Author's Notes: Whoo! Persona 5 was just released yesterday and I'm kinda watching my sister play it. It feels a lot different, but I like it so far. I'll get around to playing it eventually. I'm still trying to finish Cyber Sleuth after all... Right now, I'm trying to raise a proper team to face Lucemon... Strangely enough, this is the only battle I'm having trouble with in this entire game... Damn Pride... Wait... The 7 Sins are also pretty big in Persona 5... Anyway, here is where everything takes a turn for the drastic.

Yuugo opened his eyes and stared at the audience before him from atop his stage. "Hackers of Zaxon, of Cron…" he shook his head, "No, of all EDEN! I ask you this! Are you free? Free from involvement… Free from interference… Free from monitoring… Do such freedoms exist in EDEN today?" He paused and looked out over the hackers gathered in Zaxon's forum room. "And what about EDEN's prototype, the birthplace of us hackers, our holy land: Under Zero? It's a space idealized by the creator of this Digital World, much freer, offering a better life," he continued before bringing a hand up to his forehead and frowning. "But Under Zero was seized when EDEN was launched and turned into an unmanned server to control information. Now, it is nothing more than a fortress, outfitted with the toughest security in the world. Under Zero—our ideal home—is now on the oldest of EDEN's servers, the Valhalla server. We hackers are going to take back our Utopia!" he declared, "To bring a new order to EDEN! To release it from a 'freedom' filled with monitoring and interference," he concluded.

The hackers began cheering in support of him. Fei watched their leader from behind as she stood near the back of the stage. She smiled as the charismatic Zaxon legend continued rallying hackers to their cause.

"We of Zaxon hereby declare the reclamation of our holy land, Under Zero!" Yuugo boldly exclaimed in his usual calm way. "If there are any who share in our aspirations, then join us! For Under Zero!" The light-haired hacker dismissed his team as they began to spread the word throughout all of EDEN. Yuugo closed his eyes as he could sense the imminent change approaching to his beloved world.

"Now that was certainly somethin'," Fei told him when they were left alone in the forum. "That was quite the impassioned speech. I reckon you'll make a fine boss some day."

Yuugo opened his eyes and frowned to himself as he brought a hand to his forehead. "If it'll save EDEN, I'll put on whatever performance I have to, no matter how foolish. Even if I have to resort to tall tales and legends," he told his most trusted confidant. "If I can just get to Under Zero, I can redo all of this." He lowered his arm and placed his hand at his hip. "I can recreate EDEN as its creator originally envisioned."

Fei loyally nodded to him. "I reckon your wish'll come true, Yuugo-han. And I'll be with ya every step of the way," she smiled.

Yuugo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could still feel the rapidly approaching storm that was to sweep EDEN coming. Inspired by his speech, the hackers began to make their way to Under Zero, their holy land. But let's rewind things a bit.

Takumi stared at the whiteboard and frowned when there were no new cases available. He blinked though when his Digivice began to ring. "Aiba Takumi speaking."

"Oh, it's me, it's me!" Nokia smiled at him. "Are you busy? No, I didn't think you would be. We're all getting together at the EDEN Free Area."

"Well, I don't have any active cases right now," Takumi shrugged. "I guess I can stop by. Did you need something?"

"What to bring…? Oh yeah!" she nodded. "Your nerve and your friendship for Digimon!"

The redhead laughed at that. "Alright then."

"Okay, see you there!" Nokia brightly smirked at him. "And if you're late, Akkino Hellsmash will see you in the hospital!"

"Akkino… Hellsmash…?" Takumi closed his eyes and sighed. "Just what is that?" He looked over towards Kyoko at her desk. "Well, I'm off to the EDEN Free Area," he told the detective.

"Oh? Nokia-kun is calling for you again?" she looked up from her screen. She frowned a bit as she mulled something over. "It looks like EDEN is in the midst of turmoil…"

"Eh?" Takumi blinked at her. "Is there an emergency I should be aware of?"

"You heard me, didn't you? Get to EDEN," she told him. "Something's causing trouble, so be careful."

"Alright, I understand," her assistant nodded before taking off.

"Jeez! You're always so late!" Nokia frowned at Takumi as he arrived. "What is it? Something or other? Working on boss-man time!?"

"H-hey… I wasn't that late…" Takumi nervously scratched his cheek.

"There, there, Nokia," Wargreymon nodded. "Maybe go easy on him this time."

"You've got a point," Nokia nodded at her Digimon. "After all, Takumi is an important aid to Rebellions. I guess maybe I could let things slide."

"So what am I here for again?" Takumi asked.

Nokia smiled as she turned towards the group of tamers gathered in the room. "All right, everyone! Here's my helper for today's training! The unstoppable Cyber Sleuth and new Super Hacker: Takumi the Golden Maniac!"

"E-eh!?" Takumi's blue eyes widened in surprise as he was suddenly surrounded by tamers.

"Takumi the Golden Maniac?" a hot-blooded boy cried. "The one who took down that strange hacker group, the Demons!?"

"Takumi the Golden Maniac?" a cheeky boy smirked and crossed his arms. "The gifted hacker that successfully managed to infiltrate Kamishiro!?"

"That's right!" Nokia nodded and proudly crossed her arms at her friend's accomplishments. "That's Takumi the Golden Maniac. My total bestie and finest, fiercest confidant!" She turned towards Takumi with smile. "What do you think?" she asked her team. "Who better to help train Rebellions? All right, go on then, Takumi the Golden Maniac!"

"Eh!?" Takumi frowned as the hot-blooded tamer stepped towards him. "W-what…!?"

"Okay, I'll go first!" the tamer cried. "Here we go!"

Takumi's eyes widened as he sensed an impending battle. "W-wait…!" The tamer didn't seem to listen though as he sent a Nanomon and a large red beetle Digimon out to attack. "Rapidmon! WereGarurumon (Black)!" The Cyber Sleuth's two fastest Digimon quickly countered the hot-blooded boy's team as the red-haired teen jumped back to safety.

"Plug Bomb!" Nanomon released bombs from his fingertips but MetalGreymon (Virus) countered with his own Giga Destroyer attack.

"AtlurKabuterimon! Use your Horn Buster!" the tamer called out to the giant red beetle.

Takumi frowned as AtlurKabuterimon rammed into both of his Virus Digimon. "Ah, so it's a Vaccine." He quickly called Rapidmon over. "Cover them as they switch out with Lilimon and Knightmon!"

"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon quickly fired homing missiles towards Nanomon, quickly taking out the small robot. He tried attacking AtlurKabuterimon next, but the insect's sturdy shell and sheer bulk made it difficult to tell if his attacks were having any effect.

"Rhino Charge!" the AtlurKabuterimon used its horn to flip Rapidmon up into the air. The cyborg poodle tried to regain his bearings but the larger Digimon began charging his horn. "Mega Blaster!"

"Rapidmon!" Takumi took out a recovery patch and threw it towards his Digimon as the rest of his team finished loading.

"Flower Cannon!"

Knightmon lifted his Berserk Sword up carefully before slashing it through the air. "The Duel!" A spinning blade of air combined with Lilimon's attack and AtlurKabuterimon fell to the ground.

Takumi let out a relieved sigh as the sudden battle was now over. He frowned as he nervously looked over at the rest of the tamers lined up to battle against him. "Uh…"

Nokia giggled at the results. "Way to go, Gold Mani," she smiled. "But we're just warming up."

"Okay, I guess I'm next…" a cheeky boy smirked.

"Wait, give me a moment," Takumi sighed as he closed his eyes. He placed his hands on hips and shook his head. "I need a moment to take this all in…"

"Nokia…" MetalGarurumon looked towards the red-haired girl.

"Yeah?" Nokia blinked at him.

"It seems like Takumi's been kind of lost in all this," the mechanical wolf noticed. "Are you sure you explained everything properly?"

"Um, well, I chose the nickname Golden Maniac from the way he looks…" she smiled as she glanced towards the boy's odd fashion sense. "And then Gold Mani was just an obvious cool, abbreviation of that…"

"Not that!" MetalGarurumon shook his head. "I'm talking about the training!"

"What? I explained it… didn't I?" she looked towards Takumi. "Right?"

Takumi sighed. "No… you didn't…"

"What? I didn't explain?" Her face went red as she sheepishly smirked at the exploitable teen. "Well, shoot! You should have said something! You're too quiet for your own good, Takumi!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not the problem here," Takumi shook his head with a small smile on his face.

MetalGarurumon gave the boy an apologetic smile. "What we wanted, Takumi, was for you to train them for battle skills!"

WarGreymon nodded. "So they'd be stronger against those nasty hackers!"

"That's not all," Nokia added.

"Is there more?" Takumi tilted his head to the side.

"The point of the training is not just strength!"

The blue-eyed boy blinked at her in surprise. "Then…!"

"It's also to deepen our bonds with our Digimon!" she nodded. "They're sort of like our hot springs ping-pong matches and our all-night karaoke!"

"You've lost me again…"

"If we can pull through those kinds of events, we should be able to achieve true power, beyond brute strength!" Nokia declared.

"And I'm caught up…" Takumi nodded.

"And with that power, we can help the Digimon being misused by hackers, in order to make EDEN a home for us all!" She brightly grinned as she hugged WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. "We of Rebellions hereby declare our decision to begin the Love-Love Digimon Initiative!"

"Love-Love… Digimon…" Takumi stared at the girl oddly.

"And you'll join us to train us for this transcendental dream!" Nokia cried. "Right, Golden Maniac?"

"Can you not call me that?" Takumi asked her as he closed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips.

"Finally!" a tamer in the back cried out. "Such an impassioned speech! Akkino's bursting with power and devotion!"

"It's fun getting tossed about by the tsunami of her power," a boy nodded as he crossed his arms. "This is what true charisma is!"

"Um…" Takumi frowned. "I don't think…" he opened his eyes when he sensed someone nearby. "Hm? Yuugo…"

The light-haired leader of Zaxon simply stared at the group of motley tamers. Nokia tensed up as she noticed him too. "Oh! It's… Y-y-y-y-yu… Y-y-Yuugo!"

"So this is your dream?" Yuugo asked her. "And these hackers," he glanced at the mismatched crew, "they're your team?"

"Wh-what are you here for?" Nokia glared at him. "Has the leader of Zaxon come to c-c-crush Rebellions!?"

"If you were a threat to Zaxon, then that might be an option for me to consider," Yuugo simply told her.

"Yuugo," Takumi frowned at him in warning.

The grey-eyed boy lifted his gaze towards the Cyber Sleuth and slightly raised an eyebrow at him. Seeing as it was too soon for the two boys to be facing each other, Yuugo decided to let things drop for now. "But from the look of things, there doesn't appear to be any need of that," he stated, much to Takumi's relief.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean by that!?" Nokia indignantly asked. "Are you saying we're still noobs!? You think you can just look down your nose at us? You want to test our power, then?"

"Nokia, stop," Takumi sternly told her. "This is Yuugo you're dealing with. He's on a level even higher than Fei and you remember the last time you tried to go against her."

"What?" the girl paused. "Well, sure we were beaten silly last time by that Fei girl. But do we just take that lying down!?"

"But, Nokia," MetalGarurumon studied the Zaxon leader, "Yuugo isn't a bad hacker, is he?"

"I sort of get the impression that he's not," WarGreymon nodded.

"Of course, he's not," Takumi said with a small smile.

"Your Digimon sure do talk a lot," Yuugo smirked.

"Yuugo!" Nokia knit her eyebrows together. "You're a hacker group leader. Hackers will listen to you! Tell them!" she pleaded. "Tell them Digimon are not just programs!"

"There's something else I need to tell the hackers," he frowned at her. "Your speech was inspiring, though."

"What!?" Nokia didn't expect the boy to be praising her.

"Nokia…" Yuugo lowered his gaze. "If at all possible, I would rather not fight you. Just don't interfere with me or Zaxon," he warned her before leaving the Free Area.

"Hey, hang on a sec, Yuugo!" Nokia called out to him. "Are you planning something!? Hey! Hang on!"

Takumi frowned to himself as Yuugo had been wearing the same expression Yuuko did right after his last operation at Kamishiro Enterprise. You've already made up your mind then… He let out a heavy sigh as he knew the day he would have to face Yuugo was coming a lot sooner than he would have liked. That's fine since so have I… Whatever happens, I'll do my best to help you, even if it means having to go against you… I'll wake you from your dream, Yuugo. For her sake…

Yuugo's transmission replayed once more. "We hackers are going to take back our Utopia!" he boldly stated. "We of Zaxon are going to declare the reclamation of our holy land, Under Zero! If any of you share in our aspirations, then join us! For Under Zero!"

Kishibe smiled as the playback ended. "Oh my… Things are coming along nicely!"

"You've pushed them all to the edge very well," Suedou praised her. "Now it's down to her to do her part. I'll drop the security level a little to increase their sense of accomplishment. They should easily reach their goal now."

"Excellent, Akemi-chan!" Kishibe smiled at him. "You are a master strategist! But I'm glad. I was worried that I had pushed her too far and she might have snapped…" she momentarily frowned.

Suedou chortled at the thought. "To stimulate the passion of youngsters such as these… We have such excellent motivational tools: pressures from the authorities, family ties, and despair itself," he smirked. "Youngsters are wonderful! The frustration, dreams, and hopes they get from a gloom-filled society! And the more pressure of despair you add, the more you sublimate it into a vibrant passion! So very bright! It dazzles my eyes!" He chuckled a bit before it suddenly turned into a maniacal laugh. When he was done, he let out a pleased sigh. "How'd I look?" he asked the woman smiling at him. "Did I get the 'villain' thing right just now?"

"Oohoo!" Kishibe brought her index finger up and lightly rested it on her bottom lip. "That's what I love about you, Akemi-chan! And now, we just sit back and wait for them to get completely violent with each other! All as I have planned, of course!" She began cheerfully laughing before it also turned maniacal.

Arata crossed his arms and sympathetically frowned at the yawning redhead sitting across from him at K-Café. "So, you were training with them all night long? You're too much of an easy mark," he sighed.

"You think so?" Takumi crookedly smiled as he scratched his cheek. "It's not like I could have said no… Nokia is really serious about Rebellions."

"You'll never have enough time for Nokia," Arata shook his head. "She'll use you up and spit you out. No thank you."

"Hey! You're here, you're here!" Nokia called out as she entered the café.

"Ah…!" Takumi tensed up as he didn't expect she would find him so quickly.

"Oh, and we have Arata as a bonus!" Nokia smiled at the raven-haired teen frowning at her.

"What do mean 'as a bonus'?" he asked, turning his head away from her.

"Have you heard?" Nokia bounced up and down with a huge smile on her face. "Zaxon is on board with the Under Zero invasion!"

"Yeah, it seems that's all the hacker community can talk about now," Arata stated.

"Did you know, Arata, that Under Zero is a hacker holy land? You probably don't care, though," she crossed her arms and smirked at him.

"What? A holy land?" Arata shook his head. "Don't be absurd. It's just an old, outmoded area on some old, outmoded server."

"But you should see the look in their eyes when they talk about it," Nokia said. "Actually, there are some among Rebellions who have taken special training and want to show off. They're planning to join in."

"Well, the leader being who she is," Arata began as he slipped his hands into his pockets, "it's no wonder the simple-minded are coming together."

"Harumph!" Nokia glared at him before looking over towards the Cyber Sleuth slightly dozing off. "Whaddya say, Takumi? Do you wanna go take on Under Zero too?"

"Eh!?" Takumi straightened up in his seat and Arata sharply looked at him in alarm too. "A-ah…" the blue-eyed boy frowned. "N-not really… I don't really have a reason to…"

"It'd be like climbing a mountain because it's there. Or crashing through a wall because it's there!" Nokia tried to convince him. "And this could be a chance to raise our public awareness level, what with my having formed the Tamer group and all," she pointed out. "If Rebellions manages to beat Zaxon in breaking into Under Zero, we'll rocket to superstardom! And then we could promote our—"

"Quit it while you're ahead!" Arata sharply exploded.

Nokia gasped at his sudden outburst and Takumi snapped his head towards the older boy. "Arata…" the Cyber Sleuth frowned as it was unlike the raven-haired teen to snap like that.

"That's not the place newbies like you are going to be able to reach," Arata seriously stated, hiding his mouth behind the collar of his jacket. "You'll be beaten at your own game."

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Nokia frowned at him. "Who're you calling a newbie!? We've piled on the special training to become extra-strong! Right, Takumi!?"

"That's not really enough…" Takumi tried to tell her.

"Fine!" she turned towards the exit. "I'll go by myself! And I'll definitely get in before Zaxon does!"

"Nokia…!" Takumi stood from his seat to chase after her.

"Leave her be," Arata frowned. "If she gets herself hurt running off half-cocked, it's her own fault."

"Arata…" the red-haired teen lowered his gaze and frowned at the floor. Arata said nothing else as he crossed his arms. "We can't just leave her," Takumi continued. He sensed the older boy wanted to do something too. "This is Nokia we're talking about here," the Cyber Sleuth pointed out. "She will get hurt if we don't interfere…"

"Oh, damn it!" Arata shook his head as he got up too. "Forget it! We're going after her!"

"Eh!?" Takumi was a bit surprised by the older boy's sudden change in attitude.

"Under Zero is way too dangerous," the hacker frowned. "If things go the way they did last time…"

"Last time…?" Takumi tilted his head to the side. "Wait… Are you saying you tried to break in before? Arata—"

"Anyway, we have to go after Nokia," Arata shook his head at the younger boy. "I've got a little 'prep work' to do first. Let's meet in EDEN!" The raven-haired teen quickly ran out of the café without another word.

Takumi smiled as he watched Arata leave. He placed his hands at his hips and nodded to himself. "I'd better let Kyoko-san know I'll be back late today."

"Hmph…" Kyoko frowned as Takumi relayed to her the current events of his friends. "I've got a bad feeling about this. And any good detective knows to trust their gut. It won't hurt to act cautiously," she told him.

"I know," Takumi nodded. "This all feels like a trap somehow. I—or rather my body—can sense it…"

The detective carefully studied her half-cyber assistant. "It seems we have no choice but to continue forward though. I'll be watching over you from here. I'll notify you immediately of any changes I detect. For now, go assist Arata with stopping Nokia."

"What about Yuugo?"

The woman looked straight into the boy's blue eyes. "You already made up your mind with him, haven't you?"

Takumi pursed his lips together as he remembered there was something important he had to tell the hacker. "Alright, Kyoko-san," the soft-hearted Cyber Sleuth nodded. "I understand. Please leave this to me."

Takumi lifted his gaze when he saw Arata finally arrive. "Alright, I'm ready to go," the Cyber Sleuth stated.

Arata nodded to him. "As always, Nokia is moving ahead on impulse alone. It looks like she's gotten quite far, too. The other hackers have gotten into the Valhalla server and are heading for Under Zero."

"Eh? Under Zero is in the Valhalla server?" Takumi blinked.

The older boy nodded but frowned. "Something doesn't smell right, though."

"What do you mean?" Takumi tilted his head to the side.

"The Valhalla server shouldn't have gone down so fast," he explained. "Either Yuugo invited us in or someone else did. Either way, it reeks of a trap."

"So you think so, too," the Cyber Sleuth brought his hand up to his mouth. "We'd better hurry after her."

Arata shook his head. "We won't catch up with Nokia taking the direct route, but there is a shortcut." He quickly sent the younger boy a new URL.

"What's this?"

"This is a secret passage my comrades and I dug out way back when. I…" Arata looked away from Takumi. "We took down Valhalla once before."

"You did!?" the Cyber Sleuth blinked at the boy in surprise.

"We can reminisce later," Arata frowned. "We'd better hurry and get to the Valhalla server!"

"R-right!" Takumi nodded before following the older teen to the terminal.

Takumi frowned as the Valhalla server had a completely different atmosphere compared to the Avalon server. For starters, things seemed a bit darker and foreboding. The Cyber Sleuth gulped as he quickly searched for Nokia and Yuugo.

"Okay," Arata crossed his arms. "Where's Nokia?" He shook his head and started forward. "It doesn't look like she's around here. We'll just have to press on and look for her." The two teens hurried through the server, disabling the security and hacking their way further into the dark cyberspace before they finally caught up to Nokia and her two Digimon.

"That looks like Under Zero!" the red-haired girl smirked. "Yuugo and the others must have made it already! Hurry it up, Rebellions! Let's do this!"

"You've really outdone yourself, you little hellion," Arata sighed as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'm just glad things haven't gone any further than they have."

WarGreymon turned around and smiled at the two boys following them. "Ah! Takumi and Arata!"

"You're coming with us, too?" MetalGaraurumon asked.

"You guys?" Nokia frowned at her two friends. "Hey, what gives!? You're too late to stop me, you know!" Her frown deepened as a thought came to her. "Oh, NOW I get it! You were gonna have me go in there first, take out the baddies, and then waltz in and nab all the goodies for yourselves! You sneaky, no-good rotten manipulating cowards! I'm not letting you do that! No way, nuh-uh!"

"It's nothing like that. Jeez," Arata shook his head. "Just calm down. I just don't want you anywhere near Under Zero." He quickly pulled something out from his jacket.

"Ah!" MetalGarurumon's eyes widened when he saw the slab of meat the raven-haired boy was holding.

"T-that's…!" WarGreymon was also stunned to see it.

"It's juicy meat on the bone from JAJA…" Arata smirked at the Digimon.

"From JAJA…?" MetalGarurumon drooled.

"Juicy meat!?" WarGreymon gulped.

"It's a legendary meat that only certain celebrities are allowed to eat," Arata explained. The starving Digimon tensed up, ready to pounce on the boy for it. The raven-haired boy smiled as he taunted them with it. "You want some? I know you do…" He quickly turned around and chucked the meat as far as he could. "Here you go!"

Both simpleminded Ultimate Digimon let out a roar as they hurried after it. "Mmmeeeaaattt!"

Nokia blinked as her two Digimon ran off without her. "Hey! Where are you going!? W-wait up, you guys!"

"U-uh…" Takumi crookedly smiled at what just happened. "That was actually very effective…"

"Hmph…" Arata shook his head. "She's so naïve. This is why I say she's just a collection of single-celled organisms." He became serious once more and stared at the path ahead of them. "Okay, then… We've come this far," he crossed his arms. "There's no turning back now."

Takumi nervously looked up at his friend. "Don't tell me you want to break into Under Zero…"

The older boy smirked. "Along the way, I'll stop Yuugo and Zaxon, too. You're with me, aren't you, Takumi?"

The redhead seriously stared at the road leading further in. "Yuugo…" He gave Arata a determined nod. "Yeah…"

"Because we gotta do this!" Arata nodded back with a bright smile.

Yuugo frowned at the small number of people gathered around him. "Are these the only hackers who have made it this far?" he asked Fei. "There's fewer than I expected."

"I heard that frumpy brat's voice back there," Fei scowled. "I reckon she must've gotten them to stay behind."

"Nokia…" Yuugo muttered.

"Okey-dokey, Yuugo-han," Fei smiled at him. "This here firewall's the final bit of security."

Yuugo nodded as he prepared to face what was behind the secure network. "Once I break through security, the truth behind EDEN will be mine and I will personally be able to restore order."

"You'll be the leader of the hackers for sure," Fei encouraged him. "No, of all of EDEN!"

"The leader of EDEN?" Arata smirked at that as he called out to them from behind. "Don't make me laugh!"

Yuugo turned towards the intruder in surprise. He spotted Takumi behind the older hacker and frowned. "Takumi!"

"Yuugo…" Takumi nodded to him with a serious frown on his face.

"Lookie here," Fei crossed her arms as she faced them. "I was wondering who that was. Well, well, if it isn't Arata, former leader of Jude." She sneered at the old legend. "Say, wasn't it your team that had a go at Under Zero all those years ago and failed before finally disbanding in disgrace?"

"Heh, you know your stuff," Arata coolly stared at her.

"Be a good dog like the loser you are," she told him. "Run along home now. Git."

"Yeah, we failed all right," Arata shrugged, "but it wasn't the security that did us in." He crossed his arms and frowned at the locked prism behind them. "Right after we broke through, something attacked us. Before we knew what was happening, we had our accounts destroyed and lost access to EDEN."

"E-eh!?" Takumi blinked at the prism. "Arata…?"

"That… thing was nowhere near as easy as the security was," the raven-haired boy grit his teeth together. "Some of my buddies, they went crazy from the fear. Even the guys that were okay, they saw what they were up against and lost confidence in themselves. They quit being hackers, so I disbanded the team."

Yuugo frowned as he placed hand on his hip. He looked over towards Takumi and knew this only furthered the Cyber Sleuth's resolve to stop him. Takumi noticed his gaze and flashed him a small apologetic smile.

"I came to warn you," Arata continued. "Keep away from Under Zero if you don't want to see your friends hurt."

Yuugo shook his head before addressing the older hacker. "What proof do you have that this story is true? Your coming here out of concern for our well-being lacks a little in the convincing department."

"The truth is," Arata shrugged, "I came to stop that idiot Nokia. But then I couldn't just stand by and let that thing prey upon you guys, too," he shook his head. "It's not right."

"Even if what you say is true," Yuugo continued, frowning at the redhead staring at him, "I have my reasons for not being to stop now. Even knowing the risks I face, there's something I must obtain…"

"Yuugo…" Takumi frowned at him. The Cyber Sleuth had been hoping to be able to get through to the stubborn hacker given their shared affinities.

"Yeah!" Fei's smile grew. "Get your nose out of our business! I'm right sick of lookin' at your face. Take a hike!" She laughed as the Zaxon hackers behind them prepared for a skirmish.

Arata chuckled at her. "You think I came here with just the two of us? You're so naïve!" He crossed his arms as he heard footsteps coming towards them.

Takumi blinked as more hackers arrived. "Arata…!?"

"Sorry to have kept you in the dark about this," the raven-haired boy lowered his face into his collar. "These guys are my old buddies, the former members of Jude."

Fei stared at the group in surprise. "What!?"

"I've brought together my old teammates who broke into Under Zero once before for one last rumble," Arata said, making a fist. "It looks like we've got a little fight on our hands."

Fei laughed at his boldness. "You're a funny one!" She began trembling in anticipation of crushing the former hacking team. "We'll defeat your 'legendary' team of has-been hackers, 'cuz we're the top dogs of EDEN now. Not you!"

Takumi clenched his fists. "I didn't mean to get involved in a hacking team war, but it looks like I've got no choice," he frowned to himself. "Yuugo! I hope you're ready!"

"Even if this isn't what either of us want, don't think I'll hold back against you, Takumi," Yuugo coolly stated, narrowing his eyes on the irregular hacker.

"Haaaaaang on a second!" another voice called out to them. The four teenagers turned towards Nokia as she came rushing to the battlefield with her own group of hackers. "To stamp out selfish evil for the sake of the world, for people, and for Digimon…" She glared at both Zaxon and Jude. "We are Rebellions! A bridge of hope, here now, uniting both Digimon and humans! Let there be no more talk of has-been hacker teams and the 'top dogs' of EDEN without me! You hackers who push Digimon around! Listen up!" she crossed her arms. "Digimon are not just mere programs. They are life forms in and of themselves! You must release your Digimon immediately and embrace them as friends!"

Arata stared at her in disbelief and sighed. Yuugo blankly blinked at the girl. Takumi placed his hands on his hips before shaking his head at his friend's sense of timing. "Nokia…"

"The one thing you're good at, as always," Fei shook her head, "is suckin' all the energy out of a room, you frumpy little brat."

Yuugo rested his right hand on his hip as he studied the three-way hacker team war about to unfold. "It seems neither side is willing to back down."

"Hmph," Fei crossed her arms. "That'll make this simple, then. I reckon the last team standing wins, right?" she smirked.

"If that's how it's gonna be, then you're on," Arata scowled.

"I'm ready!" Nokia glared at Fei. "There's no way I'm losing! Now, attack!" she cried.

Takumi flinched as the hackers around them quickly called out their Digimon to attack each other. He frowned as this was exactly the type of situation he had been trying to avoid by not picking a hacker team. The Cyber Sleuth frowned as he forced himself to stand against Zaxon. "Yuugo!" Takumi frowned at the boy who had introduced him to his Digimon. "I need you to stop this! This type of chaos won't save anyone! Not EDEN or the Digimon!"

Arata shook his head at the soft-hearted boy. "Hey, Takumi! There's no longer any point in talking. We'll have to use force." He crossed his arms and frowned at Yuugo. "If we win, you'll settle down and listen to us. Deal?"

"Very well," Yuugo calmly replied. "I don't plan on losing though."

"Heh," Arata smirked at the cheeky boy. "You always have to get the last word!"

"Says you!" Yuugo braced himself for battle.

"Yuugo…" Takumi frowned but he prepared his team against Mugendramon. "Everyone… Don't hold back!"

"Let's begin," the light-haired boy's grey eyes flashed as Mugendramon took the first attack. "Logon!"

Mugendramon's eyes flashed as it locked on to the four Digimon rushing towards it. "Mugen Cannon!"

"Lilimon! Switch out!" Takumi quickly loaded the Data Digimon before she could get hurt. Rapidmon and Andromon took the hit but quickly shook it off before continuing ahead.

"Rapid Fire!"

"Spiral Sword!"

Mugendramon roared as it took the attacks. "Booster Claw!"

Arata smirked before calling out to his Digimon. "Infermon!"

Infermon laughed as he grabbed the mechanical dragon's outstretched arm with his tentacles. He opened his mouth began firing. "Hell's Grenade!"

"Mugen Cannon!" Mugendramon fired his cannon again but faltered as he was forced to reboot.

"Now's our chance!" Arata growled. "Takumi!"

"Everyone! Go!" the Cyber Sleuth quickly applied a health spray on his team. Rapidmon and Andromon began assaulting the downed dragon but even in its weakened state, the sturdy Ultimate endured.

Monzaemon finally finished loading and joined the two other Vaccines. "Boom Boom Punch!"

Yuugo closed his eyes while his Digimon recovered its strength. When he opened them again, his Mugendramon was finally up. "Mugendramon," the boy calmly called out. "Use Catastrophe D."

Takumi's eyes widened as the powerful Digimon was charging up more than his cannon. He didn't need his Digivice to scan it as his body sensed that this next attack was even more devastating than its Mugen Cannon. "Arata! Put up your guard!"

"Right!" the raven-haired boy frowned. "Cocoon Guard!" Infermon brought his limbs closer to his body.

Mugendramon's eyes flashed and it let out a fierce roar as missiles fired out from all over its body. "Catastrophe D!"

Takumi winced as his team did their best to take the hits, but even with their advantage against the metal Virus, the three Vaccines collapsed to the ground. "Everyone!" the redhead quickly ran towards them with a health spray in his hand. He jumped back as Mugendramon suddenly towered over him.

"What did you think you could do against an Ultimate with just a team of Perfects?" Yuugo asked the Cyber Sleuth. "Mugendramon…"

"Hey, Yuugo! You're going too far!" Arata cried out. "Infermon! Get Takumi out of there!" Infermon quickly threw himself into the great Ultimate for its Cocoon Attack. Takumi flinched as the massive Digimon toppled backwards before quickly using the chance to move. Arata shook his head at his friend. "Hey! Takumi! Get back here!"

"I told myself I would face you," Takumi frowned as he helped his Digimon to their feet, "Even though you were the one to introduce them to me…"

"You truly are softer than me," Yuugo frowned at the redhead. "Such weakness is bound to be your downfall. That's why I can't afford to show you mercy." His eyes quickly darted to his Digimon. "Mugendramon!"

"Mugen Cannon!"

"Rapidmon!" Takumi stood his ground and faced the attack ahead on as his fastest Vaccine Digimon rushed forward.

"Golden Triangle!" Both attacks fiercely collided into each other and Rapidmon fought to deflect the powerful impact. Mugendramon roared as it focused on crushing the cyborg poodle.

Infermon used the opening to his advantage. "Hell's Grenade!"

"You can't expect to win with numbers alone," Yuugo frowned at the irregular hacker. "Logon!" he ordered his Digimon. Mugendramon locked his cannons onto Takumi and his team.

"Hey, Takumi!" Arata cried out.

Takumi shook his head. "We have more than just numbers, Yuugo. I believe my team will defeat you!"

"Then show me," Yuugo frowned. "Catastrophe D!"

"Xros Combo!" Takumi called out to his Digimon.

"Golden Triangle!" Rapidmon quickly countered the mechanical dragon's attack again.

Andromon launched his missiles from behind his ally. "Gatling Missile!"

"Lovely Attack!" Monzaemon jumped into the air and released a barrage of hearts at Mugendramon.

Overwhelmed by all three Perfects, Mugendramon let out a screeching groan before shutting down. Arata smirked at the victory and quickly had Infermon corner the Zaxon leader. "So we won after all," the raven-haired boy chuckled.

"You seem to still have it," Yuugo praised the veteran hacker for managing to trap him.

"Ha, you too," Arata relaxed as it didn't seem Yuugo had any other Digimon in reserve.

Yuugo looked around and noticed his team of hackers was slowly but surely being defeated by the combined forces of Jude and Rebellions. He brought a hand up to his forehead at the surprising turn of events. "I thought you old-school hackers wouldn't know how to use Digimon programs."

"We've got a geek-class specialist in Digimon work," Arata shrugged. "It's very important to have… well, you know," he shook his head. "And of course, you can't just go around underestimating this crazy kid here," he smirked at the redhead standing beside him.

"W-well…" Takumi crookedly smiled at that as he scratched his cheek. "There was something I had to get across to Yuugo since we're the same…"

Arata rolled his eyes at that before glancing toward their other friend. "We also have a real pain-in-the-butt," he said with crossed arms.

"Hm?" Takumi turned to see who he was referring to. "Ah! Nokia!"

The red-haired girl was still at it with Fei. "As I said, Digimon are not programs!" Nokia cried. "How many times do I have to tell you!?"

"It doesn't matter," Fei frowned at her. "We ain't interested. I only care about one thing and that's Yuugo-han." She paused as she looked over towards the light-haired hacker with a devoted smile on her face. "Yuugo is my everything. To know Yuugo… to protect Yuugo… That is my purpose in life. All I want is Yuugo-han. Just her…"

"Wow," Nokia gave Fei a crooked smile. "I didn't know you COULD be sincere! In spite of your gross personality, that was kinda sweet!" She blinked. "Huh? 'Her'?"

"I just noticed something," Fei frowned back at Nokia. "You and me are a lot alike."

"What? Hang—hang on!" Nokia was taken aback by that. "What are you talking about? Kn-knock it off with that nonsense!"

"Great minds hate alike," Fei continued.

"What!? What do you mean by that?"

"That's enough chitchat," Fei shook her head. "I doubt you're much different from before. I'll tan your hide! Ready?"

Nokia glared at her as WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon tensed up at her sides. "I took a crash course and beefed up my skills!" the redhead exclaimed. "It won't go down as easily as last time!"

"So you say," Fei smirked. "I'll mess y'all up, you frumpy brat!" Behind her, TigerVespamon quickly darted forward. "Royal Meister!"

"Brave Shield!" WarGreymon quickly stepped forward to protect Nokia.

MetalGarurumon howled as he pounced on the speedy bee-colored warrior. "Metal Fang!"

WarGreymon prepared to help his partner but quickly rose into the air when he spotted two other Digimon targeting them. Fei laughed as she gave out her orders to them. "Hououmon, Sakuyamon, playtime is over!"

"Starlight Explosion!" Hououmon's body began to light up before an explosion knocked WarGreymon out of the air.

"WarGreymon!" MetalGarurumon quickly caught his friend on his back and tried to jump to safety, but Sakuyamon intercepted him.

The God Man Digimon spun its staff around before striking the weapon to the ground. "Kongoukai Mandala!"

Nokia winced as both her Digimon let out pained cries as they were caught in the purification barrier. "WarGreymon… MetalGarurumon…"

"So much for trainin' and bonds," Fei smirked at her as she crossed her arms. "What bunk! Yer nothin' but talk. An' cheap talk at that!" she laughed. "It's over. Bye-bye!"

TigerVespamon charged towards the fallen Ultimate Digimon. "Mach Stinger V!"

Nokia tensed up as she refused to be defeated here. "N-no… No, this is not over! Not our hot springs ping-pong matches! Not our all-night karaoke!" She glared at Fei as she let out a yell. "And not the Love-Love Digimon Initiative to the Max! It's about to begin. Right. Now!"

"Eh!?" Fei's eyes widened as it looked like the redhead had an ace up her sleeve after all.

Nokia let out a cry and held up her shining Digivice into the air. "WarGreymon!" The Dragon Man Digimon's body turned into flames and his glowing helmet rose into the air. "MetalGarurumon!" The mechanical wolf howled as his body became ice. "Let's go!" The two Digimon quickly merged together into a regal white knight with a long billowing cape. His left arm was comprised of WarGreymon's Brave Shield and helmet while his left seemed to be made from MetalGarurumon's face. Nokia and the new Digimon stood with their arms crossed as the girl smirked at Fei.

The brunette blinked at the sudden evolution. "What—what just—?"

Nokia laughed. "Did you see? The miracle that the bond between me and my Digimon just made happen?" She paused before turning around at the new Digimon in surprise. "Eh…? Whaaaaat!? WarGreymon! MetalGarurumon! What—what happened to you guys!?"

"Get out…" Fei frowned at her. "You whipped out that Digivice like the cat what ate the canary… You sayin' that was just a wing an' a prayer?"

"I am Omegamon," the regal Digimon spoke. "I was summoned by the pure bond of friendship"

"Y-y-yeah, yeah, of course! You sure were!" Nokia smirked. "Just like I knew was going to happen! Because I totally knew it the whole time!" she boastfully lied. "Alright, Fei," she glared back at her opponent. "No more Ms. Nice Guy! This time, you're going down!"

Omegamon nodded in agreement as he cast aside his red mantle. "Grey Sword!" A large sword emerged from WarGreymon's head and Omegamon swung it without hesitation. Hououmon was immediately felled by the slash but Sakuyamon and TigerVespamon caught the blade with their weapons. Both Digimon struggled under the great Super Ultimate's strength though and Omegamon raised his free arm towards them. MetalGarurumon's mouth opened, revealing a cannon and it quickly began to charge up. "Garuru Cannon!" Omegamon fired as he pushed his opponents away with his Grey Sword.

"I c-can't believe it…" Fei gasped as she fell to her knees. She didn't think that one Digimon could completely level her team so easily.

"Fei…" Yuugo watched the carnage and shook his head in disbelief. "What on earth is that Digimon?"

"Well, it seems we have a winner," Arata said with a cross of his arms. "Or do you want to keep going?"

Takumi stepped towards defeated hacker. "It's over now…" He held out his hand to the light-haired boy. "Let it go, Yuugo… I know you only just want to protect EDEN, but I told you before this isn't something you can do alone." Takumi stared into the Zaxon leader's grey eyes. "I'm sure this isn't what your family would want, Yuugo.."

Yuugo's eyes widened at his words and he quickly slapped aside the Cyber Sleuth's outstretched hand. "Why do you have to interfere!?" he angrily asked the nosy redhead. "I just want to save the world that was my father's dream!" His grey eyes brimmed with hot tears as he glared at Takumi.

Takumi's blue eyes widened in surprise at the other boy's sudden change in demeanor. "Ah…! Y-yuu…?"

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Arata frowned. "Your mannerisms are suddenly all feminine. What's all this about your father?"

The Cyber Sleuth stared at the grey-eyed hacker before him. "Kamishiro Yuugo…" he quietly muttered. Yuugo's eyes widened as he stared back at the blue-eyed teen. "I had thought you were Kamishiro Yuugo… a victim of EDEN Syndrome with symptoms similar to me… but you're not really him… Are you, Yuu—?" He tensed up when a woman's voice began cackling around them.

"All right, all right, all riiiight!" a sickeningly sweet voice echoed throughout the server room. "That's enough!"

Arata gasped as he realized who it was. "Kishibe!"

"You've done a great job! I really admire you, sweetie!" the woman continued to laugh.

"Rie-san!?" The Zaxon hacker's face began to fill with confusion and fear.

"Why don't you just go put your feet up? Your part in this is over now," Kishibe told the boy. "Your role as Yuugo was to bring everyone here! And according to our scenario, once everyone is here, what comes next?"

Takumi tensed up as the Digital Waves around him distorted. He let out painful cry as multiple Eaters appeared around them. Their sudden arrival was extremely nauseating and the redhead found himself suddenly down on one knee. "M-my… body…" he groaned.

"What is this?" Arata asked as the Eaters took down the hackers around them one by one. "What's going on here!?"

Kishibe laughed at the ensuing panic and chaos as the Eaters continued their buffet. "You little hackers are really stupid! You had no idea you were being played this whole time. You just blithely came along for the ride! I'm going to take your unripe mental energy… and squeeze and squeeze every last drop. All. For. Me!"

Takumi panted as he fought off the waves of nausea continuing to wash over him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before sensing an incoming transmission from the detective agency. "Kyoko-san…!" he gasped as he forced himself to rise to his feet.

"Ever—on—right?" Static poured out from the display screen as Kyoko's voice tried to reach them. "Can you—hear—voice?"

"Kyoko-san!" Nokia worriedly called out to her.

Takumi winced as he used his abilities to stabilize the connection. "Kyoko-san!"

"It seems I finally got through," the woman gravely nodded to the red-haired boy. "I don't think I have long though," she stated, noticing the pained look on her assistant's face as he focused on keeping the call's connection stable.

"What's going on!?" Nokia asked. "What the heck is this?"

"As far as I can tell, someone has sent a high-density Digital Wave to your area," Kyoko explained.

"Someone?" Arata crossed his arms. "It's got to be Kishibe. What do we actually DO about it?"

"The answer is relatively simple," Kyoko told them. "Eaters are attracted to Digital Waves. That being the case, you have to stop the Digital Wave at its source. Do that and no more Eaters should appear."

"You make it sound easy," Arata frowned. "Just plug up the source. How do we manage that!?"

"We'll get it done… somehow!" Takumi stated, shoving aside all thoughts of his discomfort.

"I don't understand what's going on," Nokia began with a fearful expression on her face, "but I'm not letting myself getting swallowed up by nothing! What's happening!?" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Help!" she screamed.

"Argh! Shut up!" Arata snapped at her. "I'll explain later, so just shut it!"

"Kyoko-san!" Takumi wore a determined expression on his face as his bright blue eyes focused on the detective. "Just leave this to us!"

Kyoko chuckled at her ever reliable assistant. "No matter what condition y—are in, you al—ys move at—same pace. I'm a little relieved…" Takumi smirked back at her before he winced. "You sh—be able to—t out of th—tight spot. I'll have a pot of my special ble—waiting. Make sure you come b—safely."

"Understood!" Takumi told her before cutting the call. He took a moment to catch his breath as keeping the connection up took a lot more out of him than he had thought it would.

"Her special blend?" Arata crookedly smirked. "Is that what she said? I'm so happy I could cry."

"Never mind that," Takumi shook his head before searching around them. "We've got to move!"

Fei looked around the area with a frown. "The source of the Digital Wave?" She quickly spotted something strange above them. "I think that's it."

"For the time being, let's have a temporary truce!" Nokia exclaimed. "We've got to plug that hole!"

"Let's go!" Takumi nodded as he quickly took the lead and started for the massive distortion. Everyone else followed after him, except for Yuugo.

"Rie-san…" the light-haired teen wore a disturbed frown and shook his head. "Why? Why would you do this?"

"This isn't the time to be fretting about that!" Nokia called out to the Zaxon leader.

"That's right," Omegamon nodded. "If the Eaters keep spreading, we'll be in danger too."

"GaruruGreymon!" Nokia quickly turned to the powerful Digimon. "Any ideas?"

"Garuru…Grey…mon?" Omegamon stared down at his new form with a confused frown.

"Since MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon merged, your name should be GaruruGreymon! Or do you prefer GreyGarurumon?"

"I am Omegamon," the Digimon shook his head. "You can call me that."

"Gah! Who cares what you're called right now!?" Arata frowned at the pair. "Do you have any ideas or not?"

"The Eaters are being manipulated by a high-density Digital Wave," Omegamon stated. "In addition to the source, there are connection points feeding the Digital Wave. We'll have to shut them off as well."

"Oh! Look there!" Nokia spotted the strange portal Fei pointed out before. "Up there!"

Takumi winced as he looked up towards it. "Y-yeah…" he groaned as another wave of nausea swept over him. "T-that should be it… But how do we reach it? Omegamon… Can you…?"

"Very well, I will go plug the openings! You two!" Omegamon nodded to Takumi and Arata. "Watch after Nokia for me! Protect her from the Eaters until I return!"

"Of course!" Takumi nodded before preparing his team for a defensive siege.

"Tch," Arata shook his head. "I guess we have no choice!"

"Th-they're here!" Nokia trembled as she stood behind the two boys.

"Let's go!" Arata cried out to Infermon.

"Everyone, hang in there!" Takumi sent his team forward against the horde of Eaters closing in on them.

Omegamon frowned as more and more Eaters filled the room below him. "We can't keep this up forever," he stated as he tried to block the hole with his MetalGarurumon arm. "It would be better to destroy them. But there's no proof that would stop them. What would you do, Nokia?" he asked himself, looking down at the terrified girl below. He closed his eyes and chuckled. "I know what you'd do, Nokia." He called for his Grey Sword and impulsively destroyed the transmitter. "You'd act before thinking!" He turned around to see the amount of Eaters increasing slowing, but there were still a great number of them surrounding the teens. The white Holy Knight quickly moved on as he began searching for the other holes emitting Digital Waves.

"Uh-oh," Arata gulped. "They're really starting to outnumber us now."

"Wh-wh-what should we do!?" Nokia asked.

"We have to keep fighting!" Takumi winced again. He paused though when he sensed something strange but familiar appear before them. "Ah…!"

At his side, Yuugo tensed up too. "Ah! That's…"

"What?" Nokia blinked when a ghostly apparition resembling Yuugo but with black hair appeared. "No way! Yuugo?"

"You're kidding me!" Arata shook his head. "But Yuugo's right here!"

The Zaxon leader hesitantly stepped forward towards the raven-haired ghost. "That can't be… Nii-san!?"

The ghostly Yuugo said nothing as he stood between the teenagers and the Eaters. As if he were a repellant force against the monsters, the Eaters began retreating away from the group.

"The Eaters… are fleeing…" Arata stated in disbelief.

The ghost turned towards them and Takumi frowned as he swore the figure was trying to tell them something. He couldn't quite make it out before the light-haired Yuugo tried to run to him. "Nii-san… Nii-san!" Just as he was about to reach the figure, the ghostly Yuugo turned away and disappeared.

"So then that was…" Nokia knit her eyebrows together in confusion, "Yuugo just now? There are two Yuugos? Both of them are Yuugo? What the heck!?"

"Nii-san?" Arata frowned and crossed his arms as he studied the Zaxon hacker.

Takumi ignored his two friends as he tried reaching out to his light-haired friend. "Yuu—" Just as his hand rested on the hacker's shoulder, the two of them let out a pained cry.

Yuugo winced and frowned at his body. "I… Rie-san? What are you…? Stop!" Before anyone knew it, Yuugo suddenly disappeared before them.

"Did he just… log out?" Arata blinked. "Wait. I bet someone in the real world forced him to log out."

"Yuuko-san!" Takumi roared as he performed a Connect Jump before he could lose the signal.

Nokia's eyes widened when the redhead disappeared too. "Now they're BOTH gone!" She worriedly frowned as there was no trace of Takumi or Yuugo left in the network. "Was that a Connect Jump? I've never seen one before."

Yuuko opened her eyes and blinked a few times as her body readjusted itself to the real world. She tensed up as she saw Kishibe towering over her.

"Oh my, you're awake?" Kishibe smiled at her. "Welcome home, Yuuko-chan!"

The raven-haired girl pushed herself back against her seat in surprise. "R-rie-san!? You were controlling those monsters? Then that means… every EDEN Syndrome case has been because you…"

Kishibe giggled at such a ridiculous thought. "Oh, no. I wasn't doing it all from the very beginning. But I was fascinated by the existence of the Eaters. I knew there was a way to control them if only I looked hard enough! The experiments were a big success!" she giddily exclaimed. "All that's left to do is to tear down the world's walls!"

Yuuko let out a gasp and tried to get up from her seat only to realize she was strapped to a strange terminal. Her eyes widened as it slowly dawned on her that she was trapped.

"And to do that, I'll need your mental data…" Kishibe pressed her fingertips together, "Your memories. Yuuko-chan… Work with me just a little bit longer, okay?" She prepared to place a strange helmet on the girl's head before a strange boy suddenly appeared in the room, shoving her back.

"Y-yuuko-san!" Takumi quickly pushed himself in between the woman and his friend.

"Oh my," Kishibe glared at him. "It's you."

"Kishibe…" the redhead tensed up as he didn't really know what to do now. He had performed the Connect Jump on a whim as he thought Yuuko had been in trouble. Now that he was here in this strange spacious room, he didn't quite understand what was going on, but for some reason, a strange sense of fear began to well up within him. "K-kishibe…" He faltered as he realized the dread he was experiencing was emanating from the woman herself.

"It looks like your annoying little friend followed you back," the woman shook her head. She darkly smiled at the precocious boy and pinched his cheek. "That ability of yours is getting to be a tad bit bothersome," she said, her tone becoming sharp. "Would you mind getting out of my hair!?"

Takumi's eyes widened when the woman slightly flickered before him. A pink knight-like figure seemed to replace her as she punched his stomach with her right hand. He let out a painful cry before suddenly disappearing from the room. "Y-yuuko-san…!"

Yuuko gasped once he was gone. "Takumi-san!"

"There," Kishibe wore a satisfied smile. "Now that that nuisance is out of the way…"

"Rie-san!" Yuuko sharply cried out as she fought against her restraints. "What did you do to him!?"

"Now, now, you mustn't move!" the woman grinned at the teen. "You have to relax for your first time, remember?"

Yuuko clenched her teeth together as she wasn't in any position to be worrying about Takumi when she herself could be in danger. She tried to struggle against Kishibe as the woman placed the terminal's helmet over her head.

"What's great about this terminal is that not only can I log into EDEN with any avatar I want…" the CEO giggled, "It creates the personality and imports it as memories into the Digital World. Did you not catch on, Yuuko-chan? You thought you were the real Yuugo when you were logged in as Yuugo? But no," she shook her head and gave the poor orphan a small smile, "I created that personality."

"N-no," Yuuko shook her head. "That was of my own free will…"

"Your own 'free will'?" Kishibe laughed at that. "There's hardly any of that left. If your free will was in charge, you'd never have taken part in that farce to fool all those hackers."

"To fool… the hackers?" Yuuko's eyes widened. "I did that… to those hackers?"

Kishibe nodded and giggled as the girl finally caught on. "In other words, this terminal can spoof your memoires via the Digital World! It can write them in and, of course, extract them." The woman's smile grew as she pulled down the helmet's visors over the girl's eyes. With a sinister giggle, she waltzed to the terminal's outer console and prepared it for Yuuko's memory extraction. "Well, then, shall we begin? I'm going to steal alllll your secrets!"

Yuuko screamed as the machine activated.

Takumi felt himself land on solid ground and gave himself a moment to catch his breath before opening his eyes. "Kishibe… isn't human…" he gasped as he stared at the road beneath him. He thought back to her punch and the way it felt more like a Digimon's attack than a normal jab. In fact, his entire body was still shaking from the shockwave of the impact. It was a good thing his body wasn't completely normal or else that blow would have killed him. Takumi shook his head as now wasn't the time to focus on that. When he finally managed to calm down a bit, he finally focused on his surroundings. "W-where…?" His mind was racing around too quickly for him to keep up with all of his thoughts and Takumi winced as it only weakened his body even further. He let out a scream until a call suddenly came up without him answering it.

"It seems there have been some rapid developments," Kyoko nodded to him when he finally regained control over his senses.

"K-kyoko-san…" Takumi forcefully tried to give her a wry smile. "I'm sorry if I worried you…"

"Regardless, I'm glad you're okay," she nodded to him. "Watch out for cars."

Takumi tensed up as he heard a truck coming towards him. He quickly pushed himself off the ground and jumped as the reckless driver nearly hit him. The teenager sighed in relief as it seems his body was finally stabilizing. "Th-thanks, Kyoko-san… But about my last Connect Jump…"

"I should be able to calculate Yuuko-san's position from your Digivice's log data. Start by returning to the agency," she directed him. "I'll contact Arata and Nokia."

"But we can't just leave Yuuko-san alone with Kishibe!" Takumi exclaimed. "She's in danger! That woman isn't even human! Kyoko-san, I have to go back!" he adamantly stated.

"Hmm. I understand your excitement," Kyoko stated, bringing her index finger to her forehead. "I suppose it's only natural. Yet now is when you must remain calm." Takumi paused at that and frowned at himself. "You must understand the situation before you act," the detective reminded him.

Takumi closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before forcing himself to calm down and think things through. "Doggedly and with all your might, exhibit endurance like hard black iron," he stated aloud. When he opened them again, he nodded to the blonde woman. "Isn't that right, Kyoko-san?"

Kyoko smiled at him and nodded. "Yes. That is precisely why you are my assistant." She said nothing else as the boy smiled back at her in understanding.

Nokia frowned as there were so few hackers remaining after that mass Eater attack. "That was really intense…" she absently told Arata.

The boy let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. Arata's face was partially hidden by his jacket as he let it all sink in. He shook his head before deciding it was best for him to just leave.

"Arata!" Nokia called out to him in worry.

Arata stopped walking but he lowered his gaze to the floor. "There's a lot I don't understand, but there's one thing I know for sure. I know who the enemy is."

"And?" Nokia asked. "Wh-wh-what do we do about it!?"

"She played us all for fools, mocking our pride," Arata frowned. "I have to avenge our fallen comrades… as a lone hacker."

"Arata…" the redhead frowned as she didn't think his method was quite right.

"See ya," he shook his head as he refused to look at her. "You need to go home," he sternly told her, "before you get in over your head."

Nokia let out a heavy sigh as she watched him walk away. She shook her head though before noticing Omegamon returning to her side. "Oh! GaruruGreymon! Thank you for helping us!"

"I am Omegamon," the Digimon repeated himself, "of the Royal Knights."

"Oh, yeah. It's Omegamon, right," she smiled at him before blinking at the Digimon. "Um, Royal Knights?"

"There's something important I have to tell you," Omegamon smiled back at her. "Once I merged into Omegamon, I was able to remember why I came to this world."

"Something important to tell me?" Nokia blinked at him. "The reason you came to this world?" She shook her head but smiled anyways. "I'm not really following you, but okay! Just leave it all to Nokia!"

"Nokia…" the Digimon's turquoise eyes shone as he stared at his trusted tamer. "It is not just the Digital World that faces a grave danger. The world you live in is threatened as well. You will be involved in a greater fight than the ones you have been embroiled in thus far. Will you lend us your aid?"

"Yeah, of course I will!" Nokia smirked. "Even if the whole entire world is against us and even if something gross falls for my hot bod… I will keep fighting for you as long as my heart goes on!" she nodded.

"Nokia… Thank you," Omegamon nodded. "There is, after all, something… familiar about you."

"Okaaaaay, let's goooo!" Nokia pumped herself up. "Our battle begins now!" She quickly took off with Omegamon towards the exit terminal.

Fei shook her head as she watched the exchange. "Idiot… Talking like that makes it sound more like the end than the beginning," she frowned. After a while she sighed as she looked around at the fallen hackers. "Yuugo… No, Yuuko-han," she worriedly muttered. "I'm begging you, please, be safe."

Final Notes: So... when I first played... I thought it was kinda obvious Yuugo and Yuuko were siblings. Namely because of their similar character designs and hell, they're names are only one letter off. In Japanese, Yuuko's name is written in kanji though while Yuugo is in katakana, so it's not as obvious, but still, they wear the same wispy material on the collar area of their long-sleeved tops... And they have sorta the same monochrome color scheme and they both sometimes wear the same expressions. What I didn't expect though was that Zaxon Yuugo was Yuuko and ghost Yuugo was Yuugo. I just kinda thought Yuugo had a body like Takumi's so dedicated himself to staying in EDEN to fix things, while avoiding his sister because it would be depressing for her to know he was semi-okay. I mean... you never once meet Yuugo in the real world and of course, he'd obviously keep tabs on Yuuko... but uh... so I was wrong and making things more convoluted than necessary. It still doesn't really change the fact that the leader of Zaxon is amazing. Also... Kishibe is a huge creeper. I kinda feel bad for having her physically assaulting Takumi, but... um... he's fine?