Posting late at night because I have no self control WOOO XD

Lord Killen King - Yeah they were all in the running trust me XD

jacquilinemueller53 - Glad you liked it, I'm trying to make all the Mega Digivolutions hype as possible :D

Shuriken16 - Interesting you should mention it with Maddie, and you're right she is something of a favorite. I do love all the characters I've made, but she is definitely in like the top 3 haha. As for Belle, I really wanted to go all out with her personality during that because in her first Appearance against Mephistomon, it was less about HER and more about her relationship with him. So now we've gotten to see her free and unbound completely! Loved writing her and definitely indulged myself a bit lmao

You might notice some similar indulgence with Gaioumon during this chapter as well... And I think you're really gonna like the end of it~

Anyways enough stalling!

. . .

Thomas

. . .

After a long night of little sleep, thanks to his own personal projects and Kai's request for help. It was early morning, the sun having only just barely broken the horizon as he yawned and stretched. "Right, it's the weekend..." Sliding into his chair and pulling himself over to the computer, "Time to get back on that grind."

"Thomas? Are you up?" Kokuwamon's voice sounded just outside the door, he pushed it open slowly and poked his head inside. "H-Hello."

Thomas quirked an eyebrow at his partner's strange tone, "Uh... Good morning, what's up?" He asked, flipping open his laptop. But when he turned on the screen, it would respond with mostly scrambled images and broken lines of code. Along with a message box displaying words in another language. "What the-" Was it bugged? Had his BIOS been corrupted? Or maybe hacked? Realizing there might be a correlation here, Thomas looked to his partner. "Kokuwamon, what's going on?"

Before heavier footsteps sounded, the door was fully pushed open and in the frame stood the grizzled form of Grayson himself. "We've got a crisis on our hands, that's what."

Hardly expecting to see him here of all places, Thomas knew this had to be serious. "Give me a second to get dressed and I'll be ready to go."

Grayson nodded, "I'll be waiting, and we aren't going far."

Thomas didn't waste any time, putting away his laptop and switching out of his pajamas into something more respectable. "I assume Mom and Dad aren't happy." He said aloud, looking to Kokuwamon by the door as he began to roll out.

"Eh... They're worried." He replied nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Come on, you'll understand once you see what's happening."

Together they made their way to the kitchen, where Thomas would find both his parents standing beside one another while the house was filled with various scary looking government men. On the center kitchen table, Grayson had a laptop of his own, though the model looked quite old. Thomas simply gave a nod to his parents, "Morning."

His mother frowning, "Yeah, good morning Thomas."

While his father crossed his arms, "I really don't like this..."

"Well before you go telling me what I can and can't do," Grayson began, sounding rather annoyed already. "Let me at least explain to your son what's going on."

Thomas nodded as he rolled over to the table, "Yeah it must be pretty bad for you to come all the way out here in person."

"It's worse, actually." He scoffed, "I didn't make this trip because of the gravity of this situation though, I made it because I had no other options." He explained, "Approximately 2 hours ago, a Digital Gateway opened in Japan." He turned the laptop around, showing fuzzy images of the pillar of light. "And since then our communications have been scrambled, on a global level everything connected to the Cyber Core network has been effectively disabled or damn close."

Thomas' eyes widened upon processing this, "Everything?" His eyes darting to the window, expecting to see pandemonium outside. "That's our entire communication and energy infrastructure, how-"

"As if stands we're maintaining peace during the emergency situation by communication via old land lines and some outdated satellites," Grayson continued, "But there aren't enough of those left up and running to keep this up, it's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound... We're working on getting the network up and running but we've got problems piling up." Shaking his head, before flipping through a few more images, showing blurred images of what Thomas had to assume were digimon, one of them finally focused enough to show two tall and intimidating looking warriors. "Your friends, Kai and Madison are on site trying to handle the situation, but this thing that came through is powerful... It's presence alone has the entire country enveloped in a storm, so transport to the island is a no-go."

"But how did one gateway cause all this damage?" Thomas questioned, "Dragomon's gateway didn't have nearly this big of an effect."

"Because whatever Gateway this new monster came through, it was connected directly to the Cyber Core network, hijacking our own system to gain entry." Grayson stated, "That's why the network is scrambled, it'll take us hours to get everything back up and running."

"But how would it be able to do that?" Thomas wondered, "It must have had human help..." But there had to be more to this, "So if I can't get to Japan because of the storm, you probably didn't come here to ask me help them... So is this about repairing the network?"

To which Grayson shook his head, "No, we've got our techs on that all over the world, there's another problem developing rapidly that requires immediate attention before it spirals out of control." He changed tabs one last time, showing a familiar message box that displayed a few flashing words.

"Anika-chan o sukue"

Thomas blinked, recognizing it as the same message that had appeared on his laptop. "Um... I'm sorry linguistics isn't exactly my field of expertise."

"It's Japanese, it reads as 'Save Anika'," Grayson translated, "It's a message, and it's being sent to every single screen on the planet with a connection," He scoffed, "In fact, I'd say it's the only thing that has a stable connection right now."

"Okay," Thomas blinked, "So where did it come from?"

"An unidentified Digimon current locked up in the private servers of a medical research company," Grayson added, "We received word from the servers owners that something had gotten into their private network and began devouring the data stored there." He crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "They even saw it evolve when the video feeds were still open, it's growing rapidly as it eats data, right now it's contained in the server on lockdown but..."

Thomas knew exactly what he was getting at. "But if it escapes into the global network it'll have a limitless supply of information to chow down on." Nodding his head, "So we need to destroy it before that happens... But what about this message?" He questioned, "Who is Anika?"

"According to the facility owner, Anika was a young girl involved in a terrible accident some months ago." He explained, "She was on life support at the facility, and they used a neural link to communicate with her while she was a vegetable, we think that's where this little bugger comes in." Keeping a stone face as he added, "She was pronounced dead recently, and ever since then this thing has wreaking havoc on their server..."

Thomas quirked an eyebrow, "And it took them this long to say something about it?"

To which Grayson shrugged, "Evidently they thought it was just a virus, and their own fire walls and protective measures kept it from doing anything extreme... According to them, anyways."

Thomas could tell Grayson was suspicious of their explanation as well, but they had bigger issues to worry about. "Alright, so how do we deal with it?"

"Well," Grayson cleared his throat, "I was hoping you might have some ideas on that front, because right now my options are limited."

Thomas brought a hand to his chin, looking towards Kokuwamon. "Hmm... Theoretically, I could upload our Digimon into the network, but we'd need a clear line to the server and a lot of processing power." Before another thought occurred to him, "And if Kai and Madison are both busy, am I flying solo here?"

Grayson smirked lightly, "We've got backup inbound, he's ornery from being woken up early but he's on route."

Thomas chuckled in response, having a good idea of who he was talking about. "Good to know..." Before his mind drifted back to his friends fighting in Japan, "Don't lose guys, we might need your help... And stay safe."

. . .

Gaioumon

. . .

"He measures the distance before every strike." His body moving faster than his mind, as he leaned back to evade another wide swing from a lightning blade. "Every attack is calculated to deal lethal damage, if I make even a single mistake-" Before pivoting his feet, bracing as a downward strike fell upon him, the sky above roared in anger as lightning came crashing down with the sword itself.

The impact was jarring, sending vibrations through his entire body. "Truly a formidable opponent!" Kazuchimon said, watching his foe seemingly shrug off the blow. "I don't think I've ever encountered one like you!" Before slashing horizontally with the other blade, forcing Gaioumon to jump back to evade the blow that narrowly grazed his armor. "Would you really throw away your life for these beings that are so infinitely your lesser?" He questioned, as Gaioumon landed and slid back on his heels. "Answer me, warrior!"

"I am no warrior, no knight and certainly no hero..." Gaioumon grunted in response, "I am the indignation of the innocent you wish to harm given form... I am the shadow of that precedes the flames of ruin, the final safeguard against it." Gripping his blade tighter, "Unbound by honor or duty, I will fight you with every ounce of my rage, my hatred, so that no one else must step foot onto the battlefield." Both blades sparking to life again with blue fire, "I am a great and terrible evil, but I am necessary."

"Now who likes hearing the sound of their own voice?" Kazuchimon released a low rumbling chuckle, "Impressive speech, but a warrior who stands for nothing, is nothing but a battle hungry beast!" He declared, his super charged blades winding up more energy. "Can a simple minded beast withstand the fury of the storm!?" Before unleashing another wave of rippling emerald energy, the same attack he'd used on BelleStarmon, racing towards the samurai digimon.

Gaioumon narrowed his eyes sharply, planting his feet before launching himself into the air. "I'll do more than withstand it!" Angling himself towards the wave as he started spiraling, the blades releasing their flames and coating his entire body in fire! "Grave Tornado!"

Enveloped in the burning ghost flame tornado, Gaioumon charged the blast head on. Fire and lightning clashing with one another in a brilliant burst of blue and green, before a mighty explosion erupted. Smoke and dust billowed out in all directions, blocking both warriors from seeing one another.

While he couldn't see how Kazuchimon faired, Gaioumon was blown back from the epicenter. Digging one blade into the earth, he halted his slide backwards, refusing to give up anymore ground. His own armor now showing signs of damage, as he refocused his gaze on the smoke cloud for any sign of Kazuchimon.

"Hey!" Called the voice of Kai as he ran up beside him. "How are you holding up?" The young man asked, eyeing over the damage.

Gaioumon grunted in response, "I'm fine." Before noting he was alone, "Where are Madison and Sakura?"

"Away from the battle." He answered, "Figured it'd be safer..." Reaching out with one hand, he used his Crest Power to heal Gaioumon's light injuries. But as he did so, Kai could feel his own power getting weaker. "With the Gateway closed, the power of our Crests is fading... But does Gaioumon even need it to exist? He isn't a Crest Evolution like BelleStarmon..." Before looking back up at his partner. "Think you can beat him?"

"His guard is perfect, his strikes at close range are always meant to be lethal, and he's countering almost every attack I try." The armored digimon answered.

Kai quirked an eyebrow, "Is that a no?"

"Did I say no?" Gaioumon replied, standing up straight once more. Rolling his shoulders briefly, before he looked around at the ruined estate grounds. There was hardly anything left aside from the main house at this point, Sakura's family property in utter tatters. "I can't keep the fight contained here any longer if I'm going to have a chance." He stated bluntly. "I'll try to avoid getting anyone hurt."

Kai blinked, not quite sure what he meant. "So what are you going to do exactly?"

Tightening his grip on both blades as the dust began to settle, and Gaioumon could see Kazuchimon waiting on the other side, the newly evolved warrior said coldly. "I'm going to test his guard."

"Be car-" But before Kai could even finish, Gaioumon blasted off at full speed, launching off one foot with insane speeds. Just as before, he crossed the distance between himself as Kazuchimon the moment their eyes met through the fading cloud. A great flash of blue fire and emerald lightning erupting between them as their blades clashed. "Careful..." Kai frowned as he watched their battle continue.

But something was different this time, the impact of Gaioumon's blades had Kazuchimon sliding back. And every time Gaioumon was pushed away with a bolt of lightning or another heavy strike, he'd dash right back in. Furiously attacking over and over, a relentless barrage that was slowly forcing the Storm Lord back.

"Incredible," Madison muttered as she arrived by his side, still holding Tsu. "Was he holding back before?"

Kai narrowed his eyes, catching a brief glimpse of a narrowly dodged swing cutting away of piece of Gaioumon's shoulder plate. "No, he's just focusing less on his own defense and more on hurting Kazuchimon."

"But if he fights like that," Maddie looked towards him worriedly, "He'll get hurt, or worse..."

"I know," Kai nodded, unable to take his eyes off the two of them. "But I think we're past that point, with an enemy like Kazuchimon."

"Hrrnngh!" The storm lord himself cringed as a final, twin blade strike pushed him back through the fencing that surrounded the Tanaka estate. He stumbled back into the street beyond, grimacing as he looked around. Taking full measure of how much ground he'd actually lost. "So were you holding out on me?" He questioned, slowly catching his breath as he watched Gaioumon step out into the street as well. "Or is this pure desperation?"

Gaioumon's sharp eyes never left Kazuchimon, scanning him over quickly. "He's giving ground, but I still haven't landed a single solid blow." Before tightening the grip on his weapons. "Perhaps a bit of both, either way this fight won't last much longer."

Earning an amused chuckle from Kazuchimon, thunder rumbling overhead. "So you say, but that armor of yours is beginning to crack, your tenacity will only serve you so well once your defenses are in shambles." His own lightning blades sparking, "But to destroy you would be a waste, with your power you'd be second only to me in this world!" He declared, pointing one of the swords at his foe. "Why not give up this hopeless battle, and join me!"

Gaioumon smirked faintly at that beneath his helm. "Bargaining? You must be getting nervous." Crouching his feet lowly, "Good."

Their blades met with enough force to shatter nearby windows, and still Kazuchimon was pushed back inch by inch. "Hnngh! I just thought I'd try to reason, using that mercy you seemed so fond of not long ago," He sneered, pushing back just enough to break Gaioumon's charge, before a bolt came crashing down from above forcing the warrior to jump back. "But I see that all you are now is a battle hungry demon!" Aiming both blades at his foe, unleashing a burst of lightning at the armored digimon. "The price of this newfound power!"

Gaioumon grit his teeth, launching off his backfoot and dashing up the building wall nearest to him. His large clawed feet ripping out glass and cracking stone as he gained height to evade the blast, before jumping above Kazuchimon. "A demon that protects the weak will be remembered fonder than a God who looks down upon them!" Blades igniting with that cold blue flame as he descended on his enemy.

Kazuchimon jumped back evading a flaming strike that ripped up the street, sending cracks in all directions. "Only if there is anyone left to tell his tale!" Slashing his blade to release another violent wave of lightning that ripped through the streets and storefronts, tearing up asphalt as it raced towards him.

Gaioumon launched himself recklessly at the Storm Lord once again, jumping over the wave and bringing down both blades. Resulting in a thunderous crash as Kazuchimon still managed to block the strike, "HrrrAAAAAAAGH!" Gaioumon roared as his moves turned into a flurry of blows, trying to land a strike no matter the cost. But Kazuchimon's blades seemed to move at the speed of Lightning itself to defend against them, getting faster to match this rabid foe!

Before with a single slash, Kazuchimon released a massive burst of electricity. The blow hit Gaioumon full force, blasting him back through the street. Causing him to smash across what remained of the hard asphalt and concrete, leaving bits of armor behind and even one of his blades as he did so.

"No!" Kai exclaimed as he watched, "Dammit, how can it still not be enough?" He questioned, gripping his digivice tightly. "How much more can we do at this point?"

"L-Let me... Help!" Tsukaimon piped up, struggling a bit in Madison's arms. "I've recovered a little, I can fight!"

"Absolutely not!" Madison argued, tightening her grip around her partner. "If you can't even get away from me you won't stand a chance out there!"

"B-But Kotemon!"

While Sakura watched alongside them, her heart also slowly sinking into sorrow. "This is all my fault, if I'd noticed father's change in behavior sooner... Or maybe if I'd realized just how much he was obsessed with these damn traditions..."

Kai's mind was racing for solutions, before the sound of heavy footsteps from behind drew his attention. His eyes widened as he saw not just Kuzuhamon, but the majority of Kazuchimon's host had followed them to watch. Not a single one of them held their weapons in hand, and their eyes were either focused on Kai, or Gaioumon. "Wh... What do you all want?"

Kuzuhamon stepped forward, "To help, in any way we can."

All three humans looked between one another in shock, Sakura answering. "You expect us to believe you'd betray Kazuchimon?"

"We already have," One of the Karatenmon replied grimly, "But not falling on the swords of Gaioumon for his amusement... We've committed treason in his eyes."

"At least if Gaioumon wins," A Vajramon chimed in, "We might have a chance to live..."

Sakura clenched her fists, "You bunch of cowards! An hour ago you'd have killed us all without a second thought! Wouldn't you!?"

"Hey, come on now." Madison placed a hand on her shoulder. "Show a little compassion, you know the situation they're in..."

"Kuzuhamon has told us of the humans she's met since coming here." One of the Hisaryumon said, leaning in closer to them all. His eyes mainly landing on Sakura, "Of one who, despite everything, fights to change her fate..."

"Living in service to another's will, is living in a cage." A Karatenmon added, "If humans have this power... To change their fates and break free of these chains..."

"We know we have no right to ask of this," Kuzuhamon dropped to her knees before them, bowing her head to the ground. "Let us help, please..."

Kai shared a bewildered look with Sakura, speaking his thoughts aloud. "Maybe... With this many attacking all at once, Gaioumon can find an opening and-"

"A-Absolutely... Not." All eyes were drawn to Kai's hand, as Gaioumon's voice rang out from his digivice.

"You're listening in on us?" Kai questioned, looking back to the street as his partner slowly began to rise. "Gaioumon don't be stubborn, we need more help to end this!"

"And how many will be destroyed just distracting Kazuchimon?" He replied sharply, gripping his remaining sword between his hands. "No, I made them a promise... I'll show you a better world, the only other digimon dying today is Kazuchimon!" His blade igniting in blue flames.

Kuzuhamon had raised her head, and looked out towards Gaioumon like he'd gone insane. "Not all of us deserve that mercy, you know this! So please at least let me-"

"You want to make your sister proud?!" His retort stopping her words in their tracks. "Then live to see that better world, and let me finish this."

Kazuchimon stood no more than fifty yards away, watching as Gaioumon stood once more. He quirked an eyebrow as he tried to make out the mutterings going on. "Talking to yourself? Has your blood rage driven you mad?"

Gaioumon took a few slow heavy breaths, trying to calm his breathing. "No, I'm thinking very clearly..." He said more to himself than his foe.

Kazuchimon's eyes drifted to his army beyond Gaioumon, "Ah, I see my cowardly warriors have returned to watch me crush you." He raised one blade, aiming it at them all. "Know that once I finish with this one, you'll all be lashed with a thousand bolts for your treachery!" Before a loud scraping sound drew his eyes back to the samurai before him, watching as Gaioumon carved a line in the asphalt with his burning blade. "What... What are you doing?"

"Making my stand," He replied simply, holding his single blade in hand. "Know this, false god Kazuchimon, you will not harm them or anyone else ever again!" He declared, raising his voice. "This line, you will not cross it, not while I'm alive!" Feet firmly digging into the ground for better grip. "This is my final act of defiance against you!" He added, putting more intensity into his voice. "Just see if you can get even one foot past this line!"

Kazuchimon scoffed, both annoyed by his remarks and amused by his arrogance. "Then one final strike will finish it, and I'll take your core as a trophy, and as an example!" Gripping both blades as he planted his feet. Dropping into a stance as his eyes analyzed his opponent. Both blades sparking with electricity, as he prepared for to cut his foe down.

"He measures the distance before every strike," Gaioumon steadied his breathing, "Let him read me, let him believe he can finish this in an instant..." Keeping his grip tight on his own blade. His own legs shaking ever so slightly, as if he was having trouble standing. "Make him believe I'm too weak to move... And then-"

"Neito Seirei!" Kazuchimon cried as he suddenly lunged forward, blades roaring with power as he began to cross the distance between them. Sparks lashing out from the blades that blew nearby streetlights, what few remained standing. "Where he stands, he can't block or counter this strike without retreating!"

"NOW!" Pivoting his feet, regaining his grip on the ground, before Gaioumon lunged forward with all his speed. Crossing the distance that remained between them, meeting his enemy halfway.

Kazuchimon's eyes widened, "WHAT?!" At this speed, with so much momentum behind him, his arms spread wide for the twin strike-

"Final Rinkazan!" Gaioumon roared, right up against Kazuchimon's abdomen, he slashed clean through the Divine Digimon's mid-section before he could bring his arms back together. Finally landing a hit, and it was a devastatingly lethal blow, as he separated Kazuchimon's upper body from his lower in a single burning strike. The sheer speed he'd charged with had Gaioumon sliding past his foe, as Kazuchimon hit the ground face first. Breathing heavily as Gaioumon's own flames faded, and he turned back to look upon his victory.

Kazuchimon laid on the ground, in stunned disbelief at the sudden end to it all. "You... You crossed your own line?" He sputtered out, "You... You can't do that! Wh-What about your stand? Wh-Where is your honor in battle?!"

Gaioumon began walking around him, watching as his body broke down. "I had you pegged from the moment our fight started," He grunted out, "Arrogant, looking down on everyone else... You couldn't possibly imagine a scenario where you're outsmarted." Shaking his head, "A digimon that propped himself up to be a deity... When I realized I couldn't beat you through strength of arms-"

"You resorted to tricks!?" Kazuchimon cried furiously, thunder rumbling in the sky above. Though as his body continued fading, the lightning in the sky faded along with him.

"I never said I wouldn't cross my own line, did I?" Gaioumon replied, beginning to walk away towards his partner. "Besides... You invaded my world, hurt my friends, and manipulated my family... I would have sacrificed far more of myself than something as petty as honor if it meant stopping you."

Kazuchimon could only watch as Gaioumon walked away, his body slowly fading. "A hell! A burning Tartarus is all that awaits you!" He practically screamed at the realization of his own mortality. "And when you see what I could have saved you from, you will know only despair!"

Gaioumon ignored his ramblings, not even looking back as the voice faded behind him. He grabbed his other blade and returned to those waiting for him. Arriving before them, and the host of his fallen foe. "It's done," Looking across the dumbfounded expressions of the other digimon. "And you're all free."

Kai breathed out a sigh of relief, "You really had me worried there for a moment."

"Yeah," Madison added with a nod, "Things got pretty intense there..."

"You really did it," Kuzuhamon said, her voice trembling as if she couldn't believe it. "With just one strike you..."

"He was no God," Gaioumon shook his head, "Just a megalomaniac with power that he abused, in the end he believed himself to be infallible... And that was his downfall." Before looking up at the other Digimon. "As for all of you-" Before Gaioumon's body was enveloped in light, as he shrank back down. Becoming even smaller than Kotemon, until all that was left a tiny little ball of fur with a metal helmet and a bushy tail. "Oh... Uh..." Blinking as he looked up at them.

Kai blinked in surprise, "I've... Never seen this form before."

"I'm Kapurimon!" He exclaimed, bouncing a little bit.

Sakura sweatdropped, "This is... Significantly less impressive."

Before Madison squealed, "But he's SO CUTE!" Scooping up Kapurimon into her arms along with Tsukaimon who was also beaming now that the fighting was over.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but..." One of the Vajramon stepped forward, "What are we supposed to do now? You said you'd show us a new world..."

One of the Hisaryumon added in. "I doubt we'd fit too well into this one..."

"Right," Kapurimon smiled up at them, "It might take a bit, but I think we could send you to the Sphere I came from! My old master Knightmon is a good, honorable digimon who can find room for you all!"

"We would all appreciate that very much." One of the Karatenmon chimed in, before all of them bowed their heads in unison. "And we're all sorry for the trouble we've caused..."

Sakura frowned slightly as she watched them, before sighing heavily. "So... Are you going to go with them?" Her question undoubtedly directed at her former friend.

Kuzuhamon looked towards her, before lowering her head. "I'm... I don't know," She answered simply, "I'm not quite sure what I should do now." Before steeling her resolve and taking her chance, falling to her knees before Sakura. "But if you would have me, I'd pledge myself to your service once again... And do whatever it takes to make up for the terrible things I've done."

Sakura looked down at her for a moment, before her eyes drifted to Kai, Madison, and finally Kapurimon. While her human friends seemed equally unsure, Kapurimon had a big smile on his face. Sakura took a deep breath, as if she was bracing herself, before she stepped forward. "I don't want a servant," Hesitantly however, she offered Kuzuhamon a hand. "But... I wouldn't mind having my friend back."

The warrior priestess' head bolted right up, staring up at her Sakura like she were some kind of divine being. Eyes landing on her hand, she reached up slowly and gently took it. "Though I hardly think I am worthy of that title anymore... I will remain by your side as long as you'll have me."

Madison let a warm smile spread across her lips as she clapped lightly, even with Tsukaimon and Kapurimon still in her arms. "Yay~! Happy ending!"

Sakura smiled softly as she looked to Maddie, finding a new appreciation for her joyful nature. Before her eyes looked to Kai, seeing how he watched Madison as well, the way her smile just seemed to put him at ease after all of that...

It wasn't the first time she'd noticed the effect Madison had on him.

Sakura took a deep breath and sighed lightly, "I must attend to my father," Looking back at Kuzuhamon. "Do you think you can heal his mind?"

She blinked in surprise at the thought, before nodding. "I was always a far better healer than fighter, I can try my best to remove Ravemon's influence."

"Good, but until then it seems I'm head of the Tanaka House," She noted, before looking towards her friends. "As my first order, I think I'd like to renegotiate the terms of our pact."

Kai's eyes widened, "R-Renegotiate?"

Sakura nodded her head, "Perhaps to terms less... Old fashioned?" She suggested, but rather than elaborating she turned and began making her way back towards the main house with Kuzuhamon close behind. The other Digimon seemed content to remain on the family property as to not draw too much attention.

Leaving Kai and Madison there at the edge, after one wild day. The young man slumped down into the dirt, landing on his butt. "Have I already said I'm sorry for dragging you into this?"

Madison chuckled lightly, plopping down beside him and letting Kapurimon bounce into his lap. "Yeah, a couple times now I think." She replied, breathing in deep, the air suddenly feeling much cleaner, now that the pressure was gone.

Kai smiled lightly, doing his best to relax. "Well in any case... I'm glad you were here."

At which point, Madison surprised him by gripping his hand with her own. "So am I."

Causing Kai's cheeks to turn red in an instant, "S-So uh... I'm not... Entirely sure what Sakura has in mind for renegotiating but..." His eyes turned away nervously, "I think it's safe to say I'm not engaged anymore."

Madison's heart skipped a beat, her grip on his hand tightening as her own cheeks flushed. Those feelings she'd did her best to bury came surging back, "I-I sure hope not." She said, deciding to indulge herself a little, just this once. "Or else I'd feel really bad about this." And take that leap.

Kai blinked, looking back at her, "About wh-" Before he was interrupted by her lips meeting his own, causing his body to tense up going stiff as a board in shock. Bringing every other thought in Kai's mind to a screeching halt.

It only lasted a second, but when Madison broke the kiss, her face wearing a somewhat somber smile. "Well, I guess that's all we can have for now" Her eyes looking past him.

Kai was still processing what had just happened, "I- You- What?" Before following her gaze, looking to the streets where several black vehicles that just oozed government authority were rolling up the street towards their location. "Ah... I see."

When it rains, it pours, as they say...

"I'm confused," Kapurimon said as he looked between Kai and Madison. "Why did Maddie try to eat Kai's face?"

Causing Kai's cheeks to turn deep red while Madison laughed aloud, Tsukaimon giggled as well. "I'll explain when you're older."

Small side note from the Author here, to anyone that likes my writing style...

If I were to say, hypothetically, begin posting an ORIGINAL story, what platform would you prefer to read it on? FictionPress? WattPad? Somewhere else? Please let me know :D