Daichi: This one takes place right after Veemon Digivolves.

Verity: If we owned this, these two would have had a bonding moment long ago.

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It was a nice evening, certainly. A perfectly nice time to go for a walk.

At least, Minomon certainly seemed to think so, and Ken couldn't help but agree. A walk would be nice. And it would give him time to think.

The boy who had helped him before- T.K., he thought his name was- would occasionally come back to check up on him. It wasn't a bad thing, certainly, but Ken felt that the reason he was given wasn't the entire one.

He had asked that, just yesterday, actually, and the answer he got answered no questions.

"It's because you understand."

But what? What did he understand, that nobody the other boy was actually friends with did? And why had he looked so sad when saying it?

He felt he didn't really want to know the answer to that question.

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When T.K. came the next day, he brought news of the Digital World. Cleanup was going well with the help of everyone involved, and the leader of the younger group- Davis, that was it- had reached the Champion Level naturally. By somehow managing to force it... and not Dark Digivolve. None of the involved parties had any clue how that had happened.

This was the first time in weeks that he had heard anything about the Digital World, and he had to stop himself from asking anything more. He didn't need to know how things were going. It was highly unlikely he'd ever be welcomed back.

Patamon and Minomon had wandered off somewhere, which was vaguely concerning. Still, they couldn't really leave with all of the doors and windows shut.

It was amazing how easy it was to confine someone who didn't have hands. As long as nothing potentially dangerous was left out, there was no issue at all with letting them run around freely.

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He wanted to go back to the Digital World, but T.K. suggesting it was still a surprise.

"I'm... not sure if I'd be welcome there." As much as he wanted to return, he had several reasons not to.

"Don't worry. I'll be there to calm things down, and we've got Patamon and Minomon."

"A Rookie and In-Training."

"Well, Patamon can Digivolve."

He still didn't know why he eventually agreed.

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They arrived in a small part of the Digital World that was uninhabited. The transition between worlds had somehow allowed Minomon to Digivolve to Wormmon.

"How does that happen?"

"I gave up trying to figure that out a long time ago." Something sounded off in the distance. "Did anyone hear that?"

Patamon nodded. "It doesn't sound good. We should get moving."

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They didn't expect to see the woman there. They had never seen her before, and certainly they'd know if anyone else visited the Digital World with much frequency. She was walking up to one of the remaining Control Spires, saying something that none of them could catch. She reached out to touch it, and that was when it all went wrong.

The Flymon let out a screech, before instantly locking on to their hiding spot. Ken had expected Patamon to do something about the situation.

He certainly didn't expect Wormmon's Digivolution.

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"I'm... slightly concerned by how that Control Spire turned into a Digimon."

"I didn't even know they could do that. This is certainly not how I'd want to find out, either." He held Wormmon closer to himself, allowed himself to relax now that the danger was past. "But I'm wondering why Wormmon Digivolved now of all times."

"Well, in my experience, it's had to do with danger. But before, you weren't really in danger from anything. You were mainly a danger to yourself. This actually could have turned out a lot worse." T.K. gestured to the spot on his head where Patamon had dozed off, careful not to wake the little Digimon. "The threat is gone, and everyone we know survived. That doesn't always happen, even with first-time Digivolutions."

A question came to mind, that he wasn't certain if he should have, but allowed himself to ask, anyway. "What was it like, the first time that Patamon Digivolved?"

The look on T.K.'s face immediately afterwards made him instantly regret it. "I'll just say this. Reaching a new form is always amazing, and being able to attain that power regularly is incredible. But getting that power... using it... There can be a cost to battle. It should have been wonderful, to achieve our first victory. But what happened... wasn't anything like I had imagined." Ken wondered what had happened, but realized that he wouldn't get any answers.

"Maybe... maybe we should go back to our world for now." His voice was shaking. He hadn't expected his return to go perfectly, but right then, all he wanted to do was go home and collapse. Righting his wrongs could wait for another day, ideally one when he knew what he was doing. Wormmon was too tired to continue, and he didn't want to disturb Patamon.

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"Patamon?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you think the others would react if I suggested asking him to join us?"

"It would probably blow up in our faces. Why?"

"Well, I don't think he has any friends besides us. And I want to help him, but... I don't know how. Not without dredging up memories that I'd rather forget."

"Why are you asking me this? Why not Matt?"

"Because I trust you. Matt doesn't know much about this, he only knows I visit."

"Why are we hiding this, anyway?"

"If they ask, I'll tell them. Actually, maybe that's how I can deal with him. I can just confirm what he already knows."

"If you say so."

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Daichi: The biggest changes are yet to come. This is only the beginning.