Digimon Adventure 04 Chapter 21: Counterattack Measures

By Bluestar076

And after a whole year of waiting and thinking, hello everyone! Bluestar here with a new chapter! Hard to believe that we are starting the twenty chapters, right? This story started four years ago, and we still are at the first saga, though to me that ages passed while a lot of things happened at the same time! Time can really flow when you don't considerate it! Like I said in the previous chapter, I wish I could take back the same pace I had back in the past years, since it's still a dear project to me! The reason I gave this little speech is probably because with this chapter we are starting the last phase of the first saga, and If I get focused enough, I should be able to complete it and maybe even start the next one. It's a result I hope to make while I work with the other stories as well! It made me sad to think that in the end I couldn't give the proper support to this story like I've intended when it started since going back to Digimon was hard, and more projects were born in the meantime. I still have some difficulties on going back to this series, but on the other side, I've felt like I've missed working on this story, and as such, I've promised myself I would have worked again this summer on 2023, along with other projects I'm carrying on. And so here I am, with today's chapter! This was supposed more like a filler chapter that was dedicated to one of the characters, but I've decided to make it more linked with what's going to happen next, giving it even more simultaneous scenes!

Before we start, I want to point out two things: first, sorry if it this chapter turned out to be extremely long, but it was something I wasn't expecting. I hope it can flow normally for you readers, since I tried to make the battle scenes as I always did, and second, if you remember, there was a Culumon that started to stay close to Norn in the previous chapters and I stated him as a male. But after considering things that will happen in the future, I've decided to change it and make her a female. In chapter 16 and probably 17, she's still gendered as a male. I'll try to correct it in the future, but now, her gender is canonically female. You'll see why in the future.

So, with this said, we can start the chapter and get back on this story! As always, I hope you enjoy it!

Note: I do not own Digimon. All rights and characters belong to Bandai and Toei Animation. Also, this is a fantasy story. All references to real people, group, places, laws, names and marks are completely casual.


Chapter 21: Counterattack Measures

March 1st, 2037. The winter was about to give way to the spring. Though, for the city of San Francisco and a small detective agency, that would have been a long and intense day.

It all started around 6.00 A.M, at the Rei Corporation, the company whose CEO was hiding a big yet still unknown project. That morning, Saiba Rei seemed to be more nervous than the usual. Usually, he was a man that, even in complicated situations, was able to maintain calm and find a reasonable way to deal with problems. But this time, the problem seemed to have gotten out of hand, as he discovered something unpleasant. In the room he was standing, Aleksi, Sigmund, Koichi, Jake and even David Eligor were standing, but it was his Digimon partner who noticed his stress in the first place. So, he appeared and came closer.

"Is there something troubling you?" He asked.

"…It appears that the Komodo Brothers were taken out as well." Saiba answered. He heard of the news not only from the newspaper, but also by the fact that their signal on the computer was lost. By hearing that, the others slightly widened their eyes, since at this point, a news like that could have been worrying.

"Is that so? The big dudes are out? Well…what a sudden turn of events. Those guys were left undiscovered for eleven years and now that small agency manages to capture them. I guess we did underestimate them even too much…don't you think boys?" Jake asked to the others.

"Yes…I agree…" his partner, Orochimon, replied.

Sigmund grunted at the idea that Kumo was still getting more victories, while on the other hand, Aleksi didn't seem to be bothered. "I could expect so. Me and Sigmund know one of them, and we know how stubborn they can be. Still…at this point, this problem is now bigger than ever, right?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. With them gone, there's only eight of you left at my service. Most of the mercenaries I've hired to take down that agency have been defeated…and I've haven't heard news about Yuuko Chitose since the last days. And with this, they now have most of the USB keys that are needed to get inside Somnus's skyscraper…For the first time since years, things ended up differently than I've expected…" Saiba replied before standing up at the window and look outside.

Much like the other times, he could see most of the city from that height…the city that he had monitored for all those years and that now had become one of the theaters of his grand designs. For many years he focused on obtaining enough energy to get the potential he needed and for a long time, he seemed to have gotten his way until the children of those people he knew showed up. For the third time…they've instilled doubt in his mind. "…And here I thought I could simply see them as a text. I thought that they couldn't get any way to interfere with me…but it seems that they are deadly serious with all of this this…I never should have left them walk free and maybe I should have been more careful with Sykes Connor when I've hired him. The fault for this is also mine…" He thought. Still…a glimmer of persistence was still present in his heart. His ambition didn't seem to falter not even seeing these types of result. He couldn't give up after making that promise at the grave of his father. After all…he was doing all of this to commemorate him and all those like him. Thus, he clenched his fist, showing frustration but also resolution.

"No…there's no way I could doubt my actions…not now that I'm so close to my purpose…the completition of the Perfect Cube is almost finished…at this point…it may be not possible to take down the Cheshire Cat Agency with these ways. I'll probably have to deal with them myself sooner or later. For now…it is better if I focus all of my resources on completing that source of energy. Just a little more…and all of my dreams will be accomplished…I just need to act quickly." He thought later.

Once he felt calmer, he could turn around and tell his intentions to the others as well. "There is no need to panic. We still have hope. Now that the Perfect Cube is almost complete, all that we need to do is to gather what's left to make it whole. Thanks to the efforts of everyone, we just need to walk a little further and our deal will be done. I'll get what I want, and even if you don't manage to take down those of the Cheshire Cat Agency, I'll pay you the reward I've promised. Though I think you won't abandon your original goal. I'm sure your pride would be scarred if you fail."

"You can bet it!" Jake said with a smirk.

"I've been a killer for a long time by now, and surely those guys won't let me step back. I also have my personal opinions to do so." Koichi added before giving a quick look on the vials he was hiding inside his jackets."

"I don't know him, but I can't help but agree. I've promised to make Kumo Ishida pay for what he caused. I may not be a mercenary at all, but I still want to pay him back with the same coin." Aleksi said.

"I do have a score to settle with him. I can't wait to crush his and those other guys' heads!" Sigmund added.

"So…what should we do, then?" David asked.

"Cassidy Monroe, Nui Kishibe and James Belmod are searching for other Digimon in this moment. When Aleksi and Sigmund here had taken Volcanicdramon, we could get a lot of energy that accelerated the completition of the Perfect Cube. If we could capture someone like that and drain their energy, the cube would be complete." Saiba suggested.

"That doesn't seem a bad idea. Do you have any ideas on who could we use?" Fla Wizarmon asked.

"This is the problem…I don't have a particular choice…and trying to find it would take too much time…" The CEO of the Rei Corporation answered. He started to think of possible ways, but he had to do so quickly. Now that things have turned out this way, there wasn't any time to waste.

It was in that moment…that he had some sort of revelation…thinking of one of the Cheshire Cat Agency's past battles…when something unexpected happened. Maybe…that was the remaining key he missed…to get his purpose. This made him turn towards David. "…Eligor…if I'm correct, you witnessed the battle between Aisu Yagami and Mario Gemini, right?" He asked.

"Yes, Mister Rei. What about it?" David asked.

"You said that at a certain moment, the girl that was with Aisu released a strange energy…she was Norn Mikihara, the daughter of the police's leader of San Francisico, right?" Saiba continued.

"…Yes…" David answered, understanding where his client was going.

The grin that formed in Saiba confirmed those thoughts. The 50 years old man didn't have that much to say and decided to do something that he had never done before or considered to do.

"Aleksi, Sigmund, Jake, David. You know what to do."

Aleksi, Sigmund and their Digimon partners widened their eyes, since they understood as well. As much as they wanted to take personal revenge on Kumo, they didn't consider an idea like that. "M-Mister Rei…are you sure?" Aleksi asked.

"Didn't you say that you agreed with Koichi before? If you are like him, then you should know that the client is always right. Don't you think?" The older man told him with a sudden cold tone that was enough to make Aleksi go quiet. That was enough to make him understand that one single objection or mistake could have been fatal for them. Even Sigmund started to sweat from his head.

"…As you wish…" They simply said. To make them feel calmer, Jake came closer and gave at both of them a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Come on, you should know that Mister Rei here doesn't accept other answers…that's how our world works! If you want to survive then just stay quiet and stick with what you have been given. Easy and simple to understand, don't you think?" He said with a friendly tone.

Aleksi and Sigmund decided to not talk and move towards the exit with him in silence (they actually didn't like this guy attitude but saying it wouldn't have probably changed anything).

Saiba then turned to Koichi, giving him orders as well. "You two focus on getting more Digimon, like the others. It's all for now."

The two mercenaries nodded and left as well, leaving only Saiba and his Digimon partner in that room. "This is a risky move. Are you aware of that?" The Digimon asked.

"More than you could think. But…if it can help us to the fulfillment of our purpose, then I'll be happy to do so. We can consider it a double cut blade. On one part…it could be the last piece that will complete our puzzle and make us reach what we want…but on the other hand, it could help that agency to get us exposed to everyone and our hopes would be reduced to almost none. It's a risk that I'm ready to take…sometimes to achieve a goal, you must make foolish choices…especially when you're this close to the end." His partner explained.

The Digimon could see a slight change on Saiba's attitude, seeming now more impulsive…but it was understandable, and he actually admired that gest. For him, this was what made that human being special…his willingness to follow his ambitions in every way that can be considered possible, so he made a grin as well. "You never cease to amaze me Saiba…I'm sure that this reasoning is the right one. After all…it's just like you said…just a little bit more…and our quest will be over."

Once again, now that he saw an opening, a solution, Saiba didn't want to admit that his ambition was the wrong one. For many years he was seen as someone who opened the gates for the future, and he wanted to maintain that vision for everyone…but in his own way. Nothing would have made him change his mind until he could see with his own eyes that what he did was wrong or not.

"Even if I have to take my own hands get dirty and become the most gruesome of criminals, my goal will remain the same. I've already defeated Taichi, so if Cassidy and the others won't be able to take them down, I should be able to handle them all by myself. Both my victory and my defeat are one step away…but I'm sure that the closest one is victory. I won't disappoint you…father." Saiba thought, while focusing on his next target that would have helped him.

Norn Mikihara.


At the office of the Lion Fang Agency, back at the Radiant Garden, there was a bit of movement, mostly because something unexpected but pleasant happened.

"Very well! With this, your registration is officially valid. Welcome to the team, Taiyo Mabushi." Shark, the leader of the agency said, giving the new entry his welcome.

"Thank you, Shark! Man…a whole detective agency that operates in the Digital World…this is new even for me…" Taiyo commented.

"And I assure you that you two will be fine here! There are just a few of them, but they certainly know how to work here." Kyoko told him.

"Aaaah, I can't believe we finally have a new entry here! It has been so long since we've founded this agency and I feared we would have remained just a trio! But look at this! We now have someone else! And he's even a boy! Prepare for a lot of jokes, Taiyo boy!" Shizuka immediately told him.

"Yeah, she can be quite hyperactive! Get ready for it!" Her partner, Sistermon Noir added.

"The idea certainly excites you, Shizuka!" Cheri noticed before turning on her partner. "I wouldn't be so surprised if she started to flirt with him. She's talking about wanting to have a boyfriend for a while by now." She whispered with a smirk.

"E-Eh!? Isn't that too soon!?" Sistermon Blanc exclaimed, embarrassed.

"What are you talking about, you two?" Paledramon asked.

"NOTHING!" The white Digimon shouted.

Shark then looked at Kasai and Kyoko, who were the ones that presented Taiyo at the agency. "Guess we must thank you, girls. I would have never thought of a present like this." He spoke.

"We wanted to help someone who just got transferred and since we are in good bonds, we thought this could be the chance." Kasai told him.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you as well. Does that mean that we'll get to work together more often?" Taiyo then asked at Kasai.

"Possibly..." She said, seemingly to like the idea. Veedramon immediately noticed that.

"Hm?" He wondered.

In that moment, WereGarurumon, Shark's partner opened his eyes and looked at the members of the Cheshire Cat Agency. "Speaking of which, you girls said that apart from presenting someone, you've taken an important decision. What's about it?" He asked.

In that moment, even Shizuka, Cheri and their parents turned around by hearing that. The Lion Fang Agency was affiliated with the Saiba case for a while by now, so it was only natural to hear if there were any important updates by then.

"Yes. It was actually something that Kasai suggested. And we thought that it could be the right moment to think about it." DORUgamon replied before turning on the girl with the pink hat. Soon, all eyes were on them.

"You've got their attention now, pal." Kyoko told her with a smile.

"What about it?" Taiyo asked.

Kasai took a deep breath and then fixed her hat. "It's something I've thought for some time last night, and I wasn't so sure about that. But...considering that we've been seeing some satisfying results now, I don't think we should wait any longer. What I mean is…maybe is time we think about a more direct attack."

Everyone was surprised to hear this. "You're saying that you want to settle things with Saiba Rei? Are you sure about it? That barrier on Somnus's skyscraper is still active and unless we get our hands on all the USB keys, we won't be able to do that much." Shark asked.

"Oh, we won't exactly try to directly attack him from their base at Somnus…rather more…messing up with them and leave the big guy out of guards. For the past months, he tried to take us down by throwing at us several mercenaries. So…I think it's only fair we pay them back by being the trackers this time. It's something we've started to work about it these days and now it can be a more appropriate time to do an all-out pursuit to Saiba's henchmen!" Kyoko explained better.

"Uuuuh! I understand what you're plotting! And I like it!" Shizuka confirmed.

"Then I suppose we'll have to get ready to a lot of fights from now on. In that case, count me in as well! Now that we're allies it's only fair, right?" Taiyo added.

"Well…you've heard them." Shark concluded.

"What are we going to do?" WereGarurumon added.

"OH YES! They seem to agree, Kasai! Guess it's time for us to shine again!" Veedramon commented. Kasai looked at everyone with a neutral face at first…but then she lowered her head and smiled.

"Thank you, guys…"

"She's starting to become more open…or is it me?" Kyoko noticed before turning on the others. "Very well! Thanks for the support! In that case, we ask you to follow us! Once we'll heard news from Yatsura, we'll start to form our strategy!" She then announced. Everyone nodded and used the local computers to dive back to the real world. Things were slowly starting to change, as the group of young detectives was about to turn the tides in a definitive way. Maybe the decisive battle was about to take place…though before that, they had to conclude some things to be more subsided.


It was a tense moment for Yatsura…but as a detective, she knew that this was her job, to make people safer, and that would have meant even in a psychological way. For her, this was absolutely the first time that she tried to help someone deal with personal issues. In that field, she was more the helped one. But she knew that, even if they were talking about a past enemy, she was still a person that needed help. So…she would have tried her best.

And for that, Yatsura was finally there…right in front of the Real Chitose Estate, the place directed by Yuuko's father. The girl was trembling and sweating, but she tried to maintain a stable form. Though ExVeemon could immediately notice her anxiety. "Are you sure about this, Master? We can ask someone else to do it-" He proposed, worried.

"No! I can do it, don't worry about it! I need to help others as well, it's part of my job! I can do it!" Yatsura answered with a surprisingly determined tone, even though she was still sweating.

In that moment, they could see Yuuko coming out from the building. "You came, Yatsura…good morning." She said, making a small smile.

"That's right! I've wanted to keep my promise so here we are. Is your father here?" Yatsura asked.

Yuuko nodded. "He's on the last floor. This is usually the time when he's in his office without particular dates or events. We can talk with him."

"Then let's do it..." the other girl concluded and followed Yuuko through the ground floor of the building. While walking through, she could see many employees work on various affairs to sell houses with even their Digimon partners standing alongside them. She even giggled to see that even their Digimon were wearing a suit.

At the end of the floor, there was an elevator that they used to reach the last floor of the building. Since it was a pretty tall building, they had to wait some minutes before reaching it.

The two girls and the Digimon remained silent for some minutes. But soon, the young Chosen Child started to feel uncomfortable with that much of a silence (Even if she got used to get silenced every time). Still, she tried to make a conversation, starting with something she could notice. "Say…Yuuko…judging from what I saw…it seems that your employees do a lot of work on their affairs. You give the impression of a productive Estate so…how is it that you're on a crisis?" Yatsura asked.

"Well…the reason you saw them working hard is because of this. We are doing our best to make sure that our earnings go back to the way they were last year…and since that…our father started to become more concentrated on his job…" Yuuko explained.

"But…how did you end up in this situation?" Yatsura then asked. "Considering that you are a renowned Estate, it's kinda strange to see you in a situation like this…"

"It all started a while ago…it all started because of an affair. My father was about to sell a huge mansion at the director of an important electronic corporation. At first…everything seemed to be fine and the deal was about to be completed with the payment. But right in that moment…my father and him started to argue. Judging from what I've heard, my father started to complain about the fact that the purchaser was taking too much time to make the payment and the person in question started to argue back, mentioning that the Estate was starting to complain about how they were beginning to harass him continuously for the deal. And in the end, this guy decided to cancel it, and since then, they started to lose money, due to the bad advertising…and the exits started to surpass the entrances on our contracts. Due to this, everyone made sure to conclude as more deals as possible to regain everything we lost in the past months…still…I could see everyone stressed…" The former mercenary answered.

Yatsura looked down and sighed. "To the point that your father is ignoring your mother's conditions…gosh…that must be a lot to pass through it…you really were desperate, right?" She spoke.

"Yes…All I wanted was that my family returned the same as usual…but in the end…I've ended up doing something even worse…" Yuuko said, looking at the ceiling of the elevator.

"I know…we all do stupid things…I do a lot of them in the first place! But we still have the choice to correct what we've done, just like you're doing…at least you seem repented for what you've done. So…let's see what we can do with your father. And in case…we'll make sure that you'll find a way to clean yourself from your mistakes! As detectives, we need to make justice one way or another!" Yatsura said with a wink in order to make her feel better…and herself as well.

Yuuko seemed to like that. "You guys are weird…but I kinda like that attitude of yours. Even with Tsuna I could see the same thing." Once she said this, Yatsura made an annoyed noise for a moment.

"Master?" ExVeemon asked.

"IT'S NOTHING! It's nothing…" The girl justified her, and before they could ask more, the elevator ringed the bell and stopped, meaning that they arrived.

"Oh…we have arrived…" Yuuko said with a low voice.

Yatsura came closer and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're ready? I'll help you, but you'll have to try to convince him as well like never before! Also, because I still need to work on my charisma…" Yatsura encouraged her.

"Well…the fact that you are willing to help me is already something for me…if you're so unsure, at least you can be proud of being my comfort-friend!" Yuuko answered with a giggle.

"Yuuko! Did you just make a joke?" GeoGreymon said from her Digivice.

"Oh…I didn't even notice…maybe you're starting to contaminate me…" The girl commented with still a giggle. Yatsura could notice that, even if she was about to comfort her father…she was still calm. Maybe her presence was actually making some change in her. Something that she didn't expect…but still made her happy.

The elevator's doors opened, and the two girls were finally at the last floor of the estate, inside the CEO's office. To make things more formal, Yatsura decided to put ExVeemon inside the Digivice. Once everything was set and done, the Chosen Child looked at the other girl with a small smile and both started to proceed.

The two girls had to pass through a small corridor that led them to a two-door which they opened it. The office itself had a medium width, with brown tile, two large cabinets that held important files, taxes and documents regarding the estate. At the center of the office stood the director's desk, colored in grey with black handles with a small bulb, various tools such as pens and erasers and some papers scattered around. And then…they could see him, sitting on the chair of the desk.

A man with extremely long black and wavy hair, black eyes and a slight beard wearing a black suit jacket and tie over a red shirt and black shoes. The man seemed deeply focused on reading the papers he had on his desks, until he heard someone coming closer. As soon as he raised his head, he could notice his daughter and another girl in front of him.

"Uh? Is that you Yuuko?" He asked.

Yuuko came closer and made a small bow. "I'm happy to see you in good health, father." She quietly spoke.

The man simply nodded and looked up to Yatsura, who was clearly nervous. "Who's this? A friend of yours?" He asked.

The Chosen Child sweated a bit and her lips trembled, but she still made a step forward. "Ok, Yatsura, no more holding back. We're talking about helping a person, even if you're the worst example out of it! So, take a deep breath…and go." She thought with all the good intention. She then took her distinctive and showed to the man. "I'm Yatsura Hida. I'm a member of the Cheshire Cat Agency."

Hearing that made the CEO get alarmed a little, as he slightly widened his eyes. "A detective? What is the meaning of this!? I can assure you that there's nothing illegal here." He exclaimed, going on defensive.

Naturally, Yatsura panicked and started to wave her arms in denial. "No no no! Please calm down, the estate is not under investigation!" She exclaimed. "Way to go as a start- you picked the wrong start!" She thought to herself.

"Then what is it?" The man asked, feeling a bit calmer, but not too much.

"You see…I came here as a friend of Yuuko. She…wanted to discuss with you about something." Yatsura replied, looking at the girl, who seemed ready to talk about it.

But…even before she could say something, her father blocked her. "There's nothing to discuss. I already know what you're planning to do. We've talked about it too many times by now. We can't do nothing at the moment!" He exclaimed, already explaining his position.

Yuuko got scarred and demoralized, but at this point, she got used to it. Several times…she was forced to hear the same thing over and over again. To the point that she was brought to do something by herself. And yet, the answer didn't change. Why?

"If this is all you came from then I need to ask you to leave. I cannot waste other time." The director continued. But right in that moment.

SBAM!

Yatsura slammed her hands to the table. "Mister Chitose! You'll listen to us now!" She exclaimed.

"Uh!?"

"Yatsura?" Yuuko asked.

The Chosen Child was still sweating and breathing heavily. Even she didn't know how she was able to react in such way…but the behavior that director was showing was something she didn't appreciate at all.

"What do you want!?" The director was surprised, but he stood still on his position.

"I can understand how you must feel. All this real estate and everything you have been built for years might be ruined one day, but this is absolutely not the way you can treat your family! I can't stand it!" The girl protested, showing a rare tone from her.

"What do you want to know!? You think you can talk for our family!? You, a complete stranger!?" The director continued.

"I talk as a daughter that cares for her own family and as for someone that is trying to help your daughter feeling better! You don't have any idea how she had been through during all this time! I know that everything is going bad, but you can't just ignore what's happening to Yuuko's mother! YOUR OWN WIFE! Do you really not care at all for her!?" Yatsura continued with a more decisive tone.

Yuuko looked at Yatsura in silence. She was surprised to see that someone as shy as her brought up all of that. But she couldn't hide the fact that…it was the right thing to say.

Even the director looked up at her in silence for some minutes. "…Ignore her? Is that what you really think, girl!? Do you really think that for these two years, I didn't think of something to do for her!? Everything I'm doing now is also for her!" The director exclaimed in turn, surprising Yatsura. In fact…he could remember it well…that car that went too fast and hit her wife…the wheels that didn't stop and the legs' bones that started to go down. Fear, panic, and the clinging to hope…he could remember all those emotions.

"I still have that livid image in my mind…that idiot that was too busy to look the status on his TikTok profile that he couldn't notice that we were passing through the street…and my wife had to pay for that by getting hit on the legs! I was furious! But I couldn't do much. And then…that controversy with the electronic company director…from then on…things went down. We're lucky if we're not on the brink of bankruptcy! I've tried…so many times to find the perfect occasion to have the right money to pay the rest of her operation, but nothing worked out! And I can't ignore the situation our company, the story of our family, is living on this moment! Believe me when I say I'm doing my best! But I can't, more than helping my beloved Yuzuriha, I'm helping our whole family to not die on the street!" The director continued, but then…

"THIS IS ALL A LOAD OF BULLSHIT!" Yuuko suddenly shouted out.

The director felt stunned and a bit outraged, while Yatsura looked in silence. After that shout, Yuuko was breathing heavily and then raised up with her eyes full of tears.

"What did you say, Yuuko!? Do you really think this is not true!?" Her father continued.

"It's not ENTIRELY TRUE! You're the CEO of the company…you know better than me how things work, and you know that you actually have the money for mom's operation, but you don't want to use them! And you know why!? Not because you're trying to raise the company, but because you're too proud to admit that you always did a horrendous job!" Yuuko continued.

"Yuuko! How-" The director wanted to protest, but her daughter wasn't letting him do so.

"SHUT UP! LET ME TALK FOR ONCE!" She shouted. A deathly silence followed before she could continue. "Ever since you've started to handle the company, you've started to depart from both me and mom…and I could understand that! But then, the idea of handling a company got over your own senses, and you've started to get too proud to even let a single mistake happen! If we lost money because of that single deal gone wrong, it's your fault!"

"My fault!? He was taking too long on the payment! How can you say-" Once again, the director tried to defend his actions, but Yuuko interrupted him.

"He had to get back on some of the directives of his company! He was forced to delay the payment!"

"Wha-!?" The director exclaimed. "How…how did you know?"

"…A former schoolmate of mine was the daughter of an employer of that company. When she heard about the thing, her father told her the reasons…and she told them to me." Yuuko replied. "True…if I said this, we would have solved the situation much earlier, but you weren't going to listen! This because you were too proud of admitting your own faults! You always were! You…you stopped to be the loving father I once knew…the one who used to take me from school…be in my birthday parties…comfort me whenever something bad happened…at this point, the only friends I had left were GeoGreymon and Nui…but I couldn't stand the fact that mom couldn't have walked anymore…since you didn't want to help…I've wanted to solve the things…t-to the point that…" She started to flinch, but she needed to tell the truth, hoping that it would have worked.

"TO THE POINT THAT I'VE STARTED TO COMMIT CRIMES! I'VE STARTED TO KIDNAP DIGIMON FOR A MAD MAN!" She shouted, out of shame and frustration.

At this point, the director was bewildered. "WHAT!?"

Yatsura was saddened by this, but she turned to the director and nodded. "Yes…she was hired by someone to kidnap Digimon for their own purposes and even backstabbed and harmed a member of our agency. I've tracked her down and defeated her a few days ago. She was…desperate…because of this." She answered.

At this point, the director didn't know what to say. "Yuuko…is this true?" He asked.

Full of regret, Yuuko nodded. "He…Saiba Rei…promised me that he would have paid me the right amount of money to save my mother. And as an idiot…I've even dragged Nui into this. Only now…after getting almost killed…I realize the stupid error I've made…Yatsura here and the rest of the Cheshire Cat Agency were kind enough to forgive me…and help me out to try and make you reason. I…I know how the fate of this corporation hurts you but…I just want things to go back to the way they were before…I just want my father back…I want my family back. I've ended up done a horrible action…and I'll be ready to accept any type of punishment they'll give me. But before that…I wish to make you reflect…"

For the first time, the director seemed lost. To her daughter admit that she had committed such thing it was something…absurd…normally, he would have been bewildered and a bit upset but…he felt comprehensible somehow. He could see it in her eyes. That sole expression made him understand that she was indeed sincere. And…it made him think about Yuzuriha.

"…I know that I shouldn't talk about it, as I'm barely an acquaintance of your daughter but…even if she harmed a friend of mine and tried to take us down through the order of Saiba Rei…she's sincere in her feeling…and I can understand them. There are times I'm not on the same wave as my parents…but if something happened to them, I would be the first one to do something. As a lawyer, my father always told me to stand up for those who need support, especially when they're suffering. He told me how he lost my grandfather when he was little and how that feeling persecuted him for the rest of his life. And…even if it's not something as severe as that…I'm sure that neither of you want things to get worse. True, since she did her crimes, we'll have to get some measures done, but at least…I've wanted to help her. And I'm not the type of comforting people! But…I felt like she needed this." Yatsura then explained.

The director remained silent for a few minutes…and then he started to tremble. "…Is…is all of this true?" He asked. Yuuko simply nodded. "…I…I can't really give you all the blame for it…it's also my fault." Her father continued. He started to tighten the grip on his legs. "…No. You're right. I admit it. It's all my fault. It's just that…ever since things went bad…I knew that there was still some money to save that could have been used from Yuzuriha's operation. But the fear of seeing the family company crumble scared me…and I was too proud to admit it. And because of that…my wife…my family suffered." He continued before starting to tear up. "I should have been closer to you. I could have avoided all of this if I just admitted my own fault. I didn't know the story about the electronic director because I've only wanted to finish the deal. I…I failed you, Yuuko. Now I know it. I just…don't know where to go if we lose all of this."

Seeing his mood change…and what seemed to be a sincere repentance, Yuuko came closer and held his hand, making him raise his head. "We'll find a way. Plus, I don't think we'll go to bankruptcy for just an operation." She said with a small smile.

"You can still do the right choice. And you can start with the family as a whole again, Mister Chitose. I'm sure they'll understand." Yatsura added.

"Please…call me Yamashiro. It's the least I can do…thank you for trying to help us. Even if…we don't deserve it." The director told her, revealing his name.

Yatsura couldn't help but make a little smile. "No problem, Yamashiro. That's what we detective do!" She replied. "Eheh…somehow it all turned out well! Maki would be proud of me!" She thought. She could see from her Digivice that ExVeemon was giving her a thumb up.

"You're free to not forgive me, Yuuko. I just want to let you know…that I'm sorry." Yamashiro then said.

"Well…we shall see for that. I also have to say sorry to many people." Yuuko answered.

With that settled, Yamashiro's mind was set. "…You know what?" He then took some banknotes from one of the handles and started to move out from the office. "I'll head to the hospital right now. Tell my secretary to take the place in my absence. I'll go and…fix my errors. Once again…thank you." And with those words and a small smile…he left.

"It…all worked out…" Yuuko commented, happy to see it.

"Eheh. What did I tell you? Personally, we of the Cheshire Cat Agency have some experiences with talking out to our parents." Yatsura said all proud…but a second later, she looked elsewhere with a dull face. "And…I was able to help even despite…being me. Seriously where the hell did that charge came from-?" She wondered.

Yuuko looked at her confused. "Do you always act like this?" She asked.

"Of course! I mean, what could have happened if all went wrong? I don't even know if it was the right choice to-" As always, Yatsura started to show off her paranoids, and just as expected…

"Urusei Yatsura! Don't start off, please!" Yuuko stopped her in time.

"WAAAH! STOP WITH THAT JOKE!" Yatsura cried out.

But either way…Yuuko felt happy. "But say…do you really think that…someone like me could actually do the right thing? Even after all I've done?" She asked.

"Hmm…as I said, I'm not the best person to ask something like this but…I don't see it as entirely impossible. Sure, you've helped Saiba in whatever plan he's plotting but…you showed regret and you're ready to pay the price. I'm sure things will work out one way or another." Yatsura answered her with a little smile-

For Yuuko, this was already a big news, and as such, she smiled back. "Thank you…"

"And remember that in any case, I'm here to support you as always!" GeoGreymon added from Yuuko's Digivice.

"Way to go guys! That was really mature coming from you, Master! I'm not gonna lie!" ExVeemon said from Yatsura's Digivice. The girl naturally felt embarrassed by that comment.

"Oh, come on, ExVeemon! I can bring out something good as well! Remember the other day!" She exclaimed.

"I know, I know! Now that we settled this, it's time to pass to the next phase, right?" The blue Digimon then asked, making his partner nod.

"Should i…come with you?" Yuuko asked.

"Yes…you could actually give us some help…after all, you were one of his minions, right?" Yatsura replied. "Much like Kasai suggested, it's time we make the first move now." She added with a resolute stare.

With that, the two girls left the real estate and went for the agency, where the decisive strategy would have been decided. It was time for the counterattack.


It was still early in the morning at the city of San Francisco, around 9.00 A.M. But time wasn't something important for the Cheshire Cat Agency. An important topic had to be brought on the table, and as such, all the members had to be present as soon as possible, something that they knew well. That story had gone for far enough, and they still didn't know what exactly their enemy wanted. But surely, after all the efforts done, the truth was almost at hand.

All the members of the Cheshire Cat Agency were sitting on the main living room of the agency. Even the members of the Lion Fang Agency, the commissioner Sion, his daughter Norn, Yuuko and the original group of Chosen Children were with them. Even with their advanced age, they've wanted to help somehow.

As soon as everyone was in there, Kyoko opened her eyes and gave a look to all of them. "First off, I really want to thank you for coming here and stick up with us for so long. Your help was fundamental in the progress of this case, and if we arrived at this point it's also thanks to you." She started.

"No need to worry. Even if Saiba is an old friend of ours, we surely can't support someone who wants to hurt our family." Her mother, Sora, replied, making Piyomon nod.

"Plus, you know that some of us got your back! It's always a pleasure to help our children!" Shiro added, mentioning her job as a spy for them.

"If everyone is here, I suppose that everything is ready and set, then?" Shark asked, giving a look at everyone.

This made Kasai nod. "Yes. It's time to talk about the counterattack plan. If all goes correctly, we should be able to even reach the crux of the matter and stop Saiba." She replied.

"We still don't know what his ambitions are, correct? This could give us some difficulties…" Takeru spoke.

"No need to worry, dad. The plan also consists on getting at the Rei Corporation. With some more effort, we should be able to find the place where Saiba holds his secret. But let's start with order. Rikka?" Kouta replied before referring to Rikka, who made a step forward.

"As you know, Saiba Rei had tried to get rid of us by hiring several mercenaries who directly attacked us while he took over the government skyscraper in Somnus, which should help him in the creation of a device called 'Perfect Cube'." She started to explain.

"Speaking of which, do you have some idea on what would that be, Koushiro?" Mimi asked. But the red-haired man shook his head.

"Unfortunately, not. But considering that he had to steal energy from Digimon, I assume it's some sort of energy collector. What helps us is the fact that it's not ready yet. If we reach it in time, we should be able to dispel it completely." Koushiro explained.

"Exactly, dad. And, luckily for us, by hiring mercenaries and trying to kill us as soon as possible, Saiba ended up exposing some pieces of his plan. First off, he gave to most of his henchmen a special USB key that gives permission to enter inside the government skyscraper of Somnus even with that barrier inside. Some of the mercenaries we fought got arrested, others more ended up dying and one of us here decided to help us." Rikka continued, winking at Yuuko, who felt a bit embarrassed. "The efforts we all made let us get nine of these USB keys. With four more of them, we should all be able to get inside from the barrier. We have the certainty that it can be deactivated from the inside. That's what we're going to do. Luckily for us, we know most of the remaining mercenaries left, all we have to do is find them, take them down and get their keys."

"And how we're gonna move? I'm interested, seriously!" Daisuke asked, making her wife giggle a bit.

"You really didn't stop your hunger for action, eh?" Hikari asked.

"You even ask?" Veemon jokingly replied!

"Eheh! That's the good of being a detective after all! Right, Kabuterimon?" Rina asked to his Digimon partner.

"Well, not all the times." Kabuterimon replied.

"This is how we're going to move. With the help of Rina, Mistress Shiro and Norn, we'll try to track down the mercenaries we know, and most of the members of the agency will search for them, taking them down and get their keys." Chikara continued before turning on the members of the Lion Fang Agency. "If it's not too much for you, we would like to ask for your aid in this." He then asked.

"Naaah, no need to be formal! We came here for this purpose after all!" Shizuka told them.

"We've looked at each other's back for a while by now, after all." Cheri added.

"Thank you…then, a small group of us will try to sneak directly inside the Rei Corporation and find out the truth about his plan and why does he want to get his hands on this Perfect Cube. This will be Kouta, Toriko and Tsuna's job. I'm sure there's some secret spots where he hides something crucial." Kyoko continued.

"Sure! You can count on us, right Starmon?" Toriko asked to his Digimon partner.

"Absolutely." Starmon simply replied.

Naturally, Tsuna clenched his fists and made a large smirk. "Eheh! I've been waiting for this occasion!" He exclaimed.

"Just don't create a mess there. Remember that we can't be seen publicly." Kouta told them.

"Yuuko, you'll go with them. By pretending that you still work with them, you'll help Kouta and the others get inside." Kyoko added.

"I don't know if Nui will be happy for this…I hope she'll understand." Yuuko commented. "Count on me as well."

In that moment, Kyoko turned her head on both Taichi and Ken. "Mister Taichi, Mister Ken. I would also like to ask you to make the story public in your offices. At this point, we can't let Saiba act in the shadows any longer. We need to also act on the legal part. With our documents and reports, you should be able to perform everything correctly." She explained.

"This will surely create a fuss everywhere. But at this point it's the only thing to do." Ken commented.

"I know, Ken. Saiba used to be a dear friend of mine, but even if I'm not the guy I'm used to be anymore, I can't stay here while doing nothing. After all, he gravely injured me and wants to kill my two girls. I wouldn't let this happen." Taichi replied.

"Now we're talking, Taichi!" Agumon added.

By hearing that comment, Aisu added while Kasai tried to look elsewhere. "Now, there's no need to add that thing, dad!"

"Good grief…"

"And in the end. Once you've finished your work shifts, the remaining group of Chosen Children will scatter around for the city and give support in case Saiba decides to give more attacks." Kyoko concluded.

"It will be a bit embarrassing to walk around while making our Digimon fight…that is, if it happens." Iori commented.

"It will be just like the old times, don't you think? I still remember that one time you saved me with Armadimon, you know…" His wife Teto told him teasing him a bit.

"Ah yes! I remember it well!" Armadimon added.

Naturally, Iori felt embarrassed. "I-I don't think this is the time to talk about that…" He spoke.

"This is pretty much the plan. If there's someone that wants to add something, this is the perfect time to talk." Kyoko then said. It was in that moment that Sion raised his hand, gathering everyone's attention. "Mister Sion?"

The police officer stood up. "First off, I want to compliment with you all for coming up with a plan like this. It may not be perfect, but I can see the improvement in this agency ever since it had been opened." He commented.

"N-Now, Mister Sion, no need to adulate us…" Kyoko said, feeling flustered, making the other members look at her with a sceptic face.

"And it's also for this reason that I've decided to call someone to aid you in finding out those mercenaries." Sion continued before looking at the main entrance, making everyone curious. "You can come in!" He exclaimed.

In that moment, another man came in from the main door and approached the other people in the main room. He was a man that was around the same age of most of the former Chosen Children, standing around 175 cm. He had spiky black hair, black eyes, a bit of beard on his face and was wearing a red shirt over a black jacket, a pair of black pants with thin white stripes and black formal shoes. The man looked up at everyone with a serious stare before presenting himself. "Good morning, everyone. I hope I'm not disturbing."

"Uuuh, he has style, you have to say it…" Shizuka commented.

"Who's this?" Kumo asked.

"His name is Robert Zepheris. As soon as I've talked with him about this whole deal, he insisted on joining the operation as well." Sion explained.

"How so?" Aria asked.

Hearing that question made Robert look down. "There's…something I need to do with one of them. Long story." He simply said.

"Ok…? If you don't wanna talk about it we'll just have to see it for ourselves, I think! Well, I guess we've pretty much said everything, right?" Sasuke then asked to the others, who nodded.

"You got it, brother! It's time for the counterattack!" Tsuna answered.

"I can't wait to see everyone in action! Although I think I should go. I have the transmission in half an hour…" Mimi added.

"When all of this will be over, we'll make a giant cake for everyone!" Palmon added. Naturally, this got the attention of some of the Digimon.

"YES PLEASE! CAKE!" Veedramon exclaimed.

"Veedramon! Have some tact! Although…I wouldn't mind having a piece as well…" DORUgamon told him with a bit of saliva in his mouth.

"Well, most of us have something to do at this point, I think." Yamato commented before standing up. The other Chosen Children confirmed it. But they surely didn't want to forget what they had to do. And they clearly showed it with one last salute.

"Be careful out there, ok?" Akane asked to Kouta.

"Knowing him, Saiba won't let you go for any reason." Takeru added.

"So do your best!" Patamon concluded.

"No need to worry. I have BaoHackmon here with me. And as you can see, we are a lot of people." Kouta replied.

"With something like this, there aren't many possibilities for us to fail!" BaoHackmon added.

"The same goes for you, my precious darling." Duke said to Aria, looking at her with a caring smile.

"Fais-lui voir ça!" Catherine added, saying 'show them what you've got' in French.

"Absoulment!" Aria replied with a smile with closed eyes.

"I didn't understand anything, but leave this to us!" Growmon added.

"Well, it's better if we should get going. But I'm sure you two can do it. You're my daughters after all!" Taichi said to his two daughters while holding Mimi.

"I don't think you need to know the answer." Aisu replied with a smile. "Right, Kasai?"

"Yes. I surely don't want to disappoint anyone here. I think it's time for him to learn his place." Kasai replied while holding her hat.

Taichi and Mimi couldn't resist but gently stroke both of them. "These are my girls! Then good luck. Make sure to be as brave as possible, ok?" Taichi said to them.

"And pure!" Mimi added, winking. "And remember that everything, we'll always be there for you." She then said with a caring tone.

Kasai in particular, felt that. "Thank you, mom…"

"Then we leave! Good luck everyone!" With those words, Taichi and the rest of the Chosen Children left.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Still, Jou needed to add something, making both his partner and his wife facepalm.

"OH, COME ON DAD, YOU KNOW IT!" Chikara shouted out.

"It seems that nothing changes, eh?" Kumo commented before looking around and seeing that the only people present now were the members of the Cheshire Cat, the Lion Fang ones, Norn, Yuuko, Shiro and the police member Robert.

"Eheh…please try to forgive him. He always had been this paranoid." Shiro bowed down to apology.

"N-Now! No need to apologize like this!" Yatsura told her, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"To think that I would have got the chance to meet all the Chosen Children of the past…I don't know, it's almost like meeting some stars." Shark then commented while standing up.

"Well, some of them ended up being famous one way or another." His partner, WereGarurumon told him.

"Eheh! That's what you get from being friends with us!" Kyoko added.

"I guess that we have everything ready then?" Taiyo asked then.

"Affirmative. Kouta, Toriko and Tsuna will now move towards the Rei corporation, while the rest of us will split up into two large groups and search down the remaining mercenaries." Rikka replied.

"Considering that they're close to the completition of the plan, I wouldn't be surprised if they would move out in group. But in any case, we'll have our personal group to help us." Kouta added, looking at their 'researchers'.

In fact, Koushiro and Tentomon were the only pair of the original Chosen Children who remained there. "Eheh, well, after all the mess I've made, it's the least I can do to redeem myself." The red-haired man commented.

"You didn't do nothing wrong, Koushiro! Not this time, at least!" Tentomon told him.

"TENTOMON!"

"Actually…" Norn then spoke out. "If possible, I would like to do the research from home." She then requested, surprising the others.

"Is there something wrong?" Yatsura asked.

"Well, remember that Culumon you've rescued a while ago? Since she didn't know where to go…I've tried to bring her to my home. She's not my partner, but she feels comfortable when she's around me. Both my parents are at home, and she still feels afraid at being alone." Norn explained.

"Oh, you brought that little girl at home?" Rina asked, surprised.

"She's a female-?" Sasuke added, a bit confused.

"Well, in case no need to worry! Besides, with the receiver we gave to each one of you, we'll be able to contact each other anytime and anywhere." Rekka answered.

Norn appreciated it and made a small bow. "Thank you. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye to each one of you." She spoke. With those words, she left.

"Sometimes it's hard to understand her. Oh well…as long as she helps us, it's all accepted." Kasai commented.

"Does she talk like this with anyone?" Taiyo asked to Kyoko.

"Indeed. But she's just her being. She's actually a big softie." Aisu whispered to her. But her sister could hear her and looked at her with an angry sign near her head.

"I've heard you."

"Well…" Shizuka then stood up with a jump. "I think we've pretty much settled everything! For real this time! So, how about we start?" She asked.

"As far as I like that will to work as well, we still need to find out where they are. From there, we can make the groups and go." Toriko told him. As an answer, Shizuka winked, letting him know that she got it.

"Don't worry guys! I'll make sure to track them as soon as possible. Considering that we know most of them, it will make things shorter." Koushiro answered.

"True…we still don't know most of them. But after all those enemies we took down, I doubt there will be more on his reserves." Aria commented.

"Let's not underestimate them. We all know what that man is capable of. Especially considering that we still don't know the identity of his Digimon…" Chikara told her.

"Hmm…the HADES entity…I wonder what that means…" Leomon wondered.

"Well, in any case! I'll assure to give him one big punch!" Veedramon answered. "What do you say, Kasai? Do you feel pumped up?" He then asked to her partner, who gave a look at everyone, who seemed fairly hyped up. Much like when they started, even after everything that happened, it was great to see that no one lost their will to do their job. Sure, she wasn't really one to say that, as she joined the agency just two months earlier. But…the conviction she had the day earlier remained. She…felt glad to joined all of them. They were a bizarre group, that was for sure…but they were good friends. This made her have a more serene smile and fist bump with Veedramon.

"Yes…let's do it, Veedramon."

"That's my partner!" The Blue Dragon exclaimed, happy to hear that.

"Yes, and let's hope that nothing bad happe-" Yatsura showed off her doubts, but as natural…

"URUSEI YATSURA!"

"WAAAAH! STOP IT!"

In the meantime, while getting back on their jobs, Taichi and Mimi were able to make a piece of road together. And the woman thought of something.

"Say, Taichi…did you notice it as well?" She asked.

"What?" Taichi replied.

"Kasai…she seemed more serene than usual." Mimi told him.

Taichi thought of it…and in fact, she could notice it as well, also because she didn't call him 'old man'. "Yes. I think so."

Both Agumon and Palmon smiled at that, since they knew what would have happened. After all, they could have seen it 38 years earlier with both Taichi and Mimi.


Luckily, the answer came in pretty soon and in just a couple of minutes, the three researchers were able to track down most of the mercenaries' current position, and much as expected, some of them went on the Digital World. Since the Perfect Cube was probably almost complete, they just needed a little bit more of energy and the plan would have been completed. One more reason for the detectives to start an attack. This was the reason why Kasai, Aisu, Rekka, Aria and Yatsura, alongside Shizuka, Cheri and the policeman Robert, ended up in a sandy area situated in the Prince Server of the Digital World.

The group was following the directions of Shiro, who remained at the agency and used one of the computers to give them directives and information.

"Oh dear…this area gives me the same vibes of the Orphan Wolf Canyon…and I don't like it!" Leppamon commented while walking around.

"At least there's more of us now! Plus, it's not like that time ended up bad for us! Well, except for the fact that we needed to stop a little girl…oh God. I hope she's ok." Rikka told her.

By hearing that, Robert raised his head and turned to her. "A little girl-? Does that mean…?" He asked.

"Yes. Saiba was able to corrupt her in doing his favors. We had to arrest her that time, since she still tried to kill us, but she was able to get into a rehabilitation course while continuing with school. Her parents surely weren't happy about it." Rikka replied.

"Absurd…to think that he would have gotten so far…" Robert commented.

"He's using everything to get rid of us ever since we discovered that he's plotting something…even corruption." Rikka said.

"That's…pretty sad to know…I always saw him as a respectable man, I wonder what made him act like this…" Shizuka said.

"Well, what can I say? At one point, money makes everyone crazy." Sistermon Noir said.

"Come on, it can't be only for that! I mean…not for someone like him!" Growmon told her, while his partner sighed.

"Well, we're getting closer to the end, so he'll be forced to spit out everything sooner or later." Aria commented while looking around as well.

In the meantime, Kasai proceeded with Veedramon and looked forward. "Are you sure that this is the right way, Mistress Shiro?" She asked.

"100% sure! I've spotted three signals that are situated at least a few meters away from your current position." Shiro answered from her position.

"Still…I find it strange that there are so many mercenaries are in a group, now that there are just a few. This is the first time we see three in a row, isn't it? They've always been at least one or two" Aisu commented.

"I'd say that they want to make sure that the plan goes correctly at this point. With all those defeats, we surely made a mess in their ranks!" Cyberdramon added.

"But Saiba is still one step forward…still, if we manage to take out all for of them, we'll be the one with the upper hand, right?" ExVeemon asked hopeful to the others.

"Eheh, that's the intention!" Yatsura replied. And then, in that moment, Cheri spotted something.

"Uh?"

"What did you see?" Kasai asked. The question made Cheri point forward, where she could see a few buildings in the distance.

"A few buildings made out of stone it seems. Are we close to a city?"

"Hmm…maybe it's one of the many villages that are located in the desert. In case they're hiding in there, we'll need to make some extra efforts in finding them." Robert commented.

"Well, nothing that we can't do! We did something similar a few days ago in the town where we fought Yuuko and Ludwig! It does look similar to that place as well…" Yatsura answered. "What should we do?" She then asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We go in there!" Aria replied before Rikka told her to stop.

"Yes, but let's be careful. We don't know what they could have prepared." She advised, making everyone nod.

"True, true. I still need to get used to that…" Aria commented.

With those words, the group headed towards the small town, and they could see how was it called thanks to a small sign.

"Hmmm…'Kowloon'? I've never heard of it…" Yatsura commented. She seemed relaxed, but on the other hand, Rikka and Robert winced for a moment.

"Wait…that Kowloon!?" Robert exclaimed.

"What is it about?" Kasai asked.

"Yeah, we don't know much about it. Is it that bad?" Aria asked while looking at the others. Even Shizuka and Cheri seemed unaware of it. But surprisingly, it was Shiro that answered for them.

"Not entirely, but it's surely a dangerous place! It's a meeting point for a notable number of criminals throughout the world, with most of them using Digimon for their deeds. Many people that are persecuted by the law usually get in there to take a break or hear about something that could fill their pockets. Some of them even ended up living there! And to think that it was just a place full of sand once…"

By hearing that, even those who were unaware of it got slightly alarmed as well.

"And the position you've got before…" Kasai asked to be sure. And to her surprise…

"Yes. It tells me that they're right in that small town." Shiro replied. By hearing that, Aisu sweated a little.

"No way! Does that mean that we need to get in there to find those three!? One wrong move and we'll end up facing a myriad of criminal that's impossi-" Yatsura started to complain as always, but she ended up getting a punch from Aisu. "OUCH!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Yatsura! We can't say it for sure!" Aisu told her before turning on the city. "Still…it will be hard to get in without getting discovered…" She commented. It was in that moment that Robert made a few steps forward.

"For that, I may have an idea." He spoke, making the other curious.

"Uh? What is it?" Rikka asked.

As an answer, Robert showed off his Digivice. "Let's just say that my partner has a thing that can make everyone at ease." He replied with a small smile. In that moment, the digivice made him get surrounded by a purple aura, and from it, a small Perfect-Level Digimon came out. He seemed like a floating ghost wrapped up in a grey coat with a red hood. Two blue eyes could be seen from the blackness of the hood, and he had a chain around his neck with an eye that was also linked to a golden scythe and a mace with a golden eye drawn on it.

Once he was out, the Digimon turned around and greeted everyone. "Ih-ih-ih! It seems that it's my turn now, eh?" He asked.

By looking at him, Yatsura shrieked a bit. "Aaaah, I don't like him!" She commented.

"Master! Don't sound rude!" ExVeemon told her.

"I know, it's not the first time someone tells me that, but I can assure that I'm good! Although I do like making some pranks sometimes like…THIS!" The Digimon answered before making a loud noise at Sistermon Blanc, who cried out.

"AAAAAH! COME ON THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Calm yourself." Robert said to his partner before turning to the others. "This is my Digimon partner, Fantomon. He's an expert in sneaking and knocking everyone out. With one of his techniques, he should make the job easier for us." He then explained.

"I've heard your discussion from the Digivice. Who knew we would have finished in such a place! But don't worry! I have the perfect trick to use for situations like this!" Fantomon added.

"You really can take all of them out?" Aria asked. The question made Fantomon laugh.

"Ih-ih-ih! Never underestimate an expert! Leave this to me!" With those words, he started to float towards the town and slowly disappeared.

"Eugh…he's a total ghost…" Growmon commented.

"But he seems reliable at least. We can only hope that this idea works out." Strikedramon added.

"Speaking of which…" Aisu said while coming closer to Robert. "We still didn't get the chance to thank you, Mister Robert. It really means a lot to us." She told him.

Robert smiled back. "It's nothing important really. After all, I've done this job for years. For some people I couldn't protect, and as such, I surely can't ignore some colleagues that need help, right?" He spoke.

Aisu thought that there was something deeper inside that sentence, but she let it pass for the moment. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. But still…the curiosity remained.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Shizuka asked.

"Fantomon will use one of his tricks to get rid of every criminal in that town. Once the road is clean, he'll probably send up a signal to make us come closer. It will be in that moment that we'll get in and find Saiba's mercenaries." Robert explained.

"Knowing them, I doubt they'll fall easy for a surprise attack." Aria commented.

"In that case, all we have to do is to face them by ourselves. Like we always did." Rikka told her with a convinced smirk.

"Yes! Plus, have you seen the big group we are! I can even surprise someone with my ninja tricks!" Shizuka added, all excited.

"EH!? You're a ninja!?" Yatsura exclaimed.

"Well, not really. She knows some tricks she read in a book." Cheri explained better. This naturally didn't please the sister.

"AH COME ON! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING!?" She shouted out.

"This reminds me of someone…" Rikka commented to his partner who nodded.

"Indeed…" Leppamon replied.

While all of this happened, Kasai looked at the city alongside Veedramon.

"You've heard them. I'm ready to kick some asses!" The blue Digimon said.

"A plain and simple plan. I like it. Although with three of these guys, it won't be easy. Oh well…it doesn't matter." Kasai commented with a smile.

In the meantime, Fantomon was floating around the town to check the situation. While doing so, he became invisible to make sure no one could see him, and once he reached the place, he could witness a rowdy scene.

At the center of the town, there were Cassidy, Koichi and James Belmond, who ended up getting rid of several criminals that laid down on the ground defeated, alongside their Digimon. Fantomon was surprised a little to see all those bodies lay down on the ground. He could see with his own eyes what those mercenaries were really about, even if more criminals were coming closer, angered to see their quiet place getting invaded by some people who didn't want to learn their places.

But Cassidy and Raptordramon weren't surely scared by this. "Eheh…they surely don't want to quit. Just as I should have expected." Cassidy commented. "But I don't care about it. I was getting tired of living here, anyway."

"Heh, I like your spirit. But are you sure we can deal all of this? They're starting to get numerous." James asked while his partner flew above him.

"I'm not afraid of them. They don't represent a danger for me. I could continue for all day." Koichi replied. Duskmon, on the other hand, prepared his two demonic swords.

"Agreed. I'm not done here."

In that moment, a taller man with a white beard and a jeans jacket, accompanied by a big golden rhino Digimon came closer, visibly annoyed.

"I've had enough! Who do you think you are, punks!? Here in Kowloon, the law always remained one: never disturb the others! If you really intend to take the power, you have to be ready to face the consequences!" The old man exclaimed, ready to face them.

"Don't think I didn't learn that. We're respecting that law. The only difference we're almost done with our client's job. And unfortunately, all of you can be useful for that." Cassidy said with a sinister smirk before licking her knife.

At this answer, the old man felt even more angry. "I've had enough! RHINOMON!" He ordered.

"I GOT IT!" Rhinomon got the order and started to charge against them. "Atomic Burst!"

Raptordramon promptly answered the attack and charged as well with his massive body. "Crash Charge!" To the old man's surprise, the reptile Digimon was able to clash with Rhinomon, and even lift him up. "SEE HOW YOU LIKE THIS!" The yellow Digimon then threw him away.

"AAAGH!" Rhinomon ended up crashing on the ground, and Raptordramon smirked at the old man, implying that he was next.

"D-Dammit! These guys are stronger than I thought!" The old man said while sweating.

"And you didn't see nothing!" Cassidy replied, wanting to continue.

"Hmmm…I've had the thought that they would have been something, but not at this level! It's better if I knock them out immediately! Shi no Senkoku!" Finding them dangerous, Fantomon decided to put the plan in act immediately. And as such, the criminals of Kowloon and the three mercenaries could see a dark skull appear in the sky that generated a purple fog that slowly surrounded the area.

Soon enough, all the criminals started to get dizzy and fell down unconscious.

"GH!"

"What the-?!"

"Where is this coming from!?"

"Y-You…got to be kidding me…" Even the old man couldn't resist and fell down with a large thud. The three mercenaries were resisted longer instead, but they still got annoyed.

"W-What the fuck is this!? It's clouding my senses!" Raptordramon exclaimed, trying to hold on and resist.

The other mercenaries were no less. "This isn't making any sense! Where is this coming from!? I kept an eye on everyone and not a single one attacked yet!" James exclaimed.

"I'll get rid of it!" His partner, Yatagaramon started to fly up towards the skull, and attacked it with his sharp talons that became red crimson. "DELTA!" The attack was successful and the skull was destroyed, putting an end to the mist. But the effect remained. "Anf…it's still going…"

"We need to find a solution and quickly!" Cassidy exclaimed while sweating. And as soon as she said it, she found a pill in her hands. James as well. "Uh?"

"Swallow it. It will strengthen your senses. I'm used to attack like these…" Koichi told them.

Fantomon, on the other hand, was looking at the scene, hoping that it would have ended soon. "They've destroyed my attack. But it seems that the effect is still going! Maybe we won't need to-" But just as he thought that he could have handled the situation…

"GAH!" He suddenly felt someone grab him by the neck and slowly lift him up. "W-WHAT!?" As he turned around, he could see with horror that Duskmon was able to see him, even if he was invisible.

"He saw me!?" He thought. With one arm movement, Duskmon was able to nullify the invisibility effect around Fantomon, making him visible to the rest of the mercenaries.

"What the!?" James exclaimed.

"It was him!?" Cassidy added.

"Just as I thought." Koichi said with a cold tone.

Duskmon tightened the grip. "Did you really think you could fool me? I'm a Digimon of the darkness as well. Using cheap tricks to hide such as this won't work. Are you another one of these guys? If so, where's your partner?" He spoke while pointing one of his blades. "And you better not act casual with me. You don't want to."

Fantomon could feel the grip getting tighter and tighter. But in the end, he didn't feel panicked. Because after all, he got what he wanted. "Ih ih ih! You want to know so badly! I can tell you, but the truth won't be pleasing for you at all!" He answered.

"What?" Duskmon asked. And just as he asked it, Fantomon shoot a small beam up at the sky. The signal was sent.

"What did you do!?" Raptordramon exclaimed. Koichi, on the other hand, had enough of him.

"Duskmon, kill him."

But as soon as Duskmon was ready to stab Fantomon in the chest…Yatagaramon could hear a noise getting closer and closer.

"Wait! Did you hear that!?"

Everyone turned around and were horrified to see...a large V-Shaped heat ray coming towards them.

"V-BREATH ARROW!"

"WHAT THE- GAAAAH!" Not expecting it, Cassidy, Koichi and their Digimon got inevitably attacked, setting Fantomon free. Yatagaramon was able to save himself while James was distant from the two of them.

"Hey, are you kidding me!?" The mercenary exclaimed.

In that moment, the group of the Cheshire Cat Agency and the Lion Fang Agency showed up, with everyone ready to fight.

"We risked a lot, but glad that we made it in time!" Veedramon commented.

Fantomon was able to get back to his partner.

"Are you alright?" Robert asked.

"Ih ih ih! You know me at this point! This is nothing! Now we can pass on the true action!" Fantomon replied while holding his weapon.

In that moment, Robert gave a better look at the mercenaries…in particular, he stared at Cassidy for some minutes. It almost seemed like he was looking for her. "There's no doubt…that's her."

Cassidy, on the other hand, was bewildered to see such scene. Not only she saw a good amount of the detectives that she had fought for the past days, but for the first time…they were the one who made an assault. "W-What is the meaning of this!?" In particular, she felt annoyed to see both Kasai and Aisu, the ones that were able to push her back the other times.

"Surprised to see us? Seeing your situation, we thought it would have been bad to not take advantage of it!" Aria told them.

"And we're glad to see that it all worked out. Now we can pass to the practical action, shall we?" Rikka added. "Ready, Leppamon?"

"Ready!"

"You too, ExVeemon. Get ready." Yatsura told to his partner. "Phew…and here I thought we would have failed…" She thought on the other hand.

"Affirmative, Master!" the second blue dragon said.

Even if the situation wasn't the best one, James tried to put out a smirk on his face. "Eheh, now, don't start to get cocky. True, you have gotten us by surprise, but you should remember who you're messing with! Don't think you can take us that easily!"

"I couldn't agree more." Koichi added while making a step forward. "Plus, you guys pissed me off last time since you dared to interfere with my personal goals. Don't think you can get away with this."

"Uh?" Aisu asked, confused a bit.

"Say, whatever shit you want. I wouldn't care less. What I do care is…" Cassidy answered before pointing at the two Yagami sisters with a contorted smirk. "That I get the chance to fight back against those two bitches! Don't think I've forgot what you did to me! I'll get the strength to behead both of you!" She exclaimed.

By hearing that, Kasai and Aisu quickly assumed a battle pose. "It seems that we pissed her off quite bad." Kasai commented.

"In that case, I think we give her the usual result in our way. What do you say, big sis?" Aisu asked with a caring smile.

Kasai naturally nodded. "You know I wouldn't abandon you for anything. Let's do this. I wasn't done with her last time, anyway." She replied.

"Ahahah! It seems that you're all hyped up! GOOD! Let's see how am I gonna eat all of you after making me fall down from that river!" Raptordramon exclaimed, eager to start.

"You're still mad for that one time? And here I thought that Saiba's henchmen were more mature." Strikedramon mocked him.

"Well that's just better! It will make me even more satisfied to give you another slam in the face!" Veedramon added.

"Ready sis?" Sistermon Noir asked to her younger sister.

"I-I don't know…" Sistermon Blanc commented. "Three of them do look scary…"

"Come on! This isn't the time to get frightened!" The other Sistermon complained.

"Everything will be fine, you're amazing!" Cheri encouraged her, and that was enough for Sistermon Blanc to swing her trident.

"YOU CONVINCED ME! LET'S DO THIS!"

Naturally Sheri made a sceptic smile. "Y-Yeah, that always works somehow…"

"I think there's nothing more to add, am I right?" Shizuka asked to everyone.

"Anytime." Rikka simply replied.

"Then let's do it!" Kasai concluded. With that single sentence, everyone started to run towards their enemy, and the mercenaries were no less.

"LET'S KILL THEM!"

Soon, everyone on the town started to clash. Since the other criminals were knocked out due to Fantomon's fog, everyone had a wide space to use for the battle and they needed to think carefully on how to use it. At this point, they all knew that the simple strength wasn't enough.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

"HINJAKUHINJAKUHINJAKUHINJAKUHINJAKUHINJAKU!"

Both Veedramon and Strikedrmaon tried to overwhelm Raptordramon with a barrage of fists and claws, but the yellow reptile Digimon seemed to know how to block both of them this time, as he moved careful in order to dodge the attacks or block them with his armor. As soon as he saw a break through it, he dashed forward.

"HAAAAAAAH!" He charged against the two dragons, who answered by clashing with their arms, releasing a small shockwave that spread in the surrounding area.

"You became faster!" Strikedramon noticed.

"Of course! You don't know for how long I've been waiting for a moment like this! I've made sure to improve my movements despite my weight! You can stay sure of it. You won't unleash your punches that easily against me now!" Raptordramon answered, as he pushed forward, managing to draw both of them away from him. He then ran quickly towards Veedramon and attempted to bite him. "AMBUSH CRUNCH!"

In the end he was able to bite the blue dragon on the arm, which started to bleed severely. "GRRR!" Veedramon had to grit his teeth due to the pain, and Raptordramon didn't want to let go. But luckily, Strikedramon was there to help the friend.

"Hang in there, Veedramon! Strike Fang!" The other dragon started to surround his body in flames and directly charged against Raptordramon, managing to push him away.

"GAAAH!" the reptile Digimon was able to not fall off and stand on his feet. He then glared at Strikedramon.

"Are you ok?" He asked to Veedramon.

"Luckily yes, but I'm sure that didn't please him…" Veedramon replied.

"YOU BASTARD!" Raptordramon immediately started to charge against Strikedramon, who answered with a barrage of claw attacks. "Strike Claw!"

Raptordramon ended up getting hit by some of them, but he was able to push through and clash with him. "Don't think you'll be able to handle it like last time! This time I'll be the one to make you fall!"

"I can see that you became stronger indeed…but unfortunately for you, I've also improved!" Strikedramon exclaimed before looking to his partner. "Aisu!"

Aisu heard his partner's call and nodded. "Got it, Strikedramon! Show him what you got!" She exclaimed before raising up her Digivice, much to Cassidy's dismay.

"What!?"

The Digivice started to shine and sent energy to Strikedramon, which started to change. "STRIKEDRAMON! SUPER EVOLUTION! CYBERDRAMON!"

Naturally, Raptordramon as well was horrified to such scene. "W-WHAT!? HE EVOLVED!?" He shouted. But before he could do something, Cyberdramon already attacked him with his claw. "GAH!"

"Cyber Nail!" Cyberdramon started to attack fast with his claw. Due to the power increase, Raptordramon could feel the damages on his body, as his armor started to crack. But somehow, he was able to spin and put a stop to the attacks.

"Grrr…no! Who gives a shit if you're a Perfect-Level Digimon now! I'll still crunch your head!" Even in front of a mortal danger, Raptordramon didn't want to give up and charged against them, but this time, Veedramon was the one who appeared in front of him.

"Hey! Don't think you can ignore me!"

"Uh!?"

"Cutter Shoot!" Veedramon generated several swipes of air with his arms that pushed Raptordramon away and made him crash with one of the illegal inhabitations.

"GRAAAH!"

At the sight of his partner in danger, Cassidy started to sweat, especially after seeing that Strikedramon was able to reach the Perfect-Level. "T-This is absurd…I've never seen them evolve! What is the meaning of this!?" She wondered before seeing Aisu starting to run towards her. "GRRR! DON'T GET COCKY!" At the sight of this, Cassidy took some throwing knives and used them.

Aisu stood careful and moved at the right moment to dodge most of them, even if one got her at the spleen. "Gh!" But even despite this, she was able to reach Cassidy, who tried to punch her directly, but Aisu grabbed her arm in time and lifted it, causing a bone fracture.

"GAH!" Cassidy didn't quit and tried to stab Aisu in the face with her free hand, but Kasai arrived in time and punched her in the stomach before pushing her down by grabbing her face. "NGH! T-This is ridiculous! You've never had such an upper hand against us and you always had to struggle before managing to attack us!" She exclaimed.

"People improve, you know? And the fact that you remained the same shows that you remained the same!" Kasai retorted.

"We're done with yours and Saiba's little games! Just a bit more and you'll both quit!" Aisu added.

But hearing that made Cassidy only angrier. "SILENCE!" She was able to push both of them with a double kick and managed to stood up, although she needed to breath heavily for the attacks and the effort used. "Anf…anf…don't ever say that word again with me. It's not time for me to disappear yet! NOT UNTIL I SEE THAT BASTARD OF MY FATHER DIE IN FRONT OF ME!" She shouted.

That last sentence made the two girls stop for a second, wondering what did she mean by that.

"Uh?"

"Father?"

Robert in particular winced. "Yes…she's her…"

Cassidy took another breath and looked down. "There…you know it now…not every villain is born evil from the beginning. There's a reason why I became a mercenary. My father decided to abandon both me and my mother when I was just a kid, insisting on the fact that he didn't need us and that I was too weak for a kid to live. But as you could see…it's not like that. But I still didn't find him. I WON'T STOP UNTIL I FIND HIM AND PROVE HIM WRONG! And for that…YOU BOTH NEED TO DIE! USHAAAAAAAAA!" After that half-confession, Cassidy started to run towards them with anger, even with his arm wounded.

The other girls couldn't do nothing more but be careful and answer. "Watch out! She's coming!" Aisu exclaimed.

Somehow, this made Kasai more determined. After all, she did mention something in their last encounter. "So that was your sad past. I see…well, my opinion doesn't change even after that. I still want to smack you until you'll stop. Come and get me then!" She shouted.

In the meantime, both Rekka and Aria started to attack James Belmond, who turned out to be pretty agile and blocked most of their direct attacks. The mercenary in particular, seemed eager to fight both of them. "You move pretty fast for two teenagers. Well, that's just fine, because I've wanted to see what types of detectives you two were." He commented.

"Hey! I'm nineteen years old, you know?!" Aria shouted, feeling offended.

"What do you mean?" Rikka asked in the meantime.

"You are the two detectives who took down Maximilian Astaroth. Apart from both being hired by Saiba Rei, we used to cooperate in several jobs. And as such, I knew him too well, he wasn't one to go down so easily. Therefore…I've wanted to know personally what you two were made of. You can call it…a revenge!" James explained.

"Oh, is that so? In case, you'll get what you want! How about it, Rikka?" Aria asked to Rikka, who nodded.

"I couldn't agree more!" Rikka added before the two of them tried to make James fall with a kick aimed to his ankles. But the mercenary jumped in time and got far from the two of them with an elegant pose.

"I find it hard to believe. Unlike the others, none of you had ever faced me in battle up until now, and much like Maximilian or Jake, I've got my reputation as a skilled criminal throughout several states of America. How about I give you a taste?" He said before revealing some long strings attached to his nails. By moving his arms, he was able to manipulate those strings, and with them, she was able to grab Aria by the wrist.

"Uh!? WOAAAH!" The girl soon found herself getting lifted by the strings and slammed down to the ground.

James tried to do the same to Rikka, who saw the trick coming and used a small knife to cut through the strings. She then accelerated the pace and tried to attack James directly once more. But the opponent smirked and jumped back fast. The Chosen Child didn't want to quit and kept on chasing James, who kept on dodging and find it funny. "Ahah! You're fast, I'll give you that!"

"Laugh while you can! One way or another I'll-" Rikka tried another attack, but before she could do so, James delivered an heavy kick on her belly. "GAH!"

"Get me? Is that what you wanted to say?" James sarcastically said as she saw Rikka fall down. He soon started to prepare the strings on his nails to suffocate her. "Back at Somnus, I went easy and I've learned to regret it. I won't make the same mistake with you two." He tried to went for the kill, but right in that moment, he could see a bullet pierce his hand and making it bleed. "AAGH!" When he raised his head up, he could see Aria holding her gun with a furious stare. "What!? How did you-!?" James wondered how she got free, but he could see that she was holding a knife as well. "Are you kidding!? You were able to use the knife while being wrapped up!?"

Aria didn't answer and ran fast towards him. James tried to get her again, but in less than a minute, Aria was already there to give him a punch on the face. "TAKE THIS!"

"GH!" James didn't expect it and ended up falling down for it.

"Are you ok, Rikka?" Aria then asked while helping her friend to stand up.

"Thanks to you…that punch wasn't bad!" Rikka answered, making the friend smile.

James, on the other hand, was slightly annoyed as he stood up and cleaned his mouth from the blood. "So they still have some tricks to pull off. Fine, let's see then how you'll manage the wrath of my partner! Yatagaramon, attack them!" He said as he raised his hands, showing the bird Digimon flying above him.

"Mikafutsu-no-kami!" Yatagaramon concentrated the energy in its forelegs before shooting it. But this sight didn't scare the two girls, since they knew how to get out of it.

"You say you're skilled, but do you really think we can get hit that easily?" Rikka said before a myriad of strikes destroyed the blast.

"Kurukuru Rekkūzan!" Leppamon came out of the attack and glared at Yatagaramon. "It's our turn, Growmon. Ready?"

Growmon came closer and showed off his claws. "Ready!"

"Ha! We'll see about it! First you need to make sure to reach my speed! Gurensou!" Yatagaramon dived down, attacking with his claws, which were answered by Leppamon's ones.

"Jūga Rangeki!" The two claw attacks clashed, but Leppamon could feel his skin starting to get open by several cuts that started to bleed out. "GAH! Dammit, he's really fast!"

"What did I tell you? Now-" Yatagaramon was about to stab him directly in the heart, but Growmon came closer, trying to envelop him in his burst of flames.

"Exhaust flame!"

"Ah!" As soon as he saw the flames, Yatagaramon was forced to fly up in order to avoid them. "That was close…

"Stand up, Leppamon!" Growmon called out. The smaller Digimon started to stood up, but he looked a bit nervous at the enemy. "He's surely fast…"

"Heh. It seems that even your Digimon have troubles. Maybe trying to assault us wasn't the best choice." James commented. But he could see Rekka shake her index finger in disapproval.

"Tch tch tch. It seems that you don't think carefully. I could see that you seem a bit arrogant." Rekka commented.

James didn't like that comment at all. "What did you say!?"

"Don't think that speed will be a problem, because I have something here for you! Get ready Leppamon!" Rekka exclaimed before raising her Digivice and send Leppamon the right energy to evolve.

"Got it Rikka! LEPPAMON! SUPER EVOLUTION! TYLINMON!" Leppamon evolved into his Perfect-Level form and started to fly at the same level of Yatagaramon.

"What!?" James commented.

"Sure! Nice thought, Rikka!" Aria said before looking around. "I would make evolve Growmon too but his size would destroy everything…" She commented with a drop of sweat near her head.

"HEY!" Growmon complained.

In the meantime, Yatagaramon sweated a little, but remained confident. "Oh well! Even if you acquired a pair of wings, you still need to get me! Delta!" He soon started to dive against the enemy with his talons.

Tylinmon was no less and charged with his horn. "Shippū Tenshouken!" The two flying Digimon started to clash several times with their limbs, generating several shockwaves throughout the sky, with no one prevailing over the other surprisingly.

"Come on, don't give up!" Rikka said as she looked the clash.

"Don't pretend too much. It's only a matter of time by now…" James said.

Tylinmon and Yatagaramon kept on clashing while moving fast in the sky. "You've improved with the evolution, I'll give you that! But it seems that you can't still touch me! I would considerate if It was really worth it!" The bird Digimon commented.

"Quite the arrogant one, eh? Don't think you're really that untouchable! I saw earlier how you escaped when you saw Growmon's flames!" Tylinmon retorted, making the other Digimon angry.

"Don't you dare! Gurensou!" Yatagaramon immediately attacked with his claws, taking advantage by the fact that Tylinmon stopped and managing to attack him in the chest.

"GAH!"

"Tylinmon!" Rikka exclaimed.

"See? Your improvements didn't change nothing!" Yatagaramon exclaimed, thinking of having him. But Tylinmon opened his eyes.

"I won't think so! Don't think I rely only on direct attacks!" Tylinmon retorted before quickly dashing behind Yatagaramon and push him down with his hooves.

"GAH- What!?"

"Now, Growmon!" The horse Digimon exclaimed.

"Got it! Plasma Blade!" Growmon didn't lose any time and shoot two swipes of plasma from the blades he has on his arms, wiping Yatagaramon away.

"GAAAAAH!"

"Dammit! You saw that co- EH!?" James was about to complain when he lowered his stare and could see that both Aria and Rikka were heading towards him, both with a punch ready for him. The mercenary was able to block both of them in time, but he started to sweat a bit. "Anf…fuck…"

"To answer your question…yes, we kinda saw that coming! Do you really think that detective is only a title we gave ourselves?" Rikka told him with a smirk.

"Now all we have to do is push a little further!" Aria added.

Naturally, James started to feel utterly annoyed, as his expression became cold serious and grimmer. "Don't underestimate me."

In the meantime, the two Sistermon were busy to face off Duskmon. While being two Digimon of light was an effective move against him, Duskmon wasn't a Digimon to underestimate. Still, this didn't prevent them to attack with everything they've got.

"Divine Pierce!" Sistermon Blanc started to use her trident at high speed against Duskmon, who turned out to be fast enough to dodge most of the attacks and block them with one of his blades.

"Not bad…for a Child-Level Digimon." He commented.

The comment made Sistermon Blanc annoyed, as the trident started to glow.

"Uh!?"

"Do not underestimate me!" The female Digimon exclaimed before shooting a yellow beam of energy from the weapon.

"Gh!" Not expecting it, Duskmon got hit and forced to recoil. In that moment, he could see Sistermon Noir jumping above the sister and aim at him with both of her guns.

"Bless Fire!" She started to rapidly shoot with the guns with the same speed and frequency of an AK-47, but Duskmon knew well how to protect himself from attacks such as these and as such, he moved his blade at the same speed before dashing to the right, aiming to cut off Sistermon Blanc with both her blades.

"I got you." He coldly spoke.

"Oh no you won't!" Just before he could reach her, Sistermon Noir quickly reached Duskmon and dive kicked him, pushing him away.

"GH!"

"Just as we have been told, he's really tough! I think it's time we go for a double attack, what do you say sis?" Sistermon Noir asked.

"O-Ok! I follow you!" Sistermon Blanc agreed and the two of them started to move in a coordinated way, ready to strike. Duskmon could see this and got ready to defend himself.

"GRAND SISTER CRUZ!" The two Sistermon started to attack Duskmon with combined attacks, both with their weapons and their bare hands, forcing the dark Digimon to defend himself with the blades.

"They're fast…I need to stop them at once…" He thought before seeing both of them coming at him from two sides.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Geist Abend!" In order to stop them, Duskmon shoot several beams from both his eyes and arms that reached out the two sisters.

"He's attacking! Get ready!" Sistermon Noir warned her sister, who nodded.

"Right!" The two Digimon started to move away from the lasers' trajectory while keeping on performing their attack. Getting close to him was now more difficult due to the lasers, but they were determined to reach them. And then, when two lasers almost reached them, they were able to dodge it and reach out Duskmon. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

But just as they were ready to attack him, Duskmon blocked both of them with his blades, with the impact generating a large noise.

"GH…"

"You both move quite well. But unfortunately, you don't have the same experience as me. Therefore, your attempts at hitting me are worthless." Duskmon commented before releasing a small explosive wave made of red energy. "HM!"

The two Sistermon ended up getting pushed away before seeing Duskmon jump up and ready to attack them with the blades.

"I think your resistance can finish here." He commented.

"Take another guess!" In that moment, a voice got Duskmon's attention, who raised up his head and could see Paildramon fly above him.

"Uh!?"

"Desperado Blaster!" The dragon Digimon started to shoot repeatedly with his two organic cannons, managing to overwhelm Duskmon.

"GAH! GUH! AAAGH!" Duskmon couldn't prevent all those attacks and ended up crashing on the ground while Paildramon could land up between the two Sistermon.

"That's so cool, ExVeemon! You didn't tell us that you could evolve!" Sistermon Noir commented.

Paildramon got a bit embarrassed by the compliment and scratched the back of his head. "Well, to be honest it actually happened recently, eheh…" He commented before noticing that Duskmon was standing up.

The dark Digimon had smoke all over his body due to the attack, but he seemed to still have some energy left. Although he seemed a bit puzzled at the sight of Paildramon. "I see…so he was able to evolve…" He thought before pointing his blades at them. "No matter! I may have been forced to escape the other times, but I always knew how to answer. Get ready!"

"Any time!" Paildramon replied while standing on guard.

Duskmon immediately dashed against him, making Paildramon run as well. The two started to repeatedly attack each other.

"ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!" Paildramon screamed out his war cry as he relentlessly attacked Duskmon, who was surprisingly able to answer at the same speed. Plus, he knew something that could have helped him to behead the dragon.

"I've got you." He spoke before releasing a large wave of darkness around them, blinding the other Digimon.

"What!? What is this!?" Paildramon tried to look around, but he found himself swallowed in a large blackness. Duskmon could take advantage of it and go around him, ready to stab him in the chest with his blades.

"You're finished." But just as he was ready to kill him, a golden light eradicated the darkness and exposed him, leaving him bewildered. "What!?"

"I don't think so!" It was Sistermon Blanc, who used her light powers to clear out everything and that now stabbed Duskmon with her trident.

"GAH!" Duskmon widened his eyes as he saw the weapon get stuck into his body. But the worst was coming just now, as both Paildramon and Sistermon Noir were ready to shoot at him at high speed. "Oh no!"

"Desperado Blaster!"

"Bless Fire!"

The barrage of bullets was too much for Duskmon to defend himself, and he ended up getting run over by all of them. "GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he ended up crashing against one of the houses, full of injuries. "Gah…this is absurd…they never got this fast and strong from the beginning…" He commented.

"We almost got him! Just another strike to go!" Sistermon Noir commented.

"Roger that!" Paildramon replied.

In that moment, Duskmon's partner, Koichi was facing off the two partners with the Sistermon and Yatsura. Despite having to face three opponents at once, he turned out to be able enough to resist at all of them. But he got alarmed when he saw his partner lying on the ground. "What!? Duskmon!"

"Where are you looking at?" Shizuka took advantage of this distraction to kick him on the belly.

"GAH!" Koichi felt the attack and ended up getting thrown away. When he stood up, he could see that Yatsura tried to overwhelm him by shooting with the gun, but Koichi as used to this and with a precise and perfect speed, he deflected the bullets with a small knife. Once they were out, he started to run towards the three detectives and attacked them all together with a combination of martial arts.

Yatsura and the others did their best to defend themselves from his attacks, as he turned out to be quite fast and strong.

"Dammit! This isn't a normal person!" Shizuka commented as he kept on defending herself.

"Don't think I would have been an easy opponent from the start. When you live a life like mine, the only thing you can do is defend yourself!" Koichi answered before trying to stab Yatsura on the throat with his knife, but the girl was able to block him in time. "Hmm…she's fast."

"But why!? Why are you doing this? What makes you follow Saiba without hesitation?" Yatsura then asked, trying to find some answers.

Koichi looked at her with a cold stare before pushing her away. "To be fair, I don't care if Saiba manages to reach out his purpose or not. What matters to me is that I get my reward for what I've done. I have someone to think about back home. And I don't intend to go down empty-handed." He explained.

Instead of feeling pity…Yatsura started to felt annoyed by that behavior. "Are you serious…? You're trying to help somoene by killing people?! Do you think you can give them back their happiness by taking others' lives!? You're…SO FULL OF SHIT!" She shouted out, getting ready.

"I don't ask for your comprehension. Only for you to disappear! This is simply the world I grew up with, and I've learned to embrace it. Even if you are the so-called arm of justice, you make no difference at all. Get ready!" Koichi retorted before running towards them and attack them. But Cheri got in the way and blocked him in time. "Uh!?"

Surprisingly enough, the girl was able to block both of his arm and push them away. "Listen here, pal. I don't know what you or the one you're trying to rescue had passed, but just because you're desperate to help him doesn't mean that you have to bring harm to other people. Either you have a serious problem or you just find pleasure in making others suffer! In both cases, you are sick!" She exclaimed.

Hearing those words made Koichi flinch for a moment. In fact…that wasn't the first time he heard something like that.

"If you're going to do this then I'd rather not have your help. You make me feel sick. You need help!"

But he didn't want to remember those things. He gritted his teeth and tried to push back. "SHUT UP!" He shouted out of frustration before kicking Cheri away.

"GAH!"

"Cheri!" Shizuka exclaimed before reaching out her sister.

"I won't allow anyone to tell me what to do! I know what's right! AND I'LL GO THROUGH IT!" Koichi shouted before charging against the three of them, who started to answer with punches and kicks. "Saiba Rei is the only one that tried to understand me, therefore the only thing I can do is to help him!"

"Then you don't have any way of going back. It's better if you just go down!" Yatsura retorted, trying to do her best to counter all of his attacks. But it would have been a difficult challenge. Koichi was already fast and skilled, now that he was angered, he would have done everything he had to see their heads roll. He became a killer, and there was no way someone would have stopped him.

And Koichi wasn't the only one angered in that moment.

"WREAAAAAAAAH!" Despite the wounds and the clear disadvantage, Raptordramon continued to charge against Veedramon and Cyberdramon, who were naturally able to counter his moves. But even with that, the reptile Digimon didn't want to quit.

"GH!" Veedramon blocked Raptordramon before he could reach him and pushed him away. "ORA! Now, Cyberdramon!" He then warned his friend, who already charged an attack of energy in his hands which he released. "Erase Claw!"

Due to his conditions, he didn't find himself in the conditions of dodging it and got fully hit by it. "GAAAAAH!" The dragon Digimon got sent several meters away. And even despite this, he tried to stand up. "No…I won't lose to you…BASTARDS!"

"It seems that he's running out of energy…" Cyberdramon noticed.

"Then another strike and he's out!" Veedramon replied, getting ready for another attack.

But Cassidy wasn't of the same opinion as she continued to attack the two Yagami sisters, managing to stab them at the arms. "AAH!"

"GH!" Both Kasai and Aisu could feel a terrible pain as they get off the small knives they got and pushed Cassidy away with a double kick.

"BLARGH!" Due to the pain, Cassidy spit a bit of blood from her mouth, but she cleaned it before looking at her opponents with a furious expression. "It seems that you are holding back, am I wrong?"

"I don't know, maybe it's you who has a bad sight, considering how you're reduced." Kasai retorted.

"Oh, please…this is nothing compared to what I had to experience throughout the years. Haven't I told you yet? As long as I don't see that miserable man I can't fall off! Not now, NOT NEVER!" Cassidy immediately answered back before running towards the two sisters. But before she could reach them, Robert ran between them and reached Cassidy, stopping her with a judo move. "Wha- GAAAH!"

"Robert-?" Aisu asked, confused.

"What is he doing?" Kasai added.

"GH…another cop!? How many of you want to stand in my way!?" Cassidy exclaimed.

"That's enough! If that's the motivation for your crimes, then there's no reason to continue even further! What you want to achieve isn't possible anymore." Robert told her.

"What did you say!?" Cassidy asked before jumping back. "What can you possibly know? Do you even know me at all?"

"Even too well. You were part of the past of someone I had to deal with. Cassidy Monroe…the daughter of Darius Bongo, right? Throughout my superior, I could hear that Saiba Rei hired you as a mercenary as well." Robert promptly answered, starting to explain.

Surprisingly, both the other two detectives and Cassidy were surprised to hear that. Even their Digimon stopped and turned around.

"Uh?" Aisu wondered.

"Mister Robert…you know her?" Kasai asked.

"What…? How do you know that?" Cassidy added.

Robert added, assuming a grimmer expression. "Yes. This girl here is the child of a low-rated criminal named Darius Bongo. Born in 1976, he was known for be an aggressive person with everyone with alcoholic tendency. He used to think that every man should be able to live as he wanted. Therefore…he thought he had the right to drink whatever he wanted, mess up with whoever he wanted…and sleep with whoever he wanted."

To the last confirm, Cassidy flinched for a second, and in that moment, Robert pointed at her.

"Unfortunately…it happened to this girl as well. In 2017…Darius found out a girl that was 20 years old at the time named Mary Monroe, while he already had 41 years old. The girl thought that he would have been the right man in his life, and Darius took advantage of it. From that moment…from that bond…you were born. But…considering that you're after him, it seems that he didn't want to take up his responsibilities for once…" Robert continued.

Cassidy could feel another dagger at her heart. She could feel it all…remember it all.

"You can't just abandon us here! What are we going to do!?"

"Ah, look for yourself! I certainly don't need to take care of someone as weak as you! I have my own life to live on! I'm still young, I'm still free!"

"B-But dad…!"

"GET OFF ME! Didn't you hear me? I don't have time to look for someone as weak as you!"

"NO DON'T GO! WAIT!"

She could remember it all too well…the scars…the memories…but most importantly…the frustration that followed those events. Once her father abandoned them…her mother had to take care for both herself and her daughter. But she didn't have the best of luck. She was forced to change from job to job…just to have a stable position and support her daughter. And in the end…

"Anf…anf…"

"Mom! Please! Take a rest! You're doing too much!"

"N-No need to be worried sweetie…I just need to finish this file to deliver to the boss…and then I'll take some rest…"

"Mom, stop! Don't you see yourself? He won't get angry!"

"D-Don't worry…after he left…It's up to me…I need to make sure that you grow up strong and…sane…because…I…love-"

"…Mom? Mom! MOOOOOOOM!"

That day…her mother died of starvation due to the overload of job she decided to hold for her daughter. Since her father was unreachable, Cassidy ended up in an orphanage. But she just couldn't accept to live a normal life without getting some justice in her life. She could have had better…if it wasn't for that man. Before anything…she needed to have her own vengeance. She couldn't let all of this pass through. He said that she was weak…she needed to prove him wrong. This decision made her leave the orphanage secretly and live out by herself in the street. Where she could get stronger…by harming other people to the point of ending their lives. Therefore…she grew up while learning the ways of a mercenary. It was in that moment she met Raptordramon…someone that could understand her…someone that shared her own desire of getting stronger.

Remembering all of that was simply too much for her. "SO WHAT!?" She suddenly shouted. Her voice even called out the attentions of the others that were fighting.

"Uh?" Yatsura asked.

"Cassidy?" Koichi added.

"What is happening?" Aria wondered.

"Fine…you know what happened…you've exposed it. That's right! That bastard left me and my mother to take care of ourselves! And I just can't live with that! That is why I'm here! You think that telling something I already know will change my mind!?" Cassidy protested.

Robert simply shook his head. "No. But maybe telling you that there's no reason to continue for it will do."

"ENOUGH! How can you know!?" Cassidy protested.

"…Because Darius Bongo is dead." Robert coldly answered, shocking everyone.

"Uh!?" Kasai exclaimed.

"What!?" Shizuka added.

Cassidy stood still for a moment, trembling. "W-What…?"

"He's dead…and I'm the one who killed him." Robert continued.

Cassidy made a step backwards. "W-What the fuck are you saying!? Are you trying to confuse me!? Because that's not funny!"

"It's the sole truth. A few years ago, I've had to face him. He was assaulting someone in public square. And since he got pretty violent…I was forced to act. I still remember the expression he gave me…and the bullet that passed through his heart…" Robert mentioned.

"GAAH…I…I CAN STILL MOVE! IT'S NOT OVER YET!"

"Enough of it…just surrender."

"D-Didn't I tell you!? I'm…a free man…nothing will stop….me…"

"After his death, I've made a few researches about him…and I've discovered of you having a girl. When the information about Saiba Rei leaked out…I've asked my superior to get involved in the case." Robert concluded. "As you can see…there's no reason for you to continue all of this."

An empty silence followed the end of the explanation…Cassidy at this point was at a complete loss. She hoped that it was all a way to make her flinch or anything similar…but his tone seemed even too much sincere.

"Truth can hurt sometimes, eh?" James commented.

"…Cassidy?" Kasai asked.

In that moment…the girl started to tremble. "…You…bloody…asshole." She started out.

"Uh?" Robert wondered.

"You're telling me…that all I've been through…all my training…all the pain, all the blood I spit…just to get here WAS FOR NOTHING!? You, miserable cop dared to steal my destiny!? AND NOW YOU PRETEND TO STOP WHO I AM AFTER TAKING OUT THE MOMENT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR ALL MY LIFE!?" She shouted out. She never felt that furious in her entire life.

"Cassidy, try to reason! You're not forced to continue this-" Robert tried to make her reason, but at this point…it was all worthless.

"SILENCE! You're not in the position of telling me what to do after telling me all of this! You don't have any idea how I had to suffer because of that man…AND NOW I CAN'T EVEN HAVE MY REVENGE! I CAN'T STAND ALL OF THIS! I'm sick and tired…of ALL OF THIS! Therefore…" Cassidy left out all of his frustration and negativity…that started to take form of a purple energy that alarmed all of the Chosen Children.

"What is that!?" Aria exclaimed.

"T-That darkness…is the same as-!" Rekka commented. It wasn't the first time she saw a dark power like that. In fact…she could imagine it…Saiba's smirk…and his Digimon's hand above Cassidy.

"I don't like this Kasai…" Aisu commented to her sister.

"I know…but let's not lose our focus…" The other girl replied.

"Fantomon, get ready!" Robert warned his partner, who got ready.

"At this point…the only thing I have left…Is to continue this road…and make a life out for myself…my own way! And the first thing I'll do is help Saiba Rei complete his plan…BY KILLING ALL OF YOU! ESPECIALLY YOU, FUCKING COP" Cassidy proclaimed as she raised her Digivice. Soon, the dark energy flowed inside the small device…and then at Raptordramon…who felt his body get restored…renewed.

"Dammit! This is bad!" Cyberdramon commented.

"Yes…I can feel it! This power…LET'S CUT THEM DOWN, CASSIDY!" Raptordramon shouted out before the darkness surrounded his body…making him change form. This sight made all the detectives sweat.

"No way! He's…!" Growmon exclaimed.

"He's evolving!" Paildramon concluded the phrase.

Raptordramon's body changed drastically. "RAPTORDRAMON! SUPER EVOLUTION!" From a reptilian form, he took a more humanoid one, with a golden armor with two tall shrugs, two swords to hold and a long blue cape. This new Digimon showed off what seemed to be great strength and agility.

"GRADEMON!"

Aisu didn't lose anytime and analyzed the new Digimon with her Digivice. "A Perfect-Level Digimon with extreme mastery with swords, to the point he could use mental sanity due to the curse of said weapons…a Digimon that can stand up with holy Digimon…" She read. "The hatred Cassidy proves for us and for Robert reached out her Digimon and let her evolve."

"The same emotions that power up our Digimon…can also work with negative emotions. It happened with Mister Taichi many years ago if I recall correctly…" Rekka added.

Kasai started to worry while standing on guard. "This is bad. Cyberdramon may be able to resist a bit against him, but Veedramon could have some difficulties…Cassidy Monroe…I never thought you were resolute at this point…" She thought.

In that moment, Veedramon turned around to see her eye to eye. Even in that situation, he nodded and made a thumb up with a smirk. "I can make it. This is not the first Perfect-Level Digimon I face, remember?" He spoke.

Kasai was a bit surprised by that answer, but hearing this made her feel more secure. After all, she knew him well. He wasn't going to quit there. "Got it. I count on you, Veedramon."

Grademon immediately started to run towards the two Digimon and assaulted them with his two swords in a fast and lethal sequence of attacks. "GRADE SLASH!"

"AH!" Veedramon wasn't expecting an attack like this, but Cyberdramon immediately put himself in front of the friend and blocked the attack.

"WATCH OUT!" This resulted in an impact where the black dragon did his best to block the enemy. "GRRR!"

"HOW DOES IT LOOK LIKE NOW, UH!? You're not the only one at the Perfect-Level now!" Grademon started to boast out his strength before jumping back and shoot an X made out of energy from his swords.

"GAH!" Cyberdramon was forced to recoil as his body smoke out.

In that moment, the newly evolved Digimon looked at the others. "What are you looking at!? You know what's our job!" He told them.

Both Duskmon and Yatagaramon nodded and turned back on their enemies.

"This is not good…" Tylinmon commented.

"We were going good until now. We just need to hold on!" Paildramon tried to encourage the others, who all went down for the attack. But he didn't expect to see Duskmon suddenly appear in front of him.

"Yes. But the same can go for us, don't you think?" the dark Digimon asked.

"WHAT!?"

"Geist Abend!" Duskmon started to power up the swords and attack him directly, causing to open some cuts in Paildramon's carapace.

"GAAAH! D-DAMMIT! Esgrima!" As an answer, Paildramon extended the spears in his gauntlets and started to clash weapons with his enemies, but even if he was badly injured from before, Duskmon proved out to move his blades at the perfect moment to defend himself and counter attack. What followed was a small contrast between the two of them. "KH…you're really persistent, aren't you!?"

"Now that we're close at getting our reward, don't think you can stop us!" Duskmon retorted.

"We're coming, Paildramon!" Both Sistermon Blanc and Noir jumped out alongside the dragon to help him out by attacking Duskmon. "Grand Sister Cruz!" The two of them started a coordinated attack to push the enemy Digimon away, and they succeeded. But Duskmon didn't want to completely fall.

"Not yet…Grademon is right. I won't fall down until the mission is over. Like Cassidy, Koichi has a job to complete as well!" Duskmon protested.

"At this point we might run out of stamina…" Sistermon Blanc said, feeling a bit pessimistic.

"It won't happen! We've been waiting for this moment. Now it will be Saiba Rei who's going to listen to us!" Paildramon exclaimed.

"We'll see about that! Death Gaze!" As usual, Duskmon didn't want to let them win and as such, he attacked by shooting lasers at the three Digimon.

At the same time, Yatagaramon, full of charge again, started to clash several times with Tylinmon. While the horse Digimon was able to keep up with him, he could notice that the Digimon increased his speed, and his attacks where more precise.

"He's getting better…I need to finish it now!" Tylinmon thought.

"I've got you now!" Yatagaramon exclaimed before throwing himself with his claws. "Gurensou!"

Instead of counterattacking him, Tylinmon moved away on purpose, making the bird Digimon go down. The enemy didn't know what he was doing, but he soon found out with horror wrapped up in Growmon's arm. "AAH! WHAT!?"

"Exhaust Flame!" Growmon immediately proceeded to attack the other Digimon with a burst of flames, almost burning him out completely.

"GAAAAAAAH!"

"There! Just a bit more and then-" Growmon thought he had it, but suddenly, Yatagaramon aimed with the Dokkosho from his leges and fired his special attack from it. "Mikafutsu-No-Kami!"

"GAAAAAH!" Growmon got attacked by a burst of energy that forced him to fall down and let Yatagaramon free.

"Growmon!" Aria cried out.

"Dammit…even if I got free, that dammed dinosaur almost roasted me…" Yatagaramon commented before noticing that Tylinmon was running towards him.

"WHY YOU! Shippū Tenshouken!" Rikka's Digimon immediately dashed with his horn in the attempt to stab him, but once again, Yatagaramon answered with his claws. Although he was weakened a bit for the flames.

"C-Come on! Is this the best you can do!?" Yatagaramon tried to maintain the optimism high by mocking the enemy, who was only more furious by now.

"Don't worry, you won't be able to speak such comment in a few-" Tylinmon was about to push further with his horn, but right in that moment, two long cuts appeared at his hips, making him bleed and fall. "GAAAH! W-What!?"

In that moment, Grademon appeared near Yatagaramon while holding his swords. "Don't think I'll let you do that!" He exclaimed.

"HEY BASTARD! DON'T FORGET ABOUT US!" Furious, Veedramon ran at a higher speed against Grademon in an attempt to overwhelm him with a barrage of punches. "MAGNUM PUNCH! ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

Naturally, Grademon was able to block most of the punches thanks to his increased speed due to the evolution. "Open up your eyes! You won't get me that easier this ti-" He was about to boast out his skills, but to his shock, a punch actually got him in the face. "GH! Y-YOU!"

"ORA!" Veedramon took advantage of it and threw another lunging punch that was able to throw the other Digimon away.

Grademon was able to land on his feet and glare at his enemy. "Just like that other time, he's annoyingly stubborn. How long will it take to finally kill him? What makes him go further even with a clear disadvantage!?" He thought. In that moment, he raised his head and could see that Fantomon was approaching him with the scythe, ready to attack him.

"Soul Chopper!" Before the scythe could reach him. Grademon raised his swords to block him. "Ih ih ih! I hope you didn't forget about me!" The ghost Digimon told him.

"How could I? Especially after that infamous attack!" Grademon retorted before pushing him away with the blades and actually manage to attack him.

"GAAAH!" Fantomon felt out an incredible pain even if he was a ghost. Grademon was about to finish him off, but Cyberdramon launched an energy attack in time to push him away.

"Erase Claw!" After the attack succeeded, Cyberdramon flew against the enemy and tried to overwhelm him with several claws attack.

"You're starting to get annoying!" Grademon commented. Right in that moment, even Veedramon and Fantomon joined the attack and tried to get pass him, even if the golden Digimon was skilled enough to defend himself.

"I think we've been clear enough! It ends HERE AND NOW!" Veedramon countered.

As the Digimon continued their struggle, the humans were nonetheless. The group tried to overwhelm Cassidy, Koichi and James, who were skilled enough to contrast most of their attacks. Cassidy in particular, after finding out the truth about her father, was more furious and violent than ever, attacking with relentless strength and speed the two Yagami sisters. Although she was getting more focused on Robert himself. He couldn't let him away after that.

"WREAAAAAAAAAAH!" Cassidy pushed away anyone with punches, kicks and a few knives at hand.

"GAH!" Both Kasai and Aisu were starting to bleed heavily and were forced to step back. "Are you ok?" Aisu asked to her sister.

"Don't worry, I still have some energy to spare. We can't let them get away now!" Kasai answered with a serious tone.

"R-Right…uh?" Aisu agreed before noticing Robert running towards Cassidy with a gun and a knife. The police officer turned out to be quite fast, as he blocked away most of the girl's attacks, while he also tried to get through.

"GRR!" Cassidy tried to punch him in the skull, but Robert lowered his head in time and was actually able to stab her in the leg. "GAAAAAAH!" Due to the pain, Cassidy was forced to fall on her knees and breath heavily. "Y-YOU MUTT!"

Robert didn't hesitate and pointed the gun at her. "Don't make me do this! I couldn't live up with the idea of killing two of the same family!" He told her.

"Really!? You of all people dare to say that!? You who took away the only think that could have made me feel whole!?" Cassidy protested.

"Listen, I've met several people with stories like yours…and I understand how you must have felt because of Darius. But think about it…that man isn't here anymore. Do you really think that vengeance is still justified?" Robert asked.

Cassidy looked at her in silence still with an angry stare.

"I…I know how you feel. You prepared yourself for years trying to show him that you're not weak and now you discover that you're dead…and I can even apologize for that. And you won't probably have a nice outcome once all of this is over. But…I'm here to tell you that everything is fine. There's no need to fight anymore. Saiba is trying to use that rage of yours for his plans. Don't you feel tired of being bonded to someone?" Robert continued.

Kasai and Aisu looked at the scene with tension. They could understand what he was trying to do, but they didn't know if it would have worked out with someone like her.

Cassidy remained with her head lowered. She thought carefully about the policeman's words. That man was gone. Stopping everything wouldn't have been entirely wrong.

…But…

The grudge…and the suffering remained. She couldn't have let it pass so easily even if her father was dead. Plus…she would have probably been arrested if she stopped.

In the end…the girl looked up…but her face was still furious.

"Uh?" Robert asked.

"…Do you really think…I would have listened to you? Because if you think so…YOU'RE DUMBER THAN I THOUGHT!" With those words, Cassidy quickly stood up and stabbed Robert in the chest.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The policeman cried out of pain as he fell down.

After hearing the scream, Fantomon turned around and could notice his partner falling down with a lot of blood coming out from his body. "ROBERT!"

"Y-You bastard!" Kasai exclaimed as she grabbed out the gun and shot at Cassidy in the hand, making her lose the knife.

"GH!"

"M-Mister Robert! Try to resist!" Aisu in the meantime, reached out Robert and tried to bleeding as best as she could, but there was a lot of blood loss.

"WHY YOU!" Veedramon was furious as well, as he and Cyberdramon pushed Grademon away. Fantomon went for the enemy, attacking him directly.

"DIABOLIC STAR!"

"GAH!" Grademon got attacked by the mace and fell down, letting the ghost Digimon to go towards his partner.

The other detectives could turn around for a moment and witness the scene, and Aria could feel the same rage as the two sisters. This made her grab the Digivice. "I changed my mind! I can't let this go on! GROWMON!"

"Got it!" Growmon received the energy from the Digivice and evolved as well. "GROWMON! SUPER EVOLUTION! MEGALO GROWMON!"

At the sight of the tall Digimon, the mercenaries and their Digimon sweated out. "W-What is that!?" Koichi exclaimed.

"He can evolve as well!?" James added.

Cassidy looked a bit alarmed as well, considering that her hand was bleeding as well. As far as she wanted to end it, considering the conditions they were in, they couldn't afford much more, especially considering that they had to get the fainted Digimon.

"Grrr…listen, we can settle it later…at this rate we can't let them defeat us. Let's get away with the Digimon we knocked out!" She told the others.

"True…this might be the only solution…" Koichi spoke.

"Plus, it won't be long before everything will be over." James added.

Naturally, the detectives weren't of the same opinion.

"Don't you dare escape, cowards!" Yatsura shouted out.

"Megalo Growmon! Get them with your attack!" Aria ordered her Digimon, who started to charge two beams from his chest.

"GOT IT!" The Digimon shouted out.

"DAMMIT! HE'LL GET US!" James shouted out, frustrated.

"Not yet! Duskmon! Combine your darkness with Yatagaramon's one!" Koichi ordered his partner.

"Got it." Duskmon answered. The two Digimon looked at each other and released a large wave of darkness.

"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" Rikka shouted out.

"ATOMIC BLASTER!" Before they could get away, Megalo Growmon shoot out the attack. Naturally, at the sight of such an attack, the others panicked out, but the darkness was able to surround all the area of Kowloon, blinding everyone.

"AGH!"

They could hear an explosion in the direction where Megalo Growmon launched the attack. But as soon as the darkness faded out, all they could see were some of the buildings crumbled up to pieces. The only ones left were the criminals, who were still knocked out because of Fantomon's attacks.

The detective and their Digimon were annoyed but they sighed out. The four ones who evolved reversed back in their Adult-Level and reached out their partners.

"Shit, they got away! And even with all of the Digimon!" Yatsura exclaimed, feeling frustrated.

"I can't believe they got it away after what they just did! GRR!" Aria was feeling the same, punching a wall of rock.

"Dammit…and to think that we've almost got them…" Cheri commented.

"Well…" Rikka then spoke. "Let's see it on the bright side. We're starting to surpass them. The other times, this was the minimum we could have afforded. Now that we attacked first, we could see that they felt closed to an angle." She then turned around. "It's certain. We'll get them next time."

"That's right! And that's not the only thing about it!" Shiro said from their receivers. "They probably don't know, but I still have their positions! We can chase them anytime! They're going back to the real world at the moment."

"I see…they're probably bringing the Digimon to Saiba Rei." Leppamon commented.

"Then we'll have to go there, right?" Shizuka asked to the others.

"True. But first…" Kasai answered with a nervous tone before turning at Aisu and Robert. Everyone else came closer to check on the policeman's conditions.

Fantomon in particular was deeply worried about his partner's conditions. The stab seemed pretty tough. "Robert…"

"How is he?" Kasai asked to her sister, who stayed close to him.

"I've managed to close the wound and stop the bleeding. Luckily, I brought up some bandages with me. We can only hope that he manages to survive." Aisu replied.

"Anf…anf…eheh…" Even in his conditions, Robert tried to smile at the others. "Don't worry…I can handle it. It's not the first time I end up in a situation like this..." He spoke.

"Mister Robert…what were you trying to do?" Kasai asked, worried for him.

"I tried to reason with her. After finding out about her father's past and discovering that she was one of Saiba's henchmen…I could see why she ended up like this. I thought that there was a part of her that could still be saved. But…it turned out that I was wrong. Please…don't feel bad for me. This is my fault. Sometimes I forget that there are people that don't want to change. She won't…stop herself at this point. The only way is to defeat her." Robert explained.

"Don't worry, my friend! This is what we're going to do, right?" Fantomon asked.

"I think we'll pass, buddy. I probably won't be able to work for a while in these conditions. But…" Robert then looked at the members of the Cheshire Cat Agency and Lion Fang Agency. "I'm sure you'll do the work. I could see how you fight. You put up something impressive for girls of your age. And considering all the progresses you've done so far…you'll probably make it. You're Chosen Children as well after all."

"M-Mister Robert, you'll make me cry if you say so!" Yatsura said with shiny eyes, making her partner get embarrassed a little.

"Don't worry, Mister Robert. We'll do it." Aisu told the policeman before standing up. "If anything goes correctly it might end all even today."

"I don't know, Aisu…knowing us this might be a possibility!" Strikedramon told her.

"And considering how everyone are moving out, the possibility can only rise up!" Sistermon Blanc added while jumping.

"There you go! Glad to have you positive again." Sistermon Noir commented.

Veedramon, in the meantime, came closer to his partner. "Are you alright, Kasai?" He asked.

"Yes, don't worry." The girl told him with a small smile. "The fact that we almost got them and that we can get back on them is enough. And I have to say…you were able to put up a show even with someone like that Grademon."

Veedramon was naturally happy to hear so as he slammed his fists. "Oh, come on, Kasai! You know me! This isn't the first time I face a Digimon like that!" He spoke.

"Well…I guess that we're heading to the Rei Corporation then?" Growmon asked.

"Yes. But first, it's better if we bring Mister Robert at the hospital." Rikka suggested.

"Yeah…I'll have to apology with Sion. I'll still contact someone to catch all the criminals here. Another good fact is that we're able to find out where Kowloon was." Robert commented.

With all that settled, the group grabbed up Robert and started to head back to the real world. They would have took care of Kowloon eventually, but first…they needed to bring the policeman to a safer place and settle things…for real.

As they moved out, Kasai looked back. "First my father, and now this…good grief. Well…one thing is for sure. Saiba and Cassidy are done for now." She thought.

Meanwhile, the group of mercenaries started to head back. Thanks to the gauntlets Saiba gave them, they were able to take all the Digimon. Still…even if their mission was accomplished that time as well, they could have felt that something was wrong, especially now that only a few of them were left.

"Dammit…to think that they would have assaulted us…it never happened before…" Cassidy commented while holding her hand.

"Well…on the bright side, we were able to escape with the goal. And they didn't see too much of me. But I'll admit it…" James added while shaking of rage. "I could see it now…those detectives…are strong. I won't go easy on them next time."

"Me neither…if it keeps on going this way, I'll go straight up for the kill." Koichi said before turning on Cassidy. "So…you became like this because of your family, right?" He asked.

Cassidy glanced at him. "What about it?"

"Nothing really. Just that I'm in your same situation…kinda." Koichi told her before turning around. "Just so you know…I intend to finish the job much as you. So, you could say that…I got your back on it."

Cassidy looked at him in silence before answering. "It's not that big of a deal. Saiba's almost at the end. Once the goal is reached, we'll both be satisfied. That's all. But…you could say that it's nice to hear." She spoke. Her mind was now messed up after that battle.

Considering that she had the charge to fight and that her partner was able to evolve, she could feel that nothing had changed in her. But…she could feel a whole inside her at the same time.

Her father, the sole reason why she became like that, the one that let her mother die…was simply gone. What now?

"Hey." Grademon then spoke out to her, getting her attention. "It doesn't matter if he's dead. At this point…this is our life."

"…Right." She spoke of. He was right. At that point…the only thing that could have closed that hole was to continue on. After all…that was how she survived for all those years. All that was left now was to continue that path. And as the first thing…

She needed to finish the job. She may have not have had the chance to kill her father…but she could still do something.

"Once I take these Digimon at the Rei Corporation…you'll see, Kasai and Aisu Yagami. We'll settle it once and for all."

"Is it empathy you showed, Koichi? Kind of unusual." Duskmon asked. Even Koichi was a bit puzzled in his mind. Once again, he found himself in the truth of being exposed. And much like that family member…they told him of how twisted his way of helping was. But…he couldn't accept it.

"No…this is my only way of saving my brother. I won't change anything." He just needed the money from Saiba Rei…and he could have afforded anything from then on.


Back in the human world, the other three mercenaries of Saiba Rei were moving through the city of San Francisco with the use of a machine belonging to Jake. Aleksi and Sigmund were on the back seats, checking out a radar that showed the distance from their targets.

"We should be getting close at this moment." Aleksi spoke out.

"Of all things he asked us to do, this is the most bizarre. What does he want to do with that girl?" Sigmund asked, feeling weird.

"It's clear that you are still new at this job. Once you get the hand of it, you stop asking yourselves questions such as these. All that matters is what you receive back. The rest only becomes funny." Jake said while driving, using his usual carefree tone.

Aleksi felt annoyed by that. "I hope you don't think we're the same as you." He told him. "If we're here is because we have a thing to settle with Kumo, nothing more."

"True, true but you can't hide the fact that we are on the same boat at the moment. So, as long as we are here, we're pretty much the same. You can't hide that." Jake continued before slightly turn around. "Still…if you were to defect that wouldn't be a problem for me. We can still settle it here." He said with a small grin.

That single expression made both Aleksi and Sigmund feel uncomfortable. Even if they knew of his reputation, they still didn't know what he was actually capable of, but that one sight was enough to give them an idea.

"Kh…never mind. Just…leave it be." Sigmund said, hoping to finish the discussion.

"Good boys." Jake simply replied before looking forward. "In any case! I'm curious as well of what Mister Saiba will do to that little girl. Though the fact that she showed something with our little Italian friend already tells me something! Even in time of crisis, that man doesn't lose a shot it seems!"

"I wonder what Eligor meant by showing a power…" Fla Wizarmon wondered from his Digivice.

"We'll know it soon." Orochimon replied. The three henchmen continued their ride, thinking that they had the road clear. But in reality…someone was watching them from afar.

Kumo, Kyoko, Chikara, Sasuke, Rina, Shark and Taiyo were all standing on Kabuterimon's back, who was flying on the skies of the city. Much like the group of the Digital World, they were following the indications of someone that was able to locate several signals inside the city. In this case, it was Norn who was keeping an eye on those signals.

"Are you sure we're on the right zone?" Kumo asked.

"Pretty much. I've spotted three signals close to each other. It's more likely that it's a small group. You're getting close to it." Norn told them through the receiver. Much like she said, she was doing her task from her house, with Culumon floating around her.

"Ooooh…how curious…" The small Digimon commented.

"Well, that's just great! The more the merrier! We've come as a group as well after all!" Kyoko said to the others.

"That might increase the possibility for us to get more USB keys, right?" Taiyo asked.

"That's correct. And as such we cannot let us make any mistakes in these battles." Chikara replied, looking at Sasuke and Rina.

"We know but…why are you looking at us?" Sasuke asked with a sceptic face.

"Well, we can't say that they won't happen, Chikara. We know our enemies too well at this point, and it's almost certain that they don't intend to let themselves be defeated, especially now that they are staring to get fewer." Shark warned.

By hearing him, Kyoko made a small smirk. "Look at him go so mature! And to think that when you started, you were shy and undecided!"

That comment made Shark slightly blush. "What could I have done! I just became a detective and I found myself leading an activity of mine!" He protested.

Kumo and Taiyo could see as they continued that conversation, with Kumo feeling a bit embarrassed for his sister.

"Man…they really get along." Taiyo commented.

"Well, get used to that. Whenever she sees him, Kyoko likes to tease Shark a lot." Kumo said with an embarrassed smile.

"As far as I like to hear your conversation, I need to warn you that we're close to the targets." Norn said with her usual apathetic tone.

"Oh! We're ready to go then!" DORUgamon commented from the Digivice.

"H-Hey! What do you mean you like it!? Don't tell me you like gossip, Norn!" Kyoko exclaimed, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Does it look like the moment to talk about it!?" Chikara pointed out. Naturally, his partner Leomon tried to change out the subject.

"W-Where are they exactly?" He asked.

Norn gave a look from the computer she was using, and she could spot the detectives' current position and their targets' one.

"Right below you!" She warned them.

When they all looked down, they could see that there was what seemed to be a large car below them. They all looked confused.

"Wait…are you thinking…what I'm thinking?" Sasuke asked. To confirm that, Kyoko used her usual trick.

"Your next line will be 'do you think they might be in that machine?'"

"Do you think they might be in that machine-? Agh! Kyoko, come on! I'm trying to be serious for once!" The other boy complained.

"Well, at this point it may be the only solution, but we can't be certain of it…Is there anyone here who can see what's inside closed space among the Digimon?" Kyoko asked as she kept an eye on the car they were chasing.

"Hmm…as much as I would love to, I can't." Paledramon commented from inside the Digivice.

"There's no need to worry. I'm already after that." Norn then spoke out, surprising everyone.

"Uh?" They all asked.

The Mikihara girl was typing several commands in her laptop. "I'll simply go a bit further with hacking and searching. As I said, I do have some experiences." She commented with a small smile.

The detectives were a bit puzzled by that.

"I…find her creepy sometimes…" Rina commented. "But hey! Better this way!"

With one last typing, Norn could see three names coming out from the signals she received, recognizing them. "Hm! It seems we have quite the handful here." She spoke.

"Important ones? Say it loud!" Sasuke answered.

"First off, it's confirmed that they are inside that car. Their movements are analog to that of the transportation you are chasing. And second and most importantly…the ones you are chasing are…Jake Ambra, Aleksanteri Virtanen and Sigmund Wagner." Norn answered.

By hearing those names, everyone startled. They were all high-sounding names.

"So it's true that a feared wanted is among Saiba's men…I never thought I were going to actually face him." Taiyo commented.

"Well, we can't surely let him escape. Everyone is counting on us for this one, Taiyo!"

"Hmhm! I know it well! I surely can't make bad reputations for my first job!" The human replied.

Kyoko, on the other hand, gave a look at Kumo. After hearing two of those three names, she wanted to check if her brother was on the right mood to fight. "Kumo?"

"Are you feeling ready?" Shoutmon asked from the Digivice.

Kumo looked at the car for a few seconds in silence. It was still hard to accept that two of his friends were on his enemy's side now and they were mad at him. But…he knew that he couldn't hold anything back. He already paid the price the last time he saw them, and now that they were getting that close to the end of the case…he needed to answer back. It was also the best choice for their sake. After all…they needed to know the truth.

With that in mind, Kumo looked at her sister and nodded with a confident smile. "Don't worry. I won't hold back this time." He told her. "Plus, I can't let myself get scolded by Tsuna again!" He added, making a small joke.

Kyoko was happy to hear it while Shoutmon was excited. "That's my partner!"

"Ok, we now know that they're inside there. Should I tell Kabuterimon to shoot?" Rina then asked with a naïve tone. Naturally, his partner panicked a bit.

"Rina! You can't ask that like nothing! I could accidentally attack other cars!" The bug Digimon exclaimed.

"Oh geez, I forgot about that…" The Chosen Child said.

"Kabuterimon's right. We also cannot attack immediately. Even if we could push the civilians away, we would drag too much attention." Kyoko then noticed.

"What to do then?" Gladimon asked from Sasuke's Digivice.

"For now, let's keep on following them. As soon as we start to see less cars, we'll go right for the attack, hoping that not many people are crossing the street at the moment." The leader of the Cheshire Cat Agency suggested. "For that moment, get ready to attack as soon as possible."

All the detectives nodded, especially Rina. "Did you hear that, Kabuterimon?" She asked.

"Sure!" Her partner simply replied.

And so, just as suggested, all the detectives continued to observe that machine from above. Some of them tried to guess out where it was headed, but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was to search for the perfect moment. This time, it was their moment to strike.

"Don't lose focus…" Chikara told the others. The other Digimon were still on their Digivice in order to not make Kabuterimon fall due to the excessive weight, but even inside them, they were all ready to deliver an attack as soon as they would have come out.

And then…after a good fifteen minutes of following…the travel brought up to a piece of road where no one else was present aside from the mercenaries' machine. That was the perfect occasion, and Kabuterimon was already charging the electric energy from his horn.

"Ready?" Rina asked.

"Ready!" The Digimon promptly answered. The attack was ready to be launched.

The mercenaries, on the other hand, were completely unaware of the situation. All that mattered was that they were getting closer.

"Ok…it should take at least another half an hour." Jake warned the others.

"And how are we going to take her, precisely?" Aleksi asked.

That question made the famous criminal laugh. "You think I'm a rookie? This isn't the first time I need to carry someone. For that…Orochimon is quite the expert." He answered. "I'll probably need help to carry her in the car and then to the Rei Corporation. But overall, it should be an easy-" Before he could continue though…they could hear it.

"MEGA BLASTER!"

"UH!?" Everyone looked up alarmed.

"What was tha-" Sigumund was worried, but they didn't have the time to do something. The energy blast reached out the car, making it explode and attack directly the three inside.

"GAAAAAAAAAH!"

The group of detectives could see the explosion from above, with Kumo hoping that his two friends weren't wounded that much.

"We got them!" Sasuke exclaimed, happy to see that the attacked work.

"Eheh! Never underestimate our power, buddy!" Rina told him.

"Ok! Now that we got them, let's proceed to take them down!" Kyoko warned. All the detectives nodded and soon enough, most of them were surrounded by auras from which their Digimon partners came out.

Aleksi and the others in the meantime, were trying to stand up. Naturally, their Digimon came out as well to rescue their partners, considering that their bodies were badly injured due to the explosion.

"Aleksi! Hold on!" said Fla Wizarmon worried for his partner, who was standing up slowly.

"D-Don't worry…I can move…GH!" While he did say these things, the boy had to suffer a bit for the impact. He could give a look at his body to see that it was full of various burns and his arms were bleeding. "Dammit…it's a miracle that we are still alive!" He commented.

"How did it happen!? I could see it several times and no one was chasing us! It was all too sudden!" Sigmund added while looking around alongside his partner Lighdramon.

Jake looked around as well, and as soon as he looked up, he made an annoyed smirk. "Well well…it seems that you were incorrect, Sigmund."

"Uh?" Sigmund looked up as well.

"It seems that this time they wanted to make the first move. And they started by destroying my 55.000 dollars car!" Jake commented.

Aleksi could see it as well and startled a bit to see them. Especially considering that he was among them. "Kumo!"

The detectives' Digimon didn't lose time and started to immediately attack them.

"Rock Damashī!"

"Power Metal!"

"Jūouken!"

"Wheel Rush!"

"Mega Blaster!"

"Kaiser Nail!"

"Ice Age!"

The three mercenaries paled out at the sight of so many attacks, and as far as they could, their three Digimon tried their best to prevent them to reach out their partners.

"Lightning Blade!"

"Magic Ignition!"

"Inferno Blast!"

The three attacks all tried to contrast that large amount of energy, but the numeric superiority naturally prevailed. Still, they were able to lighten the damages with their efforts.

"GAAAAAAH!"

"Fla Wizarmon! Fuck…they're not hesitating a bit!" Aleksi exclaimed.

"Even Kumo seems really serious about this. Did he finally wake up?" Sigmund added.

"That's right, Sigmund!" Kumo told them as both he and the rest of the detectives landed down. "This time I won't hold back. So, it's better if you give up while you can!" He warned.

Even if the situation seemed unpleasant, Aleksi scoffed at that phrase. "Don't be ridiculous! Just because you became a bit braver, it won't change the fact of what you've done!"

"Perhaps it's you guys that don't wait for someone to explain and end up making idiotic choices! How about we show it what those brought you to?" Rina retorted while striking a pose with her partner Kabuterimon.

"Don't start to get cocky now! Just because you attacked us first doesn't mean you can get rid of us that easily!" Sigmund exclaimed.

"Perhaps you should see the situation you're in. Because I doubt that you'll resist for that long!" Taiyo countered.

"Gee, Taiyo, you're starting to put up some balls, I'm proud." His partner Paledramon told him, making him embarrassed.

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

"OK OK!" Suddenly, Jake caught everyone's attention with a loud call. The mercenary started to approach them while clapping the hands. Although he seemed entertained, he was starting to get frustrated. "Aren't you forgetting about someone? I can understand that you're both agitated for the situation but…you see…we're quite in a hurry. As far as we would love to settle things with you…we are forced to do it in a hasty way and more unfortunately! I won't be there. Orochimon!" He then called out for his partner.

The detectives and their Digimon stood on guard, but they couldn't predict the type of attack that would have followed.

"Sake Breath!" Orochimon released a pink smoke that engulfed anyone, fogging their senses for a moment-

"Eugh! What is this, sake?!" DORUgamon exclaimed.

"We can't let them blind us!" Wanting to wipe out the smoke, WereGarurumon raised his kick and started to spin to generate a small tornado. The attack ended up being a success, but as soon as their senses came back to normal, he and the others saw something alarming.

While Aleksi and Sigmund remained there, Jake was on his Digimon's back and the two of them were crawling away.

"I'm sorry to leave it that way, guys! But we have a job to carry on! Take care of them for me!" Jake said to his partners in crime.

"Tch, that clown…making us do the dirty job!" Sigmund commented.

"Let's not think about that now! We have company!" Aleksi reminded him while glaring at Kumo. "If you say you woke up, then show it to me, come on!"

"With pleasure!" Kumo retorted.

"Dammit! That bastard with the fedora is running away! We can't let them do so!" Sasuke shouted out.

"I never thought he could have come up with something like this…I wished we could have avoided it, but I think there's no choice." Kyoko commented, thinking of a way. She then raised her head up and jumped on DORUgamon's back. "Ok! Whoever has a Digimon partner that can fly will chase Jake! The rest will remain here and take care of these two!"

"Kyoko, are you sure?" DORUgamon asked while his partner jumped on his back.

"We can't waste other time! This is our chance to stop them!" The girl replied.

"Don't worry, sis! We can handle it!" Kumo assured her, making her smile. Rina and Taiyo got up on their Digimon as well, ready to chase the criminal.

"We follow you!" Both Rina and Kabuterimon gave confirm.

"Us as well!" Taiyo and Paledramon were of the same opinion.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" Fla Wizarmon exclaimed.

"Don't think you can get beyond us that ea-" Lighdramon and the other Digimon were going to try and stop them, but before they could reach them, Leomon stood in front of the two and charged a special attack.

"Hyakujūken!" The lion Digimon released an attack consisting of a hundred lions that pushed back the two enemies.

"NGHHH!"

"We'll be right back, don't worry!" With those words, DORUgamon and the others flew away, aiming to chase down Jake and his partner.

"DAMMIT! Get back here!" Aleksi shouted out of frustration, but Chikara was already there to punch him in the stomach. "GAH!"

"You should lay your eyes on your enemy, moron! WE'RE RIGHT HERE!" As usual, Chikara left out his furious tone. The other detectives and their Digimon were ready to fight as well.

"Ngh…fine…you've asked for it. Ready, Sigmund?" Aleksi asked to his friend, who seemed eager than him to start.

"Let's kick their asses!" With those words, the small rumble started.

"ORYAAAH!" Shoutmon immediately headed towards Fla Wizarmon, who was ready to greet him with a firing fist. The small red dragon was no less.

"Fire Cloud!"

"Rock Damashī!"

The two Digimon clashed their fire attacks, causing their surroundings to burn up. But they weren't done there.

"It seems that your flames have increased their powers since last time, Shoutmon. But you know me for quite a while. Should I remember you who is the master of fire between the two of us?" Fla Wizarmon told him.

Shoutmon smirked. "Course I know, Fla Wizarmon! That's why I know exactly how to answer them!" He told him before slamming his microphone on the ground.

"What!?" Fla Wizarmon exclaimed.

"Soul Crusher!" Shoutmon released a high volume and powerful shout that was amplified by the power of the microphone.

"AAAGH!" The intensity of the scream was powerful enough to deafen Fla Wizarmon and force him to cover his ears. This left him exposed enough for the small red Digimon to send a barrage of punches covered in flames.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

"AGH!" Due to the pain in his ears, Fla Wizarmon couldn't do much for the attack and got inevitably hit and sent several meters away in the road, but he was able to not fall entirely and stand on his feet. As soon as he regained balance, he could see that Shoutmon was already running towards him, and as such, he answered by generating a large blue fire ball to throw at him. "Magic Ignition!"

"What!?" Shoutmon didn't expect such an attack and was forced to stop his charge to defend himself. He used his microphone to block the ball in order to not let it reach him, but due to the dimensions, he had to use an extra effort. "NGHHHHH!" In the end, he was able to make it explode before it could reach him, but just as he thought that he was safe, he could see Fla Wizarmon right in front of him. "W-What!?"

The enemy Digimon didn't lose any time and took advantage of his shock to attack him directly with several fire fists. "You like to fill your enemy with punches, but how do you like it when it happens to you!?" He exclaimed, as he attacked.

"GAH! F-Fla Wizarmon stop it! You can see it clearly that what are you doing is wrong!" Shoutmon protested as he tried his best to resist.

"Oh, please, now you try to talk to me!? First you need to accept your mistake!" Fla Wizarmon promptly answered while continuing, but right in that moment…

"Kaiser Nail!" Two red swipes of energy reached out Fla Wizarmon, forcing him to defend himself. But WereGarurumon, who launched the attack, wasn't done there and used a dive kick to push him away and attack him.

"GAH!" Fla Wizarmon spit up a bit of blood for the attack and was stunned to see another Digimon on Shoutmon's side. "A Perfect-Level?" He thought.

"It's you who needs to accept the mistake! Do you really think that Kumo and Shoutmon would have left their friends alone!?" WereGarurumon scolded him before rushing against the enemy and start to attack him with several melee attacks.

"NGH!" Fla Wizarmon did his best to resist despite the clear distance of powers, but he then threw a fire ball that forced the wolf Digimon to get away. "Then how do you explain the fact that both Aija and her partner were dead!?" He exclaimed.

The two Digimon gritted their teeth by hearing him like that. It was clear that there was only one reason to convince him, but how to do it would have been troublesome.

"He may not be among the strongest of the enemy Digimon, but his flames are a problem. Considering that I have his same element won't bring us further." Shoutmon observed.

"Then we need to find a way to dispatch of them. Luckily for us I have a way for this!" WereGarurumon answered while getting ready.

In the meantime, Fla Wizarmon was already coming closer to them, ready to generate a burst of flames behind him. "Even if you're a Perfect-Level you don't scare me! I need to stay as close to Aleksi as possible!" He exclaimed. He then increased the flames he generated to release them in several tongues of fire. "Fire Cloud!"

WereGarurumon dashed forward to meet the tongues and use his punches to move out the wind. "My fists are strong enough move out the wind. If I direct the attacks correctly, I should be able to extinguish the fire with the wind and let me and Shoutmon get closer!" As he thought this, he moved the punches as fast as he could to generate more wind and nullify the tongue.

Shoutmon was immediately behind him and started to run and jump in order to dodge all the tongues that were aimed at him, although one was able to get him. "AGH!" He fell on the ground, but he quickly stood up to continue the race.

Fla Wizarmon could see that there was something wrong in this. "Are they getting forward?!" He thought. Sensing a major sense of danger, he generated a larger tongue of fire, but WereGarurumon stood in front of the smaller Digimon and clashed against the attack.

"Baldy Blow!" The wolf Digimon clashed his powered-up punch against the fire and his arm started to burn out. "GRRRRRR!"

"WereGarurumon!" Shoutmon exclaimed worried.

"Don't worry! Focus on him! I'm not the partner of Shark for nothing!" WereGarurumon encouraged the other Digimon to go. He was feeling pain, but he was there for a reason.

Shoutmon nodded and continued to run. In order to reach the target faster, he slammed the microphone on the ground to throw himself up and reach Fla Wizarmon, who was surprised. "GOT YOU NOW!" He shouted while releasing a fire punch. Even if scared, Fla Wizarmon counterattacked with one of his own.

The two fists clashed against each other and generated a large burst of flames.

"His attacks are more direct compared to that other time! At this point I'll-" Aleksi's partner tried to do his best to hold on, but Shoutmon was able to prevail by putting more charge.

"MUDA!" In the end, the punch was able to reach out Fla Wizarmon, giving him a hard knock on the face. Shoutmon didn't stop there and proceeded with more of them. "MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUMDAAAA!"

"GAAAAH!" Once again, Fla Wizarmon was sent away by that attack, and this time, he crashed on the ground. "Kh…" He still had some energy, so he was able to stand up. But he was starting to get worried of the sight he had on his eyes: both Shoutmon and WereGarurumon were ready to continue.

"Have it your way, friend! I'll make you reason with my fists this time!" Shoutmon exclaimed.

In the meantime, Both Gladimon and Leomon were trying to catch up Lighdramon with their weapons, but the Armor-Level Digimon turned out to be faster than expected, and catching him was quite the challenge.

"Stay still, lizard!" Gladimon exclaimed as he tried to catch him before starting to directly spin with his two swords. "Wheel Rush!"

Lighdramon sensed the danger from that attack and charged as well while unleashing electricity from the three protuberances of his back. "Blue Thunder!"

The two attacks clashed generating several shockwaves around them, but no one prevailed over the others, and they both jumped back.

Leomon tried to give support by attacking the dragon with a sword sequence. "Shishiou-maru"

"Lightning Blade!" Lighdramon was able to counterattack his attacks by clashing the blade on his head with the enemy's sword, being able to escape from him. "They're surely slower than me, but when they're able to get me, they're attacks are notable. I need to take them down before they reach me out!" He thought.

Gladimon, on the other hand, had to catch his breath. "Man, he's quite fast! Even with the best of my attacks he's able to slip out! Shoutmon's friends surely don't play around!" He commented.

"Speed is probably his main attribute. Therefore…a good method would be to limit his movements." Leomon suggested.

The knight Digimon turned on his friend. "Do you have an idea?" He asked. After hearing it, Leomon started to prepare his fist.

"I have something in mind. Keep him busy in the meantime!"

"Got it!" After hearing that, Gladimon didn't lose any time and immediately rushed against the enemy, swinging around his swords.

"What is he doing? Has he gone mad?" Lighdramon wondered as he saw the approaching enemy.

"Sword Dancer!" Gladimon's movements started to become faster as he kept to swing around his swords. But Lighdramon knew well how to dodge most of them and after jumping back, he charged against the enemy while surrounding his body in electricity.

"Electric Bite!"

"GAH!" Gladimon ended up getting bitten on the body, but he smirked behind his helmet, as he thought that this might have been the perfect chance. "Thank you!" He quickly started to attack the dragon Digimon with several swords attack with the use of the Sword Dancer. "DORARARARARARARARARARAARARARA!"

"Ngh!" Lighdramon soon found his body covered up in wounds and cuts as the enemy continued. "Damm mutt!" While keeping him on his teeth, Lighdramon started to lift up Gladimon and throw him away against a metal fence. But as soon as he turned around, he could see that his enemy was ready.

"Hyakujūken!" Leomon released a barrage of a hundred lion heads that soon started to surround the blue dragon, who got inevitably hit by some of them.

"Gh!" Even if he was in the midst of a storm attack, Lighdramon could rely on his speed to jump from one spot to another to dodge most of the attacks and start to run towards him. "Attack as you want! You'll learn the lesson one way or-" But to his shock, once the attack was over, Leomon immediately shot another one.

"Hyakujūken!" The lion Digimon didn't lose any time and immediately shot another attack while starting to sweat out. "This attack is powerful, but it consumes a lot of energies! Still, we're starting to surround him. I just need to hold on!" He thought before keeping on attacking and release his battle cry. "SHINESHINESHINESHINESHINESHINESHINESHINESHINESHINESHINEEEE!"

The hundred of lion heads started to become hundreds and quickly surrounded most of the space Lighdramon could use. The blue dragon started to get hit on several spots, but he tried to charge against him. "NGHHH! T-THAT'S ALL!?" He exclaimed. He was already charging electricity from the blade on his head in order to stab Leomon, but he forgot that he wasn't his only enemy.

"WANT SOME MORE THEN!?" Gladimon suddenly appeared and span against Lighdramon, getting him on the back. "Wheel Rush!"

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Due to the myriad of attacks, Lighdramon got sent several meters away, and he started to feel the pressure of the blows. "N-No…"

"Come on let's finish this!" Leomon exclaimed as he ran alongside Gladimon. Both Lighdramon and Fla Wizarmon turned out to be overwhelmed by their enemies' powers, as they were resolute enough to end it. And even their partners weren't having a good time.

"HA!" Aleksi tried several times to punch Kumo in order to knock him out, but the Chosen Child was able to dodge most of the punches and actually managed to grab him by the arm. "Oh, you got to be kidding me!"

"HEAAAH!" Without hesitating, Kumo threw him down and started to punch him in the face. Not expecting that, Aleksi could only get them, as his face started to get dirty of red.

"Agh! Y-You really are something else when you fight, eh!?" Aleksi sarcastically asked.

"Well, since I'm the first one my sister searched for when she founded the agency, I surely have more experience! Especially compared to you!" Kumo retorted before another punch.

"Heh, true, but you forget one thing!" Aleksi exclaimed before grabbing his neck and managing to throw him down as well. In less than a second the situation was reversed, with Aleksi starting to punch out Kumo. "You're the asshole who let my sister die! Therefore, I can't go out without giving you the proper punishment!"

Kumo suffered for a bit, but then he was able to grab Aleksi in the face, with the other boy grabbing him as well. "GHHHH!"

Then, Shark came in and pushed Aleksi away with an elbow attack. After helping Kumo to stand up, the two detectives ran and assaulted Aleksi with a double punch.

"BLARGH!" Aleksi spit a bit of saliva before getting falling down.

"Go back to your senses, Aleksi! I won't kill you! But if you don't want to listen you leave me with no other choice! You won't get away this time!" Kumo exclaimed while standing on guard.

"I think I don't need to add anything. Make your choice now, boy!" Shark added.

Aleksi was feeling a lot of pain. He knew Kumo in the past and he knew that he was a detective, but he never expected him to fight like this. He was surely skilled. But he couldn't quit that easily. "T-There's nothing to listen, I've already told you! Until Aija can rest in peace, YOU CAN EVEN SAY GOODBYE, KUMO!" He exclaimed out of frustration.

Sigmund, on the other hand, seemed more versatile and skilled on a hand-on hand combat. Both Sasuke and Chikara tried to overwhelm him with their attacks, but the boy swiftly dodged them before attacking both of them with heavy punches.

"GAH!" Sasuke could see that he was bleeding from his nose and could think that the opponent was serious. But he didn't expect him to find him already in front of him. "What the-!?"

"DID YOU STOP ALREADY, DANDY!?" Sigmund shouted out before unleashing a right punch right in the detective's face, sending him on the ground.

"AGH!"

After that Sigmund immediately rushed towards Chikara, who seemed more controlled and knew how to deal with him. He quickly moved his head to dodge the punches and pushed him away with a kick. With a moment of break, Chikara was forced to take off his glasses and look at him seriously. "I see, a boxing expert, eh?"

"My brother was the expert, but I have the right moves to bash that skull of yours!" Sigmund replied furious.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but when I was in the German army, they taught me a lot of hand-to-hand combat! Just like yours!" Chikara retorted, getting ready to fight.

Sigmund didn't want to hear nothing more and quickly dashed towards him. "WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Much like Sasuke, he tried with violent fists, but to his shock, Chikara pulled out the right arm movements to block them and counter them.

The Chosen Child then pushed Sigmund away and started attacking him with several uppercut fists and then pushed him away. But Sigmund didn't want to fall off and stood still with his legs, answering with the same violence his enemy was giving. Soon, the two of them started to punch each other violently, like in a true matching box, which ended up with both giving a punch at the same time.

"KH…I hate to admit it…but you're quite good." Sigmund commented before spitting some blood.

"Anf…you're not bad as well…but there's a reason why I bring discipline in the agency!" Chikara countered.

"Oh yeah? Then why am I still standing?!" Sigmund replied before pushing Chikara away with a punch on the chest.

"AGH!" Chikara lost a bit of balance before noticing that Sigmund was already running towards him. Considering the speed he was using, he wouldn't have dodged the next attack. "Shit!"

But just as before he could reach him, Sasuke intercepted Sigmund and attacked him with a double kick on the spleen, sending him away.

"AGH!"

"Forgot about me?" Sasuke asked while getting ready.

Sigmund quickly stood up. "Get out! I don't have time for a dandy that has a ridiculous look!" He commented.

Chikara made a more sceptic face. "…He said it." He commented.

"What, what do you mean?" Sigmund asked before noticing that Sasuke seemed already furious.

"YOU…WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY CLOTHING!?" Without losing time, Sasuke started to run and overwhelm Sigmund with a barrage of attacks. "WREAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"GAH! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? He wasn't showing that speed! JUST FOR AN INSULT!?" Sigmund shouted out confused as he got attacked.

In the meantime, Jake and Orochimon were still going fast through the road. "The diversion worked! We're almost there! Ahah, can't believe the sake trick always works!" The mercenary commented. But a voice behind him caught his attention.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh!?" When he turned around, he could see that DORUgamon was flying behind him with Kyoko on his back while Paledramon and Kabuterimon were following him on both sides with their partners.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me!" Orochimon commented.

"Cannonball!" DORUgamon immediately started to shoot several balls of metal from his mouth, but Orochimon promptly defended himself by using the tip of his sword, which became as sharp as a sword.

"Ame no Murakumo!" In an instant all balls were cut in half, making DORUgamon grit his teeth.

"Just because I'm big doesn't mean that I can be fast!" The snake Digimon commented.

"Then let's see how you like this! Ice Age!" Paledramon promptly answered with an ice breath that reached out for Orochimon.

The snake Digimon panicked and started to go as fast as he could, but the breath continued to track him down, to the point that he got him at the tail, blocking him overall. "AH! NO!"

"Bloody bastards!" Jake shouted out of rage.

"Too soon for say that, don't you think?" Rina ironically asked with a giggle while his partner charged the energy.

"Mega Blaster!" Since they couldn't do much, both Orochimon and Jake got fully hit and fell down.

"AAAGH!" As soon as they stood up, they found themselves surrounded by the three detectives and their Digimon.

"I know it may hurt your pride, but it's better if you give up, Jake!" Kyoko told him.

Jake started to sweat and grit his teeth. But he still had the confidence to smirk. "Now you're running fast." He commented. He then quickly grabbed two revolvers and started to make them rotate before pointing around.

"Everyone, look out!" Taiyo warned. Just as he said that, Jake started to shoot around, forcing the detectives to move around in order to dodge the bullets. Taiyo moved carefully and then tried to attack Jake from behind with a karate chop, but the mercenary saw it coming and jumped away before engaging the detective with stunning moves.

In an instant, Taiyo was on the ground. "Kh! Dammit! He's fast!"

"What do you think? That a criminal only thinks of- KUAH!" Before he could make a comment, Jake got attacked by a kick from Kyoko, which made him fly away.

"ACK! Dammit! You're starting to get annoyed! At least let me finish my line!" The criminal complained as he stood up.

"I think not! Right, Rina?" Kyoko asked to her friend which nodded.

"LET'S KICK HIS ASS!" Rina immediately started to run towards Jake and attack him with several melee attacks, and even with his experience, Jake found himself incapable of blocking most of Rina attacks, which were random, but fast. Kyoko quickly reached her out and the two girls were able to deliver a double kick at Jake, pushing him away again.

Due to the movements, Jake lost his hat and his face was starting to bleed out. "Kh…This is the first time I find myself in a petty situation! Time to solve it quickly!" He exclaimed as he drew his guns back. "Burn baby burn!" He proceeded with shooting with both of his weapons, forcing the detectives to run around while surrounding him. "AHAH! How do you like it?"

But Taiyo knew how to see it through. "I'll tell you know!" As soon as he seized the perfect moment, Taiyo shot two bullets at both Jake's hands, getting them and making him unable to shoot.

"AGH! W-What type of detectives are you!? Are you really that mad with me!?" Jake exclaimed as he saw his bleeding hands.

Even Orochimon was having difficulties with handling three large Digimon. He started to move out all of his head in order to contrast all of them at the same time while attacking them with the tail.

But even those Digimon were fast and skilled enough to block those attacks. In particular, Kabuterimon was able to block some of the heads with his arms and push them back.

"Ngh…this is starting to get unfair. If you were smaller, I could have gotten more chances!" Orochimon commented.

"Starting to complain?" DORUgamon asked.

"Not at all! Because I have the perfect way to get rid of you!" Orochimon replied before releasing a powered-up version of his main attack. "Spirytus Breath!" He released the purple smoke and the three Digimon started to feel dizzy again.

"Ngh! Try to resist!" DORUgamon encouraged the others.

"Don't worry! I know how to contrast this! Ice Age!" Before fainting out, Paledramon released an ice breath that started to contrast with the purple smoke, making it fade away.

This naturally didn't please the snake Digimon. "AGAIN!?" He shouted before turning around. "OH NO!"

Kabuterimon and DORUgamon were ready to attack him by combining their attacks into one.

"POWER METAL!"

"MEGA BLASTER!"

While DORUgamon shot a cannon ball from his mouth, Kabuterimon surrounded it with electricity through his attack, and the ball directly attacked Orochimon at the main body, giving him an electric shockwave.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Due to the power, the tall Digimon was sent away, and the two of them were almost done.

"Agh…I never thought I would have ended up in a situation like this…it's the first time actually…" Jake commented.

"And it will probably be the last! Let's take them, guys!" Kyoko exclaimed. With that command, both the detectives and their Digimon were ready to take down Jake…but right in that moment…

SPLAT!

"GAAAAH!"

"W-WHAT!?"

Long bleeding cuts appeared in each one's bodies, making them suffer a bit.

"W-What just happened?!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"I-I don't know! It happened so fast!" DORUgamon replied.

Jake…on the other hand…had a grin on his face. "Eheh…so the boss ordered you to follow us? That's very kind coming from him!" He commented.

"W-What do you mean?" Rina asked, but for them, it was Norn who answered, getting extremely worried.

"Guys! There's a fourth signal!"

"What!?" As soon as Kyoko raised her head up…she could see him.

David Eligor, and his partner Snimon were standing in front of Jake, glaring at the detectives. Even if he was wearing a mask, they could feel a cold sense of blood lust from the sudden enemy.

"W-Who…are you!?" Taiyo asked.

As an answer, David pointed his hands with sharp hands at them. "I'm David Eligor. And considering all the damages you had made so far to my client…I've decided to stop observing you from the shadows and go on the battlefield by myself. You already got a proof of what we can do. So, we suggest for you to lay down." He told them with a cold and direct tone.

"H-Ha! Over my dead body!" Despite the pain, Rina tried to run against David and tried to attack him, but to her horror, the mercenary was able to dodge all her attacks with ease. "What!?"

"RINA! RUN!" Kyoko tried to warn her friends, but Eligor was fast enough to stab the girl with his sharp hand.

"GAH!" Rina spit out blood from her mouth as she fell down for the pain. "GAAAAAH!"

"RINA! YOU BASTARD! COME HERE!" Kabuterimon tried to assault Eligor, but he ended up getting several cuts throughout his body. "GAH! T-THAT DIGIMON!"

Snimon reappeared in front of him with his claws soaked with blood. "Sharp Edge. Our attacks are sharp and direct." He spoke.

"And as we said before, we had been observing you ever since all of this started. We could see how you move and how you fight. There's nothing surprising that you can make us witness at this point." Eligor added.

That last phrase froze the blood at everyone.

"N-Now that I think of it…I had the feeling of being observed during these days…" Kyoko observed. Even she, who was known to pull out tricks, didn't know what to do in that moment. If he could see through them…what was left to do?

Eligor wasn't going to let them think, and he raised his hand. "Now…Lie down." With one simple command, both he and Snimon attacked the detectives and their Digimon with impressive speed, giving them more long cuts.

"GAAAAH!"

"Eheh…thank you for the help, Eligor. I'm sure that after this, they won't try to bother again. Let's go Orochimon!" Taking advantage of the situation, both Jake and Orochimon stood up and started to run again towards their step.

"N-NO! WAIT!" Kyoko tried to call them out, but it was futile.

"Don't worry. It won't be long before the plan is complete. You can start to stop worrying." Eligor concluded before he and his Digimon started to run towards the others' direction.

And like before…in the blink of an eye…

SPLAT!

"GAAAAH! W-WHAT!?" As soon as they thought that they could have defeated Aleksi and Sigmund, The other half of the detectives were all cut down by a sudden attack.

"W-Who is that guy!?" Kumo exclaimed.

"Eligor!" Sigmund exclaimed. The masked mercenary simply turned around.

"Come now. Jake is already heading there. We can't lose any more time." He spoke.

"Got it…" Aleksi replied before looking at Kumo with a spiteful glare. "Don't worry, we'll get to end it soon." And with those words, he, Sigmund and Eligor simply ran away. Once again…the enemy was able to escape.

"C-COWARDS! GET BACK HERE! FUCK!" Chikara shouted out of frustration. "WE ALMOST GOT HIM! IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT WEEB NINJA WE WOULD HAVE WON!"

"W-We even didn't have the chance to see him! He and his mantis Digimon simply attacked us! Just…who the hell is that guy!?" Sasuke asked.

"That guy…is a danger…" A familiar voice said. All the detectives turned around to see the others coming closer. Much like them, they were in a pretty bad shape.

"Guys! Those cuts…?" Shoutmon asked.

"Yes…that bastard did it…Gh! He was just…too fast…" DORUgamon answered while feeling pain in his chest.

"He…anf…he said that his name was David Eligor. And that he has observed us from the beginning…if he could attack us like that…was because he knows us well." Kyoko explained. Naturally, that shocked everyone.

"Are you kidding me!?" WereGarurumon exclaimed.

"That mask…oh, right! I-I remember seeing him at the assault of the Government Skycraper of Somnus. He was there alongside the others…" Kumo remembered while Shark scoffed.

"So, Saiba Rei had another mercenary at his service. He hired the best to get rid of us. What do we do now?" The leader of the Lion Fang Agency then asked.

To answer that, Kyoko contacted the receiver. "Norn! Do you still have their position?" She asked.

"Yes! They're running towards north-east!" Norn replied.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can see how messed up we are!" Chikara asked to be sure.

"Yes, but we almost got him before that guy appeared. All we need to do is to find a way to take him down, and finish up the others. We are getting closer to victory so we can't let them escape now! Sure, that Eligor gave us long cuts, but nothing fatal!" Kyoko protested.

Chikara looked down. He wasn't entirely sure of it, but he could see her point, so he nodded. "Ok. I want to trust you. Then we shall follow them!"

Kyoko made a small smile and then turned around. "You've heard us guys! Let's try to resist and-" Kyoko was about to give the order, but she could notice that Sasuke…seemed to look forward while standing still. "…Sasuke?"

His partner Gladimon came closer. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Sasuke had a puzzled and almost worried expression on his face as he kept on looking forward. "Wait a second…I…I recognize this road…" He commented.

"You do?" Kumo asked as he looked around. The others started to do the same.

"I don't understand…what's so important about this road?" Shark asked.

"Now that you make me think of it…I recognize it as well…don't you agree, Kabuterimon?" Rina asked to his partner, who nodded.

Kyoko as well looked at it carefully. "I…I have the same sensation as well…" She spoke. Most of them didn't understand that sensation…but the girl then turned around and noticed a familiar sign.

A sign that brought to a local restaurant. She knew it since she already went there. But most importantly…

"We're close to the Lobster's House? That's the same restaurant close to…AH!" Kyoko didn't even need to finish her thought that she realized it.

The other detectives (except Shark) felt their blood froze out as well…and they slowly turned to see each other.

"This is…the road to…" Kumo said with a trembling voice.

They didn't know what they were doing it…but the fact that the mercenaries were going towards that direction…adding to the fact that they probably knew that Norn was affiliated with the Cheshire Cat Agency…brought the Chosen Children to one…single conclusion.

And thinking of that put them all to a panic state.

"Don't tell me…those motherfuckers!" Chikara commented.

Norn could hear them. "Guys, what's wrong?" She asked.

With the trembling arm, Kyoko grabbed her receiver and told her a question. "N-Norn…you're home now, right?"

"Yes?" The girl from the other side replied. After that, Kyoko gave her one simple warning.

"Do not move from there. We're coming." After that, Kyoko looked at the others. "Let's go, hurry!"

The rest of the group nodded and got on their Digimon's backs, which started to run as fast as they could. They needed to make it quick. It was only a matter of time…and the situation could have been critical.


Norn didn't understand what Kyoko meant with that message, but she tried to do as told while Culumon remained there. She left the computer on and stood up while holding Culumon tight.

"Friend?" Culumon asked.

"What did she mean with that thing?" Norn wondered as she started to walk around the room. With a slow pace. Considering how Kyoko told her that message, she was afraid that even the slightest mistake could have provoked something, so she tried her best to not stay there and keep on checking everything for the operation.

But unfortunately…she couldn't do anything.

Suddenly, she could hear the window getting slowly opened. An impossible thing since she was the only one inside the house in that moment. And just as she feared, as soon as she turned around, she could see him. "Uh!?"

Orochimon's main head was staring at her.

"O-Orochimon!?"

"Sake Breath!" Norn didn't have the time to do anything to escape that the snake Digimon already covered all the room with his purple smoke.

"AGH- COUGH COUGH COUGH! D-Dammit…" Norn could only feel the dizziness of the alcoholic sent that made her faint and lay down to the ground.

"Friend! Friend answer- GH! Meeeeee…" Culumon tried to wake her up, but even she succumbed to the smoke and fell down.

Once everything was settled, Jake entered inside the house alongside Eligor. "Eheh, just as planned. Still, I never thought she had a Digimon with herself. What should we do?" He asked to the other criminal.

"We can only bring them with us as well. It's probably just a Child-Level." Eligor replied. Jake didn't mind that much, after all, they already did their job.

"As you wish! Sorry to enter without knocking but…the boss seems interested in you." He concluded before starting to put his hands on her.

A few moments later...

The detectives arrived at the Mikihara residence, and their agitation increased as soon as they saw one of the windows open.

"Please tell us that she only needed to change air!" Kyoko said. They all entered inside there and scattered around to search her.

"NORN! NORN!" Taiyo shouted out.

"WE'RE HERE! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Chikara shouted as well, trying to find her out. But to no avail.

After a few minutes of search, they all gathered together.

"Nothing! She's nowhere to be found!" Kumo said.

"You too!? Dammit!" Shark commented. But then…

"G-Guys…" Taiyo called out everyone's attention from Norn's room. When they all came in there, they could see that the room was empty as well…but with two things that made them realize everything.

One was the computer which was turned on. They could see that it was showing the three mercenaries' position. They seemed to get away and move towards the Rei Corporation. And the second one…were Norn's shoes, that were on the ground.

Kyoko came closer to look at them…and she realized it. Her body wasn't there and they didn't see any trace of blood, so they didn't kill her…but they did something that was troubling at the same time. "J-Just as they feared…"

All the detectives looked at each other…before confirming what those three did…and what they needed to do know. The answer was only one. And it was Kumo that said it.

"They kidnapped her. We need to go to the Rei Corporation!"