Back in Cracker Field, the battle still roared fiercely. "Judgment of The Blade!" Jesmon cut down four Cerberumon at once.
"Catastrophe Cannon!" Diaboromon followed up blasting a few more.
"Infinity Dream!" Hudiemon stunned a bunch of them before flying up making way for TyrantKabuterimon.
"Shine of Bee!" The Digimon Hudiemon froze were incinerated.
Meanwhile Lucemon charged at Noir. The Enforcer dodged a punch before firing his cannon. Lucemon dodged before closing in. "Pandemonium Lost!" Babramon fired a blast of vile energy. Rapidmon Armor X deflected it. "Gah..."
"You could not defeat us in Mega form Babramon." Rabidmon Armor X said. "You cannot defeat us as we are now."
"We shall see about that!"
"Takumi... why are you holding back?" Yuuko whispered. "With how strong Armor X is you should be able to eliminate him instantly."
"I can't be reckless. If we destroy a Deadly Digimon his power will go to all other variants of him."
"That's right... the sin... I completely forgot...how careless of me."
"For now, let's see if we can tire him out."
"Lampranthus!" Belphamon roared and sent fiery chains at Faye. Shiki's Digimon dodged all of them as best she could before one of them tied her up. She screamed at the burning metal holding her. "Faye!" Shiki took out a Utility Plugin X and threw it to her Digimon.
Faye broke free of the chains then held up her lance before slamming it into the ground. "Bio Field!" Green mist swirled around her. Belphamon coughed and backed up. "Thunderstorm!" From behind him Faye struck with a flash of lightning.
"Spirit Strike!" Sakuyamon held up a hand and green, red, and blue spirits flew at Plutomon. He dodged all three before dashing through Sakuyamon slashing her with his claws. He then grabbed her by the hair and slammed her into the ground.
"Burst Flame!" Phoenixmon sent fireballs towards Plutomon but he dodged all of them.
"Destruction Cannon!" He knocked Phoenixmon out of the sky.
TigerVespamon went in next. Plutomon blocked each swing of her swords with his claws but was unaware that HiAndromon approaching him from behind. "Heaven's Thunder!"
Plutomon yelped as he was hit by lightning. "Nanomachine Break!" TigerVespamon struck him with an electrical slash.
Plutomon growled as he glowed red. "Haggard Cluster!" He blasted TigerVespamon point blank with a red beam. HiAndromon leapt at him from behind. "Hell's Gate!" Plutomon bit him with a red set of phantom fangs before tossing him aside. "Hmph. You're putting up a good fight for fools who don't know their place. But resistance is futile! Justice will be carried out! Nothing can stop it!"
"You call what's happening justice?!" Yuugo asked. "Can't you see that innocent Digimon are suffering?!"
"They suffer because they chose to defy us! Tell me, what do you think you will gain if you fight against the Next Order?! Why do you resist when we try to unite this world?! The old ways of King Drasil were flawed! What is it you see worth protecting?!"
"It's not about the old rule of this world." Yuugo said. "I know Leopardmon. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Even if he does fully take over this world, he'll continue to hurt people."
"And with him commanding this world there is simply no way our dream will ever come true." HiAndromon said.
"Dream?" Plutomon asked. "What dream?"
Yuugo clenched a fist. "We will make a world where humans and Digimon can coexist. Where nobody has to feel alone. Leopardmon hates humans. There's no way that's happening if he's in charge."
"Humans and Digimon coexisting?!" Plutomon laughed. "That will never happen! You are literally worlds apart from us! Foreign objects in this world! We will never get along!"
"Wrong." HiAndromon said. "Our kind can get along. Yuugo and I are proof of that."
"If we can get along so can other humans and Digimon!" Yuugo declared. "And we will make a world where nobody has to spend eight years alone in isolation!"
"We will bring something Leopardmon will never give to this world!" Yuugo and HiAndromon said in sync. "Hope! Dreams! A future where we stand truly united!" Both of them were surprised.
"Huh?" Yuugo thought. "What was that? Our thoughts were..."
"...identical." HiAndromon said in his head. "As if our minds have..."
"...synchronized in some way."
Plutomon held up his claws. "Hmph. What delusion. You lot are a disease that cannot be cured. Only killed!" He swung a wave of darkness. HiAndromon jumped aside as it slid towards him.
Yuugo closed his eyes as it brushed right past him. And when he did something happened. Though his eyes were closed he could see. But something was… off. "Huh?" He opened his eyes. Then he looked at HiAndromon. He closed his eyes again. He was looking directly at Plutomon. "Is this… what HiAnrdomon is seeing?! But how?!"
Plutomon rushed towards HiAndromon. "Nightmare!" He held out a palm that glowed with purple energy.
"Gah!" Yuugo's first instinct upon seeing this was dodging. And next thing he knew, he, or rather HiAndromon was moving out of the way just as he wanted to. "What's happening…?" Yuugo heard HiAndromon speak the same words as him at the exact instant. "Wait…is this…?"
"Human emotions have proven to influence Digimon and vice versa. But it usually results in a wild outburst. Usually because the emotions of both parties are very different from each other. Meanwhile Digimon like Yuuko's, Nokia's and Arata's gained even greater and more power while maintaining their sanity. Likely due to their emotions being similar… or perhaps even identical. …So, what if their thoughts were perfectly in sync?"
Yuugo's theory flashed into his and HiAndromon's minds. "Is… is this it?" the Duo asked.
"Focus on your opponent fool!" Plutomon rushed in for a punch. Yuugo lifted a hand and HiAndromon did the same mirroring his movement. They caught the punch in HiAndromon's palm. "Guh!" Plutomon tried to pull his fist out. But HiAndromon's grip felt stronger than ever before.
Everyone on both sides stopped what they were doing one by one to look at Yuugo. "Huh?" Nokia blinked.
"What's Yuugo doing?" Takumi asked.
"Brother…" Yuuko whispered.
Fei noticed Yuugo and HiAndromon were in the exact same pose. "His Digimon… are they…?"
Yuugo pulled back his other hand. HiAndromon did the same. They then pulled HiAndromon punched Plutomon in the face. HiAndromon's hand glowed. "Power..."
"Energy!" Yuugo swung his arm with him and the threw a white light at Plutomon.
Plutomon was blown back. He looked at HiAndromon in shock. "You wretch!" He rushed in and clawed HiAndromon.
"Agh!" Yuugo yelped as he felt pain in his side where HiAndromon was struck.
"Yuugo!" Fei caught him as he stumbled backwards.
"I... felt that..." Yuugo winced.
Plutomon rushed at HiAndromon again. "Oh no ya don't!" Fei snarled. "Phoenixmon!"
"Starlight Explosion!" Fei's Vaccine Digimon sent golden stars down towards Plutomon. The Digimon backed away from them.
TigerVespamon jumped in and slashed him knocking him back. Then Sakuyamon leapt over her and knocked Plutomon back further with her staff. Fei supported Yuugo in her arms. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." Yuugo closed his eyes again.
"What are you doing?"
"Bokomon and the others said that we should be able to connect on a spiritual level with our Digimon. Like Erika did with Wormmon only without merging. I think I figured it out. If I focus, I can synchronize with HiAndromon... His power… his pain… I feel it like it's my own."
Most of the other combatants were focused on their fights. But Shiki overheard him. "Synchronize with our Digimon...?" She looked up at Faye. Hosaka activated a program enhancing Belphamon's strength putting her on the backfoot. Shiki put her goggles over her eyes. "Focus... focus..." She closed her eyes. "If Faye and I do have that kind of bond..."
"I have to reach out to it." Faye spoke with her partner. The two of them gasped in surprise.
"She's open! Get her Belphamon!" Hosaka ordered.
"Lampramthus!" Belphamon sent his chains at Faye again. Shiki held her hand to her left. Faye did the same. The moment Shiki swung her arm right Faye mimicked her movements slashing the chains with her spear. "Huh?!"
Shiki reeled her arm back then thrusted. Faye mimicked her and slammed the spear into Belphamon's chest. "Seed Belt!" the two shouted in sync before Faye shot seeds from her shoulder.
Himari looked behind her to see Shiki and her Digimon acting in unison. "Shiki too..."
Plutomon blew back Fei's Digimon. But they stood tall. "Yuugo, I got your back. Listen, if you think this link you have with your Digimon can beat this guy then you focus on the offensive and I'll back you up."
"Good idea." TigerVespamon turned to HiAndromon. "We'll cover you, so you and your partner don't take any damage. You strike when we give you an opening."
"Understood." Yuugo and HiAndromon replied. TigerVespamon ran in and thrusted her blades repeatedly. Plutomon blocked them then spun around kicking her in the head. "Thunder Fall!" HiAndromon and Yuugo struck Plutomon with lightning. When Plutomon rushed at HiAndromon, Sakuyamon blocked him with her staff.
Fei's Digimon knocked him back with a roundhouse kick then slammed her staff into the ground creating a magic circle. "Amethyst Mandala!" A burst of light engulfed them.
"Urgh!" Plutomon was blinded and pushed away slightly. He shielded himself with his arms as he slowly trudged through the light unto his was close enough to grab Sakuyamon and life her up, stopping the attack.
"Copy Paste!" HiAndromon and Yuugo slashed the Digimon's twin blades into Plutomon's back. He yelled in pain as he dropped Sakuyamon before turning around and swinging his claws at HiAndromon again. HiAndromon blocked each swipe with his swords until Pheonixmon landed on Plutomon's back with her talons clawing him.
"Enough!" Plutomon roared as he threw Pheonixmon off him. All the mouths on his body started to glow. Yuugo and Fei nodded to each other. Yuugo closed his eyes and held his fists forward. HiAndromon put his swords away then dis the same. The heads on his shoulders crackled with electricity. "Chaos Lights!" Plutomon shot red beams everywhere TigerVespamon, Phoenixmon and Sakuyamon dodged them all franticly as Fei activated a program before TigerVespamon and Sakuyamon started to charge in. They jumped over a laser that swept across the ground. TigerVespamon's feet were planted on Sakuyamon's staff before the shaman Digimon launched her towards Plutomon.
"Safety Guard!" Phoenixmon howled and a light surrounded TigerVespamon protecting her from the Chaos Lights that hit her so she could close in on her target.
"Mach Stinger V!" She stabbed Plutomon repeatedly before spinning forward and swiping in a V shape. Plutomon yelped as his attack stopped and he was knocked back.
As TigerVespamon jumped back, Fei smirked over her shoulder to Yuugo. Yuugo smiled and nodded. He concentrated as HiAndromon finished building up power. "Atomic Ray!" the two shouted as HiAndromon fired a roaring golden bolt twice the normal size that ripped through the air and slammed into Plutomon's chest.
"GAAAAAH!" A hole was torn through Plutomon. He slowly fell to the ground. "How… can true justice fall… to the likes of you…?!"
"Hmph. Get real." Fei scoffed. "Your just using "justice" is just an excuse for abusing power. Yuugo and Yuuko fight for the world. You and the Next Order fight for yourselves."
"And to that end we'll make our worlds better by uniting each other." Yuugo said. "We'll make them worlds where everyone can be free."
Fei turned to Yuugo. "Those words… he speaks just like the Yuugo I knew… Heh. How about that…" She smiled slightly with her cheeks turning slightly pink.
"Gift of Darkness!" Belphamon roared and swung his green claws at Faye.
Shiki had her goggles on, and her eyes closed as she positioned her hands as if holding a spear. Faye replicated her movements, and they gracefully deflected the attack before kicking Belphamon into the air. They pointed the flower spear at him, and it bloomed. "Gran de Sol!" they shouted. A massive solar beam far stronger than normal blasted Belphamon out of the sky. He landed in front of Hosaka on the brink of death.
"This is insane…!" Hosaka shuddered. "How did…?!"
"I don't believe what I just saw…!" MetalSeadramon gapped.
Hudiemon looked at Yuugo and HiAndromon. Then at Shiki and Faye. "Could it be…? Did they really do it…?!"
Rapidmon Armor X spun sideways and kicked Babramon in the face. "I believe we're just about done here." Takumi said.
"This... can't be..." Plutomon's body faded away.
"Damn it...!" Hosaka growled. "If we go back empty handed the king's gonna be furious... but at this rate... Urg!" Hosaka pulled Belphamon and Babramon back into his Digivice. "Lucemon! Everyone! Pull back!"
Lucemon looked at Hosaka. "You want us to retreat?! Run away failing our mission is disgrace?!"
"Look around you man! Do you have an idea that can turn this mess around?! Then by all means share with the group!"
"Ugh...!" Lucemon flew into Hosaka's Digivice.
The hacker pulled up a monitor. "I gotta get everyone else out first or Brother Sorrow will have my head..." One by one the remaining Ceberumon teleported away.
Fei ran towards Hosaka. "Fei!" Yuugo shouted.
Fei lifted Hosaka by his shirt and punched him in the face. She then kicked him in the gut knocking him down. "That's for dragging me to this world and turning me against Yuuko. Tell Brother Sorrow he's got some payback commin' for him as well."
"Ugh... this isn't over!" Hosaka pulled up another menu and glared at her and the others. "You'll pay for this! Mark my words!" He pressed a button then disappeared.
"We did it!" Nokia cheered. "We chased em off!"
"I was worried for a minute there." Takumi smiled. "But thanks to Yuugo, Shiki and Fei it all worked out."
Shiki took off her goggles looked at her Digimon as they separated then at her hand. "That power... was this what Bokomon and the others were hinting at?"
"That power felt very much like mine." Hudiemon said. "I'm sure that was the same link as Erika and Wormmon."
Yuugo looked at Fei. "Thanks for backing me up, Fei. That could have gone south without you."
"Shucks, Yuugo, I just did what felt right. Besides, you were the one who saved my hide just now."
Nokia grinned. "He sure did! Like a knight in shining armor carrying his princess in his arms!"
Fei's face reddened as she glared at Nokia. "K-keep your perverted fantasies to yourself ya frumpy brat!"
"Oh, I'm the pervert huh? I'm not the one blushing right now."
The others laughed as Yuuko aproached. "You're still the same Fei. Always acting rashly."
Fei sighed. "Yuuko... I..."
"You don't have to explain anything Fei. More importantly... I've been wanting to talk to you ever since we got you back... yet I struggled with what I was going to say... but I was overthinking it. What I'm supposed to say was obvious."
"Yeah?"
Yuuko smiled. "Welcome back Fei. I missed you. Without you I felt incomplete. You helped me through my darkest moment and supported me through my struggles in the last reality... you were the sister I never knew."
Fei smiled. "A sister, huh? …Not bad." She looked at her. "Yuuko... thank you."
"It's good to have you back Fei." Takumi smiled.
"You fought pretty fiercely back there." Shiki smiled.
Fei looked at them. "You guys... I'm really sorry for... everything."
"Don't be." Takumi shook his head. "Matadormon and the Next Order did this. You were just another victim in their crimes."
"And now that you're back in the game we can make them answer for those crimes." Arata replied.
"I knew you would spring back from this." Keisuke smiled. "That's what the Fei who trained me does."
Fei glanced down and smiled. "Y'all are too much." She then turned to her Digimon. "And you three... thanks. Fighting alongside you... I forgot how good that felt."
"We missed having you by our side Fei." TigerVespamon said. "You were the source of our power."
"When we merged with the data in your app, we could feel your care for us. Even when you didn't remember us." Sakuyamon added.
"And now that we have each other again we'll crush the Next Order." Phoenixmon said.
Fei grinned. "I'm lookin' forward to it. Those chumps are going down for what they did."
"That's the spirit!" Himari smiled. "Now that was sent that joker Hosaka packing let's go find that temple and-
Everyone's Digivices started ringing. "Huh? What now?" Shoma asked as they all perked up.
Each one displayed an image of Mirei. "Everyone, pull back to the city! Now!"
"What?" Hudiemon asked.
"Pull back?" Keisuke shrugged. "But we haven't found the temple yet!"
"Takuto, Mameo, Ami and Kouta already secured Baihumon's DigiCore."
"When did they get here?" Shiki asked looking around. "Even with the battle we had you would think someone would have noticed them arriving."
"Baihumon's temple was never in Cracker Field." Mirei explained.
"What?" Arata asked. "So then why did you-
"I'll explain when you get back, just hurry and get out of there!" Mirei then closed the chat.
"We came all the way out here for nothing?!" Nokia asked. "Ugh, I swear if we went to this crappy place just to get attacked because Mirei had her map upside down or something, I'm gonna scribble on her glasses next time I see her!"
"Let's get back first." Yuuko said opening her Digivice. "Then we'll see what she has to say for herself." Everyone activated Home Gates and left.
Back in Cache City everyone was in a panic. "How could we have been so careless…?" Silphymon growled.
"I had a feeling this would happen." Darcmon groaned. "Now that girl's probably on her way back to the Next Order."
"What if she learned something important about us here and tells them?" Calumon asked. "Are we safe here anymore…"
"Alright." Mirei held her hands up. "Let's not jump to conclusions here."
Bright light erupted and Takumi and his team reappeared. "Guys!" Kouta ran up to them with Ami and Takuto close behind. The others followed.
Keisuke turned to UlforceVeedramon. "Is Kentaurosmon alright?"
"He's getting patched up. Knowing him, he'll be back on his feet in no time."
BetalGammamon was the first to notice Fei. "You!"
A number of Digimon brought out weapons. "Good work! You captured her!" Justimon said.
"I don't know how you managed to slip away from us, but we won't make the same mistake again!" Grizzlymon growled. "Somebody get chains!"
"That's enough!" Yuugo shouted silencing everyone. "Fei only broke out so she could come help us! She did nothing wrong!"
"What makes you so certain?" Loweemon asked.
"It's true." Takumi said stepping forward. "She saved me, Yuuko and Shiki from Hosaka just now."
"She's with now." Yuuko said.
"With us?" Gallantmon asked. "You just decided that without consulting everyone?" He held up his hand before anyone could speak. "I do not question your judgment. I acknowledge your ability to recognize someone worthy or redemption." He gestured to the others. "But not everyone here shares your opinion."
Most of the crew was silent. "I mean… I know she wasn't all in the right mind and everything…" Lunamon said. "But when I think about what she did as K…"
"Still… shouldn't everyone get a second chance?" Terriermon Assistant said. "Like me, the Professor and the Doctor."
"But you guys didn't really do anything to hurt us." Leomon said. "If anything, you just helped with rescuing Ami and Shiki."
"There is no need for concern." Zero started breaking through the group.
"Zero." Yuugo turned to him.
Fei looked back and forth between the two. "Are you… What the hell is this?"
"Remember the Yuugo avatar I led Zaxon with?" Yuuko explained. "Somehow, he ended up in the Digital World. He was leading one of the Resistance Teams when Takumi and I found him."
"It feels like a lifetime, doesn't it Fei?" Zero smiled. He then looked at the others. "Yuuko and I have known Fei for longer than anyone else here. And I can tell you for a fact that she is not K."
"What are you talking about?" Mercerymon asked. "We saw K take off the mask and saw-
"That was also "K"." Zero replied. "Brother Sorrow, Matadormon, Hosaka, Leviamon, and Lilithmon abducted Fei and twisted her against her will into someone else. Someone she was not meant to be. The person who worked for the Next Order was K. And Fei was being held prisoner by their darkness. When Takumi and Ami defeated K and drove Matadormon out, Fei was finally freed. She was just another victim of K and the Next Order's crimes." Zero smiled. "And by helping our friends and overcoming her darkness, Fei destroyed K completely. We do not need to fear someone who no longer exists."
Yuuko nodded. "I agree. Instead, let's welcome back my sister in arms, my companion, and my friend."
"That was beautiful you two." Kazemon smiled.
"I mean, it makes sense." Luche said. "Fei and K acted like two completely different people."
"I don't know about this…" Pidemon said. "I want to trust her. I really do. But…"
"This is foolish." Arbormon said.
"Not you too." Ranemon glared. "I guess you wouldn't trust her."
"Of course not. In fact, there are a number of Digimon and humans here I don't fully trust."
"Wow, don't hold back or anything." Arata scoffed.
"It is in my nature to be suspicious. But I make a point not to act on it without proof. Doing so would be a waste of time and energy. I will be keeping a close eye on this girl. And if she does act against us, I will dispose of her then. No sooner."
"That is a good point…" Socerimon said.
"Yeah, I mean she's one person against all of us." Minervamon added. "What's she gonna do?"
"I still don't like this…" a Butterflymon said. "Even if she was controlled, she still killed a number of our comrades. I can't just… let that go."
"Even so…!"
Fei put her arm in front of Yuuko before she could continue. "Yuuko, it's alright." She then stepped forward. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I have done things in this world that I'll regret forever. I'm not about to blame the results of my actions on other people, circumstances be damned. And I know no amount of words can return the friends or loved ones you lost because of the Next Order… because of me. So, I'm not gonna ask for forgiveness I know I don't deserve. But it's far too late to change what I've done. All I can do now is atone for it. I want to pay for my crimes by taking down the people I helped bring all this grief onto everyone."
Everybody went quiet. "Fei…" Ami said solemnly.
"I say let's give her a chance!" Calumon said. "I mean we won't know until we try!"
"Fine." Loweemon scowled. "But I'm watching you girl. One hint of betrayal and I will deliver your death sentence."
"I'll wait and see how this goes before deciding if she can be trusted." GrapLeomon said.
"Takumi and Ami forgive her. Even with what she did." Magnamon said. "Shouldn't that be enough?"
"And she is right." Lilamon said. "It's not like she can undo what she did. The only thing she can do about it now is atone for what she did through her actions. And if she's willing to do that we have to give her a chance. Otherwise, we're the ones denying our comrades her apology to them."
"I think enough of the group has spoken." Takuto said. "Welcome abord Fei."
"Thank you. I know I've got a long way to go in terms of earnin' people's trust. Some of em might never trust me or forgive me. But regardless of whether I'm ever trusted or forgiven, I just want to set things right. I promise all of you two things. That I'll do whatever it takes to end this war, and that Matadormon, and the Next Order are gonna regret messin' with my head."
Takumi smiled. "We're going to make sure that happens. Together."
"In the meantime, someone has some explaining to do." Himari said glaring at Mirei.
"Yeah, what the hell was that?!" Arata asked. "You told us the damn temple was at Cracker Field, so we go there to get ambushed by Hosaka and his army of mad dogs, just for you to say "oopsie the temple isn't in Cracker Field, Ami and the others already got it"?"
"Apologies." Mirei said adjusting her glasses. "It seems I made a mistake when trying to pinpoint it. Shortly after you left, I detected something in Software Tundra and discovered it was the DigiCore of Baihumon. So, I asked Mameo to take Ami, Takuto, and Kouta and retrieve it."
"And you didn't think about contacting us the moment you learned of it?!" Yuuko glared.
"I tried to reach you but the storms in the area were interfering with our communications. I called you as soon as I got through."
"Wait…" Takuto turned to Mameo. "But didn't you say-
"Shh. I'll tell you later." Mameo whispered back.
"In any case, the important thing is we secured one of the Sovereign Digimon DigiCores. That puts a stop to Leopardmon's "Project Nexus" for now." Mirei said.
"Where is the core?" Darcmon asked.
"MirageGaogamon Burst Mode is looking after it. Rest assured it is safe." Mirei turned around. "Now that that's done, we must plan our next move. Let us return to our duties." Mirei left quietly. One by one the Digimon in the room took their leave as well.
"She's hiding something." Darcmon said before walking away.
"Mameo…" Ami spoke up once it was just the humans and their partners. "You promised me answers."
"And I will give them to all of you." Mameo replied. "Me and Mirei."
Everyone turned to him. "What's going on here?" Yuugo asked.
Mameo looked at them. "I need to gather our most trusted. The rest of you go to the war room. But listen, don't tell anyone. And don't let anyone follow. Split up for a bit, and then meet us there." Mameo walked out of the room.
"I don't like the sound of this…" Keisuke said.
Hosaka was kneeling in front of Leopardmon. Other members of the Next Order were also in the room. "It sounds like you underestimated your enemy Hosaka."
"I-I'm sorry sire!" Hosaka panicked.
"This failure hinders our plans greatly… but you are not solely to blame for it."
"Thank you for understanding sire. The enemy used some weird new trick to sync with their Digimon in a way I-
"That is not what I am saying you fool."
"Huh?"
"We just received word from our agent." Brother Sorrow explained. "They reported that the last Sovereign DigiCore was not at Cracker Field to begin with."
"What? But they said earlier-
"The rest of the Resistance was not alerted of this until you're retreat." Crusadermon explained. "The real DigiCore was claimed by the Resistance in another location while you were hunting in Cracker Field."
"Do you think the Resistance is on to us?" Hosaka asked.
"It is possible." Craniamon replied.
"We should have seen this coming." Brother Sorrow said. "Anyone would start to get suspicious after so many of our ambushes."
"True." Dynasmon replied. "Blast! Right when we were so close to completing the set!"
"We must reclaim the DigiCore of Baihumon." Leopardmon said. "Our plans depend on it. But at least we know where to find it. For now, we must plan our next move and continue our remaining preparations. You all have your receptive duties. Dismissed." Most of the group left the room. Hosaka stayed. "You have something more to say for yourself?"
"Yes sire." Hosaka stood up and held up a hand. An image of a chart appeared. "I finished my… secret assignment."
Leopardmon held his hand forward and the monitor appeared in front of him. "So, this is the program. And you are certain it will work?"
"I ran hundreds of simulations to be certain. I'm not sure why you want to use all these Digital Waves to-
"That is none of your concern."
"Y-yes sire!" Hosaka bowed. "In any case it's good to go, I swear."
"I trust nobody found out about this?"
"Not a soul."
Leopardmon closed the monitor. "Very good. I will transfer your reward as promised. You may go now."
"Yes sire! Thank you!" Hosaka took his leave.
Leopardmon cackled. "It's all coming together…"
Once he was outside Hosaka took a deep breath. "Thank God that's done. In hindsight I guess I was lucky Brother Sorrow found out and agreed to help. I just hope he can keep his mouth shut."
"Hosaka?"
"AGH!" The man jumped when he noticed someone was next to him. "Gah! Boltboutamon! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"My, my, somebody's high strung today."
"Yeah, I've been through a lot today, maybe you can understand." He folded his arms. "What do you want?"
"A couple of things… about your Digimon."
Lucemon, Belphamon, and Babramon appeared near Hosaka. "You rang?" Babramon asked.
"It seemed like you had some trouble out there."
"Shut your mouth!" Lucemon glared. "This isn't over. With each battle my power grows. Once my true power is restored, they will be nothing compared to me!"
"Perhaps I can give you something more." Boltboutamon held up his hand and two X-Antibodies floated over his palm.
"Those are…" Hosaka said.
"My prototypes. I still haven't worked out all the bugs, but if you use these it should give you better odds against the Resistance humans. Sadly, I've only been able to manufacture two of them so…"
Hosaka looked at his three Digimon. "Just two, huh?"
"Then use one on me!" Babramon said. "That power is mine!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Belphamon said. "If anyone deserves it, it's me!"
"You two take them." Lucemon said.
Hosaka looked at him. "Wow, that was surprisingly easy. You sure you don't want a piece of the cake big guy?"
"I do not need some half-assed replica of the X-Antibody to become stronger. Soon I will recover my power as the Demon God. Then nothing will get in my way."
"You sure about that?" Babramon snickered. "You had the power of the "Demon God" last time before the Cyber Sleuths destroyed you."
Lucemon snarled and grabbed him by the beard. "Do you want me to start with you, old man?"
"Whoa, okay, let's just calm down, we don't have the Deadly Digimon of Wrath in our party so let's be professional." Hosaka said. "So. Since our Deadly Digimon of Pride so politely declined, I suppose these X-Antibodies will be used on Belphamon and Babramon then."
"Excellent." Belphamon smirked. "This is what the Cyber Sleuths now have, yes? I'm looking forward to this."
"Let us head straight to the lab and begin the procedure then." Boltboutamon said. As they walked, he brought up a new topic. "Ah, another thing… how's our side project coming along?"
"I think I figured out a means of safely extracting what you want from those two. Just a heads up, but between kidnapping them from another world and hiding it from the others this job has not been easy. So don't be too surprised when you get my bill."
"The program within those two is a very unique product that may very well be only obtainable over there now. For a chance to study it, price is no object."
Shiki was the last to enter the war room. Inside she saw her fellow Tamers, their partners, Luche, Zero, Mire, the Royal Knights of the Resistance, Hudiemon, and Darcmon. "That should be everyone." Mirei said.
"Did anyone notice you were coming here?" Mameo asked.
"No." Shiki replied.
Mameo went over to the door. He looked around to make sure nobody was around before closing it and locking it. "Alright then… time to drop the bomb."
"Bomb?" Nokia asked. "Are we blowing up the Next Order?"
"Not that kind of bomb…" File mumbled.
"Okay, so now that we're all here, mind telling us what the hell is going on?" Kentaurosmon asked.
"First I must apologize." Mirei said. "Mameo already told Takuto, Kouta, and Ami this when they left for Software Tundra. But the truth is I knew from the start Biahumon's DigiCore was there, and not in Cracker Field."
"What?" Takumi asked.
"Then why the hell did you send us there?!" Nokia yelled. "Do you have any idea how much that trip sucked?!"
"You better have a very good explanation for this Mirei." Darcmon glared. "Because this little game of yours put a number of our finest in grave danger!"
BlackWarGreymon scowled. "I swear lady if you say this was "destiny" I'm going to beat you to death with your laptop!"
"You did indeed face a great deal of Next Order resistance." Mirei said. "…And in doing so, proved my theory."
"Yeah…" Mameo sighed. "I didn't want to believe it… dang it Mirei, couldn't you have been wrong just this once?"
It was Mirei's turn to sigh. "It's times like these where I wish I could be wrong too."
"What's going on here?" Zero asked.
"Lately something's been bothering me." Mirei said. "The missions to obtain Azulongmon and Ebonwumon's DigiCores… the mission to search for Beelzemon… every time we make a move it seems like the Next Order is waiting for us."
"Now that you mention it…" Takumi said.
"It's true…" Zero said. "The Next Order always seems to be one step ahead of us."
"Well, not this time." Kouta said. "If fact, we didn't run into anyone from the Next Order in Baihumon's temple."
"Exactly." Mameo said. "And the four of us and Mirei were the only ones in the Resistance who knew about that mission on Software Tundra."
"Correct." Mirei nodded. "But the team that went to Cracker Field was attacked. And we announced that mission to the group."
"What are you trying to say?" Gankoomon asked.
"Everyone…" Mameo looked at the group with a serious gaze. "Someone in the Resistance is giving the Next Order information."
"What?!" Ami gasped.
"The Next Order has a spy working with us?!" Himari asked.
"Are you certain about this?" Darcmon asked.
"Absolutely." Mirei said. "Think about it. Why else would they go to an empty wasteland as dangerous as Cracker Field? They had to know that we were looking for the temple."
"Now that you mention it… Hosaka sounded certain that it was there and that we knew it." Arata said. "That's why he was following us."
"It could just be a coincidence." Omegamon said.
"Can it really?" Hudiemon asked. "What about the other two temples? Our teams were attacked right when they found where they were hidden. As if they were waiting for us to find them for them."
Keisuke thought about it. He recalled something from the mission to find Beelzemon.
"And I was told to be on the lookout for humans in the area too."
"Come to think of it… that Vulturemon that was sent after Beelzemon also sounded like he was expecting us."
"Same with the prison we raided." Yuuko added. "They sounded like they were expecting humans to attack it."
"This is bad…" UlforceVeedramon scowled. "All our operations have the risk of being compromised."
"Fei, do you know anything about this?" Mameo asked.
"No… but I imagine some of you are thinking I'm the mole."
"No Fei." Takumi said. "If Mirei's hunch is right then this started long before you came to the city with us."
"Correct." Mirei said. "The reason why I asked Mameo to include you in this meeting is because I already ruled you out as a suspect."
"We can't allow a rat to constantly sabotage us." Kentaurosmon said. "We need to start interrogating our personal!"
"Hey, let's not get too hasty here!" Takuto said.
"Takuto's right!" Kouta said. "I mean for all we know this spy might not even be aware that they're being used! You know, like the time Shoma… um…"
Shoma stared blankly at him. "Used Luche to spy on you? Is that what you're getting at?"
Kouta looked away scratching the back of his head. "Sorry."
"No, you're right. Maybe somebody had a transmitter placed on them."
"Possible." Yuugo said.
"In any case, we can't let everyone know about this yet." Mameo said. "Last thing we need is a mass panic where everyone's suspecting each other. I told MirageGaogamon about this and told him to hide Baihumon's DigiCore in the city and watch it as often as he can. I also told him not to tell anybody where he's keeping it."
"So, what do we do now?" Luche asked.
"For now, we keep this to ourselves, and keep our eyes open." Takumi said. "If anyone starts acting suspicious, we subtly alert each other, but don't act until you see some prof."
"I couldn't agree more detective." Mirei replied. "For now, meeting adjourned. I'll let you all know once we have a better idea on our next move. Be careful of your surroundings and what you say. Even among your allies."
If anyone is wondering where the who Digimon human syncing thing came from, the idea came from something in Digimon Tamers that I felt was dropped kinda fast. But in other news, the hunt for the Sovereign DigiCores may be over, but new challenges await. See you next week for the next mission.