Sitting in a chair within a dimly lit room, a candle on top of tiny table being the only light source, was a small Digimon. With a huff the humanoid glared at the candle. The past few days had been uneventful despite having to continue "working," as his superiors kindly described it. Since he focused better when there wasn't much light, he had only been given a candle. Hence was the reason it was so dark inside his room. Shifting his golden eyes, the Digimon looked down at the mirror in his hands. It was of moderate size, being approximately ten inches long and six inches wide. His gloved hands clutched at it tightly as he stared.

He was lucky, he supposed, eyeing the silver armor he wore being reflected in the boundaries of the mirror. He noted with a quiet snort that his bronze skin looked darker because of the bright color of his armor. Moving one hand, he flicked the omega symbol craved into the center of his breastplate. Of all the powers to have, why did he have this one? Why couldn't he have something that wasn't so intruding, so demeaning, so…oppressive? Then again, it was why he was sitting there. He had a purpose.

The only reason why he was still alive was because he was an asset to the Master. But once he was no longer of any use, he'd be erased. He knew that, no matter how much he wanted to deny that and forget about it to make himself feel better.

That train of thought made him lower his head.

His door creaked open. "Something the matter?" a soft voice asked from the doorway.

Jumping, he wheeled his gaze around to stare, but found only shadows, the candlelight illuminating nothing but the dark eyes looking at him.

"M-Master," he stuttered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, nothing. I was simply checking up on you, Hypnocomon," the voice purred.

"Thank you," he whispered, shivering at the tone the words were spoken in. "I have a feeling there's more to it than that, though."

"Perceptive as always." There was a brief pause. "Angela and Devimon have returned."

"They have, have they?"

"Yes. And Angela is slipping." The last word was spoken with a hint of annoyance which made him wince.

"I've noticed. Seems as though that Mikami girl has had more of an impact on her than we first thought."

"Well, Hypnocomon, fix her, unless you have lost your worth."

The growl that accompanied the command was enough to make him freeze. Slowly, the grip on his mirror tightened. He didn't want to take his eyes off his leader, but the image inside the mirror rippled. With a glance, he stared down at it, watching Angela and Devimon walk towards the castle. The woman's eyes were somewhat narrowed, eyebrows furrowing when her sight came to rest on the entrance. The worried expression on Devimon's face made Hypnocomon curious, yet he didn't have time to think about it at that moment.

"If I put too much force into it, it could—"

"I am aware what could happen. Do not lecture me and do as you are told else I will permanently relieve you of your duties."

Swallowing, he tried to stop himself from shaking. "Of course, Master," he whispered. "Right away."

He waited with baited breath until the presence in the doorway disappeared and the footsteps down the hall had faded. As soon as he felt he was safe, he let out a withering sigh. Focusing, he locked his eyes on his mirror, which now showed only Angela.

This will not end well, he thought to himself, closing his eyes. I just hope it doesn't end as badly as I think it will.

~0~

Almost as soon as she had walked through the door, mulling over the day's events and wondering why it felt like her chest was slowly being crushed—It couldn't possibly be regret, could it? —she found herself with a migraine. While she had experienced a migraine once before, when she was younger, this one was worse. The throbbing pain actually went down into her neck. Moving her neck, head, and even her eyes seemed to cause stabbing sensations. Stopping in her tracks, she gently put her fingertips onto her temples. Even her own touch hurt.

Shit, she thought, closing her eyelids slowly.

Then Devimon spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Could you shut up just this one time?

"Angela, what's wrong?" he asked.

She noted that there was a hint of concern in his words.

Hissing, she cracked open a single eyelid. "Head," she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. "Migraine."

"Migraine?"

"Do you not know what a fu—" She stopped herself short and took a deep breath as pain lanced through her. "Head feels like it's exploding."

"That sounds rather unpleasant," the devil stated.

In severe pain and the only comment you can make is that?

Seeing that she once again winced when he spoke, he quieted. However, she soon found herself being swept off her feet. Black and white spots erupted into her vision following the sudden movement, the agony making her gasp. If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't want to further damage her already bruised pride, and she didn't want to make her head hurt any worse than it already was, she probably would have shouted. Letting her eyes open enough to see Devimon, albeit barely, she found him staring down at her. It took her a moment to register that he had actually picked her up.

"I'll take you to your room," he whispered. "Hope you can bear it when we go up the stairs."

Stairs, always stairs, she thought dismally. Damn stairs.

"Think you can?"

"Yeah," she rasped.

Attempting to lighten the mood, he grinned. "You're heavier than you look," he quipped.

"Jerk."

When they did began going up the stairs to get to the floor where the bedrooms were, Devimon was careful not to jostle her too much. She was secretly impressed, but she wondered why he was suddenly being so nice. She was in pain, yeah, but… She stopped and thought back to their visit to Byte Town. After Mikami had left, the devil had been sorry for letting her down. Even though he was a jerk most of the time, he still had it in him to be chivalrous, of all things. If it hadn't hurt to, she might've laughed about it.

Maybe the migraine was causing her to act a bit off.

He stepped down too hard and she sucked in a breath. Stupid stairs.

She was dimly aware of Devimon awkwardly opening her door, and then she was on her bed. When her hand reached to grab her other pillow, he grabbed it for her, and she buried her face into it.

Devimon wondered why, but he wasn't going to ask. It didn't last long, because she shifted to lay on her side with her back to him. She curled into a partial ball, covering her ear with the pillow instead.

"Need a blanket?"

"No."

"Do you need anything else at all?"

"Stop. Be quiet," she replied, almost too softly. "Go away."

Smirking, the devil shrugged even though she wouldn't be able to see. He obliged, leaving the room and gently shutting the door behind him. Leaning against the wood, he glanced from side to side before frowning. He had a feeling he knew who was behind this considering the odd timing of it. Question was, what could he do about it? Lashing out might cause things to become worse, but if he didn't… His head snapped up as he let out a low growl, finding his resolve. He didn't care what happened at that point as he began marching down the hallway. Only he got to hurt his partner.

Not that he would. He didn't think he had it in him.

A few minutes later, he came to a stop in front of one particular room. Grasping the handle, he did his best to appear calm and swung the door open slowly.

Hypnocomon, who hadn't been expecting any company, started slightly and briefly glanced at him before looking at his mirror.

"Devimon."

"Hypnocomon," Devimon greeted in reply, walking into the room. "How has your day been?"

"We both know you don't really care," Hypnocomon grumbled. "What do you want?"

Placing his hand on his chest, Devimon feigned an insulted expression. "I'm hurt, Hypno. You're like a brother to me."

"What is it that Angela says? Oh, yeah. Screw you." Wrinkling his nose, Hypnocomon blinked his glowing eyes. "I'm trying to concentrate. Go away."

"No. Screw you." Grinning when the smaller Digimon looked at him, Devimon raised his hands and shrugged. "You said it first."

Exhaling heavily, Hypnocomon turned his head just enough to be able to look at Devimon from the corner of his eye. "This is about Angela, isn't it?"

"Possibly." Now Devimon was purposefully attempting to frustrate Hypnocomon. The little twerp deserved it, after all. Once someone got on his nerves or made him mad, Devimon was going to make sure they paid one way or another. It didn't matter if it was through physical contact or words. "Maybe this is about me. Or about you."

Hypnocomon knew his game. Not that he particularly cared at that moment. "I take that as 'this is most definitely about Angela,' and we're going to talk about that again."

"That's exactly what this is about."

"Devimon, I have my orders. I can't go against them."

"Can't…or won't?" Devimon prodded.

"We're not going through this again—"

Snapping, Devimon stormed forward and roughly punched Hypnocomon in the side of the face. The humanoid fell from his chair, hitting the ground, while his mirror clattered to the floor noisily. Surprised, Hypnocomon placed his hand on his cheek and stared up at Devimon with wide eyes. Growling loudly, Devimon grabbed Hypnocomon and slammed him against the wall, pushing one arm against the frightened humanoid's throat while his other fist was raised. Hands gripped his upper arm, but he ignored them, his anger boiling over as his eyes blazed.

"We are going to talk about this," Devimon snarled, "right now. Do you understand, you piece of shit?"

"D-Devimon…!"

"It's over! Do you hear me?" Devimon demanded. "This is the last time you're going to hurt her."

"What's gotten into you? Since when did you…care so much?"

"Since now."

"You'd go against the Master's wishes?"

"To protect Angela, yes." He shoved harder, causing Hypnocomon to let out a short, pained gasp. "You're going too far."

Realizing that he was trying to speak, Devimon moved his arm so that he wasn't pushing against the humanoid's throat as harshly.

"You think I do this because I want to?" Hypnocomon asked. "You think I like making some human writhe in pain? I don't!"

"Then stop."

"You know what'll happen to me!"

"You're a damn coward," Devimon said. "Only worried about yourself."

"Like you're one to talk, huh?" Forced laughter made the devil scowl. "You've never cared about anyone else besides yourself and the Master until now. How ironic is that? You're such a hypocrite and you won't even admit it. Just like everyone else here, you're too prideful."

"I don't care what you think about me," Devimon replied.

"Right, because this is about Angela, isn't it?"

"How much pain does she have to go through just because you're afraid?"

Golden eyes locking on Devimon's, Hypnocomon let his jaw drop open. When he didn't supply a response, Devimon threw him to the floor and stepped back, breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself. While the smaller Digimon tried to recover from the assault, Devimon stalked over to where the mirror was. Hypnocomon raised his head when he noticed the devil move his foot to hover over the object. Just as the humanoid let out a strangled shout, Devimon smashed the heel of his boot into the glass. A loud 'crack' filled the room as it shattered. He repeatedly stomped on the mirror pieces, taking out his fury on the remains of the mirror instead. When he was done, Hypnocomon scrambled over to the shards and stared in disbelief. His gaze swung up to Devimon.

"You've outlived your usefulness."

"W-what are you going to do now?" Hypnocomon asked in a shaky voice.

"You have two choices," Devimon answered, not bothering to look at him. "You can stay here and be deleted once the Master finds out, or you can leave now and escape."

"H-how can I escape?"

"Go find MailBirdramon. He'll take you somewhere safe."

Shakily standing, Hypnocomon looked at Devimon one last time before hurrying out of the room.

Devimon rolled his shoulders and walked out, slamming the door behind him. He folded his arms and headed back to Angela's room. She was probably asleep by now, but he still wanted to check on her. It took some time to get back to her bedroom, and he was careful when opening the door. Of course, he was right when he had guessed she was sleeping. He slipped inside, trying his best not to wake his partner. She had already relaxed some, though he knew it would take quite a while for her to fully recover. What she really needed at that moment was peace and quiet. With that in mind, he left again, sliding the door shut as quietly as he possibly could.

~0~

The sun was remarkably bright, hurting her eyes even though she kept them trained on the sidewalk underneath her feet. It was nearing noon, and she was heading to her friend's house. They had planned a day out almost a week ago, deciding on Sunday that they would go to the park on Saturday. Lifting her arm, she flattened her hand out and attempted to shade her eyes as she squinted against the light. They were definitely going into the more shaded part of the park; she was not going to deal with the sunlight.

She could hear loud talking as she closed in on the house. Smiling, she looked at the window to see her brunette friend pressing her hands and face against the glass. A different hand goaded her away, and soon the door swung open. The young girl came dashing down the steps, an excited look on her face. Her mother followed her, clearly amused.

"And don't come back!" a voice shouted jokingly.

The woman glanced over her shoulder when a black haired man stopped at the doorway, arms folded and mouth turned upwards in a smile. The woman smiled, waving goodbye.

"Angie!" Mikami cried out, throwing her arms around the blonde.

"Calm down." Angela ordered, though she laughed. "Ready?"

Mikami hopped up and down. "You bet I am!"

"You're forgetting something," her father called, swinging something around his finger.

Eyebrows shooting upwards, Mikami wheeled around and ran up to him. He handed her the object. She hurried back over to Angela and held out the item with a grin.

"I got these for you!"

"Technically, Mikami, I bought them," her mother said.

Mikami frowned at her and then shoved the item into Angela's hands. Utterly confused, she looked down to find that they were goggles. They were, in fact, an exact replica of the goggles worn by the leader of the DigiDestined from the Digimon show. Trying her best not to giggle, Angela held them in one hand and wrapped her other arm around Mikami in a hug.

"Thanks," she said.

"And they're…um…adjustable!" the six year-old exclaimed. "The strap. See? So you can wear them when you get older."

Angela smiled. "You think of everything, don't you?"

Rubbing her nose, Mikami beamed. "I do!"

Moaning, Angela moved her arm to cover her eyes. The lights weren't on, but the sunlight coming in from the window was bright. She gave herself the time to gather her wits while waiting for the remnants of the throbbing pain to fade. The last thing she remembered was walking into the castle; everything after that was fuzzy. However, when she tried to think back to what had happened before arriving on the island, she couldn't recall it. Any of it, for that matter. Her memories of the past couple of months (had it really been that long?) were unclear. Confusion set in. If there was one thing she prided herself on, it was her memory. Suddenly being unable to remember, even after having had a migraine, was strange.

Moving sluggishly, she lowered her arm and cracked an eye open. The sun had moved just enough so that no beams of light fell directly on her face. She turned onto her side, looking at the nightstand beside her bed. She noticed that there was on particular item on top that she hadn't touched since she first arrived. Sitting up, she reached over and grabbed the small picture frame. When she looked down at it, she smiled slightly.

Thankfully she remembered when the picture was taken. Several years ago, when she had been just a child, she had gone out to the park with Mikami. Mikami's mother had insisted on taking a picture. She had given Angela a copy of it when they returned home. In the picture the two girls were holding hands while Mikami leaned against Angela with a smile that could only be described as goofy.

Mikami…

Her eyes widened.

The memories came flooding back one by one, from the day she met Devimon to just recently, when she had battled with Mikami. She forgot how to breathe for a second. It took her several moments to get her lungs working, and she shakily breathed in.

Oh, god.

The sudden sound of knocking made her jump. Hastily putting the frame back down so that the picture was hidden, she looked to the door. She had to take in a deep breath to steady herself. The door creaked as it opened, with Devimon poking his head inside. When he locked eyes with her, there was a brief look of relief on his face. Or maybe it was her imagination; she had no idea. She offered him a smile. The devil looked at her before sitting down in the chair by her desk and stretching his legs all the way out.

"Feel better?" Devimon asked.

"Oh, you're adorable when you're concerned," she teased, though she was being sincere. Devimon scowled. "I feel much better. Thanks for asking."

Devimon snorted. "I'm glad."

Angela snickered. "Really now?"

As she swung her legs over the side of the bed and began to stand, Devimon hopped to his feet and helped her.

"What are you wanting to do?"

"Go for a walk," she said, placing a hand against her back as she sighed. "I'm stiff."

"Take it easy," the devil grunted.

"Yeah, yeah, I will, mom," she muttered with a smirk at the indignant look on Devimon's face. "C'mon."

They headed out of the room, Devimon right beside her. Trying not to laugh at him, Angela headed for the staircase that led to the first floor. After that ordeal, she desperately needed some fresh air. The two walked in silence until they reached the stairs.

"You wouldn't happen to know what caused the migraine, would you?" Angela asked.

"I can never hide anything from you, can I?"

"Nope. Spit it out."

"Hypnocomon."

Blinking, Angela scrunched up her face. "The little Digimon that looks like someone doused his skin in bronze paint?"

Devimon rolled his eyes. "Yes, him. You were never told his abilities because there was concerns that you might…rebel."

"Rebel? What are you talking about?"

"Hypnocomon has the ability to force his will onto others so long as they are mentally weak enough. It's what he did to you when you were brought to the Digital World."

She stopped dead in her tracks and stared up at him. "What?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Why not?"

Giving him a skeptical look, Angela pursed her lips. "Maybe because of the fact that it's obviously something the Master ordered."

"I don't care about the Master's orders," he replied nonchalantly.

"You don't care about orders," she muttered in a doubtful tone. "You always follow orders. Without question."

"Not anymore."

"I'm having a hard time believing what you're saying."

"So am I." He walked down a few steps before pausing. "Mikami mentioned that she felt the need to protect the people she cares about. I think I understand what she meant now." He chuckled lightly. "Strange, hearing those words coming from my own mouth. I haven't cared about anyone else in a long time."

"Okay, what in the world are you talking about?"

Letting out a frustrated breath, Devimon glowered at Angela. "You. I'm talking about you."

She stared at him for a few moments before busting out laughing. Holding her stomach, she bent over. Devimon, with an expression of insult, gaped at her. She took her time calming herself, holding up one hand to try and defend herself from his displeasure. Eventually, since he was tired of it, Devimon turned around and began to walk down the steps to put distance between them. Still snickering and somewhat out of breath, Angela did her best to speak.

"W-wait!" she said. As she stopped laughing, she attempted to clear her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Sure you are," Devimon muttered dryly.

"I really am! I guess wasn't really expecting that." She breathed out. "Are you sure, though?"

"I have never been more certain in my life."

Resuming her descent, Angela walked past him and smiled. "Think we should bother Mr. Samurai?"

"Changing the subject, are we?" Devimon asked with a smirk. "Sounds like fun."

"Hell knows we need some fun."

They turned down a hallway once they reached the bottom of the stairs, heading for the training room. Their target was usually inside the room practicing his sword skills. If there was one thing he absolutely hated, it was being bothered when he was practicing. His reaction was sure to give the duo the entertainment they needed. The samurai was the only one who ever really used the training room because everyone else preferred to go outside to do their exercises and train, so it would be even better.

"What were you dreaming about?"

Tilting her head to the side, Angela looked at Devimon. "What?"

"Do I really need to repeat myself?"

"Do I have to answer you?"

"No."

"Childhood." That was all she said, but there was a small smile on her face.

When they began closing in on the room, voices reached their ears. Curious, Angela flattened herself against the wall and peeked inside. Devimon simply hid within the shadows and folded his arms. Angela could see Musyamon and another Digimon, one who she didn't recognize. The small red Digimon looked incredibly flustered. She shifted to better hear what they were saying.

"What are you doing here, Shoutmon?" Musyamon demanded.

"Boss sent me! The meeting's gonna be soon and you're still here."

"I am aware. I have not had the chance to leave."

"You're getting too reckless! What if you're caught? We'll be out on thin ice!"

"I know. Recent events have pushed me to become hasty."

"Oh, really? Y'know that if they find out you're gonna be destroyed."

"Tell Harpymon that I will come as soon as possible. You, on the other hand, must leave immediately."

They had heard of Harpymon from reports; she was the one leading the group of rebels working against the Master. Unsure of what to do, Angela looked to Devimon. He raised a single shoulder and tilted his head. Angela figured they had to let themselves be known. She took in a breath and then slowly let it out. She motioned for Devimon to stay and walked inside the room. The two turned to look at her. Shoutmon stared in poorly hidden fear while Musyamon narrowed his eyes.

She spoke before either of the could say a word. "I heard everything."

"What are you going to do?" Musyamon asked.

Angela glanced over at Devimon, only able to see his eyes, before locking her gaze onto the two Digimon in front of her.

"I'm not going to do anything," she said. When they gave her skeptical looks, she clarified. "Devimon and I aren't going to do anything to you. You should go, though. Both of you."

Shoutmon finally gathered his courage to talk. "Why would you let us go?"

"Because," she answered, "I have a reason to help you. Hurry up and go."

Shoutmon was practically running as he hurried out of the room. Musyamon calmly approached Angela, clearly waiting to hear what else she wanted to say.

"I won't alert the Master," Angela told him. "And I won't mention this to anyone else. If someone asks me, I'll just tell them you went out training."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied. "Guess this answers why you've disappeared sometimes," she said with a snort.

Musyamon nodded. "I suppose it does. What will you do now?"

"Not sure, but whatever I do, you can bet it won't be to help the Master anymore."

She watched him leave. The samurai glanced at Devimon when the lanky Digimon held up a hand in farewell. Angela waited until he had left to come out into the hallway to stand beside Devimon.

"I always did want to change the world. People were cruel. Life was unfair," she whispered. The devil looked mildly surprised by the tone of her voice. "At first, I wanted to do it for Mikami."

It was hard to admit that, since she still had those forged feelings drifting through her mind.

"And then my life went to shit, too. All that anger is what made me weak enough to be controlled. I made Digimon's lives as miserable as mine had become. Even more so, actually." Her shoulders drooped. "Mikami never let her past get in the way of her helping others despite the fact that the world ruined the life she had before. Why couldn't I be as strong as her?"

Devimon placed a hand on her shoulder, saying nothing. He simply offered her comfort. She was glad to take it.