The World With you

by CharlotteValentine

Love Live! With Digimon AU. TsubaHono as main pairing, NozoEli as BG pairing. The story is basically about Honoka and friends playing a popular game called Digimon Online. I actually want to add this as cross over, but since the story will be fully focused on LL Character, so..yeah... also added a lot of information to keep people up with the detail of story.

17. Ch17: At The End of Sorrow

Last chapter! Took a while! But thanks for waiting!

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The Digital World—City of Memory's outskirts;

"Haaaaah! We are on the run again!" Honoka complained as she sat on Ichigo. He has turned into a similar dinosaur-like digimon with metal arms and mechanic chest. They are sitting somewhere in the forest behind a big hill.

"My-my, why are you complaining, ginger honey?" Heidr asked with her friendly, motherly voice.

"I wonder when we will actually be finished if we keep running." Honoka replied with a pout.

"We are not running at all, we are just trying to use other means other than a direct approach." the purplenette beauty replied.

"Why we can't use a direct approach? It seems faster that way!" Honoka said.

"So that you will not hurt your world… just imagine how destructive everything will be if the city of memory is about to use its super weapon."

"My… world?" Honoka started to think

"Both of these are your worlds, aren't they?"

"Yeah, they are. Maybe you are right. I shouldn't hurt the worlds too much."

Heidr giggled to her response.

"So, how is it, power girl? Are you ready to get to the next stop?" she asked.

"Then infiltrate the City of Memory? How can we get there though? The guards of the city are hostile towards us!"

"That's why it's called 'infiltration' since we will get there without their knowledge."

"Ohh! Like a spy?" Honoka asked cheerfully.

"Yep, like a spy." Heidr nodded.

"What about me? I think I'm too big to be hidden." Ichigo said.

"Don't you worry about that. Remember that you can de-evolve in the City of Memory." Heidr said.

"Oh!" Honoka raised her eyebrows before she jumped down to the ground.

"Right!" she continued as she quickly operated her digivice. Ichigo devolved back to Agumon.

"There we go." Heidr said.

"Hnng… Honoka-chan, for some reason, I feel like something is different when you devolved me." Ichigo said.

"Really? What's the difference?" Honoka asked.

"It's like there's no longer anything that limits me." Ichigo said.

"I can help you explain that." Heidr said.

"Really, Heidi-san? Please tell him why!" Honoka said.

"The ribbons that limit the evolution's growth no longer exist since the amount of burst evolution everyone did weakened them. Umi-chan's and your burst evolution also triggered the breaking and it was what caused File Island to crumble."

"Eeeeh?! So we are somehow a misfortune for them?" Honoka smirked in horror.

"No, you are not. You are the one who tell them the truth that their File island is no longer the file island they lived in. The mystery behind the disappearances of the Digimon there is because they went to the City of Memory before they got a boot away from the domain.

"Is that so?! But why did they do that?"

"To prevent their popularity from plummeting… File City is one of the most popular in the Digital world So, if the City of Memory wanted to take all the credit as best place for business, they need to get all the cities like File City to be removed from their domain."

"That's dirty!" Honoka commented angrily.

Heidr giggled to her comment again.

"Why didn't they just cooperate with them?!" Honoka pouts.

"Maybe because Jijimon is such a kind Digimon? He has experience with human beings and I suppose he wanted to keep them comfortable instead of focusing on having business with them." Heidr replied.

"See?! Now I'm a lot more eager to kick the City of Memory away from the domain!"

"That's the spirit." The purplenette gave out her gentle smile.

"But anyway, Heidi-san! Tell me! If you have to pick one, which world do you like most? Is it the real world or the digital world?" Honoka asked.

Heidr averted her heterochromatic eyes. .

"I can't pick either of them." she said.

"You bet! Me too! It's hard to choose between them! I mean, the real world is where I grew up and where everything 'normal' happens but the Digital world provides us with adventures! I can't believe that it has to come down to this kind of fight! Why can't they just ignore the absolute destroyer?! Why can't we just live happily ever after?"

Heidr, once again, giggled.

"You are such a feisty girl, aren't you? No wonder Tsubasa loves you so much."

"H-Heidi-san! Please stop mentioning her! I'm trying to focus!"

"But is it wrong to think about someone you love during the heat of battle?"

"Eh? If we do that, we will lose our focus!"

"Maybe it's just because of the way you think."

"Really? How so?"

"If you think about achieving victory for someone you love, then you might be able to focus on the battle more than anyone else."

"Hnng…. But I don't think I love Tsubasa-chan that much. I mean, I still don't know how I actually feel."

"Yet she is so all over you, what a cute couple." Heidr giggled again.

"But for real, do you think I love Tsubasa-chan?"

"How could you ask something like that to me?"

"Hmnm… because, Heidi-san somewhat looks like Nozomi-chan?"

"What?"

"You looked like someone who can read someone's mind."

"I'm not that powerful. I'm just an ordinary woman without Lucemon next to me."

"Hoooo! Really?! I thought you are a lot more powerful than that! I mean like, you know, there's a sensation like you are capable of doing a lot of things?"

"Hehe, alright, Honoka-chan, you got me. I can show you a few tricks."

"A few tricks? What do you mean?" Honoka asked again.

"Hmm? I thought you want to see me performing a few tricks."

"Uhm… are you like, a magician?!"

"Surely, let's perform a few magic tricks."

"Uoohhh! Uh, then, can you make me taller?"

"Alright, you got it." Heidr replied before she lifted Honoka and placed her on top of Ichigo's head.

"Eeehh!? This is not a magic trick! You just placed me on top of Ichigo!"

"Oh? My bad. Then, do you want to get on my shoulder? You'll get taller that way."

"That's just the same thing!"

Heidr giggled at her.

"Hmmm… fine, then how about this, can you make bird appear from somewhere?"

"You got it." Heidr said before she started to look around.

"Don't tell me, you are about to find the bird first?" Ichigo said.

"Ah, looks like Ichigo knows my plan!"

"Sheesssh! Heidi-san! Then it's also not a magic trick!"

"Ahahaha, I'm sorry. I guess I'm good for nothing, after all." Heidr said with her playful smile.

"Ah well, I guess let's just go to the next st—…."

"Wait a minute, I sense something!" Heidr cut in.

"You sense something?" Honoka wondered.

"Hnngg… Honoka-chan! I sense something too!" Ichigo said.

Then they all could feel a very huge presence lingering right behind them. They turned around and—…

"Cannondramon!" Heidr said as she recognized the dragon-like digimon with four armored feet and a pair of canons on its back.

"Target detected—starting annihilation!"

The voice came from Cannondramon.

"Oh dear!" Heidr quickly grabbed Honoka and Ichigo.

A quick shot was aimed at them but it missed somehow,though they are far from being safe. They need to run as quick as possible—which they did immediately after the first shot caused an explosion on the ground.

"Gggaaahh! Honoka-chan! Evolve me!" Ichigo said.

"R-Roger that!" Honoka said before she quickly tried to operate her digivice as Heidr dragged them away.

"Don't worry about that! Lucy is nearby!"

"He is?! But where?!" Honoka asked.

"No idea, but I got the feeling that he is only a few miles away from the City of Memory!"

"That's not nearby, Heidi-san! That's like more than a thousand miles away from here!"

"Really? Then I'm sorry, my geography sucks."

"Hooonoookaaaa! Evolve meeeee!" Ichigo begged.

"R-Right!"

And within seconds, Honoka evolved her Ichigo to the metallic dinosaur-like digimon. Before the two realized it, Ichigo placed Honoka and Heidr on his head and he kept running until he eventually flew up in the air.

"Woaaah! Ichigo! I didn't know you can fly this high!" Honoka appreciated.

"Aaaah! We are going in the wrong direction!" Heidr said.

"Gaaah! Heidi-saaan!"

"To the right, Ichigo!" Heidr said as she pointed to the left.

"You are pointing to the left, Heidi-san!" Honoka said.

"So, left or right? I can't see where you are pointing." Ichigo asked,

"Left!"

Ichigo flew to the left as the Canondramon still tried to catch up to them. It appears that he can't take a proper aim when Ichigo kept moving around while flying.

"Heidi-san, how could you be so bad at directions." Honoka sighed.

"Well, you're suddenly good at directions." Heidr said.

"I might be bad if we are dealing with North, West, South and East, but left and right are just the most basics!"

"Ah, you are right. So I'm left."

Honoka remain silent for a bit to process about what Heidr was trying to say.

"Gaaaah! Heidi-san! Is that a pun?!"

"It took a while for you to process that, I'm amazed." Heidr said.

Honoka sighed heavily before a call came in on Honoka's digivice.

"Honoka-chan!" Kotori's voice was heard.

"Ohh! Kotori-chan, what's up?"

"We are chased by ten Parrotmons!" Umi's voice was heard.

"Looks like the City of Memory is really trying to stop us from our mission." Heidr said.

"Suzaku is trying to get us to the safest place possible. Any ideas?" Kotori asked.

"As a Garudamon, she should be able to fly them to where Lucy is." Heidr said.

"And where's your Lucemon, Heidi-san?" Umi asked politely.

"Hmm…to… the north?" Heidr said.

"Is that really north?" Honoka asked.

"No idea." Heidr said.

Kotori and Umi sighed heavily.

"Now that's a problem…" they said together.

They tried to think for a moment.

"Aah! Why don't you two just follow our movement? Shouldn't you two be able to see us from the mini map?" Honoka asked.

"Oh-oh! W-wait! What about, you two teleport to where we are?" she added.

"Yep, then get chased by Cannondramon with us." Heidr said.

"Uhhmm… I think we are just going to fly there, you are pretty close." Kotori said.

"Yes, Yamato will prepare to fight."

"Sweet, Black Were Garurumon in action has always been my favorite." Heidr commented.

"Th-thanks…" Yamato said.

"Don't worry about your master's expectation. It's not wrong to be one of the dark creatures… they are beautiful and exotic in their own way." Heidr said.

"T-thank you for that again, Heidi-san. But Umi has accepted me as who I am." Yamato replied politely.

"Yes, my apology for how I was previously. I realized that it was meant to make me realize that we are perfect with diversity, not with a specific standard."

"Wow, what happened before this?" Honoka asked.

"Hehe, Umi-chan and Yamato-chan saved me the trouble of fighting some Data Digimon. They were after me but they got them." Kotori said.

"But we can't fight these aggressive Parrotmons! We don't have any other choice but to run!" Umi said.

"Then, something that needs to be flipped around, right?" Heidr said.

Kotori and Umi remained silent for a moment.

"Aaaahh! Umi-chan! Here I have this card for you!" Kotori said agitatedly.

"R-Reverse type evolution…?" Umi said.

"Yes! Use it!"

Half a minute passed before they can hear Umi's excited squeal.

"Aaaaah! W-Were Garurumon! This is like a dream come true!" she said.

"Hehe, I totally forgot about that! Thank you so much, Heidi-san!"

"Kotori! What do I owe you for this dream come true?" Umi asked excitedly.

"Hehe, we can talk about that later. Go kill them already!"

"Got it! Let's put our lives on the line, Yamato! This is the time for warriors to shine!"

"Understood, Umi! Let's fight!"

"Go-go! Umi-chan! Yamato-chan" Kotori cheered before she hung up the phone.

As soon as the call ended, another call came in.

"Honoka-chan! Where are you-nya?!" Rin asked in panic.

"W-what's wrong, Rin-chan?" Honoka asked.

"Niko-chan and Maki-chan are suddenly running to us with a huge poop Digimon! They are coming in a large number!" Hanayo said.

"D-Don't credit me for this! This is all Niko's fault!" Maki said.

"Why are you blaming me for these poop Digimon?!"

"Because you are always the one who attracts them!"

"No way, duh! They are virus Digimon, why would they chase after me?! They are after your Crescemon!"

"I should not have protected you from those turtles!"

"Zudomon! They are Zudomon!"

"Who cares about what they're called… Polymnia killed them for you!" Maki said.

Maki and Niko continue to argue pointlessly.

"Aaahh! It's already taken us so much time attempting to kill what's trying to kill us!" Honoka said.

"Y-yeah! But now we have to run-nya!" Rin said.

"Hmm… this is difficult, your options are Panjyamon, Lilymon, Phantomon, and Crescemon. I would pick Phantomon but knowing the pathetic size, I doubt he can clean them up. So…" Heidr paused.

"Can't you just stop bringing up Chibby's size? He is cute and he will surely pawn your ass in a beauty contest!"

"—ah! Right! Then, all you can do is to keep running!" Heidr said.

"Heidr-san… you really like to joke around, don't you? I thought you were about to give us a useful solution!" Maki said.

"There's nothing you can do in a poop stampede. Just run away and flush them somehow." Heidr said.

"Flush…?" Maki wondered.

"Ah! The sea! We should be going toward the sea!" Hanayo said.

"You are quick at understanding that… good work!" Heidr giggled.

"Alright-alright, everyone, let this cute little girl lead you!" Niko said.

"To flush poop?" Maki said.

"To pollute the sea-nya!" Rin said.

"N-Now I think we are kind of cruel!" Hanayo said.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with feeding the fishes!" Niko said.

"Hang on tight, Leon-chan! I'll carry you and Rin-chan!" Mary said.

"Hey, take us and fly." Maki said.

"I know that, you don't have to tell me, not even once!" Niko said before they hung up.

"Whoaa, Heidi-san, you are surely a good tactician!" Honoka complimented.

"Hmm? I never told them what to do or use. It's not my wit, it's their wit." Heidr said.

"Hehe, but you helped them realize what they should do in their situation! That's impressive!" Honoka said.

Then after another half of a minute passed, another call came in and, this time, it's a group call.

"Everyone!" Eli said immediately after Honoka accepted the call.

"We are ready to launch the domain. The City of Memory will be absorbed and all players and their Digimon will be transported to the real world."

"That includes us?!" Honoka asked.

"Yes, including us." Eli said.

"Wow, I thought we had to go through the hard way? Honoka asked.

"I discovered what Heidr-san told me. There is actually a circuit that we can use to filter players and their Digimon. It's only a one way circuit, though, so we can't return to the digital world with it.. but at least all human will be returned to the real world." Eli explained.

"We will look for a way to return the digimon to the digital world later… what's important right now is to destroy the City of Memory." Nozomi added.

"When will this happen?" Maki asked.

"In fifty seconds." Eli replied.

"Then I have to go for a bit. There's something I need to restore in my office. I doubt they will be offended if their wall is broken." Heidr said before she jumped off Ichigo.

"W-wait! Heidi-san!" Honoka tried to hold onto her but, when she glanced under her, she saw an extremely huge purple Digimon, five pairs of wings with colorful marks as its crown, a golden mask and a pair of huge claws carrying a huge orb, emerging from the surface of the sea under her. The Digimon caught Heidr as if he already knew what she was about to do.

"W-what is that?!" Maki said in awe.

"Lucemon Shadowlord mode…" Kotori said.

"He looked so huge and scary-nya." Rin commented.

"Y…Yamato, looks like your dark form is nothing compared to him." Umi said.

"Is that really Heidr-san's Lucemon?" Hanayo asked nervously.

"Man, what percentage is he on? I can't believe anyone could own such a huge Digimon." Niko said.

Eli and Nozomi didn't comment on its appearance, instead they both are talking about their progress.

Honoka kept her eyes on the huge digimon. It appears that Lucy, the Shadowlord Lucemon, has taken a sharp turn under her and is now breaking the city of memory's wall with ease. She can't imagine if this kind of Digimon is transported into the real world. Will people be frightened?

At the same time, she could see a few strong looking Digimon coming out of the building they recognized as the City of Memory's tournament hall. A few of them look familiar.

"The Royal Knights! They are attacking Heidr-san and Lucy!" Hanayo said.

"Don't do anything else! Don't engage in any battle." Eli said.

"But Heidi-san!" Kotori said.

"It is what is supposed to happen. She is creating a distraction for us." Nozomi said.

"Will she be ok?" Umi asked.

"She will. Despite being an official, she is still a human being and she will be returned to the real world, along with her Lucemon." Eli said.

"So the human officials will return to the Real world too?" Maki asked.

"The living ones, yes." Eli replied.

"W-wait, the living ones?!" Niko exclaimed in surprise.

"Did some of them die-nya?" Rin asked a little sadly.

"The war in City of Memory cost some lives. Those who died here will never return to the real world." Eli said.

"W-what?!" The girls replied.

"Some of the players used the hacked cards to win, just like how they killed my Kuzunoha!" Eli said somewhat angrily.

"So, only those people who were killed with it will not return to the real world?" Kotori asked.

"No. People with broken back up data will also not be able to return. If there's no recoverable data, they will never be able to come back and be read as digital being. But worry not, I know the perfect justice for them. I have already banned a few people for using those cards. They get what they deserve." Eli said.

"E-Eli-chan, you surely hold a big grudge on cheaters." Honoka said.

"Three seconds left, everyone. Get ready!" Nozomi said immediately before anyone can make any other comment.

Three!

Two!

One…!

---

The Real world, Otonokizaka High-school;

Honoka found herself on the infirmary bed. She wondered what happened before this, but she is feeling the pain coming from her stomach. She is very hungry and really-really needs to eat something. At the same moment she got up from her bed, Kotori, Umi, and their Digimon in rookie forms walked in with a basket of food.

"Ah, Honoka, I'm glad you are awake. You collapsed right after you stepped into the real world" Umi said.

"Yeah, there are plenty of people being rushed to the clinic. Some are so close to starving to death." Kotori said.

Honoka tried to speak but, for some reason, she feels like she will need to eat the food they brought for her first. Kotori handed her one of the packaged bread inside the basket, which she immediately accepted and unwrapped. She took one big bite and munched on it gratefully. Kotori and Umi joined in with their snacks.

"Apparently, even though humans were digitalized back then, they are still in need of real food. A cyber body only allows you to send data to your brain to convincing your mind that you have eaten something or you are not starving or tired." Ichigo said.

"Its side effects are now being considered by Eli and a few other programmers. They are teaming up in order to hasten the repairs in this world." Suzaku said.

"After the humans returned from the Digital, the fanatics began to disappear. They are convinced that the real world is the only place they can live in. Though, I heard there are still other fanatics we need to face— the AD Fanatics." Yamato added.

"Twhe AwBwe bwanwatwip?" Honoka tried to speak despite her mouthful of bread.

"Yeah, the AD Fanatics, The Absolute Destroyer Fanatics. They are aiming for the complete destruction to the world. Sometimes I think they felt that the AD is just some sort of a joke… but you know that's not true." Ichigo said.

"According to gathered information, not all of those people are aware that supporting the AD is like asking for a real self-destruction. Which means that some of them really think that the AD is merely a part of the game." Suzaku said.

"Some of them also think that if they support AD, they will gain her as an ally. But you know that's not true too. According to a research that done by a mysterious scientist, AD has never been anyone's ally and she will never be. It has its own mind and it will feel like pulling a wild card when communicating with her. AD is immortal and AD will never give mercy to those who bother her."

"That sounds scary. I wonder how this mysterious scientist knows so much about her?" Honoka asked.

"Scientists have their own way to investigate, so who knows? It might just be their imagination too." Umi said.

"By the way, Kayo-chan, Maki-chan, Niko-chan and Rin-chan went to the canteen to eat, Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan are in the Council Room. You need to meet up with them once you are ready." Kotori said.

---

The UTX High School;

With the return of people from Digital world, the UTX became busy preparing the necessary support. The A-Rise heard about µ's return as well, though it may be still a little too early to establish communication with them. They believe that they needed to talk about something important.

"So, why are we here? Honoka is in her school's infirmary, wouldn't it be better if we pay a visit?" Tsubasa asked.

"I told you, not until we can figure out what we need to say to them. I don't want you to spit your nonsense on them. They might be still under pressure from the truth that they revealed to us." Erena said.

"I can't believe that deaths like these actually happen too. Some players are so close to starving to death, some are by overexertion, and some by great stress. The cyber body can't keep our bodies alive. The City of Memory lied to us." Anjuu said.

"There's also a fact that, after Eli pulled all players out of the Digital world, some people are already long dead because of this hidden truth. The City of Memory truly needs to take responsibility for their crime." Erena added.

"Yes, in a way, I'm really glad that all this mess happened, else, we will never know. We might let this stay for long enough to slowly annihilate humanity." Anjuu saud.

"Are you two done sulking? We have a task at hand." Tsubasa asked as she operated her digivice.

"What is this task you are talking about, Tsubasa?" Erena asked back.

"Our scout told us that we have got enough tamers with marksman type digimon ready. We can head to that tower and destroy it for good." Tsubasa replied.

"Have you contacted anyone else instead of relying on your intuition?" Anjuu asked.

"Nope, but I'm sure they will agree." Tsubasa said.

Before Erena and Anjuu was convinced, a call came in on Tsubasa's digivice.

"Tsubasa! What on shattering earth are you doing!?" a loud and clear voice was heard.

"Hey-hey, Ayase Eli, why are you calling me all of a sudden just to yell at me?"

"I can see your soldiers lining up around the AD Tower. You know you can't do that yet! I'm still trying to find a way to return the absorbed power back to the digital world without destroying the infant core!"

"Just forget it. The digital world will grow back again. And why are you so worked up about the infant core? We don't need it." Tsubasa said.

"Someone needs the infant core. We need to secure that one and hand it to her."

"Is the person who needs it Heidr…? That one official you were working with." Tsubasa asked.

"Yes, but that's none of your business! All I want you to do is to stop trying to destroy it!" Eli said.

"Which side are you on, Eli? That infant of Absolute Destroyer is dangerous."

"I know that! But I can't simply break my promise." Eli said.

"And why is that? Explain it to me!"

"I—…!" Eli pauses.

"I can't explain but, please, give me thirty minutes." She continued.

"Alright, I'll postpone the attack for thirty minutes but that is all you get." Tsubasa said.

"Thank you, I'll hurry now." Eli replied before she hung up.

---

Otonokizaka High school's canteen;

"Aaahh! I'm full now-nya!" Rin said cheerfully.

"Who would've expected that we would all get this hungry." Maki said as she looked at the stack of bowl on the table.

"Yeah, I thought I ate enough in the digital world but it looks like the cyberbody isn't as good as we thought."

"Can't blame you. They discovered the side effect just now. Looks like The City of Memory's workers are all in a big trouble now. Put aside about how they will no longer be able to work in it." Maki said.

"Eli-chan said that The City of Memory is no more. It's easier than she expected since she was just following Heidr-san's lead." Hanayo replied.

"I wonder why Heidi-san betrayed her own people though? I mean, I thought she was an official-nya?" Rin asked.

"I don't know, maybe Heidr-san was trying to make us realize about this. She is such a kind woman." Maki said.

"Yeah, Heidr-san is really a kind one… even though it's hard to decipher her intentions sometimes." Hanayo replied.

"I agree. She is a very complicated as a person." Maki said.

Suddenly, Sakuya in her Renamon form and Eli approached them.

"Have any of you seen Honoka?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah, she went to the middle yard with Kotori and Umi." Maki replied.

"Thank you." Eli replied before she left while Sakuya took a little time to bow to them before leaving with her.

The trio remained silent as they wondered why someone like Eli is suddenly taking her time to look for Honoka.

---

The Middle Yard;

Honoka, Kotori, and Umi sat on the bench around the big and tall tree. They are still munching on some snacks they recently bought from the canteen.

"Aaaah! Even though this is the sixth bread I ate today, I'm still hungry!" Honoka shouted.

"Here's another one, Honoka-chan!" Kotori handed her another.

"Don't worry. It seems that we left the real world for about 45 hours… It's close to two days of not eating anything." Umi said.

"Yeah, also, you are not the only one who fainted after getting transported back to the real world. Everyone did!" Kotori said.

"Except for A-Rise since they just spent about 22 hours in the Digital world." Umi said.

"But Anjuu-chan told me that even those hours already make them eat a truckload of food." Kotori added.

"I wonder who picked us up?" Honoka asked.

"Eh, well, we were all transported back to our homes. Our parents took care of us—except for Nozomi-chan— my mother told me that it was Eli's little sister who took care of her. She just knew that she should do that for her." Kotori said.

"Then, Eli-chan's sister took care of both Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan?"

"Yep, your little sister supported her. Did you know that she is the one who took you to the infirmary?" Umi said.

"Yukiho did?!"

"Yep, she said it because your room is now used to keep her Veemon."

"W-Whaaat?! She placed me in the infirmary so that she can keep her Veemon!? What kind of sister is she?!" Honoka protested.

"I believe that was a joke, Honoka. Maybe your sister is too shy to admit that she cares about you." Umi said.

"Why I can't have a cute little sister like Eli-chan's sister?!" Honoka protested again, ignoring Umi's remark.

"Ah, speaking of which, they also told me that all the rooms we made in the City of Memory still remains. They said that Eli-chan and Erena-chan are the ones who programmed the rooms to be able to exist independently." Kotori said.

"I wonder why they bothered to do that, though? I thought they planned to put all Digimon back to Digital world later?" Umi asked.

"It's to help players keep their Digimon. With the new system finally built, we don't have to worry about where to keep our digimon." Kotori said.

"Then why does Yukiho keep her Veemon in my room?!" Honoka said—still bitter about being placed in the infirmary for Veemon's sake.

"Looks like she found out only after we told them about it. Before we returned, she couldn't access her room when the connection completely cut off and it was lucky that she was able to summon her Veemon through her Digivice. She told me she is preparing a few things before she can fully place her Veemon in his own room and return your room's ownership." Kotori said.

"So, how does the new system work?" Honoka asked.

"They are now working in offline mode. Anjuu-chan is the one who gave them the idea of erasing all of the City of Memory's services in the Digivice and use the leftover memory to contain the room." Kotori said.

"So we can't look for information about the City of Memory now?" Honoka asked.

"No, we can't. It's completely purged." Umi said.

"Well, I guess that's fi—…!" Honoka paused.

"Wait! Wait! What about the Digimon inside it?!" she asked in panic.

"Ah, that? I don't know. But Anjuu-chan said some useful Digimons were carried to the real world—like the Cooking Guild leader, Black War Greymon." Kotori said.

"H-Him? What does he do now?"

"He has been enjoying much of the real world's food. He said he is fired up about feeding all the hungry human beings as a sign of his gratitude for the delicious treats." The ash brunette said with a giggle.

"Whoaa… that's very useful of him." Honoka said.

Just a second later, a tall blonde stopped near them, along with her tall, fox-like digimon.

"Honoka! There you are." Eli said

"Oh, Eli-chan!" Honoka greeted her cheerfully.

Eli seems to doubt something but, after a while, she shook her head and finally spoke.

"Please, keep this conversation between us only. I don't want anyone else to hear it."

"Alright, what is it exactly about, Eli-chan?" Honoka asked.

"I assume that all of you already know about my arm?" Eli said.

"Which arm?" Honoka asked again.

"The one that lights up when you are close to a specific data, right?" Kotori said.

"Yes. I lied about not knowing why." Eli said.

Honoka, Umi, and Kotori remained silent and listened.

"I know so well about it. It's just that I have to pretend to not know so Nozomi wouldn't worry about me."

No one budged as they listened to Eli's story.

"Back when I completely lost my Kuzunoha, I was so desperate to find a way to resurrect her. I kept searching for anything related to it, even if I had to sneak into the official's files. Then I found out about a file called the 'Ressurection project.' I was so hyped and I tried to decipher its security passwords that very night." The blonde continued with a soft sigh at the end of her last sentence.

"But that very night, too, I saw a faint transparent being with bright blue eyes facing me… it looked like a woman with wings. I was scared but I tried to deal with it thinking it was just a trap that they set up to scare hackers… but in that very second, when I thought that everything will be alright, that woman reached out to me and grabbed my hand. Ever since then, the marks began to be appear and I can't touch my digivice anymore." she continued.

"W-wait! Do you mean that creature actually pushed her hand through the screen and reached you?!" Honoka asked.

"Is that even possible?" Umi said in surprise.

"W-why is this suddenly turning into a horror story?!" Kotori said.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't make that up. That woman also told me: your greatest desire is what I need."

"It's resurrection, isn't it?" Umi said.

"Yes, it's resurrection. I don't know what exactly it was trying to say to me, but I thought that kind of thing will make people worry about me. I never mentioned that to anyone and I've been pretending to not know about anything." Eli said.

"Actually, Eli-chan, I heard the same words spoken to me, except they also told me what I desire to have. It's power." Honoka said.

"Same with me, I desired Diginity and I never know what to reply to it." Umi said.

"I personally never heard of that, but then, I'm pretty bad at memorizing something spoken. Maybe I just missed it somewhere?" Kotori said.

"I don't know, but anyway, it's not the thing I'm trying to talk to you about." Eli said.

"Then, what is it exactly?" Honoka asked again.

"I have been living in guilt every time I see Nozomi worry about me and working up so much to find an answer to this mark that appeared on my arm. At the same time, I also tried so hard to cover all the clues that could reveal the answer. I feel really bad and—… I tried to ask Heidr-san how to get rid of this."

"What did she tell you?" Umi asked politely.

"She told me that a sacrifice is needed. I asked what I need to sacrifice and she said I have two options: a guarantee that the infant core will be unharmed or something that is most important to me."

"What is the infant core?" Kotori asked.

"It's the name for Absolute Destroyer's premature body. I don't know how she got that thing, but either way, all she requested of me was to secure it. That's why I made that tower and cover it with the thickest shields possible."

"You made that tower?!" Umi said in her surprise.

"Yes, sorry I had to pretend to not know about it. But I can assure you, it's harmless. It won't hatch as long as no one tries to connect the Infant Core to its true power source."

"It's true power source?" Honoka, Umi and Kotori wondered.

"Yes. Heidr told me that, even though the whole world is trying to give their power to it, it will never connect as long as the true power source is not there to be its bridge. That's why we can ignore the fanatics and let them exhaust themselves while we all focus to how to return all Digimon to the Digital world and restore the real world to its normal state."

"How long do you think it would take before it can happen?" Umi asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. It's hard to predict if I don't even know why Digimons are appearing in the real world. Even though I have shut down all the sources of the copy-paste bug, wild Digimons are still appearing out of nowhere." Eli replied.

"Is it at least decreasing the problem?" Kotori asked.

"It is but it's still not a solution so I wouldn't call that 'completely solved.'" Eli replied.

"Alright, I guess I understand your situation now, but, why did you tell us all this?" Honoka asked.

"I want you to convince Tsubasa to not destroy that tower. The shield took their energy from there and if the tower is destroyed, then the shield will be gone and it will harm the infant. I will not fulfill my promise to Heidr-san."

"So what?" A familiar voice is suddenly heard from nearby. Everyone turn their eyes to this someone.

"Tsubasa-chan!" Honoka said in her surprise.

"Hehe, I knew you will try to convince her. So I came here to hear it out. Sorry, it looks like it's not a private talk after all." Tsubasa said.

Everyone suddenly turned silent as they watched Tsubasa approach them.

"So what if you can't fulfill your promise? The way I see it, you are just being mind-controlled through your despair. Calm down and start thinking more clearly." She continued.

"I'm sure that I'm not being mind-controlled, I—…!"

"Ericchi!" Another familiar voice is heard.

"Nozomi…" Eli turned around.

"She is right. There's nothing to fear. We have made it this far, you have learned a lot about programming and everyone has grown up." The young purplenette said.

"Sorry I was really curious why you suddenly went out of the council room without telling me your reason. But, putting that matter aside, Ericchi, if that's what you were worried about, then I'm telling you that I won't mind working for you. I'll do it and we will get through it together." She continued.

"I know you won't mind, but—…!"

"What's with you and your big head? Do you think you have to do everything by yourself?" Another familiar voice is heard.

"Maki…" Eli is surprised to see her walking closer with Rin and Hanayo.

"It's been on my mind for a while now, but I hate it when someone tries to do all the work herself. That problem of yours sounds serious. I can't believe you tried to hide it from us, especially after you worked so hard to keep us all safe." The red haired girl continued.

"See? If someone is threatening to take away what's most important to you, then that someone is as cruel as the cruelest devil. You don't have to do everything by yourself." Tsubasa said.

"I don't think that's the right thing to say since I do believe that sacrifices are sometimes needed but. in this case, I agree that no one needs to lose what's most important to them. Everyone wins." Nozomi said.

"But now we know Heidr-san's true colors. I can't believe she caused you that much trouble." Hanayo said.

"Just a while ago, we thought she was so kind-nya!" Rin said.

"Maybe it was only an act to convince us, I mean, I wouldn't trust someone so easily. Especially someone who barely tells us about themselves." Maki said.

"Either way, I'm hyped to solve this matter! Let's work together to find justice-nya!"

"Wait, don't you think it's a little too fast for us to say that we will work together to solve this? I mean, after all, we are not really fond of each other yet. Have we really worked together to solve something?" Hanayo asked.

No one responded to Hanayo's question.

"Heh, looks like no one spoke up to confirm it." Maki said.

"Ehehe, then I guess we are not that trustworthy, huh?" Honoka said with awkward smile.

"Actually, we did." Eli said. Everyone seemed to be surprised that Eli spoke up in a somewhat friendlier voice. They can even hear Eli starting to giggle.

"Let's review what we have been doing. First of all, we gathered together, even if it was because Principal Minami forced me to pay attention to each of you as your student council president. Honestly all I planned to do was to create a home and make you all play around on your own. But Nozomi forced me to make you all work together somehow so I made up an excuse… it wasn't that expensive to build home in City if Memory." Eli said.

"The only expensive thing is what's inside it. In other words, the donated money was not spent on materials but on the facilities and memory space." Nozomi added.

"I remember now. While we are all building our home, there was a time when we actually tried to do one thing together. The most memorable one was the time when we tried to move Honoka's tent since she was sleeping so deeply and no one was able to wake her up." Umi said.

"Ah! There was that! Yes! Then because of your bad sleeping habits, your tent moved a little too far away. We decided to ignore that and just hope that no one gets hurt." Kotori said.

"T-There, you two! Why are you mentioning something so embarrassing?!" Honoka protested.

"It's true, we actually did something together because of you and your troubles." Eli said.

"There was also the time when you and Niko suddenly appeared along with the absolute destroyer… some of us lost it and started to run to save you. We worked hard to save you through all that mess." Umi added.

"If I have to give a little additional explanation, Ericchi was worked up to save Honoka and Ichigo, that we went into that tournament hall and was forced to use Mastemon's power. Again, it's because of Honoka-chan and her troubles." Nozomi said.

"It was?!" Honoka said.

"Don't worry, sometimes you are not the only source of problems. Someone else somehow drags me into trouble, but I can consider that her to help me learn about teamwork since I had fun and that's all I need in my life." Maki said.

"You mean Niko-chan?" Hanayo said.

"Ooh! Right, she was causing little problems back then-nya!" Rin said.

"In the end, everyone caused trouble at some point and the other always come to help. We were all born to be a team." Kotori said.

Eli chuckled to herself.

"Right. What am I thinking, why would I come to you to beg for that? I should've come to you for something else." She said.

"And that something else is…?" Honoka wondered.

"Honoka, I don't know what ideas would enter your mind, but… what do you think you can do if I ask you for help?" Eli asked,

"H-honestly, Eli-chan, I don't know. Seeing your situation, you seem like you are in a pinch and have no idea what to should do. Maybe you were thinking that you'll be at a disadvantage, either way. I don't know what the Infant core or whatsoever will do if it is damaged, but, you said that you can guarantee that it won't do anything unless it's connected to the true power source…" Honoka said.

"And if you look at it from my perspective, the infant core might be a danger to humanity. That someone you call Heidr might be trying to trick you to buy her some time until she finds the real power source. We can destroy the tower, let the infant core be destroyed and see how she will react." Tsubasa said.

"We don't know what exactly she needs from that infant core. Maybe she truly needs for something good? I mean, Heidi-san seems to be a kind woman to me and she helped us many times, wouldn't it be too cruel to accuse her of planning something bad?" Honoka said.

"That's true, but let me smite you with my logic. The Infant Core is said to be the 'object' that will eventually turn to what we fear as the physically reborn Absolute Destroyer; therefore, it's going to be a big problem if someone misuses it. Then, one of you mentioned it… none of us knows anything about her since she never introduced herself fully. What if she was actually someone from an organization with plans for world domination?"

"World Domination?! T-that's a little too much, Tsubasa-chan!"

"I'm serious. Let's not forget that Heidr-san was working in City of Memory. She can't just be an ordinary staff, especially if her Digimon partner is a Lucemon—a digimon that has not been fully tamed yet." Tsubasa said.

"I… happen to know something about her." Nozomi said.

"Ah, right, Nozomi-chan, you seem to be the closest with her. What information do you have for us?" Honoka asked.

"Sorry, I can't really tell you, but what I know about her is that she isn't well-known among the staff… they just happen to respect her because of her partner Digimon. They always called her Heidr or… Heidi. But none of the staff knows her complete name. She told me that she happens to have the same family name as someone among us, but that wouldn't be something to be bothered about. Plenty of humans in this world has the same family name but are not related by blood." The young purplenette explained.

"Then, she is also a mysterious person among the City of Memory staff? Now that tells us something. Maybe she is an agent from a top secret organization? A Spy?! Then that tells us how she can stay without being suspicious." Tsubasa said.

"Why don't we just go ask her? We are still her allies at the moment, after all." Maki said.

"That's true, but what if she turns against us? Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Umi replied.

"From my point-of-view, as long as we are prepared, we should be able to deal with her. Let's try to get her to speak about herself so we know what exactly we should do to that infant core." Tsubasa said.

"Unless Eli has something else to say about dealing with her." she continued as she looked towards the tall blonde.

"Heidr-san has never really forced me to do anything, only suggesting things from time to time. I guess it was like what you said, I was too desperate and it made me look like I was mind-controlled." Eli replied.

"Don't worry, it's psychologically normal for you to act that way. If I was desperate, I would do something like that too." Tsubasa said.

"N-Now-now, that's a confession we don't want to hear. Especially after we heard that you have authority to take military action." Kotori said.

"You have… what?" Umi smirked,

"Oh, right, I didn't tell you yet, huh? I guess only Eli knows. I was assigned as commander-in-charge for every military movement. Sebastian made quite a name and I even got the authority to assign group leaders any action I wanted done."

"Just how could you have that authority… huh? Why won't they just leave it to the adults?" Maki asked.

"I told you, Sebastian made quite a name and they thought that assigning military strategies to someone who knows about Digimon is better. Beside, it's not like I actually take care of all military grouos… I only avquired the right to control Digimon tamer movements, not the actual military with tanks and everything else. That's not my job." Tsubasa said.

"Anjuu-chan also told me that you often had fight with Erena-chan, because you often make a decision without thinking about the defenses. Erena-chan had to keep up with that for you." Kotori said.

"Who needs defenses if you can kill everything with one big and accurate shot or counter attack them?" Tsubasa replied.

"Full offense… as expected from her." Eli sighed.

"Hehe, I have to agree, though… full offense also seems to be a lot more convenient to me." Honoka said.

"See? This is why we're fit for each other, Honoka! Why are you not my girlfriend yet?" Tsubasa asked.

"Tsu-Tsubasa-chan! Can we think about that later?"

"Oh, my bad. So where were we?"

"We need to contact Heidr-san and decide what to do to that infant core…. then we also have to figure out what Eli should do to that arm of hers." Maki said.

"Ah, right, so about your arm. Didn't you try to investigate further?" Tsubasa asked.

"We did but we still have no idea about what data causes my arm to react. All we know is that the arm reacts to my digivice and those wild digimon that appeared in File City before. I used to feel pain every time there was a reaction but, lately, the pain was replaced by a weird sensation. I can't describe the feeling." Eli replied.

"Hmm, that's hard." Tsubasa placed her finger on her chin.

"Maybe it has something to do with those security barriers we broke?" Umi asked.

"I suspected the same thing." Eli said.

"But, then again… if the security barrier is gone, why are we still able to control our Digimon's evolution? Isn't that meant to be a limit?" Umi asked again.

"We were searching for the answer and some sources say that Digimon evolution is naturally dynamic—they can move backward and forward according to their situation. There are also some sources that say: if a Digimon shares their bond to a partner, they might share a will-power that may enable them to evolve to something beyond the limit. So yes, Security barriers are merely what the City of Memory system created to enable them to limit tamer and digimon bond." Nozomi replied.

"Ah, right, Heidi-san told me the same thing! She said the City of Memory is focusing their system on business, which is why they are trying to get their players pay to be able to evolve their Digimon. Now that they are gone, maybe we can evolve our Digimon further without caring about their limit?" Honoka said.

"Heidr-san told you that? Then, she can't possibly be cooperating with them." Tsubasa said.

"Heidr-san never liked City of Memory. She was also the one who helped us break it." Nozomi said.

"The last I heard, she had a little trouble with the Royal Knights, but she said that they are already done. I don't really know how she ended up facing the Royal Knights." Eli said.

"Heidr-san fighting the Royal Knights on her own?" Tsubasa said.

"With her Shadowlord Lucemon." Eli said.

"Shadowlord Lucemon, huh? How could that thing beat all the Royal Knights? He is supposed to be the one who is beaten." Tsubasa said.

"Sizes and Enchantment, or perhaps she sabotaged the Royal Knights' data. She is very capable of doing that." Eli said.

"Yes. The creature we saw back then didn't look like it is normal sized." Hanayo said.

"While the Royal Knights looked so puny against it-nya… Maybe she really did sabotage them!" Rin said.

"I heard this from her… she said that, as long as they are bound tightly with the City of Memory, it wouldn't take an hour to bend them to her will." Nozomi said.

"Ah anyway! She told me she had to pick up something before Eli-chan transported us all back to the real world. Anyone wonder what it is?" Honoka asked.

Everyone remained silent.

"No?" Honoka asked again.

"Maybe we really should check on her after all. What does she have there?" Maki asked.

"Hmm… again, I'd go straight and just ask all the questions we have, but I don't think I'm the right person to ask. Maybe Honoka can do it?" Tsubasa said.

"Me…?!" Honoka asked.

"Or maybe let's just leave that to Nozomi-chan since she seems to be closest to her." Kotori suggested.

"I agree. Maybe Nozomi-chan is better at talking." Umi said.

"I can't. Not with her." Nozomi replied.

"I can't talk to her either. There's something I am fearful of with her and I can't just come up to her to ask anything." Eli said.

"Then Honoka is really the only person capable of doing it?" Maki said.

"Yeah, no doubt. I don't think any of us can speak with a bold face like her." Umi said with a sigh.

"T-there! I'm not that thick-faced!"

"Let's all go. Don't forget to pick up your Digimon… where did you all leave them?" Tsubasa asked.

"Near the Alpaca's pen, hehe. The Digimon weren't allowed to go near the canteen ever since Ichigo's first visit." Kotori said.

"Eh, Did Ichigo do anything?" Honoka asked.

"He was doing something that you would probably do, as well." Umi said.

"What is it?"

"Trying to get free food." Umi said.

"N-No way! I always pay for my food!" Honoka protested.

"I'm joking, let's get this done for good, ok?"

---

The Hotel's Hallway;

µ's and A-Rise stand in front of the door but they are still trying to process what they should do next.

"Is this really where she lives…?" Hanayo asked.

"No doubt. This is the address she gave me." Eli replied.

"Sheesh, what's with all these sudden meetings anyway? I was having a nice slumber after I left the canteen." Niko said.

"You should not have left early, Niko. There were a lot of things you missed." Maki said.

"It can't be helped… I was still tired from all the eating. I think I'm going to gain some weight." Niko said.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get in-nya!" Rin said.

"Do all of you have your Digimon ready in your Digivice's room?" Anjuu asked.

Everyone showed their Digimon projected on their Digivice's screen.

"Good. If anything happens, you all know how to summon them instantly, right?" Anjuu said.

Everyone nodded.

"Are we really going to face her and ask all those questions? It seems a little too aggressive." Erena said.

"That's why we'll have Honoka ask the questions since she never sounds aggressive when she speaks." Tsubasa said.

"Is that it, really? I get the feeling that you are just trying to escape from the responsibility." Erena said.

"Eli and Nozomi said they were too scared to do it so Honoka is all we have." Tsubasa said as she looked towards the couple who looked somewhat pale.

"That sounds even worse. Why don't you take some responsibility and ask the questions?" Erena stated.

"Now-now, let's get this done already. I'm a little nervous too!" Kotori said.

"If we prove that Heidi-san is planning something bad, then we will no longer doubt Tsubasa's plan… We will need to destroy that tower." Umi said.

"Then we will see her reaction and fight her if necessary." Tsubasa said.

"I am kind of worried, though. I mean, we saw her Lucemon before… it's like that thing could crush us all with one hit!" Hanayo said.

"Don't worry. I have a little trick up my sleeve to prevent her Lucemon from evolving." Erena said.

"Really? You do? That's expected from Defensive people like you!" Tsubasa said.

"Yes, unlike you who probably didn't even prepare anything before this, right?"

"Well, I prepared that, remember?"

Erena rolled her eyes to Tsubasa's response.

"Just, knock on the door already, Honoka. We need to talk to her as soon as possible." Maki said.

Honoka nodded and she decided to knock on the door twice. It took a moment before a woman wearing her hair in a side braid opened the door for them. She smiled gently and her two colored eyes blinked innocently.

"Ah, welcome, µ's and A-Rise. I didn't expect to have this many visitors. I thought it will just be Eli and Nozomi." Heidr said.

"Heidi-san, I—…!"

"Please come in, I don't like talking in such an open space." Heidr cut in before Honoka was able to voice out her first question.

---

Inside the room;

Heidr surprisingly has enough space for all of them to sit comfortably. The Hotel room is big and it looked more like a VIP room than a regular one. The windows are huge and bright sunlight poured inside and lit up almost half of the room while the rest remained dark.

"You rented a luxurious room." Tsubasa commented.

"Do you believe that I used to live in the streets back then? It was quite troublesome since I was really bad at technology and I don't even know how to use a cellphone. I started to work as a regular receptionist in Digimon Online and was eventually promoted as a field staff after I learned a few more things." Heidr replied.

Everyone remained silent since they didn't know how to react to that story.

"Oh, sorry, that wasn't what you wanted to hear, right? So what were you trying to ask earlier, Honoka-chan? I believe I heard you trying to ask a question." Heidr said.

"Yes, Uh, Heidi-san. I have a few questions." Honoka said.

"Then, ask away and I'll be happy to answer." Heidr replied.

"Who are you exactly?" Honoka asked.

Heidr didn't seem bothered by the question, though it did take a while before she finally gave an answer.

"You know my nickname. There's nothing else you need to ask about." Heidr replied.

"But what about your personal information? Something that could give us an idea who you truly are?"

"My, why are you so eager to know about me? I'm a married woman. I have a daughter and my husband died in an incident. I died too but my lover resurrected me. No one knows about that but her though, not even my daughter." The woman with two-colored eyes replied in a friendly manner.

"Sorry to hear that." Umi said politely.

"But what does she mean by 'resurrected by her lover'-nya?" Rin asked to Hanayo.

"Maybe it means that her love is resurrected? I don't know." Hanayo replied.

"It's so confusing-nya!" Rin said.

"Are there any more questions you want to ask?" Heidr asked.

"Yes, do you love the world with you?" Honoka asked.

Heidr remained silent for a moment.

"The world I am with is such a beautiful world. Of course I love it." She said.

"Then, what are you going to do with the infant core of Absolute Destroyer?" Honoka asked.

"Is it wrong to take back what belongs to me?" Heidr replied with her gentle smile.

Everyone in the room grew silent as none of them are able to draw out a question after they received such answer from her.

"There, instead of giving me that confused look, why don't you all have some snacks? I think I have them in the kitchen." Heidr said.

"Ooh! Sounds good! Maybe that will give us some energy!" Honoka said.

"H-Honoka!" Umi protested.

"There-there. It's fine. After all, you are all my guests. I have to treat you kindly." Heidr said.

Now some of the girls squinted their eyes at Honoka, expecting her to be a little more responsible to that action, though it seems that the ginger girl remained oblivious.

"Nozomi-chan, you wouldn't mind helping me out a bit, right?" Heidr said as she stood up from her seat.

"N-not at all." Nozomi nodded before she stood up. It's strange that Nozomi who has always been confident acted nervously towards the older purplenette.

The two walked towards the kitchen, though the older purplenette stopped for a moment.

"Ah, I almost forgot… I can't leave my guest alone. I hope someone is willing to accompany the pretty girls?" she said. She looked at them with her usual expression—without a hint of anything suspicious.

Suddenly, a light shone and Lucemon—in the same form from the first time they met—appeared.

"Leave it to me, Heidr." Lucy said gently.

Once the two purplenettes left, Lucy occupied the seat Heidr left.

"So, what exactly are you all planning to do here?" he asked.

"We are just here to ask a few questions." Honoka replied.

"That's it? That's really boring. I was hoping that you were planning to do something. Even though I feel so weary right now, I feel like I could still do something fun." Lucy replied.

"Ah, right, the Royal Knights fought you." Kotori said.

"Yeah, thanks for paying attention to that detail. But those Royal Knights are really something. If my human partner wasn't Heidr, I would've been crushed flat." Lucy replied.

"It was a hard fight for you? That's unexpected." Tsubasa said.

"Heidr and I share the same hobby. We love challenging the impossible. At first we thought that it will be impossible to fight the royal knights, but we did and we even did something better than crushing the Royal Knights. We crushed the so-called Almighty Digimon as well."

"The Almighty Digimon?" Erena wondered.

"That's right. But maybe I should make it clear so that you know who the kill counts belong to. Heidr was the one who beat him. I was just there to provide her a power source that she needed." Lucy replied confidently.

"Kill counts. Sounds like you two are up to something interesting." Anjuu said.

"Haha, of course. I wouldn't want to be partnered with anyone who can't be any good for me. Should I repeat this? Heidr is a very clever woman and she is very powerful. You don't want to know how many kills she has right now."

"For some reason, I feel like this is all just a bluff. How can a human being be stronger than a digimon?" Maki said.

"Good question. I don't know the answer to that one too so you should ask her. Either way, I don't care about the answer. Heidr is my partner and I wouldn't trouble her with such an unimportant question." He replied.

"You think it's unimportant? What if she cheats?" Tsubasa asked.

"Cheats? Hah! The true pride of victory is where you play honestly and still win first place. Besides, what you consider as cheating might just be something we call 'playing with wit.' If you truly want to challenge her then you shouldn't be bothered about what sort of thing she does and focus on the end result. There is no rule in the true battle of wit." Lucy replied.

"Is that so? Then, I'm very curious about how witty she is?" Anjuu said calmly.

Eli seemed to be a little agitated when she heard Anjuu boldly reply with such a challenging statement, though, she appears to be trying to shut her lips for unknown reasons.

"We're back everyone!" Heidr said cheerfully as she pushed a cart full of canned milk with Nozomi quietly following her with a tray of cookies.

"It's pretty old school, isn't it? I'm just an ordinary country lass after all." the woman continued gently.

"Are you really just an ordinary lass? Your Lucemon over here has testified differently." Tsubasa said.

"Did he? Well, he always likes to boast about me." Heidr giggled as she and Nozomi served the snacks and drink to each of the girls.

"Still persistent. It's like she's holding onto her mask so tightly." Hanayo whispered to Maki and Rin who sat next to her.

"Heh, she never showed her true self after all. The only people who had a lot of contact with her were Eli and Nozomi. Those two are also hopelessly being controlled emotionally." Maki whispered.

"They are awfully quiet-nya. It's not really like Eli and Nozomi on their usual days-nya!" Rin said.

"Hey, can anyone give me an idea as to what exactly is happening here?" Niko asked.

"Think for yourself, Niko!" Maki replied to her.

"Huh? That's cruel!" Niko protested.

"Heidi-san, there's something I want to ask!" Honoka said.

"Yes, question and answer section is still open." Heidr replied with her playful smile.

"Why do you have to lie to Eli and Nozomi if all you want is to get that infant core back to you?" Honoka asked.

"H-Honoka! Think of your words a bit! You shouldn't ask something so directly!" Umi protested.

"Honoka-chan…" Kotori sighed.

Eli and Nozomi look paler than before.

"Hmm…it's such an easy question. Are you sure you are going to ask that? Maybe you can try asking about : Who made it possible for it to be created in the real world?, or perhaps, who created the protection?" Heidr replied.

"I believe that I know the answer for the second question, but, can you tell us about the first?" Honoka asked.

"Hmm? Then I guess one of you have made the confession? But the other one still prefers to remain a mystery?" Heidr smiled as her gaze pierced to the younger purplenette.

"It's no surprise. We love living under the shade. Our Digimon even have some similarities with each other." She continued. By the time she mention similarities, everyone turned to Nozomi.

"Should I speak for you… or would you prefer to speak for yourself?" she continued.

"You threatened her as well?" Eli suddenly stood up.

"Eli-chan! Wait! Don't jump to conclusions!" Honoka said.

"No one is allowed to put Nozomi in a state of fear! Eli said loudly.

"But I did not do that… all I did was teach her how to do something and she was the one who decided to use that knowledge." Heidr replied.

Everyone still remained silent while Eli decided to make her move.

"Eli! No! Wait! It's rude to pick a fight with an elder!" Umi said as she held her back.

"Get off me! I'm going to teach her something about keeping her promises! You told me that you will never-ever touch my most important one! Yet there you are terrorizing her!"

"I did not terrorize her. I never did! Why would I plant fear on someone whom I think of as my daughter? If there's anyone who caused her fear, it was you."

"Me? Why would she fear me? We have always been together and I will accept her however she is!" Eli replied.

"Will that change if there's a fact that you've never known about her? The fact that she took away what was important to you just so you would keep your eyes only on her?"

"It will not change! Anything that I possess belongs to her as well and she also gives me the same privilege!"

"Let me give you a hint about what she took from you. It starts with a 'K.'" Heidr smiled playfully.

"Ketchup?" Honoka said.

"Be serious Honoka! Why would Nozomi take ketchup from Eli? She can buy that everywhere!" Umi protested.

"Korn?" Rin said.

"I-It actually start with a 'C,' Rin-chan… Corn, not Korn." Hanayo said.

"How horrible! Nozomi-chan! How could you take King Cheesecake from Eli?! It's hard to obtain! I didn't even get one from today's sale!" Kotori said.

"Kotori! Not you too!" Umi said.

"Did you have kidney problem, Nozomi? If you do, you should've asked me. Think my clinic has a lot in stock." Maki said.

"Oh come on! Maki! How she can take a Kidney without Eli knowing? Be logical!" Niko said.

"Then, what thing do you think she took from Eli?" Maki asked.

"Kettle? That's pretty crucial kitchen stuff."

"You are just as stupid as Honoka." Maki smirked at Niko.

"Said the one who said that she took a 'kidney!'" Niko yelled at her.

Heidr giggled at them with her most amused smile.

"You are all bunch of interesting people indeed." She said.

"Either way! I'm going to ask Nozomi-chan myself!" Honoka said as she turned to Nozomi.

"Nozomi-chan! I think it isn't too late to return what you took!" she said with her friendly smile.

"I… I can't return it. It wasn't a mere object!" Nozomi said.

"It wasn't? Then what did you take?" Honoka asked again.

"It was… Kuzunoha's life." Nozomi said with a voice full of regret.

Now the girls began to see the truth and they were all shocked to silence. The blonde appeared to be the one who was most shocked.

Didn't Eli always mention about how she adored her Kuzunoha? Or show how much she grieved for that one specific digimon she hand-raised? She also showed how much grudge she had on hackers… but what wasn't clear to her most how it happened. How could Nozomi be responsible for the crime?

"Rendered speechless, I see. After all, what she desired most is absolution. She felt bad and has always been overwhelmed with guilt so it is only natural for her to act extremely supportive towards the person she sinned on." Heidr said.

"Enough! Heidi-san! Now that clears up who you truly are!" Honoka said loudly.

"Hmmm? Did I appear to be wearing a mask?" Heidr asked.

"No, but what I've been trying to know about is, are you really a person with two faces? Are you really someone who has the potential to do something so downright cruel? It's answered by your attempt to make us think that Nozomi-chan has never loved Eli-chan and her actions being an attempt at searching for an absolution!" Honoka said.

"You are jumping to conclusions, but let me tell you a few things. All humans are born with more than one face. They act according to what they face. When you were a little girl, you may never have smiled at strangers. When you grew up, you began to realize what hate is and, by the time you are an adult, you are forced to show your smile despite being crushed by those who think they have the right to meddle with your life.

"All those examples are negative, can't it be something a lot more cheerful?" Tsubasa said.

"Yes, once again, you are trying to lead us into thinking that the world is not as beautiful as it is. You lied about loving the world with you, right?"

"I lied? No way, I never lied. I love my world just the way it is."

"Then why did you say such things? Why did you make an example with something so dark?"

"Because I love the darkness. I told you, right? I love living under the shade. It makes me feel powerful. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Have you ever heard of that?"

"Are you suggesting that someone with hatred lives as a strong being?" Umi protested.

"I never said that, you are the one who jumped into such negativity. That wasn't my thought, it was yours. Besides, I never said that I hated anyone. I'm a very loving person." Heidr replied calmly.

"Can you even explain the sentence you just said?" Kotori asked furiously.

"Easily. I really am not someone who holds a grudge… I really never keep them." Heidr replied.

"Just that one sentence and I can assume that you really don't hold grudges, but you pursued instant revenge to satisfy your own feelings!" Erena said.

"I hate to say this, but you are so unfair-nya! You bend people's mind to act according to your will and blame them because they did it!" Rin said.

"Even though you can say that you are not the one who acts, you are still the mastermind. You are guiltier than those who act for you!" Hanayo added.

"Now-now, why are you all so furious at me? Scared to admit that it was because someone was overwhelmed by her own despair? Someone who lustfully tried to claim one's love and went around to look for an opening. Someone who used her knowledge to banish the one who had been taking her lover's time?"

"The hell is with that! She wasn't the cause of the problem! It was you!" Maki said.

"And what evidence do you have to verify that claim? It's not a very high-school-girl thing to accuse someone of a crime she did not even do."

"You are very skilled in reading minds, aren't you? All you did was to give a little push and everything will go according to your will. It pretty much clear how you did everything until now!" Maki argued.

"And how can you prove that I can read someone's mind? Nozomi has never talked to me about what she wanted to do. All I did was teach her how to hack a card and sell to a specific range of costumers. She was a card merchant after all so it's normal for an official to give tips and trick to them. It wasn't my fault if she used it to kill a specific person's Digimon."

"Truth to be told, she has a point, but I can't give this up. There must be a way to counter her argument." Umi said.

"Isn't hacking cards illegal in the City of Memory?" Kotori said.

"Sometimes it's necessary to hack a card. Not all that were produced by the City of Memory are perfect. That's why if a merchant knows how to hack them, it would give them the advantage of having undamaged cards before the City of Memory releases its fixed version." Niko said.

"See? Would you truly blame me for teaching something that every merchant needs?" Heidr said confidently.

"Well, that's a very good argument, Heidr-san. But, would you care to explain why that tower exists? Even if Eli and Nozomi are at fault for it, you are still the one who gave them the instructions. You threatened them and we all should only focus on that fact." Tsubasa said.

"I only gave them the option. They choose to cooperate with me."

"It's not like they have other options. Maybe they don't even know what those things you asked are for." Erena said.

"Is that thing even important to you, Heidi-san?" Honoka asked.

Heidr smiled at her.

"Well, it's just a beginning. I just need to place the real power source inside it to be able to make it important enough for me." she said.

"Have you found it?" Honoka asked.

"Found it? You should've asked if I managed get my hands on her instead." Heidr said.

"Her…?" Everyone wondered.

"Here is the hint, that someone is the one who have the ability to connect herself with the absolute destroyer data."

By the time Heidr said it. Two Digimon suddenly appeared in the room. Lady in her Lady Devimon form and Angel in her Angewomon form.

While Lady took the chance to make her first intimidating strike, Angel pulled Eli to the back of the crowd. Lucy quickly put up a barrier to protect his partner. Lady jumped back to prevent any counter.

"I guess our contract is over, you mad lady. You forced me to expose my crime and you no longer have anything I'm afraid of. I don't care about what Ericchi thinks about me, but one thing is still clear: I will not let you get away with her as your final card!" Nozomi said.

"Is that a declaration of war?" Heidr asked. Her face still remained calm—without even a subtle change in her gentle smile.

"I'll tell you what a declaration of war is." Tsubasa said as she took out her digivice. Heidr raised her eyebrows, wondering what it may be.

"Marksman, strike!" Tsubasa said on her digivice.

Then a very loud sound of gunshot was heard from a distance. Heidr began slightly furrow her brow.

"You are right, that's a real declaration of war." She said. Lucy quickly flew to outside by breaking the windows.

"Ah! Crap! He got away!" Erena said.

"Don't worry about him, he was just trying to do what he should do." Heidr said.

Erena smirked at her response but, instead of holding back, she quickly ran to the broken window, summoned her Owryuumon outside and jumped on his back.

"Well, what about you? Are you going to stay here and wait for us to deliver judgment to you?" Tsubasa said.

"Judgment? Shouldn't that be a desire belonging to the girl over there?" Heidr pointed to Kotori.

"E-eh? Me?" Kotori said confusedly.

"I'm fed up with this woman! Let's go Polymnia!" Maki said as she summoned her Crescemon out of her Digivice.

"Oh, my mistake. Then I guess you all wanted to face real judgment so I have no choice." Heidr said before a portal appeared next to her and a very well-known Digimon appeared from it.

"C-Craniumon!" Kotori said.

Before they realized, a dark shade obstructed the light and the room became very dark. When the light returned, the girls saw that Heidr swapped with a Wyvern Knight-like digimon with white armor and blue wings. He has a pair of horns and red orbs attached to its palm.

"Dynasmon." Niko said.

Before they knew it, Dynasmon and Craniumon launched their first strike. Anjuu quickly summoned her Lotosmon and put up a huge barrier around them.

"Looks like we need to hold this, but I can't do this by myself. I need a back-up. Perhaps Maki-chan or Hanayo-chan can do that?"

"You need data Digimon, huh? Then Hanayo-chan, you are on it. I want to find that woman and teach her a lesson!" Maki said.

"M-me? O...Ok!" Hanayo replied.

"Rin, Let's go after her!" Maki said before she and Rin ran towards the window.

"Kotori! Please assist us!" the red haired girl beckoned.

"Alright!" Kotori prepared her digivice.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" Umi said.

The four of them jumped out of the window before a Garudamon appeared and caught them mid-flight.

"As for us, shouldn't we be heading somewhere else? I bet we need to get you somewhere for a private time." Tsubasa suggested when she noticed the silence between the 'true loving couple.'

"I agree, Tsubasa-chan. If Eli-chan is who Heidi-san is after, we need to somehow get her somewhere she can't reach." Honoka said.

"Just hurry up and make your move. I can't hold this back too long!" Anjuu said.

---

Up in the Sky;

Suzaku flew as fast as possible, aiming for the somewhat smaller purple dragon that is trying to reach the tower being attacked by Tsubasa's marksmen. It seems that the tower is very tough and the shield above it refused to crack. If what Eli said was right, then they truly need to work harder to destroy the tower first.

Panjyamon, a Leomon with white fur, was already perched on the Big Red bird's right shoulder, Black WereGarurumon on the left, and the girls, along with Maki's Crescemon, stood on its head.

"Can you do any ranged attacks, Maki?" Umi asked.

"I can, but it won't do anything since Lucy is Virus." Maki said.

"Three of us are Vaccines-nya, we are the ones who can beat him!" Rin said.

"But you and I are excel in melee range so we need Suzaku to get as close as possible." Umi said.

"Honestly, I wouldn't want to fight her Lucemon. He is still too strong for us!" Kotori said.

"Can we still use cards?" Umi asked.

"Ah!" Kotori raised her eyebrow, realizing that she forgot to use that again.

The ash brunette took out her card but it wasn't a card related to evolution. Instead it's a card that improves the speed of Digimons: The Extreme Speed Plug-in card.

"Hold on tight! We are about to enter—…!" Kotori used the card and Garudamon moved ten times faster—fast enough to catch up with the dragon and fly above it.

They saw Heidr looking at them calmly. She really appears to be hard to understand. What kind of emotion does she have right now? Does she really think this is war?

"Polymnia! Attack her face now!" Maki said.

"M-Maki-chan is really upset-nya!" Rin commented.

"Maki, even though she is an enemy right now, you should reconsider your command before Polymnia actually followses your will. Do we really want to provoke that big dragon?" Umi said.

"Ssssh! Be silent! I'm trying to aim!" Polymnia said.

It took a moment for Polymnia to aim her shot And, when she was finally set, she shot ice arrows a few times and followed it up with dark arrows.

Heidr dodged the ice arrows, though she didn't appear to bother dodging the dark arrows, which sunk into her body like it was sinking in water. After the last dark arrow sank, Heidr giggled and she stuck her tongue out at them.

"D-Did she actually just stick her tongue out at us?!" Maki said angrily.

"She did." Kotori confirmed.

"Then!" Rin held her breath.

"Bweeeeeeeeee!" Rin stuck her tongue out at Heidr too.

"Why are you joking at time like this?!" Umi said.

"But she was the one who did it first-nya!" Rin said.

"It doesn't mean you have to respond to her with the same thing. Give her a kick on the face!" Maki said.

"Hehe, as for that one, we need to pin her down-nya." Rin said.

Then suddenly, a big, long, dragon-like creature dashed from the side and crashed into the big purple dragon.

They fell down to buildings which, luckily, were all empty.

"Ooo… That's!" Kotori paused as she tried to identify the smaller dragon.

"Erena's Owryuumon. What was his name again?" she continued.

"Tatsuya." Umi replied.

"I think that crash caused more damage on Tatsuya than Lucy. We need to assist them." Yamato said.

"We need to land, Suzaku." Rin's Panjyamon said.

Suzaku agreed as she gently landed close to the fallen dragon. Once they are able to see it up close, they saw that Erena appeared to be unconscious.

"Looks like they hit themselves too hard." Kotori said.

"Kotori, can you heal her? We need to look for Heidr." Maki said.

"You are so obsessed with her-nya! Do you want to punch her that bad?" Rin commented.

"Of course. Follow me, Rin!" Maki said before she and Polymnia ran to get a closer look at the other side of the huge dragon.

"W-wait for me-nya!" Rin said as she ran with Leon to catch up with Maki and Polymnia.

Kotori took her time to search for medicine while Suzaku focused her energy on casting 'heal.' Erena doesn't look wounded, but their crashes onto the purple dragon at high speed may have caused her to go into shock.

"Do you think we can get Erena to wake up soon? I think we need to check out what Maki might find later, assuming she will be searching for Heidi-san." Umi said.

"Hehe, that's why I'm searching for my wakey-wakey chun-chun water spray now." Kotori said.

"Wakey-wakey chun-chun water spray?" Umi tilted her head.

"I made my own water, mixed with a few fresh mint leaves for the scent. It will wake anyone up instantly!" Kotori said.

"Where do we spray it though?"

"On the face." Kotori said.

"W-what?! Won't the mint be too much for the eyes?!"

"Well, unconscious people's eyes are usually closed so, no problem." Kotori said before she took out her own brand water spray and sprayed it on Erena's face.

Erena quickly woke up as she coughed.

"T-this mint! So… cold!" she said.

"See? Very effective!" Kotori said.

"Are you alright, Erena?" Umi asked.

"I'm fine. I just received a part of his damage. Even though we are now in our real bodies, we still have a small part of our Cyber bodies, which will allow us to share our willpower with our Digimon. It won't be fatal. It's been like this from the start. But honestly though, I feel like this damage is a little too much for me… it almost feels like I've been actually using my head to hit the target." Erena explained.

"We never knew that we shared that kind of thing with our Digimon." Kotori said.

"You will feel it once you are forced to fight a very difficult Digimon. I have felt that way for some time because S-Ranked matches are always like that." Erena replied.

At the same time, suzaku finally casted her heal and awakened the unconscious Owryuumon.

"Ah… Sorry, I think that was more than my own capabilities." He said as he wake up.

"No worries, Tatsuya, I think we got them." Erena said as she looked towards the unconscious big purple dragon next to them.

"Is this really him? I feel like this is a little too early to declare victory." Umi said.

"I'll check them for you all." Yamato said as he walked forward.

He jumped onto the body and began to examine, but after a few steps on its body, Yamato began to feel something strange.

"I wonder if Maki and Rin have already run too far? I can't see the hint of them anywhere." he said.

"Rin is very flexible and swift. I'm not surprised that she can disappear so quickly." Erena said.

"What about the dragon, though? Is this really Lucy?" Umi asked.

"From the color, it looked like it is Shadowlord Lucemon… but something feels off." Yamato said.

A few minute passed, Yamato seemed to still struggle with identifying the shape of the dragon.

"Let's just use the Digivice… I think we can identify him." Erena said as she took out her Digivice and scanned the very dragon.

"T-This is!" Erena's eyes widened.

The purple color crumbled like sand then dispersed into the shadows and exposed dark red dragon skin. The creature also seemed to still be alive as well. Yamato quickly jumped off it and prepared to battle.

---

Meanwhile;

The two tamers and their Digimon were walking through the buildings but none of them were able to spot the person they were looking for.

"Hah, I can't believe it. We have walked this far and we can't find Heidr at all?" Maki said with an annoyed tone of voice.

"Maybe Heidi-san is still alive from that fall, after all. She might have escaped and left her Digimon-nya?"

"That might be a possibility, but then there's also the possibility that we shouldn't have looked this far… Maybe she is hiding under those wings." Maki said.

"Hehe, should we go back now-nya?" Rin asked.

Maki sighed heavily.

"If only Niko is here, I could make her do the searching. Her intuition is really good and she has never lost her way." she said.

"Hehe, Maki-chan, you surely like Niko-chan."

"Huh? The hell is with that claim? I don't like her at all!" Maki said.

"You are in denial-nya!" Rin said.

"Geez, no way. I really am not interested." Maki replied again with a blush on her face.

Soon after her denial, the tamers and their Digimon saw a figure walking through the doorway on the side of building in front of them. Because it's dark, they were only able to see the silhouette, but they can see that the figure is a woman and she seems injured.

"Did we just see…an injured woman?" Maki asked.

"My vision says that it really was an injured woman, but I can't see clearly!" Polymnia said.

"I can smell something too from that area. Maybe that injured woman is Heidi-san!" Leon said.

"If she is wounded, then she is in a grape danger-nya!" Rin said.

"You mean, grave danger…?" Maki said.

"Yeah, grape danger-nya."

Maki smirked at her.

"Well, whatever, let's take a look!"

---

Back in Heidr's hotel room;

The Royal Knights are still fighting with Neisha the Lotosmon. Despite Hanayo staying behind to give all the possible support with her Mary the Lilymon can give, Neisha seems to be getting more exhausted while the two Royal Knights remained powerful.

"This is bad, looks like I need more fire power." Anjuu said.

"I—I'm sorry, Anjuu-chan! I couldn't be of much help in battle!" Hanayo said,

"What are you saying? You are giving the harmony in battle. Without you, everything will sound as messy as children's parade. Keep supporting me, it's your passion that I need." Anjuu said.

Hanayo seems to be moved with that encouragement.

"Maybe, try to pretend that I'm your best friend, Rin-chan. Try to support me like how you support her. You are always super passionate when doing it, right?" Anjuu continued.

"Like how I support Rin-chan…?" Hanayo began to try to imagine.

How will she support her best friend, someone who is also always supporting her? Can she support someone else like how she supports her best friend?

While the timid girl was overwhelmed with her thoughts, Neisha took another hit for Mary who is still focusing on buff and healing skills. She is trying so hard to keep Neisha's health up, but it seems that it always takes more than double the power to be able to do so. Her Lilymon's skill power is too weak right nowand she has not even had the chance to help deal damage like what Anjuu needs.

"Tch, I'm running out of common cards to use, looks like I finally have to use silvers soon…" the other tamer said, which attracted the timid girl's attention. Is this tamer who appears to be having a hard time actually just saving her silver cards?

Either way, she still needs to be able to support Anjuu and Neisha. Perhaps she could use some items?

"I-I have no choice! I'm going to use items to help you! I have got a lot of—…!"

"Don't use your pile of food, Hanayo-chan. Please save up your belongings for something more profitable." Anjuu cut in.

"Eeeehhhh!?" Hanayo's eyes widened in surprise.

"But! This kind of situation…!" Hanayo said.

"It's not even gold cards yet, we can still hang in there!" Anjuu said.

Now Hanayo is even more confused. Did she plan to win sooner or not?

"We still have silvers, we can use gold later!" Anjuu said.

"So, are we planning to win sooner or later?" Hanayo asked innocently.

"Hmm… I just think we should probably be better off saving up the gold cards. I mean, I don't know if the gold cards will still be useable after the first usage and, since City of Memory is gone, we might never be able to buy them anywhere."

"But, what about your battery? Our time? Shouldn't we help the others look for Heidr-san?" Hanayo asked.

Anjuu remained silent. It seemed like she is trying to calculate something in her head.

"Don't tell me you didn't take those things into consideration?"

"Ehehe… actually, I'm always bad at managing battles so Erena is always the one who arranges tactics for me." Anjuu said.

"Y-you were so confident…" Hanayo cringed in fear.

"I just thought that, since Erena is pursuing Heidr-san willingly, it's the perfect time for me to try to come up with my own battle plan?"

The two become silent. Only the sound of Mary, Lily, and the two Royal Knights fighting each other without even damaging the wall could be heard. Are they actually battling or holding back for a reason?

But more importantly, how could Hanayo be passionate to support someone who doesn't even know how to do things correctly?

"Sorry, were you expecting me to be the brain of our team?" Anjuu asked.

"Nnn… It's not like that…" Hanayo forced herself to smile.

"Hehe, Tsubasa-chan is the spirit of our team, Erena is the brain of the team, and I am the technician of the team. My programming and marketing skills surpass Erena-chan's and Tsubasa-chan's, though Erena often wishes to be able to brush up on her programming lessons while Tsubasa just does anything she likes. I never really got the chance to show off so I spend my time tailoring and making them wear my fashion creations. Though I have to say, I'm pretty forgetful so I tend to clutter unfinished work around or simply lose track of my own schedule." Anjuu replied.

Now that she said it, Hanayo began to think that perhaps, she is currently talking to someone very much like a specific person in her team… someone who somehow always forgets a lot of things and messes up her own schedule.

Either way, do they really have hope in this? Does she need to be passionate about something that they aren't sure of?

Should they run away right now?

"Anjuu-chan! Let's just run and seek for help!" Hanayo said.

"Eh..?" Anjuu wondered

"Let's just run away!" Hanayo restated.

Right after she said it, very dark clouds surrounded the area. Then a voice was heard from nowhere.

Running away is a crime. No one shall disobey this or the judge of darkness will send you to the depths with guilt and remorse.

"It's getting scarier! Anjuu-chan! Please!" Hanayo begged. The clouds are getting closer and closer to them.

"Hanayo-chan! Be strong! I am your strength! Believe in me!" Mary the Lilymon said.

Anjuu took out her gold cards, though for some reason, both her digivice and her card engines turned off.

"D-damn it, is it the batteries?! I swear I charged them before this!" Anjuu complained.

Both of the royal knights they fought disappeared without a trace. The clouds are getting much closer until it swallowed them.

When the clouds are gone, all that was left in the room were the mess and digivices.

---

The Empty Building;

Maki and Rin along, with Polymnia and Leon searched in the darkness of the building with only the flashlight from their digivice as a source of light.

"Heidi-saaan!" Rin shouted.

"I guess she won't answer you at all, huh?" Maki said.

"Hnng… maybe Heidi-san is scared of us-nya?" Rin said.

"I don't doubt that. We are after her."

"Aah! Maybe it's because Maki-chan is trying to hit her!"

"Even though that's true, I feel like she wouldn't hide like a coward. The person we are facing is a clever woman so there's no way she will allow herself to get cornered." Maki said.

"Is that really what's going to happen-nya?" Rin asked.

"I don't know, it's all just my speculation. She might be somewhere around here waiting to ambush us." Maki replied.

"Oooh! You are right-nya! She is really good at acting!"

"Heh, I would admit that, but in the same time, I'm curious about what exactly she is planning to do. No one was able to prove that she is planning to do something bad with the absolute destroyer, but the truth about how she sacrificed a lot of things in her pursuit of it remains. There's also the fact that she manipulated Nozomi and Eli to do her bidding. But if you look at it in another perspective, she helped us return to the real world before we died from starvation. We can't oversee that part." Maki said.

"Hnng… you are right-nya. I wonder if we can brand her as the villain if she also helped us out a lot. It isn't fair for her." Rin said sadly.

As soon as she said it, the figure that they were pursuing showed up once again. This time, she was climbing up to the next floor.

"Ah! That must be her!" Maki said before she, aking with Polymnia, began to chase her.

"Aa! Maki-chan! Wait for me-nya!" Rin quickly caught up to her.

By the time they reached the next floor, they spotted an injured woman coughing in the corner. They can't see her clearly, but they are quite sure that this is the woman they are looking for.

"Heidi-san?" Rin called her.

"Is that even Heidr-san?" Maki said.

"Be careful, I sense that something is wrong!" Polymnia said.

"This is not an ordinary human." Leon said.

The woman kept on coughing and it also sounded like she is dying.

"Hey, Heidi-san, if that's really you, please come with us and admit your mistakes. You just did something bad to them… to Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan."

"I didn't do anything bad to them." the woman replied.

Maki and Rin frowned while both of their Digimon got on their fighting stance.

"I told you, they were the ones who did it. All I did was teach a skill that every merchant needs. Blaming me is like blaming a gun that can't shoot on its own." The woman replied again as she began to stand up and approach them.

She's still some distance away and it was too dark to recognize her facial features. Alas, they aren't brave enough to direct their flashlights to her face when they can see some dark stains flowing down through her neck. Did she break her head when she landed?

Are those bloodstains or just dark stains out of nowhere? Rin may not be interested enough to know the truth, but Maki is very conflicted about it. She is extremely curious if it is ok for her to look at her condition is, but, will that be ok for her heart?

"What's wrong? Maki-chan? Don't you desire to know how my face looks like right now?" the woman asked.

Maki's hands began to tremble.

"And you, Rin-chan, don't you wish to bring me to justice?"

Rin began to feel a cold breath all over her shoulder.

"Rin, don't be scared! Let's take her to apologize and fix everything in this world!" Leon said.

"Maki! Just direct your light to her face, it will be fine! All you need to do is to move your hand a bit!" Polymnia said.

"I—I know!" Maki moved her light, yet it was only to the side to see purple hair stained with shade of dark red.

"Oh, this is looking good. You are almost there, Maki-chan. Just move a little bit up and you will see how I look like right now!" the woman said again.

Once again, Maki tried to move her light, yet instead of going up, it goes a little lower and she saw a larger blood stain on her chest pieces.

The woman laughed.

"You can't even get close. Now I feel like you are pretty hopeless… but, what about you, Rin-chan? Still want to bring me to justice? Why don't you command your Leon to catch me now? I'm harmless, I'm damaged, and I'm nothing but an ordinary woman."

"Ordinary woman my ass! You are not an ordinary woman-nya!" Rin said nervously.

"Ahh… the hostility, how it feels so comforting to me."

"G…gh… you mean, hospitality?" Maki asked.

"Hmm? It sounds the same to me. Hostility, Hospitality, both are rejuvenating for me."

"W-what are you exactly. Why are you so—….!" Maki paused.

"So… So what?" the woman tried to press her to continue.

"Never mind!" Maki yelled.

"Hmm… Running away? What a pity. I thought you'll be the first to reach the finish line."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a fast shadow appeared and snatched away Maki and Polymnia. Her Digivice fell to the floor.

"M-Maki-chan!" Rin shouted.

Running away is a crime. No one shall disobey this or the judge of darkness will send you to the depths with guilt and remorse.

"K-Kyaaaa! S-Someone please—…!" and before Rin is able to finish her words, the shadow snatched her and Leon, as well. Her digivice fell to the ground still with the flashlight lit.

The room was left empty—without a trace of anyone having been there, except for Rin and Maki's digivice.

---

Not so far from the empty building;

A huge, four-winged, dark red dragon with a lance on his hand stood proudly as he glared down at his weak foes.

"This Examon… is not our opponent…" Erena said. She swears that she tried so hard but still couldn't even deal damage to it.

"Even though I've bugged Suzaku, our upgraded skills do nothing to it." Kotori said.

"His scales are too tough, I can't hurt it." Yamato said.

"We can't fight this digimon. We need to run." Erena said.

"He is data, yet my virus digimon still can't hurt him. What exactly do we need?" Umi said bitterly.

"Stop thinking so hard! Let's run!" Erena yelled.

"I can't! I'm going to fight till the end, that's how I work." Umi said.

Yamato quickly made another move when he heard his tamer's words. He jumped up and was about to punch the dragon's head, yet Examon bashed him away towards the building to the side.

"Fighting an impossible fight is useless! That won't protect your dignity so let's run!" Erena said.

"I said I'm going to fight till the end! This is my way and I'm not going to run!" Umi said.

"Umi Sonoda!" Erena shouted in rage. Tatsuya tried his best to protect Yamato who is still forcing himself to fight.

"There must be a way to win this, right? There must be!" Umi said.

The two continued to argue as Kotori began to feel more and more flustered, unable to decide which of her companions to side with. She knows that Umi is just being herself—always focused on one path—while Erena has a logical point. She couldn't understand what was going on and she can't even say anything about it.

She doesn't want to hurt Umi, but she also doesn't want to hurt Erena. What should she do now?

"Kotori-chan! Kotori-chan! Decide something! You are the only one who can stop them from fighting!" Suzaku said. She appears to already be exhausted from battle.

Kotori really couldn't decide and she needs someone else to decide for her… someone who may be able to give her a second opinion.

"Then, Suzaku, what do you think we should do?" Kotori asked.

Suzaku remained silent. It seems that she was disappointed when she heard that question.

"Kotori-chan…." she said sadly.

"You are not trying to run away from making a decision, right?"

"I'm just—….!" Before Kotori was able to finish her words, dark clouds began to surround them.

"Kotori-chan…." Suzaku once again called her.

"What should we do now?" she asked with a voice full of disappointment as they disappeared with the dark cloud.

As soon as the sound of a digivice hitting the floor was heard, Umi and Erena finally stopped to take a good look at what exactly caused that sound.

"Kotori…" Both of them said with despair drawn on their face.

"No… This is entirely my fault…" Umi said.

Erena remained silent. Her face displayed the hopeless in her heart. When she took a step back, she suddenly sank into her own shadow. Umi quickly grabbed her and held her up.

"Erena!" she shouted.

"Erena!" Tatsuya quickly changed his focus and, at the same time, Yamato was pierced with the lance of Examon.

"Yamato!" Tatsuya shouted.

"Let me go…" Erena said softly.

"But, Erena!" Umi shouted.

"I failed to protect someone…I don't want to fail in protecting you too." Erena said sadly.

Umi's eyes began to change as well before she finally released Erena to sink in her own shadow and disappear. All that was left of her is her digivice.

"Sorry… you are right… I should've listened to you. This… is not proof of my dignity." Umi said before she also sank down to the ground, leaving her digivice behind.

The area suddenly became empty—without even a trace of anyone having been there other than the mess left after the hard battle.

---

Far from where they are;

The final group of girls stood on a big, empty field with nothing but some leftovers of a construction. Sebastian was in his Rust Tyranomon form, Chibby in his Phantomon form, Ichigo in Metal Greymon, Lady and Angel in Lady Devimon and Angewomon, then Sakuya in Taomon.

"I wonder why we are not in an enclosed area… I mean, we are hiding, right? Why are we here?" Niko asked.

"Actually, we are not hiding. We are just taking our time to prepare. I assume that Heidr-san will need to get her ass to the infant core first, then, she may need the real power source so we need to stay as far away as possible so that it will take her a long time to get here." Tsubasa said.

"I guess you have a point. But still, why are we not hiding?"

"Because I get the feeling that she will still know where we are. Hiding is useless and staying in a cramped area will be our disadvantage." Tsubasa said.

"You're pretty tactical. As expected from the leader of A-Rise." Niko appreciated.

"I am very tactical. I have my own way of being smart, you know." Tsubasa replied proudly.

"By the way, Honoka, are you done day dreaming?" Niko asked.

Honoka remained silent. She seems to be somewhat scared as she watched Eli and Nozomi who stood far away from them. The couple has been very quiet. They were looking at each other, yet it seemed like their hearts are not yet connected to each other, unlike before.

"Honoka…" Tsubasa called her gently as she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"W-whoa! Ts-Tsubasa-chan!" Honoka jumped in surprise.

"Are you ok? You seemed to be worrying about something." Tsubasa asked.

"Hnng…." Honoka shook her head.

"No, I don't think it's worrisome. I feel like I'm not worrying about how they will deal with it. I mean, I believe they will be reunited again, but…" she pauses.

"I'm just, scared…. If I was about to be in a relationship with you… will I be able to get over this kind of thing?" she continued.

Tsubasa took a moment to think of her answer.

"Honoka, it will be fine. We haven't tried so it may never happen to us." Tsubasa said.

"But, what if it does? I mean—…!" Honoka swiftly turned to look at Tsubasa and took a deep breath.

"What if I screw up? I always do that in everything I do! That's why I never thought I would be capable of being in a relationship! Also! That's also the reason why I keep holding off on answering your question! I really appreciate our friendship, Tsubasa-chan! But I don't want to ruin it. I don't want to lose you…" the ginger girl said as she held back her tears.

"I can't say that I've tried my best, but I just know that it will happen. I just know that I will not be able to be committed to something. I just know that I will mess up and I just know that I will never be able to make you proud. I'm going to be an obstacle to you, I'm going to be a burden for you, and I'm going to be—….!" Before Honoka able to finish,

"Hey-hey-hey! Stop it right there!" Niko butt in.

Honoka went silent.

"Whatever the heck you just said, it doesn't make any sense and is unimportant, right Tsubasa?" Niko asked.

"Well, what she says is always important to me so no comment." Tsubasa replied with a giggle.

"Huh? That's so wrong, you know. You see someone being all emotional and you just say 'no comment?'" Niko raised an eyebrow.

"Then, what do you think? Niko-Niko-love senpai?" Tsubasa said playfully.

"The way I see things, huh? Then hear me out." Niko said as she adjusted Honoka and Tsubasa to stand before each other.

"Look over there, Honoka." Niko pointed to Tsubasa's face.

"Do you see that face? That face shouts: I LOVE YOU DAMN IT. Then you see here…!" Niko tried to search for something in her bag.

"Ok, here!" she pulled out a mirror.

"Look! This is the face of a loser who can't even set herself straight. Not like you are actually straight. You are gaaaaaayyyy! So gay for someone who screams 'I love you' right to your face." The little senior continued.

"Why are you two not dating yet? It's because one of you is having trouble with being honest with herself. It's really not like you to not do something out of the blue. You should've been, you know, if Tsubasa asked you out, you go out with her without knowing the reason why. If Tsubasa asked you to be her girlfriend, you be her girlfriend!"

"But, it's not like I'm forcing her into it. I really want her to be honest with herself, like usual." Tsubasa said.

"You hear that, huh? Say something." Niko said.

"Tsubasa-chan… I… I like you too, but, I just… I don't know. I don't think I have the strength to handle the future. Like I said, I don't want to lose you or to be so… clingy… I always have difficulty managing my time and I feel like, if I go out with you, I might be—…!"

"You are just making up excuses." Niko butt in again.

Tsubasa remained silent but she kept her smile as she listened to Honoka. It's like even though Honoka was saying something she should consider, Tsubasa still finds it amusing. The Senior and junior kept arguing for a while until finally…

"Aaarghh! Sheeshh! I know! I know now! You must be scared because that couple who looks so close with each other suddenly turned their love story into an angsty one?" Niko said.

"Ehh… yes… I mean, I don't know how it will be resolved…" Honoka said.

"See? Then, let me shove this solution to your face!" Niko angrily approached the silent couple.

"Oi! Eli! Nozomi! Say something already!" she yelled.

Eli and Nozomi still remained silent.

"Oh Come on! You both are the senior in love! Don't you want to shove your lovey dovey act to our faces as usual?" Niko complained.

And they are still silent.

"Looks like it really is serious. I can't deny, though, when I lost my Malo-Myotismon, I was so broken. But that time, there was no one to blame because everything that happened were caused by our own mistakes. In this case, though, someone we trusted most took away something very important to us. It's hard to believe it but it is what it is. I'm curious about how they will resolve this." Tsubasa said.

"I believe this will be hard for Eli-chan…" Honoka said sadly.

"Who said that this is hard? I never said that this is hard so solve." Eli finally spoke up.

Tsubasa, Niko, and Honoka went silent.

"The rule is clear. I suppose she did not forget about how apologies work between us." Eli continued.

"I can't." Nozomi replied.

"Then don't expect me to forgive you." Eli replied.

"That's my intention." Nozomi replied.

Eli was surprised to hear it.

"Nozomi…?"

"I hate it. I hate it when you always forgive me so easily. You always let everything slide for me. I don't want that. I want you to be a lot more selfish. I want you to be angry at me, just like how you always did back before we started dating each other." Nozomi continued.

"Don't be ridiculous. You just have to explain to me why you did all that. It is easier than letting this matter go on forever." Eli replied.

"It was because you love her more than me, right? It's because you found yourself enjoying her company more than mine. I was jealous, I was angry, and I was too proud to speak up what's in my mind!" Nozomi suddenly snapped at her.

"For a year, I tried so hard to open the door to your heart. I really tried so hard and it was really painful to endure all those cold words you said to me. Yet that one Digimon… the one you called Kuzunoha, took more of your time from me so easily. You were always so excited and worked up for her. I'm really jealous. My lust for you had to wait because of her existence." The purplenette began to summon her dark aura. While her Digimon, Lady, appears to be strengthened by it, Angel, who always look cheerful, suddenly became gloomy.

"H-hey now, Nozomi! If it was really that painful for you to explain, you didn't have to say it!" Niko commented as she walked backwards. Tsubasa and Honoka prepared to fight."

"That's why I kept looking for a way to take your attention back, and the only way was to remove that one Digimon. But I regret it… or perhaps I don't really regret it. I had all of your attention back, but what's much more interesting is that you began to depend on me when training your Digimon. I was happy whenever you called me to do anything related to you and your Digimon." Nozomi continued as dark clouds began to appear around them.

"Tsubasa! This is not right. We need to stop them." Sebastian said.

"Hah, I wouldn't say that, you know. At least we will see something interesting here!" Tsubasa said.

"Eli-chan! Nozomi-chan!" Honoka called them, hoping that it will stop the purplenette from releasing all of her anger.

"Eli, do something!" Sakuya said as she quickly ran in front of Eli to protect her.

"It's fine, Sakuya. Let her show everything she wants to show me." Eli said.

"But at this rate, you'll be hurt!" Sakuya said.

"I don't care. All I want is to see her emotions, even if she would kill me for that." Eli said.

"I can't let that happen!" Sakuya said.

"That's right, Sakuya. Just when I thought that you won't be an obstacle, it appears that Ericchi started to bond with you like how she and Kuzunoha were bonded. But now I see it, I see that I shouldn't let anyone else come between us anymore."

Right after Nozomi said it, the dark clouds began to close in.

"Eli! Do something!" Sakuya shouted.

"Maaaannn! Eli! Get your ass moving! Do something damn it! It's getting scary!" Niko yelled as she watched how the dark clouds started to cover the couple and their Digimon from their line of sight.

"Tsubasa-chan! Should we do something?" Honoka asked.

"Nah, we can't do anything… but we can watch." Tsubasa said.

"Tsubasa, I don't think this is going to progress as you thought." Sebastian said.

"Huh? Really? What else can happen? Nozomi is angry, yes? Good chance for me to fight against her Lilithmon. I have always been so curious about it!" Tsubasa said.

"Is she really going to evolve to that?" Honoka asked.

"I'm very sure of it!" Tsubasa said.

However, when the dark clouds disappeared, only the couple's Digivice remained where they stood earlier.

"E-Eeeehhhh?!" Their eyes widened in surprise.

"So… where's your foe now, huh? I can't see anything…" Niko smirked.

Suddenly, a heavy gust of wind passed through, almost as if something really big just passed through them. Then the earth began to tremble and all of the land—except the area where they stood—collapsed. The vision in the sky scattered and. right behind it, a new dimension appeared.

"Wh-whoa, the sky is..!" Honoka paused. She feels like she has visited a similar area.

"Impossible! How could the real world turn into this?!" Tsubasa said.

The scattered pixels gathered and formed a huge, dark, tornado-like cloud. It eventually formed into a tower with one huge, transparent shell attached at its peak.

As the dark clouds faded, they managed to see what exactly hid behind it: a transparent incubator connected to several transparent pod-like objects. They can see all of their friends inside the pods, except for Eli who appears to be inside the incubator. Cables were attached all over her body and every inch of her skin shone, as if she will eventually break down into data and merge into the creature behind her.

"This is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen…" Niko said.

"This reminds me of one of the games I played… the one with a Dragon's teeth and Husk." Chibby said.

"Oh shut it, Chibby! Don't remind me of that!" Niko complained.

"What the hell is that, though?" Tsubasa asked.

"H-Huh? Well, to put it simply… the enemy converts one living creature into another that is controllable. Then all those will merge into one creature in order to create a super creature. It's nightmarish." Niko said.

"Ok, I don't want to hear that. Just get your ass ready and let's try to stop their process!" Tsubasa said.

"Yes, let's save everyone!" Honoka said.

Sebastian and Ichigo quickly took their fighting stance, but as they were about to charge forward, another dark cloud appeared and formed into a woman.

It is the woman they are supposed to be running away from.

"Overruled. None of you are allowed to do such a thing." She said.

"H-Heidi-san!" Honoka and Tsubasa quickly moved far away from her while Niko just stopped before she can get any closer.

"Hah, so you are finally here, huh?" Tsubasa said mockingly.

"I've been here. Everywhere you are, I am there. Welcome to the shadow dimension, a dimension created above the surface yet stayed as dark as night." Heidr said calmly.

"Are we done talking now? I'm eager to crush you." Tsubasa said.

"Hmmph, none of you are smart enough to realize that you were led astray. Have you all truly done anything according to your plan?" Heidr asked with her mysterious smile.

"No, the situation keeps changing so we can't stick to our plans." Honoka replied.

"Hmm… just like searching for the truth in the darkness, right?" Heidr said.

"Or more like, because our enemy knows our path, she intended to play around and get us worked up over a lot of things." Tsubasa said.

"Ahh… I wonder what kind of enemy you are facing. Why is that enemy so annoying?" Heidr said.

Right after she said it, Tsubasa signaled Sebastian to take a shot at her. The huge canon blasted where she stood yet, as the mess from the impact disappeared, there's no trace of the very woman he blasted.

"Being aggressive, I see. Full offense is a good tactic against a defender, but it wouldn't do much against a tactician." Heidr said out of nowhere.

"Show your face. I've had enough of your chatter!" Tsubasa said aggressively.

"Heidr-san! Please, what exactly you are trying to achieve, why did you take all of our friends?" Honoka asked.

"Hmm? I did not take anyone. They are the ones who submitted to the darkness inside them." Heidr replied calmly.

"And here you are still refusing to take the blame." Niko said.

"I have no control of everyone's emotions, put aside controlling their actions. They are the ones who decided to give up. They are the ones who decided to run away… and you all know that the darkness is merciless." Heidr replied.

"Hah, let me describe your logic. You have control over darkness and the darkness controls their desires. In other words, you are not the one who controls them but the darkness?" Tsubasa said.

When Heidr heard it, she began to giggle then nodded as if she was satisfied to hear it.

"How smart! Finally someone could push me into a corner through wit." She said.

"I expected that from you, but really, we are talking too much. If you want to fight, then, let's fight." Tsubasa said.

"But, I wasn't looking for a fight. I'm just here to stand in front of you." Heidr replied as she suddenly appeared.

Sebastian attacked. Tsubasa didn't complain, though, since she was thinking the same things as her Digimon.

"Gh… again, she is able to dodge it!" Niko said.

"Well, I don't want to fight at all." Heidr once again appeared, but she stood on Sebastian's head this time.

"Get off him!" Tsubasa shouted angrily while Sebastian tried to catch the woman on his head. She, once again, disappeared by the time he almost caught her.

"Oh my-my, you are really persistent. But since I really hate fighting, what if you fight with one of the Royal Knights instead?" Heidr said as she re-appeared behind Honoka and placed both of her hands on her shoulders.

"W-Whoa! Heidi-san! Don't Surprise me like that!" Honoka quickly moved away, but when she turned around, she didn't see anyone.

"Just—Stop annoying me and let's fight!" Tsubasa said clearly before she noticed a huge Digimon standing a little farther from them. She knows well what Digimon she is facing right now.

A Black Digimon carrying a blade on his left hand and a canon on his right stood facing them. She remembers well about the black cape fluttering behind his strong, majestic posture and the red eyes shining through the eye gap on his helm.

"Omnimon… Zwart…" Tsubasa said his name softly. Her brave expression began to change. Even though she has moved on, she still remembers how this Digimon beats her. He was even so close to make her lose her Digi-egg, and she just know that she will probably lose again considering she was already fighting with her friends back then, yet no one was able to take down this Digimon from the depths of Digital world.

"I know what you are thinking. You're wondering if you should really challenge me, huh?" Heidr said. Everyone looked in the direction her voice came from and they can see her standing right on Omnimon Zwart's left shoulder.

Tsubasa remained silent as she began to doubt if she really should challenge this woman.

"What's with that silence? Go for it!" Niko said.

"Tsubasa-chan!" Honoka called her.

The short brunette still remained silent. She appears to be somewhat scared to make a decision.

"Tsubasa-chan!" Honoka once again called her, but this time, she held her hand.

"H-Honoka…" Tsubasa replied in surprise.

"I know we might not win, but let's just go for it. Let's try to gain our victory!" Honoka said.

Hearing such sincere words, Tsubasa smiled at her.

"Honoka, you are truly my power. Stay like that forever, ok?" she said.

"Mmh! I will fight with you!" Honoka replied.

When she said it, Ichigo suddenly shone bright.

"H-Honoka!" Ichigo called her.

"Uwoo! Ichigo!" Honoka called him back.

Then a powerful light covered him before his digital particles began to transform. He began to look much smaller than his previous form, yet his body was covered in glorious gold armor, a pair of powerful claws and a crest of courage right on his shield-like wing.

"H-He is evolved!" Honoka's eyes widened in surprise.

"War Greymon, this is getting interesting." Tsubasa said confidently.

"Indeed." Heidr said as she showed her most mysterious smile before disappearing into the shadows.

"Chibby, we are in this too. Let's do our best!" Niko said.

Chibby nodded, though for some reason, he looked a little down.

The first strike came from Sebastian who shot his beam toward Omnimon Zwart, though the black holy knight swatted his attack easily. When the black canon was aimed towards Sebastian, Ichigo threw a giant energy ball at him and canceled his shot. It appears to be doing very little damage, but they are sure that it will eventually be decent enough after a few similar attacks.

Once again, Sebastian made another offense move when Omnimon Zwart tried to attack Ichigo with his sword. Despite being at a type disadvantage, Sebastian's power made quite a damage on Omnimon Zwart.

"Ghh… for some reason, you look like you have more impact than Ichigo's attack." Honoka said.

"It's because I was had the right timing and position. If you do the same, the damage you deal will be much more fatal than mine." Tsubasa said.

"Really?"

"Yep, you are my power, after all. We will do our best!" Tsubasa said.

"Ok!" Honoka replied with her biggest smile.

For another turn, Ichigo and Sebastian attacked but while they pursued their endless attempts, a small Digimon was still trying to figure out if he should attack or not.

"What are you waiting for, Chibby? Attack him!" Niko encouraged him.

Chibby nodded again and he nervously flew up high in the air, raised his scythe but, just right before he could swing it, he was thrown away by the impact from Sebastian's shot.

He fell down to the ground so easily, yet he didn't giving up. He flew up again and, this time, aimed for the lower area. Before he could reach Omnimon Zwart's leg; however, he got kicked away.

Chibby continued his attempts to attack until Niko finally called him back after more epic failures.

"That's enough, Chibby! Come back here!" she said.

Chibby nodded and sadly returned to his tamer.

"Sorry, I'm useless…" he said.

"Psh, it's not like this is where you shine. Not like beauty contests will do any good, but hey, let's try something else." Niko said.

"Like what?" Chibby asked.

The two tried to think for a bit while Ichigo, Sebastian and their tamers continued to fight against Omnimon Zwart.

An idea appeared within seconds as they remembered that there's still one thing that they forgot about. The tower that contains their friends need to be investigated before it's too late.

"Chibby, fly me to that tower! You can do that, right?" Niko asked.

"Yes, I can!" Chibby nodded.

"Alright then. Let's go!" Niko said before she jumped on Chibby's shoulder and flew to their destination.

Niko and Chibby swiftly flew towards the tower.

Even though they began to feel like they're being watched, she just knew that she really has to do this somehow.

When she was close enough, she approaches the pod with a specific red-haired girl inside it.

"Oi! Maki! Can you hear me?!" she yelled. She can see the red haired girl's was equipped with futuristic goggles.

"Who's that? Who are you? Why are you here? I want to know!" the red-haired girl inside the pod replied.

"It's me, Niko! I'm here to save you!" Niko replied.

"Save me? Why? Why are you saving me?"

"Because you are such a moron! Get yourself out of that already!" Niko yelled again.

"H-Huh?! I'm a moron?! How could you say that?!"

"Because you really are a moron so stop asking and get out already so you can see the reason better!"

"Will I…? Will I be able to know more if I get out of this place? Will it be ok for me to know more?"

"Of course! You can't know if you do not experience it yourself! Humans learn everyday so why should you limit yourself!?" Niko replied again.

"Then…" the red-haired girl's goggles disappeared. The cables all over her body disconnected and the pod shattered and its particles turned into a familiar Digimon.

"I want to know, please guide me." Maki continued as she carefully landed on the arm of the formed Digimon. The place became silent for a few second as Maki started to gain consciousness. She noticed that she is sitting in the arms of her Dianamon, Polymnia. She also realized that she is holding her digivice.

Now that she realized she just said something very embarrassing to the person she never wanted to show her weakness to…

"Aaaaaaaaaa! Niko!" She yelled loudly with blazing red face.

"W-what the heck? Why are you yelling at me!?"

"Youuuuuuu!" Maki tried to hit her, but Chibby quickly dodged for Niko.

"C-Calm down, you moron. We need to help the others now!"

"The others…?" Maki was flustered, though, when she was directed to look at the pods around them..

"Wh-what the hell?!" she said.

"Polymnia!" she continued as she pointed towards two of her friends.

"Rin! Hanayo!" she shouted.

The two girls raised their heads, though their eyes were still covered with the goggles.

"What are you two doing, wake up!" Maki yelled.

The two remain silent.

"I think you need to approach them one by one, Maki. You do that and I'll try to get the others!"

"N-Niko! Wait!" Maki said.

"Huh?" Niko turned around,

"Please, I want to know how you did it." Maki said.

Niko sighed softly, though she is glad that Maki would bother asking to her.

"Then, take a look at how I do it." She said as she floated to Rin first.

"Oi, Rin, wake up." Niko said.

"…nya….." she said softly.

"W-what the heck? Are you sleeping?!" Niko complained.

"No-nya…. I'm just wondering… is it fair if I do that-nya?"

"What? What is 'that' in your question?!"

"About taking action against someone who has been kind to us-nya." Rin said.

"The heck? That's not even your place to say something like that! No matter how long she has been kind, to justify an action that causes other to suffer is horrible! Also, she doesn't even want to admit her mistakes so why would you feel pity towards a person like that?!" Niko said.

"But, is it the same for the opposite? Can we say that someone is kind even though they have been bad-nya?" Rin asked.

"J-just! Stop thinking that way already! Come out and I'll tell you more about it!" Niko said.

"Will you really?" Rin asked.

"Yes! Of course! I'll smack your face with a law book if you want to." Niko said.

"Niko-chan…" Rin giggled before her pod scattered and turned into a caped Leomon wearing a hat and equipped with a long, sheathed blade on his belt. He landed first and caught Rin before gently letting her sit in his huge, strong arms.

"Leon…" Rin blinked after she regained consciousness.

"You changed." She continued.

"Banchou Leomon at your service! We will bring justice to all!" he said with a salute.

"Hehe! Leon! You are such a weirdo!"

"Rin!" Maki and her Dianamon landed nearby while Niko decided to busy herself with the other pods.

"Maki-chan!" Rin greeted her back.

"What was your dream?" Maki asked.

"Eh? Well, nothing much, really. I was just… walking around a dark place with voices echoing everywhere. It was pretty frustrating and I was so close to losing all hope until I heard Niko-chan's voice-nya."

"Me too, I had the similar dream. Could it be happening to everyone as well?" Maki asked.

Before Rin could answer, Hanayo landed with a fabulous Digimon Equipped with a rose-like helm, a thorn whip, and a slim sharp stick stowed. The digimon carried her tamer and placed her down gently.

"Hanayo-chan, are you alright?" the rose-like Digimon asked.

"Mary..." Hanayo tried to confirm.

"Yes, it's me, Hanayo-chan. You are fine now. I'll help you out with anything you need!" She said.

"Kayo-chin!" Rin jumped off Leon's arm.

"Rin-chan!" Hanayo replied delightedly.

"Kayo-chin! Are you ok-nya?!" Rin asked, full of concern.

"I'm fine. I was just a little scared since I saw nothing and it was pitch black until Niko-chan called me out and convinced me to get out. She gave me a solution to my doubt then I suddenly saw Mary evolving, probably because of my resolution to leave the darkness." Hanayo said.

"The same goes for us too. Thanks to her." Maki said.

"Yeah-nya. Niko-chan is truly our hero now!" Rin said.

Then suddenly, they can see a familiar long dragon-like and flower-like digimon appearing.

"Erena! Tatsuya!" Maki greeted them.

"Anjuu-chan… Neisha-chan…" Hanayo greeted them with a nervous gaze.

"That was…. a long nightmare. Thank goodness it's over." Erena sighed.

"Ah, Hanayo-chan! I'm really glad you are ok!" Anjuu said.

"Anjuu-chan! I'm sorry! I was—…!"

"Ssshh… It's fine. But look now, your digimon evolved. Rosemon isn't it? I'm sure she is ready to fight now!" Anjuu said with her sweet smile.

"Yes, she is!" Hanayo said cheerfully.

"I'm glad. It's just like what Niko-chan told me." Anjuu said.

"Anjuu, don't tell me, your doubt was about being unable to fulfill your responsibility?" Erena said.

"Hmm…and yours must be because you couldn't protect someone." Anjuu said.

"Hah, we know each other too well, huh?" Erena said.

"We surely do." Anjuu giggled in response.

As soon as they finished their banter, a shadow of a giant bird passed. Everyone looked up to the sky and saw a golden bird flying until it eventually lowered down to land.

"That must be…" Maki squinted.

"Suzaku-chan and Kotori-chan." Anjuu said.

Upon her landing, everyone heard Kotori's excited scream.

"Aaaaah! I finally have a Phoenixmon! Niko-chan is right! I should not have been afraid to choose! Life is a gamble and I've always found myself excited with new ideas so why bother thinking about my decision? Life always drag me to everywhere and I always somehow choose my path!" she said.

"K-Kotori-chan, you look very happy." Hanayo said. She realized that maybe her senior didn't learn anything at all, but at least she changed her way of thinking which somewhat work to solve her problem.

"Of course I do! I have always dreamt of having a Phoenixmon, but it seemed so difficult when I was alone back then!" Kotori replied.

Just before another commented about her Phoenixmon, a majestic, black, metallic digimon appeared. Instead of standing with four legs like it used to, he stood on two legs. He was equipped with a pair of canons on his back, one canon on his left hand, and a claw with a small beam attached the wrist of his other hand.

Most importantly, a familiar figure sat on his shoulder.

"U-Umi! D-Don't tell me?!" Erena smirked in surprise.

"Black Metal Garurumon X!?" Anjuu's eyes widened.

"W-where the hell did you get that X Antibody from?!" Erena yelled.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't understand. I just woke up and I can't quite catch up." Umi said.

"Umi-chan… how could you have an X-Antibody on your Digimon?" Kotori asked.

"Put that aside! I have seen Metal Garurumon-X, but never seen a Black Metal Garurumon-X in any historical record! There's only the normal one and—…!" Erena sighed heavily.

"How could you do that….?" She sighed once again.

"Now-now, it's not like Black WarGreymon X never existed. They exist so it's not impossible for Black Metal Garurumon to have an X-Antibody." Anjuu said.

"But still, my question is where did you get an X-Antibody from?" Kotori asked once again.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I know nothing about that." Umi said.

"I don't know about my evolution either." Yamato said.

Suddenly, all heard a piercing scream and Niko and her Phantomon flew down and quickly hid behind Yamato.

"G-God damn it! I failed to convince Nozomi!" she said.

"Huh?" Everyone turn their attention to the tower. They can see there's only one pod left with the shell where Eli it is kept.

"Wh-what the heck did you say to her?" Maki asked.

"I just told her to give up and accept the forgiveness Eli gave her. I mean, I bet that blonde will forgive her anyway! That's how it has always been!" Niko said.

"But she denied it?" Anjuu asked.

"Yeah. She said she doesn't deserve that much love then she started to get really angry."

"What a stubborn couple." Erena said as she witnessed how the pod broke while emitting a dark aura around itself.

Eventually, the pod turned into a big Digimon instead of two, like how they expected it to. A very angry turquoise armored, female-like Digimon with two pairs of gold devil wings, a flaming scythe on her hand appeared.

"Why can't she blame me? Why can't she hate me? I have no right to be loved that much. I have committed a sin that can't be forgiven. I have done something really bad and I shall be punished." a familiar voice is heard from inside the Digimon.

"Ophanimon Falldown mode…" Kotori said as she scanned the Digimon.

"Everyone, this is getting sour." Erena got on her fighting stance.

"Should we really fight her?" Hanayo asked.

"We need to somehow calm her down, let's try to just suppress her power, ok?" Anjuu said.

The fight started with Ophanimon FM bashing her fiery scythe on the crowd before her but each of the Digimon quickly picked up their tamer and dodged. Tatsuya made the first counter strike with his blade, yet it was parried and he got pushed back before a swarm of missiles from Yamato blasted toward Ophanimon FM.

Then it continued with Mary appearing and lashing her whip at Ophanimon FM, inflicting a severe poisonous damage on her. The next attack was made by Polymnia as she tried to stop Ophanimon FM from making another offensive attack, then it continued with Leon and Neisha unleashing their powerful attacks.

Despite not being able to make a single move, Ophanimon FM looked very persistent and remained aggressive. Everyone started to grow concerned as they watch their Digimon beating her up again and again.

"This is not looking good… it looks like Ophanimon FM has no plan on giving up." Anjuu said.

"At this rate, we might accidentally kill her." Erena said.

"There's something weird going on here. Nozomi-chan… has she really broken down into this emotional state before?" Kotori asked.

"Everyone has their own limits… perhaps this is hers?" Anjuu asked.

"To begin with, she was broken enough to kill someone's digimon. I believe that amount of emotion is enough to break her into this state." Erena said.

"But Ophanimon Fall Down mode… she is probably Angel's enraged form, right? If she is there, where's Lady?" Kotori asked.

At the same time Kotori asked the question, Ophanimon FM blasted a powerful burst of energy—a repelling energy that blocks all sort of incoming damage. She then soared up high in the sky and rained down some fiery shots, followed by a massive energy slashes that could cause the ground to break.

None of them were able to see where she might be so they decided to stay on guard until she is close enough to fight with.

"Niko-chan, do you have any idea how to stop her?" Hanayo asked Niko who was still trying to think of a way to stop her.

"And I wonder why it was her Angel that became angered?" Maki added to the question.

"Why, huh? I wonder too. I was expecting to fight with her Lilithmon. Also, I don't know how else we can stop her, but perhaps someone could." Niko said.

As she said it, the girls turn to look up towards the peak of the tower.

"But Eli-chan is pretty scary… I don't know if we can reach her somehow." Hanayo said.

Niko took a moment to think until she decided that perhaps, it is her job to do it. Even though she failed to convince Nozomi, she is very sure that maybe she will succeed in the next one. It's all because she wants to be useful She doesn't let her failure become an excuse from trying again.

Quickly, Niko flew up towards the tower. She had to dodge a few shots, but it's not a big deal for Chibby. He knows that this is the moment for him to show how much he can be useful, just like what Niko wants for him. He dashed and soared high towards the big shell.

"Niko-chan, this is where I'm being a hero, right? Everyone will see me as a decent Digimon, right? Then we will be popular, right?" Chibby asked.

"What the heck you are saying. It's nice to be acknowledged, but we shouldn't do this because of that sort of thing. We are useful because we want to help and make people smile, it doesn't matter how others will see it." Niko said.

"I see. Then, I'm happy to help and make people smile." Chibby said before he began to emit a powerful light. Soon, his body transformed into a slender, human-like figure.

"Oi-Oi, are you turning into Piedmon? That's no sur—…"

Instead of being the colorful clown-like Digimon, black and red color appeared on his clothes and ribbon.

"Wh-whoa?!" Niko's eyes widened.

"Black and red… just as fabulous as your hair and your eyes!" Chibby said.

"The heck? How could you turn into this anyway?"

"I don't know. But maybe it was meant to synchronize us as Tamer and Digimon?"

"I don't get it, but hey now, I won't say no either." Niko said before the two finally reached the peak of the tower and faced with the unconscious blonde. It seems that part of her body has been scrambled into nothing but transparent data while a creature behind her is in a familiar form.

"Eli! Eli!" Niko shouted at the stiff body inside the shell.

It doesn't look promising and maybe Eli can't be saved after all, but it won't stop her just yet.

"Oiii! Elii! Wake uppp!"

---

Back to where Honoka and Tsubasa are;

The Omnimon Zwart has been weakened enough. Sebastian and Ichigo remained very well-spirited even though Sebastian admits that he had quite a difficult time taking damage. Honoka's command has improved so much after she adjusted to Tsubasa's tactic.

Full offense is nothing like attacking without thinking; full offense is about to making as many attacks as possible with a very strategic timing and position. Tsubasa also practiced her Sebastian's counter attack, which is also an additional damaging method. Honoka still couldn't get the idea of that yet, but she is very sure that Ichigo will just do fine in this battle.

Omnimon Zwart began to show signs of tiredness while Sebastian and Ichigo were still at full power, thanks to their tamers.

By the time Sebastian and Ichigo were about to launch their next attack, a massive dark cloud surrounded Omnimon Zwart.

"W-what's going on now?" Honoka asked.

As the dark clouds faded, a huge purple dragon appeared, along with a woman standing on his head.

"Had enough fun yet?" the woman said.

"Heidi-san, you are back again! Please stop all this madness!" Honoka said.

"Madness? What madness? Everything looks right to me. You two fighting here and your friends over there fighting with the girl I raised." Heidr replied as she pointed towards the tower.

Tsubasa and Honoka quickly tried to take a good look at the tower. They both can see a big Ophanimon FM flying around while a few other Digimons attacked her. They don't quite understand what was happening, but…

"Well, they surely will get over it. I'm sure of it." Tsubasa said as she turned back to the woman on the dragon.

"Yes, we trust them and we will always trust them." Honoka said.

Heidr giggled and shook her head.

"How pathetic, to trust people who can't get over their own desire and have fallen into despair knowing they can't be fulfilled." She said.

"No one can live on their own, that's why they will have to work together, we should too but we know that there's someone we need to fight with right now." Tsubasa replied.

"Heidi-san, please, why do you have to sacrifice everyone just to awaken someone that will bring destruction? What benefit will you get from this?" Honoka asked.

"Sacrificing a thousand worthless souls to awaken one important soul is worth it." Heidr replied.

"But what about those who are related to the people among the thousands? Aren't you being too selfish?" Honoka asked.

"Me? Selfish? Not really. I care about how the people in this world feel, that's why I purged them all so that nobody can feel anything. For me, this world is a better place if nobody is telling me to give up on someone important to me. It's a payback time for those humans who demand others to sacrifice for their own ego."

"So you think people who think about humanity are wrong, huh?" Tsubasa clenched her fist furiously.

"Tell me, how many times have people told you to give up on your dreams just because they are bothered with it? How many times have people told you to not love what you love because they are bothered with it? How many times have people told you to stop doing what you desire just because they are bothered with it?" Heidr asked.

"Here is one big answer to all of your questions: WE-ARE-NOT-LIVING-ALONE." Tsubasa said.

"Yeah! I know what you are trying to tell us, but, no! It's not like they can stop us from pursuing something! If we truly want it, then we just do! We don't give a damn about what others think!" Honoka said.

"She's right. Make sure you got that right, crazy woman!" Tsubasa said.

"Crazy woman? Oh My. I wonder if my daughter will tell me the same thing. But enough chatter… I guess I'm getting a little bored. Let's end this story nicely, ok?" Heidr said.

"You are the one who will end your story! We will live on and continue!" Tsubasa said clearly.

"Heidi-san, if you want this to be a happy ending, please give up and turn all these mess back to normal!" Honoka said.

Heidr giggled at her request.

"Let's just see who will reach the end of story."

Then before Sebastian or Ichigo could make their first move, Lucy flew up to the sky and breathed a powerful beam towards them. The two Digimon quickly dodged and carried their tamers to place them at a safer location.

The purple dragon rampaged all over the area while Sebastian and Ichigo tried their best to make sure that both their tamers are fully secure. It was a hard aim for Sebastian since his attack is always nulled by the time Lucy uses the shadow orb to shield himself and then it was also a hard for Ichigo to catch up with him since he is a lot faster than he is. They tried over and over, yet none of their attempts were successful.

"What's wrong? Can't touch Lucy yet?" Heidr voice heard out of nowhere.

"How much longer you are going to dodge us?" Tsubasa asked angrily.

"To begin with, I have no intention of fighting you. If you surrender, then everything will be fine between us." Heidr replied.

"But we don't plan on surrendering! We love our world and we will not let people like you destroy it!"

"Why would you love your world? You said yourself back then that this world is boring and there's nothing much to do."

"I said it back then, but it doesn't mean I want to destroy this world!"

"Does it really? What if I tell you that if I could have this world, all you humans will be transported to the digital world, to the new domain that Eli created. Isn't that nice… to be able to live in a world where you won't feel pain and hunger." Heidr said.

"How could you call that 'nice' if life is as plain as a game?!" Honoka replied again.

"Besides, you took her away from us. How can we live in peace?" Tsubasa said.

"How ironic, you said that because she is already gone. When she was stil with you, all you said about her was she is being an asshole, right? All of you have no deep relations with her and the only person who cares about her is Nozomi."

"That's wrong! We don't care about others just because we have deep relations with them! We care because we do! It doesn't matter if anyone will take that the wrong way, I'm sure they will get it one day!" Honoka said.

"Have you really cared about others? All you do is chat with that person right there. You've been doing nothing but that." Heidr said as she diected her mocking smile toward Tsubasa.

"Th-that's true…" Honoka replied nervously.

"Let me testify: SHE-HAS-BEEN-OBSERVING-AND-REPORTING-HER ACTIVITIES-TO-ME." Tsubasa said.

"And what of it? What does it actually do? Nothing at all, right?" Heidr replied.

"It does something, you know. It enables me to understand the people around us. But hey now, before you become a witty ass again, I'll tell you something: Honoka might not be a good leader now because she is too easily distracted by events around her, but what everyone should see is the way she just deals with whatever she stumbles into, her spirit when it comes to dealing with everything around her. I bet none of us can beat that. She is my motivation to move and she is their motivation to move. She makes trouble? Doesn't matter, everyone will deal with it and she will too!"

"I still don't to see anything good about that… she is worthless." Heidr replied again.

"Let me guess, she is worthless because you can't make her fall to her despair? Or, perhaps, it's because she can't be manipulated? Admit it, Honoka has been doing nothing but her will and that's where she shines!" Tsubasa replied as she pointed a finger to Heidr.

"Tsu-Tsubasa-chan! I'm really touched that you said all that about me!" Honoka said.

"You're welcome, Honoka." Tsubasa replied proudly.

"Is that so? Then…" Heidr smiled before a very huge explosion is heard from all over the place. Everything around them scattered into nothingness and the world becomes dark. There were only a few strings of light and some junk data that may have come from everything that got destroyed.

But come to think of it, Honoka feels like she has been in this kind of place before.

"Let me tell you something about this place. This isn't where you meet my lover's image for the very first time." Heidr said.

"Huh? Wait… are you saying that…?" Honoka paused.

"Yes, the one you call as the absolute destroyer is just an image I created to cause this mess. It's bad for me if I use my own image. I can't infiltrate the officials if I do that." Heidr replied.

"W-wait wait, the one that I was wondering about is why your lover is a woman! I thought you had a husband!" Honoka said.

"Honoka, I have to disagree this time. The other detail is so much more important. It means that she is a singlehanded mastermind!" Tsubasa said.

"Of course, after all, humans have tried to murder my lover over and over. No one cares about her so I am here to avenge her." Heidr replied.

"All of this was because you were angry? Can't you even understand that they are just trying to protect themselves?" Tsubasa said.

"So you are saying its normal for those people to attack my lover blindly? You want me to understand that and yet you don't tell them to understand me? What a hypocrite."

"But destroying the innocents won't do any justice! You have turned everyone into a suspect and you punish them with an iron fist!" Tsubasa replied.

"Tsubasa-chan!" Honoka suddenly shouted.

Tsubasa turned to Honoka.

"Honoka, what's wrong?" Tsubasa asked gently. Honoka looked serious this time, but instead of making any offensive move, she bowed to Heidr.

"Heidi-san, I apologize on behalf of this world."

And right after she said it, everyone turned speechless. Even Lucy, Ichigo, and Sebastian stopped fighting to witness the very moment.

---

Back to where the tower stood;

Niko and Chibby kept on their task to awaken the blonde while the others kept fighting against Ophanimon FM. They have to say, this Ophanimon FM they are facing is truly relentless But, putting that aside, they still wish that she would stop so that they don't have to fight her again.

"Oi! Oi! Eli!" Niko decided to hit the shell, hoping that it will be heard.

"When will you stop being noisy?" said the creature behind Eli.

"Huh? I'm not talking to you!" Niko said.

"I told you, it's pointless. She is nothing but a fragment of data right now." the creature replied.

"I don't care! I'm going to try to wake her up over and over until she is awake!"

"What do you need? Why are you so persistent?" the creature asked.

"Someone important to her is crying inside! She needs to wake up and stop her from suffering." Niko said.

"What's your name?" the creature asked.

"Niko, Niko Yazawa." Niko replied.

"I'm Gullveig, the magician of light. I as—…"

"Cut-cut-cut! Who cares about who you are. Get the damn woman here to wake up! Nozomi needs her!"

"Yes, but—…"

"There is no but! I know you can kick my ass later, but for real, someone here is in need of help!"

"I see…then I—…"

"Ok! Good! Perfect, get the damn woman out. We are not going to waste our time anymore for bullshit!"

Gullveig rolled her eyes though, as requested of her, she unlocked the shell and let all the remaining fragments of Eli get dispersed into the sky to form a specific Digimon.

It was a Fox woman with silver hair, yellow helmet and armor, along with golden monk staff. Sakura petals scattered all over as she appeared and, just right after her form was completed, she dashed down to the ground with the lower tip of her staff touching the ground first. A beautiful magic circle appeared and light wind blew in a circle, creating the soothing atmosphere and sealing the time around them.

Those who were not inside were unaffected, though the only ones who weren't inside are the tamers.

"I-is that….?" Kotori pauses.

"Sakuya?" Umi asked.

Within a few seconds, the magic circle caused a massive explosion of light. It released the grip on its allies without any penalty but painfully blew up the evil spirit, Ophanimon FM.

The battle is over for them. Ophanimon FM is no more and on the ground were a young purplenette and a puppy like Digimon.

"Angel!" a familiar voice is heard from the distance, though all the girls are sure that it's not any of them.

A dark purple haired Digimon wearing a lovely traditional Japanese suit appeared. She has two pairs of black wings and one of her hands was covered with golden claws. She quickly ran to the puppy-like Digimon and hugged her close.

"Angel! Angel! Are you ok?" she asked, showing her most concerned expression.

"Could you be… Lady?" Hanayo asked as she approached them along with her Rosemon.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was hiding all the time." she replied as she still hugging the puppy-like Digimon.

"I knew it will come to this. Angel is always so supportive of Nozomi and she would follow her anywhere, even if it's against her own will." Lady said.

"And, here you are, hiding?" Niko asked.

"I know, I'm such a coward. I just can't get the idea why she was so angry with herself. I bet Angel shared the same feeling with her." Lady replied.

"I guess sometimes being selfish is not that bad. You get to ignore guilt." Maki commented.

"It's not that I don't feel guilty, I just feel like I've been used with a guilty feeling and was meant to be a sinful being. But as for Angel, and perhaps Nozomi, maybe they were very bothered with it and really couldn't forgive themselves for what they did." Lady explained.

"Well, can you wake her up somehow?" Kotori asked. Lady seemed to be in a doubt. She would love to do that but maybe someone else will do a better job. The one that they knew as Sakuya approached and she gently picked up the young purplenette.

"Nozomi… wake up…" a double voice was heard from the Digimon. Nozomi looked too tired to even open her eyes.

"Ericchi…" she called her name softly before she snuggled into the Digimon.

"I-Is it just my feeling or is Eli's voice mixed in with your voice, Sakuya?" Maki asked.

"Technically, I'm Sakuya but I'm also Eli. I have to be in her form for a while since Gullveig borrowed a part of my cyber body." the fox-like digimon replied.

"Borrowed?" the girls wondered.

"Yes, when I was there, Gullveig shared a part of her memory. I saw everything that happened." Sakuya and Eli replied.

"If you tell us about it, will it help us decide what we should do next?" Umi asked.

"Yes, it surely will." Sakuya and Eli nodded.

Everyone remained silent to listen while Mary decided to take her time and cast heal on the unconscious Angel.

"A long time ago, before the City of Memory was created, the Digimons live peacefully in the Digital world. Though, at one point of the time, they were discovered by a group of scientists who were persistent on using the digital world as a resource for humans. In order to fulfill their goal, they needed a power source and they searched everywhere, even in other universes. Their search ended when one of the universes accepted their proposal. They said: We have a living power source, she is immortal and no one can defeat her as long as light exists." Eli and Sakuya explained.

"And by that, they mean, Gullveig-nya?" Rin asked.

"Yes, It's Gullveig. That other universe offered her and these scientists took her and converted her into the power source for their project which eventually created the City of Memory. That time, Gullveig had no idea of how she got there and how her body started to scatter. Her power was absorbed and she couldn't even die in this place. It was tormenting, but she knew that, perhaps, this is what she deserved. She stayed in this place quietly and followed everything that she thought of as a lead until she saw me looking at her through the screen."

"So that's when she reached out to you?" Kotori asked.

"Yes, she told me that I looked like a capable person, that's why she quickly reached out to me and hoped that I can help her but, instead of doing that, she placed her influence on my cyber body and caused me to have a connection with her. It was all just an accident." Eli and Sakuya replied.

"So when you were in pain before…?"

"Yes, my arm reacted to her data. But she exists way inside the city of memory's server and the security barriers reacted to my connection with her and considered it as an unknown connection that needs to be annihilated. When we destroyed the City of memory, she was released, but there's still one more thing that she needs to be able to return to her universe."

"What is it?" Maki asked.

"She needs her power, which means she needs to take everything that she has fueled back. That Includes our Digimon." Sakuya and Eli replied.

"Ah—then… that means—…!" Hanayo paused. She doesn't want to spell it out.

"…you have to take Polymnia…?" Maki tried to confirm.

"Yes… every Digimon here is fueled by her power. That's why, back then, we were told that they will return to Digi-eggs and be placed back in the domain I created for them." Sakuya and Eli replied.

"But what about Heidi-san?" Niko asked.

"Heidr…. You say?" Gullveig asked.

"Yeah, that woman over there with a Shadowlord Lucemon." Niko said.

"Heidr is the one called 'Judge of Darkness.' Some may also call her the Goddess of the dark law, but that title was unfit to describe her. She is a benevolent being who does not side with the darkness within or outside… she is only there to use its power and everyones know that she is the only one who can fully bend the law of darkness to her will. " Gullveig explained.

"But why did she become so evil toward us all?" Hanayo asked.

"If you take it as mere evil intentions, then that's about it. But if you try to look through the light, you will understand another thing from her." Gullveig replied.

"Are you trying to say that, if we didn't give in to our own darkness, none of this would have happened?" Umi asked.

"I did not say that. Let me explain. Part of your understanding is correct—that you could've done something else when the light of hope started to dim—but I did not say that everything that happened would not have happened. To begin with, Heidr has always desired absolution from her sins and had always wished that someone will punish her for her most regretted sin. Everyone could be fall victim to her influence and it doesn't have to be any of you." Gullveig explained.

"Just like Nozomi…" Sakuya and Eli said.

"Yes, that's why, when she fell into the darkness, your girlfriend's feelings synced with Heidr's and they are equally angry with themselves. They hate that someone who is supposed to punish them decided to respond with love and forgive them so easily. Truth to be told, the absolution they should've sought is personal absolution."

"I agree with that. I really don't feel like I am a person who can punish her." Sakuya and Eli replied.

"But we've never know what makes Heidi-san so angry… I thought she was simply trying to manipulate-nya?" Rin asked.

"Did she say all that? That must be just bait for your anger to burn. Because no one punishes her, she wants someone to punish her by causing havoc." Gullveig replied.

"W-what? Doesn't that feel like she is trying to commit suicide? That's bad!" Hanayo said.

"Hmmph, it's not like she will actually die. As long as I exist, she will never die. But that also means that, perhaps, some of your Digimon are fueled by her power. It's no wonder if she can take control over them. Just don't give in to the darkness behind your desire. That's all she needs to take control." Gullveig said.

"Ah…those words…" Maki lifted an eyebrow as she realized the meaning of it.

"Don't give in to the darkness behind your desire…" Hanayo tried to think for a bit.

"Your Greatest Desire is what we need…" Umi reminded herself what she heard related to it.

"Now that makes sense. But what exactly is the darkness behind desire?" Niko asked.

"It's like desiring something so badly and desperately trying to achieve it without seeing what they should've passed through first." Maki replied.

"Blindly running towards a dream, is that what it means?" Umi tried to confirm.

"Pretty much…" Gullveig replied.

"Then, what should we do now? Should we return our Digimon to Gullveig?" Kotori asked.

"Not yet, it's not over yet. Someone needs to finish her so that we can return to where we belongs." Gullveig replied.

"Huh? Heidr is someone from your universe too?" Maki asked.

"Yes, that's correct."

"But why does she need to be finished? I mean, please tell us why! I would love to use a peaceful way if possible!" Kotori asked.

"The other reason why Heidr is trying to commit suicide was because she owns data that can be used to annihilate the whole data. There was a data that was trying to erase me back then and she had no choice but to devour it and cause a little chaos here and there to keep that data busy with other things. The Copy paste is also a trick that she launched with her own power to be able to slow that data's work. As long as she exists, the Copy Paste will never end and the data will try to work." Gullveig explained.

"A data to annihilate the whole data…? X-Data?!" Erena raised her voice.

"Then, the only person who can endure it is…" Everyone turned to Umi and Yamato.

"M-Mee…?!" Umi raised her eyebrow.

"No, I remember that Heidr placed two X-Antibodies. There must be someone else who owns the X-Antibody. It wasn't placed properly so that Digimon may also have problems evolving." Gullveig said.

"Then… Honoka?!" the girls said again.

"Whoever that is..." Gullveig said.

"How are we going to do this then?" Niko asked.

"When you finish her, I'll take her back to my universe and also return the world's state back to how it was before the City of Memory existed. Does that sound good to you?" Gullveig replied.

"Yes, that sounds good to us." Erena replied.

"It's too bad that Tsubasa-chan might get a little disappointed with this solution. She probably will go on and complain: why wasn't I given the X-Antibody?" Anjuu said.

"It's better this way so that she remembers her place. She can try to be her girlfriend, but she can't have her all for herself. Honoka also has best friends she needs to pay attention to." Erena said.

"Ah, before I forget. I need to tell you something about the current world we are in." Gullveig said.

"I noticed. You want to tell us why we have cyber body right now, right?" Erena asked.

"Yes, this isn't the real world. This is the copied real world. Heidr probably created this place just so she doesn't damage too many things in the real world. Even though I've always known her as a merciless judge, she isn't someone who would want to put the innocent in danger. She is really nothing like me." Gullveig replied.

"Nothing like you? But you look fine to us right now. I mean, you are not even close to the word 'evil.'" Niko said.

"I'm a very-very bad person. I'm not even worthy of love. That's why everyone in my universe tried to throw me away." Gullveig said.

"Their loss. Everyone has done something bad in their life, but it doesn't mean that they can't do something good. I'm sure there will be some people in your universe who love you for who you are, someone who actually cares about you even though they might never say it out loud." Niko said.

"Niko-chan, putting on false confidence is mean, you know?" Maki said.

"H-hey! I didn't even try to do that!" Niko replied.

"Really. It's only natural for people to hate one another, but if one truly wants to be loved, all they have to do is to change. Some poor choices might have been made, but it's not like picking the right choice is as easy as rolling the dice. It will be tough and it may be a little harsh, but it will be worth it." Maki said.

"Enough about that, I shall lend each of you my power to fight with Heidr… especially her." Gullveig turned to Nozomi who is still comfortably sleeping in Sakuya's arms.

"She needs all the light I can give to help keep her on track. Her desire is too close to Heidr's desire." She continued.

"But Nozomi-chan looks like she's sleeping-nya." Rin said.

"She will wake up soon in the most embarrassing way." Sakuya and Eli said.

"Embarrassing way? How is that? I never knew there was anything that can embarrass her." Niko said.

Sakuya placed the young purplenette on the ground, then she gently pressed her lips onto her forehead.

"Eeeeeeehhhh?!" the girls around them blushed madly.

"Oi-oi! It's not like we've never seen them kissing lips to lips!" Niko said.

"I've never seen that!" Kotori said. For some reason, it almost felt like she is sad because she didn't get to see them kissing lips to lips.

"T-This is getting shameless!" Umi said.

"Will that really wake her up though?" Hanayo asked.

Carefully, the young purplenette started to open her eyes. She was then scanning around the area and found herself surrounded by the girl's concerned stare.

"W-what's with that look?!" Nozomi said as she quickly stood up.

"Whoa, she really is wide awake-nya." Rin said.

Then Nozomi turn to the sight in the front of her. She swears that felt the familiar gentle lips kissing her forehead, but if the person who kissed her just a while ago is the Digimon in front of her…

"S-Sakuya!" she exclaimed.

"You are not allowed to do that!" she continued with a hard slap on her face.

"B-but… It's me… Nozomi." the fox-like Digimon said with her double voice again.

"E-ehh?! Is that you Ericchi?! What happened here?!"

"And she truly wake up in the most embarrassing way." Maki commented with a smirk.

---

Back to where Tsubasa and Honoka are;

Silence still enveloped the area. They have been staring at each other very quietly And, while Honoka was still bent forward, Tsubasa remained silent in shock. She doesn't even know what to do at this rate.

"Hmmm…" the woman began to smile wider.

"You think that everything would be over with a 'sorry?'" she asked.

"I know it won't, but please, at least understand my intention. I don't want this fight to continue. There are so many people in this world and they need their lives. A lot of us are also still looking forward to the future. I don't want this world to be crushed because of some people's mistake. If one harmed person can cause you to destroy this world, then I hope that one person's apology will be able to save it as well. Please forgive us. Heidi-san!" Honoka said.

"I have to say, this is extremely ridiculous, Honoka-chan. You are so simple minded that I could laugh all day thinking of what could be in your head. My anger will never die. I hated these people because they hated me and my love. For you—someone unrelated—to apologize in their behalf, it's ridiculous. Your apology is not accepted."

"But— if that's the case, why are you not angry at those people? Why do you have to destroy this world? This world where we live and this grow. It might not be exciting, but I'm sure that it will at some point. You led us through the darkness and, even though we might be still blind to the truth right now, I have a feeling that we have finally come to the point where we no longer walk on the same path. I have heard your points, but I don't see the reason why we have to destroy this world. " Honoka said.

"My reason is nothing more than: because they deserve it. All sins and desperations are worth it. How many have fallen into the trap? Have you seen those fanatics yet? They are so all over the awakening of an absolute destroyer." Heidr replied.

"Enough! Honoka, there's something more that we are mistaken about!" Tsubasa said.

"W-what is it, Tsubasa-chan?" Honoka asked.

"The Absolute Destroyer is not that one we call infant core… the Absolute Destroyer is none other than the person who created the image! She devours energy from people's desperation! No wonder she is very well fed! So, if we want to destroy the Absolute Destroyer, then all we have to do is to destroy this woman!" Tsubasa said.

"Very good! Splendid! I love those hateful words. Please, feast on me, will you?" Heidr said before Lucy the Shadowlord Lucemon disappeared into dark fog and was absorbed by the purplenette.

"Tsubasa-chan, please remember, don't be too desperate. You are feeding her too if you do that." Honoka said. Tsubasa smiled at her and immediately held the ginger girl's hand.

"Please hold my hand tight, Honoka. You are my power and I believe in you!"

"Yes! Tsubasa-chan! I will!" Honoka replied confidently.

Ichigo and Sebastian, once again, prepared to battle. They expected a new digimon to appear but they waited and nothing came.

"Where's your Digimon? Don't tell me that you will fight on your own?" Tsubasa said.

"To begin with, I've always been alone here. Lucy is just a Digital creation that I stole. I'm his puppeteer and everything he did is my will and anything he says is what I say." Heidr replied.

"Hah! Talk about narcissistic! That also means that you were appreciating yourself a few times now." Tsubasa said.

"Sometimes it's necessary to smooth out the lies." Heidr replied before she dashed forward. Her left arm was suddenly covered in black smoke and formed into a big round shield—it looked like a Dukemon's shield in a darker color. Before it reached Tsubasa and Honoka, Sebastian ran in to counter the power, pushed her back some distance away. Yet, by the time Heidr was in mid-air, her right hand became covered with black fog and turned into a canon. She shot it so quickly and, once again, Sebastian chose to take the hit.

Ichigo was on the other side and prepared to make his offensive move. He quickly flew and formed a tornado with his claws and, by the time he got so close to hitting Heidr who already stowed away both shield and canon, he began to feel something different inside him.

Something is reacting to her presence and he doesn't know what it might be. Could it be one of the side effects of that injected power-up she made for him?

Just as his claws were very close to Heidr's body, he began to evolve into a different War Greymon form. It's like something has changed him and he became more resistant to the weakening effect around Heidr's aura.

"War Greymon X?" Tsubasa's eyes widened.

"H-how did he suddenly change?" Honoka asked in her surprise.

"About time, Ichigo." Heidr replied with a smile.

"Heidi-san…" Ichigo called her name.

"Remember anything else?" Heidr asked gently.

"Yes, you are the one who created me and Yamato… But… why do we have to do this?" Ichigo asked.

"Your choice, you want to follow me or your tamer's heart?"

"I-Ichigo! Don't betray me now!" Honoka said.

"Yamato… that must be… that Umi Sonoda's Digimon?" Tsubasa said.

"Ah, yes, of course. It's her best friend's Digimon, not yours." Heidr replied.

"Like I care about that!" Tsubasa said.

"Oh, but you do. I can sense that little seed of darkness planted within your heart." Heidr replied.

"Tsubasa-chan! Don't listen to her! I don't even understand what exactly it means!" Honoka said.

"H…Honoka, you have a War Greymon X, A War Greymon with X-Antibody. Then if Yamato is Metal Garurumon X, then your Ichigo and Yamato can combine into an Ultimate Mega Digimon, the Omnimon X." Tsubasa replied.

"Oh…? So…? What does it exactly mean to you?" Honoka asked.

Tsubasa took a moment to think.

"You are right, it means nothing. Why do I feel like there's something in it?" she replied.

As soon as she finished her sentence, a group of girls ran towards them.

"Tsubasa!" Erena shouted.

"Honoka!" Umi shouted.

"Daddy team is here to support, so is the mommy team." Anjuu said.

"A-Anjuu! Can you stop with dad and mom things already?!" Erena said.

"It can't be helped… you two went first and called out to someone as if you are both worried daddies." Anjuu said.

"Either way! We've heard everything and we will settle this." Umi said.

"Heidi-san! We appreciate all the help you have gave us, but we know something about what you kept from us and we are here to complete that!" Kotori said.

"Please don't take this as hatred… we are not doing this because we hates you, but because we now know your true intention and we are willing to cooperate with your plans." Maki said.

"What's with that all of a sudden? Don't you think it's a lot more fun to do this out of hatred?" Heidr asked.

"Even though we have a reason to hate, we choose to not to. No one likes to talk about the bitter past. I forgave you and that's what will make me feel alive." Eli, in Sakuya's form, said.

"W-wait, Eli-chan?" Honoka wondered.

"Shush you, no time for details." Niko said.

"Heidr-san, you may have controlled my emotions, but I will not be as selfish anymore. I will not give in to the darkness you have shown me. I will live in the light and let my Angel free from the chains of my own ego. My Lady will be my voice of reason but she will never be the source of darkness she was born to be." Nozomi said.

"That's poetic!" Angel in her Ophanimon form commented.

"Shush you, Angel!" Lady said.

"You might have fooled me with your shade, but I now understand that I should stay on my ground if I'm being passionate to what I do." Hanayo said.

"Yeah-nya! Even though you confused me about what justice is, I began to understand what it exactly is as I kept thinking about you. It's not about equalities, it's all about what one deserves to have or taken away." Rin said.

After they said it, Heidr seemed to be a little weakened.

"Who told you to be kind to me after all I did? Who told you all that this is the way to weaken my power?" Heidr asked.

"We didn't fake it. We heard everything from Gullveig. Now we know that you truly have a good intention and—….!"

"I see. I see what you are all doing!" Tsubasa cuts in to Niko's sentence.

"Because evil causes darkness to get stronger, you just have to reverse it to cause the darkness to weaken." she continued.

"Gullveig… that loveless fool. You just ruined my fun." Heidr rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'll think positive about you now. Heidr-san, you are…" Tsubasa tried to think.

"Honoka-chan! Umi-chan! Here, use this! Nozomi-chan hacked this specially for you two." Kotori said as she handed Jogress card to Honoka and Umi. Honoka wondered what hack has been made, but she just has to say yes, right?

"Hurry up, Tsubasa is a fool when it comes to pretending. She is always straight forward." Erena said.

"How does that relate to anything…?" Honoka wondered.

"Alright—I can't find anything I like from you, Heidr-san!" Tsubasa said.

"Oh…"

"That's very reassuring of you. I don't mind though, I like it." Heidr replied with a giggle.

"So what are you going to do next?" she asked when her expression turned serious.

"Are you still going to complain about the fact that, perhaps, fate has deceived you?" Heidr said.

"Whatever do you mean?" Tsubasa clenched her fist. She swears to herself that she will try to endure anything that this mastermind might say.

The girls can see dark clouds beginning to appear again, surrounding the woman with differently colored irises.

"Umi-chan! Now!" Kotori said as she quickly handed a card to Umi.

"Reverse type evolution?" Umi said.

"Yes, you and Honoka-chan!" Kotori said.

"Understood. Let's go, Honoka!" Umi beckoned Honoka.

"E-Eh? Alright. Umi-chan! We will make Omnimon X, Right?"

Umi nodded before she used the first card—reverse type evolution. Her black metal garurumon X began to change its color and type, then she and Honoka have to use the Jogress card, but Honoka seemed to still be a little flustered as she look at Tsubasa.

There was something about this evolution, right? Something that may have bothered Tsubasa? She never state it and she did say that it means nothing, but…

"Tsubasa-chan…" Honoka called her out of concern.

Tsubasa remained silent.

"Oh how beautiful it will be for two heart to b unite into one powerful Digimon." Heidr's voice is heard from the expanding dark clouds.

"After all, Digimon are created through the tamer's heart. You are all lucky to know what your heart's form looks like. The Brave and Powerful War Greymon created from the endless spirit of his tamer and the Noble Warrior Black Metal Garurumon trained in most disciplined way by his tamer."

"Of course, there's the wise Phoenixmon who was finally chosen by her tamer's judgment, the graceful Rosemon who grew with the passion of her tamer, the rightful Banchou Leomon who was born to challenge the unfair along with his tamer, the scholar Dianamon who curiously learned day by day along with her tamer, the little Chaos Piedmon and his tamer who loves to be useful and make people smile, the twins who were born to fight each other yet chose to be loving towards each other, the natural-born tactician who holds the balance of the team, Sakuyamon and her tamer."

"We also can't forget about the protective Owryumon and his tamer, the obedient Lotosmon and her tamer who loves to hold responsibilities and, lastly, the furious Rust Tyranomon who is always on full offense, crushing every single thing that opposes his will."

"What are you saying? Tsubasa-chan is always agreeable!" Honoka said.

"Is she really? Or is it because your will is her will?" Heidr replied.

Tsubasa seemed troubled, though, when she felt Honoka hold her hand tighter, something lit her spirit back.

"Being in a young love might be one of the most beautiful things in this world, the freedom to choose what kind of relationship we want is one of its greatest point and to be able to sync with each other feels like you are destined to be together. At the same time, everyone knows that having a forceful partner is really troublesome, that's why some may try to avoid being in a relationship nicely and seek for an acceptable reason before it's too late." Heidr said.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand that at all, Heidi-san!" Honoka said.

"Well, it wasn't meant for you." Heidr said before she turned into a colossal Shadowlord Lucemon.

"Honoka! Use it!" Umi said loudly.

Once again, Honoka doubted as looked towards Tsubasa, but she has to do it. Ichigo and Yamato began to glow as they combined into one Ultimate Mega Digimon— Omnimon X.

By the time their evolution was complete, Heidr the Shadowlord Lucemon blasted a dark breath from her mouth towards Sebastian who seemed to have been weakened as his tamer became confused. She knows well what Heidr is trying to say and, even though she had been against her for a while now, the words she just said are somewhat true. She can't disagree, but she also can't agree just yet.

She has only been looking at Honoka and was determined to accept her however she is, but what about her? Has she looked into a mirror? Will it be fine for Honoka to accept someone like her? Perhaps what Honoka tried to do is, indeed, trying to softly reject her.

The attack that was close to reaching Sebastian was parried by Yamato and Ichigo in their Omnimon X form. Then the other Digimon began to make his move. Leon lunged forward and thrust his sword towards the colossal dragon, though his skin is very rough and it barely made a scratch.

"Sh-She is so tough-nya!" Rin said as Leon jumped back to her side.

Suddenly, Mary slashed her whip at Leon.

"M-Mary! What are you doing?!" Hanayo said.

"I—I don't know! My body is moving on its own!" Mary replied.

"The power-up, I knew there was something fishy in it." Niko said.

Then suddenly, a swift sword is thrown right next to Niko.

"N-Niko-chan! I didn't mean it!" Chibby said.

"Not you too!" Niko yelled at him

Then Polymnia suddenly kicked Chibby.

"P-Polymnia!" Niko yelled at Maki's Dianamon.

"Well, I always wanted to do that but it wasn't me who made my feet kick him." Polymnia said.

"Are these all the effects from that power ups she gave us?" Maki asked.

"I said it!" Niko said.

Angel and Lady appeared to be trying to hold each other to keep the other from attacking, It looked like two kids playing rough house.

"Ericchi, how do you feel?" Nozomi asked.

"Something is indeed trying to take control over my body, but I think this isn't a big deal. Try to cure us, Kotori!" Eli, in Sakuya's form, said.

"I-I tried to, but...!" Kotori pointed to the sky. Suzaku has been spinning around the air endlessly.

"K-Kotori-chuuunn... I'm diizzzyy…chuunnn!" Suzaku said.

The sound of Heidr's laughter echoed all over the place. She really enjoyed the chaotic scene.

"Yamato! Ichigo! There's no time to lose again! Just… kill her and destroy the X-Data!" Umi said clearly.

"Got it!" Ichigo and Yamato quickly made their move. He flew up and was about to thrust his sword against the gigantic head of Shadowlord Lucemon, but, before it could reach, Neisha appeared and set up a barrier to stop it.

"Neisha! What happened to you?!" Anjuu said.

"I don't know! I didn't mean to do this at all!" Neisha replied.

"Strange, Neisha didn't take any power up so it wasn't the power up that caused them to do this!" Maki said.

"Gggrraaahhh!" Tatsuya charged towards Neisha, pushing her away from the Shadowlord Lucemon.

"Why is everyone so messed up like this?" Honoka said when she quickly released Tsubasa's hand and jumped away to dodge Tatsuya and Neisha. Tsubasa seemed to be a lot more troubled when she realized that her hand was released.

"Tatsuya, you are too careless!" Erena said.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Tatsuya said.

"This is really bad for us, Honoka… we doubt we can fully make an offensive move. We can't risk killing our allies." Umi said as she helped Honoka get up.

Heidr the Shadowlord Lucemon flew up in the air, covering the ground with her shadow, and began to charge her powerful move. The magic circles above her wings began to absorb power from the area and the wind began to blow fiercely.

"Hey, Tsubasa!" Eli in Sakuyamon form called her.

Tsubasa is still silent. She had been keeping up with her surroundings but she still has no idea what she should do at this rate.

"Tsubasa, listen to me. Can you control Sebastian?" she asked.

"And what of it? Can I really do something here?" Tsubasa replied.

"Are you really thinking about the battle right now? I feel like you are thinking of something else… something that is not related to the battle." Eli replied.

"I'm really thinking of the battle right now. I told Honoka that playing a full offense means that we are looking for the right time to launch our attacks. I don't think I'm in the right position or the right person to make an attack right now." Tsubasa said.

"Why?"

"Simple… because if I do, I will harm someone. Ichigo and Yamato have tried to do it and, as you can see, Neisha was so close to taking the hit. If it was actually a powerful attack, I'm sure that she might have been truly harmed." Tsubasa replied.

"Is that really your only reason?" Eli asked.

"Yes, nothing else." Tsubasa replied.

"Are you going to do the same about your commitment?"

Tsubasa was surprised to hear her question.

"What do you think you should do as the number one person who cares about Honoka?"

"I don't understand. Why is this even related to that?" Tsubasa asked.

"Let me give you a hint. Your crush is about to make her move, but she has no opportunity to do so. Her friends are scrambled into a mess and one wrong move will harm them. She loves her friends, she doesn't want to harm them, but she really needs to make her move as soon as possible before we are all destroyed into pieces." Eli said.

"I See. I see where you are getting at. Even though this might be a move that she should do, I, as someone who is going to be committed to her, will have to support her with whatever I can do for her. I don't have to be fully involved in it, but a support is enough and this time, all she needs is the opportunity so I will create that for her! " Tsubasa said.

"Good thinking. I'm glad you got it." Eli replied.

"People will mistake me as a fool, but I'll call genuine effort! I'll show her that I'm going to be her perfect match! I'm going to show her friends, her family and everyone around her life that I—…!"

She took a deep breath. Sebastian also seemed to be back to full health. Honoka who had been watching from a distance smiled at her.

"Honoka! Focus!" Umi said.

Honoka nodded.

"Umi-chan, our opportunity will come." she said.

"I know." Umi replied.

Sebastian dashed and collected all the Digimon except for Omnimon X.

"Be gentle to Polymnia!" Maki complained.

"She deserves it. Everyone deserves it right now for being so easily controlled into fighting each other!" Niko said.

When Sebastian was able to collect them, she pushed them towards Eli in her Sakuyamon form. The Fox woman-like Digimon jumped high and bashed her staff down to the ground. The time stopped and everyone inside the circle couldn't move.

"Now! Honoka!" Umi said loudly.

"Let's go! Ichigo! Yamato!" Honoka pointed up to the gigantic dragon who was just about to finish channeling her powerful attack.

Omnimon X lunged his sword as he dashed without a single doubt. His sword pierced through the gigantic dragon's mouth and up to his head—a fatal blow to end all the darkness, and a mighty canon followed to create the brightest light as it crushed the dragon's body.

As the fragment of the Shadowlord Lucemon dispersed, another light shone upon the dark sky. Unknown Circles appeared under their feet and a fragment of life returned to one whose desire is a resurrection. The frozen time began to move once again with the romantic petals blowing all over the place without harming anyone. Along with the fading lights, all the Digital Monsters started to shine and reverted to their starting point, unleashing the bonds they have made in this short time. One by one they stole the chance to gaze into each other.

Will this be the end of their meeting?

"Splendid." the voice of the defeated echoed.

"It may only require one human to destroy the world, but it always requires more than one to protect the world." she continued.

"Please…"

"Enjoy this day as the day of victory and continue to grow the world with you tomorrow. May we meet again under the shade of life, unless you would rather stay above it…"

---

THE END

---

Alright, everyone, this is the last Fan Fiction I made. Again, thank you for the supports and love! I got 1 extra chapter for this and 1 extra for FITIS. I hope you enjoy them as well ^^

Credit:

-Love Live! (Obviously)

-Digimon World (1-2-3, Re-Digitize, Cyber Sleuth)

-Mass Effect

-Valkyrie Profile

-etc.