Next chapter! thx to Lightriver33 for edits! i had to use my phone to post it so lack of formating lol.
thx for reviews, comment, and fave!
After their discussion;
Their temporary domain finally neared the domain that they are building. Their house is situated at the center of a city-like area and surrounded by tall walls, a flower garden and a big gate with a statue of Angewomon and LadyDevimon serving as its pillars. The theme of the city is traditional Japanese, but much of the city were painted in white, gold, and natural colors.
"Whoaah, this place looks so luxurious." Honoka complimented.
"Is it? I thought I was modeling a simple city structure." Nozomi said.
"Eh? You modeled these? That's nice!" Umi complimented.
"Hehe, actually, Ericchi and I have been planning on creating our own domain before A-rise asked us to do it as a favor. That's how we came with prepared materials. We just never expected that this domain will replace the City of Memory." Nozomi explained.
"This domain is twice the size of the City of Memory and its surroundings. I also designed this city to be run by Digimons. Then, it will be those sparkling cubes' job to fill up the energy." Eli said.
"Will it be enough, though? I mean, we just found a few, right?" Kotori asked.
"There should be more somewhere. Heidr-san helped us create a powerful magnet for it so, once this domain is active and replaces the City of memory, it will absorb every single one of those things. as well as decomposing the City of Memory. All Digimon will revert to their Digi-Egg forms and they will all start over their lives in this Domain."
"W-whoa! Wait! You are about to decompose City of Memory? What about the players, though?" Honoka asked.
"All human data will be sent back to the real world before this domain can normalize the real world. It's as simple as that." Eli replied.
"But doesn't that mean we have to separate with the Digital World?" Honoka asked again.
"Yep, it has to be done like that." Nozomi said.
Each of the girls stared at their own Digimon as they wondered if it really fine for them to allow such a thing from happening. Even though some of them have not built a strong enough bond with each other, it's still somewhat hard to believe that they must separate.
"Now-now, let's try to spend this Quality time properly, ok?" Nozomi interrupted their thoughts. "I'll send you all a Sparkling cube each and you will have to place them in the boxes I already set in each of the special buildings. Additionally, I will also send a map that will enable you to spot Special buildings. Try to discuss with each other so that no one will put a second cube in your chosen box."
"Ok!" The girls nodded.
The Discussion ended;
Each of them chose a special building to go to. Rin, who usually spends her time with Hanayo, is now traveling with Leon the Leomon.
"Hnn…. So we are about to be separated-nya…" Rin said sadly.
"We will, physically, but I doubt they can separate our spirits!" Leon replied energetically.
"Hehehe! Leon-chan! You surely know how to sweet-talk-nya!"
"I'm not sweet talking! I'm just saying!" Leon replied.
"Really?"
"Yep! Because that's what you think too, right?" Leon said.
Rin remained silent to think about what he just said.
"Rin-chan, when Heidi-san said that we couldn't make our own ideas, I began to think about how I am able to think of how to respond to one's questions flawlessly. It's like I have my own mind!" Leon continued.
"You are right-nya! Why are you so lively-nya?" Rin said.
"Because I was created from your data. Only a small part of me though." Leon replied.
"You answered it-nya!" Rin pointed at him.
"Haha! I realized that after Ichigo told us about how we are created. It wasn't that hard to search our memories because our memories are, basically, all connected at the core of the Digital World. We supposed to be unable to reach it, though, but I guess the security barrier that limits our memories is broken." Leon replied as he scratches his own head.
"So you can search for any sort of knowledge-nya?"
"Uh, maybe? But I have to say, though, this knowledge isn't meant to be known by anyone. Remember what people say about Vaccine, Data, and Virus?" Leon said.
"Yeah-nya, what about it?"
"Some Digimons are evil. I feel like I should educate them." Leon said.
"Hmm…" Rin squinted her eyes and scanned her own Digimon with her Digivice.
"Ahh! You are vaccine-nya! So you are like, the police!"
"Yes! I am the keeper of justice!" Leon said proudly.
"Fun! Hehehe!"
"Yes! It will be fun to be able to protect the weak!
"I'm glad you said that-nya!" Rin said.
"But I'm still weak right now… I might not be able to protect them if I'm about to fight the greater power…" Leon continued.
"What is 'the greater power'-nya?"
"Hmm… power like… that one power that could beat up the greater foe?"
"Uh…I don't get it-nya!"
"I don't know too, honestly!" Leon replied proudly.
"Eeeh… so how we can have that power anyway-nya? Practice-nya?"
"Ooo! Yeah! Like practice! Sonoda's training camp! Best camp for fighting Digimon!" Leon said energetically as he did some practice jabs.
"Hehe, Leon-chan really loves having Umi-chan as tutor!"
"Of course! A true warrior loves to learn! Especially to learn from their own teacher! We move our knife like this!" Leon moved some distance away and started to swing his short-sword around. It's not quite the right way to swing a short sword, but he seemed to be confident and that's all that mattered to Rin.
"Ah, anyway Rin-chan, where is our special building located again?" Leon asked.
"Oh, we are supposed to place our cube inside the warehouse. It's supposed to be a little farther to the north-nya!" Rin said.
"Got it! Let's get going!" Leon replied before he ran.
"Let's go-nya!" the energetic girl followed.
Meanwhile;
Hanayo and Mary traveled to the farmland since it's the special spot that they picked in an instant. As the two traveled, they took their time planting the seeds they kept in their inventory. After a few meters, Hanayo stopped and rubbed her waist.
"Uuhnn… it's tight!" Hanayo said.
"You are tired, maybe we are not in an unlimited power area." Mary replied.
"Hmm… maybe it's not that I'm tired. I still have the energy to move, but it just that I feel a little uncomfortable in my waist because what I do is very repetitive."
"Is that so? Then let's take a break anyway."
"Hehe, let's!" Hanayo replied before the two sat on the ground together.
A minute passed, they treasured their time to take a breather.
"Hanayo-chan." Mary called.
"Yes?" Hanayo replied cutely.
"Do you think I'm worth something to you?" Mary asked.
"Eh…? What's with that question. Mary-chan is cute and all. Why are you not worth anything?"
"Because, we are not a real living beings. We are just a work of artificial intelligence. We don't have real feelings, we are just an imitations."
"I think it doesn't matter, some humans are imitations too." Hanayo replied.
"What do you mean?" Mary tilted her head slightly.
"Hehe, did you know, Mary-chan? When everyone started to talk about idols, I was so excited, but I can't express that feeling… not yet. The truth is, I want to be an idol too… a human that pretends to be someone else. I would show all my feelings if someone gives me the chance."
"Why do you want to be an imitation?"
"To make other humans happy. Just like how Honoka-chan, Kotori-chan, and Umi-chan do."
"They're not even real idols yet."
"They are not, but they have the potential for it and they are about to be idols anyway. Still, it's not about the results that I like from them, it's the passion they express. Even though they are not familiar with it, they wanted to do it, and even though one of them doesn't like it, she is still doing it as if it is her responsibility. I want to be able to do that." Hanayo explained.
"It's the passion, huh?" Mary started to think for a moment.
"Hmm… As a digimon, do you think you have anything that you like to do?"
"Uh… farming? That's something that gives me the idea of happiness and comfort when I'm doing it."
"Just like me then!" Hanayo giggled.
"I love farming too! Growing what we love is nice!"
"Don't you think it's a passion too?"
"Uhm…. Right, it's a passion."
"So you are already passionate!"
"But it's because I'm used to doing it by myself!" Hanayo pouts cutely.
Mary giggled.
"Hanayo-chan is really cute. I wish I'm as cute as you!" Mary said.
"Aaahh! But Mary-chan is already cuter than me!"
"Noo! Hanayo-chan is cuter!"
"Sheesh! Why do you suddenly sound like Rin-chan?"
"Hehe, maybe because I'm trying to imitate her?"
"There! Mary-chan!"
A little further to the west;
Maki and Polymnia traveled to their chosen Special Building. The map told them that this special building will become an entertainment hall, just like the one in the City of Memory. She has honestly never paid a visit to the one in City of Memory but, looking at the design, she thinks that Nozomi must have been an art expert or is just simply someone who has done enough research.
The shape of the building looked like it can be perfectly captured with a camera. A square with a white glossy border on its glossy black body, black strings and—….
"Wait a minute…" Maki spoke.
"What's wrong, Maki?" Polymnia asked.
"This building looks like a speaker with a doorway in." Maki said.
"Wah! I never realized that!" Polymnia replied in awe.
The two remained silent for a moment as they stared at the building in awe.
"E-eh. Why are we here again?" Maki decided to break the ice.
"O-oh! Right! We are supposed to get this cube in its case." Maki said.
"Ah, you are right. Let's get it done, shall we?" Polymnia replied before the two started to move.
As they stepped in to the building, they can see that the entrance is decorated by celestial objects. Both Maki's and Polymnia's eyes widened in astonishment. They wondered how Nozomi could think of this but, then again, astrology is also one of the topics that Nozomi totally loves.
The zodiac signs were drawn with the stars and holographic thin lines and each had its name written under the image. Even though the room was only lit with one simple light, Maki and Polymnia knows that there might be a better lighting technique that will be added into it to add more life on each of the zodiac constellation.
With evidence of unfinished engines around the room, Maki wished that she can convince her friend to finish this as soon as possible so that she can enjoy it.
Then again, this may not be the right time to think about that. They all needed to deal with something crucial right now. If she remembers well, her briefing said that they only have 20 minutes to put all the cubes in the box, then another 10 minutes to regroup and moor their domain close to the City of Memory's domain.
There's no time to lose. She has to work fast.
"Polymnia, let's get this done and return."
"Ok, Maki!" Polymnia replied.
The two, once again, focused on the task at hand.
The southern part of place;
Niko and Chibby traveled to the area that was to become the marketplace—the place to hoard wealth and fulfill their needs. It's weird to see this place empty, but Niko knows that this is going to be the heart of this City.
"Man, I can't believe I have to look for something around this empty square." Niko said.
"Yet we still haven't found any sign of the box." Chibby said.
"Oh shut up! We are looking, ok?"
"Heh-heh-heh, do you think it will be harder to find something like that in a wide area like this?"
"Nah! Not really. We can just try to lay down the ground and see if we can spot that box instantly."
"Sounds stupid, but if it works, it isn't stupid." Chibby replied.
"Exactly-duh? Now, do that." Niko said.
"Me?"
"Yeah! Or actually, you could do better! You are a ghost now so sink to the ground, will-ya?"
"Blargh, I'll do that I guess." Chibby replied before he sank into the ground.
He took a few minutes to search but, for some reason, he can't even spot anything sticking out of the floor so he decided to start moving. Niko followed him as she also helped with scanning around the area.
"Really, why do we have to do this? We should just ask where exactly the box is." Niko complained.
"Hmm… do you think Nozomi will answer if we ask?"
"Hah, surely, she might."
"You don't sound like you are sure about it."
"Because Nozomi is always such a meanie ass when it comes to anything that has to do with me." Niko replied.
"I think she cares about you." Chibby said.
"Yea-uh? The only care I know is because she thinks of me as her daughter or something, then her 'Ericchi' is the dad." Niko smirked.
Chibby remained silent since he doesn't have anything to say about that fact.
"But caring is still caring, it's not like I want her to care too much about me either. I mean, I'd rather be the one who looks more mature than anyone else, you know."
"So you, like… want to be the mom?"
"No way, you silly ghost, not the mom! I'd rather be the big sister!"
"Then, maybe Nozomi isn't the figure you prefer to go around with, huh? I can't see you as her big sister at all, more like the younger sister."
"Are you mocking me because of my size?!"
"G-gh! It's not like that at all! I'm not that big either!"
"Then, what are you trying to say?"
"More like… don't you think that, maybe, we would fit in more if we hang out with the first years? Especially that one red haired girl?"
"Huh? Well, I don't know, but I think I'm fine with them all. They are all kind in a way, just sort of bullies sometimes."
"Now I wonder why you are often the target of bullies?"
"I wonder why too! Maybe because I'm too cute and they are jealous?"
Chibby narrowed his eyes.
"Ah—that must be it! Because I'm so cute and no one can help but to try to make me look so bad! After all, I'm supposed to be the number one idol… I'm so charming and everything about me is perfect!"
"Oh…" Chibby smirked.
"They might be so flustered too. My intelligence surpasses the common human being and they are afraid if they're outwitted." Niko continued as she touched her own cheek and giggled proudly.
"Aaah—it's so hard to be the greatest of the greatest. Who would've expected me to let them join in my glory?" she continued to blabber.
Chibby rolled his eyes. Now he might know why Niko is often the target of bullies. In a way, though, he thinks that Niko is actually charming just the way she is. It's not like she is that useless either. Chibby has stayed with her for a long time and he can see that Niko's intuition has always been her strength and that is what stands out about her.
Who needs technical intelligence if intuition is enough to solve all the problems she stumbled into?
Meanwhile;
Nozomi, Angel in Ophanimon form, and Lady in Devidramon form have their own cube to place. Nozomi couldn't really say what is in her mind right now. There's something that she doesn't like from how this turned out and the atmosphere among them seemed to be cold—it's really nothing like the usual days when they hang out.
"I'm sorry…" Lady said to break the silence.
"What are you sorry for, Lady?" Angel asked.
"This atmosphere makes me feel awkward. It's because of me, right?" Lady said.
"Uh? No? What happened anyway? Did I miss anything?" Angel asked again.
Lady sighed softly.
"Angel, don't you think I look ugly and scary in this form?"
"Hmm… not at all?" Angel replied innocently.
"No? Then it must be just my feeling." Lady replied a little shyly.
"Your shape isn't ugly at all. Your heart is." Nozomi said coldly.
Lady and Angel stopped, both surprised at how Nozomi responded to them. Lady seemed to be very sad when she looked at how her master walked away from her. She truly regrets her actions.
"Nozomi-chan!" Angel called her.
Nozomi stopped, but she didn't bother to turning to her Digimon.
"Lady is fine the way she is. Please don't hate her." Angel said.
"I don't hate her. I just hate what she did."
"Because she apologized to you?" Angel asked.
"It's not that one. It's the one before that."
"Because she decided to turn into something else?"
"No, just ask her yourself. I don't want to hear it anymore." Nozomi said.
"I have a task to do, catch up to me once you two are done talking." She continued as she walked away.
Once the young purplenette left, Angel and Lady faced each other. They were both awkwardly quiet for a moment until Lady decided to speak up first.
"I… I was jealous that—…"
"Alright, that's it. Let's move on, Lady!" Angel cut in.
Lady got flustered and she wondered if Angel didn't want to hear it too.
"I don't need to hear about what I already know. So let's move on, shall we?" Angel cheerfully said to her.
"You… already know? Yet you are not bothered with it?"
"Why should I? There were times when I was so jealous of you. It's normal."
"What are you saying? It's not normal to be jealous!"
"It's normal! Everyone can feel jealous… even Nozomi-chan herself! Remember that one time when Eli-chan was so obsessed with the digital world?"
"Yes, I remember that Eli always goes off to the digital world by herself, she didn't even bother to call Nozomi to accompany her. It was always Nozomi who had to catch up to her." Lady replied.
"Yup, then you remember what she said?"
"I don't, Did she even say anything about that?"
"Well, her lips didn't, but her actions did. Did you notice that Nozomi modified a card the day before the S-Rank Tournament for Kuzunoha?"
"N… Not at all, how did you notice it?" Lady asked.
"That time, I was the one who sold that card while you were selling the other stuff for her. She told me this : When someone is about to purchase cards, always ask them what are they going to use the card for."
"That sounds normal? I mean, those cards have their own usage and where they excel at, it's normal for a merchant to offer suggestions."
"Yep, but she also said this : If anyone says that he or she wants to join the S-Rank Tournament this week, add the golden power up card as bonus."
"And what's wrong with—….!" Lady paused as she realized something.
"Wait, are you saying that–…?"
"Yep, she is the mastermind."
"But, why? Didn't she love Kuzunoha too?"
"Did she really? Nozomi-chan wasn't someone who believed in a Digimon's value. It was all a game for her." Angel said.
"She thinks that way? I never knew, I've never noticed that." Lady replied sadly.
"I said she was. She realized a digimon's value after she did it and she regrets it."
"Are you not bothered by that? What if she still thinks that way about us?"
"Hehe, Lady, I don't usually hate something, but if there's anything that I hate, that will be repeating myself on a statement that I already said clearly." Angel smiled at Lady.
"Wh-what?"
"I told you, she thought that way but she regrets it. Isn't that clear enough?"
"What so clear about it? It doesn't explain anything at all!"
"She was thinking that way and she regrets it." Angel repeated herself.
"Angel!"
"She was thinking that way and she regrets it."
"Please explain it to me!"
"What's the use of living in the past? Everybody makes mistakes so all that matters is to fix what was broken." Angel said.
"You are right, but, is it that easy to forgive? If that happens again, what are we going to do?"
"She regrets it. She is already trying to fix it and she somehow did. Eli has already moved on from Kuzu-chan."
"But still! Kuzunoha is someone we love too! You were broken when she died! I saw you crying and all!"
"I was crying, I was sad, and I feel guilty because I could have stopped it but I didn't."
"Then, what else? Why did you not do something until now?"
"What do you want to do if you are me? Are you going to be upset at her? What's the point? Would that make anything better? Would that make her feel better? Would that make Eli-chan feel better? Would that make you feel superior? Would that make Kuzunoha happy? Would that make Sakuya happy? Would anyone become happy because you are trying to avenge what was done?"
Lady remained silent.
"Nozomi already paid her due and it's over. They have started a new page so don't stain them with hatred." Angel continued.
"Y-you… you are right." Lady sighed.
"Ah… Lady, lecturing someone is the other thing that I hate. Did I hurt your feelings?" Angel asked out of concern.
"N…no, not at all, thanks for convincing me."
"I'm glad. Should we catch up to Nozomi-chan now?"
"Yes, we should." Lady nodded.
Somewhere within the µ's house;
Eli and Sakuya were in charge of watching over the domain since they needed to make sure that the special buildings go active once everyone placed their cubes. At the moment, though, none of the girls have successfully placed their cube inside their assigned box yet, not even Nozomi.
"Why are they taking so long?" Eli sighed in front of her laptop.
"Do you want me to watch over them?" Sakuya asked.
"Just stay here, Sakuya. I don't want you to go anywhere for now." Eli replied.
"Understood." Sakuya nodded.
Suddenly, a very gentle knock is heard from the door.
"Come in." Eli said.
Heidr walked in with a cup of hot chocolate milk on a tray.
"Happy time for you, sweetheart." she said before she placed it on Eli's table.
"Harasho, Heidr-san, you know that this is my favorite."
"Like Mother like daughter, I say." Heidr giggled.
"You know my mother?" Eli tilted her head slightly,
"Nope, not at all. I was just saying that to fluster you."
Eli smiled at her.
"You are weird, just like what Nozomi says about you." she said before she started to drink her chocolate milk.
"This is perfect. You know my taste as well as Nozomi." Eli commented.
"The perfect taste for the hard working woman." Heidr replied.
"There, you flatter me, Heidr-san." Eli said with a gentle giggle.
"You are cute when you smile. No wonder Nozomi is so all over you."
"Surely, but I couldn't say that I'm not clingy either. There are times when I feel like my world is crumbling, and those times are when Nozomi is not somewhere with me for a long time."
"Wow, you are pretty obsessive too then?" Heidr asked.
"Obsessive? Maybe. I often get jealous when Nozomi isn't paying attention to me."
"My, that's sweet of you. I'm glad Nozomi is with you."
"Huh?" Eli raised her eyebrow.
"An obsessive couple is the best thing to have in the world. If both of you are so obsessive about each other, then you two have nothing to worry about."
"You are right. It means that we have each other."
"Hmm…I wonder why the other potential lovers aren't bound like you two yet? Maybe they need a little push?"
"You mean, Honoka and Tsubasa?"
"Yep, don't you think they are a little too distant with each other?"
"To begin with, I wonder how someone like Honoka can fall in love romantically. She is a little too dense."
"As dense as the shallowest river, she goes down and eventually reaches the deep blue sea and returns to the top."
"I have never heard of that phrase." Eli said.
"I made it up myself. It was just to say that girl isn't going anywhere."
"Right, huh? Sea water turned back into rain and then back to the river and down the sea again."
"Do you think Tsubasa and Honoka will be a pair of lovebirds someday?"
"I wouldn't know. I'm not them." Eli replied.
"Can you at least imagine it?"
"I can't. I'm not them, I don't know what's so charming about Honoka other than her spirit and I don't know what's so charming about Tsubasa other than her quick action."
"They have what it takes to be the leader. But as you said, I don't know if they will ever be in a romantic relationship. Though I have to say it once again : They need a little push from someone who knows what true love is."
"You make it sounds impossible… do you think there is anyone who knows what true love is?"
"Mmh… maybe? I guess I'll leave it to you to find out about." Heidr said before she left the room.
"What a strange woman." Sakuya said.
"She is, but I have to admit, she is extremely beautiful. I guess that makes up for her weird attitude." Eli replied.
"By the way, Eli, your arm…" Sakuya pointed. The light mark on Eli's arm is getting slightly brighter."
"Ah, right. It's strange that I no-longer feel pain ever since we moved domains. Maybe it really is the security barrier that hurts me." Eli said.
"Do you think you can grab your digivice now? Nozomi gave it to me a while back saying we might need it somehow."
"Sure, hand it to me." Eli replied.
Sakuya handed the digivice to her and, just as they thought, it didn't hurt Eli, but the light slowly expanded up to her jaw.
"Uh, Eli. Please hand it back to me. The mark has expanded to your head." Sakuya said.
"Really?" Eli replied as she returned the digivice. Even though she already put some distance between her and the digivice, the mark remained.
"Now, how do we hide that mark?" Sakuya sighed. Eli kept searching around until she found a scarf hanging on the hanger. She owns that scarf, which was bought a few weeks before she and her girlfriend went on their Christmas date. She pulled it and quickly wrapped it around her neck.
"There we go… Looks like it's solved easily. But, I guess you should stay away from the Digivice before things get worse, just like Nozomi suggested."
"Yes, also, I think we need to return to the map?" Eli suggested.
"Oh! Has anyone placed their cube yet?" Sakuya asked.
Eli turned her attention to the map.
"No… sadly. It looks like they are all really taking their time." she sighed.
Meanwhile;
Umi and Yamato traveled to the special building that was to become the new domain's gym. She could've journeyed on Yamato's back, but Umi decided to walk on her own since she feels like she shouldn't rely too much on him.
"... and then, we will look for this box and place our cube in it." Umi ended her words.
"I got it. But, don't you ever wonder why we have to do this?"
"I don't know. It's a request so we just have to do it, right?" Umi asked.
"But what exactly are these cubes again? Memory fragments that the wild digimons are after?"
"Yes, that's right. The wild Digimons are after these things. It must be very important to them for a reason."
"Perhaps it gives power? Perhaps it gives something really important to them?" Umi asked.
"I've heard about Megidramon and Diaboromon, those two Digimon that chased us. They should actually be way stronger than that, but it feels like their powers were depleted enough that Lucemon could take both of them down with ease." Yamato said.
"Did you hear it from your memory? Just like Ichigo?"
"Mm…maybe. I feel like I'm starting to have connected memories with the other digimons. I found myself remembering a few things that never happened. I'm afraid that, as a Virus Digimon, I would think about something really bad and hurt you."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to turn you into anything other than Virus." Umi said sadly.
"No, it's fine. A wise man once said, to fight evil within you is better than to be born good. Even though I might be having a few bad thoughts, I'm going to assure you that I really will fight them. I will protect you with all my power, Umi."
"Thank you, Yamato." Umi smiled gently at him.
"It's my duty as a warrior! After all, you have worked so hard for me and I should keep this honor with me!" Yamato said proudly.
The bluenette giggled.
"Really, Yamato. It's true that I really desire a dignity. I think I have lost them all ever since—…" Umi paused.
"Ever since…?" Yamato tried to press her to continue her statement.
"Ever since I realized my duty as a woman who was born and grew up with warrior's blood flowing through my veins. I love my title, I love my daily activities, and I love myself as I am, yet I have never found out what true dignity as warrior means. A few times in the past, I tried to show myself among those who fall into the same destiny I have by joining every possible competition and getting ahead in my training. But then, I began to lose my motivation when I started to wonder why I am even doing things without knowing about the reason for doing so."
"Didn't you already say your reason?" Yamato asked.
"I haven't." Umi replied.
"But you said you love your title, daily activities and f your true self… aren't those enough as reasons for you to do it?"
"Ah!" Umi raised her eyebrows.
"But, are those really enough? It relates into my life and I can't possibly be blinded with the joy of doing what I love."
"Then, shouldn't that be just a stepping stone for you? I mean, when you love something, you have to keep at it until you find out what to do with it and how you can relate it to your life. It may have nothing to do with dignity as your dignity has always existed within your faith."
Umi remained quiet, trying to comprehend the whole conversation she just had.
"Are you saying that maybe, what I desire is not dignity?"
"Where did you get that idea? Did someone tell you?"
"Someone certainly did."
"You can't just hold on to what comes out of other people's mouths. Don't believe that voice." Yamato said.
"But then, how can that voice say : Your Greatest Desire is what we need?" Umi asked.
"Don't you want to take this to the others?"
"Maybe…?"
"I feel like we need to talk about it soon before we moor closer to the City of Memory's domain."
At the south-east side;
Kotori and Suzaku traveled to the special building that would become a travel agency. They took their time to examine each of the road's details and the Air-Ways port that should help the flying digimon carry objects and take short breaks in.
"Looks like we are set in this last route, should we go look for the boxes now?" Suzaku suggested.
"Yep! Surely!" Kotori replied.
As soon as the two retraced their steps back to where they are supposed to place their cube, they caught sight of Honoka sitting with her Ichigo. She seemed busy with her digivice and it is most likely that she is chatting with someone specific.
"Urhh… Honoka-chan, she is slacking again, isn't she?" Kotori smirked.
"Looks like it. Why is she chatting with someone at this time?" Suzaku said.
The two decided to move a little closer to her.
"Honoka-chan!" Kotori and Suzaku greeted at the same time.
"Wh-who-whoa?! K-Kotori-chan?!" Honoka jumped off her seat.
"Did you find your box yet?" Kotori asked
"I did! Haha, it's over there!" Honoka pointed to a box near her. Kotori tried to process the thing Honoka is pointing at, but even after a few minutes, she can't see anything.
"Which one, Honoka-chan? I can't see anything!"
"Uh, that one! On the wall!"
"On the wall?" Kotori scanned the nearby wall. It is made of a special brick and one of the sets is missing but there's a faint light on the outline.
"Hehe, I found that one easily!" Ichigo said proudly.
"H-how could you do that, Ichigo?" Suzaku asked.
"My eyes, they can see data and particles clearly. I think I inherited something special!" Ichigo said.
"That's true, but, at this rate, you might be the only person who can place the cube inside the box!" Kotori said.
"Yeah, true, but even though I found it, I can't place it in." Ichigo said.
"Why?" Kotori asked.
"I don't know. Honoka said that there's something painful preventing the cube from entering." Ichigo said.
"Let me try." Kotori said before she took out her cube and walked close to the box. She placed her cube with ease and a reaction happened. The box closed and the road they traveled on lit up with faint light and the Air-ways port followed. Above them, they noticed a transparent floating rail with a floating train-like transport hanging under it. They moved very slowly but smoothly.
"Ohh! Its activated!" Honoka said.
"Looks like that box wasn't meant for us then." Ichigo said.
"Uh, did you know where your box is supposed to be?" Kotori asked.
"Hmmm… I don't quite remember the name of the special building I'm assigned to."
"Honoka-chan…" Kotori sighed.
"Please remember your special building." She continued.
"It was to the restaurant." Ichigo said.
"Oh, restaurant? Then why are you two here? Isn't the restaurant supposed to be at the north-west part of this city area?"
"Eh, really? Where are we?" Honoka asked.
"You are not looking at your map?" Suzaku asked with a soft sigh.
"I did but I thought I'm in the right position!" Honoka showed her map through her digivice.
"You can't be looking at a reversed map, Honoka-chan. It's a digivice and—….eh?" Kotori's eyes widened.
"Why is your digivice's display setting flipped vertically?!" she asked.
"It is?"
"It is! Sheesh! Give me your digivice!"
"O-Ok!" Honoka replied before she took off her digivice and handed it to Kotori.
"Weird, you were able to chat with Tsubasa a while ago. Are you actually reading in reverse position?" Ichigo asked.
"The digivice's chat setting is flexible since it doesn't follow the digivice's position. Instead, it follows the eye position. You can adjust your digivice with the same setting, but really, why did you flip your screen vertically?"
"Uh, I didn't change anything though?" Honoka replied.
"You didn't? Then how could this happen to you?"
"I can answer that one to remind her about something she did a while back." Ichigo said.
"Eh? I did something?" Honoka asked.
"You did. You were flipping the screens around. It was when you were in a call with Tsubasa." Ichigo said.
"Honoka-chan, you were still in a call with Tsubasa-chan at a time like this?"
"W-We were just talking about… uh, the conditions, yeah." Honoka replied.
"Yeah, they were just on call for about five minutes. Tsubasa was asking about what Honoka wanted to eat once she returns to the real world." Ichigo said.
"Sheesh, that sounds a little too far off to plan today! We have to face the issue with the City of Memory first!"
"You are right, Kotori-chan, but, still, I can't help myself. Tsubasa-chan also seemed to be expecting so much from me."
Kotori sighed at her statement.
"Well, Honoka-chan. Maybe we should talk about your relationship with her after all."
"Yes, maybe we should." Honoka replied sadly with a sigh.
"But maybe we can do that while making our way to your spot?"
"Ok!" Honoka nods, her face drastically returns to her cheerful self.
"Kotori! Let's use that train! I spotted a station nearby!" Suzaku said.
"Really? Then off we go on the train!" Kotori replied cheerfully.
It only takes a short while for them to reach the nearby station;
While Honoka, Kotori, and Ichigo hop into the train's wagon, Suzaku flew near the train since her Birdramon form won't fit inside.
"Hmm… maybe it will be hard for a big Digimon to travel around the city at this rate." Honoka said.
"Hehe, I believe there will be upgrades to take care of that, but anyway, let's focus on what we need to discuss."
"Ah, right, it's about me and Tsubasa-chan."
"Exactly. Now please tell me, Honoka-chan. What do you feel?" Kotori asked.
"What do I feel?" Honoka questioned herself.
"I don't know…" she continued with a sad smile.
"How exactly do you feel when you are talking to her?" Kotori tried to rephrase her question.
"Hmm… I feel… I feel happy! But also scared. It's not the same fear like when I'm talking to Umi-chan though! I don't know what makes me afraid, but it just that there's a feeling that makes my heart beat so quickly! It's like it's going to stop."
"Then, I have witnessed Tsubasa-chan asking you out, what do you feel about that?"
"Uhm… I feel like it's still a little too soon to answer it. What if I never loved her from the start? What if I just wanted to be her friend? I mean…! If I'm to be her girlfriend, doesn't that mean that I will have to stick with her all the time?"
"Honoka-chan! I wouldn't let you to stick with her all the time! Being a girlfriend doesn't mean that you have to do that! You also have to remember us! We are your best friends and we are also here for you and your life!"
"Wouldn't you feel jealous if your girlfriend talks to another?"
"What are you saying? Nozomi-chan talks to us all the time but Eli-chan doesn't feel jealous at all. Being in a relationship needs trust, you know. There's no point of being in a relationship if you can't trust each other!" Kotori said.
"T-true…" Honoka replied.
The two remained silent for a bit.
"Hmm… Kotori-chan, please don't blame Honoka-chan for that kind of knowledge. Honoka-chan contacted Nozomi-chan earlier and Nozomi-chan said that being in relationship means that you have to dedicate yourself to your partner."
"Well, she is right, but what's the meaning of dedication to you, Honoka-chan?" Kotori asked.
"Uhmm… to… uh, be faithful?"
"Dedication is to be committed to a purpose, what's the purpose of you two being in a relationship?"
"Uhh… I don't know…" Honoka averted her eyes.
Kotori sighed.
"Well, Honoka-chan, I can give you a list of the purposes of being in a relationship, but I think I should let you think for yourself. This is your relationship, after all."
"Hnnng… Kotori-chan, can't you at least give me an example?"
"Nope! You will just copy that example! I'm not going to let you do that!"
"Gggh…Kotori-chan! Why are you suddenly being a meanie like Umi-chan?!"
"I'm not mean, Honoka-chan! Sheesh! I'm just trying to make you decide on your own! It's really not like you to not be able to make your own decision!"
"But I really know nothing about this!"
"You will get it if you work hard enough! But anyway! Let's focus on the task at hand first, ok? Then we regroup at home"
"Hnnn…. Alright." Honoka pouts.
Kotori sighed, she can't believe that she had to say all that to her best friend. Especially if she also knows that she has to lie to find out what she doesn't know. Truth to be told, it's actually something that she desires: A commitment to choose what she wishes for her life.
If it wasn't because of Honoka and Umi, she wouldn't know what type of evolution she should be after. Then, if it wasn't for Honoka going around on her own and doing anything her heart tells her, she wouldn't know what to do to pass the time in this Digital world.
She is glad that Honoka is here to decide for her— but why can't she decide on her own? What's wrong with her? There must be something that can help her somehow, right?
The µ's home;
Eli noticed that the girls are finally finished with their task after about ten minutes. The whole city is active and now they can fully use the facilities. But before all that, she needed to make them regroup and make sure that everyone is ready to do the next thing.
Eli sent a teleport offer to everyone—thanks to the city travel facility that has now allowed her to utilize the true power of a programmer inside the digital world. Within a few seconds, everyone returned to the µ's home.
"Whoaah! This is amazing-nya!" Rin said in awe as she and Leon arrived.
"Wh-whawa! I really get teleported here!" Hanayo said in surprise.
"This is nice, I wish we can do this everywhere." Maki said as she and Polymnia appeared.
"Are you really getting full control over this domain?" Niko said as she and Chibby appeared.
"Eli, you are surely a professional on this matter." Umi complimented as she and Yamato appeared.
"Calling upon specific people everywhere is a good function, I wish someone implements it in the game later." Kotori said as she and Suzaku appeared.
"Hnnnggghh… I thought it was my group call that called! But it's actually you using a new teleport mechanism!" Honoka said as she carried her Ichigo in her arms.
"Well, I'd prefer you calling me with lover calls, but this works." Nozomi said before two of her Digimon appeared behind her.
"We have a task at hand, so let's not have too much chit-chat." Eli said to them.
"I'll go call Heidr-san." Sakuya said.
"Thank you, Sakuya." Eli replied before Sakuya nodded and ran to get the woman they needed.
"Now that our domain is active, I want you all to prepare yourselves for battle. There are three fates that may befall us as we reach closer to that domain. First, we might all be ambushed by wild Digimons or Bugged Digimons and their tamers and, at that point, we have to defend this domain and not let any other official know about this. Heidr-san is the only person we can rely on as she has connections with the official. Second, we might be captured by one of the teams. I have received information that tamers in the City of Memory have split into three groups: Digital-Fanatics, Real-Fanatics, and Peacemakers. Despite being called Peacemakers, their true aim is actually to try and destroy both teams and keep the world as it is. We know we don't want that, right?" she said. "Then, third, maybe the officials will turn hostile towards us. I've been doing a lot of programming activities and hi-jacking their server so they might suspect us. If this happens, let's try to pretend that we know nothing about programming. Heidr-san said that she will take care of it if that fate falls upon us." the blonde continued the explanation.
"With those possible fates, we have prepared two scenarios that could work as a solution for us all." Heidr said as she came in to the room with Sakuya. They are carrying a few discs inside some boxes and they place them on the floor before turning to face to the girls.
"The first scenario is a solution to fate numbers one and two. Once we enter the domain, we will stay in groups and fight our way to the City of Memory and using the chaotic event to our advantage, we will charge our way in to their control room." Heidr explained.
"Second scenario is for the third fate. We will all have to split up and hide. While in hiding, we need to train hard and become strong enough to face the official and. at the right time, we will regroup and invade the control room." Eli added.
"If we succeed, we will have full control of the Digital World and we might be able to open the portal and let the players return to the real world." Heidr added.
"But! How about the Digimons and the absolute destroyer?" Hanayo asked.
"We can lock them in the new domain. Heidr-san helped me create a passage that can't be crossed without permission. At the same time, I also copied the green wall system which is apparently overseen by the City of Memory."
"What do you mean by 'overseen'? I thought the greenwall system is just the same with the city of memory." Maki asked.
"No, it's not. The city of memory controls digimon by limiting their evolution and forcing players to pay for fees and win the tournaments to be able to pass it. Specific cards will allow them to pass through the security, yet, at the same time, they also cause those copy paste bugs to happen. When your Digimon tries to evolve, they send their power data to the place they call 'back-up' drive."
"Hold it right there! I'm not sure about what you mean by 'pass it'. I thought it's normal for digimon to not be able to evolve before they meet the criteria?" Niko asked.
"Yes, that's true, but the city of memory doesn't simply do that. The city of memory is a domain that focuses their system on the business side of things since they wanted their players to use more money in the game. A successful player will be rich, but those who are not go wasted. It's a coincidence that none of us qualify as failure players, not even Niko."
"H-hey! You don't have to mention my name along with 'failure player'!" Niko protested.
"No offense, but I've seen your record. You entered the Champion tournament 15 times but don't have even a single win in your record. That's quite a record, you know. Normally, people will enter the challenge about five times at most and score a few wins. But, even though you are suck at battle, you have quite a good record for beauty contests… and with a Soulmon too. That's amazing." Eli said.
"C-Can we just go back to the task at hand?!" Niko complained.
"Sure, you got it. So back to what we should do later…" Eli pause for a bit as she gestured to Heidr and Sakuya.
"We are going to inject your digimon with these power-up vials. It may not be effective enough and the result might be slightly weaker than the natural training, but it will prove effective enough to hasten the progress. Each of those power-up vials are adjusted to your digimon's current power. All of our Digimon will evolve onto the first stage of Ultimate Digimon once we are close enough to the City of memory's domain." The blonde continued.
"What do these vials do, exactly?" Kotori asked.
"They gather some artificial experience from the surrounding data for your Digimon." Eli replied.
"Whoa! That sounds cool-nya!" Rin commented.
"Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan helped my research for those things—and it was thanks to you all for supplying me with the main ingredients." Heidr said.
"Main ingredients? Don't tell me, are those cubes—…?" Umi wondered.
"Yep, they are supposed to be mine, but I don't mind sharing! I only need one to appreciate its beauty anyway!" Angel commented.
"Those cubes have a lot of use in the right hands. But anyhow, Heidr-san was the one who told me that those cubes have a lot of uses." Nozomi said.
"It's only natural for officials to know about that. After all, the City of Memory fed their digimon with those too." Heidr said.
"Do you feed your Lucemon with that, then?" Maki asked.
"Lucemon? Nah—he doesn't eat those anymore. He had enough he said." Heidr giggled.
"Speaking of Lucemon, I haven't seen him in a while." Hanayo said.
"He is waiting for us in the City of Memory." Heidr said.
"How could he travel there?" Niko asked.
"By evolving into his final form. Don't worry, he isn't going to harm anyone. He is just there to be our safety guard." Heidr said.
"Safety guard?" The girls were flustered.
"It's weird to be protected by one Digimon that is said to be an evil being." Kotori said.
"Nothing wrong with that, darkness is a lot more friendly than you think." Heidr smiled teasingly.
"Hehehe, I guess it's because darkness is always portrayed as the evil one in every story!" Honoka commented.
"Really? But I don't think so. The matter of what is bad or good depends on one's perspective." Heidr replied.
"Perspective? Hnng... you mean like, what makes us happy is what's good for us?" Honoka asked.
"Not quite. Happiness doesn't describe good or bad properly. You are not always in a good state of life when you are happy, but sometimes, you find happiness even in a bad situation."
"Oohh! But doesn't that mean that we are actually in a good state? I mean, we might be happy because the bad states teach us lessons in life, right?" Honoka said.
"That's true… you are a pretty interesting girl, aren't you?" Heidr giggled at her.
"Honoka, you are deciphering her words wrong! She means, like, you can be happy in the wrong state of life! For example, you are having fun and being happy while ignoring the fact that you got almost a zero score in your math exam!" Umi said.
"W-wha-wa! Umi-chan! You are so cruel!" Honoka protested.
"Now-now, I didn't say anything about right or wrong. Each person has their own view about the world around them." Heidr said.
"That's true, but Honoka shouldn't be spoiled. Sometimes we need to hit her right on her butt to make her work something out with full focus!" Umi said.
"Alright, you know her best, Umi-chan." Heidr giggled again.
"So anyway, everyone…" Eli cuts in to the conversation.
"When we split later, we will go around in pairs just to make sure that we have someone to back us up. It's better for us to have different types of Digimon so that we can protect each other from the different types. I'll be with Nozomi, Kotori and Umi should go together, Rin and Hanayo, Maki and Niko, then lastly, Honoka, since your Ichigo might not be able to fight so much yet even with the power up vials, you go with Heidr-san. She will make sure you are safe." She explained.
"It's too bad that you can't go with your darling, huh?" Heidr said teasingly.
"D-Darling? Heheh! I don't have one yet!" Honoka replied with a somewhat nervous smile.
"That's fine, I'll find a way to have you meet up with her later!" Heidr said with a soft mischievous giggle.
"Sh-ssheeessh! Heidi-san! You're teasing me so much!" Honoka replied, still with her nervous smile.
"Besides! It's not like I'm thinking too much about her right now! I'm trying to focus on this task at hand!" Honoka continued with determination. Everyone just knows that she is lying about it.
"Honoka-chan, didn't we agree that we should focus right now?" Kotori asked.
"R-Right, yes. I have to focus!"
"It's not the time for you to think too much about your romantic relationship with anyone. It's not because we are jealous or anything, it just that it's really not the right time for it. Even the two who are always into their lovey-dovey-romance didn't do it." Niko said.
"Are you talking about us, Nikocchi?" Nozomi frowned.
"Ye-uh? Or actually! You just stand close to Eli and I already tell you two to get a room. No one wants to see you two being lewd."
"W-what? That's cruel, what's wrong with me and Nozomi being next to each other?" Eli complained.
"I don't know, it's the atmosphere I guess? Heck, when you two are looking at each other, there's always this unheard conversation in people's minds…" Niko took a deep breath and muffled her voice.
"Oh—Ericchi, let's make love!" she said with extremely high pitched voice.
"Yes, Nozomi, I love your breasts so much that I could suck it all day." she replied to herself with heavy voice.
"S-S-Shameless!" Umi suddenly yelled with bright red face.
"Nikocchi! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?!" Nozomi's frown got deeper.
"Even though that's true, I wouldn't say something like that out loud!" Eli said.
"Ericchi!" Nozomi turned to Eli and pouted at her.
"But that's true! I love your breasts and I could suck it all day!" Eli said.
"Even more shameless!" Umi commented.
"You idiot! You just contradicted yourself!" Maki commented.
"Sh-she is not as smart as we think she is-nya!" Rin commented.
Hanayo and Kotori smiled awkwardly. They didn't expect for things to turn out the way it did while Honoka was relieved that her issue was forgotten, thanks to Niko.
"Anyway, let's get back to the business, shall we?" Heidr said.
"Ah right, so, we split into teams, right?" Honoka asked.
"Yep." She replied.
"Alright! So let's get this done quickly so we can get another matter done!" Honoka said cheerfully.
"Hmm…so you do want to get things done quickly for Tsubasa, huh?" Heidr said.
"I-It's not like that! Heidi-san!"
Meanwhile in the real world;
"Tsubasa! We've got a few Digital Fanatics on the west side of the city! They are coming with a group of hackers to try making an opening for the Digital world's entrance!" said a tamer.
"That's fine, actually, things are already messy and if we could make an opening for the tamers, we can go full offense!" Tsubasa said.
"No! Tsubasa! No one go for full offense! I have convinced the real world team to hold their attempt. They said that they got a few fanatics to work with them too so, right now, they are slowing down the process and, if possible, they ensure its failure!" Erena said.
"Then do whichever you think should be the best solution!" Tsubasa replied.
"I wonder if those girls have made their save points yet?" Anjuu asked.
"You think anyone will watch them dance at time like this?" Erena asked.
"Yep, I'm positive about it. Even though we are currently overwhelmed with this situation, we still have the non-tamers. They might get bored for the time being, so they would most likely surf the internet to find something to entertain themselves." Anjuu said.
"Oohh! Then, we can actually just convince them to look at their video!" Tsubasa said.
"We can, but not so fast, Tsubasa, the girls aren't ready yet. They said that they are now close to the City of Memory. They will need to accomplish their first task before they can fully focus on returning to the real world."
"Why are they so worked up with the City of Memory anyway?" Tsubasa said.
"Nozomi-chan said that it's related to what we asked her before. In order to end this mess, they have to complete this plan of theirs." Anjuu said.
"That's why you should listen to people when they are talking!" Erena said.
"Heh, alright. I just feel like it's not necessary anymore. I mean, that big thing, Absolute Destroyer's tower… what if we can just destroy it? I have a feeling that tower is actually an incubator for the AD to reappear as a real creature." Tsubasa said.
"W-what did you just say?!" Erena frowned.
"An incubator…? So my hunch was right." Anjuu said.
"Listen, this is just my feeling, but, even though the µ's and we have the same purpose right now which is to end the mess, I feel like someone is leading us to fulfill something else." Tsubasa said.
"And how could you say that?" Erena asked.
"I don't know. It's just my feeling." Tsubasa said.
"Hmm, I doubt that's the case though, because, even though that could be true, Eli will have our backs. She knows what to do with all the power that has already been transferred to the absolute destroyer." Anjuu said.
"What's that mean…?" Erena wondered.
"She already arranged a back-up program which Nozomi had and she copied it for me. if things don't go smoothly for them, it's our job to make it happen. The program she made will reverse the growth of the absolute destroyer and force all of her power back to where it belongs. But then, nobody loves this absolute destroyer, right? Why would anyone want her reborn? It will only destroy both worlds and, as we can see, people love at least one world." Anjuu said.
"Haha, you right, no one harbors special feelings towards this absolute destroyer so why bother resurrecting it completely? After all, the world with them is so much more important than this absolute destroyer." Tsubasa said.
"I'm sorry to break this news to you, but our scouts told us that there are also people who wanted to support the world's destruction." Erena said.
"What?" Anjuu and Tsubasa turned to her.
"These people… they support the Absolute Destroyer. They hate the world so they want a massive self-destruct to happen." Erena continued.
"Well-well, who could've guessed that some people would actually go in that direction?" Tsubasa said.
"That's unexpected. I wish these people would go kill themselves already. They don't have to bring us all with them." Anjuu said.
"That goes for us too, huh? If we are happy with living, we don't have to force them to be happy and let them sink down to the depths of their own darkness." Tsubasa said.
"You are right, oh how ironic!" Anjuu said.
"For some reason, I can't counter that argument. It's not invalid but it's not right too." Erena said.
"Don't worry Erena-chan, the most important thing for us is to accept and respect each other's decision. Not that you are not allowed to speak your mind. Sometimes it's necessary for a better future." Anjuu said.
Erena sighed.
As soon as the three finished their conversation, they noticed a random tamer saluting to them.
"Oh, you have been here? What's up?" Tsubasa asked.
"T-this is a bad news that we got from our scout… related to the topic just now." The tamer said nervously.
"What is it exactly?" Anjuu asked.
"The Absolute Destroyer Fanatics declared that they finally found a way to hasten the Absolute destroyer's rebirth. Now some of our people are trying to stop them, but it seems that they've got some digimons with them as well."
see you on the super long ending chapter!