"The D-Reaper?" Janyu asked.

"The very same."

I wasn't surprised that he knew about it. The last conversation we had, he hadn't asked about it when anybody mentioned it, after all.

Henry had probably told him.

"The what?" Yamaki asked.

"The D-Reaper." I answered. "Do you remember, Yamaki, when you asked who I was and I told you I was someone interested in saving as many lives as possible from something terrible?"

He nodded.

"Well, the D-Reaper is that 'something terrible' that I mentioned." I turned to Janyu. "How much do you know?"

"Everything."

"Ah... good. That saves time, and time isn't something that we have much more of." I stood up, moving over to the table where they were sitting, before taking a seat next to Janyu. "Please pay attention, because the D-Reaper is a threat to all life in both this world and the Digital World."

I held my hands out above the table, a small black orb appearing, which quickly shifted into a red, chaotic blob.

"The D-Reaper is a program that dates back to the late 1970's, at a time when the Digital World was still in a much more primitive state. As a program, it was created for the sole purpose of deleting everything in the Digital World, which it will do so if the number of lifeforms that inhabit that world surpasses a predetermined point."

"1970's?" Rob asked. "But that would mean that it was created before we worked on the Digimon project."

Janyu looked up. "And if it was designed to delete everything based on the number of lifeforms, that would mean that-"

"Indeed. Digimon are not the only lifeforms that inhabit the Digital World. They compose the vast majority of the population, definitely, but they are not the only ones."

"Why would somebody make such a program?" Aishwarya wondered.

"Like I said, at the time of its creation, the Digital World was much more primitive. The D-Reaper was meant to delete everything that inhabited that world in order to stop the Digital World from being overloaded. The problem is, that was thirty years ago, and while the system could not handle it back then, it is capable of handling it now."

"But the D-Reaper is still programmed to activate, regardless of that." Janyu noted.

"Indeed." I gestured to the blob in front of me, which slowly swirled around, hovering above the table. "The D-Reaper is very, very close to emerging. Within the next month at an absolute maximum. We do not have much time in order to prepare for its awakening."

"And why is this a problem for us?" Yamaki asked.

"Because the D-Reaper, much like the Digimon, is capable of crossing over the barrier between worlds." I looked at him. "I'm sure I don't need to explain why a program designed to delete everything entering this world is a bad thing?"

Yamaki paused.

"It would attack us?" Babel asked.

"Indeed." I leaned back. "The D-Reaper is a threat to this world for that reason."

"I've seen the power possessed by some Digimon." Janyu began. "Could the D-Reaper really overcome that?"

"The D-Reaper was expected to delete everything in the Digital World. It is more than capable of overcoming any Digimon you've seen so far, and Digimon even more powerful than that." I looked upwards for a moment. "The D-Reaper... shares a lot of things in common with Digimon, actually. It was created for an explicit purpose, but grew beyond its limitations. It is capable of adapting, evolving, and mutating. And, if not stopped, it can cause an immense amount of destruction."

"And how do we stop this thing?" Daisy asked.

"Good question. Unfortunately, it's also one that I don't have an answer to." I waved my hand, gesturing to the slowly spinning red blob. "The D-Reaper is an adaptive, mutating, evolving program. I do not know how to stop it."

"You wouldn't be here talking to us if you did, would you?" Janyu asked.

I shook my head. "No. I would have already destroyed it, before it could go ahead and claim lives, before this entire situation descends into a massive clusterfuck. But I can't and I don't. I have no idea where it's hiding, no idea what it might have evolved or mutated into. And that's why I'm here, talking with you. It's not something I can do on my own, so I came here with intention of, if not recruiting you, then at least getting your assistance for a threat that may very well end all life in both worlds."

I looked at Yamaki for a moment. "That means Hypnos too, Yamaki. We need everything we can get our hands on in order to stop the D-Reaper. For now, we still have time, but we are very quickly running out of it."

The Monster Makers looked at each other, while Yamaki frowned.

Slowly, ever so slowly he nodded.

"What can we do?" Janyu asked.

"At the moment? Not much." I shook my head. "With the D-Reaper nowhere to be found, there really isn't anything that can be done about it. I'd like to be able to just give you the information you need, but that information is something that I don't have access to, and won't be able to access until the D-Reaper shows up."

Maybe... the Sovereigns could help with that, but the Sovereigns were...

Well, yeah. The only one of them who might actually entertain the idea of an audience with a bunch of humans and myself would be Azulongmon, and I didn't really have a way to contact him, did I?

Well, I suppose there was Zhuqiaomon, but the giant flaming chicken was... Zhuqiaomon.

Enough said, really.

I had no idea what Ebonwumon's and Baihumon's personalities were like, either. Even if I did, I had no way to contact them, either.

Ugh...

Why do things have to be so troublesome?