Another shorter chapter. Didn't think it I was going to finish this so soon. The next one will be longer. ^^

"If ya ask me, there ain't ah point tah this. Ah mean, goin' after a tiny settlement in the middle o' nowhere? What can they do tah us? We've got ah force o' that'd scare just 'bout anyone."

The group was making their way through the treacherous Dragon Zone. Information about an outpost of rebels situated in the most remote region within the zone had led them to begin mobilized. While there were rumors about Ragnarok City, no chances were going to be taken until their leader was absolutely sure of the situation; after all, it would be of no use to attack the city if the rumors proved false. A series of agreeing murmurs followed the Deputymon's statement, the group of Digimon deciding that the gunman was correct.

"Do not question Lady Laylamon's orders," a rough voice snapped.

Everyone's heads raised hastily to the Digimon who was in the lead of the group. The dark warrior stopped, making the entire assembly of soldiers stop. Red eyes narrowed; however, it was the multitude of eyes across his body that caused a deafening silence to fall on them. He turned on his heel, gaze locking onto the trembling Deputymon despite the number of Digimon between them. He began to walk forward, prompting his troops to move aside so that they could avoid him. With a heavy stomp, he came to a stop in front of the Deputymon.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"A-ah—"

"Spit it out!"

"Ah'm sorry!" The Deputymon shouted, pulling his hat down to hide his face.

"I thought so," the warrior growled. "Will you speak out again?"

"N-no, sir."

"Good. Be sure not to. As for the rest of you, I expect you to show respect. We have our orders to rout our Resistance members. Do so with pride."

He stalked back to the front of the company. When he prepared to begin to resume their journey, his head sharply turned left. With a swing of his left sword, he sent out an energy wave that shattered a rock. A squawk followed, a Hawkmon flying off as quickly as it could. Sneering, the warrior turned his attention away from the small Digimon.

"What was that about?"

"Most likely a spy," he answered calmly. "It is none of our concern. I highly doubt that he will return safely to his allies. Let us focus on our mission."

"Yes, sir!" The troops shouted in unison.

~0~

"How are you doing?"

Angela, who had busied herself with staring out the window to look at the sky, focused her attention on Leomon. The lion was leaning against the doorway, arms folded as he watched the duo. Devimon paused in his eating to glance at the lion, a gesture meant to show he recognize that Leomon was talking, before resuming his lunch. Leomon smirked and walked into the room in order to take a seat at the table. Devimon shoved the bowl of fruit over to Leomon, who graciously took one of them to bite into.

"Fine, I guess," Angela answered. "Better than the first day,"

"I'm just loving all the attention the other members give us," Devimon mumbled. He quickly shoved an apple into his mouth.

"It will take some time for them to trust you. Just give them awhile."

"It's been a week."

"And you were fighting against us for several months. You cannot just expect them to immediately see you as anything but enemies."

Angela flinched and turned away to stare out the window again. Leomon breathe out softly and ran his fingers through his mane. He hadn't meant to put it so bluntly, but how else could he say it? There was no easy way of saying what needed to be said without reminding the two of them, especially Angela, of what they had done. Devimon glared at Leomon, biting down on his food rather hard. Leomon gave him an apologetic look, not having meant for that to happen.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Angela said. "I understand where you're coming from. That's the reason why we decided to do this in the first place."

"Really should've seen it coming anyways," Devimon mumbled through his food. "Something will happen to where we can prove to them that we're trying to help."

"I suppose so," Leomon said.

"Hey! You three!"

They spun to see Agunimon and Lobomon standing in the hallway, peeking into the dining hall. "Harpymon called a meeting. Our little 'informant' came back. She said she wanted everywhere in the meeting room to hear what he has to say." With that, the duo hurried down the hall, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Coming," Angela called despite the fact that they had left. "Guess we should hurry before Harpymon rips our eyes out, huh?"

Devimon chuckled, shoving his chair out from underneath him as he stood. Angela slowly stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. Leomon followed them as they walked out, wondering why their informant was back so soon. He was scheduled to be back for another half hour or so. Had something happened? When they walked into the meeting room, the others were already in their spots. Hawkmon was sitting in the center of the table, fidgeting. Something or someone had frightened him.

"Report," Harpymon ordered.

"I found them. They were in the Dragon Zone, just like we heard. And…um…"

"Come on. Say it."

"…Duskmon was leading them. They're heading for one of the smaller villages. Someone tipped them off about the Resistance hideout there. I told them and they already evacuated. They're heading for Ragnarok City through the cave tunnels."

"Good to hear. You're dismissed."

Hawkmon nodded and fluttered out of the room with a sigh of relief. Harpymon let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. Leomon knew why.

"Now we know for sure."

"What are we going to do?" Lobomon asked, folding his arms.

"…The only thing we can do. We have to take Duskmon out. There's no other choice."

"No other choice?!" Agunimon shouted angrily. "There is another choice! We get him back!"

"Lowemon is gone, Agunimon. You're going to have to accept that," IceDevimon said.

Leomon couldn't help but shake his head. "He's right. There's nothing we can do. Even we captured Duskmon, there's no telling whether or not we could reverse the corruption of his data."

"So what? We don't even bother trying? He's our friend!"

"He was our friend, Agunimon. Now he's nothing more than a monster," Harpymon muttered, facing away from the angry fighter. "We have to put him down."

Fuming, Agunimon stared before he slammed his fists against the table. He stormed out of the room, punching the door while doing so and leaving a rather large hole in the wood. Sliding a hand down his face, Lobomon followed, mumbling about going to get his friend. Leomon regretted saying anything, but he felt that it was necessary. Agunimon needed to stop living in the past and face the facts. Lowemon wasn't coming back, no matter what they tried.

"Nice going, assholes," Devimon sneered, leaving.

"Sorry," Angela muttered, dashing after him.

Harpymon was silent even as IceDevimon laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Leomon."

The lion stood straight, staring at his leader expectantly.

"Gather the new recruits and have them go through a training exercise."

He nodded, fully aware that she couldn't see him, and turned away. "Yes, ma'am."

In the back of his mind, he wondered if they were making the right decision. What if Agunimon was right?

~0~

Lobomon found his friend sitting on the steps just outside the entrance door to the castle, elbows on his knees, and his head propped up with his hands. The lupine slid down to sit beside him, opting to stay quiet and simply just be there in case he was needed. A withering sigh came from Agunimon, who lowered his head and pressed his palms against the back of his neck. Lobomon understood how he felt; Lowemon was just as much his friend. Having your allies tell you there was no chance of saving someone who had been by your side for years was a terrible feeling—like the words could shatter you just by being spoken.

"Have you ever felt totally, completely useless?" Agunimon whispered.

"More than I can count," Lobomon replied. "Sometimes there's nothing you can do about it."

"…You think they're right, don't you? You agree with them?"

"A bit." When Agunimon prepared to say something, Lobomon continued. "But I don't think they're right about being able to save Lowemon. There must be a way."

The hope in Agunimon's eyes made Lobomon smile slightly.

"You're with me?"

"Lowemon was there for us when no one else would help. What kind of friends would we be if we simply abandoned him?"

Agunimon's eyes locked onto the horizon, where the Desert Zone covered most of the horizon. "We're going after him, aren't we?"

"Does a Bearmon itch its back on trees?"

Smirking, the fiery warrior pushed himself to his feet. "Then let's start right now. How are we gonna do this?"

Lobomon climbed to his feet and said, "How else? We're going to lure him out."

Agunimon slapped his hand against the lupine's back. "Sounds good to me, partner."