They had been set down long ago by Kabuterimon in the depths of a forest. The great bug had reverted to Tentomon and Mimi had flung herself on each and every one of them to personally apologize for being a brat.

"It's ok, Mimi," Matt had told her, side stepping her desperate hug and instead pulling TK closer to him. "We forgive you."

"We all do," Tai croaked. Palmon had found a Juice Pear and offered it to Tai, telling him to slurp the squishy fruit more than bite it. It had helped his voice enough to make more than a whisper, but he was sure it was going to take longer to heal completely. Mimi had reached into her shoulderbag, pulling out a tiny emergency kit that contained an alcohol pad and fresh bandages for TK's elbow, so Tai had taken his blood stained sweatband back, letting it hang out of his back pocket until he could wash it.

"I can't believe you're all so quick to forgive," Mimi sniffled. "You really are the best friends a girl could ask for."

"That's what friends do," TK grinned. He tugged playfully on Matt's hand. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, sure." He looked away as a sudden chorus of blips sounded.

"What is that?!" Mimi yelped. She looked around, looking for whatever was about to attack.

"Chill, Mimi," Tai laughed. "It's our Digivices."

Mimi blinked, looking at the small machine strapped to her bag. A red dot was blipping in and out in a chorus of three others. "What does that mean?"

"I have come to understand that when the power of our Crests is activated, it happens to react with our Digivices and turn them into homing beacons for one another. When the device sounds, it means another Child is in the vicinity."

"Coolios! So who are we missing?" She looked around the small group. "I see Tai... and Izzy... and Matt and TK..." She put his finger to her mouth and pouted, thinking. "Sora and Joe! I wonder who this one is!"

"Well, we're about to find out!" Tai pointed his Digivice into the woods. "Whoever it is, they're on the move!" He took off running, surprising the newest member of their group and noone else.

There was the sound of crashing branches as someone stumbled away and a flash of pink amidst the leaves.

"It's Biyomon!" Tentomon announced. "That means Sora is here!"

"Sora!" Tai cried, voice cracking. "Sora, get back here!" He yelped as he almost fell off a mild ledge and into a shallow brook. He looked across the dip, almost able to see a flash of yellow pause, unsure. "Wait, please!"

Tai jumped down, splashing through the water. He ignored how cold it was on his ankles, forcing himself onward. He heard the sound of Biyomon landing and a sharp sob. The leaves rustled as Sora turned to take off again, but Tai stumbled into her veil of trees, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, looked up. There were tears rolling down her cheeks, and she'd pulled her hat down low, pushing her hair into her face. He heard the other Children clamber down the ledge, hurrying over to join them. "Why are you running from us?"

TK tore away from Matt, flinging himself against her leg and wailing into it, "Don't you like us anymore?"

"I do!" she hiccuped. She wiped at her eyes, looking around sullenly. Mimi dug into her bag, pulling out a handkerchief and handed it over, wincing as the tomboy blew her nose into its lacy delicateness. Matt and Izzy stood back, neither being very comfortable around crying girls. "It's just that... Well..."

"You know you can talk to us, we're your friends." Tai let go of her, and took a step back. There was a wild look in her eyes, but TK was still clinging to her desperately, preventing her from running. "Have you been hiding from us this whole time?"

Sora took a deep breath, placing a hand on TK's hat to steady herself. She looked as though she'd rather be fighting Devimon alone than here confessing to the other Children. "Not exactly... I have been hiding, but I've also been with you all at the same time."

Tai frowned, crossing his arms. It was obvious he didn't fully understand.

"I see," Izzy said. "You have kept yourself hidden, but have been observing us while remaining undetected."

"Exactly. I was following an evil little bat Digimon named DemiDevimon everywhere he went." She looked mournfully from each child as she spoke. "I was there when he told Vademon about your curiosity, Izzy."

The redhead looked almost ashamed that he had fallen for such an underhanded scheme, until Tai placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He blushed at the brunette's warm smile.

"And Mimi, you remember the dream you had when you were in ShogenGekomon's castle?"

"Of course I do. I dreamed that noone was there to help me because I cast everyone out of my life and then you showed up and told me that I was still loved." Mimi blinked. "Oh, that part was real, wasn't it?"

"And Tai, TK, I was there when DemiDevimon was trying to trick you guys into eating those Mushrooms of Forgetfulness."

"I remember hearing your voice," Agumon said. "I thought it was all in my head, though."

"And Matt..."

The blonde froze. She had been there for the other Children at their most vulnerable. Was she going to be the one to out him? Tell all the others that he had abandoned Joe like a heartless monster? She would denounce him and all the others would turn their backs on him just like he had to his own lover.

His Digivice began beeping in alarm, reacting to his own internal terror and Gabumon felt a surge of energy begin to flood his veins. The creature was unsure about having to fight the other Children, but he would do whatever it took to make sure Matt felt safe again. A blush began to rise to the blonde's cheeks and he felt lightheaded as the others turned toward him, Sora continuing her story in the same sad tone as before.

"Matt, I saw you leave TK behind at the amusement park." She hugged TK close, as though trying to make up for his abandonment. "I saw just how sad it made you, but you knew it was for the best, didn't you?"

Matt swallowed hard, his Digivice slowly silencing. Was it possible? She hadn't seen him at the Diner?

"What about Joe?" he heard himself asking. "You didn't, I mean, did you ever see him?"

Sora blinked, squeezing out the last of her tears. It was obvious she hadn't expected him to ask that, instead of defending himself about TK.

"That's right," Mimi said. "He's the only one we haven't run into yet. Oh, I hope he's ok."

'You and me both...' Matt thought forlornly. "Have you seen him?"

"Once," Sora admitted. "I was about to cross the lake when I found a restaurant buried in the middle of nowhere. I was going to go inside when I saw Gomamon. He was serving something to a group of Digimon and they made him send it back to the kitchen where I found Joe. He was cooking, well, he was getting screamed at by a giant egg monster until he started crying. DemiDevimon was there, and he gave the egg monster a lot of money and told him to make sure Joe could never leave. I stayed the night and after Joe went to sleep, I saw the Digimon go into the kitchen. He put oil on all the plates and disconnected some wires in the stove to make sure poor Joe kept dropping dishes and making the food burn."

It was like a sword through Matt's stomach. Every mistake Joe made, every dropped dish and burnt meal: just some plot by a maniacal Digimon to force the poor boy into more and more debt. Matt could hear every harsh word he'd screamed, see every enraged glower he'd sent his way, even feel the shattered glass he'd kicked – everything he'd ever done was suddenly thrown back at him with the same bitterness, no more so than he'd ever shown the taller boy.

But Sora was still talking, and he forced himself to listen to his sins that were being unknowingly laid before him.

"But I thought he would be ok there. You know, safe under the same roof until we could all go and get him."

"Joe does have an unfortunate knack for finding trouble," Izzy observed. "Oftentimes, it is more than he can address by himself."

"But right after I left Vademon's mountain – before I ran into Mimi's castle – I stopped in a place called the Disk Domain. It was a gross, dirty place filled with..." She shuddered, glancing at TK to choose her words carefully. "Unsavory Digimon. They were all monsters, every last one of them."

"You mean they were all Virus-type?" Tentomon asked in unmistakeable innocence.

"No... I mean they were monsters. Data, Virus, Vaccine. It didn't matter to them what their type was except when it came to..." She still couldn't say it, and Matt had a terrible sinking feeling in his stomach as he began to understand. "I barely managed to make it out without getting kidnapped. But while I was there, I ran into a beautiful fox-like Digimon. Her name was Renamon and she said she used to work at the same Diner I'd seen Joe at."

"What happened?" TK was beginning to become afraid at how much Sora was shaking. "Is the Renamon ok?"

Sora's mouth was moving, but it took her a moment to remember how to speak. "Not... Not really. She said she had been worked like a slave until the egg Digimon, well, she said he broke her spirit. She was told the whole time she'd worked there that she would never get out of debt and anything she did was just adding more and more time. Until one day." Tears were running down her cheeks again, but she didn't seem to notice. "She said that she'd been told that there was one way for her to pay off her debt in just a few days. She was so desperate by then that she jumped on the chance without knowing what the deal was."

"What...?" Matt's voice was just as broken as Tai's. "What was the deal...?"

"She was to be... used." The other Children couldn't comprehend. "You know. Like... Like..."

"Like compensated dating...?" Mimi offered, almost shamefully.

Compensated dating. Matt knew what that meant. It was the undercover way school girls said "prostitution". Whoring.

"Exactly. She didn't go into any specifics, but when her debt was to be paid off and he was supposed to let her go, she found out that she was being sold."

"'Sold'?" Matt clenched his fists. "What do you mean, 'sold'?!"

"Apparently it was all a trick that monster uses. He gets weak-willed Digimon to work in his restaurant to pay off a ridiculous amount of debt that he makes them incur, has them, uh, 'date' for him until they're completely broken and then he sells them to another Digimon who drugs them to keep them going until they've withered away to nothing. The Renamon I ran into managed to escape her new pimp but she was still hooked. She was actually waiting to meet her dealer when I ran into her."

"That's a lie!" Matt couldn't stop himself from screaming at her. "There's no way any of that is true! It can't be!"

"Why would she make something like that up?" Tai hissed back, still unable to raise his voice too well.

"When I found out, I started coming back." Sora sobbed, flinching away. "I had no idea if that Digimon would do the same thing to Joe that he did to that Renamon, but I couldn't leave him there anymore. I stopped to help Mimi -"

"If you knew Joe was in trouble, why would you stop?!" Matt felt like he was going to vomit again, and his vision was blurry. But whether that was his lightheadedness or the tears that were now pouring down his cheeks, he couldn't tell. "Why wouldn't you help him first?!"

"Matt..." Sora and TK sniffled in fear. They had never seen the blonde's rage flung in their direction.

"Stop it, Matt!" Tai stepped toward him, grabbing him by the arm. "You're scaring everyone!"

Rough touches.

Harsh bites.

Pain between his legs.

A harsh whisper in his ear.

"Mine. You're finally mine."

"Don't touch me!" Matt tore himself away from Tai, stumbling backwards. His Digivice screamed to match his internal terror and with a flash of light Garurumon stood over him.

The Digimon still couldn't understand why Matt was suddenly so afraid of his friends, but he growled at the Children that were causing the adrenalin to pump through to his very data. He felt his Tamer stumble and fall, collapsing between his paws, and he could hear him sobbing. The bond between them, so withered and achingly lonely for so long now, was fully open, and Garurumon was almost bowled over by the pain and hatred that fully encompassed Matt. The Digivice was still shrieking and glowing hotly, and Garurumon knew he could evolve one more time, become stronger to fight off whatever was attacking his beloved Tamer's very soul, but there was something missing – some vital piece of information that was just beyond his reach.

"Matt!" Tai yelped, backing away from the sharp teeth he'd seen reduce stronger Digimon to nothing. "What are you doing?!"

"Get away from me!" If they weren't going to abandon him like he deserved, he was going to leave them first. It was better for all of them. He crawled, stumbled, tripped, finally getting to his feet and he ran. As far and as fast as he could. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, and he couldn't see to prevent running into sharp branches that sliced and ripped into his flesh. He could hear the others shouting for him as they followed, but he refused to listen to their accusations.

The ground shook under his feet and he found himself clinging to a warm ruff of blue and white fur. He didn't care anymore about keeping himself away from his partner, so he let all his loneliness and bitterness flood through, feeling only warmth and acceptance embrace him.

"I won't let anyone hurt you," Gaururumon growled lowly. "I care about you."

"You shouldn't," Matt hissed, collapsing finally. "I don't care about anyone but myself, and I've only proven that every day of my life. Anyone I told myself I loved, I've given up on and left behind for my own selfish reasons." He pulled his tag from his shirt, glaring at it through his tears. "And this stupid thing had been nothing but trouble!" He snapped the cord from his neck and threw it with all his might.

It bounced once, landing at Greymon's feet. The poor dinosaur hadn't wanted to evolve – he didn't want to fight anyone right now – but he was going to protect the other Children no matter who it was. Togemon stood by his side, clenching her gloves, and just as unwilling but able to fight. Tentomon, though, hung back, just in case any combat required the Children to get to safety.

Tai leapt off his partner's shoulder. He was ready to yell and shout and berate until he was completely mute and his vocal cords were used to dust. Whatever the blonde was thinking, evolving his partner and running off, it was completely idiotic! Maybe a good hard punch to the head would clear out whatever was rattling around in there.

"Matt-!" he started, but stopped, listening to the blonde's sobs.

"It's all my fault, Garurumon. It's my fault..." He was collapsed, crying uncontrollably onto the Digimon's wide nose. Garurumon was curled up on the ground, huddled as closely around his Tamer as he could physically contort. "If I hadn't left him there... If I had just taken the damn time to even notice what was going on..."

"Matt..." Tai stepped forward, relying on the Digimon to protect the others the further away from them he got. All his anger was dissipating the closer he moved to those heart-breaking noises. Garurumon looked up at him with one ocean blue eye, all at once begging him to come help while warning him to stay away. "Matt, what are you talking about?"

"Don't do that," Matt snapped, not moving. "Don't pretend you don't know what's going on."

"But I don't know, man. I'm your friend, we all are, let us help you."

Matt didn't seem to hear him. "You know damn well what's going on. You've known it since the first night you... you... fucked me!" Tai flinched at how harshly the words were flung at him. "'Bad Digimon', like anyone would believe that. You know I was at that Diner. You know that I left Joe there. You know that if there was any shred of human decency in me, I would have made us go back for him."

"Wait, Matt." Tai swallowed. He wasn't good that this comforting stuff. Why couldn't Mimi have wandered over here with him? "You knew where Joe was? Why didn't you say anything? We could have gone to get him. We can still go get him."

"You heard Sora." Matt finally turned his head to the side. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, but he glared at it just the same. "He's gone. Broken. Raped. Sold. Drugged. He never had any self confidence before and Digitamamon only wore us, him, down more. If a Digimon can break under his thumb, Joe has already cracked."

"You can't think that." Tai had sidled up to Matt inch by inch, looking warily at Garurumon's lowly growling snout. One wrong move and he could kiss his head goodbye. "He's our friend, he won't give up so easily."

"Yeah?" Tai was crouching next to him, a gloved hand shakingly reaching out. "Then how come I did?"

With a flash of fur and a warning snap of jaws, Garurumon was on his feet, Matt clinging to his back. Silent paw pads flew through the forest, taking the blonde further and faster than the other kids could even imagine.

"Sora!" Tai cried, clutching his throat as he choked. "Do you remember where that Diner is?"

"W-Well, yeah. I think I do." She was still just as scared. She didn't know what was happening between the two boys, but she knew it ran deeper than anything she could comprehend.

"Then lead us there – that's where Matt's going!"