The sound of footsteps echoed loudly against the immaculate stone floor as the four Chosen of Darkness and their partners ventured across the top of the Crystal Tower, passing between the ornate ionic pillars.

"It's kind of weird seeing how clean this place is, after that monster tore the place apart," Yamato said as he snaked his head around to see if he could spot any lingering stains or shattered pillars.

"If we hadn't been here to see it, you never would have known," Gabumon agreed as he tapped his chin with his claw.

"That's the Crystal Tower for ya," FlaWizarmon said with a shrug. "It's coded to repair damage - any damage - as quickly as possible. Given it's the pathway to both the Dark World and Light World, it's kinda important."

"It's actually really pretty," Sora said as she looked around in amazement. "It's really similar to Narakumon's temple, too."

"They are two sides of the same coin," FlaWizarmon said with a wink.

"Or like husband and wife~!" Piyomon chirped as she skipped along.

FlaWizarmon barely managed to catch a laugh, turning it into a chorkling snork. "He'd be pretty horrified by that comparison, y'know."

"Why?" Piyomon asked. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Not the point," FlaWizarmon said with a wide grin.

"Emotions can be very difficult, Piyomon," Sora said with a knowing smile. "And some are more difficult than others."

"That's Narakumon for you," Witchmon said with a sigh as she leaned into one of her large hands. "He has the hardest time saying exactly how he really feels. He was a bad influence on Lady Darkness with that sort of thing."

Miyako gave Witchmon an odd look. "That reminds me, you two work for Narakumon, right? Why do you call Keiko and Ryo by titles but not the two literal gods of your world?"

Witchmon stifled a snicker behind her hand. "Oh, that would be because of Tenraimon. She never really liked to think of herself as a god, and Narakumon was like…" She furrowed her brow, taking on a severe expression as his voice went gravely. "'I won't stand for you using formalities for me if you won't do the same for Tenraimon.'"

Miyako blinked before cocking her head slightly. "So, in other words, he didn't like you being informal with her but not him, right?"

Witchmon snapped her fingers and winked at Miyako. "Bingo~!"

"'Course not everyone could get cozy being close to either of those two like we could," FlaWizarmon said with a fond smile. "So they still had plenty of 'mon calling them by title and worshiping them, no matter what Tenraimon had to say about it."

"So why did you use titles for Keiko and Ryo sometimes?" Sora asked curiously.

Witchmon gave a cheshire grin. "Because it flusters them, of course. Lady Darkness is better at hiding it than Lord Miracles, but if you know what to look for, you can tell."

"So you're just trolling them," Miyako said, with a deadpan stare.

"Yep~!" FlaWizarmon said, brightly.

Yamato was only barely paying attention to the conversation as he was looking around their surroundings for any sign of the angel Digimon. Once they arrived at the entrance to the temple itself, he came to a stop and crossed his arms as he turned towards FlaWizarmon and Witchmon. "I thought you said he'd be here. I don't see him anywhere."

FlaWizarmon paused at that before he glanced around. He took a step off to the side and began peering behind the pillars as he moved before he finally stopped directly in front of a pillar to the far side of the area. For a moment he stood there, his expression one of disbelief, before a frustrated sigh escaped him. "Really? Are we really doin' this?"

The response was dead silence, before a small bit of movement signaled Higashi peeking out from behind the pillar at his visitors, but not fully removing himself from his hiding place.

Witchmon slapped her palm over her face before shaking her head. "Higashi, Higashi, Higashi…"

Higashi didn't say anything in response, his wings completely puffed up on his back, and instead slunk back behind the pillar, out of sight once more.

FlaWizarmon approached the pillar before he turned about to flop his back against it. He leaned back against the stone structure as he crossed his arms, opposite Higashi as the angel Digimon did his best to hide out of view. FlaWizarmon shook his head slightly and then glanced over to Osamu, his expression grim. "Well then…"

Osamu rubbed his forehead, but he couldn't wipe away the creases folded there. "Are you really Tenraimon's avatar?"

"Look, you know why we're here," Miyako cut in as she stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips. "Just tell us that Zeed is Ryo's partner and get it over with. You're just making things worse drawing it out like this. Then you can get to telling us how that happened, and we can get back to trying to save two worlds."

Higashi hesitated for a moment before he finally stepped into view somewhat, very reluctantly. He spared a glance to FlaWizarmon, only to look away from the other Digimon's hard stare, before he reluctantly turned to Miyako and Osamu. "I… was not supposed to be the one to discuss this. This was…" He hesitated for a moment, grimacing, before he turned a helpless stare towards the temple entrance. He waited nearly a minute more, but the doors remained closed. A sigh escaped him before he reluctantly continued. "Tenraimon and Narakumon… they…"

Witchmon frowned as Higashi trailed off again, letting a weighty silence settle over them. "So it's really true?" she asked, her voice tight with disbelief. "Zeed really is…?"

Higashi was silent for a long moment, to the point that it looked like he wouldn't answer. However, just as Witchmon was ready to press on, the angel Digimon grimaced and looked down at his feet. "We suspected at first, but with each passing day, it became increasingly more certain. And now, given what's happened, there can be absolutely no doubt."

FlaWizarmon slammed the back of his right fist against the pillar, causing Higashi to jump. "Why the hell didn't you say anything!?"

Higashi stared at FlaWizarmon for a long moment until the cracks the other Digimon made in the pillar repaired themselves. He turned away then to stare at the floor, refusing to look at anyone. "The intention…" He faltered again, struggling to find the right words. "Was to… prevent any animosity from permanently affecting Ryo's bond with… him. So Tenraimon and Narakumon, they… were waiting for you to… to…"

"For us to what?" FlaWizarmon pressed.

Higashi closed his eyes and clicked his pen as he took a moment to just breathe. "For you… to kill him," he finally answered, his voice barely a whisper. "They would then intercept his egg and, if need be… do whatever needed to be done to remove Piemon's influence on him." Tension set into his muscles, and his wings bristled until they practically became a pair of wire brushes attached to his back. "But he just refused to die! Even when Narakumon blasted him right to the damn Dark Ocean, he just would - not - die…!"

"So you wanted Ryo to murder his own partner because you couldn't protect him," Osamu said, his voice cold. "Do I have it right?"

Higashi flinched visibly as if he had been physically struck. He hesitated for a moment, not looking at anyone, before he stepped back behind the pillar and out of sight once more. The sound of a pen clicking could be heard from where the angel Digimon had disappeared to, faint but repetitive.

Witchmon's ghostly cat perked up its ears, and Witchmon raised her head shortly after. She pursed her lips before gnawing on the lower one. FlaWizarmon similarly looked as though he was chewing on something unpleasant as he looked off to the side into the clouds.

Miyako shot Osamu a deadpan gaze. "Nice one. Why don't you aim for the crotch next time you kick someone when they're down?"

"Yeah, kind of a critical hit right there," Kudamon agreed.

"Did I say anything that wasn't true?" Osamu asked with an edge to his voice as he side-eyed Miyako.

Sora frowned as she turned to face Osamu, her expression disapproving. "That was cruel, Osamu. Even if he is Tenraimon's avatar, it's not as if he's the one that made the decisions himself."

"Yeah, you're kind of shooting the messenger here," Yamato agreed.

"I'd say the same thing to Narakumon or Tenraimon," Osamu said unflinchingly. "Besides, it doesn't change that Higashi knew and said nothing."

Miyako let out a frustrated sound at the back of her throat. "Look, okay, I'll give you that it was messed up of them to send Ryo to kill his own partner, but that's low blaming someone for not being able to protect someone else." Her eyes narrowed as she put her hands on her hips. "Do I need to mention Ken?"

Osamu's fingers twitched at his sides and his glare turned poisonous.

"Exactly," Miyako said as she straightened up. "So don't be a jackass." With that she turned back to the pillar. She hesitated for a moment as she took care to consider what to say. "Look, Higashi, I get it… Zeed is messed up and gone evil, and I'll bet you tried whatever you could to make him stop being evil without having to kill him, right?"

The repetitive pen clicking continued in lieu of an answer. Piyomon frowned before she suddenly hurried over, past the other Digimon and Chosen Children to where Higashi was hiding. She stepped behind the pillar before silently reaching up to place her wing on the angel Digimon's leg, which was the furthest she could reach, in a silent show of comfort.

Witchmon glanced at FlaWizarmon, her expression conflicted. She opened her mouth to say something, but it simply hung open uselessly until she finally closed it again with a sigh.

"Right, so, killing a partner is the typical last resort," Miyako continued as if Higashi agreed with her. "Like what we had to do with Wormmon. I get it. It's shitty, but if there's no other option to talk them down, then it's gotta be done. I get why you wouldn't tell Ryo either, since there's probably no way he could bring himself to do it otherwise and there's that whole angst he's going through right now finding out all the crap his partner has been pulling."

Osamu continued to glare at Miyako. "You're not seriously-"

Miyako held up a hand to cut Osamu off. "Hold that thought, I'm not done yet." She ignored the way his expression contorted, keeping her eyes fixed on the pillar. "The problem is, as shitty as it is, Ryo needs to know since Zeed is using his power to screw with reality. So I get why the gods didn't want him to know, but, let's face it, that was a stupid decision."

It didn't seem like Higashi was going to respond with anything except pen clicks as they continued on, until slowly words began to mingle with the repetitive sound. "Underestimated… just how much… shouldn't have been able to… so many limitations put in place, and yet… all because of that damn orb…"

Osamu let out a frustrated sigh as he rubbed his forehead. "Okay, look. Can you just confirm that Zeed is Ryo's partner for us already? He's watching right now, and he deserves to hear the truth directly."

There was a pregnant pause, which was punctuated by a heavy click. Then, slowly, Higashi ventured back out from behind the pillar once more. Piyomon followed after the Digimon, matching his steps with a hop and a skip of her own. He spared her a glance before lifting his head, looking past the assembled Chosen Children and Digimon, to stare at the sky. The wind gently stirred strands of his hair and a few of his feathers as he stood there with a defeated expression on his face.

Finally, the avatar spoke, his voice quiet but surprisingly firm. "Yes. Zeed… is Ryo's partner."

There was a weighty silence that made the air feel as heavy as lead. Higashi was the first to break it after nearly a minute. "Many years ago, Piemon attacked the facility where we were creating the Digimon partners for the children that would become the Chosen Children." He closed his eyes as he took a moment to breathe deeply. "I don't know how he found out about the project or if he truly understood what it was, but… he was able to steal one of the eggs during that first assault. And that egg… became the Digimon known as Zeed."

The angel Digimon continued, his voice coming out in a rush as if he had rehearsed his answer and wanted to get it out before he lost his courage entirely.

"It was a grievous mistake on Piemon's part," Higashi said. "He greatly underestimated the young Digimon's power, and overestimated his own. He couldn't control him, he couldn't enslave Zeed. Instead… he became enslaved. Him, and the rest of his army. Zeed was, and is, a force of nature… both in body and spirit. And even as a baby, Piemon was absolutely no match for him. He had created his worst nightmare and unleashed it upon himself and both worlds."

"Even though Piemon is an Ultimate!?" Sora gasped. "And the rest of the Dark Masters, too?"

Yamato reached up to pinch his brow as he felt a headache coming on. "So Piemon thought he could keep a hurricane on a leash and then, shock and surprise, got sucked up into it instead."

Higashi shook his head as he closed his eyes. "Once the puppeteer, now the puppet… they had no choice but to do as their freshly created disaster wished. And what he wished… was control. Total control. He felt it in his very bones, his very soul… that it was his birthright."

"His birthright?" Osamu repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

It took Higashi a moment to answer, though he still didn't look at anyone. "The God Crests… they have the power to usurp the gods of our world," He had to take a moment, his body tensing a bit. "We knew there were risks with whichever Digimon became partnered with a child who possessed one of these three crests. In a very real sense, the Digimon could be on par with the gods themselves. We tried our best to lessen the risks involved. The Digimon chosen were the absolute best choices the gods could make…" He shook his head, his expression pained. "Tenraimon and Narakumon are still alive, and in control of their elements, and won't let their power be taken so easily, but Huanglongmon…"

Miyako tensed up in the silence that followed. "So basically…," she said slowly. "Zeed thinks he's literally the new Huanglongmon."

Higashi went silent, his jaw clenching tight, before he gave a firm nod of his head.

"Shit," Yamato growled as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, I can see that making it difficult to reason with him. If he thinks he's a literal god, then he's not going to want to listen to someone trying to tell him he's not."

"Especially when he can do things that other Digimon can't," Gabumon said. "He'd see it as proof."

"Let me guess," FlaWizarmon muttered. "That was Piemon's doin'. Fillin' his head with sweet soundin' words… that his powers were proof of his birthright, of his right to rule… and all that bullshit." He turned to give Higashi a tight smile. "An' Piemon totally wasn't prepared for Zeed to not only believe him but decide that meant he got to call the shots - all the shots."

Higashi gave a single curt nod. "Whether it was just… verbal influence or some other corruption… we don't know for sure. We won't know until we actually, well… got our hands on him, on his data. All we know are the results… and if there was ever any mind control, it is so deeply embedded that the only way to purge it will likely only be through death and the powers of the gods themselves."

Witchmon paused, her eyes widening as a thought suddenly struck her. "You were going to wipe Zeed's memory when he was reborn, weren't you? That's what happened the first time when the Digimon partners volunteered to be Chosen, so if you could do it once, you could do it again."

Higashi nodded again. "No matter what we discovered, be it tampering or otherwise, we would have done it simply as a precaution. There is too much of a risk that the memories would encourage him to, well… try again."

"Kiiiiinda hard to give up godhood after having a taste," Kudamon said. "There are some flavors you just don't forget."

Higashi grimaced as he gave a small lapis pen in his right hand several clicks before he stopped. "The only… saving grace is the fact that he is not able to evolve himself beyond his Child form. That was the one limitation that orb was not able to remove."

"Wait, what? What does that mean?" Yamato asked. "He can't… evolve?"

"All of your partners are able to evolve thanks to the power you provide them, though they are still able to attain some level of evolution on their own," Higashi said as he glanced down at Piyomon. "Typically up to Child level, though Tailmon and Nyamon are able to maintain their adult forms. Theoretically, all of your partners would be able to do that. It's just not practical, as most have forms far too large to fit in your homes, let alone avoid detection while in the human world. After a certain point, it's better to remain as a Child all the time and then evolve when necessary."

Yamato paused at that and glanced at Gabumon, who was nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess it would be pretty hard to hide a giant wolf in my bedroom."

"Or a giant flaming bird," Sora said. "But you're saying Zeed can't do that?"

"No," Higashi said. "We put in extra protections to prevent him from directly evolving himself beyond Child form. He should only be able to evolve to higher levels with Ryo's assistance."

"Any particular reason for that?" Miyako asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Seems kind of strange to put that kind of restriction in place, you know."

Higashi clicked his pen. "Zeed's original personality was… intense. Tenraimon and Narakumon didn't want to risk anything."

"Risk anything?" Yamato asked. "Like what?"

"Like him deciding he doesn't need a partner," Higashi said quietly. "And going after Huanglongmon's dormant powers for himself."

"Which is exactly what he's done," Miyako said with a deadpan stare.

Higashi clicked his pen rapidly. "To a certain point. As powerful as he is now, it is still just a fraction of what he's capable of, what he would be capable of, if he ever managed to evolve."

"If you were so afraid of him doing all of this, why the hell would you make him Ryo's partner!?" Yamato asked with a sweep of his arms. "I get that they were all volunteers but you could have said no and chosen someone else! Isn't that irresponsible? He did exactly what you were afraid he'd do!"

The angel Digimon clicked his pen to the point that it was just a continuous stream of noise. "He… was the best fit. The only fit. It had to be him. Narakumon and Tenraimon… needed it to be him, needed this to work."

"Why is that?" Osamu asked levelly, narrowing his eyes at Higashi.

Higashi hesitated as he seemed to be choosing his next words carefully. "He… was the only one who could… handle it. Despite his… personality, or perhaps even because of it, he was the only one who could fill the role and not be utterly crushed by it."

"What do you mean 'crushed by it'?" Sora asked, her brow furrowing.

"It was not an easy position to fill," Higashi said. "Tailmon and Nyamon may have a small taste of what it is like, but not completely. While they are also God Crests, Tenraimon and Narakumon are still alive. They don't have to shoulder the entire weight of the God Crest themselves. For Darkness and Light, it's a shared burden. For Miracles… Zeed must carry it alone."

"So in other words, he's always been at risk of getting corrupted by power," Miyako theorized before letting out a frustrated sigh as she pressed her cheek against her palm. "That explains some things."

"Any Digimon would have been," Higashi replied. "We just… hoped his love for Ryo would have mitigated some of that risk."

Osamu folded his arms across his chest. "Love doesn't stop you from doing despicable things."

Higashi clicked his pen with his right hand as his left hand reached up to rub his face. "No. No, it does not."

"And it also makes yanderes," Miyako said. She quickly noticed the confused looks the others sent her way and her cheeks tinted a bit. She hastily pressed on so that she didn't have to explain what a yandere was. "So, uh, basically what you're saying is that Zeed is so powerful he breaks reality because he's pretty much the new Huanglongmon, and the only way to stop him is to kill him and wipe his memory, or hope Ryo can sweet talk him out of it. Is that about the gist of it?"

"Essentially, yes," Higashi said, then sighed. "But with both Narakumon and Tenraimon… as they are, that means we can't follow the initial plan. While it seems that we are the closest we have ever been to finally killing him, neither of them are in a position to intercept Zeed, let alone attempt to undo what damage has been done. And we can't wait for them, as there is no telling how long it will take for them to recover, or for Zeed to recover now that he has the Digimental of Light."

"Then we'll have to prevent him from being reborn until they recover," Osamu said.

Sora frowned, brow furrowing with worry. "I'm not exactly eager to kill Zeed either, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to wait that long."

"We don't have to," Osamu said before he turned to the other children. "I came up with a program that can filter out specific Digimon from the rebirthing process. All we have to do is kill Zeed, and he'll stay dead until I change the code to let him be processed."

Yamato's eyes widened as he stared at Osamu in shock. "You did what?"

Miyako let out a rumble at the back of her throat as she considered the idea. "You think it'll work on someone as powerful as Zeed?"

Osamu smirked. "It worked on Qinglongmon and Xuanwumon, didn't it?"

Miyako gawked at Osamu. "Wait, what?"

"Surpriiiise," FlaWizarmon said with a quirk of a smile as he raised his hands and waved them slightly.

"Guess the cat's out of the bag," Witchmon said playfully before her ghostly cat let out a loud meow for emphasis.

"If it didn't work, those two would already be back up to full power," Osamu said. "I'm not surprised none of you even thought about that."

"Gotta admit, our hearts were kinda in our throats when you were starin' right at the filter, but none of ya thought anything of it," FlaWizarmon said.

"When!?" Yamato asked, stunned.

"Back when ya restored the code to the Village of Beginnings, and all the Digimon started getting reborn," FlaWizarmon said. "Kaiser-kun managed to get his filter installed while you were messin' around, and we crossed our fingers that it'd work… and it did!" He chuckled and shook his head. "Kinda wished we coulda filtered out the Devas too, but there wasn't much time… and those two were the priority."

"The devas are on the blacklist now," Osamu said calmly. "If they step out of line, we can just kill them again, and they won't be back until we take them off it."

The thought sent shivers up Sora's spine the way Osamu discussed it so casually. "Is that… really something we should have control over…?"

Osamu raised an eyebrow as he cocked his head slightly. "Narakumon and Tenraimon can have final say over their souls when they're back." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "We're not sending them to the Dark Ocean… not like they wanted to do by killing any of us."

"I understand your concern, and I greatly appreciate it," Higashi said as he turned to Sora, offering her a weak smile. "But it is a necessary evil, considering the situation. Without Tenraimon or Narakumon, the world is essentially in a free-for-all while those that should have been able to maintain the balance are actively choosing not to. They have no right to complain, given that they would do far worse to you if given an opportunity." He paused and turned back towards the temple, his expression wistful. "If anything, the thought that such a program exists fills me with far more relief and hope than it has any right to. And I haven't felt either of those in a very long time." The hold on his pen tightened until his hands started to shake. "We might… we might actually be able to…!"

Sora frowned. She glanced at the others before looking down at her hands, which she clasped together. She understood what Higashi was trying to say, but she still couldn't accept such a program being created, let alone used. She supposed that was what the angel Digimon meant, that her apprehension was a good thing, but that did little to ease her concerns. Perhaps that in and of itself was a sign of her character and heart, and why he was willing to trust them with it.

But even that aside, the revelation that Zeed was one of them, that he was definitively Ryo's partner, was still hanging over her head like an oppressive cloud. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Ryo must have been thinking at that moment; not only find his lost partner but then witnessing everyone planning how to murder him. While she could acknowledge that what Zeed was doing was awful, the fact remained that he was supposed to be Ryo's closest protector, but instead spent all this time as Ryo's greatest enemy.

The Chosen of Love could only hope that Ryo was taking the news well.

Ryo was, in fact, not taking the news well.

After the group left to see Higashi, Ryo couldn't sit still. He paced the room restlessly, his eyes constantly darting back to the Digital Gate as it followed the group through the Crystal Tower. Once they found Higashi, he was front and center in front of the computer, leg jiggling and tapping out his anxiousness with his foot against the hardwood floor. His insides tangled themselves in knots the longer it took for the conversation to reach the confirmation that he had been dreading to hear.

Ryo had been expecting it. He really did. He had been bracing himself for this answer since the possibility had been raised. Yet, the moment the truth left Higashi's lips, it was as if he lost the bones in his legs and collapsed. He didn't even feel his knees strike the hard floor or hear the thump he made on impact as everything went numb and distant. He barely managed a sitting position. The others gathered around him, not close enough to crowd him, but their concern was clear. Someone, he wasn't sure who, asked him if he was alright.

Alright? How could Ryo possibly be alright after learning that Zeed was his partner?

Zeed, who had been terrorizing the Digital World for years.

Zeed, who had tried to drop a nuke in Tokyo Bay.

Zeed, who had implanted a Dark Seed in Ken, and used it to manipulate the young boy and even used him as a hostage.

Zeed who had been constantly fighting his friends with the intent to kill them all.

Zeed, who had killed hundreds of Digimon - many of whom were his friends - and tainted countless more.

Zeed who sent the friends he murdered to the Dark Ocean, a place that was just like hell.

Zeed, who was his goddamn partner.

It was too much for Ryo. It was all just too much.

"Ryo?" Hikari called again, only to be met with silence. Her hand hovered close to Ryo's shoulder, but she hesitated to touch him, afraid that might make things worse. He didn't look at her, or anything at all, his blue eyes distant and as empty as a cloudless sky. The look in his eyes terrified her. "Ryo? Can you hear us?"

"L-Lord Ryo!" Monodramon stammered as he hovered around the Chosen of Miracles, uncertain what to do himself. "Lord Ryo?"

Takeru could have sworn he saw Ryo glitch - physically glitch. It might have been a trick of the light, or perhaps he was paranoid due to what happened to Ken and his own brush with the Dark Ocean, but fear seized his heart in a deathgrip. He immediately took out his DT2 and stepped back to send an urgent message to Narakumon's email, hoping Keiko would read it in time.

"Woooooowwwww," Daisuke said as he looked over the edge of the steps that had once been connected to the mountaintop, with the rest of the path presumably thousands of feet below them. "Leave it to Lord Zeed to be able to lift a whole building into the sky!"

"You're so cool, Lord Zeed!" V-mon agreed.

"Do you think that if I spit down, I'll hit someone?" Noir asked as he peered over the side, using his ears to balance himself. "Hey, are we high enough that you could die from spit if it hit you?"

"Stay away from the edge, please," Wallace said as he reached down to grab his partner carefully away from the sharp drop. "[Let's leave the 'terminal velocity' to literally anyone else.]"

The other Chosen Children and their Digimon lingered about the entrance to the temple as well, marveling as the Temple of Miracles drifted through the sky like a boat on the ocean, surrounded by a golden bubble. It moved smoothly through the clouds, as if it had always floated among them.

"Zeed-chama is the coolest," Mimi giggled as she clapped her hands.

"Y-yes, of course," Zeed said, sounding slightly out of breath. His chest heaved a bit, despite his efforts to suppress it, and gave his little minions a confident smile. "It was… it was child's play, really. F-far, far too easy for… for one such as I~!"

The Dorumon felt his hackles rise on the back of his neck when Nyamon suddenly leaned close beside him. He turned his head to glance at the cat Digimon out of the corner of eye, noting her smirk far too close to his face. "Can I help you?"

"If you want to help, you can stop being a little jackass, let everyone go, and surrender," Keiko said with a similar smirk on her face. Her smile only widened at Zeed's annoyance. "Besides that, we were just noticing how… out of breath you are. Seems that wasn't so easy after all, was it?"

Zeed's cheek twitched, giving the Chosen of Darkness a peek at his fangs. "I'm surprised you remember what breathing sounds like, considering your lack of recent practice."

Keiko made a noise that imitated a snort of air, which sounded too close to laughter for Zeed's liking. "You really must be tired. That comeback was just pathetic."

Zeed's ears immediately canted back, his lips curling up to give Keiko a good view of his pearl-white teeth.

Keiko shrugged flippantly. "I've been dead, or what passes for it, for too long to be bothered by it anymore. Come on, try harder."

"I suppose you're right," Zeed said, slowly. A snarl-like sneer spread across his face, exposing more of his sharp fangs. "I cannot even begin to imagine what it must feel like to be so completely helpless and ineffective while not only do your friends and family live their lives without you, but you can't even speak to them. You've gone from their protector to a bystander at best, forced to watch and nothing more."

That barb hit harder than Keiko would have liked, but she managed to keep her expression stony. The loss of her smirk was enough to give her away, however, and Zeed's sneer turned into a cruel smile. She let indifference be her response, and she made a show of rolling her eyes to minimize whatever sense of victory her enemy might have felt over hitting far too close to home.

That was when Keiko felt it - a message that resonated in her head, one that could also be heard by Nyamon as well.

Keiko, I don't know if you're watching or if you can see this, but Ryo just found out that Zeed is his missing partner, and I think he's breaking down!

"What!?"

The scream from Keiko caused Zeed to jump. He whipped around to face her, tail puffing up like a bristle brush. The Chosen Child of Darkness said nothing, but stared back at him, her red eyes wide with what he could only describe as absolute horror.

Then she was gone.

Nyamon lingered a couple seconds longer, and the look she gave him was somehow more unsettling than her partner. It pierced through Zeed in a way that defied description before she too blinked out of existence.

Zeed gaped at where Keiko and Nyamon had once stood, his tail still puffed up. His eyes darted around for any sign of where she might have gone before it registered that the pair had actually left the area. The Dorumon blinked at that before he furrowed his brow, his tail lowering slightly but still keeping every bit of fur standing on its end.

"My lord?"

Zeed nearly jumped again but stopped himself, forcibly tensing his muscles. He slowly turned his head to note Demon staring at him from his position by the door into the temple. "...What is it?"

"Is… everything, ah… alright?" Demon asked, though his trepidation at even asking the question was evident in his voice.

The Dorumon paused before his eyes shifted back to where Keiko and Nyamon had been moments before. Then, and only then, did he finally seem to relax his body and let his fur go slack. "Of course. Everything is… fine. Perfectly fine."

Nothing felt real to Ryo. The room around him had become an abstract concept. The colors grew muted while sounds faded under static. Or was that the sound of waves? Perhaps it was the voices of countless people talking all at once…

It didn't matter to Ryo. Nothing mattered. Nothing…

It hadn't been a trick of the light. Before everyone's eyes, Ryo grew less substantial, his image flickering like a screen glitching out. Panic rippled through Koshiro's apartment as everyone scrambled to figure out what to do. Taichi tried to grab Ryo's arm, only for the other boy's wrist to slip through his hand like water.

"Shit!" Taichi yelped as he stumbled. He quickly recovered his balance and tried again, but he couldn't keep a hold of Ryo for longer than a moment before he passed right through. "What the hell is happening!?"

Hikari went pale, and she could swear she heard the ocean and voices whispering at the edges of her vision. She knew what was happening, but fear swallowed her voice. Her hands flew up over her mouth, her body trembling as Ryo's condition worsened by the second.

"It must be… like what happened to Ken!" Takeru said as he kept trying to send messages to Keiko, hoping she would see them. "When he answered the Dark Ocean's call after Wormmon died!" He looked down at his DT2, not even caring about punctuation at this point as he spammed messages at Narakumon and hopefully Keiko."I-I'm trying to get Keiko!"

Ken… Keiko… those names drifted through Ryo's mind then out again.

His fault. Everything that happened, everything they suffered through… It was his fault, wasn't it? If Zeed was his… his…

The world was gray, and water was everywhere. Ryo didn't feel it touching him, but he was surrounded. He was alone, yet not alone.

There were so many voices…

In the gray, color appeared before him - red eyes that pierced his blue ones. Ryo barely had a moment to register Keiko standing in front of him, the shrieking of those incomprehensible voices, and the sorrow and anger that filled her face, before a sharp bite of cold struck him across the cheek.

Ryo fell to the floor as the world became solid with a snap of cold and pain in his now throbbing cheek. He was back in Koshiro's house, with the others who stayed with him gathered around him, panicking and calling his name. He stared up at them in confusion as his hand drifted up to touch where his cheek slowly started to turn pink.

"O-Oh, thank goodness!" Monodramon wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he collapsed to the floor by Ryo. "L-L-L-Lord R-Ryo…!"

"Wh… what…?" Ryo managed to whisper, his voice hoarse and disoriented.

Takeru put the pieces together as he saw the outline of a handprint slowly appear on Ryo's cheek. A chuckle devoid of humor escaped him as he could relate to what the other boy was going through at that moment. "Keiko just snapped - or more specifically slapped - you out of the Dark Ocean's call and sent you back."

"Back…?" Ryo repeated, his eyes slowly coming to focus on Takeru as he rubbed his cheek.

"The Dark Ocean…," Hikari said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It… it called you… and you answered…"

"It's just like what happened to you, Takeru," Patamon said in a low, solemn tone.

Takeru looked at his partner then away, remembering that moment all too well.

Ryo felt the bite of cold pierce him, but this time it was from fear rather than the touch of someone almost dead. He sat up with Taichi's help. He had been prepared to let go, but the Chosen of Courage heaved him up onto his feet, practically shouldering his weight and dragging him in a fireman's carry to the couch.

"Come on, stay with us," Taichi said, a slight quiver to his voice. "We're not about to lose anyone else."

"I…," Ryo began, only to lose his voice. He shivered as Taichi helped him sit. Even there, the Chosen of Courage didn't let go, sitting beside him as the others were quick to gather around. "I'm sorry… so sor-"

"Don't," Hikari cut in before Ryo could fall into another dark spiral. "That… don't blame yourself. Not now. Not for this…"

"Your feelings are completely understandable," Iori agreed. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"If anything," Tailmon said, her eyes drifting to the computer screen that still showed the conversation with Higashi continuing without any clue as to what nearly happened. "You're owed the apology."

Takeru sighed in relief, or as much relief as he could feel given the situation, before he looked down at his DT2, deleting the message he had been in the process of typing. "I'm just glad it worked. I don't think… any of us could have stopped that."

"I'm so…" Ryo caught himself and shook his head, struggling to free himself from the tangle of dark emotions strangling him. He knew better, he really did, but it was so hard to stop the feelings that pumped through his veins like poison. "Y-yeah… that's…" He had to take a moment to breathe and gather his thoughts. "I-I've heard… heard what happens… despair… but… I…"

"It's okay," Hikari said gently as she sat down beside Ryo opposite her brother. She took hold of his hand and squeezed it as she managed to meet his haunted gaze with her own. "Don't feel like you have to explain anything to us. Just focus on us and not… them… okay?"

Ryo nodded as a shudder ran up his spine. Looking into the Dark Ocean from the safety of the Crystal Tower had been unsettling, but what he had just experienced made even seeing that abomination rise up from its depths feel quaint by comparison. "R-right… right…"

The clanging of the distorted D-Terminal chime rang out from Takeru's side, startling everyone in the room. A second later he pulled it out and the sound cut off just as abruptly. He checked to see if there was a message, but there was none. He caught the potential meaning behind the sound right away. "Keiko? Are you here?"

A brief discordant chime rang out, and Takeru let out a sigh of relief.

"Right, so…," Takeru muttered as he considered the right questions to ask. Unfortunately, everything felt so overwhelming that it was a struggle. He raised his voice once something finally came to him. "Just send us a message letting us know what to do. I'll just have Miyako fix my DT2 later."

Two chimes rang out, much to Takeru's confusion.

"No?" Takeru said. "But you…"

Hikari's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her, and Takeru mirrored her expression in the same instant as they both turned to each other. "Tsu!"

A single chime answered them.

"Huh?" Taichi asked, blinking at the two of them.

Takeru ignored Taichi. "Are you going to be coming here with Tsu?"

Two chimes answered, and Takeru made a face before he realized that there was actually a better, far more obvious solution than dragging a small child around.

"So we take Ryo to Tsu?" Takeru pressed.

A single chime made the Chosen of Hope sigh in relief.

"I'm not sure if Ryo is up for walking anywhere though," Hikari said as she turned her concerned gaze to Ryo.

Ryo shook his head. "I… I can go-"

Two chimes cut Ryo off. He blinked before he made a sound that should have been a chuckle but came out more as a wheeze.

Takeru was quick to piece together what Keiko had in mind. "Oh, right. Jin has a car, doesn't he? He can come pick us up, right?"

When the single chime rang out, Takeru could almost swear that there was a happy note to it, but perhaps that was just his imagination.

"Okay, so, we just sit tight until he gets here, huh?" Taichi guessed, keeping his hand on Ryo's wrist, as if it would keep the other boy from disappearing again. He twitched at the unsettling, single chime that answered him, before he set his mouth in a thin line. "Okay, you heard her."

Hikari pulled out her DT2. "I'll contact Jin right now. Keiko, can you, um, stick around until he gets here? I think Ryo would do better knowing you're around."

A chime rang out and Ryo looked up to the ceiling, a weak smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You don't have to-"

Two chimes.

Again, Ryo failed to force out a laugh and shook his head weakly. "Okay, Keiko, okay. I got it."

The first thing Ken became aware of when he woke up was that his head hurt like hell. The second thing was the sound of voices somewhere near him. The sound was distorted, as though he was listening to them from underwater, but he picked out two of them, probably male. One was familiar in a way that itched his already aching brain and urged him to wake.

Ken struggled to open his eyes. When he finally did, his reward for his efforts with pain as light stabbed into his eyes like dozens of needles. Instantly he shut his eyes again, squinting through the light as it prodded him even through his closed eyelids. He waited until the feeling lessened before tentatively trying again, more gradually this time.

When the light stopped blinding him, things around him slowly came into focus. The sight was unpleasantly familiar as of late - a hospital room, similar to the one he had woken up in seemingly so long ago.

The sight of it shot a spoke of adrenaline through Ken and his body jolted as panic roused his aching mind into full awareness.

Had he been taken back to that place?

Ken couldn't move, his body too heavy and sluggish to respond despite the shot of adrenaline, but it was a blessing that allowed him to take stock of his surroundings. Once the panic started to eb, he noticed that, while the rooms were similar, they were not the same. The shades of the walls, the different furniture, and only a few electronic devices that looked utterly mundane and fitting for an ordinary hospital in the human world.

It wasn't the Digimon Kaiser fortress, or at least Ken hoped not. He was in a different room, a hospital most likely, and while that in and of itself wasn't much of a reassurance, it still gave him the confidence to accept that he wasn't back where he had started.

Still, where was he?

Ken frowned before he shifted his attention to the voices that spilled into the room, and turned his head to see the door slightly ajar. Slowly, their words became clearer, as he spotted glimpses of two unfamiliar men - enough to make out their builds and outlines, but not enough detail to recognize them. What he did come into focus was the conversation they were having.

"-as soon as I can. In the meantime, I want you to keep a close eye on him."

"Absolutely, Mr. Ryuzaki. We will closely monitor him during your absence."

The word 'Ryuzaki' rang a bell, though it echoed and throbbed in Ken's brain. He tucked it into the back of his mind to think about later, to not distract him from the conversation, and to lessen the ache in his head.

"If he wakes up while I'm gone, you'll have to come up with something to keep him occupied until I get back. There's a good chance he won't remember who I am, so you'll have to wing it."

Ken blinked at the strange conversation before he furrowed his brow. It was clear he was only getting a small part of the conversation, but even without the additional context, it sounded pretty troubling.

"Should you really be leaving then, sir?"

"I don't have a choice. Ryo needs me."

Ken's eyebrows shot straight up at that. Ryo? They were talking about Ryo?

"Wait, no, that's not possible," Ken thought with a grimace. It was just a random conversation he was overhearing, and there were probably hundreds of Ryos in Tokyo alone, not to mention all of Japan. Why would he think one specific reference could be to the Ryo he knew?

Then again, wasn't this supposed to be his world? A world he created from his mind? By that definition, no conversation could be random as everything inevitably had to involve him in some way.

Ken frowned. However, by that point, he lost the opportunity to dwell on it much longer as footsteps signaled that the conversation was over and both of the unknown men were leaving in different directions.

All was quiet, leaving Ken unable to do much more than think about his situation and the events that happened before he wound up in this hospital… particularly that man.

That man… his pasty complexion and gaunt face with dark eyes that pierced through him without mercy. That was Oikawa, right? He looked like the Oikawa Ken remembered, who was the friend of Iori's late father and became the puppet of Beliel Vamdemon.

At the same time he wasn't. That man wasn't the Oikawa that Ken knew, not even slightly. The man he met stank of cigarettes and looked at him not as a pawn to use for his Dark Seed, but as a child that had been raving utter nonsense. He certainly was an unpleasant person, but the air around that man who looked like Oikawa was very different from the Oikawa Ken remembered.

Right?

Ken thought back to the incidents with Oikawa, Mummymon, and Arachnemon, but they were thin slips of moments. He recalled being in the truck with all the children Oikawa wanted to infect with copies of the Dark Seed, the man who died reaching the Digital World. His skin was the same tone then, pale, but without the tinge of gray that made man look like a walking corpse, but there was none of that softness he had in the end.

The memories of Oikawa, the puppet of Belial Vamdemon were few. The more Ken thought about it, the more other memories of a different Oikawa popped into his mind, a man who stank of cigarettes and arrogance. He remembered an incident where the man confronted him about Ryo after his friend went missing…

Missing?

The word rang a bell in Ken's mind and he froze, forgetting all about Oikawa. Missing? Why would Ryo be missing? Ryo wasn't missing, he was… The two of them…

Wait.

Why did Ken never spend any time with Ryo after their first adventure in the Digital World? He and Ryo were friends. Ryo had been there in the Digital World with him. Why hadn't he ever stopped to wonder where his friend was when his adventure was over? Osamu died after that, but surely that didn't…

But, no, Ryo had been there after Osamu died. He visited Ken in the hospital. Why was he in the hospital? And there was someone else there too… someone dark with piercing eyes…

Ken felt a stab like needles behind his eyes and he bit back a groan as he held his throbbing head.

No, it was two people… one a human, the other a Digimon… two Digimon. Wormmon! Wormmon was there too, how could he have forgotten…?

Wait, what? That was the real world, wasn't it? Wormmon never came to the real world with him back then.

But if he didn't, then how could Osamu threaten to throw Wormmon off the balcony?

That memory filled Ken with the panic and anger his brother sparked in him then. Why hadn't Osamu understood just how important Wormmon was? Why did his brother hate all of his friends?

But… Osamu gave them a chance… in the end or he was going to, but then the car jumped the curb…

It didn't jump the curb; Osamu was crossing the street alone. No, Osamu was walking with him, holding his hand, then using his body as a shield when the car hit. Then they were on the pavement, surrounded by blood. His brother refused to let him go even as he was dying.

"Are… are you… okay… K-Ken?"

The memory was the most real thing Ken felt in a long, long time. For a moment, he was no longer in the hospital room; he was on the sidewalk, feeling the warmth of his brother's arms around him, the hot, sticky blood.

Ken skewed his eyes shut and tried to escape the memory when another came to him, one seen through a screen. An explosion, the feeling of panic, and zooming in to find… a body. It couldn't be a body, it couldn't have been a person. But there was part of a black dress on a chest that heaved desperately for breath…

Keiko. The name was a dagger slicing itself into his brain. It was a scream made by an angel of darkness… an angel that was falling apart into data as she flew towards what should have been a human. A human who had still been alive… Keiko, Keiko, Keiko…

Nyxmon, Nyamon, Plushmon… all of those were names of one friend, the second one Ken had forgotten.

Bile crawled its way up Ken's throat, and he slapped his hand over his mouth.

Ryo. What happened to Ryo?

His head went flying. Neemon, that bastard. Traitor! So much blood. It happened so fast, Ryo never saw it coming. Then he was falling in two separate pieces. He - killed - Ryo!

Ken was falling then, tumbling out of the bed and onto the cold tiles. He barely managed to prop himself up on his arms before he was emptying the contents of his stomach onto the pristine hospital floor.

The Chosen of Kindness was barely aware of the sound of footsteps as people came rushing into the room. They looked like nurses and a doctor, who were by his side in an instant, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The painful vomiting and his throbbing head were far more pressing matters, as he purged what little had remained in his stomach along with memories of a life that he never actually lived.

Mystimon frowned as he glanced around his surroundings, his frustration clear upon his face. His eyes scanned the forest for any sign of his target, his irritation growing with each passing moment that he was not able to find what he was looking for. It was fairly standard, given who he was looking for, but normally Neemon wasted no time in making his presence known when the little yellow toad was aware he was being sought.

Neemon should have been in the area, somewhere. Mystimon was sure of it. Even if it wasn't specific, Lord Zhuqiaomon was generally able to pinpoint the generalized location of his most vile servant with a high degree of accuracy.

So where the hell was the bastard!?

"Neemon?" Mystimon called out. "Neemon!"

Neemon watched as Mystimon walked right past him, his pinprick eyes glaring holes through the loyal lapdog of his 'master.' Normally, he prided himself on being professional, which meant he would have revealed himself the moment he sensed one of Zhuqiaomon's minions sniffing around for him. After all, a mission from Zhuqiaomon often meant that he had permission to kill someone.

This time, however, Neemon remained outside of Mystimon's senses. He couldn't do anything about Zhuqiaomon knowing his location - it was part of their pact that bound him to his 'master' in exchange for power - but his fellow minions had no such immunity. That, too, was part of their contract.

They also didn't have the power to make Neemon do anything unless it was a direct order from Zhuqiaomon.

They also couldn't give Neemon those orders if they couldn't find him.

Mystimon grit his teeth and let out a low growl. While he was tempted to simply blurt out his master's orders and be done with it, he knew far better than to give into such an urge. He didn't know if Neemon was still in the area, nor if anyone else was within hearing range. Airing his master's business during such troubling times would have been the height of irresponsibility.

As such, he simply had no choice but to search the forest until he found his target.

Neemon smirked as Mystimon began to wander off, in a fruitless search with no end. "Not today, 'master'." His eyes narrowed dangerously before he turned and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of his fellow minion.

"Today… you're going to fix your screw up all - by - your - self."