It was a slow day at the Resistance headquarters. With there being a lull in the fighting, the level of activity in the fortress was surprisingly low. Sheer boredom led to Angela rifling through various reports. Much to her pleasure, many of them proved to be rather interesting. There were a several times that she spotted her name and cringed. Each time her name was brought up in a discussion about the last few months, she would remember all the things she had done. She kept going through various pages until over an hour had passed.

Feeling stiff, Angela got up to stretch and walk around. She was passing the conference room when she heard voices. Normally she wouldn't eavesdrop, but hearing Devimon in the mix made her stop to listen.

"They've been gone for a whole week," Leomon muttered. "We have yet to see any sign of them."

"The entirety of Desert Zone has been searched. Maybe we should move on to Rock Zone," Devimon suggested.

Harpymon spoke up next. "I doubt that it would make a difference."

"What makes you say that?"

"They both know how to avoid being found, Lobomon especially."

"I know that, but we should keep searching," Leomon said. "Who knows what kind of trouble they have gotten in?"

"I'm not saying that we should call the search off. I'm saying that no matter how much we look they're going to keep themselves hidden."

A grunt came from Devimon. "Seems to be an unreasonable thing for them to do."

"Considering how abrupt their departure was, and that they informed no one beforehand, I can't say I'm surprised."

"Mind explaining?"

"The reason they left was to find Duskmon."

A sharp intake of breath came from Devimon. "Seriously? Are they trying to get themselves killed?"

"I wonder that myself."

"Where are we going to look next?" Leomon asked.

"Order a search party to comb Rock Zone. We should also consider the possibility that they've gone farther, so have the scouts in the other zones be on the lookout. Wherever Duskmon is, that's where Agunimon and Lobomon are most likely to be found," Harpymon said. "Meeting dismissed."

Angela backed away from the door to avoid being hit when it was opened. Of the three, Harpymon and Leomon paid her no mind. Devimon, on the other hand, stopped and turned to her, having noticed her.

"How long have you been there?"

"Not long," she lied, smiling. "Everything okay?"

"Besides the fact that two of our best fighters up and left? We've lost quite a few members the past week," he grumbled. "Of all the times to go running off, those two chose the worst possible one!"

"You've got a point there." Angela began to walk down the hallway. Devimon trailed after her. "You know, all of this is still strange to me."

"Huh?"

"Fighting the good fight," she said. "Guess it'll take longer to get used to it than I thought."

Scoffing, Devimon moved to walk beside the woman. "How do you think I feel?"

Snickering, Angela looked up at him. "Pretty weird, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement."

"Seems like you're adjusting better than I am, though," she pointed. "You've even been acting different."

"Do I want to know what you mean?"

"Well, ever since I first met you, you've been a hardheaded, snarky, sarcastic asshole," she stated, making him frown. "After what happened with Hypnocomon, you've been a bit more serious. Heck, you've even been more understanding."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far—"

She asked in a deadpan tone, "Can you honestly say you haven't been acting different?"

"Okay, maybe I have been a little bit," he admitted.

"I hope it's not just because you want to prove yourself."

He shrugged. "Kinda, but not really. I can tell what the Resistance is trying to do is important to you, so I'm doing my best. To be honest, I still can't bring myself to care all that much about the Digimon here."

"At least you're trying. That's all that matters. I'm sure you'll learn to care about them soon."

The devil grunted. "When did you become so mature?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Brash, ridiculously short temper, going on long rants…need I go on?"

"Yeah, I totally wasn't under the control of a Digimon."

She dismissed the bothered look on his face as she hastened her pace. Feeling a sudden need for fresh air, she headed for the battlements. It was easy for Devimon to catch up using his long legs. Once they were outside, Angela gripped the parapet and stared out at the sky. Seeing that she was bothered, Devimon attempted to start another conversation.

"What were you up to before you came down the hallway?"

"Reading some reports."

"Surprised you were allowed to."

"Eh. Not like reading old papers is gonna cause any trouble."

"I wouldn't be shocked if anyone thought that it might."

"Imagine the outrage over me reading reports that are several months old." She paused, intertwining her fingers. "Were you being serious earlier?"

"About what? Oh, you mean about the Resistance being important to you?"

"Yeah, that."

Devimon hummed and turned around to lean his back against the parapet. "Of course. I told you before that I do care about you." He looked up. "Thinking about it now, I think I know why. Something about how you needed someone to protect you made me care. Granted at first it was because protecting you was a part of my orders even though it annoyed me, and I basically lived to serve Laylamon. But over time I started liking it. Guess it just made me feel good."

Angela grinned at him. "It's pretty funny how you've become so focused just because of me."

"You make me want to be better," he said nonchalantly. "…Wait."

The blonde busted out laughing, bending over the wall. Gaping at her with an expression of surprise on his face, he turned to her.

"W-wait, that's not—I didn't—! Stop laughing at me!"

Wheezing, Angela wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Her reaction clearly embarrassed him. She took in a deep breath to calm herself down. "You know, if you weren't so focused on making me happy, you could do a lot better."

He huffed. "Do you know how weird it is hearing these kind of things come out of your mouth?"

"Well, I was a bit of a jerk when I met you, even though I was under someone else's control."

He looked away. "Sorry about that comment. It was out of line."

"No, it's okay. It was true. I just don't like thinking about it."

"I know. That's why it was out of line." His face turned to a thoughtful expression. He spun towards her suddenly, placing his hand against his chest. "Angela, I swear to you that I will do whatever it takes to gain the trust of all the Digimon here and learn to care so that I can truly become better."

At a loss for words, she stared at him, one eyebrow raised.

"You don't…have anything to say to that?"

She smiled. "Thank you, Devimon."

"Uh, you're welcome?"