Author's Notes: With the plot getting serious yesterday, I forgot to comment on Takumi's Knightmon... Since the majority of his team is Virus type Digimon for some reason, it was hard to find suitable Data types for him. Besides Lilimon, I noticed that the only Data evolution for Clockmon was Knightmon. But Knightmon's evolution path is pretty... limited... since he can only become one of three Royal Knights. But anyway, I should probably list out Takumi's current team because even I find it pretty easy to lost track of. His starters are in their respective Perfect forms of Rapidmon, Lilimon, and Andromon... His DLC Digimon are in their proper Perfect forms to as WereGarurumon (Black) and MetalGreymon (Virus), so he ended up losing Tyranomon as a Data type... His Growmon became MegaloGrowmon... Yukidarumon is now Monzaemon... He still hasn't used Tankmon yet, but he's Gigadramon now and I don't think he will use Gigadramon in battle considering he already has a full set of Virus Digimon to use in battle. This makes 4 Viruses, 3 Vaccines, and 2 Data. I still say this is somewhat balanced...

Kyoko looked up from her monitor as Takumi finally returned. The redhead flashed her a tired smile. "I'm home…"

"You're late," she returned his smile with an encouraging one of her own. "Look at the TV," she nodded to the large screen. "They're covering the Under Zero incident."

Takumi nodded as he took a seat on the sofa and watched the coverage. "So what are they saying this time?"

"The reports are saying the mass outbreak of EDEN Syndrome was caused by hacking activity in EDEN. It's a unilateral indictment against hackers… and of course, there's not a single word on the mastermind, Kishibe." Kyoko leaned back in her seat. "At the very least the scheme paints Kamishiro as the victim and hackers as the perpetrators. Kishibe laid the blame on the hackers and must still be using Kamishiro Yuuko to further the Paradise Lost Plan."

"Ah… She's still focused on that…" Takumi lowered his gaze to the coffee table. "Do you know why Kishibe abducted Yuuko-san?"

"I don't have any clues as to that," Kyoko shook her head. "However, Kishibe's plan must be nearing its climax and Yuuko-san is the key to its final stage."

"Then why was it necessary to sic the Eaters on the hackers?" Takumi asked.

"Kishibe flooded Under Zero with a massive Digital Wave to control the unpredictable Eaters. That must have been just an experiment. Eaters and the Digital Wave," Kyoko mused, "To see whether or not it was possible to control them both. She was able to wipe out the hackers she had been manipulating, so it was two birds with one stone. It turns out you were the bait."

"So the Demons and the EDEN preview… Those had been tests too," Takumi concluded. He clenched his fists when he realized those incidents had just been a prelude to the events at Under Zero.

"Kishibe Rie finally mastered control over the flow of Digital Waves," Kyoko nodded. "This had eluded her until now. The Paradise Lost Plan could start at any moment now. We need to find Kamishiro Yuuko quickly! We'll check your log information for that. At the same time, we must figure out what the true objective of this plan is." The detective brought her hand up to her chin. "What does she achieve by being able to control Digital Waves? That's the crux of the Paradise Lost Plan. We've got data on the latest labyrinth events and new information on Digital Wave flows. If we compare them, we should be able to predict conclusively where Digital Waves will occur. That locus will, in all likelihood, be the focal point of her plan."

"But Kyoko-san…" Takumi frowned. "Don't we already know where that will be?"

She nodded to him but crossed her arms. "Even so, it's best that we compile all that we've learned together in order to come up with an effective countermeasure. It'll take some time to verify all this. Please wait a little longer."

"I understand…" Takumi nodded. He paused when his Digivice began to ring. "Hello?"

"Oh, Takumi!?" Nokia smiled at the boy. "You're safe!"

"Y-yeah…" the Cyber Sleuth gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry if I worried you… Did you need something?"

"Omegamon wants to talk to you!" she nodded. "Can you come to the Zaxon Forum? We can keep a low profile there. So I'll see you?"

"Alright," Takumi nodded before hanging up. He glanced up towards Kyoko and noticed she was thinking deeply about something.

"A message from Nokia… that is, from Omegamon? Hmm… It must be something important." She nodded to her assistant. "My investigation's going to take a little longer. The Zaxon forum, eh? Go check it out."

"Since it'll take time for you to finish your analysis, I might as well go," Takumi chuckled. As he stood up, a rush of dizziness came over him. He quickly steadied himself and took a few deep breaths.

"Takumi?" Kyoko stopped working for a moment and carefully studied him.

"I'm alright," he reassured her. "I was just dizzy for a moment. I'm off."

"Have a safe trip," she nodded to him as he Connect Jumped into the television. The detective frowned to herself as she wondered how the sudden changes in the Digital Waves will affect his increasingly sensitive body. "All the more reason for us to do our best," she stated as a plan was beginning to form in her mind.

"Hey, you're here!" Nokia smiled at the Cyber Sleuth.

Takumi looked up at the Royal Knight standing behind her. "So what's this about?"

"See, Omegamon? Takumi's here!"

"Takumi, I apologize for the inconvenience, but we needed to talk face to face," Omegamon nodded at the red-haired boy.

Sensing it was urgent, Takumi worriedly frowned at the Super Ultimate. "Your tone is pretty different from before…" he noticed.

"Yeah, it's surprising, I know!" Nokia nodded. "He totally grew up! I kinda miss Agumon and Gabumon but…" she smirked up at her new Digimon. "Look at how freakin' cool he is!" Omegamon let out an embarrassed chuckle. "So, yeah! Omegamon remembered what he forgot. The reason why he came to this world!" She turned to face her Digimon and stood at Takumi's side. "Okay then, Omegamon! Go right ahead!"

"Thank you, Nokia," Omegamon nodded to her before looking into Takumi's blue eyes. "Now then, heed my words. I came here to save the world we Digimon live in, the Digital World, from destruction. The Digital World is falling prey to the fury of the Eaters."

"The Digital World too!?" Takumi asked in surprise.

"There are Eaters on your world!?" Nokia frowned in concern.

"Yes. The Digital World is an optimal feeding ground for the Eaters, who consume data." Omegamon frowned as he continued. "Even as I speak, they are infesting our world, eating away at it. I am a member of the Royal Knights, one of the ultimate Digimon guardians of the Digital World. We Royal Knights serve Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil is the very order that exists to control the Digital World. When Yggdrasil detected the Eaters, he monitored them and soon after deemed them to be errors that constituted a threat. Following his command, The Royal Knights began to search for where they came from in the hopes of completely annihilating them. We then determined the origin of the threat."

"Don't tell me…" Takumi frowned.

Omegamon nodded at the boy's suspicions. "It was in an adjacent world, in a certain cyberspace that had just been born in your own world."

"What?" Nokia knit her eyebrows together. "A cyberspace in our world? Do you mean—?"

"EDEN," Omegamon nodded.

Both redheads were surprised by that fact. Takumi shook his head. "But how did this happen?"

"This network completely digitizes human consciousness to express it in cyberspace," Omegamon explained. "In the first system… EDEN's avatars—human mental data itself—was what caused Eaters to appear. Even more so than in your 'real' world, human desire and spite, passion and rage were completely unchecked in the digital world you call EDEN. Eaters were born from that unique set of emotional data."

"It can't be…" Nokia frowned.

Takumi clenched his fist. "So it's because of humans…?" he sadly asked.

"Of course, there were Royal Knights who objected to such a hasty decision," Omegamon continued, "myself included. However, there were many who agreed that this conclusion was correct—that the blame for all of this lay with humanity. They now seek to destroy the human world."

"D-destroy it?" Nokia panicked. "When you say the 'human world', what are we talking about? Nakano? Japan!? You can't mean…"

"I do. Everything on this planet," the Digimon regretfully answered. "Even if we were to eliminate the Eaters from our world, so long as their source—humanity—still exists, they will only reappear. Only by wiping out the human race can the Eaters be completely annihilated. At least, that is the conclusion the others have reached."

"Digimon are…" Nokia frowned, "planning on destroying all humans?"

"They are aiming to invade. The Royal Knights lead a large force and are planning a surprise attack."

"Invade? But how?" Nokia was confused. "Digimon can't enter the real world."

"In the city you call Tokyo, Digimon are already appearing in your physical space, are they not?" Omegamon asked.

Takumi tensed up as he realized what the Digimon was referring to. "The Labyrinth Phenomenon!" He frowned at the implications of inducing a world-wide labyrinth.

"What we call a Dimensional Wall separates the world of the humans from our Digital World. However, by creating a large enough hole in this wall to serve as a door, the two worlds can be joined, their properties intermingling. As a result, Digimon can pass back and forth between our worlds. The increasing strength of the Digital Wave phenomenon in Tokyo is caused by ongoing attempts to open a massive portal into your world. That is the 'Paradise Lost Plan'," Omegamon concluded. "So Kishibe, who is implementing the plan, is either acting in concert with the Royal Knights or… it is highly probably she is under mind control."

"Or she could be a Royal Knight herself…" Takumi frowned as he remembered the pressure she exuded when he had been standing right in front of her. Now that he thought about it, the feeling did resemble a Digital Wave of some sort, but it had been monstrously different from what he had been used to. That on top of that devastating punch only further suggest his theory, but he knit his eyebrows together as it didn't quite make sense how she could exist in the real world.

"So there are other Royal Knights here beside you?" Nokia nervously asked.

"The two worlds are not completely separated. There are several small dimensional cracks in the wall," Omegamon nodded. "I was able to pass through by adopting the smaller data forms of Agumon and Gabumon." He lowered his gaze. "Losing a portion of my memories was an… unforeseen complication. I would not be surprised if there were other Digimon who came through the same way."

"I s-see…" Nokia worriedly frowned.

"I will do all I can to prevent their invasion of the human world," Omegamon vowed. "It is neither right nor justifiable to destroy another world in an attempt to save your own. I cannot abide by such a destructive solution!"

"Omegamon…" Nokia nodded in agreement. "You're right! And I feel the same way! Humans and Digimon ought to become BETTER friends, not the other way around!"

"There is something I need your help with, though," the Digimon stated to both humans. "This is a riddle that even a Royal Knight such as myself cannot solve. Please, help me uncover the truth of this situation so that we may resolve it!"

"Of course," Takumi nodded with a smile. "I'm a Cyber Sleuth after all!" He paused when he suddenly received a call.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Kyoko nodded to him. "Verification took longer than I expected. But there's a reason for that. A number of interesting things have come to light."

"I just discovered a lot here on my end too, Kyoko-san," Takumi notified her.

She curiously raised an eyebrow at him. "Return to the agency then," she directed him. "We need to plan our counterattack as soon as possible."

"We're coming too!" Nokia exclaimed. "We have to tell her the news!"

"Sorry for the delay!" Nokia smiled as she finally got to the agency. "Okay, Kyoko-san, let's start the strategy meeting!"

"There's still one important person who isn't here yet," Kyoko said, shaking her head.

"And important person?" Nokia frowned. "Who besides me…?"

"Nokia…" Takumi smirked. "Aren't you forgetting someone? A good friend of ours?" The Cyber Sleuth chuckled as the door opened and Arata came in. "Here he is now."

"Gwuh? You can't possibly mean…?" Nokia frowned at the hacker approaching them.

"Ugh…" Arata also narrowed his eyes at her. "I came 'cause I heard there was gonna be a strategy meeting to talk about how to get rid of Kishibe, but I see our wild one is here, too."

"You're one to talk!" Nokia crossed her arms. "Always making things more complicated just because you think you're some kind of legend! You emotionally stunted jerkface! You've always been like this! You up and disappear by yourself at Under Zero! You're no good at fighting as part of a team! Leave us alone!"

"Sorry," Kyoko smirked at the two volatile teenagers and crossed her arms, "but this strategy depends on all of you. I need our wild one and our legendary-yet-stunted boy to work together on this."

"I don't care as long as we can beat Kisihbe," Arata shrugged. "Let's get started."

"So says Arata," Kyoko nodded. "Any objections from our wild one?"

"Hang on just a second!" Nokia smiled. "I want to tell everybody something!"

Everybody took a seat around the coffee table as Nokia, with a lot of help from Takumi, explained everything they learned from Omegamon. When her assistant was done, Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth. "Hmm… So that's the whole story behind the Paradise Lost Plan. I see."

"Destroy the human world?" Arata knit his eyebrows together. "Seriously? I wasn't expecting it to be that serious…"

Kyoko lightly chuckled at the information. "Now all my theories have been proven. Thank you, wild one."

"Don't thank me," Nokia blushed. "It's Omegamon who deserves all the thanks. And Kyoko-san, could you knock it off with the 'wild one' thing?"

The woman chuckled a bit more. "I think it's time to start the meeting for real, now. We have Fact A: Kishibe Rie's objective is to open a hole in the Dimensional Wall, a sort of 'Dimensional Door', if you will. Fact B: Kishibe has abducted Kamishiro Yuuko. These two facts cannot be unrelated. She must have needed B in order to carry out A. And A has still yet to be achieved. Our strategy must therefore allow us to both successfully rescue Kamishiro Yuuko as well as to stop all aspects of the Paradise Lost Plan."

Nokia groaned as she quickly became lost. "My brain hurts already!"

"We can't worry about the rationale for B right now," Arata ignored the girl sitting beside him. "The plan's too bold as-is."

"An excellent conjecture, true," Kyoko smirked at him. "But I have some new evidence I'd like to present. It should clear away your doubts."

"As vague as ever!" Arata sighed. "You never change!"

"Can we just keep going?" Takumi asked as he continued analyzing all of Kyoko's notes.

"Having run simulations on the labyrinth locations and the detectable Digital Wave flows…" Kyoko nodded at the papers her assistant was sifting through, "I've identified the existence of a large-scale, stable, and regularly-occurring Energy Locus."

"Hmm?" Nokia blinked a few times.

"It's a circular flow of energy that covers all of Tokyo," Kyoko crossed her arms. "I've named this circular network the Digital Line. Surprisingly, this Energy Locus, which is comprised of Digital Waves, is under human control," Kyoko continued. "In all probability, it is under the control of Kishibe at Kamishiro. The EDEN Spots placed throughout the city also seem to be related to this Energy Locus."

"I get it!" Arata's eyes widened. "That network in Shinjuku where Takumi jumped was part of it!"

"I remember it," Takumi nodded. "It led me straight to Asakusa, but the entire network road had been expansive. It also looped around in a circle, covering the entire city."

Nokia nodded as though she understood.

Arata crossed his arms. "This is the secret behind the EDEN Spots. So they're pathways, sort of like lymph nodes?"

"That's right," Kyoko nodded. "This network of lymph node-like structures resembles ley lines, conduits of supernatural energy known from antiquity." She sensed Takumi shift as he remembered her previous lectures to him on the subject. "A digital version of an energy line… Kishibe must have spent a long time putting this Digital Line together. The structure that cycles the Digital Waves seems to be a kind of 'energy reactor'. The structure is truly well-constructed. It stores, excites, amplifies, and releases energy. When the massive amount of energy stored in the Digital Line is released as a Digital Wave, I believe this door will open. Given how amplified I estimate this energy to be, I feel it's safe to say that the Paradise Lost Plan could be brought into fruition at any time."

Nokia groaned as this was all too much for her to take in.

"Furthermore, there's a place right now where the energy flow is changing drastically…" Kyoko smirked. "Tracing that flow back, we arrive at Roppongi. Beneath Roppongi is a Kamishiro research facility. It's called the 'Roppongi Underground Center'." She turned to her assistant and shook her head. "Very dry, no? The name makes you think it's a government-related facility."

"So it turned out to be the same lab after all," Takumi smirked at her. "I thought the area looked familiar when I Connect Jumped there. At least we have a viable path leading there that doesn't involve complicated network lines."

"Yes," Kyoko nodded, "The underpass you investigated before. This is that 'certain facility' that was back there. Upon analysis of your log data, the coordinates match where you left Yuuko. That's got to be the nerve center where this is all based out of."

"If we attack there, we get Yuuko," Arata surmised. "That's one victory, but how do we stop Kishibe's plan? If B is needed to achieve A, then when B occurs, if condition C is needed to achieve A, then B will be—"

"Stop, stop!" Nokia shook her head. "My brain totally can't take any more!" She turned to glare at the older boy sitting next to her. "Just shut up, Arata, you geek. Geeky Arata. We'll call you 'Geeta' for short!"

"What!?" Arata glared back at her.

Kyoko chuckled at that. "It's okay, Geeta. We've got to interfere with her control of the Digital Waves itself. As I explained, the Digital Line is an artificial construct for controlling Digital Wave flow. That control occurs via various terminals, including the EDEN Spots, for its functions. In other words, if we could jam them…"

"That's it! You're talking about an analog method!" the raven-haired hacker smirked. "In other words, knock out the power, right!?"

"Exactly," the detective nodded. She brought her hand up to her mouth though before continuing. "But they must be aware of their own vulnerabilities and likely have backup power supplies already prepared. Therefore, we're going to need to strike in multiple places at once or our whole plan comes apart."

"So we get a lot of people and turn the power off?" Nokia asked.

"You'd plunge all of Tokyo into a blackout," Arata nodded. "Leave this to me, Kyoko-san."

"Hang on… all of Tokyo?" Nokia turned to him in surprise. "But who—!?"

"Huh…?" Arata flashed the girl an arrogant smirk. "What do you mean? I'm a hacker, right? And hackers can only do one thing, right? I'll gather all my buds and then we'll all hack into the power supply systems throughout the city… all at once! We'll play nice. It'll take some time, but we'll be able to keep the range of effect to a bare minimum."

"I see," Kyoko nodded. "I had been thinking of asking you to hack into the various EDEN Spots here and there… Assuming as we should that Kishibe is full of lies, we should strike at the weak points first. 'Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness', as the saying goes," she smirked.

"Excellent!" Arata slipped his hands into his pockets. "Sun Tzu! 'Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness'!"

"And 'thereby you can be the director of your opponent's fate'," Takumi finished as he crossed his arms. "This is all hinging on us to move in a concerted first strike."

"O-okay then…" Nokia nodded and smirked. "I don't get it, but I get it! It's like I don't got it, but I got it! If Arata's doing that, then we're going for Yuuko-chi! Right, Takumi!?"

"Of course!" the Cyber Sleuth nodded.

"Hmph," Kyoko crossed her arms. "So good of you to grasp that so quickly. You should head to the Roppongi Underground Center right now, from the underpass. Takumi knows the way, I believe."

"Of course!" Takumi smirked. "My memory is unfailing. We'll try to get there as quickly as possible. Just leave it to us, Kyoko-san."

"Then we start on our objectives simultaneously," Arata nodded. "I'll leave Yuuko to you guys." He quickly got up from the couch so he could get a head start on rounding up as many hackers as he could.

"Okay! We're totally going to rescue Yuuko-chi!" Nokia stated as she got to her feet. "And put a stop to the Parachute Cord Plan!"

"It's Paradise Lost, but yeah!" Takumi cried in determination.

"To get to the Roppongi Underground Center, head to the Nakano Underpass," Kyoko told them as she returned to her desk. "You and Nokia should head over. I'll follow up from here as best I can. Now, hurry."

"Understood!" her assistant called out before nodding to Nokia. "Let's go!"

"Wow!" Nokia smiled at the strange tunnel as she stepped out of the elevator. "We're underground now? Who would have thought there'd be this big a tunnel down here? It's so humid in here and the walls are so crawly. It's really underground-y…" she paused for a moment and blinked at the glitching walls around them. "Wait? Crawly?" The redhead suddenly let out a surprised yell. "Is there a tiny Digital Shift happening here!?"

"It feels different from before," Takumi frowned in concern as he phoned Kyoko.

"Hmm," Kyoko agreed with her assistant. "The effect of the Digital Wave is stronger than it was before. Digimon and Eaters are likely to appear. Be ready for anything," she warned them.

"Okay!" Nokia nodded. "It won't do anyone any good if we wear ourselves out before we save Yuuko-chi! Come on, Takumi! Let's get walking to Roppongi!" She raised her fist into the air and took a few steps before stopping. "Wait a minute!" she cried. "Are we supposed to go on foot!?"

"Have you just now noticed that Roppongi is about ten kilometers away?" Kyoko smirked. "Walking there will take about two hours. At least, that's how long it took Takumi last time."

"T-ten kilometers? Two hours?" Nokia frowned. "What'll we do? Physically speaking…"

"It wasn't so bad last time," Takumi shrugged before looking down at his body. "But then again, physical limitations aren't really a problem for me…"

"I guess we'll just have to tough it out," Nokia tried pumping herself up. "Left, right, left…" she attempted to cheer.

Takumi lightly chuckled as he took the lead down the tunnel. They walked a few kilometers before he sensed an incoming call. "Is something wrong, Kyoko-san?" he quickly answered.

"Did I miss something?" Kyoko asked him. "Are you all suddenly wearing roller blades or something? Or have you broken out into a dead run, panting breathlessly, to get to Yuuko's side?" she teasingly joked with her assistant.

"Eh?" Nokia blinked at that. "What are you talking about, Kyoko-san? We're walking normally. Maybe even slower than that," she frowned as she considered all of the wild Digimon attacks they encountered. "Why?"

"Hmm…" Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth as she studied her computer monitor. "Then why was I getting a signal from your Digivices in Akasaka after twenty or so minutes?"

"Huh?" Takumi tilted his head to the side.

"Akasaka!?" Nokia crookedly smiled. "No, even if we ran for dear life to rescue Yuuko-chi, we'd never get there that fast."

"Hmm… The labyrinth might be having a slight physical effect on you here," Kyoko mused.

"Huh? What? What do you mean?"

"The distance to Roppongi has been shortened due to the Digital Shift," the detective explained. "You can't tell, being underground, but the spatial distortion has contracted the distance, allowing you to reach Roppongi more quickly than expected."

"Really!?" Nokia grinned at that. "Great! I only understood half of what you said, but I guess the Digital Shift is in our favor?"

"I also just noticed something else," Kyoko crossed her arms.

Takumi paused for a moment as he sensed it too. "Hm? Is there someone else here?"

The woman nodded to him. "There's a signal from another Digivice behind you. It could be an enemy. Be on guard."

"What!? En garde?" Nokia blinked. "Are we fencing now?"

Takumi shook his head as he recognized the Digivice's signal. "I'll talk to you later," he told the detective before cutting the call. He turned around and called out to the girl that had been following them. "Fei, I know it's you."

The brunet frowned at the strange boy but continued towards them. Nokia immediately glared at the Zaxon admin and let out a shout. "What are you doing in a place like this!?"

"Y'all are going to rescue Yuuko-han, right?"

"Yuuko or Yuugo… Which reminds me," Nokia frowned, "You knew that Yuugo was Yuuko-chi all along?"

"Sure enough I knew," Fei nodded. She looked over towards Takumi curiously. "And you figured it out too."

Takumi shrugged it off. "Not really. I had a theory of my own which turned out to be correct, but in a different way."

"What was Yuuko-chi doing with a different avatar?" Nokia asked. "Why did she do it?"

"That was the form of Yuuko-han's brother," Fei explained.

"Yuuko-chi's brother?" Nokia tilted her head to the side.

"Kamishiro Yuugo," Takumi nodded.

"Yes," Fei worriedly frowned. "He has EDEN Syndrome. He's been out for years now. Her older brother, Yuugo-han… Yuuko-han used that avatar to protect the EDEN that her father built in the guise of the Zaxon hacker, Yuugo."

"Wh-why did she do that!?" Nokia frowned.

"Yuuko-han's ties to her family were weak," Fei replied. "I think she craved a certain something to stay connected."

"Something for her family?" Nokia sadly lowered her gaze. "Yuuko-chi… Is that what she was after?"

"Yuuko-san…" Takumi frowned to himself. "I can understand her desire to hold onto her family but…" he knit his eyebrows together. "Why did you refuse my offer to help you?" He clenched his gloved hand. Is it because Yuugo and I were too similar that you tried to do all this on your own…?

"Yuuko-han helped me out when I needed it," Fei told them. "She gave me a place where I could be myself. So please…" she pleaded to the two redheads. "Let me come with all y'all."

"Huh?" Nokia blinked at Fei, not expecting the girl to be begging to them.

"I want to rescue Yuuko-han!" the brunet exclaimed. "Let me help!"

"Fei," Takumi nodded to her. "We'll save her together. Don't worry."

Nokia turned to him in surprise. "Hang on. Takumi, are you serious?"

"Do you not want her to come with us?" Takumi asked her.

Nokia frowned to herself and shook her head. "I mean, I guess she wants the same thing we do… To rescue Yuuko-chi."

"You said it yourself to Yuuko-san, didn't you?" Takumi smiled at her. "What was it exactly? 'A friend of a friend is a friend'? Fei is Yuuko-san's friend and therefore ours."

Nokia smirked at that before welcoming Fei into their team. "Okay! Let's do this together! Together we can probably rescue Yuuko-chi!"

"N-nokia-han…" Fei smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Forget the thank yous! You're making me feel awkward!" Nokia crookedly smiled. "Let's just keep thing the same as usual."

"The same as usual…?" Fei knit her eyebrows together. "You f-frumpy…"

"Turn it down a notch!" Nokia frowned. "Okay! Here we go!"

"Yeah…" Takumi nodded and smiled at both girls. "Yuuko-san's waiting for her friends to save her." Fei smiled back and nodded to him before the Cyber Sleuth led them further into the tunnel system.

Takumi quickened his pace when he saw the hall open up into a room ahead of them. "We're here," he told the girls behind him.

"This is Kamishiro's underground facility?" Nokia asked as she looked around. "Yuuko-chi's really in here somewhere?" Her cell phone began ringing so she quickly picked up.

"There's a faint signal from the Royal Knights," Omegamon stated as he appeared on the screen. "This is it, without a doubt!"

Nokia nodded to him before spotting a strange machine. "Huh!? Hey, over there!"

"Yuuko!" Fei quickly started towards her.

Takumi was at her side as he glared at the woman turning towards them. "Kishibe! Let her go now!"

"So you've come…" Kishibe sneered at him.

A shiver went down the Cyber Sleuth's spine as her tone was completely different from usual. Instead of that high-pitched flirting and sultriness, it was replaced with a lower voice with an extremely serious sharpness to it. Takumi could feel that strange pressure again and it was only made worse when it seemed to stem from an intense hatred the woman held within her. Perhaps it was only Takumi's imagination, but it might have been directed towards him. "K-kishibe…" he frowned as he fought against the oppressive atmosphere.

Nokia began trembling but she faced the CEO too alongside her friends. "Y-you step away from Yuuko-chi, right this instant! You're not going to get away with this!"

Kishibe let out a menacing chuckle. "I'm afraid I don't follow you. At last, the source of the calamity," she smirked at the teenagers. "Well, we can eliminate these filthy humans once and for all."

"We're here now and there's no way you're getting away with that!" Nokia cried out. "We already know you're being manipulated by the Royal Knights! I don't care if it's what Yggdrasil wants or not. There's no way I'm letting you destroy humanity!"

"Heh…" Kishibe crossed her arms. "Omegamon's put you up to this. Omegamon… You're as much of a fool as these failures of human beings are. To support humans and to turn your back on nobler ideals…"

Omegamon's eyes widened. "What!? You… It can't be!" The Digimon tensed up as he addressed his tamer. "Nokia, be careful! This woman… She's not human!"

"What do you mean by that?" Nokia asked. "That Kishibe is—" Takumi suddenly let out a pained cry at her side. "Takumi!?"

The Cyber Sleuth trembled as his nausea returned with a vengeance. "K-kishibe…!"

Kishibe laughed maniacally at them. If the half-cyber boy was in this much pain, then her plan was near complete.

"Huh!?" Nokia gasped. "What? There's something strange going on…"

"Finally, finally…" Kishibe psychotically smiled. "The moment has come! None shall hinder me! As if they ever could!"

"This is bad!" Omegamon cried. "She means to start the plan!"

"It's too late!" Kishibe declared. "Open, Door of Judgement!" She pressed a button on the terminal causing the machine to brightly light up.

"Okay," Arata sighed, "The preparations are nearly complete. Now the others just need to rescue Yuuko." He paused when someone giggled behind him.

"My, aren't we busy?" Suedou asked as he approached the hacker.

"Huh!? You little rat!" Arata glared at the man. "What are you doing here, Suedou!?"

"Now, now," the scientist reassured the boy. "I just thought you might be busy. I came to lend a hand," he smirked.

"What!? Is this your idea of a joke? Sorry," Arata shook his head, "but I don't have time to hang with you."

"So what's the plan, Arata, my pal? For the sake of argument, let's say the cause for these distortions cropping up in our world was you and your friends," he shrugged.

"What? Distortions?" Arata frowned and slipped his hands into his pockets. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Suedou snickered at his cluelessness. "But it's thanks to those distortions that this world is on the brink of evolving into something new."

"Don't make me say it again," Arata glared at him. "I don't have time for you and your jokes. You're Kishibe's errand boy, right? You just came to interfere with our plans."

"Nobody really understands what's truly going on," Suedou sighed and shook his head. "And I'm including Kishibe-san in that, too, by the way. Or should I say," He smirked, "what used to be Kishibe-san. It's even more of a shame Takumi hasn't figured it out either, given his ability to perceive what others cannot, but even if he did, I doubt he would agree with me," Suedou frowned as he considered the Cyber Sleuth. "With his body the way it is now, I had been hoping it would have been enough to push him to join me… but it seems someone else had gotten to him first. I suppose watching him from afar will suffice though," he shrugged.

"What are you talking about?" Arata frowned at him. "Just what are you trying to do!?"

"I am simply searching for possibilities. That the world will embark on a better evolution," he nodded. "It is for the sake of that possibility… that I've been watching you hackers all along. Your desire to tear down the vanity of the paradise called EDEN… I felt the power of your future and the possibilities it might bring forth. So I nurtured it, let it blossom into something beautiful," his smirk grew. "That was the reason why I developed and gave you and your friends the Digimon Capture program."

"You're the one who created the Digimon Capture!?" Arata exclaimed in surprise.

"It was a side-effect of our research," the scientist shrugged. "More importantly, though…" he looked up at the forum's ceiling. "A door is opening up to a new world! The world I have wanted to lay my eyes on will soon be here!"

"What!?" Arata's eyes widened as he remembered his task. "No!"

"Now then, I must be going," Suedou nodded to the boy. He turned away from Arata and chuckled. "Let us meet again. When you are ready to open the door to your new possibilities, come talk to me."

Arata watched as the man managed to open up his own terminal and leave. "Hey! Wait, you little—!" The raven-haired hacker wanted to chase after him, but he quickly shook his head. "Damn! I need to focus on putting the plan together. Otherwise, the others will…" he frowned as he quickly returned to his console.

Takumi flinched as the Digital Waves around him were now suffocating him. It was as though something was simultaneously crushing him and pulling him apart and he swore he was at multiple places at once. Even though he should have been in the underground lab, his blue eyes widened when he thought he saw a wave of energy exploding out from the building they were directly beneath.

"Takumi!" Nokia called out to him again and this managed to mentally pull the Cyber Sleuth back to his half-digital body.

"N-no…" the boy fearfully shook his head as he looked towards Kishibe. "She's done it…"

"The Door has opened!" Kishibe roared. "I've broken the laws of the physical universe!" she laughed.

"Sh-she's kidding… right?" Nokia shakily asked.

"No, I saw it…" Takumi confirmed as his body began working against him again. "Urgh…!"

"I can feel it!" Kishibe's crazed smile grew. "The world is shifting to the digital! Farewell, wretched human scum!" She laughed as her body became surrounded by pink light and rose petals. Where once stood a green-haired woman was a pink knight-like Digimon with a yellow shield on her right arm.

Fei's eyes widened in confusion. "Is that… a Digimon!?"

Omegamon suddenly appeared behind Nokia. "That's LordKnightmon, a Royal Knight like me!" he exclaimed. "She was using Kishibe Rie's body as a vessel in order to act in secret this whole time!"

"Wh-what!?" Nokia blinked at the sudden appearance of her Digimon. "Omegamon, you're in the real world now!?"

"The time has finally come! The Door has joined the two worlds!" Omegamon stated.

"It's been a long time, Omegamon," LordKnightmon greeted him, "my fellow proud and gallant Royal Knight! It's not too late for you, you know," the pink warrior told him. "You can still join us. Together we can destroy the humans and save our world!" Omegamon frowned at that. "For starters, butcher those humans you're with!" she cried while pointing at Takumi.

"O-omegamon…" Nokia looked up at her partner.

"I shall not!" Omegamon shook his head to the girl's relief.

"Oh-ho! You disobey Yggdrasil's commands to the very end?" LordKnightmon challenged him.

"Is that the will of Yggdrasil?" Omegamon asked in return. "To destroy humanity? I have long had my doubts. And I have learned something by working with Nokia and her friends!" He brushed aside his mantle. "Humans do not deserve to be destroyed!" he declared.

"Hmph…" LordKnightmon turned her helmet away from him. "You're a disgrace to the Royal Knights! Very well. I will put an end to you by and by. It will be an act of mercy!"

With the world stabilizing into a half-digital, half-real state, Takumi found it easier for him to breathe again. LordKnightmon charged towards Nokia but he quickly pulled his friend out of the way as his team emerged to intercept the Royal Knight.

Omegamon also jumped in to block LordKnightmon's Pile Bunker with his Grey Sword. Both Royal Knights went at it, clashing their weapons against each other. Finally, Omegamon had enough of the stalemate so pulled away. As he did so, he pointed his Garuru Cannon at LordKnightmon and fired.

LordKnightmon raised her Pile Bunker to block it but frowned when she noticed she was surrounded by Takumi's team. Glancing towards the annoying brat, she saw the teen frown at her before calling out to his team. "Xros Combo!"

Omegamon charged up his Grey Sword and nodded. "Omega Blast!" he swung a wave of energy towards the trapped Royal Knight.

"Rapid Fire!"

"Gatling Missile!"

"Lovely Attack!"

LordKnightmon avoided as much as she could before her four body-sash blades sticking out from her armor began to extend. "Spiral Masquerade!" The blades quickly took out the projectiles aimed at her before she took off into the air. "Hmph… It's too early to release my true power. But it's just a matter of time!" she told her opponents before turning away from them.

"You will run from this fight!?" Omegamon accused her.

"I go to greet my comrades," she explained. "I shall deal with you later!" she laughed before escaping. Once she was above the building, she smirked at the people on the streets beginning to cower as the portal to the Digital World opened in a swirling mass of dark clouds. Many watched in fearful awe as others screamed to get away. "Foolish humans!" LordKnightmon roared as the portal grew. "You will pay for your sins!" She paused as behind her a large dragon Digimon let out a roar as he fell through the portal. "Huh!?" Her eyes widened at the sight of the Eaters splotched over her ally's body. "W-w-what!?"

She quickly got out of the way as the large dragon continued to fall. He crashed into a skyscraper before spreading his wings to catch a draft. As he tried to stabilize his flight pattern, he swerved into a few low buildings before finally being able to fully expand his wings. The large Digimon took off into the horizon without another though as the city fell into chaos.

"Wh-wh-what's going on!?" Nokia asked. "Or better yet, wh-wh-what are we going to do!?"

"Ugh!" Omegamon lowered his head.

"Calm down!" Takumi quickly brought his hand up to his mouth as he figured out something they could. As he closed his eyes, everything around them shut down.

Nokia shrieked at the sudden darkness. "Wh-wh-what's going on!? A blackout?" She paused for a moment. "Wait. A black…out?"

"Arata…" Takumi muttered as he opened his eyes.

"Oh yeah!" Nokia nodded as she remembered. "Arata and his buds were going to cut the power!"

"Better late than never!" Takumi nodded. "Now's our chance!"

LordKnightmon frowned as the portal was beginning to shrink. "It can't be…" Eventually the clouds closed up and no more Digimon poured from the sky. "The Dimensional Door has closed!?" She let out a cry at the abrupt wrench in her plans. "Foolish humans! Such impudence!" She paused though as it wasn't all bad. "Still, even that brief connection to the Digital World should leave enough of a lingering effect. Digital Shifts must be occurring over a wide area. The proof is in how I'm able to retain this form!" She looked around the city and smirked to herself. "I can feel the power of the other Royal Knights. They are here, somewhere. I shall search out the others and together we shall destroy the human world! The plan may need slight adjustments, but there's no change in my plan to wipe out all humans!" She began laughing to herself before taking off to meet with the Royal Knight she knew she'd need assistance from.

Nokia quickly answered her ringing Digivice and Arata quickly shook his head at them. "No!" he cried out. "I was too late…" He frowned at himself. "I'm sorry. That was completely my fault."

"Nothing to worry about!" Nokia reassuringly smiled at him. "You closed the Dimensional Door! Omegamon said we avoided the worst! It's okay! We'll figure something out!"

"Yeah…" he tried to chuckle. "I sure hope so." He quickly hung up without another word.

Nokia frowned and crossed her arms at his depressing attitude. "I don't know why I bother trying to cheer him up. He's always the same ol' grump!"

"Never mind that for now," Takumi shook his head. "We've got more important things to do ourselves!" He started towards the terminal but saw Fei already trying to rescue their friend.

"Yuuko-han!" the brunette cried. "Yuuko-han!"

"Oh, that's right!" Nokia turned towards the girl still strapped to the terminal. "Yuuko-chi!"

Takumi followed the two girls but tensed up as he sensed another distortion in the Digital Waves around them. "Nokia! Fei!" He quickly pulled them back as an Eater came out of nowhere. "Get back! It's dangerous!" While he managed to save those two, his eyes widened as the Eater went straight towards the unconscious Yuuko still sitting in the terminal. "Yuuko-san!" he screamed as the Eater began to change its form. "No!"

But instead of the humanoid Eater he encountered before, this one seemed to integrate Yuuko as a part of its body. The Eater itself resembled demonic crab with multiple legs. Its two front most legs seemed to shields as they protectively guarded Yuuko. Directly in the middle of Eater's face was a vertical scythe and it seemed to be attached to Yuuko by her arms and heads by a skull-shaped helmet. The girl let out a strangled scream as she realized what was going on.

"Huh!?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together as he didn't know whether he could risk attacking it with Yuuko there. He quickly performed a scan on it with his Digivice for any weaknesses or openings but he didn't get much out of it other than the creature's name. "Eater… Eve…?"

"An Eater!?" Nokia gasped.

"Yuu… Yuuko-han!" Fei screamed.

"Fei!" Takumi called out to the brunette as she quickly summoned her TigerVespamon from her Digivice. "Don't!"

"You scum-bucket!" Fei ignored him as she glared at the creature. "Get away from Yuuko-han!" On her command, TigerVespamon charged forward and tried to stab Eater Eve with her Royal Meister. Eater Eve flinched back from the attack before swiping at the speedy Digimon with its shield-like arms.

Seeing there was nothing else he could do, Takumi quickly sent his Rapidmon and Andromon forward to help, but swapped out Monzaemon for Lilimon, deeming the accuracy and speed of Lilimon's Flower Cannon was a better choice here than how random Monzaemon's Lovely Attack could be. "Rapidmon! Circle around Eater Eve and use Rapid Fire! Andromon! Gatling Missile!"

Eater Eve scuttled about as the smaller Digimon circled it. It tried to fend them off but its size and bulk made it incredibly slow. It swiped at them here and there, but soon it was surrounded by four speedy Digimon as Lilimon quickly entered the battle.

"Yuuko-han!" Fei tried calling out to Yuuko again, in the hopes the raven-haired girl would struggle out of the Eater's grasp.

Takumi frowned as he could hear Yuuko's ragged gasping, but he couldn't tell whether that was the Eater using her voice or not because Eater Eve suddenly reared back, raising the scythe high as it charged with energy. "Memory Divide!"

Takumi dodged out of the way and watched as the dark cutting wave continued past him and towards the girl behind him. "Nokia!" he cried out.

Omegamon quickly pulled her to safety before preparing to join the battle himself. "Nokia! I need to help—"

"Stay where you are!" Takumi called out to the Royal Knight. "Your attacks might hurt Yuuko-san!"

Omegamon paused at that and lowered his gaze. "There must be something we can do…"

"It's fine," Takumi shook his head. "Just protect Nokia!"

"Takumi, look out!" Nokia called out to him as Eater Eve tried to use another Memory Divide against him.

It was a good thing he was so sensitive to distortions in Digital Waves because his body had automatically began to dodge the attack before the warning came to him. Takumi frowned though as the monster was a lot stronger and sturdier than he expected. "Can it be because of Yuuko-san?" he asked. He thought back to what Omegamon said about the Eaters being born from the malice and darkness of human mental data. "Is Yuuko-san… suffering…?" He changed the focus of his attention from the Eater to Yuuko herself as his Digimon continued to fight. His blue eyes widened when he could hear Yuuko's weak voice trying to say something.

"S-stop…" Yuuko suddenly cried as the Eater closed a pincer around her torso. "Stop…!"

Takumi tensed up as he sensed Eater Eve preparing a new attack. "Everyone! Guards up!"

Eater Eve reared back again, charging its scythe, but instead of energy concentrating on the blade's edge, however, a dark sphere began to grow on the tip of it. "Mastermind Port!" The monster released the attack and Takumi winced as the orb seemed to be absorbing data from his Digimon, allowing Eater Eve to partially recover itself.

Fei continued her assault against the monster. "Yuuko-han!" TigerVespamon performed her Mach Stinger V attack before falling from exhaustion. The brunette faltered a bit as Eater Eve continued thrashing about. "It's no use! That thing won't come off!"

"Is it okay for us to take this thing down like this?" Nokia frowned. "What'll happen to Yuuko-chi if we do that!? You don't think it would…"

"No…!" Fei shook her head. "We can't let that happen! No! Please… Please save Yuuko-han…" she begged.

"We'll save Yuuko-san no matter what!" Takumi cried before a thought occurred to him. "Eaters are digital entities… which means…" He calmly made his way towards the thrashing monster.

"What?" Nokia's eyes widened at her friend. "What is it, Takumi!?"

"The power to connect to others…" Takumi hardened his resolve as he held up his gloved hands towards Eater Eve. "I think I understand why it's so important now, Kyoko-san…" he muttered to himself.

"You're not thinking of Connect Jumping into an Eater!?" Nokia asked in alarm. "Takumi!"

"We won't know unless we try!" Takumi sternly stated as he focused his eyes on Yuuko. "It'll definitely fail if you don't believe it has a chance of success!"

"I don't care…" Fei shook her head. "Do whatever it takes… Help her!"

TigerVespamon struggled to get up. "It's going to be okay, Fei. I will go in your stead," the Digimon told her hacker.

"What?" Fei blinked at her Digimon in confusion. "I didn't issue no command like that! What kind of program acts on its own!?"

Takumi sensed TigerVespamon and his team loading into his Digivice. His desire to save Yuuko no matter the cost added on top of the Fei's in the form of her Digimon was enough for him to identify the correct Digital Wave required to Connect Jump. "Let's go!" he exclaimed as his dove into the Eater's being.

When he was gone, Nokia put her hands together and placed them over her heart. "It's okay, Fei. Trust your Digimon. It's like I said. Digimon are not just programs."

Fei paused at that and lowered her gaze. "T-trust… my Digimon?"

Takumi let out a cry as around him the world faded into a strange spiral of black and white. He groaned as his entire body began to tingle. The air felt thick and his skin burned as though someone was roughly applying sandpaper to his entire existence. Takumi ignored the prickling sensations though as he focused on his task of rescuing Yuuko from the Eater. He continued to fall into the strange darkness before he managed to reorient himself enough to find a path. He looked around before noticing a girl ahead of him.

"Yuuko-san…!" he cried out as he reached his hand out to her. He paused though when the raven-haired teen shook her head. "Yuuko-san…?"

"It's over…" Yuuko told him. "There's nothing else I can do…" She lowered her gaze and frowned. "Everything I did… It was all for nothing… No one is coming back. I'm out of options… No matter what I do, if I end up with nothing…" Bitter tears began to collect in her eyes. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Yuuko-san…" Takumi shook his head. "You can't believe that, can you?" She didn't answer as she disappeared. Takumi looked around in surprise but decided to head in the direction of where her digital signature was. "Yuuko-san!" He paused for a moment as various images passed him as he went deeper into the Eater's network.

Yuuko's voice echoed around him as he took the time to study the scenes. "Yuugo came down with EDEN Syndrome eight years ago. Because my father was so busy developing EDEN, I took his place at Yuugo's bedside. No matter how many times I called to him, he wouldn't wake up, so I stopped trying." Takumi frowned at that. "Then my father died. It was Rie-san who tried to cheer me up."

Takumi lifted his gaze towards the image of the vile woman trying to comfort Yuuko. "Kishibe took advantage of your loneliness, didn't she?" he asked.

"She taught me that there was a way for me to not lose my family," Yuuko continued. "She said I should become Yuugo and lead the hackers to protect the EDEN my father built. When I was all lost and alone, she gave me purpose." Takumi turned towards the false Yuugo that appeared before him. "And so I… I abandoned myself and became Yuugo…"

"Yuuko-san…" Takumi sympathetically frowned as Yuugo suddenly turned into a reflection of Yuuko.

"I thought I could lose myself and connect to my family at the same time…" the girl's voice cracked into a sob, "but it was all lies!"

The images suddenly vanished and Takumi quickly moved on. "Yuuko-san!"

"It was all part of Rie-san's scheme. All of Zaxon… They weren't following me," Yuuko lamented. "I wasn't protecting EDEN… It was all Rie-san… I did nothing! I'm so lonely. I'm ridiculous and pathetic…"

"No," Takumi adamantly stated as he finally reached the girl at the end of the network. "You're wrong!"

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Yuuko asked him. "I can't go back anymore. I made too many mistakes," she sobbed. "I failed, and as a result, EDEN is still claiming more victims. What did I even think I was going to accomplish? My father… my brother… They've all left me. I didn't want to admit I was alone…" she cried. "But I've been alone for so long. So please…" she begged Takumi. "Leave me be… I'm better off by myself."

"But I can't leave you alone if you're suffering this much!" Takumi told her before seriously looking into the girl's sorrowful eyes. "That's why I'm here now despite all the risks. Besides," he managed to give her a kind smile, "I'm not the only one worried about you…"

Yuuko stopped crying when TigerVespamon appeared at the Cyber Sleuth's side. "Is this… the Digimon I gave to Fei?"

"Yuuko," TigerVespamon began with a nod, "you are most definitely not alone. Ever since you introduced me and Fei, we have had each other. You gave us a place where we could be ourselves. I stand with Fei, and Fei… she stands with you." Yuuko gasped at that. "Try to remember. Someone must have always been at your side. Even now…" TigerVespamon looked over to the boy standing by the girl.

Yuuko turned around to face Takumi as he gently smiled at her. She quickly lowered her gaze so she wasn't directly looking into his brilliant smile. "Yes… Takumi-san… I see." A small smile managed to appear on the girl's face as even Takumi's Digimon came out from his Digivice on their own accord. She recognized them to be the very same three Digimon he risked himself to save. For him to still be raising them was just like him.

"You're not alone anymore, Yuuko-san," Takumi nodded to her and extended his hand to her once more.

"Yes, you're right." Yuuko looked up into his kind blue eyes. "I remember something my father told me, when I was little, and I was crying. He said… 'No one will be alone in the EDEN your papa is creating. No matter how far apart their bodies might be, they will still be able to reach out a hand to each other'. That's what EDEN is for," Yuuko stated, "a cyberspace unbound by the laws of the physical world."

"Fei and I are by your side," TigerVespamon nodded. "Now and forever!"

Yuuko smiled as the Digimon entered her Digivice. The raven-haired girl brought a hand up as she remembered a strange saying someone once told her. "I think I finally understand something Nokia said," she stated. She looked back up into Takumi's kind face. "Takumi, thank you so much. For bringing my friends to me… For reaching out a hand to me…"

Takumi blinked as the girl disappeared again before accepting his hand. "Yuuko-san…?"

"I'm in through here," her voice reassuringly told him from further in. "Please, get me out of here. I want to be with you all again!"

"Of course," Takumi nodded as he recalled his Digimon back into his Digivice. Continuing forward, he spotted the real Yuuko sitting in a strange space with odd children's toys and books scattered about. She smiled up at him as he came closer and quickly reached for his gloved hand. "Let's go home, Yuuko-san," he said as he pulled her up. Around them, everything flashed white and before they knew it, the boy was back in the underground lab with Yuuko sitting in front of him. Takumi himself was down on a knee, trying to catch his breath, but he brightly smiled as he managed to save her in the end.

"Yuuko-han!" Fei cried out as she reached the raven-haired girl's side. "Please… Open your eyes!"

"Mmph…" Yuuko blinked a few times as her vision adjusted. "Fei?"

"Yuuko-han…" Fei smiled in relief. "Yuuko-han!"

"Fei…" Yuuko began with a smile. "Thank you… for considering me your friend."

"Of course you're my friend!" Fei nodded. "We'll always be friends! Always!"

"Oh really? 'Friends'? Is that good enough?" Nokia smirked. "Don't you really want more than that?"

"You dumbass!" Fei frowned at her. "Watch what y'all are sayin' in fronta Yuuko-han, ya frumpy brat!"

"What are you talking about?" Nokia teased her. "What were YOU imagining?" she giggled. "So naughty…"

Fei mockingly mimicked her laugh. "Who y'all callin' naughty, ya dirty old thang!?"

"Now, now. We're all friends here, aren't we?" Takumi chuckled as he pulled Yuuko up to her feet as he got up himself. Yuuko giggled in agreement but she sensed Takumi tense up. The boy quickly pushed her away from him before turning around to face the strange dimensional void that had opened up behind him.

Yuuko was stunned as Takumi was suddenly swallowed up by the tear. "T-takumi-san…?"

"Huh?" Nokia gasped as the portal quickly closed.

"What!?" Yuuko's hand shook as only a moment ago she had been holding onto him.

"Takumi… d-d-disappeared!?" Nokia worriedly frowned. "N-no way! W-w-w-why!? Why all of a sudden like that!?"

Final Notes: I don't really know how the whole Kishibe's body thing works, especially when she goes back to being LordKnightmon. So is LordKnightmon's body mostly physical and she can turn it digital? It'd be like the opposite of Takumi's body... If that's the case, she's in a state that's a lot more stable than Takumi's so all of the massive shifts of course would be crushing him, while they wouldn't really adversely affect her. Actually, this gives me a plausible thought I'll bring up later regarding Takumi's mental data... On another note, I want to focus on Fei because after this, she doesn't really show up anymore... I think she's pretty interesting, but she seriously only shows up like four times... She could have been a lot more important, but she's been demoted just like Ryota. Still, I really like her and TigerVespamon. She's also the only other hacker besides Takumi who actually cares about carrying a balanced Digimon team... It's a shame she doesn't use Hououmon and Sakuyamon more... but her battle in the Master Cup is a real challenge. I find her fight to be both a pain and rather fun...