Samantha blinked in surprise, looking back at Cody as if she couldn't even believe what he just said. Darcmon sharing an equally bewildered look, before- "Pfft, you know what? Yeah, she was." Sam replied with a snort of laughter, seeming to relax a bit.

"I mean," Cody shrugged, "I knew she was bat shit crazy when we learned about her pets, but I can't believe she'd say something like that to her daughter." Looking to Darcmon, "Messed up."

Darcmon shifted in her place, looking down towards the sea as clouds began to block out the sun overhead. "Yes well, despite my best efforts to prove I'm not a threat to her, and that I'm just as alive as her or Samantha, our relationship has always been... Complicated."

"Doesn't sound too complicated to me," Cody replied bluntly, "You're putting in the effort to make your relationship with her work, and she doesn't care," Shaking his head, "You said it best back there, trying to talk with her is a waste of time."

Causing Darcmon to release a short chuckle as well, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Sam quirked an eyebrow as she looked at Cody, crossing her arms. "You know I thought humans all had real cushy relationships with their parents, but you've certainly got some opinions on parenthood I didn't expect."

"Yeah well," Cody rubbed the back of his neck. "My parents were obsessed with my older brother, he was the one they planned and invested everything in." He explained simply, "I was sort of an accident, they weren't bad parents I guess just... Dismissive of anything that wasn't as impressive as my all star, straight A's brother."

"Big shoes to fill, that's rough." Kai noted.

Thomas chuckled lightly, "Well at least you have a sibling, I'm an only child."

"Hey come on now," Cody grinned, "You've got Kokuwamon now, and us!" He assured, raising a fist. "I don't know about these guys, but I think I've already proved I can be a pretty kickass older brother."

"No offense, but I think if I brought you home to meet my parents they'd assume I joined a gang." Thomas teased.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" And Cody took the bait in an instant.

"Ahem," Gokuwmon suddenly coughed loudly, drawing their eyes forward, "I hate to interrupt, but we're here." He pointed out, as their clouds began descending to the ground. "And... Someone is here to greet us."

All eyes landed upon the small digimon with big ears and pale fur waiting patiently on a rocky outcrop overlooking the beach. It wasn't acting aggressive at all, just watching them as they touched down and began hopping off the clouds that quickly started to disperse. Darcmon was immediately on alert, hand on her sword hilt, eyes scanning the area. "Approach with caution."

Kai nodded, standing beside Kotemon. "We're in enemy territory now."

"Hmm..." Gokuwmon narrowed his eyes, kneeling down as he touched the sand. "Something is... Wrong with this place."

Cody quirked an eyebrow, "Yeah there is, we've got a Dark Lord in need of a serious ass whooping."

"That's not it," He shook his head, "The air is... Heavy, and the earth feels wrong... It might be nothing but we should be careful the deeper we go in." Before looking up at the little digimon waiting for them. "Lets see what our greeter wants, shall we?"

Thomas nodded, "We haven't been swarmed by enemies yet, so we can at least assume it wants to talk."

"Then lets go say hi," Sam shrugged, before noting Darcmon's intense look. "Cautiously, let's go cautiously say hi."

Together they made the climb up the sands and into grass. Making their way around to the bluff, the digimon showing an impressive amount of trust or confidence, letting them corner him against the cliffside. They kept a safe distance still, and Gokuwmon remained on edge as they came to a stop, watching as the small digimon slowly stood up.

"So you're her friends?" Gazimon grunted, eyes scanning over each and every one of them. "Well, beggars can't be choosers I guess..."

"Do you work for the Dark Lord?" Kai questioned, hand resting on his own weapon.

The little digimon shook his head, "Yes- Well, no, not anymore." He shrugged, "But I am not going to waste time trying to make you trust me, come on out! It's safe."

A rustling in the bushes nearby drew their eyes, everyone turning to watch as a familiar face emerged. Carrying a faint smile, and waving at them all. "Hey guys."

"MADISON!" Kotemon and Gokuwmon cried out, the latter dedigivolving in a flash of light. Both of the rookies running towards her excitedly. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm alright," She assured, taking a few more steps forward. Her lower lip quivering, "And... And you're all here," A sense of relief, overwhelming emotion washing over her. "I'm sorry I'm just-" Getting a little choked up. "I'm just so glad everyone is okay..." Her eyes starting to brim with tears.

"Agh!" Kotemon stumbled back. "Oh no, she's crying what do we do!?"

The goblin digimon stammering, "I-I don't know!"

"This is bad," Kotemon continued, "Kai only gets emotional when we're about to die, I'm not equipped to handle this!"

Shamanmon waving his arms, "Don't be sad! We're all okay you should be happy!"

Cody sighed and facepalmed, "People can cry when they're happy too, you morons..."

Kai held up his hands, choosing to ignore Kotemon's remarks. "Why don't we give Madison some space." Getting the feeling she'd been through a lot.

And Samantha noted something important, as she looked down at the screen on her digivice. "Madison," Looking back up to meet her eyes. "Where's Tsukaimon?"

All eyes were on Sam, the others silently questioning how she could ask something so bluntly. Likely they'd all been considering the implications of her absence as well. But Madison didn't seem too bothered, wiping her eyes as she cleared her throat, "There's a lot I have to catch you guys up on... But the important thing is, she needs our help."

"Well you've got it," Cody nodded, "We still all owe you two for your help with Dragomon right?"

Kai gave a firm nod as well, "Of course."

"We could use some details first, however." Thomas pointed out, "And then we can come up with a plan."

"A-Actually," Madison shifted nervously, "I sort of... Have a plan, come on we should get moving I can explain on the way." Waving for them to follow, "Oh, and this is Gazimon by the way." She introduced as he began following along with them. "He helped me out after I escaped, he's a good digimon."

Gazimon's ears perking up as they all looked at him, "G-Good digimon!?" Blushing a little, "R-Right... Sure... Whatever..." Attempting to brush off the compliment.

Shamanmon slapping him on the back, "Well any friend of Maddie's is a friend of us!"

Kotemon nodded, "That's right!"

Gazimon looking between the two cheery digimon like they were crazy, "Right..."

The sheer amount of positivity surrounding him right now was staggering...

. . .

Tsu

. . .

LadyDevimon, Tsu, sat on her throne beside Mephistomon's. Dwarfed by his size, but her's was notably uplifted so she was still overlooking the crowds at another one of his hedonistic gatherings. Celebrating the soon coming return of their Demonic Queen. She was supposed to be seen as this beacon of dark authority, they looked up at her with reverence and obedience.

But Tsu knew the truth, she was just an ornament for Mephistomon, the object of his obsession.

He didn't see her as an equal, but as a tool. He wanted her what she could become, nothing more. Of course she'd known this for some time, there was just no option but to accept things as they were now. Her head hanging low, slowly but surely, she felt her heart beginning to crack. Like the darkness of that pit had begun to infest her very core, she felt herself slowly growing colder.

She was becoming exactly what he wanted.

"But at least..." She could still think fondly on one piece of her old life. "You're safe..."

"Oh how I love your melancholy brooding," Mephistomon evidently having taken notice of her obvious discomfort. "Don't worry, we'll find you an enemy to truly test your growing strength on soon, perhaps that fool Dragomon will rear his head in search of revenge."

LadyDevimon did her best not to show any emotion at the statement, scoffing lightly. "That would be suicide," Trying to continue sounding compliant to his will. "He could barely fend me off before, he doesn't stand a chance now."

A deep rumbling chuckle escaped Mephistomon, "Indeed, soon you'll be the most powerful dark digimon in this entire world, and once we've brought those insolent enough to resist our reign to heel, we'll move on to the other spheres." He leaned back in his chair, relaxing a bit as he smirked. "Before long, even the human world will not be safe from our endless night."

But why? What was the point of it all? Seeking war and conflict, just to spread misery? Was that all Mephistomon cared about? He certainly seemed to take a great amount of pleasure in the suffering of any and all around him. "I await the day."

. . .

Everyone

. . .

"And then, Wisemon's friend used his power to send us our partners, according to him anyways." Madison finished up, seated on a stump deep in the forest. The group had spent some time walking before they grew tired. Finding a nice secluded space in the forest to rest while Madison finally got around to explaining everything she'd been through.

The others had only listened quietly while she spoke, many now with sunken expressions and slouched shoulders. None were really sure what to say, hard to imagine how scary it must have been for her. And how helpless she must have felt the whole time, with the way Mephistomon kept her locked up and manipulated Tsukaimon, even going as far as humiliate Madison in front of his followers...

"That bastard," Cody being the first to speak, hands clenching into fists. "I can't believe anyone would- Gah! I just wanna hit something, DAMMIT!"

"Tsukaimon needs us," Shamanmon hefting his club. "We have to stop whatever Mephistomon has planned for her."

"We will," Kotemon nodded, "We've got our Crests now, we can beat him for sure!"

"Lets not get over confident," Kai reminded, "Mephistomon has an army, many followers, if we aren't smart about this we'll be overwhelmed."

"Like I said," Madison looked around at all of them. "I have a plan, step one is getting closer to that palace."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Kokuwamon questioned.

"That's where I come in," Gazimon chimed in, "I might not be very strong... But I was a servant in the palace, I know all the secrets paths and servant tunnels."

Madison nodded with a smile, "And after he set me free, I was allowed to wander his lands a bit, and with Gazimon's help we should be able to reach the palace itself without being detected."

Thomas crossed his arms, "Mephistomon miscalculated, it was a big mistake to let you run around freely."

"No, it wasn't a mistake," Sam replied, "It was LadyDevi- I mean, it was Tsukaimon's one request," She corrected, "She gave us this chance, we have to take it." Seeming a bit more passionate about their mission than before.

Madison couldn't agree more, "I'll explain the rest once we reach the palace, but for now we should focus on resting up and getting there."

"We've been on the move for awhile," Darcmon noted, "How close do you think we are?"

"I can't say for sure but," Gazimon thought about it for a moment, before closing his eyes and sniffing the air. "I don't smell the Raremon, his guard dogs, so we haven't quite entered his domain yet... Once we pass through the border it'll be a few hours before we reach the palace."

"Then we should rest now," Darcmon nodded, "It'd be too dangerous to stop and try to set up camp once we're within his domain."

"Agreed," Thomas nodded, "Lets set up and rest here for now."

"Shamanmon and I will get to work on a fire." Cody offered, waving for his partner to follow.

"Yeah," Shamanmon nodded, "And our new friend can help!" Looking to Gazimon.

The digimon stiffening a bit before he sighed, "Yeah sure fine I guess..." Walking along with them, shoulders slouched.

Kai adding in, "And Kotemon and I will check the surrounding area to make sure it's safe."

"We'll help with that." Thomas said, Kokuwamon walking along beside him. "Safety in numbers right?"

Madison smiled and nodded, "Sounds good, let me know if there is any way I can help."

"Actually I think I could use some help," Sam said, hiking a thumb over her shoulder. "Got a sec?"

Causing her to blink, before she nodded. "Sure," Following her towards the edge of their designated campground while the others quickly started to disperse. "What's up?"

Once they were alone, Samantha turned to Madison, "Look I... I never really got the chance to apologize for before."

Maddie quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"With Devidramon," She elaborated, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "I just wrote her off as a bad Digimon, but you didn't give up on her and she turned around and saved our butts against Dragomon." Sam shifted, slouching her shoulders a bit. "So, I'm sorry alright?"

Madison smiled faintly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to apologize, what happened was scary, for all of us."

"Why does she have to make this so difficult?" Samantha internally scoffed, "Can't you just hit me with a 'yes you were wrong and almost got someone killed' so I can feel a little better about it?" She questioned, shrugging off her arm. "In that moment, I'd have destroyed without a second thought."

Before Madison gripped her hand, "But you didn't, and everyone made it out alright, that's what's important." She assured, giving her hand a squeeze. "So don't worry about it."

Causing Sam to give her a look of more confusion, before she sighed shaking her head. "You're too nice, I swear..."

Maddie laughed lightly, releasing her hand. "I guess I've just learned not to dwell too much on the past, today and tomorrow are more important."

Sam released a snort of laughter, "Okay, that was pretty corny, but you're not wrong." Sighing as she stuffed her hands into her pockets, "So... You've got a plan, but don't want to tell anyone what it is yet," She said, looking up at the starry sky. "Meaning its either not finished, or it's incredibly dangerous."

Madison looked away nervously, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey, she's your partner," Sam shrugged, "I don't plan on stopping you, I've got your back one hundred percent, can I at least get a hint?" Before holding up her pinky finger, "Pinky promise I won't tell?"

She considered it for a moment, before locking her pinky with Sam's, flashing a sly grin and simply answering. "I'm going to appeal to Mephistomon's ego."

"So, incredibly dangerous plan it is!"