Agumon Expert, Dr. Datamon and Terriermon Assistant walked into a room full of computers. It was empty, void of any Digimon. "Huh. Not even Vademon's here." Terriermon Assistant said.

"I think he's doing more…experiments with Ami and Shiki right now." Dr. Datamon replied. "But it seems the Director is still gone. He's been out for a while."

"Well, I hope he comes back soon." Agumon Expert replied. "We still need to ask about Ami and Shiki's Digimon."

"Hmm…" Terriermon Assistant walked over to the main computer.

"Terriermon, what are you doing?" Too small to reach it normally Terriermon had to jump onto the stool and stand on it to look at the monitor. "Terriermon!" Agumon Expert rushed over as his assistant started typing and looking. "You can't just sneak into the Directors research while he isn't here!"

"But we promised Ami and Shiki we would find out what's happening to their friends!"

"Well yeah, but-

"Well…" Dr. Datamon said. "I am curious myself. And what the Director doesn't know won't hurt him."

Agumon Expert muttered uncomfortably as they joined Terriermon Assistant. "Hey, this must be them!" he said opening something. "A Rosemon, a Ophanimon, and a Kuzuhamon and a Phoenixmon and another Rosemon!"

They all looked at the screen. "Wait…What is this?" Dr. Datamon asked.

Terriermon typed and dug deeper into the contents. "Wait…No way…Is such a thing even possible?"

"This is happening to them right now?" Agumon Expert asked. "But to what end?"

"Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?"

"Epp!" All three of them shivered and slowly glanced behind him. The mysterious Digimon Takumi and Yuuko encountered earlier was right behind them. "D-Director!" Terriemron Assistant stuttered. "When did you get here?!"

"Just now."

"Greetings Director." Datatmon said. "I'm Datamon but people call me Dr. Datamon."

"Doc, we introduced ourselves when you were assigned to this facility, remember? Anyway, it's rather rude to peer into someone else's research. You're not trying to steal my work, are you?"

"N-no! We can explain!" Terriemron Assistant asked.

The Digimon laughed. "Oh relax, I'm just messing with ya! I mean yeah, next time maybe ask first, but if you want to know about my research, then by all means! What's the point of gathering knowledge if it isn't shared?"

"We've been meaning to ask you about it, but you've been gone for a while now." Agumon Expert said.

"Sorry about that. I've been cooped up in here for so long I thought I'd get some fresh air. Then I ran into Dynasmon and Craniamon out there, they needed help with something, had to take care of a few things in the aftermath of that, it was a real mess I tell ya."

"So…what is it you're doing to those Digimon?" Terriermon Assistant asked.

"I am so glad you asked little one. See humans have the ability to bond with Digimon. That bond gives Digimon power. I invented a way to reverse it so the bond transfers that power elsewhere instead!"

"You can shift where the power goes?" Dr. Datamon asked.

"Ingenious, isn't it? That power can prove to be of good use to the Order."

"What happens to the Digimon and the humans they bonded with though?" Terriermon asked.

"Nothing happens to the humans. The Digimon on the other hand are forced into a state where they obey my orders like they came from their human friends."

"You mean it…brainwashes them?" Agumon asked.

"Ugh, "brainwash"? That's such an ugly word. Think of it as recruitment."

"Is that why Ami and Shiki were brought here?" Terriermon Assistant asked.

"Well, yes and no. I wanted two humans with strong bonds with Digimon for my plans. I asked for one to be taken from the other Digital World and one taken from the six children who appeared in this Digital World in the past, didn't matter who. K just chose Shiki and Ami for some reason. Sounded like he had some kind of plan."

"Oh…any idea what that is?"

The Digimon shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Welp, if that's all the questions for now, I got some things to take care of so I better skidaddle."

"Yes, thank you for sharing." Dr. Datamon said.

"You are quite welcome." The Digimon started walking towards the doorway. He stopped in front of it. "By the way…You asked me these questions and peeked into my research files because those girls wanted you to find out what was happening to their partner Digimon, didn't you?"

The three jolted. "Wha- Datamon gapped.

"I…um…" Terriermon shivered.

"Urk!" Agumon Expert gulped.

The Digimon chuckled. "Next time you pay them a visit…tell Shiki the "Malevolent Fist" sends his regards." The automatic door opened, and he walked out of the room, closing it behind him.

Hudiemon and Luche ascended a staircase with Keisuke, Takuto and their Digimon. "Here we are." Hudiemon said. "The top floor."

Luche was panting. "Finally. Ugh…This building is so tall…"

"Are you okay Luche?" Takuto asked.

"Yeah…But why is this place so big? My feet hurt!"

Keisuke sighed. "If they were going to make this place so huge, they could have installed an elevator. Just a thought."

Hudiemon sighed and shook her head. "You haven't changed a bit Keisuke."

"I'm sorry, I spend most of my time online for my job, okay? Man, you're so lucky you don't feel tired Takuto."

The teen smiled. "Yeah, I won't lie. It's a nice perk."

Hudiemon looked at the door ahead. "This is it. The main computer is just in there. If I can hack into it, I'll be in the mainframe and this city is as good as ours."

"Okay, then let's do this." Keisuke said. "There are bound to be more Digimon inside, so here's the plan. Takuto and I will rush in first and attack them, Luche you and Hudiemon move in on the computer once we have their attention."

Hudiemon grinned at them. "Did you just come up with a good plan? I take it back, you've changed a lot."

Keisuke chuckled. "Well…I learned form a certain detective that it pays to think things through."

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Takuto grinned punching his palm as he and Keisuke approached the door.

On the other end a Bomber Naniomon was struggling with a computer. "Damn! I can't even send a SOS to anyone! Something's jamming the signal!"

Just then the door was blown open. Nova rushed in first and clawed an Ebidramon. Then PileVolcamon ran in and spulexed a Harpymon. Storm and MetalSeadramon flew in and started shooting down the Digimon in the room. "We're under attack!" a Manbomon yelled.

As the fighting broke out Hudiemon carried Luche as she flew around everything. "Hold on tight Luche." She leapt up and charged at the Bomber Nanimon. "Flying Kick!" She knocked it out in one kick and put Luche down in front of the computer. "Okay, work your magic."

"You got it!" Luche put her hands on the computer, and it started to glow. Hudiemon began typing.

"Alright! Start the Hack!"

Keisuke and Takuto were back to back. Their Digimon were fighting everything in the room all at once. "Huh. These ones aren't putting up much of a fight." Takuto said. "I guess we already blew through the tough ones on our way up here. Say, Nova, Storm, let's take this chance to practice using the Overclock!"

"Uh Takuto, maybe you shouldn't be so reckless with that." Keisuke said.

"Hudiemon said it will become more effective and controllable the more I use it right? Besides, if something goes wrong, I can trust you to back me up."

"You sure have a lot of faith in me."

"What's wrong with that? I've fought alongside you long enough to know I can count on you."

Keisuke smiled. "Thanks man."

"Alright, here we go!" Takuto slammed his palm on his Digivice. "Overclock!"

Nova and Storm roared as they glowed red. "Spin Attack!" Nova spun in place blowing a bunch of Orange WarGrowlmon away.

"Splash!" Storm blasted a few Monzeamon away with a burst of water.

"Shine off Bee!" TyrantKabuterimon let lose an explosion.

Hudiemon was still working. "Almost there. Then we can- Something sticky slammed into her from behind. "HEY!" She looked down to see a mess of sticky web from her shoulders to her hips. She looked behind her to see a Dokugumon. The web holding her was coming from its mouth. "Ugh!" She squirmed but her arms were stuck. "Uh, boys?! I think you missed a spot over here!"

Keisuke turned around. "Erika!" He ran towards her. An Orange Growlmon tried to attack him but PileVolcamon punched it aside.

The Dokugumon spun swinging Hudiemon onto a wall where the web she was caught in stuck her in place with her back against it. It then faced Keisuke who came to a halt, but as it spewed poison, Nova rushed in front of him and blocked with his Brave Shield. MetalSeadramon then destroyed it with River of Power. "Let us take care of this mess!" TyrantKabuterimon said as he and the others faced the remaining Digimon.

"Yeah! You get Hudiemon out of there!" Takuto said. "Nova, you protect Luche!"

"On it!" Nova flew over to Luche who was panicking.

"W-what do I do!?"

"Luche…!" Hudiemon grunted as she pushed her feet against the wall to try to pull herself away from it. "Continue the hack!"

"What?! How?!"

"Just remember what I taught you!"

"Well…okay." Luche started typing.

Keisuke grabbed Hudiemon's shoulders and pulled. "You…" he grunted as he tugged again. "…taught Luche how to hack?"

"She wanted…to make herself useful…" Hudiemon said as she tried to pull herself off the wall. "…Besides…it helped pass the time…"

Just then a Lampmon came into the room. "This one looks like trouble." Takuto said.

"TyrantKabuterimon, you take that one!" Keisuke said.

"Got it." TyrantKabuterimon flew in front of it.

Lampmon laughed. "Golden Smog!" His lamp spewed golden dust through the room.

"What?! I can't see anything!" Takuto panicked. Nova looked around for him but was punched from behind. Then TyrantKabuterimon was hit. Then Storm, MetalSeadramon and PileVolcamon. "Oh, this isn't fair!"

"Phantom Turban!" Lampmon struck all of them at once.

"This is dangerous, we need to do something about this fog!" Storm said.

"Almost…" Keisuke grunted. "Gah!" He fell over with Hudiemon on top of him as he finally got her unstuck from the wall.

"Thanks." Hudiemon stood up, still wrapped in web. "I can clear this out if this crap wasn't binding my wings…"

"Why didn't you say that sooner?!" PileVolcamon followed the sound of her voice to her. He grabbed the web and shredded it off of Hudiemon's body.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?!" Hudiemon and Keisuke shouted.

"Sorry, focusing on the fight right now!"

"Ugh, whatever." Hudiemon levitated herself off the floor. "Haaaa!" She flapped her wings and brought up a powerful gust that blew the smog away.

TyrantKabuterimon looked to his left. Lampmon was about to punch him. "Got you!" He uppercutted him into the air.

Hudiemon flew up to him. "Infinity Dream!" Her eyes shined blue stunning him. Then she kicked him to the ground where PileVolcamon drop kicked him into some of the enemy Digimon.

"Ocean Wave!" MetalSeadramon blasted it and the remaining Digimon with a storm.

"And that's that." Keisuke smiled.

"Great job guys!" Takuto walked up to them with a grin. "Keisuke, you and Erika make a great team!"

Hudiemon laughed. "I forgot how good it felt to work alongside you."

Keisuke nodded. "I missed this. A lot."

"Alright, let's finish what we started." Hudiemon walked to the computer. "How's it coming along Luche?"

"Um…I don't know. Am I doing it right?"

Hudiemon looked at her progress. "Wow. Uh…yeah. In fact, it's almost done."

"Wait really?" Takuto asked. "That's amazing Luche!"

"Seriously, how'd you learn to hack that well so fast?" Keisuke asked. "I struggled to learn this stuff."

"Heh, heh! Guess I'm a quick learner!" the girl grinned.

"Good job kid." Hudiemon smiled. "I'll take it from here." She got to work on the computer. "Done. Now let's reboot the defensive measures of the city, aaaaaand…"

Outside, the last of the enemy Digimon rounded up and were fighting desperately against the resistance forces. "We're not going to last much longer out here! Are we getting any backup?!" a DarkVolumon asked.

Suddenly turrets rose up from the ground. "What the-where did this come from?!" Arata asked.

"Finally!" a Missimon said. "The defenses are online! Now let's chase these guys out o-AHHH!" One of the turrets blasted him.

"What's happening?!" a Tankmon yelled as the turrets shot at them. "Why are we the ones being attacked?!"

"What's going on?" Shoma asked.

Justimon smirked. "They did it. They hijacked the mainframe of the city' defenses. Now all we gotta do is chase the Next Order out and we're done!"

"You heard him guys!" Nokia said. "One last push!" The resistance roared.

"Job complete!" Hudiemon smiled proudly with her hands on her hips. "That was easier than I thought!"

"Now we have the whole city to use as a resistance HQ." Keisuke smiled.

"Yup. This'll be the first major step in uniting everyone." She opened a monitor. "Justimon, we have the tower. How are things going over there?"

"The Next Order is retreating. We're just mopping up now."

"Let me know when you're done."

Clapping sounds averted everyone's attention to the doorway. A figure with a white mask and red and black coat applauded. "Yes, well done. As expected of Hudie."

Hudiemon looked at him. "That mask…!"

Takuto glared at him. "It's you!"

Keisuke clenched his fists. "You must be the new K."

"That is correct Keisuke. But not the one you knew. Yu isn't wearing the mask this time."

Hudiemon gasped. "You know Keisuke?"

"Better then I know you, Erika Mishima."

"What?! How do you-

Takuto interrupted with a shout. "Where's Shiki?!" K laughed and ran out of the room. "Hey! Get back here!" He sprinted after him. Nova and Strom followed close behind.

"Takuto!" Luche yelped.

"Keisuke, let's go after him!" Hudiemon yelled.

"Right!" Keisuke and his Digimon left the room with Erika. They looked left just in time to see Takuto turn a corner and run after him.

K smirked and reached into his pocket and kept running. He ran down some halls and jumped down a few stairs. Takuto was hot on his heels. Eventually K shoulder, charged through a door into a room where a strange device was emitting a green light from a circular pad. He pressed a few buttons on the terminal connected to it and the light became blue. "Get back here!" As he heard Takuto shout from the hall, he put something on the panel and looked behind him to see Takuto run into the room. K jumped into the light and vanished. "You're not getting away!" Takuto ran into the light with his Digimon and disappeared just as Keisuke and Hudiemon caught up.

"Takuto!" Keisuke shouted. "Wait up!"

Hudiemon heard beeping and saw a device on the monitor blinking red. "GET BACK!" She flew in front of Keisuke and held her hands forward. A barrier formed around them just as the terminal exploded. Smoke filled the room that the two coughed up before they could see again. "Are you okay Keisuke?"

"Yeah, thanks." He looked up and gasped. "Oh no…"

"What?" Hudiemon looked up. The machine was in ruins. "Oh great."

"What was that thing, and can it be fixed?" TyrantKabuterimon asked.

Hudiemon walked over. "A teleporter from the looks of it. And yeah, I'm sure it can be fixed. You know, maybe three to four days from now."

"Hey, wait up!" Luche ran into the room. "What happened, where's Takuto?!"

"Gone. He and K vanished into some kind of teleporter." Keisuke replied. "Right before it blew up."

"What?!

Hudiemon received a call and picked it up. "Yes?"

"This is Justimon. We've confirmed the city is clear of Next Order forces."

Hudiemon looked at the destroyed teleporter. "…Understood. We're almost done on our end."

"Guys, how do we get Takuto back?!" Luche asked.

"We don't even know where he is right now. Besides, something tells me he won't come back until he chases down K."

"No way K just came in here to say hi." Keisuke said. "Takuto just charged into a trap."

"Exactly. Which is why I feel we'll have to find Takuto rather than wait for him to come back."

Luche was struggling to find a argument. "But…but…!"

"Luche, we're not giving up. We'll find him." Hudiemon said. "I doubt I can get this teleporter up and running anytime soon, but I might be able to access its log and find out where they went. Just give me some time."

"…Okay…"

"First things first. I want to make sure the protection software is installed so the city can't be hacked. Then we'll rally the others and discuss our next move."

"I can't believe we actually did it." Grizzlymon said. "A lot easier than I imagined actually."

"That Hudiemon is one hell of a tactician." Magnamon nodded. "Thanks to her casualties were kept to a minimum. And now we have the whole city for the resistance."

"That's good and all, but even with all of us, this city's still rather large for us to run it by ourselves." Arata said.

"Hudiemon has an idea." Himari smiled. "This place will be bursting with Digimon in due time. Like Flotia!"

"Then I call this a huge success!" Nokia cheered. "Good job everyone!"

"…But he is going to be okay, isn't he?"

"His wounds are still fresh, but I mended him. I may still be learning about humans, but the worst should be over as long as he doesn't push himself. What he needs now is rest. Still, it's a good thing you found him and brought him straight here."

Takumi's mind was a fog when he finally started to stir. "Hey, I think I saw him move! Is he waking up?"

Takumi groaned and his eyes slowly opened. He saw two Digimon looking down at him. One was a little girl with a pink animal hood, the other had blond hair, white skin and a wizard's hat holding a staff with a snowflake on the end. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

Takumi grunted and tried to sit up. "What happened? Where-Ahh!" He clutched his side in pain. Bandages were wrapped around him as he laid down on a medical bed. His shirt and goggles were lying on a box next to him.

The sorcerer pushed him back down gently with a hand on his shoulder. "Don't move. You've been seriously injured."

Takumi looked around. He appeared to be inside some kind of cave. He noticed other beds with injured Digimon lying down around him. Must be some kind of sick bay. Sistermon Blanc rushed to the door and opened it. "Hey guys! Takumi's finally awake!" Not long after she hurried back to Takumi's bedside others rushed into the room. Including Takumi's Digimon, and Yuuko.

"Takumi!" Yuuko ran over to his bedside. "Oh, thank heavens!"

"Yuuko?" Takumi asked. He sat up again at the sight of a familiar face. "Jesmon, is that you?!"

The Royal Knight bowed his head. "It's been too long Takumi Aiba."

"Are you alright?!" Yuuko asked.

Takumi rubbed his head and groaned. "I'll take a survey and get back to you on that. What happened? The last thing I remember was going after Darcmon…or…whatever it was she became. Then Examon and that Digimon with the gold mask showed up…"

Yuuko sat down on a stool next to his bed. "That's right. During the fight you and I fell down that cliff…But you softened my fall with your body, hurting yourself in the process."

Takumi remembered holding Yuuko tightly while his back scrapped against the cliffside as the ground got closer. "Oh yeah…"

"When I came too, we were at the bottom of the cliff, and you were badly hurt. I tried to carry you somewhere safe but a horde of Digimon spotted us. They tried to take us to their hideout, but Blanc here and her sister Ciel intercepted them and rescued us with Jesmon's help."

"We were on our way to help Rebel's Heart when we ran into you." Jesmon said. "After that your Digimon found us, and I warped us straight here so Socerimon could heal you up."

"I see." Takumi smiled. "Thanks, Jesmon, you saved us."

"Think nothing of it my friend. It's the very least I can do after all you've done for me."

Takumi chuckled. "…Wait, what about Darcmon?"

Samudramon and Rapidmon looked at each other. "…She told us to go look for you, so we hurried down the cliff." Rapidmon sighed.

"You just left her with Dynasmon and the others?!"

"Did we really have a choice?" BlackWarGreymon asked. "I'll say it again, protecting you is our top priority. Besides, she's far more capable of protecting herself then you are alone, especially injured as you were."

"And you saw Darcmon's power after her transformation." Dorugoramon said. "She's become far more powerful than anything we've ever faced. She can handle herself."

Takumi still felt conflicted but sighed. "…You're right. I'm sorry. Wait…where are we?"

"Zaxon's Pride HQ." Rapidmon Armor replied.

"Zaxon? I thought Jesmon was working for your team."

"After I left to find you, they were attacked. They were adrift for a bit until Machinedramon found them and brought them all here."

"Speaking of, I should go tell our leader you're awake." Samudramon said. "Yuuko, are you okay with watching over him?"

"Of course."

"I need to go speak to my master too. Socerimon, Yuuko, please take care of Takumi." Jesmon said as Samudramon left.

"Wait, that's right." Takumi looked at him. "Gankoomon was injured, wasn't he? Is he alright?"

"He lives, but his injuries are making it hard for him to fight. So right now, he's focusing on strategizing with Machinedramon and the leader of Zaxon. Anyway, I should go. Get well soon Takumi. Once you feel better I would very much like to exchange more words with you."

Takumi smiled. "Me too. Thanks again for saving us you guys."

"Not a problem!" Blanc bowed before she and Jesmon left.

"So, wait, who's the leader here?" Takumi asked.

"I'm not sure." Yuuko replied. "It seems Machinedramon relays his orders to the team, but his identity is a secret known by only a few. In fact, according to Samudrmaon the only ones who know his identity were just him and Machinedramon at first. Gankoomon and Jesmon were introduced to him after Sleuth's Will joined Zaxon's Pride. Other than that, he's a mystery. Everyone calls him Zero."

"Oh, and don't worry about getting them up to speed." Rapidmon Armor said. "Samudramon already updated the leader on what's happened and what we've been doing. We also explained everything to Jesmon and his friends."

"I'm sure you all have much to talk about." Socerimon said. "But for now, Takumi should rest."

"I understand." Yuuko replied.

"Takumi, please lie back down. I'm just going to treat your injuries some more and make sure they're healing."

"Okay." Takumi laid back down as Socerimon held his staff towards his ribcage and it started to glow. He exhaled and relaxed as the pain was slowly starting to get better. He looked at the Digimon. "Hey…I remember you. You were at the hospital back in our world."

"You've meet before?" Yuuko asked.

Socerimon nodded. "That's right. You and your sister were looking for Wizardmon."

Takumi looked at him sadly. "Hey, about that…I'm really sorry about what happened back then."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"At the time I thought you were attacking that little girl. But you were just healing her. And we carelessly confused you for Wizarmdon."

"Oh, that?" Socerimon chuckled. "Water under the bridge. You two weren't the first to confuse me for him and I assure you, you won't be the last."

"You were helping at the hospital?" Yuuko asked with a finger on her chin. "...Wait…are you the Digimon Keisuke mentioned?"

"Keisuke?" Socerimon asked. "…Oh! You mean that human from Hudie! You know him?"

"He's a friend of ours. He came with us to help with the war." Takumi replied.

"I see." Socerimon smiled. "I do hope I get a chance to see him again."

Takumi smiled and closed his eyes. "I know he'd like that as well."

Hudiemon, Keisuke, and Luche exited the main building and were immediately greeted by Nokia and the others. "Hey guys!" Nokia waved.

"Good to see you all made it." Keisuke smiled.

Arata looked at Hudiemon. "Is that Ryuji's sister?"

"I am." Hudiemon replied. "I merged with Wormmon to take on this form."

"A human and a Digimon combined…" Mameo said. "That's interesting."

Arata nodded. "I heard the details from Keisuke, but I'm still having a hard time getting this wrapped around my head…"

Nokia grinned. "Who cares? She's Keisuke's friend, right? So that makes her our friend too!"

"I'm not sure I follow." Hudiemon replied.

"It's Nokia, it's impossible to keep up with how she works." Arata shrugged.

Luche noticed the Omegamon with Nokia. "Oh wow! You have the same Digimon as Takuto!"

Himari then noticed. "Wait…where is Takuto? Wasn't he with you guys?"

Keisuke cringed. "About that…"

Terriemron, Agumon and Datamon all walked towards the teleported leading to Ami and Shiki's cell. "So…what are we going to tell them?" the assistant asked.

"The truth." Agumon Expert replied. "That's what they wanted. It's what we promised."

Dr. Datamon sighed. "I don't see either of them taking this well."

"Yeah…hey, guys?"

"Hmm? What is it Terriemron?" the professor asked.

"I've been getting this weird feeling lately. I feel like I met Ami somewhere before. Her kindness…her smile…her resolve…it feels so…warningly familiar."

"Oh?" Doctor Datamon asked. "How odd. I felt something similar when we met Ami. Like there's something important that eludes me."

"Really?" Agumon Expert asked. "But surly you two would remember meeting a human before."

"I guess…Well, enough of that. Right now, we need to talk to them about another matter." One by one they stepped inside.

Inside, Ami was exhausted. Just as she always was whenever Vademon came in for his experimentation. She and Shiki were lying down. Not much else to do at that point. The teleporter into the room activated and they looked up to see Terriermon Assistant, Agumon Expert, and Dr. Datamon come in. "Oh, hey guys." Ami said as she and Shiki sat up."

"Ami. Shiki." Terriemron Assistant said. "…We found your partners."

"Really?!" Shiki gasped as she got up. "Are they alright?"

Agumon Expert sighed. "Well, you see…"

Everyone in Rebel's Heart and Hudie's Draem was gathered in from of the central tower. "What!?" Arata, Nokai, Yuugo, Himari, Kouta, Shoma, and Mameo were shocked by what they just heard.

"K was here?!" Arata asked.

"And Takuto disappeared going after him!?" Himari added.

"I'm sorry." Keisuke said looking down. "If I was just a bit faster, I would have been able to follow."

Hudiemon turned to him. "Then you'd be missing as well. Don't dwell on it."

"So, what do we do?" Kouta asked.

"First, we need to settle into the city. In the meantime, I'll go see if I can recover anything from the teleporter."

Keisuke looked at the group. "Wait a second…Where are Takumi and Yuuko?"

Nokia sighed. "Oh, right…they went after Darcmon. She stayed behind to hold of Dynasmon and Craniamon."

"Are they alright?"

"We haven't heard from them yet…" Yuugo said. "I hope nothing's happened to them…"

"I'm worried about Darcmon too…" Lilamon added.

"I wonder…" Hudiemon murmured. "…With the whole city at our disposal I might be able to make something that can scan for their Digivices. Maybe I can find out where they are. After that, I also need to reach out to the rest of the Resistance teams so we can all assemble here."

"Maybe someone's heard something about Takuto or our other missing friends." Shoma suggested.

"Alright, let's get cracking." Keisuke said. "We got some work to do."

"W-what…?" Ami and Shiki were shocked into silence.

"I'm afraid so." Agumon Expert said. "That's what the director told us…"

"No…Rosemon…Ophanimon…Kuzuhamon…"

"Reverting where the power of a bond gets sent to…" Shiki murmured. "That sounds a lot like something I encountered before…"

"Really?" Terriermon asked. "Hey, now that I think of it, the Director seems to know you."

"He does?"

"Yes, that's right." Dr. Datamon said. "He wanted us to tell you, and I quote: "The Malevolent Fist sends his regards"."

Shiki's eyes slowly widened as her mouth was held agape. "…The Malevolent…No…"

Ami looked at her friend. "Shiki?"

"But…that can't be! He shouldn't even be in this world!"

"Shiki? Are you alright?" Ami asked. The girl was too shocked to answer. She then looked at the Digimon. "Isn't there something you guys can do for them?!"

"I'm sorry, but we still know too little about this "Dark Bond"." Agumon Expert said. "And it's not like we can just get the Director to stop the experiment. We lack the authority."

"But can't we do something professor?" Terriermon asked. "These are Ami and Shiki's friends!"

Ami looked at him. "…Terriermon…can I ask you something?"

"Huh? What's up?"

"Digimon once upon a time crossed a dimensional wall and fell into our world."

"I heard about that." Agumon said. "According to the Next Order, the incident was wiped from the minds of all Digimon. But for unknown reasons some are starting to remember those events."

"That's right." Ami said. "…And the ones who made everyone forget were me and my friends."

"You?" Terriemron asked.

"Terriermon…I know you might not remember what we went through, but I trust you. So please, I need your help. I know deep down you still want to make friends with humans and Digimon even if we scare you sometimes."

"What are you-

"That's why you came to us at the detective agency. And my brother and I made you a promise that we would never give up. No matter how hard it gets. That's why I know you can help somehow. …Because we know each other."

Terriermon gave her a strange look. Then he gasped as a rush of memories flowed into his head.

"Ah, you must be the detectives in charge."

"I would rather not see humans as my enemy, I'd still like to think there is a way that humans and Digimon can coexist peacefully."

"I would like to examine you in detail. Please show me all the good that humanity has to offer!"

"Case closed! Wow Takumi, you and Ami are really as good as they say!"

"Thanks, Ami…Hehe, I've calmed down a bit now."

"…Uh! Takumi… …That's true. You're not like that, Takumi. Neither is Ami. You want to help any human who is in trouble…and even Digimon like me as well. We haven't spent much time together, but even so, I know. You are kind and warm hearted. Both of you."

"Well, Takumi, Ami, I think that about does it for my case."

"You know, the reason I picked you wasn't just because you two are capable detectives. I wanted to make friends with humans, but I myself was afraid of them. So I asked you guys because you have a good reputation among Digimon."

"My hand may be small, but…pinky promise?"

"Promise me, however hard it may be, you will never give up, you will create friendships between Digimon and humans and do your very best!"

"…See you later!"

"Ah…!" Terriermon Assistant stepped back trembling. "…Ami…"

Agumon Expert looked at him. "Terriermon? What's wrong?" He watched his assistant run out of the room. "Terriermon!"

"What happened?" Dr. Datamon asked. He turned to Ami. "What was that you were saying? Do you mean you two actually met before?"

"That's right. Before everything changed. Terriermon came to the detective agency I work at and went on a case with me and my brother."

"You do cases for Digimon?"

"That's right. He even took three from you?"

Dr. Datamon blinked. "From…me?"

"That's right. You were trying to make a new medicine to counter a deadly disease for Digimon, so you had us gather the ingredients you needed."

Dr. Datamon narrowed his eyes thinking carefully.

"Hi. Thank you for coming here, detectives. I'm Datamon. Everyone calls me Doctor Datamon, though. The reason I called you here, as I'm sure you well know, is to help me with the development of my new medicine."

"These are…wow, some fine quality plants. Thank you!"

"Thanks to you, Detectives, I will be able to make very high quality medicine! With these amazing ingredients I will be able create medicine that nourishes Digimon, improves general bodily function and… Huh? Why are you making those horrible faces at me?"

"I'm Datamon. Everyone calls me Doctor Datamon, though. …Huh? You already knew that? Sorry, I just can't stop saying it. So, as you know, the reason I have asked you here, Detective, is to help me experiment with my new medicine."

"This is the medicine my teacher made. Somehow or other it seems I managed to mix them up."

"…Hmm? I've introduced myself three times now? Well, I always introduce myself, it's sort of my thing."

"There is a Digimon in this Digital Space called RustyTyranomon. Recently, I discovered a deadly new disease."

"It seems like he's started to go crazy. Me must stop him at once! Please, help me!"

"Quick! Give RustyTyranomon the medicine!"

"…Oh, Detective, I just remembered some urgent business…You need to convince him. Please, you've got to do it!"

"I…I'm sorry… I had to give someone a case of the medicine. Please forgive me…*Ahem*. Anyway, let's just be grateful that this new medicine works!"

"Detectives, you have helped me out numerous times now. With this we will be able to help many Digimon. I want to thank you for all your help. …However, with this particular medicine, it's probably best if you don't go announcing the ingredients to the whole world…"

"Dr. Datamon? Dr. Datamon!" Agumon Expert waved his hand up and down in front of him.

"I…I'm sorry. I need to go clear my head." The Datamon left the room.

"Hey, wait!" Agumon Expert turned to Ami and Shiki and bowed his head. "Please excuse me."

Shiki looked at Ami as he left. "What was that about?"

Ami frowned at the portal. "Terriemron…Dr. Datamon…I believe in you…So please…"

And there you have it. Cache City will now be the Resistance hub moving forward. But what became of Takuto who vanished chasing K? What awaits Takumi and Yuuko at Zaxion's Pride HQ? Find out next week.