Daichi: I don't own anything here.

Verity: It's surprising to hear that coming from you directly. Does that mean you don't need us anymore, or-

Daichi: It means the Digimon have locked themselves in the broom closet, and I don't have anything to bribe you with.

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Now that the immediate crisis had been averted, it was time to deal with the implications that the day's events had brought up. Specifically, the fact that the Ultimate Digimon weren't lost forever, could be reached again. And, of course, everyone reacting to that information in the one way they knew how.

"Biyomon's pretty close, so she'll be here soon," Tentomon stated. "Agumon and Gabumon are a bit farther away, but I'm sure they'll get here before it's dark out." Not that T.K. paid any attention to this. The other partner Digimon returning to the Real World was something of note, but it didn't concern him as much.

He was more concerned about his Crest, that he could feel it, but not activate it. Izzy and Joe couldn't even feel theirs, while Kari could, and had brought out Angewomon twice, now. But he could feel the Crest of Hope, despite its powers currently being beyond his reach.

He'd have thought it something to do with his bond with Patamon, but Ken hadn't realized he could use the Crest of Kindness, hadn't felt it, despite the mental exercises he had gone through. So it was something about him in particular, then.

But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was keeping Patamon from starting a flying competition with Biyomon, Tentomon, and Hawkmon, because they didn't have all day.

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This time, the walk home wasn't quite as bad as it had been the past week. T.K., Yolei, and Cody walked together, along with their Digimon, and made awkward conversation. They didn't talk about anything that had happened less than a week before, and it was an uneasy peace, but it was better.

Well, at least, that was how it had started. Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Over time, Cody withdrew himself from the conversation, or at least T.K.'s part in it, although Yolei didn't seem to notice. Maybe. Or she did and just didn't care. It could be either one, really.

At least they were talking to him again. That was a noticeable improvement over how things had been before. Not much of one, but it was there. Of course, the tension was still so thick you could cut it with a knife, but the three of them were more or less on speaking terms again.

But then Cody made the mistake of bringing up the fact that Yolei had had a crush on Ken earlier in year, and they fell into silence.

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T.K. didn't see why they had to have a big meeting to impress upon the new kids the importance of their Digimon's Ultimate forms, but he didn't have the Crest or DigiEgg of Courage, so executive decisions did not fall to him. Nor would he ever want them to. He didn't really trust himself with everyone's lives.

Which was why he was crammed into Izzy's room with nine other people and their Digimon. It was a rather tight fit, and he wondered why they couldn't just go somewhere else. Of course, he didn't know which of Izzy's setups were on which computers, so maybe there was a reason. Didn't mean he particularly liked the arrangement, though.

"Ultimate Level… Angewomon really is something," Yolei commented. Kari shrugged.

"I guess? JewelBeemon was a bit more impressive, if only because he's new." Which was true. New Digivolutions always seemed impressive. Especially Ultimate Level.

The fact that it meant the human member of the pair had likely resolved some personal issues helped with that, he supposed. Which probably explained why MagnaAngemon wasn't an option. He simply had too many personal problems getting in the way of his hope.

It was as good as any other explanation, anyway.

"Yeah, I guess he was pretty cool…" Yolei didn't seem to want to praise Ken's Digimon quite yet, not that anybody would expect her to. Mostly because none of them quite knew what to think about everything that was going on anymore. T.K. was at the middle of it, and he still wasn't entirely sure.

"Yes, that's part of the reason we're here. To try and get more of them, including the wonderful MegaKabuterimon!" Tentomon buzzed. Fortunately, this did not set off an argument over who had the best Ultimate form, or they'd be there the whole day.

He was still sure that MagnaAngemon would be acknowledged as such if it came down to it, though.

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Ken turned the Crest of Kindness over in his hand, still not entirely certain how the events of the day previous had happened. It hadn't started out well, but he had figured a few things out, and then… JewelBeemon had happened. There really wasn't anything he was sure of beyond that.

He knew he could repeat it, of course. Minomon had become Wormmon again after a good meal and some sleep, so energy cost wouldn't be an issue. But he still had problems believing that he deserved his Crest, let alone the ability to activate it.

T.K. hadn't contacted him since, but he counted that as a good thing. It meant he was getting along with his teammates again, after all. Even if it meant Ken got left behind.

"You know, I don't think he'd do that," Wormmon remarked, and Ken realized that he'd been letting his thoughts bleed through again. It wasn't quite as difficult as it used to be- downright easy, compared to when his partner was JewelBeemon- but he still slipped up at times.

A notification appeared on the open D-Terminal lying on his desk, signalling that he had a new message to check. Well. T.K. had told him to expect an invitation to join the main group at some point.

He had expected it to be the younger leader, and not the older one, to send the invitation, but it all amounted to basically the same thing, didn't it? They'd all be working together in the future, even if it was the younger ones with the most free time. And when it was a majority vote by all of the other DigiDestined in Japan, he really didn't have room to decline.

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Daichi: Not to say that him situating himself into the group will be easy or anything. But he is officially a part of it, so there's something.