Layla checked her watch once more. It was already two hours since everyone arrived. She was growing worried about Trevor.

"Where's your father?" Ivan inquired. "Just noticed I haven't seen him for a while."

Layla looked up, noticing Ivan was speaking to her. "Oh, he's probably in his office, I'm sure."

Ivan nodded, taking a seat beside her. "Sounds about right. My Dad can be the same way."

"The job of R&D Director is a busy one it seems," Layla mentioned.

Ivan nodded, taking a sip of his soda. "Random question, but do you plan on taking over SAIBA Enterprise one day?"

Layla didn't hesitate to answer as he expected. "Naturally. I'm an only child so it would fall on my shoulders, wouldn't it?"

"Fair point."

"You're going to become my new R&D Director, right?" Layla asked him.

"Duh. The Digimon were my idea."

"Our ideas too." Layla clarified.

"You? Yeah, maybe for like one or two of them."

"Emily was the one who helped you with the lore of them, right? It would be cool if she could lead a team of writers, maybe we can turn it into a TV Show or something. Maybe a novel series penned by her?"

"You have more ideas for this than I would've ever dreamed of…" Ivan said, a bit taken aback by her enthusiasm.

Layla giggled. "It's all thanks to you. You deserve as much credit as my father does for turning it into what it is. Plus, you helped us with the Beta Testing."

"Because you and Emily dragged me. I would've been just as helpful sketching them to life."

"Do you regret testing the game then?"

"Are you kidding? Seeing my drawings come to life feels like a dream each time I watch a match. Not a lot of kids are as lucky as I am."

"True." Layla nodded.

"So hot…!" Megan could be heard groaning on the other side of the upper deck. She laid sprawled on the chair as she melted.

"Was it going to rain tonight?" Emily said, noticeably fanning herself as well.

"Hope it does," Tyrone said, tugging his collar. "Way too hot to do anything."

Ivan looked around, "now that you mention it…there's like no shade up here. Why are we sitting up here again?"

Layla looked around and noticed that herself. An odd detail to miss, and a valid question to go with it. "Let's move downstairs."

The response was unanimous as everyone proceeded to get up and move down to the lower deck. As they did so, the sun continued to beam on top of them, as if it was following them.

"Maybe it's not the heat as much as it is the sun itself," Emily noted, realizing it was incredibly bright for no particular reason.

"For real…" Tyrone noted, still sweltering. He turned towards the sky, pausing as he noticed a black speck showered in the light of the sun. "You guys see that…?"

"Barely," Ivan replied. He looked up as well, pausing as he saw the black speck. "What is that…?"

The girls began to take note, as the speck grew larger by the second. At the same time, the ground began to shake, throwing them into a panic.

"An earthquake?!" Layla shrieked.

"What are the odds?!" Ivan said as the tremors grew rapidly. The ground between them ripped abruptly, throwing him on his back and separating them from the others. "Guys!"

Emily turned and her heart stopped as the fissure grew wider. "IVAN!"

Ivan, in a panic, tried to stand but the shaking made it difficult. More fissures grew around them as the ground under their feet continued to break apart, the boy and the others continuing to be separated.

"IVAN NO!" Emily desperately reached for him. Ivan as well tried to reach…

Only for the black speck to zoom past, grabbing everyone and taking off as fast as it came.

In a moment, Ivan found himself alone, devastated as the world around him collapsed in a blanket of white…

…dam…

…up…Adam…

Wake up…Adam!

"Adam! Adam!"

Adam's eyes popped open, and his lungs took a shot of air as he bounced up. Waking up from what felt like a nightmare, he looked around. He was surrounded by destroyed buildings and virtual fire.

"You're awake!" Megan jumped on his back, throwing him forward.

"Ow! Get off!" Adam exclaimed. He blinked and looked over his shoulder, seeing his friend smiling. "You guys are okay!"

Megan released him so the latter could give her a tight hug. Looking up, he noticed Trevor, Tyrone, and Morris standing there as well. Tyrone helped him onto his feet. Adam staggered, feeling his head spin a bit.

"What happened?" Adam asked.

"Before that," Trevor mentioned, following his words with a sucker punch. Adam collapsed on the floor again, making Tyrone have to fish him back up. "Got you back."

Adam began to remember now. "That's right…Millenniummon trapped us all in a dream world. Got it." he looked down, realizing that Millenniummon was nowhere in sight.

Did that mean…did ShineGreymon really…?

"Thanks to you, that punch of yours woke me up almost immediately, so I was able to watch everything that was happening." Trevor rolled his neck. When ShineGreymon deleted Millenniummon, I was able to use the few moments granted to grab everyone and escape.

"How did you manage to—" Adam paused, noticing the shadow that appeared behind him. He quickly turned and was taken aback at the sight of Omnimon floating before him.

"…Omnimon…you're back?"

"Hi Adam…" the familiar voice spoke from behind Omnimon.

Adam's heart stopped as both Agumon and Gabumon came around Omnimon's legs like small children. Tears had little resistance from Adam as they streamed down his face. Trevor as well as able to hold out better, kneeling while Adam dove forward towards his partner.

Agumon jumped into Adam's arms as the pair embraced one another, finally reunited. Gabumon meanwhile walked over to Trevor, with the latter petting the Digimon on the head, which to Gabumon was sufficient affection.

"I can't believe it…" Adam cried. "You're okay…"

"…Thanks to you," Agumon replied, also emotional.

Morris and Tyrone watched as the two boys lost themselves in the moment, the former looking behind him at the contrasting scene. Both Emily and Layla were emotional, but for an entirely different reason. He told himself that this would be a conversation he would need to have with them when all of this was over, as his feelings were not far off from theirs.

"Hope I'm not interrupting a moment." Ben's voice came through as the screens appeared once more.

"Did we, do it?!" Adam exclaimed. "Is Millenniummon gone?!"

"Looks that way. Whatever you guys did, worked. Everyone that was captured by Millenniummon was set free as a result. AEGIS is in the process of mass ejecting everyone as we speak."

A sense of relief filled Adam. "That's awe—"

"That's only the good news…"

Adam paused.

"Bad news is whatever you guys did also cracked the window even wider than before. Not to mention the servers are malfunctioning severely, so I can't shut them down from here."

"Well, they can just be repaired, and disaster averted," Trevor noted. "Millenniummon's no longer a threat so there's no need to—"

"I think he's trying to say the servers are shot beyond repair…" Morris came up to them. "He's just trying to lighten the weight of the statement."

Trevor grew quiet.

"I'm afraid he's right. I hate to say it, but if you guys plan on saying your goodbyes, best do it now before I pull you guys."

Adam was speechless, not able to form words in response. After everything, to think that he's being ripped away from Agumon the second they were reunited…

"I…"

Omnimon suddenly reacted, drawing its blade, and slicing through a wave of darkness that nearly collided with them. Omnimon got defensive as from the sky above, a purple crystal hovered, holding the shadow aura that once represented Millenniummon during the duel. The aura's red eyes looked bloodthirsty, desperate to tear through Adam and the other Beta Testers below it.

"…No way…" Adam said in disbelief.

"How is that thing still alive after all of that?!" Tyrone exclaimed, just as shocked.

"I am…destruction…I am…everlasting…" the otherworldly voice emanated from the crystal. One by one, Millenniummon's field began to materialize around him, with Arukenimon returning its side.

Adam swallowed his anxiety, refusing for it to overtake him once again. "You guys get to the other side…"

Trevor took a moment for that to click before reacting. "No. You're coming with us."

"Trevor's right. There's no way we can destroy Millenniummon. Best thing is to pull you all and—"

"We have Omnimon!" Adam defended.

"There's no guarantee that it'll work!"

Adam hesitated. "Okay, well if we run now, what's to say that Millenniummon won't chase after us?"

"Quincy's on standby to send Craniamon to put up a wall over the void using its shield."

Adam was losing reasons. "Well—"

"Just stop…!" Emily snapped suddenly. Still crying, she looked at him with a level of anger, matching that of the time she told him off.

Adam exhaled. "Please…I'm giving you an opportunity to—"

"Shut up!" Emily interjected again. "I'm…I'm not losing you too…!"

Adam froze at that statement. He didn't particularly know what she meant by that, but he accepted it, nonetheless. "Okay…how about I take the long way out? Omnimon can give me a ride, right?"

Ben sat on the idea. "That's still a risk."

"It may be one worth taking," Morris mentioned. "ShineGreymon did enough damage to destroy its physical body. Between it and Omnimon, Adam might be able to destroy its crystal form as well, if not hold it back long enough for all of us to escape and for the server to shut down."

Ben continued to sit on it. "Five minutes. That's the ETA my superior is giving me before we close the exit."

"Four more than needed," Adam said confidently.

"Don't screw this up," Ben said, typing away. "Alright, you guys ready?"

The teens looked at one another and back at Adam.

"I promise, I'll be right behind you guys." Adam nodded.

Morris approached Adam first. "I entrust the future of my son's legacy to you; no matter what becomes of it."

Adam nodded, watching as Morris faded away. One by one the group began lining up, feeling it necessary to give parting words…in case this fails in the end.

Tyrone was up first. "Sorry…for putting you guys through it in school."

"You were part of the reason I'm here. So, thanks for helping me find a way back to the game I love."

Tyrone nodded, holding his hand out, Adam giving him a handshake in response. Tyrone then was pulled, Layla coming forward next.

"Thanks to you, I was reunited with Emily and was able to help in avenging Ivan. Thanks for that opportunity."

"Trevor did most of the work, you know."

"But he needed you to keep steady while doing it." Layla insisted. "You're an amazing friend to him, Adam."

"I try my best." Adam smiled.

With that, Layla was pulled. Next up was Megan.

"You better come back alive. It's hard keeping Trevor out of trouble you know."

"I know. I'll be sure to let him know that you're not gonna put up with it when you two are married."

Megan laughed, "See you at the wedding then?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Adam continued the joke.

The pair ended with a hug before Megan faded off. To Adam's surprise, Trevor was up next.

"You're a doofus for this," Trevor told him.

Adam scoffed. "Don't even, you know you want to do this more than me."

Trevor tried to argue that, but he sighed, knowing that Adam could see right through it. "Don't screw up, man."

"I promise dude. Already promised to be at the wedding between you and Megan."

Trevor scoffed. "One hurdle at a time."

"I know…" Adam took a moment. "Thanks, for everything Trevor. As big of a nerd you are, you're an even bigger brother."

Trevor felt the tinge of emotion strike his chest, hearing that. "Bros for life. Now and forever." He held his fist out to which Adam bumped it. Then the two boys hugged for a moment. "Win this. Save the world."

"Gotcha." Adam broke from Trevor as he finally disappeared.

Finally, Emily remained. She approached him, silent, still overcome with emotion.

"Emily, I…"

"You're an idiot…" She muttered. "But so am I…"

Adam choked. "Look, I just wanted to say…that if—"

"You will make it back." She interjected. "Even…even if I have to come back and drag your butt from here. I'm not losing you too…" She said with confidence between her tears.

Adam didn't have words to respond to her, not seeing her so vulnerable and…honest before. It was almost endearing in a sense.

"Yeah…you helped me build this deck after all…" Adam nodded.

Emily swallowed, nodding. Without thinking she hugged Adam, nearly throwing him off his feet, as her emotions came out entirely. Adam was taken aback by the gesture, it being out of character for her. He took a deep breath, and began to reach around her…

Only for her to vanish from his arms.

"…four minutes until shut down," Ben mentioned.

Adam acknowledged that. "…right." He turned to Agumon and Gabumon who then became balls of light in their respective colors, fusing themselves into Omnimon, whose emerald eyes came to life.

"One last fight?" Adam asked them.

Omnimon nodded, transferring itself back into Adam's D-Case. In return, ShineGreymon and Aquilamon both returned by his side, the former giving Adam a ride skyward to meet with the crystal.

Still being his turn, Adam's virtual hand generated in his hand, and he took a card from it. "I digivolve Aquilamon into Silphymon and end my turn."

The Avian Digimon underwent its digivolution, turning into the humanoid Digimon Silphymon.

Silphymon (BT3-014)

Color: Red

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

0-3 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)

The Crystal drew its card and didn't hesitate to lash out, the shadow aura emerging from the crystal and diving forward towards ShineGreymon. Realizing this, ShineGreymon reactively threw Adam into the air to save him as the Aura pounced onto it.

Millenniummon: 13,000 DP

ShineGreymon: 12,000 DP

"Shine!" Adam screamed as ShineGreymon was swallowed by the darkness. The aura returned to the crystal while Arukenimon followed up. The spider Digimon hissed and went to swat Adam out of the air, but the aid of a Security Card saved him, allowing Silphymon to catch him. Meanwhile, Aquilamon emerged driving Arukenimon back with its horns, the pair of two-cost TKs boosting its DP by 4000, enough to topple the spider.

Arukenimon: 6000 DP

Aquilamon: 5000-9000 DP

Adam

Security: 3-2

"That was close…" Adam sighed. Silphymon nodded, agreeing with him.

Millenniummon roared, summoning a mummy Digimon wearing a purple bandana with a gun strapped to its person.

Mummymon (BT3-087)

Color: Purple

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

3-4 (Turn Change: Adam)

"Why must you resist me…?" Millenniummon hissed. "What gives you such strength to defy me…?"

"It's called courage," Adam stated. "The courage to face my past, and the future all the same. Whatever the future brings, be it SAIBA's predictions or otherwise, I have the courage to step forward and embrace whatever it throws at me."

"So then why defy me…?!" Millenniummon's hiss turned into a snarl. "The future is destruction! I am your future…!"

"Because, I have the free will to decide my future, unlike you."

Millenniummon grew quiet. "Free will…is what birthed me…"

"And it's free will that's going to end you all the same…" Adam drew. "Silphymon moves to the Battle Area!"

Silphymon, still holding onto Adam stepped forward as Adam readied his card.

"Once more, harness the power of the sun as you are born anew!" Adam exclaimed to the surprise of Millenniummon. The latter howled in anger as Silphymon was surrounded by the white flames.

"Silphymon digivolve into ShineGreymon!"

Silphymon was then surrounded by a whole pillar of white flames as it exploded like the mouth of a volcano. ShineGreymon shot out from the mouth of the pillar, shining radiantly in the sky above with Adam standing on his shoulder all the same.

"ShineGreymon's Effect! All my tamers suspend! I inflict two counts of -4000 DP on Mummymon and the last on Millenniummon!"

The Three TKs once more gave their strength to ShineGreymon. Once again summoning the sun-like ball of energy, ShineGreymon threw it down where it clashed with the Crystal and spread across Millenniummon's entire area.

Mummymon: 7000-0 DP

Millenniummon: 13,000-9000 DP

While Mummymon melted into binary, Millenniummon's crystal fractured.

"ShineGreymon gains +1000 DP for each tamer I have currently, boosting his power up by 3000 DP! With it, it attacks Millenniummon! Do it!"

ShineGreymon: 11,000-14,000 DP

Millenniummon: 9000 DP

ShineGreymon pulled its fist back and dove down towards the Crystal, all the while Millenniummon howled in fury and rage. Once in striking distance, ShineGreymon pulled his fist back and punched the ball of energy as hard as it could, driving the energy into the fracture made and forcing the energy within the crystal.

In a moment, the energy exploded sending yet another blast of combustion everywhere.


The others, making their way back on earth, ran outside the building to join the other spectators, just barely catching the moment where Shine collided with the crystal. From their perspective, the explosion crossed the rift, the darkened sky belching fire and illuminating everything for a brief moment. The intensity of the strike was enough to even make the invading Digimon stop what they were doing and join the humans in watching what was happening.

"Think that did it?" Megan asked.

"Hard to tell…" Trevor snickered. "Wish I was up there with him…"

"We all do," Emily said, finally over her recent emotional outbreak. "We just need to have faith that he'll come back to us."

"EVERYONE CLEAR OUT NOW!" A voice boomed over a loudspeaker, startling those nearby. AEGIS Agents marched forward forcing people, including the teens away from the SAIBA Enterprise building as those remaining inside were rushed out.

"Guys!" Ben ran up to them, breaking from some of the agents. "Major problem!"

"Are you serious?" Trevor answered as they acknowledged the winded individual.

Ben took a second to catch his breath. "It's the servers…"

"You said they were beyond repair before," Layla noted.

"Yeah, and now, they're on fire."

There was a moment of silence.

"The building's been evacuated, but that aside, if Adam doesn't escape now, then the servers are going to blow along with him!"

The weight of the words finally settled.

"You made us leave him there…?" Trevor uttered. "…to die…?"

"Of course not!" Ben retorted, at this point fed up with being accused over every turn of events. "But each attempt to take down stop Millenniummon is making things worse! Why do you think I told you all to get out when I did?!"

Trevor couldn't argue. "We have to—"

"Don't you even think about it!" Ben snapped again. "If Millenniummon catches wind of what's happening then it'll attempt to escape through the rift, we can't let that happen! I need you all to defend the city in that event!"

"But Ad—"

"NO BUTS!" Ben was losing his voice at this point.

The teens hated every moment of this. Megan turned back to get Morris' opinion…only for him to not be with them.

"Guys…" Megan uttered. "Where's Mr. Morris?"


At this point Adam held on to his consciousness, refusing to be knocked out a 4th time. In turn, his head was spinning so hard that he wanted to vomit. ShineGreymon kept him steady, and due to anxiety, he played Agumon for added assurance.

Agumon (BT2-033)

Color: Yellow

Level: 3

DP: 3000

As he figured, the low snarl of Millenniummon continued to float about in the air, as the shadow monster now was without the crystal. The last attack did noticeable damage, with the aura-like being glitching in various spots on its body. Binary was leaking from its wounds, and it was clear that it was nearing its end, despite it claiming to be invincible.

"…ahhhh…" it uttered in a rageful tone.

MEMORY

0-3 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)

"Adam run for it! Babylon is set to blow!"

That was Trevor's voice just then, he realized.

"But Mill—"

"JUST SHUT UP AND RUN!" everyone's voices came through that time, the desperation in their voices enough for ShineGreymon to make a break for the opening.

Millenniummon's head turned slightly and immediately gave chase. Roaring, Millenniummon summoned a DemiMeramon, who then digivolved into Candlemon. Tsukaimon reappeared due to the effects of a played Night Raid, followed by Gazimon.

Candlemon (BT3-076)

Color: Purple

Level: 3

DP: 3000

Gazimon (BT3-077)

Color: Purple

Level: 3

DP: 2000

MEMORY

3-0

0-3 (Turn Change: Adam)

Adam and ShineGreymon turned back, realizing the army that Millenniummon raised to stop them. "ShineGreymon, Security Attack! Use Aquilamon's IE effect to delete Tsukaimon!"

ShineGreymon flexed its wings, shooting streams of light energy that cut through the Digimon and tackled the Security that defended Millenniummon. SkullMeramon emerged but was overtaken by the attack as well.

Millenniummon

Security: 3-2

"Agumon digivolve into Turuiemon, and you as well Security Attack!"

Agumon nodded, turning into the bunny Digimon and diving in for a punch attack as well. Adam meanwhile drew due to Agumon's IE effect.

MEMORY

3-2

Turuiemon shattered the Security Card, Devidramon appearing from it. It hissed at Turuiemon, but after a brief scuffle, Turuiemon beat it back, flying back upward to rejoin Adam

Millenniummon

Security: 2-1

"Turuiemon, digivolve into Silphymon!"

Turuiemon upheld the command, re-emerging as the familiar hybrid Digimon.

MEMORY

2-1 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)

Millenniummon roared and picked up speed, sending Candlemon forward and allowing Gazimon to dive forward in a desperate attempt to stop them. Gazimon barely clipped Shine's foot as the Security blocked its attempt and revealed itself.

Adam

Security: 2-1

"Security Trigger!" Adam countered. "Lightning Paw!"

Silphymon took point and unleashed a fury of punches on both Level 3 Digimon, deleting them with its -4000 DP effect. In desperation, Millenniummon's roar intensified, summoning a massive Frankenstein-like Digimon armed with a massive ax.

Boltmon (BT3-089)

Color: Purple

Level: 6

DP: 12,000

MEMORY

1-9 (Turn Change: Adam)

"Almost there…!" Adam said. He felt his footing loosen as ShineGreymon was grabbed by Boltmon. Separated, Adam began to fall back to the earth below "No…!"

Quickly thinking, Silphymon swooped in reactively. Adam took note and played the card in his hand. "Soar through the skies, Heroic Guardian: Silphymon digivolves into Valkyrimon!"

Silphymon picked up speed as red binary encased it, driving its speed up to it becoming a blur. It swooped Adam and re-emerged as an all-white, armored-humanoid avian Digimon.

Valkyrimon (BT3-017)

Color: Red

Level: 6

DP: 9000

MEMORY

9-6

"And now, with Passionate Flames and Calculated Ice, merge to become the being of Supreme Transcendence!

The familiar rush of orange and blue binary swirled around Valkyrimon as it set its sights upon Boltmon. With its speed, it rushed forward as the binary formed the silhouette of the Digimon to proceed with it.

"Valkyrimon digivolve into Omnimon!" Adam set the card just as Valkyrimon tackled Boltmon away from ShineGreymon. Boltmon retaliated by swinging its ax, only for the transcended sword to unsheathe and knock it aside, while the supreme cannon proceeded to blow Boltmon out of existence. The silhouette broke, revealing the titanic Digimon, much to the rage of Millenniummon.

Omnimon (BT1-084)

Color: White

Level: 7

DP: 15000

"ShineGreymon, Final Security Attack!" Adam declared.

ShineGreymon summoned its blade and dove towards the defenseless Shadow Aura as it hissed. The final Security Card didn't wait to be broken, as VenomMyotismon lashed out, embodying the rage that Millenniummon felt. However, thanks to Shine's power boost, it was able to cut right through the monster, exploding in a shower of binary, leaving Omnimon with a clean shot to take.

"…how…could I be defeated…?!" Millenniummon cursed.

Adam ignored Millenniummon's cries as it directed aim. "Omnimon, direct attack!"

Omnimon nodded charging its cannon one final time. "Supreme…Cannon!"

The bright blue blast exploded from the barrel of the gun engulfing Millenniummon and ripping the screams from its being as it burned. Adam took advantage of this and hopped on Shine as they made one final break for the rift.

"Damn… damn you humans…!" Millenniummon, in one last desperate attempt unleashed its tendrils out, making a break for Adam and ShineGreymon.

As the remnants of Babylon began to explode one after the other, and the tendrils grew closer, Adam kept his eyes focused on the exit.

"Almost…" he said, being within distance to jump.

Once again, his footing disappeared. His heart stopped as he felt himself descend once more.

The tendrils caught ShineGreymon…

"I told you before Mr. Russo, I'm entrusting my son's legacy… to you."

Adam felt the boost beneath his feet launch him up and through the rift, feeling the cold air clasp onto his skin as the world spun. In the glance, he saw Argomon wrangle the tendrils on Babylon's side, with Morris accompanying him.

"…no…" Adam's voice grew to a whisper as he realized what just happened.

"Craniamon, do it!" Quincy's voice now came through.

"BREATH OF THE GODS!" The titanic voice of the Black Royal Knight boomed in the air as the rift was bandaged by the blue barrier that rushed to cover the rift.

Adam's eyes widened as one final flash of light came through, and the ground surrounding the SAIBA Enterprise building shook with a massive tremor.

"NO!" Adam cried, as gravity pulled him further away.

Just as Craniamon's barrier finished up, the familiar black speck bolted through the small incision and snatched Adam out of the sky. Looking up and realizing it was Omnimon, Adam felt the weight in his chest drop when it shook its head.

Descending like the majestic being that it was, Omnimon touched the concrete, much to the amazement of the viewers surrounding. The group of teens rushed the Digimon as he set Adam on the ground, the group nearly dogpiling on top of him in relief.

"We did it this time, right?! Millenniummon's gone for good?!" Trevor spoke for all of them, arguably the most frantic.

Adam's voice caught in his throat, and instead of replying, tears grew. "…Morris…!"

Megan took that the hardest, falling into Tyrone's arms as she broke, much to his surprise. Trevor looked over to him and nodded, essentially giving him the okay to comfort her while he aided Adam.

"Until the end…he fought to right his wrongs…" Omnimon stated. "His memory…will live on within all of you."

Adam looked up at Omnimon. "What about you guys…?"

Omnimon took a moment and looked around, seeing the awe-inspired crowd staring blankly at the Digimon.

"We…do not exist in this world naturally…" Omnimon said with his tone laced with regret. "Without the aid of Babylon, our existence likewise…" it raised its gauntlet, noticing the binary starting to chip away slowly.

"…thought so…" Adam bit his lip.

"There's no way to reverse it, right?" Trevor asked. "Not even if we store them in our D-Cases?"

Ben shook his head regretfully. "Babylon's servers are destroyed, along with everything about the Digimon. I'm sorry…"

The others didn't respond to that, trying to hold back their emotions all the same.

"Maybe…this is for the best," Emily spoke up. "Morris and Ivan can now rest, knowing that their creations aren't used for the wrong reasons…"

Layla ignored the sense of guilt she received, being part of said misuse in more ways than one. "With my father gone, as well as the Digimon…SAIBA Enterprise has no reasons to exist anymore…"

"AEGIS will be contacting you regarding that," Ben noted. "All of you, actually. Being the victims of the events from five years ago, you all will be essential in a long-awaited investigation of SAIBA Enterprise's practices…when you all are ready, of course."

"Whenever you are," Trevor stated. "I'm not trying to speak for everyone but…I think it's time we put the last five years behind us for good this time."

Adam turned back to Omnimon. "So…this is goodbye then…?"

Omnimon de-digivolved back down to Agumon and Gabumon respectively, leaving OMNI's core floating in between them. The core proceeded to then fly around everyone, drawing from them the AI in their respected cases, as they all appeared one by one, including Tinkermon, Tapirmon, Aruraumon, Tyrannomon, as well as the groups' iconic Level 6s to join them. All of whom gave expressions that showed how thankful they were to the group and what they've been through. Unfortunately, just as Omnimon, they each began to dissipate with the binary floating from their respected bodies.

"I am proud of you both," OMNI said as he floated between Adam and Trevor. "For despite all of the challenges you have faced, every time you have shown just how powerful humans can be. Your courage, self-sacrifice, honesty, and willingness to stand up for what was right and to bring those necessary to justice…you have taught us AI quite a bit. And we, are grateful for the lessons…"

The Digimon surrounding the outer perimeter began to disappear one by one, as the waves of disappearances slowly made its way to the group. The Digimon split and joined their respective partners.

Tyrone approached Tyrannomon and Stingmon, the former of whom nuzzled against Tyrone similar to a pet. Tyrone was reminded of the day in detention when he overheard the conversation between Adam and Trevor; it was that conversation that sparked his curiosity and set him on this path.

Tapirmon slowly approached Layla, shyly enough. Layla, finding it endearing knelt and reached out to it. Ever so silent of a partner, Tapirmon came up to Layla and nervously gripped her, while the girl fully embraced the Digimon.

"Our time was short, but I enjoyed every minute of it," Layla said.

Tapirmon sat quietly for a moment. "…Thank you…"

Layla, caught by surprise by Tapirmon's first words, felt her heart melt as she hugged it tighter. A literal mirror of herself, Layla chose Tapirmon's shy persona as she felt it was the most relatable given her new circumstances shortly after Diaboromon's rampage. Now that she's found herself interwoven in the group enough, she feels confident to take a step forward regarding that.

Megan knelt to Aruraumon who approached her. "Pal—I mean…Aruraumon. Sorry…for…"

Aruraumon shook its head, then proceeded to hug Megan. When preparing for the fight with SAIBA, Palmon, for Megan to bring out the full power of her new ace in Ceresmon, underwent modifications, resulting in the altered appearance. She didn't bring it up, before to anyone as this would've exposed both Morris' and AEGIS' plans to take down SAIBA. Fortunately for her, Palmon understood the risks and did it willingly for Megan's sake.

Tinkermon approached Emily, with a solemn expression to the latter's surprise. "I get it…"

"Get what?" Emily asked her.

"Why you don't have a Petermon in your life."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Why are you—"

"It was Ivan, wasn't it…?"

Emily's voice caught in her throat. "Whatever Millenniummon did to me, wasn't real…"

"But you wish it was…right?"

"I—" Emily retracted herself.

"I'm sorry for bugging you before…"

"It's…I'm sorry for not being honest."

Tinkermon stifled herself.

"What's so funny?"

"Honesty…you can learn that from a certain someone, y'know?"

Emily's eyes shifted over to Adam off several feet and back at Tinkermon. "Please don't ruin the moment."

Tinkermon giggled, proceeding to hug Emily afterward. "I hope you find happiness one way or another…"

Emily took a moment to find words of response, hugging Tinkermon back. "Yeah…I hope so too."

Gabumon looked up at Trevor, "At the very least you don't have to worry about me nagging you any longer."

Trevor scoffed as he knelt. "Did I really complain that much?"

"As much as a teenager would I suppose," Gabumon replied.

Trevor smiled and hugged his partner. "I'd let you nag me until I'm old if that means you get to stay…"

Gabumon didn't want to respond to that, knowing the reply would be painful either way it was said.

"Thanks for putting up with me all these years Gabumon…"

"Wouldn't trade it for anything, my friend…" Gabumon replied, taking a deep, shrill breath.

"Thanks for being our partners!" Adam exclaimed to all of them. "For being with us, for helping us when we were stuck…thank you for being important pieces in our lives…" Adam wanted to cry the longer this dragged, the situation not getting any better as Agumon approached him. Adam couldn't help but kneel and hug his beloved friend.

"Stay courageous, Adam. Like you've always been…" Agumon said, patting him on the back.

Adam sniffled. "I will…"

"And thanks…for giving me a second chance to see you again…" Agumon allowed a tear to seep from its eyes, catching Ben's attention.

Adam had to grit his teeth for that one, as it stung harder than anything he had to deal with thus far. For all of this, came from a second chance at the game. A second chance reunited him with his childhood idol and set him on a path, from discovering the source of recurring nightmares to unveiling the dark side of a major gaming company and bringing it down in the process.

"…Goodbye my friend…" Adam forced the words out, feeling the grip loosen from him.

"…Goodbye, Adam…" Agumon uttered, finally vanishing from his arms, as did the other Digimon partners.

After a few minutes of letting the events settle, the group looked upward, seeing Craniamon's bandage slowly seal the rift up until all that remained was the obsidian sky above.

And just like that, it was gone…along with the last five years of their lives…


Chapter 25: The Beta Testers Part 2


[Norbert High Graduation Ceremony

Three Months Later…]


"Huh, would've thought Tyrone had it in him to make it to this point." Adam couldn't help but cross his arms as the students began to accept their diplomas.

"Based on this last marking period, I would be focused on you making it to this point in two years," Megan replied.

"Yeah well, it's not like have special AEGIS tutors that could just homeschool us or anything."

"For the record that was a special case, and secondly, Mr. Morris was the one doing the homeschooling, thanks," Megan replied sharply.

Adam retreated, remembering that was a sensitive topic in hindsight. "…my bad…"

"Speaking of which," Emily leaned forward, noticeably wearing her contacts, what are your plans for the summer?"

"I don't know to be honest," Megan replied. "Siblings wanna go to Disney world, but of course, that'll depend on whether AEGIS will let us skip town or not."

"I thought they gave you some level of leniency given you helped save the world from Cyber Armageddon."

"Yeah, you'd think that. Turns out, that since the investigation in SAIBA is still ongoing, the best-case scenario is if we have a bodyguard to tag along for safety's sake. No telling what nutjob's gonna spring upon us because of what we did."

Adam understood that. As far as internet culture goes, video footage of the sky ripping open and the Digimon appearing all over the city ran rampant on social media, to the point that AEGIS couldn't cover it up even if they tried. Granted, not that they were given the fact they made their investigation into SAIBA Enterprise public, putting Layla herself in the WPP to protect her safety as well.

"Gotta love the fact that even though we're technically not Beta Testers anymore, we still gotta deal with the stress that came with it," Emily mentioned.

"Well as long as there won't be any apocalypses tied with it, I can bear it," Adam admitted. He looked at his phone, "Trevor's late."

"He told me that he and Layla are going to visit his Dad today…" Megan replied.

"Really?" Adam repeated. "Wonder why he didn't say anything…"

"It was a last-minute thing," Emily added. "Layla managed to convince him when we were online last night.

"Really? What for?"

Emily took a moment to try and remember how Layla phrased it. "To get closure…I guess…"


[AEGIS HQ, Riverbed…]

From the outset, AEGIS HQ looked like a standard Government building located in the heart of Riverbed. As it was explained earlier, AEGIS was an organization that specialized in cyber-terrorism among other things to ease the stress on the federal side of law enforcement. All of the workers, from agents, undercover cops, and even medical teams, all specialize in cybernetics to various degrees about their respective fields.

Ben met up with both Trevor and Layla and lead them to the basement floors where they held criminals who violated laws about the Net Space and other crimes related. This was where Michael was held, who was appropriately arrested for his crimes and as such brought to this facility as he awaited trial for his actions.

As the elevator door opened for them, Ben took point and Layla began to follow, only to notice that Trevor hesitated. Taking a moment, Layla took Trevor's hand and tugged him along, as the pair began to follow Ben to the visiting area.

Michael sat on the other side of the glass his facial hair grown out, but surprisingly neat for a prisoner, happy to see Trevor, and equally surprised to see Layla accompany him. By this point, Trevor released Layla's hand, intending to keep things formal.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to see either of you so soon…" Michael said, his tone low, but positive.

"Trust me, it took a lot to get me here." Trevor retorted.

Michael smirked, turning to Layla. "I trust you had something to do with it?"

Layla took a deep breath and brushed her hair aside. "You were a victim to my father's ambitions as were the rest of us. You need this as much as we do."

Michael took that to heart, chuckling in retrospect. "To think such a vile creature could produce such a beautiful soul…"

"Were you trapped in Millenniummon's pocket dimension too?" Trevor interjected, jumping straight to the point.

"I was."

"What was it like for you?"

Michael paused as he tried to collect the memories. "I…or rather, your mother and I…and you. We were a family again. I never applied to SAIBA Enterprise, therefore there weren't any factors to break us up…"

"So, then Adam was right…" Trevor said. "We all shared the same dream."

"A world without the accident from five years ago," Michael confirmed. "Our collective, idealistic futures…"

Layla grew quiet, thinking it over. "I can't help but wonder then…if my father was alive if he would've dreamt the same way."

"Living with the fact I've worked with a man only pretending to be him…I've wondered the same. For five years I've worked towards a future that I thought I wanted…ignoring the future I was desperate for…" he looked in Trevor's direction. "I'm truly sorry, to the both of you, and the rest of you kids, for everything that's happened. I deserve to be here, and even then, it won't atone for what I've aided…"

"It's fine…" Layla replied before Trevor could speak. "In a way…it wasn't all bad."

Trevor sat, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

Layla leaned back in the chair. "For years…I wondered what would life be like if the accident never happened; if Ivan, was still alive…even if it was just my imagination, seeing him alive, along with us…it was nice while it lasted. Of course, that said, I wouldn't want to forget about the bonds I've grown these last several months either."

"How are the Knights…?" Michael asked, getting off-topic.

"They're fine. They're readjusting to normal life the best way they can. Especially Melissa, who nearly died because of you…" Trevor's voice deepened as malice laced the last few words.

The guilt on Michael wasn't missed, as he naturally retreated. He licked his lips and tried his best to hold back the tears of guilt that were building. "I'm…sorry…"

"She had a heart attack because of what you put her through. Had it have not been for AEGIS pulling her from the brink she would be dead! AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS 'SORRY?!'"

"Trevor that's enough!" Ben snapped finally speaking up to calm the boy.

"This was a mistake…" Trevor turned and began to walk out of the room, forcing Layla to react and try and follow him.

"I believe in you…!" Michael cried out. "…in all of you!"

Trevor stopped short, catching Michael's cries.

Michael continued, "SAIBA…may have not achieved their ideal future…but you kids have the potential to do so…create your own futures…achieve what we couldn't…

Trevor allowed him to finish, before breaking off and continuing to walk forward. Layla continued to follow him, as Ben escorted them back to the lobby upstairs…


"Is it really okay for us to be here…?" Sydney said hesitantly as Quincy drove up to Saiba Manor.

"Nuh-uh, I may not get another opportunity like this don't blow it for me." Carlos nudged her.

"Shut up, you weren't here the last time, so you don't know what happened?"

"Gee, I wonder why…? Quincy, mind filling us in?"

"I'd rather not," Quincy replied, keeping the wheel steady as he traversed the windy road up to the mansion itself. Once he made it to the spacious area leading up to the stairs, he set the car in park.

Sydney and Carlos jumped from the backseat, with Sydney immediately going to the front and pulling open the passenger seat.

"Syd, honestly I'm fine," Melissa said as the door revealed herself from the other side. Melissa proceeded to get out of the car, but Sydney continued to insist on helping her out.

"Come on, Syd she's 25, not 75." Carlos crossed his arms.

"Look, after the crap I put her through the least I can do is be helpful here and there."

"This is why you're my favorite." Melissa joked, giving Sydney rosy cheeks and a wide smile.

Carlos rolled his eyes and proceeded to join in helping her out of the car, going as far as closing the door behind her.

"But seriously you two, the doctors said that aside from taking it easy for a while, the medication they prescribed should keep me good for years to come. Best case scenario, what happened will be a one-time thing."

"The doctor did realize that aside from the heart attack you also suffered PTSD and other mental issues being thrown back and forth through Babylon…right?" Sydney asked.

"She got the same treatment that we and the rest of AEGIS get when it comes to those things. Ben assured me that she's going to live for years to come." Quincy stated.

"In that case, that makes me feel a bit better."

"Cool, so now you can lay off all the attention-seeking. Bad enough you talked her into becoming roommates, now it's just getting creepy at this point."

"Ooh, someone's jealous, are they?" Melissa covered her mouth to hide her smile.

"Jealous? Get real!" Carlos blushed, causing both the girls to snicker.

Quincy paid them no mind as he approached the door. After ringing it, one of the housekeepers answered it, allowing the quartet inside and directing them out the back. It was here that everyone was present, already getting the celebrations underway. Tyrone explained to them prior that he and Quincy had planned to have dinner with their mother, but Layla and the others insisted to throw him a party at her manor anyway, being that it was an opportunity to have her friends formally at her home.

On top of which, what better way to celebrate one step forward towards the future and all as well?

And so that's what they did. Enjoying one another's company, the interchange between the Beta Testers and Royal Knight ultimately became an enlightening experience in some ways. Between Sydney and Emily's love for writing, a hobby which Layla also began to dabble in as a way of escapism, Megan and Carlos' friendly rivalry, Quincy and Tyrone rekindling their brotherhood, and Melissa rebuilding her relationship with Adam and Trevor, this proved to be a successful way to start the long-awaited summer vacation, as well as a new beginning for all of them…


"Embracing the powers of Light and Dark, the Agent of Twilight makes her descent," Layla pulled the card from her hand. "Angewomon Digivolves into Mastemon! Now, when Mastemon is played, we both discard the top card of our Security."

Sydney didn't like the sound of that, due to her being down to one left and Mastemon leaving Layla at zero Memory. The card flipped, turned out to be Airdramon, something that would've sealed the game for her.

"Then with Mastemon's effect, I can play one Level 4 purple or yellow Digimon for free from my Trash. And I choose Gatomon." Layla continued. "Gatomon's effect -4000 DP from one of your Digimon if I have a purple Digimon out on the field. Which means…"

"That you're still mean." Sydney pouted as she was forced to move Garurumon into her trash.

Layla laughed. "Mastemon Direct Attacks for game."

Sydney leaned back. "Carlos…" she whined. "Avenge me…"

"Nope." He said popping a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

"You're mean too…"

Layla, humored by them looked over to Emily who sat quietly on the couch, lost in thought. She went to go see what was going on, only to notice Megan approach her. Knowing she was in good hands, Layla left her in her care.

"Was wondering where you were," Megan said as she plopped onto the couch next to Emily.

"Oh, hey…" She replied, rather absentminded.

"Is…something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, just…" her cheeks began to warm up in color. "I…"

"Need some advice?" Megan's lips curled devilishly.

"That's—I mean…no, but…"

Megan giggled, enjoying the flustered Emily. "I'm just messing with you. But seriously, tell me what's on your mind."

Emily managed to calm herself down, contemplating her words. "It's…I'm…"

"Is it…about…Adam…?"

"No!" She snapped.

"Yikes, okay sorry…!" Megan couldn't help but notice Emily's cheeks grew redder, but she had to remind herself to be serious.

"It's…back in Millenniummon's pocket dimension…do you remember…?"

Megan thought back to it and the events slowly came back to her. "…right. I remember being with my Dad…"

"And I was with Ivan, Morris' son…" Emily explained. "Or at least…what I imagined him to be if he were still alive…"

"Listen I'm so sorry if what I said before made you—"

"It wasn't your fault," Emily reassured. "…but I'd be lying if I said that I was hoping you were right. Now that SAIBA's gone…I don't know if he really was alive or not…"

Megan was quiet as she listened to Emily vent.

"And…before I think of anyone else in…that way, I want to first accept the fact that he's not coming back…"

"Again, I'm really sorry…" Megan apologized. "Especially for the teasing about you and Adam. Had I known all of this…"

"No, it's my fault for not being honest about it. Even now it's hard for me to be open with people. Even this took months to get off my chest."

"But I'm glad you did," Megan replied. "And I'm honored that you told me. Makes me feel like an actual friend."

Emily scoffed. "You've always have been."

"I know," Megan smiled. "Just wanted to hear you say it."

Both girls hugged one another afterward for a brief moment and sat contemplating the evolution in their friendship.

"Adam's an amazing guy and is admirable, outside of what he did regarding the SAIBA stuff. And if things go in that direction… I don't want to use him as a replacement to fill the hole Ivan left…"

"No one said you had to rush things," Megan assured her. "Same goes for me and Trevor. I love him, and it's because of that, I'm giving myself time to build myself up to be worthy of him. God knows he has some things I would like for him to work on, but I digress; at the end of the day, it's no secret that Adam has a thing for you. Even if he's oblivious like Trevor."

Emily laughed. "Guess we're all nonsensical when you think about it."

"It happens to the best of us."

"Hey, one of you wanna come to face me?" Layla asked the pair as Carlos cleaned up his deck in defeat.

"This should be interesting. Been waiting for a reason to battle Layla." Megan said, feeling eager.

"I'll join you guys in a sec," Emily replied, allowing Megan to head over to the table nearby. Emily looked towards the ceiling, Ivan's face flashing in her mind once more like the moment where Omnimon separated them resonated in her mind…

…as well as the fractures in her heart that remain unhealed.


"Any plans for the summer you two?" Melissa asked the two boys accompanying her as they watched the sunset from the balcony.

"Family's inviting my mom and me to come to New York for a few weeks. Give us a chance to get away for a little bit."

"Totally not jealous," Adam replied, sipping his soda.

"Sounds fun. Any particular plans?" Melissa continued.

"Besides roaming Manhattan? Probably stop by the TCG Towers there since it's basically a glorified Dave and Busters. Plus, with Digimon in a weird spot, I might dabble in Duel Masters since it's popular over there."

"As if you'd really jump ship like that." Adam continued.

"It's good to mix things up to keep from getting bored," Trevor noted.

"Nerd…" Adam muttered.

"And what about you?" Melissa turned to him. "Gonna waste your days here or what?"

"That's exactly what I'm gonna do." He didn't try to hide it. "I have ten weeks until junior year, I'm gonna take my time getting to it."

Melissa nodded, in full agreement. "Can't argue with that."

"Come to think of it, now that Babylon's gone and the Digimon, have you heard about SAIBA Enterprise and what they're going to do?"

"Unless Layla told you guys something I don't know, I'm just as much in the dark. Regarding our roles as Royal Knights, they ruled in our favor as we all fought under the pretense that we were serving the users of Babylon and ended up becoming victims of SAIBA ourselves. They did offer me a cushy desk job at AEGIS, but I told them I'd consider it another time."

"So, what do you plan on doing in the meantime?"

Melissa shrugged her shoulders in all honesty. "My life's been directed by SAIBA Enterprise since I was fresh out of high school essentially. To be honest, there's no telling what life would've been like for me if that accident never happened. So, for now, I'll just take things one step at a time."

Adam paused, having the sudden memory of their altercation. "Mel, I've been meaning to ask…"

"What's up?"

"Remember back when you were…you know, kinda sorta losing your mind?"

"…maybe…" she shuffled back, clearly embarrassed.

"Okay, well anyway, you mentioned something back then…about not being able to go back for me during the fire…"

"…right."

"Was that…"

"It was true…"

"Okay—"

"And also…not."

Adam blinked. "What?"

"It's complicated." She stated. "Everything was so fuzzy, and I did call out to you but…I can't help but feel like I had…help?"

Adam looked towards Trevor who could only shrug his shoulders.

"I'm sorry that I don't remember," Melissa ran her hand through her hair. "Honestly all I remember was being held back by the firefighters and then everything from that point is a blur. Maybe it was the adrenaline kicking in or something, I don't know."

"Okay well, I'll just assume it was you and call it a day."

"That works too."

"Yo, you guys, we're about to cut the cake!" Tyrone's head popped out of the sliding door.

"We're coming," Melissa replied.

"We'll meet you inside," Trevor told her.

Melissa acknowledged that and made her way inside, leaving the two boys alone.

"If it's all the same, I don't want to entertain any more conspiracy theories for a while." Adam began.

"No, no I'm with you on that," Trevor replied. "I just wanted to ask…"

"…ask what?"

"Morris asked us a viewpoint question about the Digimon when Millenniummon first appeared. None of us could answer it. Seeing that it's been a while since then I figured…"

"Thinking back on it, the last three months haven't been the same without them," Adam admitted. "Even though we still have our decks on hand… it's not the same without Babylon."

"So, I'm guessing that it wasn't a mistake that they were created at all?"

"I mean…" that was a loaded question. Adam really contemplated his choice of words. "Despite, everything that came out of it, I met you, because of Agumon. And you met Megan the same way. We met Emily and Layla through the Digimon as well. Heck, we made friends with Norbert High's resident bully, because of Digimon. Like yeah, because of them our lives were a five-year-long roller coaster but…imagine decades down the line we have stories to tell our kids…grandkids even. About how we saved the world twice…"

"So…bottom line…?"

"The Digimon, despite everything, was probably the greatest experience in my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything. That's my answer; happy?"

Trevor smirked. "Cool; just wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy in thinking the same thing."

Adam shoved him playfully and the two friends laughed. "Wonder what's stopping us from batting one another…"

Trevor looked over. "You really think you're gonna win?"

Adam walked into the doorway, continuing the banter, "Pfft, you're talking to the one who saved the world twice."

"I'm also talking to the doofus who nearly died how many times in the span of twenty minutes?"

"A-bup-bup! Saved the world. No contest."

"Yeah, okay, let's do this, you doofus." Trevor pulled out his deck and sat at the table.

"Bring it, nerd," Adam said likewise. "You ready?"

Trevor nodded.

"DIGI-GATE: OPEN!"


[AEGIS HQ, Riverbed…]


"Decryption complete, sir…" one of the scientists at the console announced to the lead in the room. He walked up to the big screen as data streamed all along with the console.

"Is he alive?"

"The Tamer Data was damaged during Millenniummon's destruction but all of it was recovered.

"Very well. Infuse the specimen to replace any corrupted data and await further instructions."

"Sir!"

The lead exhaled as he stared at the screen. A diagram of a human body appeared on the screen as a Tsumemon specimen was transferred into the body itself, infecting it as any virus would naturally. The lead scientist knew this procedure carried great risk, however when pressed for results, desperation can sometimes bring out the best outcomes.

If Akiyoshi Saiba's words held any merit, to preserve the future of humanity, AEGIS needed to become the ultimate weapon to see to it.

And any who sought to oppose them would be dealt with all the same…


A/N: And with that, ladies and gentlemen, Digimon TCG: Cyber Drive is complete! Well, outside of an epilogue/movie fanfic and a potential sequel in the works, the adventures of Adam and friends facing off again SAIBA Enterprise is officially done. As before I want to thank all of those who've supported me the last 7 ½ months since the story's inception as this was truly a blast to write and this really is an incredible game to play. I truly hope that writers in the Digimon community try their hand in writing a TCG-inspired fic as with the TCG community so large as it is, there's bound to be plenty of writers willing to flesh out their imaginations in this unique avenue. As a final note, stay tuned for what's in store as next up on my to-do list is the long-awaited (for me personally as I couldn't cram these ideas during this arc like I originally planned) fanfic titled: Digimon TCG: Alternate Savior and the Knight of Ragnarok, which, should be very obvious the two main Digimon this is going to revolve around. Unfortunately, I don't have a particular ETA because I want to release it in one shot, but knowing me it won't be too long until it makes its debut. Until then, be sure to check out my other works if you fancy that, as well as ShiningAzureEmperor's Digimon Chronicle CX: Digi-Duel as well as Zoicite23's Aeon: Digital Transcendence, two additional TCG fics that should help inspire new writers to joins us on that front.

Okay, that's enough rambling. Once again, thank you so much everyone for your support, and I'll catch you all next time.