"Now, talk! Who are you?!" David repeated.

"I don't take kindly to scoundrels posing as me and deceiving my friends." the real Homura said, pointing her soul blade at the imposter.

"Wait, I'm confused. There are two Homuras? But this one looks like the real one." Shiki said.

"That is the real one." Fuyuhiko said. "That imposter over there must've targeted her while she was using her Dive System and switched places during spawning."

"Can't believe we almost fell for that copycat's ruse. Sure is a good impression of her though." Scorpia said.

"I would rather swallow glass than take on a man's form." Homura said. "Actually, it might be nice to have a bit more muscle. Wait, I said that out loud again."

David continued to point his gun at the fake Homura. "Don't make me repeat myself a third time."

The impostor chided. "And to think I was so close…."

"Gah, all this chattering is making me sick!" Jamilov growled as his scythe blade transformed into Maria. "I want blood!"

The beastly apparition chomped down on every single monster in its sight.

"Identity confirmed." Pod 042 said. "The imposter, it's…"

"042, look out!" 2B said, slicing incoming beams from Jamilov's weapon.

"This is getting tedious. Time to die, insects!" Jamilov said. In all the commotion of him firing lasers across the city, the impostor Homura attempted to escape.

"David, let's pursue my impostor. I also want to find out who they really are!" Homura said.

"You got it." David said.

"Leave Jamilov to me. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve against him." Sachiko said.

"You won't be handling this alone, Sachiko. I'll help too." Crusadermon said.

"As will I." Dynasmon said.

"What? But… You two don't have a stake in this. It's as aRPeGe said. Digimon do not belong in this universe." Sachiko said.

"We know. But even so… We would rather see ourselves deleted than simply let him have his way with this world like he owns it." Crusadermon said.

"But as long as he has those cheats activated, you won't be able to make a dent." Corona said.

"I am very well aware." Sachiko said. "But… That Digitalization incident opened my eyes for me. Digimon are creatures with their own sentience, feelings, and emotions. They're just as much alive as us. And that applies to the people of this world too. The moment the NPCs and monsters here gained sentience and became self-aware, they all had a right to live. And I'm not going to stand and watch a scumbag like Jamilov take that away from them!"

"Well said, Sachiko. Go get that maniac!" Bow cheered.

Sachiko nods. "Come on!" she said as she ran off, Crusadermon and Dynasmon following behind her.

Meanwhile, David and Homura were pursuing the impostor as they rode on the game's trademark mount.

"What's the point of your odd riding technique?" Homura asked.

"Oh right, I don't need to pretend to be you anymore." the impostor said while in an unusual riding pose.

"You seriously think I would ride like that?" Homura asked. "Reveal yourself!"

"You see, I can copy a person's appearance, personality, and memories. You were nothing but a means to an end to get closer to Jamilov, though I suppose I failed my mission." the impostor said as their form started to shift into that of a blonde-haired woman with brown eyes, wearing a black jumpsuit. "My name's Amira. I'm a member of the Galactic Intelligence Agency, or G.I.A. for short."

"A spy who just revealed their identity to their opposition… I suppose you're as careless as I am, Amira." Homura said.

"Oh, crap! I still have no filter like her!" Amira said before she quickly regained her composure. "Anyway, it was nothing personal, disguising myself like you. You just happened to be the perfect cover: a new player with no account security. Jamilov was just a means to an end, my real goal was getting close to his boss, Drakken Joe. And to think I almost succeeded. Guess I'll just have to find another way. I have to admit though, I didn't expect someone else to know Jesse."

"Jesse?" Homura asked.

"Nevermind, forget I said anything." Amira said. "Actually, since you both know who I really am now, I have no choice but to eliminate you." she said as she fired her pistol at them.

"Please." David said as he fired Ebony and Ivory.

"What the…?!" Amira asked as the shots from Ebony and Ivory broke through her shot and almost reached her before the government spy logged out.

"Hmph. Wasn't much of a fighter, after all." David said.

"I agree. How cowardly." Homura said. "I'm sorry about all this, David. I completely understand why you didn't trust me from the start."

"Yeah, there were just a bit of lingering memories from times past, but… Now that I know you're the real Homura…" David started. "I…guess I can get used to having you around."

"Thank you." Homura nodded.

Back in Crysta, Sachiko, Crusadermon, and Dynasmon were still battling Jamilov.

"DNA Disintegrator!" Dynasmon said, firing energy blasts at the hacker, which didn't do much damage.

"You three can't hurt me! I've already rewritten the game's code, I'm practically a god in this world!" Jamilov laughed.

"Maybe so… But if there's anything we have learned in our travels, it's that no one is unbeatable. Even gods." Sachiko said. "In reality, you're nothing more than a sore loser. Having to resort to cheats to maintain dominance."

"Oh, now that's rich!" Jamilov cackled. "Do you really think I care about what you think I am? You're going to be a marvelous corpse soon enough!" the hacker said as he fired a laser blast at Sachiko, which she dodged out of the way of.

"You won't be so smug for long." Sachiko said as she opened a palm, making a screen open up in front of her. "Guys, I'm going to try nullifying his cheats. I want you to keep him busy until then."

"Fighting fire with fire, is it? Very well." Dynasmon said. "Shall we, Crusadermon?"

"Of course. Let us dance." Crusadermon said.

"Oh, I guess she was just an appetizer." Jamilov grinned wickedly. "Alright, time for the main course!"

Jamilov summoned Maria once more, who rushed at the two Royal Knights, eager to chow down on them.

"Sachiko's got the right idea. Even though it's risky, the best way to beat a hacker is to hack him right back." Chiaki said.

"Well you know what they say, cheaters never win, especially jerks like him." Ajna said.

The two Royal Knights did their best to attack Jamilov. Dynasmon fended off Maria with his claws as Crusadermon went in for a blow.

"Scarlet Tempest!" she called, whipping up a whirlwind.

"Please, that's just a light spring breeze!" Jamilov said, dispelling it.

"Sachiko, how's that hack going?" Kazuichi asked.

"Not very good. He's got a whole laundry list of things keeping himself beefed up. I didn't even know some of these cheats were used the way he does." Sachiko said.

"Then perhaps I can be of help." Hermit said, approaching.

"Hermit, you…?" Alkal started.

"Don't misunderstand. I don't like that scythe guy." Hermit said as she surrounded herself with multiple screens. "I want him out of here as much as you do, so I'll help you. You, the one they call Sachiko. The only way to defeat Jamilov is to use his own trick against him. Use one of your logged-in friend's accounts to get in. I'll guide you from there."

"Take mine." Weisz offered to Sachiko, phasing out of his female avatar. "This planet's not my idea of fun, so it's no loss to me."

"Got it, Weisz. Hopefully, with this, we'll be able to fight him on a more even playing field." Sachiko said.

Together, Sachiko and Hermit used Weisz's account and started to break down Jamilov's cheats.

"We'll start by disabling his invincibility." Hermit said.

"Alright. That should be these nodes here." Sachiko said. With that, Jamilov's invincibility was, unknowingly to him, turned off.

"Now go ahead and buff your partner's stats a bit." Hermit said.

"Oh, I think I know just the thing for that." Sachiko said as she inputs on a few screens, adjusting Crusadermon and Dynasmon's attack power and speed. "Hope Jamilov is ready for Round 2 after we're finished up here." she said as she chuckled a bit to herself.

Jamilov stood across from the Royal Knights, his wicked smile still plastered on his face.

"Getting tired out, you two?" the hacker asked mockingly.

"Not even close. We're just getting warmed up." Crusadermon said.

"Aw, how brave! Tell you what, I'll let you get a free hit in." Jamilov sneered, having not yet noticed his loss of invincibility.

"Okay. For the record, you wanted this. Spiral Masquerade!" Crusadermon said as her whip blades started slashing at Jamilov.

This time, Jamilov actually got hurt by them as he was knocked back to his surprise.

"What?!" he asked in shock.

"You actually damaged him… that means Sachiko succeeded!" Dynasmon said.

"Wait, you mean that…" Jamilov realized, seeing Sachiko and Hermit. "You little brat…"

"That's right. Your invincibility is gone, and that means we're fighting on a more level playing field now." Sachiko said.

"Don't you mock me!" the hacker growled as he summoned screens of his own. "I won't tolerate this insolence, do you hear me?! If I can't rule over this world, then I'll destroy it, and you with it! Time to activate the final code!"

"You fool! Do you realize what you are doing?" Sachiko asked.

"No…" aRPeGe said as the world started to fuzz and decompile. "He's activated a shutdown virus. He'll destroy the entire game."

"Is he insane?! He's going to destroy the entire world all because of one hit?" David asked. "What a drama queen, I swear…"

"Hermit, can't you help Sachiko cancel out the virus?" Hope asked.

"I can't." Hermit said. "Once the self-destruction program is activated, no one can shut it off. Not even the person who activated it. This world and its people are just data. It doesn't matter if they're deleted."

"Will you stop lying to yourself already?!" Sachiko asked in a raised tone, shocking Hermit a bit. "So what if they're just data? They have feelings and thoughts, just like us organics do. The people and monsters of this world gained sentience, and became self-aware, giving them a right to live. They're just as much alive as the rest of us. The same goes for the Royal Knights here. If this world says their lives don't matter, then I'll fight that world! It doesn't matter! The moment they gained sentience - gained a heart - they all earned the right to live, no matter what anyone else says!"

"Well said, Sachiko!" Dynasmon said, charging straight at Jamilov.

"Even without my invincibility, all my stats are completely maxed out-!" Jamilov said before a blow to the gut knocked the wind out of him.

"That matters not to us." Dynasmon said as he continued his attack.

"Yeah, they spar with people who can take on whole armies solo regularly." ZS added.

"Plus, while it is true you have the highest stats, do not forget, in this game, players are allowed to use their abilities from the real world." aRPeGe said.

"Let's break it down." Hermit said. "The highest defense stat in Digitalis is 999. However, on observation, their attack power in the real world would be 25,000 each. Let's assume that the highest heath one can have is 100,000. Meaning…"

"I can defeat you with four strikes if you can do the math." Dynasmon said.

"Go dragon on him, Dynasmon!" Akane said.

"Way ahead of you! Haaaaa!" Dynasmon said as an aura glows from him. "Breath of Wyvern!" he declared as a purple draconic figure shot out of the aura towards Jamilov.

"Maria!" Jamilov shouted in a panic, the shadowy beast emerging once more. However, the draconic attack shot straight through the scythe creature and hit Jamilov head-on, knocking him to the ground. A second later, he devirtualized, nullifying the self-destruct program.

"I believe that's what you call, "getting rekt"." 2B said.

"Yep. I'd say his avatar gave a new meaning to 'death metal'." David said.

"Really? That was the best you could come up with?" Sachiko asked.

"What? He looked like someone from a death metal band." David said.

"Well…you all did well. You purged that menace. I'll see to it that no one like him will ever return to this game. However…" aRPeGe said as Weisz vanished. "Since his account was used, he will be served a perma-ban for repeated hacking."

"Ooh… Yeah, there was always that." Sachiko said. "But he did say he wanted it that way."

"So… thanks for having us, aRPeGe." Mark said. "I don't suppose we'll see you again some time?"

"Well, if you ever enter the Digital Universe again, I'll see if I can spare the time." aRPeGe said. "For now, however, I believe you have your own responsibilities to get back to."

"Yeah. Time to bring Hermit back home." Hope said.

"Before you go." aRPeGe said as he touched Sachiko's device as a symbol with a sword appeared. "From now on, you and you alone shall be welcomed in all Roleplaying games in the Digital Universe."

"Thank you so much." Sachiko said with a bow.

Back on the Edens Zero and Galaxy King…

"Well that was a trip and a half." Ragna said.

"Sorry everyone. I let that imposter get the best of me." 9S said.

"You did your best. Now let me do my part and fix you up." Kokonoe said.

"I hate to be a downer, but we're only halfway done." Emo said. "We still gotta find a way to help Hermit out of her slump."

"Yeah, we did return her consciousness to her body, but it looks like she's still very distant." Kendo said.

"Yeah…maybe…" Jexi said as the ships shook. "What the heck?"

"Not good. Both the Edens Zero and Galaxy King are being attacked." Jeremie said.

"What?! This ship's mainframe was made by all of the geniuses on this ship working together! Who could get past that?!" Rin asked in shock.

They then heard a familiar laugh as a nerdy-looking man appeared onscreen.

"Hahaha! I could, you fools! My revenge is in full swing as you are at the mercy of the master hacker Spider!" he said.

"This is the face behind Jamilov? For real?" Sachiko asked.

"I know. He's even uglier than his avatar!" Amethyst said.

"Well it is an online game…" Spider said quietly. "But never mind that! You're all at my mercy! It took me a while to hack this bigger ship of yours, but now it's completely under my control!"

"Spider…wait. You're not the same Spider who earned 10 billion for hacking, are you?" Jet asked.

"Hahaha! Yes. It is I, Master Spider!" Spider said.

"And it's completely obvious that when he mentioned Drakken Joe, he's a part of the Oracion Seis Galacica." Makoto said.

"Please. This guy is not part of those truly wanted criminals. But he is one of the top 5 hackers in the Sakura Cosmos." Jet said.

"So in other words… He's just a fanboy." Sachiko said.

"I'm so much more. I'm the best hacker in the universe, no one holds a candle to me!" Spider said. "And I'll prove it. Honestly, it's never been this fun to hack someone's security like this."

"Uh oh… look at this!" Kazuichi said as the areas of the ship started to turn red as they heard multiple explosions.

"Sachiko, you were right about him being a sore loser. He's destroying our ships from the inside out." Catra said.

"You guys shouldn't be so quick to panic." Aelita said. "If he's hacking our ships, that means he's transmitting from somewhere nearby."

"Yep. All that's needed is to pinpoint his location." Sachiko said. "Or better yet…"

"I think you and I have the exact same idea, Sachiko." Alkal said. "For something like that… we'll need her."

"Ace, let's go get Hermit. No way are we letting another ship of yours get totaled." DW typed.

"Right, we have to try and convince her to stay and help us." Ace said.

They were able to locate Hermit inside a room called the Dress Factory, where she was sitting down near a machine with her head down on her knees.

"Hey Hermit." Alkal said. "Sorry to intrude, but our ships are exploding."

"Yes, I heard all of it." Hermit replied without looking at the group. "But I can't help. You all should just evacuate the ship."

"I notice that you didn't include yourself in that last part." DW typed.

"If I die, so be it. I refuse to help humans." Hermit replied. "I don't care anymore…"

"...What happened?" Alkal asked, sitting down next to Hermit. "You don't have to answer, but one way or another, whatever you say won't leave this ship."

"...After I left Edens Zero, I traveled across the Sakura Cosmos, until I arrived on the planet Newton." Hermit began. "I met a group of scientists. They asked for my help in making something they called an Ether accelerator. They said… they were going to use it to save the neighboring planet, Hook, a planet colonized only by robots."

Hemit's eyes began to well up with tears.

"They…they seemed so kind. They talked all about friendships between robots and humans. They said everything you all said. I believed it… I was so happy to be a part of it." Hemit choked out between sobs.

"And let me guess…. They turned heel and abused you?" DW typed.

"That's right… when it was complete, when the accelerator was activated… it destroyed Planet Hook." Hermit said. "Those humans… they lied. They never wanted to be friends with robots. They only wanted to destroy them. You don't understand what they put me through… no one can…" Hermit said, breaking down in tears. "Humans made me forget who I am."

"You're right…. We don't know." DW typed.

"Then just leave me alone!" Hermit insisted. "Evacuate the ship and leave me to die here!"

"Oi, I wasn't done!" DW typed. "Yeah, we don't know what you've been through, but you do. And even after all that…you've been crying all this time, haven't you?"

"Those tears are because deep down, you know not all humans are bad." Sachiko said.

"Look, everything you feel towards humans - fear, mistrust, love, hate - it's all valid." Alkal said. "I'd probably feel the same way if I were in your position. So you don't have to trust us. But you can trust yourself, right?"

"Look at the people on this ship, everyone here has robotic members and we treat them as equals." Ace said. "Back on Granbell, all the robots were infected with a virus, but Shiki still called them his friends."

"How about this? Just follow your instincts." Shiki said. "That's what got us this far, and it's why none of us are leaving you. What do you want, Hermit? It's up to you."

"I…I just…" Hermit sobbed, her face streaked by tears. "I just want…to have friends, human or not."

"You've already got 'em." DW typed. "So, friend…what say we take this baby for a spin?"

Hermit nodded, the white lines on her face changing to red as blue lines started spreading all over the Edens Zero, repairing the damage from the explosions.

"Anna, Hermit's plugged back into the Edens Zero, can you let her into the Galaxy King's systems?" Akal asked.

"Yeah, I'll connect her now." Anna said.

It wasn't long before both ships were being repaired from Spider's damages.

"Holy crap, the damage on both ships is being undone!" Weisz said.

"Man, Hermit rocks at this." ZS said. "Now, about that tracking part…"

"We got a lock on Spider's ship." Anna said.

"I got this." DW said opening up a direct text line to Spider via the lock. "Attention idiot in Emerald Sector X64332-Y42560-Z13762: you done goofed."

"Now you'd better scram, or there's gonna be one big light show heading your way." A2 said as a cannon popped out on the side of the Edens Zero. "Fly or die, asshole. Your choice."

"Wait, no! Stop!" Spider cried.

"Oops, I think I just pushed it by accident." Hermit said with a mischievous grin on her face, as blue lights started appearing around Spirit Force's ship. Spider screamed… as fireworks started going off. "Nah, just kidding. It's fireworks, stupid."

"Snrk…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ajna laughed, the rest of the group joining in.

"Man, the look on his face!" Eddy laughed before he was struck with an idea. "Hey…quick question, how fast can we make a throw-away communicator?"

"Eddy… just enjoy the moment." Hope said, seeing Hermit smile with the rest of Spirit Force, Shiki, Rebecca, Happy-2 and Pino. "This shouldn't be traded for anything else."