Inside the war room everyone stared at Zero. "Huh." Ami muttered looking between him and Yuugo. "This is…bizarre."
"That's one way to put it." Kouta sighed.
Hudiemon looked around the large table. "Well, looks like everyone is here. Gotta say, it sure is nice having more room."
Justimon folded his arms. "Of course, it would seem that way to you as you are usually holed up in your room."
Hudiemon scoffed. "You sound just like my brother."
"Well in any case, let's get this meaning underway." Mameo said.
"Agreed." Shoma nodded. "Let's start by going over what we know."
"Not much to say on that front." Arata sighed. "We know we're up against six of seven Deadly Digimon, five rouge Royal Knights, and three hackers... among many, many other Digimon. We don't know much else about the Next Order or what they're planning."
"Actually, we do know one thing." Yuugo said. "When Crusadermon showed up at the lab, she said the Order needed K, Brother Sorrow, and Hosaka for their plans."
"Must be something important." Ami added. "Why else would Crusadermon and Leooardmon who despise humans employ them in their group?"
"She mentioned programs that Digimon cannot use…" Shoma said. "They may not have had a choice."
"I have heard rumors of such programs." Omegamon said.
"Do you think the Order might be using them for access to these programs?" Kouta suggested.
Mameo nodded. "Seems likely. Though this may have something to do with K's grudge against Takumi."
Himari looked at Takumi. "If this is personal you've gotta have some clue on who K is!"
Takumi shook his head. "Being both a cybercrime detective- or at least an apprentice of one who helps on the job-and a bit of a hacker tends to make picking up enemies unknowingly rather easy."
"Yeah, no kidding." Ami murmured.
"What about Hosaka and Brother Sorrow?" Darcmon asked. "What do you suppose their motives are?"
"Hosaka, is easy." Keisuke said. "He's motivated by greed, nothing more. He steals and sells EDEN accounts."
"No wonder he's partnered up with Barbamon." Rapidmon Armor replied.
"And Brother Sorrow?" Zero asked. "What do we know of him?"
"Well let's see." Nokia said. "He wears a mask and works for the Next Order. Yup, that's about it. That's all we know."
"Maybe not." Jesmon spoke up. "Back when Zaxon's Pride was under attack by him, He attacked Yuuko without warning, not even paying mind to the rest of us."
"Including me." Samudramon said. "He was gunning straight for her."
"He attacked a human rather than fight her partner?" Yukimura asked. "How cowardly."
"Sounds like Takumi isn't the only one here that somebody has a real beef with." Takuto said.
"So, what, the guy's got something against Kamishiro Enterprise?"
"I don't know." Yuuko replied.
Dinohumon came into the room. "Pardon the interruption, but the members of Jude's Flare have arrived."
Arata blinked. "That was fast."
Diaboromon turned to everyone. "Come on. I better introduce you guys to them." He glanced at Arata. "Though there might be some awkwardness when you see the guy I put in charge." He then looked at Yukimura. "Might not just be you actually."
Everyone started walking towards the exit of the building. Kouta looked to Arata. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I have no idea." Arata shrugged.
Everyone came outside and was greeted by a horde of Digimon. They were led by one with a red cape, white armor and a giant shield and lance was speaking to Magnamon. "It is remarkable that you managed to take this city."
"The praise belongs to Hudiemon and her team." Magnamon replied. "And of course, Takuto and his friends."
Nokia blinked. "Hey, isn't that...?"
"Gallantmon!" Omegamon hurried over with the others following.
"Ah, my sworn friend, Omegamon. Good to see you've been holding up."
A red-armored Digimon with a shield and a crossbow folded his arms. "So, you all survived."
"Kentaurosmon too?!" Ami blinked.
Kouta stared at the capped knight. "Well...this is kinda surreal."
"I concur." Yukimura replied. "Now I know how Yuugo and Zero feel."
Arata blinked in surprise. Takumi approached. "Good to see you again Gallantmon."
"You as well detective. I've been told that it was you and your sister's bravery that saved us all. Words cannot express my gratitude."
"It was nothing really." Ami replied. "Just cleaning up our mess from before."
"Yes, I have been informed of what transpired eight years ago as well. Nonetheless, you both risked your existence to save both our worlds. That is a valiant gesture that deserves our gratitude."
Magnamon looked at the group. "Darcmon! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I was detained in the same lab Ami and Shiki were held in. The humans here rescued me."
"Thank goodness... Wait..."
"Is there a problem?" Darcmon uneasily asked as Magnamon stared at her.
"I can't sense the power of the Sovereign Digimon's core."
Darcmon looked down. "I'm afraid they have taken it from me."
Everyone looked at her in shock. "What?!" Takumi gasped.
"Impossible!" Magnamon gapped. "You tampered with it so you and it would be destroyed upon forceful removal!"
"I have no idea how they did it either. But now the core is in the Next Order's hands."
Yuuko shook her head. "That's not good. Seeing it gave you the strength to match Examon, who knows what kind of harm they can do with it."
"So the Next Order's objective involves the four Sovereign Digimon." Kentaurosmon said.
"There are four of these cores, yeah?" Takuto asked. "Then the Next Order must be after the other three right now!"
"A logical assumption." Zero nodded.
"Then let's see if we can find them first." Mameo said. "If these things really are so powerful, Leopardmon must have something big in mind."
Hudiemon nodded. "Agreed. With all the Resistance teams together, we have plenty of hands to search for them. I suggest we take full advantage of it."
"Everyone!" Bokomon came running towards them.
"Bokomon? What's wrong?" Nokia asked. "Is Nemon doing something funny again?"
"Surprisingly no. But we were just contacted by someone at the lab. She wants to speak with the humans in our group. From both Takumi and Mameo's worlds."
"Really?" Keisuke asked. "Who is it?"
"Come see for yourselves." Bokomon turned around and everyone started to follow.
Arata stared at Gallantmon as he passed by. Only then did he happen to notice the hacker. They stood still and looked at each other. "Hmm." Gallantmon followed the others.
Kouta looked at Arata. "You got some kind of history with this world's Gallantnon?"
Arata put his hands in his pockets. "You could say that."
Inside another building, Doctor Datamon, Professor Agumon, Terriemron Assistant, and Starmon along with other researchers from various teams and the Digimon Professor Agumon and his friends brought with them. Right now, all of them were looking at a hologram. "This is most festinating." Bokomon said.
"So how long have you been supporting humans and Digimon?" Agumon Expert asked.
"My, it's been quite some time now, hasn't it?" the hologram replied. "Nevertheless, I see to the stability of Digimon and human worlds and the bonds between our kind."
"So you've been keeping tabs on all us hackers through the Cyber Sleuths and Keisuke." Zero said.
"Yes, the three of them have proven to be of good assistance. Yet all of them exceeded my expectations in a way I had not thought possible."
"Hey guys, we're here." Nokia said as the humans stepped inside. "So, what's going o..." She noticed the hologram. "Hey... isn't that...?"
When the woman came into view, Takumi, Ami, Keisuke, Takuto, Shiki, Himari, Kouta, Mameo, Luche, and Shoma all did a take. "Mirei?!"
The lavender-haired holographic women adjusted her glasses. "Why hello there. Rather unusual to see so many familiar faces all at once. Especially those from other worlds. Sorry it took so long for me to get in touch with all of you, pinpointing this Digital World has proven difficult."
Ami walked over with a smile. "It really is you."
The woman smiled back. "Cyber Sleuths. Keisuke. It's been too long."
"I'll say." Keisuke nodded.
"It's good to see you again." Takumi grinned.
"Likewise. I have been updated on your current situation. Seems like you've stepped into another adventure."
Ami giggled. "What can I say, we're detectives. We're always poking around."
"Indeed. But this case might be more than you can imagine. More than any of us can imagine. I have observed many Digital Worlds and have never even heard of a Royal Knight rebelling against and replacing King Drasil. It is unthinkable."
"That's just the tip of the iceberg." Mameo said. "He teamed up with Boltboutamon, three humans and six of the seven Deadly Digimon."
"So I've heard. All of you should tread lightly. Especially around the Deadly Digimon."
"No biggie." Shiki said. "Takuto and I beat em all once. We can do it again."
"My concern is that you might terminate them." Mirei said. "These ones are viler than the Deadly Digimom you know. Don't count on befriending them like you did yours."
Everyone looked at Takuto and Shiki. "You guys made friends with the seven Deadly Digimon?" Magnamon asked. "How?"
"They befriend all sorts of Digimon." Himari replied. "Even our old enemies. It's their charm I guess."
"That still seems remarkably dangerous!" Gallantmon said.
"More like ludicrous!" Kentaurosmon said. "Those devils are not to be trusted! You're just begging them to stab you in the back!"
"There's nothing to worry about." Noir replied. "We're keeping a close watch on them."
"Honestly, that may be for the best." Takumi said.
Ami nodded. "Yeah, it's better that then destroying them."
Arata sighed. "There you two go again trying to help everyone. Look, I get you don't like taking life, but you can't forget what the Deadly Digimon have done."
"I agree." Yuuko said. "And if they won't stop, they need to be stopped."
Mirei shook her head. "Takumi and Ami are quite right to want to avoid slaying the Seven Deadly Digimon. They aren't just speaking out of mercy."
"What do you mean?" Zero asked.
"As all of you know by now there are many parallel worlds and alternate Digital Worlds with them." Rapidmon Armor explained.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Gaia asked.
"You didn't tell these guys Mirei?" Ami asked squinting at the woman. "That's typical of you."
"Given Takuto and Shiki's record of befriending dangerous Digimon, I did not think it was necessary."
"What's this about?" Storm asked.
"The Seven Deadly Digimon are all linked through dimensions." Rosemon Burst Mode explained.
"Linked how?" Yuugo asked.
"If they're destroyed in one reality, all their power will be transferred to the other versions of them." Ophanimon replied.
"You must be joking!" Nova gasped.
"She's not." Mirei replied. "Do you see the problem now?"
"So that means..." Nokia giggled nervously. "Actually, what does that mean?"
Everyone groaned. "It means whenever the Deadly Digimon are defeated in one world, they become stronger and more dangerous in every other." Takumi replied.
"Oooooh... That sucks."
"Indeed." Mirei said. "That is why destroying them is a sin. One Takumi and Ami committed before your world was transformed."
"Uh, excuse me, but I'm pretty sure you were the one who tasked us with defeating them in our world so you could create the single weirdest Digimon we ever meet (which in our case is saying a lot, believe me.)" Ami scolded. "Don't go throwing all the blame on us."
Everyone stared at Mirei. "I'm sorry, you did what?" Takuto asked in shock.
"Hmm. I won't deny that." Mirei replied. "But in the end, it was to save Sayo's Digimon who was imprisoned for committing that sin. Also, that "weirdest Digimon" was supposed to bring new value to your world."
"Uh huh. Until you sent it at us to get flattened you mean." Takumi smirked.
Everyone did a take at Mirei. "I'm sorry, you did WHAT?!" Shiki gapped.
"You three defeating it was an unexpected outcome. But not altogether unpleasant." Mirei smirked. "After all, if you can defeat a being made to bring higher values to the world, perhaps this means you can bring even higher values to it."
"I think I understand now." Ami said. "When Sayo defeated the seven Deadly Digimon in her world, her Digimon was imprisoned as punishment. But when Takumi and I did the same thing to free her Digimon you said we wouldn't face the same punishment. That's because when we changed our reality to a point where out worlds never connected, it brought back everyone who died as a result. Including the Deadly Digimon."
"The punishment doesn't always occur immediately. If the sinner and their partner Digimon and held close by a strong bond, then it could take from days to a whole month for it to take effect. But before it could in your case the seven Deadly Digimon you two destroyed were revived and the energy that was distributed to all other variants of them was returned to them. As such, your sin was undone, and no judgment was brought upon you."
Keisuke frowned. "That's still a lot to bank on faith Mirei. And you still thought it was okay to deceive Takumi and Ami like that?"
Mirei gave a serious expression. "I won't deny that I kept things from them. And perhaps it wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to say I used them for my own goals. But let me make this clear: My primary goal is to support humans and Digimon bonding together. I never, no matter what the reward offered, would ever force or deceive anyone into doing something that would cause them to separate from their partner against their will."
"I believe you." Takumi said. "I'm still keeping my guard up around you ever since that stunt you pulled, but I know you have reasons for what you do."
"Your trust is appreciated." Mirei said.
"By the way, who is Boltboutamon anyway?" Rapidmon Armor asked. "I've never seen anything like that guy."
"It's complicated…" Himari sighed.
"Guys, we need to tell them, so they know what they're up against here." Shiki said. "Besides, I already told Ami while we were trapped in that lab."
"Fair enough." Mameo said. He turned to the group. "Like we said, we recruited the Seven Deadly Digimon of our world. According to them before coming to our world, they lived in the Dark Area where they made a non-aggression pact. They then set up their own towers and lived in relative peace. That is until something absorbed those towers and chased them out of the Dark Area."
"And that was this Boltboutamon?" UlforceVeedramon asked. "He was powerful enough to overwhelm all seven of them?"
Noir shook his head. "No. He had yet to become that. He was just a mass of dark energy calling himself "The Malevolent Fist". But he devised a plan by taking over Myotismon and Pidemon."
"Then he kidnapped Himari, Kouta and their Digimon and manipulated their Bond to make something called a Dark Bond." Shoma said.
"A "Dark" Bond?" Nokia asked. "What's that, bonding for edgy people?"
"The Director told us about it." Agumon Expert said. "According to him it functions like a normal bond between humans and Digimon, only instead of giving the power it forms to the partner Digimon he can control where the power goes."
"Using the power he stole from Yukimura and Rikka, he merged Myotismon and Pidemon into Boltboutamon and took the new Digimon as his own body." File explained.
"Takuto and Shiki managed to defeat him." Shoma said. "And our Lucemon, Belzeemon, Noir and I were about to finish him off…But then he copied the Boltboutamon body and escaped. Myotismon and Pidemon were released and Himari, Kouta and their Digimon went back to normal, but since then Boltboutamon would reappear in Bony Resort to challenge Takuto and Shiki. Then one day he just stopped showing up."
"Now we know where he went." Takuto said. "But what does he plan to gain from working with the Next Order?"
"All I know is that freak got a lot of power from us using his Dark Bond." Skyla replied. "I wish I knew what he planned to do with it…"
"We'll have to keep an eye out for him." Himari said.
"In any case, the Malevolent Fist and, the Deadly Digimon aside, what is our next move?" Mirei asked.
"We do have a lead." Yuugo said. "We suspect that Leopardmon is after the Digicores of the four Sovereign Digimon."
"The four Sovereign..." Mirei said. "Interesting. What could he be after?"
"We don't know, but we can't let him have it." Arata said. "Leopardmon already has one of them."
"Three remain." Darcmon said. "If we can find them first, we can keep them out of that maniacs reach and foil his plans."
"Who's core does the Next Order have?" Mirei asked.
"Zhuqiaomons." Magnamon replied. "Why?"
"The Vermillion Bird of the South… I'll pull up all data I have on the remaining three. I might be able to perform a scan for their cores."
"Sounds like a plan." Justimon said. "So, what do we do until then?"
"Whatever we can to prepare." Hudiemon replied. "We need to move fast to beat them to the cores. There are also supplies we need now that we have everyone together. I'm also planning on small scale attacks on Next Order bases and key areas. Most importantly however is shoring up our defenses for if they come knocking."
"Sounds like we have a lot to do." Shoma said. "Good thing we have a lot of hands to help out with."
Shiki smiled. "Eh. Just like another day at the city. Nothing new to us."
Mameo laughed. "Yeah, I guess us from Flotia all know the routine."
"Let's divvy up the workload then." Yuuko said. "When Mirei finds the cores, we'll start our search for them." Everyone nodded.
Zero was shuffling through some papers in front of a desk. He moved some aside and accidentally sent a paper off the desk. Right when he was about to pick it off the floor, someone picked it up for him. He looked up to see Yuugo holding it to him. "Oh… thank you."
"You really have been dedicating yourself to your work." Yuugo said.
"I have to." Zero said. "The Digital World… it's my home now. And I have to protect it. …Also…"
"It's the Digimon of Zaxon's Pride, isn't it?" Yuugo asked.
"Yes…" Zero smiled. "I honestly didn't expect them to accept me after learning the truth… but the still chose to believe in me as their leader. So, I can't let them down. I have to be that leader they see in me."
Yuugo smiled. "It seems it all worked out just as Yuuko said it would."
"Yeah… she really has grown."
"I think that's in part thanks to you."
Zero looked at Yuugo's smile. "To me?"
"Yes. If it weren't for you, she'd never have formed Zaxon or worked with others, or fought for her beliefs. And yes, you two may have lost your way with what happened in Under Zero but in the end… Yuuko became stronger because of it. I've been wanting to say this for a while now…" Yuugo looked at Zero with a tender gaze. "Thank you. You were there for her when I wasn't."
"Oh… well I…"
"I guess you didn't really have a choice. And I know she had her reasons for wanting to separate. But I'm grateful all the same." Yuugo held his hand towards Zero. "I hope we can work together. For Yuuko, for our friends, and for this world.
Zero looked at Yuugo. He smiled as he took his hand. "Thank you Yuugo."
Takumi looked at a monitor in front of him. "Hmm... Looks like we're going to be okay for food for now. Still, wouldn't hurt to check the nearby forest for fruit and nuts."
Agunimon aproached. "Takumi. My team is about to depart to the stronghold Shakkoumon located."
"Okay. Be careful Agunimon. It may be small, but we weren't able to pull up much intel. Fall back if things get rough."
"Roger."
Takuto walked past Agunimon as he left. He looked at Takumi who swiped his screen to switch to a display of a map. "He sure is a hard worker."
Takumi pondered to himself. "Hey Rapidmon, do you think this might-
"Hey, you got a minute?"
Takumi turned around from his work to look at Takuto. "Oh, hey Takuto, what's up?"
Takuto sighed gathering his thoughts. "...I wanted to apologize. Again. I'm so sorry."
"Huh? What for?"
Dorugoramon sighed. "Takumi, I know you mean well, but pretending to forget only makes it worse."
Takumi shook his head. "Takuto, don't worry about it. K is the one at fault. You were just worried about Shiki. He took advantage of that."
"But if I put it together like you did, we could have avoided that fight all together. You tried to warn me. I was an idiot."
"I don't think wanting to protect those you love is idiotic."
"Still... I should have known something was up. I wronged you and misjudged you. So, I'll make it up to you by helping you save this Digital World. Judging by how hard you've been working you clearly love this place."
Takumi looked up. "This Digital World...my memories of it as a kid may have been brief but I do indeed love it. But that's not the only reason why I want to protect it."
"What's the other reason?" Nova asked.
"Redemption."
"Redemption?" Takuto asked. "For what?"
Takumi closed his monitor and glanced aside. "...Did Keisuke tell you how me and my friends came here eight years ago?"
"He mentioned something happening with his friends eight years ago." Takuto replied. "But he kinda tried to say everything all at once and I kinda didn't quite get it all."
"Right... Well, you know what EDEN is in our world, right?"
"Some big scale virtual reality, right? It's how you got to the Digital World."
"Yeah. Eight years ago, Ami and I were invited to a demo event. That's how we first met Nokia, Arata, Yuuko, and Yuugo. While playing there we say a strange light. When Ami and I touched it, a hole opened up. We stepped inside it and found ourselves in the Digital World."
Rapidmon Armor nodded. "I was one of the many Digimon who met them that day. As were Rosemon, Darcmon, and many others here."
"We spent hours playing together. I never wanted it to end." Takumi frowned. "But when it was finally time to go, those thoughts brought a calamity called the Eaters to the Digital World. Yuugo got trapped and was left behind as we left back to our world... Nobody believed us when we tried to explain what happened. And then a man named Suedou made us forget about all of it."
"Takumi..." Takuto looked at him.
"Eight years later we gathered again. We got our memories back. And then we defeated the Eaters. I thought that was the end. But now Leopardmon who we fought before is starting a war. Another disaster made by my mistake."
"Not your mistake Takumi. Our mistake." The boys looked to the side and saw Ami leaning against the wall with Shiki standing next to her.
"Ami?"
"Shiki? How much of that did you two hear?" Takuto asked.
"Enough."
"Takumi, don't try to pin all the blame for that on yourself." Ami replied. "You weren't the only one whose thoughts summoned that Eater. Or to open that gate to the Digital World. You're being unfair to yourself."
"I say you two are both being too hard on yourselves over it." Rosemon Burst Mode replied.
"Not when what we did led to Leopardmon starting this conflict." Takumi replied. "That's why we do everything in our power to fight this war. Because it makes no difference if we were forced to forget at one point or if it was eight years ago. The fact remains this all stemmed from we did that day. We have to take responsibility for it."
Takuto frowned. "It is true that one can't escape the past so easily. Me, Shiki and our friends know that better than anyone."
"How so?" Ami asked.
"Years ago while we were in Middle School there was Digimon Tournament. Digimon in our world for a long time has been a popular game. And as a kid I was the best there was." He showed them the model of Digivice he had. "This is a rare, special Digivice model that was given to the four finalists of the tournament. I was so confident I was gonna win it all. Especially after I beat Kouta so easily. I was in the finals against Shoma, who barely edged a win against Himari..."
"But you didn't win?" BlackWarGreymon asked.
"No. I got crushed. That was my most devastating loss. I lost the tournament. I lost all confidence in myself. I stopped playing Digimon all together."
"After that Takuto drifted from one hobby to another to try to fill the void." Shiki explained. "Basketball, card collecting, skateboarding. He even was part of a band for a bit."
Takuto shook his head. "But it wasn't the same. Nothing was. I still felt empty."
"Then years later I won a contest and got the same rare Digivice model." Shiki smiled holding up her wrist. "I had slight interest in the game before but now that I had a Digivice of my own I just had to try it. So, I persuaded my brother to pick up his again so he could teach me."
Takuto squinted at her. "If by "persuaded" you mean you pestered me nonstop until I complied."
Shiki grinned. "Tomato tomahto." Takumi and Ami laughed.
"Riiiiight. Anyway, when I put mine on and we both activated them, something completely unexpected happened. There was this bright flash. Then we were falling. When we landed on our backs, we found ourselves in some dark cyberspace like area."
"Walking around it led us to a YukimiBotamon and a Yuramon."
"That was me and Gaia." Skyla said.
Shiki nodded." But just as we aproached them a Machinedramon came out of nowhere and attacked us."
"I thought we were goners." Takuto said. "That is until Nova and Storm flew into the rescue."
"After helping our forgetful and rusty partner get the hang of battling again our bond allowed me and Storm to merge for the first time." Nova explained. "It did some good damage to Machinedramon before breaking up on is."
"But working together with our partner, we still defeated the Machinedramon." Storm said. "Then it turned into a Tokomon."
"What?" Ami asked. "How?"
"As if that weren't bizarre enough, we were then all sent to some abandoned town in the middle of nowhere." Takuto said. "Nova and Storm were badly hurt and used up all their power during the fight and were forced to revert to Digi-Eggs. Luckily, we met Jijimon who welcomed us into Flotia."
"That's the paradise you guys made in the Digital World you told me about, right Shiki?" Ami asked.
"Yup. A place where we welcome all Digimon. It wasn't much at first, but Takuto and I brought in Digimon from all over the Digital World to make it what it is now. Along the way we met up with Kouta, Himari, Luche and Mameo as we investigated the Brain Hack program that was turning Digimon into Machinedramon."
"Brain Hack Program?" Dorugoramon asked. "So, it mind-controls them?"
"More like makes them lose their minds." Gaia replied. "When we met Mameo he explained that the source of the program is a curse left behind by a man he defeated years ago when he was a kid."
"And that's not all." Takuto said. "Shoma was possessed by what Mameo thinks was a fragment of that man's consciences. He used Shoma to control Noir with the Brain Hack Program and tried to destroy everything."
"But you guys stopped him and saved Shoma right?"
"We did." Shiki said. "Then we learned the truth about the finals from that day."
"Truth?" BlackWarGreymon asked.
"Yes. In his mind, Shoma lost the finals that day against Takuto."
"Huh? I thought you said he won." Ami said.
Takuto nodded. "He did win… but he won by cheating."
"Cheating how?" Takumi asked.
"He modified his Digimon's data."
"Modifying?" Ophanimon gasped.
"Yes… Shoma won the tournament with an empty feeling in his chest." Shiki said. "He tried to fix the modifications on his Digimon so he could face Takuto again fair and square… but then his Digimon was lost. He tried to get it back… and that's how he found the Digital World… and got possessed by that man…"
"Did he ever find his Digimon again?" Takumi asked. "Was it Noir?"
Takuto shook his head. "No. It was Luche."
"Luche is a Digimon?!" Ami gasped.
"Surprised? Anyway… Shoma felt bad for everything he did to Luche and the Digital World. He wanted us to erase him but… well, he felt bad for what he did and apologized. It wasn't even entirely his fault, you know? So, we forgave him."
"Not bitter about him cheating to beat you at that tournament?" Takumi asked.
Takuto smiled. "Eh. Not really. Looking back, I kinda had it coming."
"What do you mean?" Dorugoramon asked
"Back then I was quite the cocky brat. Always bragging about how I was the best Digimon Tamer. Because of that I didn't have many friends, but I didn't really care. Until Shoma knocked my ego down a peg. And now look. I have friends that I never would have made if I never changed. So, if anything... I'm grateful to Shoma. Yeah, he caused pain, but good things came from his choices as well. Just like you Takumi."
"Huh?"
"You opening that gate when you were a kid may have brought disaster, but look at it this way. Because of what you did humans and Digimon met in your world. And you, Keisuke and the others have become so strong because of it."
Shiki smiled. "He's right. You and Ami brought so many friends together. Made them all stronger. What happened when you two were kids may have led to the Eaters and maybe this war as well... but it brought good things too."
Takuto smiled and put a hand on Takumi's shoulder. "Exactly. So don't dwell on the negatives. You two are both good people. And we need that goodness right now to save this world."
Takumi faintly smiled back. "...Thanks, you two."
"Hey guys!" Luche ran into the room. "Mirei said she found something! We're all meeting in the lab to discuss our next move!"
"On our way." Ami replied before the girl ran off. "Luche seems like a happy kid for all that happened to her."
"Yeah." Takuto chuckled. "Anyway, let's not keep the others waiting. We got a war to win and a world to save!"
Shiki smiled to Ami. "Ready to go?"
"You bet!" the other girl nodded. The four heroes left together.
Sorry if this chapter seemed like filler, but now that the heroes of two worlds are together I thought they should bond. Next chapter we'll see them make their next move.