Chapter 13: Always the Cynic

It had been a few hours since Ethan was taken to the hospital, we had heard basically nothing about his condition, and I doubted his wounds were serious enough to warrant that much time to patch up. I had even asked the Toy Agumon at the door if he had improved any, only managing to get a "we're doing our best" as an answer, and naturally, I wasn't allowed to see him, they seemed rather keen on that actually, guarding the hospital doors rather heavily.

How odd, but I guess their doctors were a touch slow, I decided I'd check again in a few hours, I still found this place suspicious, but I didn't want to rush in and make an ass of myself if I turned out to be wrong. I walked out of the inn to have another moment to think, even though Hawkmon believed me, I still felt like I was the only one who found this place suspicious, everyone else seemed to quick to trust this place, enjoying the happy colors and warm beds, while I was constantly looking over my shoulder. I had always had issues with trust, and after the whole incident with Rosemon I had been very cautious of seemingly welcoming Digimon who offered us room and board.

But despite all that, I still hoped I was wrong, that it was just me being paranoid and that Ethan would be fine. Despite my issues with trusting people, I'd grown attached to my fellow Digidestined, they were the closest things to friends I've had in a long time, and I had never realized how much I missed that until recently.

I suddenly noticed a rather large shadow cast over me and Hawkmon, we both turned to see Monzeamon had happened upon us, "Oh hello there, Ross right?" He greeted me, I still found Monzeamon unsettling, despite how much time we had spent around him previously. "The others tell me you have doubts about this town of ours? Is that true?" He asked me, apparently my cautiousness was worrying enough to the others they felt the need to tell Monzeamon about it.

I tried my best not to look intimidated, "Well we haven't exactly had the best track record with "hospitality" on our little journey," I said to the giant teddy bear, I didn't know if I was digging myself into a hole by admitting my distrust in him and his little town, but I wasn't going to try to lie to the thing either.

Monzeamon let out a sigh, "I assure you Ross, we only want to help you and your friends, but I understand why you'd be so cautious, the Digital World can be a scary place sometimes," He said, using a tone one would use to explain to their child why there wasn't a monster in the closet, it was almost condescending, like I was just a scared little kid that needed a good talking to. "But I assure you, you and your friends are safe here, you have my word," He added almost proudly.

Unfortunately for him, his word alone wasn't worth much to me, but I knew better than to pick fights with giant bears, even if they were plush, so I left that unsaid, "Please, do try to make yourself at home Ross, I'm sure you and your friends will be here for a while," Said Monzeamon, I could have sworn before he turned to leave, he shot me a sinister smirk, or maybe I was just being paranoid again? I don't even know anymore…

Meanwhile…

Me and Okamon had tracked the Digidestined to the very borders of the Metal Empire, Okamon explaining that the scents around the area were strong enough to indicate they had camped out here, a burnt pile of fire wood in the area proof enough he was right, Okamon began sniffing around some more, before he suddenly stopped, "That's odd..." He commented, before sniffing at a certain area some more.

He clearly seemed confused by something, "What is it?" I asked, curious as to what confused him so much.

He turned to me, "I picked up another scent… Monzeamon," He said, Monzeamon, the "mayor" of Datamon's "Toyland", it always amused me that a Digimon who prided himself on cold hard facts and admonished me for having "too many feelings" Had a territory so childish and cutesy sitting at the borders of his territories. But this raised a question, what was Monzeamon doing out here? He rarely if ever left his city, Okamon seemed to be thinking the same thing, but also came to the same conclusion, "Datamon's trying to trap the Digidestined in his Toyland," Okamon said.

It wasn't a bad plan, those morons didn't know thing one about this world, and would fall for the city's cutesy and friendly exterior, allowing that obnoxious bucket of bolts to trap them all with little effort, thus destroying any chance I had of regaining Rex's favor. "Well then Okamon, I guess we'd better pay Monzeamon a visit, no way am I allowing Datamon to destroy the Digidestined before me," I said, and with that, me and Okamon were off, I hated Toyland, I was never a fan of that kind of cutesy crap, but I was even less of a fan of the idea of Datamon taking my place at the King's side, so I'd stomach it just this once, if only to see Datamon's plans crumble.

Meanwhile…

Ross had begun to worry me a lot lately, ever since we entered Toyland he'd been so on edge, and I honestly couldn't blame him, after the incident at the File Inn I too had a hard time trusting seemingly friendly faces. But even Rosemon turned out to be being manipulated by the King, we hadn't really run into any truly evil Digimon on our travels, so I kinda felt like he was still being a bit paranoid.

Me and Psychemon had tried to check in on Ethan, but strangely, the Toy Agumon who guarded the door wouldn't let us through, claiming he didn't want to be disturbed, which didn't sound like Ethan at all, but I wasn't exactly willing to pick fights so I left it at that, I'd discuss it with Jason and Ross later, right now, I wanted to take a moment to collect myself, a nice stroll outside would do me some good, I decided to walk around back, at first everything seemed normal, well, as normal as a town made of plastic could be, but then…

"Hey! Careful! Datamon wants them alive!"

I quickly rushed to a hiding spot, hiding behind a pink dumpster, I peered my head out to see something I didn't think I'd see here, two Commandramon carrying someone, they clearly weren't Jason's, given those vacant look in their eyes, "But we also need to get him out of here fast, we can't risk one of them seeing us and compromising Datamon's plans!" One of them said.

Me and Psychemon both looked at each other, both of us coming to the same conclusion, that Ross had been right, there was something happening here, this was compounded when I finally got a good look at who the Commandrmaon were dragging off, it was Ethan! He was unconscious, at least, I hoped he was only unconscious.

"Well, aren't we a nosy little girl,"

I squeaked as I slowly turned my head to see Monzeamon standing over us, I could tell he wasn't happy given the deathly stare he was giving me, "You and your little friend Ross just couldn't relax and accept my hospitality! You had to question things! This could have gone a lot soother and less painfully if you just minded your own business!" He snarled at me before he tried to get me in a bear hug, but Psychemon had pulled me away in the nick of time, causing the giant stuffed bear to tumble over the pink dumpster and crash to the ground.

Psychemon stood between him and me, "You stay away from my friend!" He yelled at the bear, I could tell he was panicking even from here, poor Psychemon wasn't hard to frighten, and I doubted the prospect of me being kidnapped sat well with him. "You're nothing but a bully and a liar! What did we ever do to you?!" He added.

Monzeamon picked himself off the ground, "It's nothing personal really, Datamon ordered us to help him capture you, and we are, it's not my fault you and your friends are gullible enough to believe we actually wanted to help you," He said.

God I hated this bear! It seemed I had finally met a purely evil Digimon, he wasn't doing this out of fear like Rosemon was, he was doing this because he could! Out of some ill deserved loyalty to this "Datamon" character, and given he had Commandramon kidnapping Ethan, it was a safe bet Datamon was with the Digimon King.

Speaking of the Commandramon, Monzeamon turned to them, "Go! Get him to the jailhouse! I'll handle the girl," He ordered them, and with that, the two quickened their pace, I naturally went to rescue him but Monzeamon stood directly in my path. "Uh uh uh! You've been a very bad girl Kate Peterson, and now you need to be put in time out!" He said, not unlike an angry parent scolding their child.

I braced myself for whatever attack Monzeamon would unleash on me, but "COLORFUL SPARK!" I looked to see Monzeamon get electrocuted by rather colorful lightening, I turned to see it was coming from Psychemon's horn, this was probably the attack that he was about to use on me back at the hotel, thank god I managed to talk him down then huh? "Get back Kate! Before he breaks free!" Psychemon strained, trying to keep the lightening going long enough for me to put some distance between me and Monzeamon.

I did so, positioning myself behind Psychemon, however Monzeamon quickly broke out of Psychemon's attack, "Nice try! But I'm still two levels above you Psychemon, you and your little friend aren't going anywhere!" He growled, he then cocked his fist back, "BOOM BOOM PUNCH!" He bellowed before his paw began to glow, he threw a huge right hook sending poor Psychemon sailing through the air, leaving me alone with the giant stuffed bear, "And now… you sleep." He said before rearing his fist back for another punch…

Later…

I walked back to the inn, a walk through the town had done a lot to improve my mood, maybe I was being a touch paranoid, I opened the door to our room to find… oh crap.

It seemed I was a touch too quick to dismiss my suspicion, as I found Jason and Commandramon huddled around an unconscious Psychemon, who seemed to have crashed through the roof given the rubble around him and the giant hole in the ceiling! "What the hell happened?!" I asked as I rushed over to our fallen friend.

Jason shook his head, "I have no idea, me and Commandramon were just sitting here, minding our own business, when Psychemon came crashing through the roof! I hate to say it Ross, but I think you might have been right about this place after all," He said, this was probably the one time I was upset that I was right about something, this meant Ethan, and possibly Kate were both in trouble! And I was too busy debating with myself to do anything about it!

"It's kind of sad it took you that long to realize this,"

I knew that voice, I turned to see that, yes, the Digimon Queen herself had decided to barge in, I knew it! She was behind this! "You bitch!" I snarled before I grabbed her by her stupid little coat, "Where are they?! You'd better tell me before I break you in half!" I threatened her, I couldn't really tell from under those goggles of hers whether or not I was actually intimidating her.

But I didn't get much time to find out as her pet wolf quickly pulled me off of her, "Touch her again, and you'll lose those arms," He snarled at me.

The Digimon Queen dusted herself off, "Relax, I'm not the one behind this, this town is controlled by Datamon, the same Digimon who took my D-Brigade, he controls the Metal Empire, honestly I can't believe you bought any of this," She said, and why the hell should I believe you? The same bitch who tried to wipe out an entire rebel camp!

I growled, "Oh sure! And I bet Big Foot and the Tooth Fairy helped him do it too eh?" I said, I didn't trust her as far as I could throw her, and quite frankly, I found her sudden entrance more than a bit suspect.

However, "S.. She's right," Squeaked Psychemon, "M… Monzeamon mentioned Datamon when we fought him, h… he has Kate doesn't he?" He said, confirming my fears that Kate had fallen to the same fate that Ethan had.

The Digimon Queen crossed her arms, "Probably, knowing Datamon he hasn't killed them, he'd want to experiment on them first, if you want to find your friends, I'd try the ToyLand jail house, that's probably where he's keeping them until he knows he has all of you," She explained, again failing to explain why I should believe any of this.

Jason seemed just as trusting of her, "And how do we know we can trust you?" He asked, for once we were on the same page, last time we met this bitch she was slaughtering innocent Digimon at the rebel camp!

The Digimon Queen shook her head, "Because I hate Datamon, he took my troops and shook the King's trust in me, I would love nothing more than to watch you ruin his plans and expose him for the incompetent boob he is, besides, can you really afford not to trust me? You have no other leads on where your friends are, and Psychemon said himself that Monzeamon mentioned Datamon when attacking him, I suggest you take the lead I gave you and shove it down Datamon's arrogant throat," She said before turning to take her leave, "But make no mistake, after I know Datamon is dealt with, I'm going right back to destroying your virtual pets, have fun until then," She said before she and her wolf left.

Jason sighed, "Well, I guess we'd better head to the jailhouse, me and Commandramon saw it on one of our many walks through the town, it's not far from here," He said, he wasn't serious was he? How many evil villain plans did we have to fall for before he stopped being so bloody trusting?!

I shook my head, "How do we know this isn't a trap? This is the Digimon Queen we're talking about here!" I pointed out, I kinda felt like this was a rather important detail he was outright ignoring! For all we knew, she was trying to lead us right into her trap!

Jason rolled his eyes, "Because she was right! We have no other leads Ross! I don't trust her any more than you do, but right now, we have to at least try! Ethan and Kate are counting on us!" He snapped back.

Suddenly my anger began to boil over, I was so sick of crashing into brick walls with him, "God dammit Jason! You do realize this blind trust you have in people is the reason we're in this mess in the first place right?! What do these people have to do to get you to realize they can't be trusted? Let me clue you in on something kid, people lie, they use you to their ends, and throw you away afterwords!" I tried to explain to him.

But, of course, "So I should what? Forget them and leave? Ross our friends are in danger! I don't trust the Queen either, but right now we have no choice! Ever since I met you you've done nothing but argue with us! Why are you so unwilling to trust people?! Are you just that cynical?" He snapped at me.

That did it, "You have no idea how the world works Jason! People use and abuse people all the time! They tell you they care about you! That they'll always be yours, but then your so called "best friend" starts sleeping with the love of your life behind your back! And when you finally wake up to it, they both decide to leave you behind! Wondering what you did to deserve it!" I snapped… getting a bit too personal there… as everyone in the room stood silent… I didn't mean to go there… but I guess my mind had gone to the very place that had gotten me to the state I was in now… something I had never planned on discussing with these people.

Hawkmon, then stepped between me and Jason, "Jason, you and Commandramon go to the jailhouse, we'll meet you there," He said, Jason took a minute, but understood that Hawkmon wanted to talk to me alone. After they both left Hawkmon turned to me, "Ross, something happened to you… didn't it?" He asked me… this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have… I never did, but I could tell by the look on his face he wasn't going to let me go without knowing.

With a sigh, I decided to explain, "A few years back… I had a girlfriend, we were madly in love, we had been together for three years at that point, and… I was ready to propose to her… I had the ring… I had a plan… I was ready to spend the rest of my life with her..." I began to explain, I hated talking about this… it was still as painful as it was back then… but I couldn't exactly avoid it now… so I continued, "But… when I came home… ring in hand… ready to pop the question… I found a note on the door… it turned out… she'd been seeing my friend behind my back… and… and they ran off together… leaving me alone… I was betrayed by the love of my life, and someone I thought was my best friend… ever since then… I've never trusted people…" I finished explaining, that story never got easy to tell, I must have told it a thousand times but it always stung just the same, ever since that day I had become a cynical wreck, always weary of friendly faces, never knowing their true intentions.

Hawkmon just sat there and listened, taking in what I told him, I doubted Digimon knew much about human relationship traditions, or why the timing of it hurt me as much as it did, I was ready to spend the rest of my life with that woman, only to find out she'd been cheating on me the whole time, it was a very human issue, but I could tell he was sympathetic none the less, "Ross, I understand what happened was horrible..." He began, "But… you need to let it go, not everyone is looking to betray you," He added.

It was a sentence I must have heard a thousand times, but I never found it anymore believable, "When I found you unconscious in that forest, I didn't have to help you you know, but I did anyway, because you needed my help… just like you do now, Ross you're my friend… we're all your friends, so two people decided to stab you in the back, doesn't mean everyone out there is out to get you, you need to learn to trust your friends Ross, because they all believe in you, you're stronger than you think, and if you can find it in yourself to trust in them, you can do anything. They need us now Ross, we can't let a lack of faith stop us from helping those who need us," He explained.

I couldn't stop myself from breaking down, all the hurt I'd been bottling up for so long had begun to pour out of me, I had shut myself away from everyone, too afraid of being hurt by someone again to try to reach out for help. And now, now my fear of betrayal was going to cost two good people their lives, three if Gaomon was with them. I guess I had never had a friend like Hawkmon to show me just how bad my situation had become, how much damage I was doing to myself by locking myself away, or how much I was hurting everyone around me by shoving them away, when all they wanted to do was help me.

Hawkmon gave me a friendly smile, the same one he had given me when we first met, "You can trust us Ross, I promise you that, now… we'd better get going, we can't let Jason and Commandramon have all the fun," He said before leading me out of the inn, he was right, despite how much I didn't trust the queen, I needed to trust Jason's judgment, so with a new sense of confidence, I followed Hawkmon out, ready to rescue my friends…

Meanwhile...

Me, Commandramon, and Psychemon all made it to the Jailhouse, it looked like an old west prison from a cartoon, with "Jail" even written on it's front. I know I probably should wait for Ross and Hawkmon, but I doubted after that outburst Ross would be in any condition to help fight Monzeamon. So we all entered the jailhouse, it was abnormally quiet and dark in the jailhouse, I expected there to at least be a guard, I began to fear Ross had been right and this had been yet another trap, but… after a bit of walking I began to hear voices.

"You son of a bitch! When the King finds out about this, he'll have your head!"

I hid behind a barrel, and saw, lit by a small candle light, that the Digimon Queen had been dragged to the Jailhouse and locked in a cell with Okamon behind her. She was surrounded by Commandramon, and the king jerk himself Monzeamon. "Datamon's had more than enough of you Ms. Shuno, and when he learns we've captured you along with the rest of the Digidestined, he'll be so pleased! And this town will flourish!" He said rather proudly.

Well I guess this confirmed that Datamon did indeed hate the queen, I could make out the shapes of more people in the adjacent cells, upon further inspection, they were indeed Ethan, Kate, and Gaomon, all still out cold it seemed.

But before I could even plan my next move, I felt something hard hit me in the back of the head, I began to fade into unconsciousness as I heard Commandramon and Psychemon try to fight off something, I then saw an all too familiar yellow plush foot come into my view before it faded away with everything else into blackness…

Later…

Me and Hawkmon rushed through the town, god I hoped we weren't too late! I saw the jailhouse come into view, I was almost there!

"TOY FLAME!"

Suddenly I found myself being battered with hard plastic missiles, you wouldn't think they'd hurt but you'd be wrong, it felt like getting punched by several fists at once, I collapsed to my knees, suddenly we were surrounded on all sides by ToyAgumon, should have figured we'd have to fight them eventually. They began to pile on top of me like a horde of plastic, Lego, zombies, their jagged edges digging into me only adding to the discomfort.

Suddenly a bunch of them where knocked off by a swooping Hawkmon, they all click clacked as they hit the ground, I managed to break free from the remaining ToyAgumon's grasp, "I don't have time for this!" I growled, these plastic buggers were starting to piss me off! They began to shoot more toy missiles out of their mouths at me.

I barely managed to get out of the way of the onslaught before Hawkmon had decided he'd had enough of this nonsense, "FEATHER STRIKE!" He cried as he shot his feather at the pile, knocking them over with one strike. "Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back huh?" He challenged them, I wasn't too keen on the comment about not being able to fight back, but I would be lying if I wasn't relieved to have him standing between me and the ToyAgumon.

The ToyAgumon began shooting him with their plastic missiles, but one strong flap of his wings knocked them out of the air, and sent them falling harmlessly to the ground, he then took to the air, flying back and forth over the horde, slashing at them with his talons, all the ToyAgumon could do was try to shield themselves from the attack, however, Hawkmon simply flew into them again, knocking them all to the ground, defeated.

Hawkmon landed softly in front of me, "Well that takes care of them," He said, "Come on! Let's get to that Jailhouse and rescue the others!" He then said, and we both rushed to the Jailhouse, thankfully not running into any more ToyAgumon along the way.

The second I reached the Jailhouse I ripped the door open, only to be met with a huge fist that knocked me back, sending me crashing into a fruit stand of some kind. And of course… out stepped the stuffed bastard himself, Monzeamon, "I was wondering when I'd run into you Mr. Beck," He said as he closed in on me. "You're the only one left Ross, Jason, Commandramon, and Psychemon are already captured, it's time for you to join them!" He said, letting me know I'd be on my own here.

"Not exactly the "only" one!" Said Hawkmon as he swooped in, getting Monzeamon right in the face with his talons, "You'd best let our friends go now! Or else!" Hawkmon said, hovering in place.

However, Monzeamon simply laughed, "Or else what? You're only a rookie! You think I'm afraid of a tiny little bird? Please..." He laughed, grabbing Hawkmon by the leg and slamming him to the ground with an unsettling, loud cracking sound. He then picked him off the ground and German Suplexed him headfirst into the ground, it was hard to watch to put it lightly.

I felt my heart began to race, Hawkmon was getting pummeled, clearly outmatched by the hulking stuffed bear, I could tell with every blow Hawkmon was trying to stay conscious, because he and I both knew what would happen if he succumbed to unconsciousness. I was about to lose the very friends I had just realized how much I really needed, all in one moment, all the confidence I had gained had been destroyed by the harsh reality that I couldn't win this fight… I guess… I just wasn't meant to have friends…

Monzeamon then noticed my dying confidence, "HA! You realize it now, don't you Ross? How hopeless it really is! You're not strong enough to save them Ross, you never were! You know, when I first met you, I actually thought you'd be the hardest one to get, because you were always so cynical! So distrusting, but it turns out under all that cynicism, you're just a scared little boy! A scared little boy… who's about to lose it all," He taunted me, he was right… I was scared… I was about to lose what little I had gained… my new friends, my freedom, and inevitably, my life.

"N… no! Ross… d… don't listen to him!" Hawkmon strained, barely able to breathe due to the beating he had taken, "Y… you're stronger than… you think you are… don't give up… never give up," He said before receiving a powerful stomp to the chest by Monzeamon.

Hawkmon cried out as the bear put all his weight onto the poor little bird, "Don't bother! He's already given up! Look at him! It won't be long now before you're dead!" Growled Monzeamon, his red eyes glowing in the growing darkness.

I took out my Digivice, looking at my own reflection in the silent screen, Hawkmon had never given up on me, even when I was at my worst, even as he lay, possibly dying from the beating he was taking, he still somehow had faith in me, but what could I do? I couldn't fight Monzeamon, I couldn't save them…

However, I kept hearing Hawkmon's words in my head, "You're stronger than you think,", they played over and over in my head, like a record that kept skipping, it's meaning given more clarity each time, I was stronger than I thought! I had let my own cynicism consume me for long enough, I had to have hope, hope was all I had right now, I needed to stop running away from it, and embrace it. I held the device to my heart, "I'm stronger than I think..." I said to myself, I then felt the Digivice come alive, as I felt my desire to save my friends grow, fuel me, I wouldn't allow despair to rule me anymore! I would save me friends! Nothing was going to stop me! "I'm stronger than you think I am!" I cried out as the Digivice's energy burst out like a fire cracker, sending it's energy right to Hawkmon.

Monzeamon took a step back in shock, "What?! What's happening?! This can't be!" He said as Hawkmon began to change shape.

"Hawkmon digivolve too..." Hawkmon began…

Monzeamon turned to me, "What did you do?!" He snarled at me, I could tell even from here he was afraid, he knew what was happening, and he knew he was powerless to stop it! My oh my how the tables have turned.

I grew a cheeky smirk, "I found my hope, I guess I should thank you for that," I said, the look on that fluffy bastard's face was so worth it to me, "Sure, I let cynicism consume me, I'll admit that, but… the thing about people you don't seem to understand, is that we can change… Hawkmon never gave up on me, and so, I won't give up on him, or any of my friends! NEVER AGAIN!" I cried out as Hawkmon took his new form.

He was now a very large bird, he still had his white face and red body, but now his head was far more bird like, and had two large ram horns jutting out of it, his wings were much bigger and more well defined, and his feet where now pale blue with large black talons. "AQUILAMON!" He cried out, naming his new form.

Monzeamon was in complete shock, a fight he had complete control over had just changed completely, however he tried to stand his ground regardless, "Go ahead and Digivolve! It doesn't matter! You'll still die with the rest of your little friends!" He growled before going for another punch, "BOOM BOOM PUNCH!" He cried, going for another huge punch.

But Aquilamon quickly dodged the attack, "BLAST RINGS!" He answered back, bombarding the overgrown teddy with rings of energy that blasted him back into his own jailhouse, making a large hole where the doorway used to be.

The bear Digimon slowly got to his feet, "Is that… all you got?" He stained as he picked himself up, I could tell that attack did a number on him, due to how much he was swaying and stumbling as he tried to approach the giant avian Digimon that blasted him.

Aquilamon shook his head, "You and your master are done tormenting me and my friends! Time to end this," He said before prepping his wings for a mighty flap, "MACH IMPULSE!" he said as he brought his wings down with a great force, sending a strong gust of wind down at Monzeamon, who crashed through the walls of his own prison with so much force he hit the next building over, causing it to crumble to the ground on top of him.

Me and Aquilamon both followed him, finding him trapped under the ruins of one of his own buildings, "Y… you won't win… D… Datamon is too… smart… for you… he'll defeat you… hope… will only get you… so far," He struggled as his data began to crumble, destroyed by his own building, how poetic.

Aquilamon turned to me, "I told you, all you needed is to trust in your friends, and you can do anything," He said, I looked back to the pile of rubble that used to bury Monzeamon, defeating him… it was almost like me overcoming the self doubt that had built up since the day that woman ran off with that man, like I had exorcised a demon that had been haunting me for years, I felt… free… for the first time in a long while, I could finally move on.

I turned back to my partner, "Thank you, I mean it… "I told him, petting his head, "Now, lets get the others shall we?" I said, and with a nod, me and Aquilamon left to collect the others, thankfully, the destruction of the jailhouse hadn't hit the others, who were all haphazardly stuffed into a singular cell, Aquilamon clamped his beak onto one of the bars, ripping it from it's hinges.

"I suppose you're just going to leave me here,"

I turned to see the Digimon Queen, stuck inside a cage with her pet wolf, it seemed that she had been right after all, and that Datamon had managed to have his teddy capture her too. To be honest, I wanted to just leave her, after all she did it's what she deserved after all.

But… I couldn't bring myself to do it, after all I had learned today, it felt wrong to leave her there, she was still a human being, "Aqulamon, let her out too," I said.

Both the queen and Aquilamon were shocked by this, but Aquilamon did just what I had asked him too, breaking the door of her cage off, "I have to ask… why are you freeing me? I'm only going to attack you again eventually," She pointed out as she stepped out of her cage.

I shook my head, "I know, but I like to think that even you deserve better than being trapped in a ruined prison, waiting for Datamon to come collect you," I told her, she was trying her best not to show it, but I could tell from her body language she was conflicted on how she felt.

She, however turned to walk away, "Cute, but this changes nothing, next time we see each other, your little birdy is going down along with the rest of them," She said before she and her wolf walked off.

Aquilamon joined my side, "You did the right thing Ross, even if she doesn't realize it yet," He told me, "Come on, we should get the others and leave this place, I don't know about you, but I've had enough of Toyland for one lifetime," He said, I couldn't agree more, if I ever saw another teddy bear again, it'd be too soon…

Meanwhile…

I just couldn't wrap my head around it, why did he save me? He should have just left me trapped in that cage, it's what I would have done, but he didn't, and this made two Digidestined who Digivolved their partners that I knew of, something wasn't adding up, how did they manage to manipulate the program like that? Was it really their feelings? No… that's ridiculous, it's a computer simulation, not an episode of Care Bears.

"Something bothering you Bridget?" Okamon asked me.

I turned to him, "It's nothing Okamon, come along, we're headed to the Metal Empire, I think it's about time we confronted Datamon about his… behavior," I said, Okamon nodded and we walked off, me trying not to think about what had happened back there too much…

A/N- What's this? Do I detect a hint of doubt in the Digimon Queen's voice? It seems Ross may have gotten to her more than either of them realize!

What's next for our heroes? Stay tuned!

This chapter took longer to put out than I had planned, but at least I managed it. Hopefully the next chapters going forward won't take nearly as long… knock on wood.