AN: Hey guys. I hope you're all staying safe and healthy, and finding ways to have fun so you don't slowly go crazy. I was by myself for two months at the beginning of this, so I know how quickly it can set in.

Anyways, thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I think it's the most any single chapter has had so far. I love hearing what people like, and it doesn't happen as often but I also enjoy constructive criticism. I love reading all of it, so thanks.

To Old style: You already put a lot into your reviews. I'm glad you put enough time into it to do what you already do! The HYPNOS agents aren't... bad, exactly. It's just a matter of different goals. They see themselves as the good guys, and compared to a few people the Digidestined have fought they're less... directly aggressive, yeah. Also, May and Davis. It's been... mildly hinted at. Tasuke's just the main POV character, and he really hasn't been paying a ton of attention to stuff outside of his personal goals.

To smartalec121: Yeah, BG and Taj changed each other a lot and it's finally coming to a head in the next couple chapters. Jeri's in a tough position, so trying to balance her with the fact she's being forced into a corner isn't always easy. I hope that, even with some of the things she's forced to say or do, I write her well enough to give her the treatment she deserves.

To reddevil47: Davis and May's growing relationship has bee mostly just hinted at. Tasuke's not been paying much attention, so the hints can be overlooked pretty easy. There's a couple jokes about it, an a mention or two by their parents. When they meet on Christmas Eve in the mall, for example.

To jacquelinemueller53: Without spoiling the exact events leading into it, Takato and Rika are in the Digital World as a result of creating the Firewall to keep their partners safe from being used as government weapons. Some people needed to be on one side of the Digital World, and some on the other.

To Curse of Kings: Rika will definitely lay the smackdown eventually. But not just any Digimon is going to try to attack her, much less when she and Takato are together. Fighting two Mega-level Tamers would be suicidal for most Digimon. But she will. When the Digital World segment of the story kicks off, we'll see Rika have an actual fight.

To Guest: Fair. Pokemon is definitely good, and I agree it's pretty different. The problem is they tend to be forced into the same ranking ladder just because they both have monsters who are friends with kids.

Episode 25: Abandonment Issues: Digital Partnerships Ended?

Director Lucas Gethen sat in the operations room, staring at the faces that had been put up on the screen. Eight of the most dangerous faces in the human world, and one of the original Tamers. They had arrived near Wong's home without any agent alerting him. How they had made their way stateside without being spotted was... dangerous. The agents in charge of watching the airport would have to be investigated and dealt with. They had almost single handedly forced him to push his plans forward by months, threatening their integrity beyond what was acceptable.

The peons in the room could tell he wasn't happy the moment those faces came up on the screen. His charismatic aura had turned cold, and they were all instinctively afraid of looking at him. He glared around at them, then stood up straight, fixed his tie, and turned to leave. "Keep me updated and prepare for further orders," he said without a quiver in his voice. They all began to breathe easy again the moment the door shut behind Gethen.

The director stormed through his agency, wondering if Agents Smith and Verrater were just the first traitors in a long line he would have to eliminate. Every agent and their partner, every analyst, every guard he passed was a traitor. He supposed it was time to begin analyzing the bugs planted in the Digivices. He had once arrogantly believed that Estevez would be too afraid to fully abandon him before the plan called for it, but now he had to be sure.

But, that would have to wait for just a short while longer. He shoved into his office while telling his assistant to reschedule his meeting with the head of the Senate Committee for later that afternoon. The door slammed shut before he could ask the Director any questions, and Gethen locked it behind him. He put the office into privacy mode, the windows' blinds sliding shut, all cameras disconnecting, and lights turning on. He stood still, taking breaths to calm himself for a moment, then retrieved his communication device from his desk. "Reapmon."

The device crackled before coming to life, the Digimon's silhouette appearing on the table. "What is it, Sir? The -"

"How far have you progressed in Bio-Emergence preparations?" Gethen interjected, leaning in over the device. Reapmon cocked his head to the side. "Well?"

"... We have acquired enough raw data and Digimon sacrifices to begin Bio-Emergence for one of us, but are still two months away from obtaining enough for all three of us to Bio-Emerge. Rest assured, Sir, we are working as quickly as possible without drawing the attention of the Matsukis or Akiyama."

"Well, the plan has changed. One of you needs to Bio-Emerge now." Gethen clenched his fist and fought the urge to slam it on the table. "The Tamers from Japan arrived earlier than expected and there is a distinct possibility that they will derail the plan before its completion."

"Have they made contact with the Children yet?" Reapmon asked after consideration.

"No, but one of their hostage Tamers has. The one that powered the Chaos," Gethen scoffed.

Reapmon sighed. "I see. Then shall I order the others to prepare for Bio-Emergence later, or directly oversee issues on this side of the Firewall?" he inquired. Reapmon tapped a finger on his right hand as he listed them. "Preparing location of arrival, preparing data streams, capturing the Catalyst, and luring loose ends to test the Digidestined for 100% Merge Rate."

"Hmph... Are you confident in your abilities to survive?"

"Of course, Sir."

Gethen nodded. "Very well, then have them finish preparations in the Digital World. Your responsibilities will be in this world and center on the Matsukis' child." The Director tented his hands and glanced down at his computer. "... I need to examine something. I will have specific instructions once you Bio-Emerge. Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir."

The image disappeared, but Gethen had already moved on. He opened his computer and entered into the information passed from the bug programs placed in the Digivices of the Children. "Now... let's see what secrets you've wanted to keep from me."

X X X

Commander Watanabe wanted to ignore the person standing in his doorway. He was busy studying the prior escapades of Agent Estevez, their most dangerous opponent. His time was valuable, and Jeri Katou was not going to bring him anything he could use. She was probably going to make another request he would inevitably shoot down. Last time it had been a request to return home to Japan. What would it be this time?

Eventually, he did grow annoyed with the woman just standing there silently. Might as well bite the bullet. "Yes, Dr. Katou?" he finally asked. He sat up straight on his desk chair and looked over at her, meeting her glare unfazed. "What is it now?"

"I would like to request that we stop monitoring Henry," she explained quietly. "He's my friend, and I do not enjoy lying to him like this. I... I am sure that I will make a mistake. I would not be surprised if he already suspects -"

"He doesn't suspect anything, Dr. Katou," BlackGabumon assured as he poked his head up from under the desk. The black and white stripes of his fur coat almost blended in with the shadows before his black horn and the yellow image on his chest became more apparent. He moved over and hopped onto the desk. "And from how you describe him, he is unlikely to disagree with the points you are putting forth."

"What's this actually about?" Watanabe asked after a moment.

Jeri stared at the two for a moment, then straightened her back. "Fine. I don't want to lie to Henry anymore. He's one of my oldest friends. He's saved my life, and he's saved the world. He – and I – deserve better than this."

"I agree, you don't deserve this. Neither does Dr. Wong. And neither do those children in Japan who need the help of your research," Watanabe explained. Jeri recoiled slightly at the mention of the children taking part in her research and the implied threat there. He turned in his chair and stared dryly at her. "Life isn't about deserve. It's about what is. And that is something you knew when you came with us. That those children you are helping make deep, powerful wishes, and in a world with no barrier between the Digital and real worlds, it is likely that many of them will become Digidestined. Or even Tamers like the two of us. But there's little difference. Both would mean becoming soldiers."

"It's unlikely..." Jeri countered, even if she didn't believe it.

BlackGabumon shook his head. "Does that matter? If those Digidestined or Dr. Wong manage to tear down the Firewall, the likelihood will increase significantly. Wouldn't it be better to try to keep that from happening?" he wondered. He and Watanabe could tell the question made Dr. Katou uncomfortable, and it was easy to see why. They were essentially forcing her to choose: her old friends or the life she had built since they had separated.

Watanabe looked over at BlackGabumon. The man could imagine he might be in the same position had he known those Tamers as a kid, had he the opportunity to get BlackGabumon out before the fighting had begun. He was almost thankful that hadn't happened, because he knew what he had to do for the both of them. "I'm tired of fighting, but I'll keep doing it," Watanabe explained to the silent Jeri. He turned slowly to her and sighed. "If it means that BlackGabumon or any number of kids or Digimon aren't drafted into a full blown world war, I'll lie and steal from anybody. So ask yourself – would Leomon approve of you to risk the lives of millions of children just to make yourself feel better? Of risking the lives of children you swore to help, at that?"

Jeri flinched at the mention of her old partner, and the spine she had summoned up slowly bent and broke. Old wounds could still break someone, and Commander Watanabe knew that she had given up. "You are running a panel at the convention tomorrow, aren't you? I'd prepare if I were you; it's your job and reputation at stake." With that, he turned from her and let her leave in silence.

"It's never fun watching someone strong break themselves," BlackGabumon remarked once the door was closed.

"She didn't break herself, BlackGabumon," Watanabe replied quietly. He ignored the shut door. "But she decided what was more important, and I agree with her decision. Even if it is the one we wanted her to make, I respect her for having the strength of will to make it."

BlackGabumon frowned at the ground. "It looked like it made her sad. It can't make her happy to do it."

"Making the right decision rarely does." Watanabe shut his eyes and frowned.

BlackGabumon tapped his chin. "I wonder what might be the best way to force the Digidestined and Dr. Wong to make the right decision, too."

Watanabe glanced over at his partner's insightful comment. He smiled and scratched the Digimon's head. "I hope once we lay everything out for them, they will."

X X X

"So..?" I mumbled with a glance around our dining table. I pulled at the collar of the shirt Henry had made me wear and looked over at Jeri. "... How did you meet Henry or my parents?" I coughed nervously and began to pick at the waffles and eggs Henry had made for brunch. "Er..."

Jeri nodded and looked over to Henry. "I've known Henry, Takato, and Rika most of my life. How long ago was that..?"

"Elementary Five or Six, right?" Henry supplied. He chuckled and fixed his glasses. "We were maybe twelve years old, and given free rein on the city. We met in school, then we met Rika through shared interests."

"Digimon, you mean?" I wondered. Then I realized I was a fan of an almost forty year old franchise. "Jeez, I still kind of can't believe that got popular again."

"I'm just glad you like it again," Henry said. He reached over and grabbed my shoulder. "Now we can talk about something I know about."

"It's definitely better than listening to you talk about computers. Might as well be listening to you speak binary when you drag on about blockchain," I mocked back.

"01," he said with a nod before laughing at his own joke.

"You're better than dad jokes that bad," I pointed out with a groan.

"Hey, it was pretty funny!" Henry protested. He turned to our guest. "Back me up, Jeri."

"Hm..." she muttered with a glanced pointedly right at him. "Nobody would have laughed at that."

He grimaced. "Nobody?" he asked, seeming to draw more from that than I did. Then I realized. They were talking about his Digimon partner. I glanced over at Henry; I was glad he had no idea he knew that I knew, even if I'd like to hear about Terriermon.

"Dad jokes... Well, it says a lot about everything that's happened since we last saw each other," Jeri remarked. She placed her silverware down and glared over at Henry. "Obviously you haven't considered what we talked about last time."

I glanced between them. "What did you talk about last time?" I finally asked.

"Nothing," Henry stated, voice heavy enough to put an immovable object in the path of any future conversation.

And Jeri was apparently the unstoppable force. And in a perfect, frictionless world the force just went around the object.

This was not a perfect frictionless world.

She went through the object. In this case, Henry. "I told him he isn't your father. And he shouldn't act like he is if he actually believes your real parents are coming back."

Henry's glare basically screamed, 'This is supposed to be a calm brunch!' After a moment he lowered his gaze and the light hid his eyes, reflecting off the lenses of his glasses. But he didn't... he didn't say anything. He didn't yell or shout... he just sat there. Shaking. But I wasn't going to just let her insult him like that!

"Shut the hell up, you damn shrink!" I snapped. I surged to my feet and aimed my finger at her. "You don't get to talk to Henry like that!"

Jeri's eyes drifted towards me. "Tasuke –" Henry interjected, standing up slowly. "Don't -"

"And you defend him like he's your father," Jeri said. She glanced at Henry, then down at her hand. After a deep breath, she sighed. "Clearly, you have decided he is your father. We all miss your parents, but it isn't worth sacrificing your connection with Henry, is it? If you have to decide, will you choose Henry or them? People who abandoned you?"

"Shut up!"

"Who chose something over their own child?"

"I see why my dad dumped you!" I snarled. I bared my teeth and kicked away from the table. "You talk about stuff you don't know, you act like you're smarter than us. But you don't know anything about how we feel. About feelings at all. You're dead inside aren't you?"

Jeri actually flinched back when I said that. "Tasuke!" Henry snapped, turning on me.

I turned, wide eyes. "And you... you'll just defend her? Henry, she's awful."

"... Tasuke, you're acting... There's more to this. She is my friend, even if we disagree -"

"This isn't disagreeing, Henry." I turned and glared at Jeri. "It's manipulation and jealousy."

"Tasuke, stop it -"

"My parents will come back. Even if I have to drag them back, kicking and screaming. I'll get my answers!" I snapped. I turned and glared at Henry. "Even if you won't help me." I threw my chair to the ground and stomped towards the door, whistling for BlackGigimon to follow me.

"Tasuke, stop -"

"Shut up, just leave me alone," I growled. I didn't want to hear any more from either of them. "I don't need this, let's go BG."

I slammed the door shut behind us and stalked off with my hands in my pockets. "... Taj, maybe that wasn't -"

"Not now!" I snapped without looking.

X X X

Henry and Jeri watched Tasuke go, and the house settled into an uncomfortable silence. Even the dog was tense, afraid to cut through the quiet with even a bark. Henry stared at the door for a while, hoping vainly that Tasuke would return right then. But he didn't. Eventually, Henry felt all the energy holding him up vanish and he collapsed into his chair feeling hollow and exhausted by the past few minutes. "What was that?" Henry eventually asked. He turned towards Jeri on the other side of the table.

"He's like his mother. People who are abandoned push people away," Jeri noted. She sighed and looked away from Henry, using her hand as a stand for her chin. "I'm sorry, Henry. But you need to look at yourself and how you behave. Even if it hurts."

"What are you implying?" Henry growled.

Jeri still refused to meet his eyes. "You let him leave. You are letting him do things that are hurting him."

"... I can't tell him to stop looking for his parents, Jeri!" he snapped after a long glare at her. "What kind of monster would tell a kid to give up when he could save his parents?"

Jeri stood up slowly and grabbed her coat. She walked to the front door and opened it, making to leave. She stopped and ran a hand through her hair over one ear. She took a deep breath and said without turning, "We sacrificed so much to protect as many people as we could. Takato and Rika sacrificed more than any of us could imagine, all to make sure that children and Digimon wouldn't be made into weapons. We did the best we could but... we failed." She shook he head. "The world has too many child soldiers already, Henry. I just can't believe you've let Takato and Rika's son be one."

Henry felt like he'd been hit in the gut. "Th-that's not -"

"Fair? Yes. It is."

Jeri walked out and shut the door behind her, making sure not to turn around so the tears streaming down her face would not be seen by her old friend. "Good work, Dr. Katou," Commander Watanabe said in her ear. "Now the rest is up to us."

X X X

"You heard the kid, didn't you?" Hiku asked. "He won't stop trying to get his parents back, and he doesn't know what that means. We need to show him."

"I don't think that kid would care," Kura countered. She scoffed. "Dr. Katou's got the kid pegged – he's off the rails, now. Nah, our best bet is the other two."

Namaiki frowned and leaned back in her desk chair. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with Kura. Tasuke is unstable in comparison to the others, at least from our surveillance of them. I recommend we approach the girl, first. She is the one with the least direct reason to have joined D-Card in the first place, and has connections we can use to convince the other two."

Watanabe glanced at BlackGabumon, then up at the team. "Okay. If it's the girl, Namaiki you talk with her. It's less threatening than being approached by a man in a random location. Or by Kura."

"I say we just kidnap them. They can't open a portal if one of 'em is missing," BlackGatomon pointed out from Kura's shoulder.

Kura aimed her thumb at her partner's statement. "I'm on board!"

"If it comes to it, we will," Watanabe explained. He gestured at Namaiki. "Schedule a meeting. We'll be in backup if necessary."

"Very well. Paildramon and I will handle this, Sir."

X X X

May stood quietly on the empty football field at school, staring up at the snow drifting from the sky. Dorumon looked up at her nervously, unsure if they should be here and awaiting someone who asked for a meeting. But May had said it would be fine; they had Taj, BlackGuilmon, Davis, and Huckmon on backup, even if they had to set up kind of far away to keep any other Digimon off their scent. May and Dorumon trusted each other to stay alive until the others got there.

Dorumon looked around after a few minutes. "Well, it looks like they stood us up," Dorumon said resolutely. She sighed, a little over the top, and was obviously happy when she said, "Now, how about we go see your boyfriend and the jerkmons, huh?"

"Jerkmons?"

"Yeah, Dummy's graduated to full on jerk lately. Worse than Jerkmon, even!" Dorumon exclaimed. She rolled her eyes. "I actually feel bad for BG... he looks... sad."

May frowned and pulled out her Digivice, pretending to check the time but instead just glaring at the device. With everything she knew now that Davis had told her, she knew that Taj was changing because of this. BlackGuilmon had pushed him to become crueler, and Taj had been happy to do it for his merge rate. To save his parents. Dorumon was right, Taj was mean. He still wasn't talking to Henry, and it was obvious that her uncle was struggling with that. And in the meantime, BlackGuilmon – Well, he was still a troll. But he was the one trying to get Taj to take a step back, and that worried her. Taj had changed him for the better... even while Taj himself changed for the worse. And it hadn't been helping their Merge rate. While hers and Dorumon's was over eighty, Taj and BG's was barely over twenty anymore. They were further than ever from saving Taj's parents.

"Oh! May, Digimon incoming!" Dorumon exclaimed, and May snapped out of her thoughts. She turned to glare up at the sky, and pulled on her sunglasses when sparking fog began to generate around them. It only took a little while longer for a figure to slam into the ground in front of them before gently lowering another, smaller individual beside them.

"Good job, Paildramon." That was Japanese, May realized.

"It was my pleasure." The reply was Japanese, too.

May grimaced. Paildramon – an Ultimate. Then – "You're one of the Tamers from Japan, aren't you?!" May shouted in Japanese.

"I see our reputation precedes us," Paildramon said, offering a slight nod. The two got closer, and the large Digimon towered over her, the large guns growing off of his hips a quiet threat even when loose and inactive.

Dorumon pushed herself in between May and the Paildramon, silently glaring up at the much more powerful Digimon. May silently thanked her partner, then turned to glare at the woman. She was about the same height as May, with professional hair and a serious, calm demeanor. "So, who are you?"

"My name is Namaiki Ayako, Digidestined of Japan. It is a pleasure to meet you, Anderson Mayumi."

"It's May, Aya – Er, Namaiki," May replied, cursing that she almost forgot basic manners for speaking with Japanese people, and avoiding using their personal names. It was easy to forget when not even her jiji and baba cared about her doing it.

The woman nodded slightly. "Very well, May," Namaiki replied. She crossed her arms. "I assume you want to know why we requested a meeting with you."

"I'm assuming one of two things," May replied. She took a half step back and glared over at Paildramon. "And I doubt either of them are good."

"I would prefer it not come to that," Namaiki responded after a moment of silence.

May glared at her, then over at Paildramon. They could have attacked at any moment if they'd wanted to, right? "Well.." she mumbled. She moved beside Dorumon. "I could at least hear y-"

There was a flash of energy, and the ground in front of May and Dorumon exploded, sending her flying away. The two shouted in pain and flew away, hitting the ground hard and then rolling across the field. "It's a trap!" Dorumon grunted as they pushed to their feet. She jumped in front of her injured partner. "We've got to fight our way out!"

May grunted and pushed herself to her knees, watching her partner launch a series of metal spheres at the Paildramon and the agent across from them. "... Oh, no..." May mumbled, catching sight of Paildramon easily deflecting the attacks then rushing tiny, rookie Dorumon. Namaiki was shouting something in Japanese, but May wasn't processing. She could only see those massive claws on Paildramon's hands rushing towards Dorumon. Towards her best friend. Who was going to die.

"NO!" May screamed, turning her Digivice towards her to look for a card that would work, only to find they had all been replaced by a simple, blue card. She vaguely remembered Davis mentioning these once, and hoped this worked. She tapped the card and activated it, sending a massive burst of data streaming into her partner.

Bright, purple light began to stream from both her and Namaiki's Digivices, a laughing chibi dog nearly blindingly bright on the screen before purple, digital words appeared on the screen. "Matrix Digivolution."

"Dorumon, Matrix-Warp Digivolve to..!"

Dorumon's skin flew off inside of a massive, see through, purple egg that had exploded into being in that moment. Her purple wireframe restructured, with two pairs of massive wings, an elongating neck, a coiling, muscled tail tipped with a ribbon and a metal spike. Her snout grew a huge, curving blade and a mane of hair streamed down her neck. The egg exploded and a furred dragon with black, zig zag stripes crossing over red like the color of the crystal on her forehead flew out. White hair streamed down the long neck between a pair of spikes, wings jangling as metallic spiked rings that dangled from them shook in the wind. Sharp, black claws crashed into Paildramon, and the tail spike flew towards Paildramon's chest. "DORUGREYMON!" the huge dragon screamed in Dorumon's voice, "Bloody Tower!" The golden spike on the tail began to glow and the muscled coils of the tail tightened before shooting forward.

"Digi-Modify! Bakemon's Phasing, activate!" Namaiki shouted from the other side of the field. The tail shot through Paildramon, who flapped his wings and shot up through Dorugreymon, rising into the air above her.

"You've got this DoruGreymon!" May exclaimed. She glared up at the Paildramon, who had returned to phase. "Digi-Modify! Hyperspeed, activate!"

DoruGreymon shot from the ground, leaving a small crater from liftoff, and slammed shoulder first into Paildramon. He was thrown backwards, flying through the field goal posts and into the bleachers. "Metal Meteor!"

Paildramon glared up as a massive, flaming meteor exploded from DoruGreymon's throat. "Desperado Blaster!" Powerful bullets flew up from the cannons on his hips, carving into the Meteor until both attack streams exploded. The goal posts vanished, vaporized into a cloud of data that both combatants flew through to continue their fight.

"Bloody Tower!" DoruGreymon snapped, tail glowing as it struck forward.

"Sting Strike!" Paildramon countered, blades shooting from the large gauntlets of its wrists before it threw its hands out at her.

"Stun Whip!"

Paildramon and DoruGreymon gasped in pain as a long electric whip crashed into them. The pair tumbled helplessly to the ground, crashing into the grass and gasping against the energy keeping them frozen. "Enough!" Into the Digital Field walked six more figures. The two in charge were an older man with graying hair standing beside a glowering, black furred ShadowWereGarurumon. The next a younger, smirking man standing beneath the huge figure of a MetalGreymon. The final pair were of a cruel looking woman with short hair and her LadyDevimon partner. The older man turned to Namaiki. "We aren't here to fight."

"She attacked me first, Sir," Namaiki replied, but she listened. An Alias card turned Paildramon into a Stingmon, free of the electric stun effect, who flew back to her.

"No I didn't. You blew up the ground trying to kill me!" May countered angrily.

"If she attacked you first, you'd be dead. Paildramon wouldn't have missed you," the cruel looking woman countered with a smirk.

May took a breath. That lady wasn't lying. Not that it mattered now, outnumbered four to one... "May!" A white and red blur appeared in front of her, and SaviorHuckmon placed Davis next to her. He glared over at the older man. "Commander Watanabe, right? What are you doing here?"

"I'm not here to fight," the man said, transitioning quickly to perfect English. He threw his hands up. "Come on, kid. We outnumber you four to two."

"Four to three!" BlackGrowlmon snapped as he exploded out of his Digivolution and slammed into the ground beside them.

"What are we waiting for, let's do this," Taj said as he rushed up, raring for a fight.

Watanabe sighed. "Like I said, we aren't here to fight." ShadowWereGarurumon glowed for a moment, then Dedigivolved into BlackGabumon beside him. "We're here to talk."

X X X

I didn't buy it for a second. Talk? No, they were the enemy. They wanted to get rid of us here and now. And besides, even if they weren't lying we had no reason to listen. We needed to get to the Digital World. We needed to get to my parents. We didn't have time to listen to this!

Unfortunately, everyone disagreed with me. Even BlackGuilmon voted that we listen for now, meaning we were doing it. I set my jaw and waited. It'd be a fight eventually. It always ended up that way. "So, what do you want?" I asked as the last of everyone's Digimon finally returned to Rookie, even ours, as a sign of nonaggression. "I want to know why I should believe you aren't here to hurt us..."

Davis glared at me, but shook his head. "I'm wondering the same thing. You attacked someone I care about, so it better be good."

"I didn't att -" Namaiki began.

"Enough," Watanabe interjected angrily. He crossed his arms. "Let me start with this: what do you think we want?"

"The same thing anyone wants. To be the ones that make a hole in the Firewall so you can take over the Digital World yourselves," May explained, casting a glare in their direction. "To take over the world."

The nasty looking one, Kura, laughed. "Take down the Firewall? Damn, kid, you've got it twisted."

The nicer looking young guy nodded. "We don't want that to happen at all. We'd actually prefer it if... well, if nobody opened the Firewall."

We all froze. "Y-you what? That doesn't make any sense. I've always been told everyone wants to be the one to break the Firewall, to get to the Digimon inside..."

Watanabe sighed. "Then you've been lied to, Kid. The Firewall isn't something you can just install a door in so that only some people can go in and others are kept out," he explained, opening his hands like a hinge.

"If you bring down the Firewall, it goes down everywhere!" BlackGabumon shouted beside him, miming a wall falling down.

"... What?" Davis whispered.

"Digimon will appear all over the world. Children will become Digidestined and Tamers at a rate so far beyond what it is right now that all out war between nations is a given. And that's not even considering the unlimited flow of Wild Digimon. It would be chaos," Namaiki explained. She shook her head. "And the countries that would most likely find this chaos most useful would not be Japan. It would be nations with massive numbers of children and high birth rates. Places where the next generation of soldiers number in the hundreds of millions. China already uses their Digimon on their own protesting populace. Now imagine if they had enough Digimon to do the same all over the world."

"Jesus Christ," May whispered.

"We wouldn't let that happen," BlackGuilmon stated resolutely.

"How? You're three kids and their Digimon, that's it," Watanabe countered. "There's a lot three kids with Digimon can do, but they can't save the world. And if you die, who'll save your friends? Who'll save your families? Wongs and Digimon are inseparable, so what about your siblings, Anderson? Who'll protect your mother, Estevez? Or your grandparents, little Matsuki?"

Matsuki..."That name again... Wait, that's what Krampusmon called me. Why did you call me Matsuki?" I growled. "What does it mean?"

The Japanese tamers glanced at one another, then back at us. "Takato and Rika Matsuki. Your parents," Hiku explained. He shook his head. "Your mom is the kid of a former supermodel, Rumiko Nonaka. Your father is the kid of bakers, Takehiro and Yoshie Matsuki. And each of them is still alive, wondering where you are."

"It's Joryawa!" I snapped. I took a step forward. "You – I..." Henry... He hid a real connection with my parents from me. My name. Why the hell would he do that to me!?

"It's Matsuki. Dr. Wong changed your name to hide you from us, and everyone looking for you. And he never contacted your grandparents to protect you from us. But we don't need you. Not anymore." Watanabe shook his head. "We don't want the Firewall to fall. And we're giving you this chance to make sure it doesn't. You can meet your grandparents. You can find your family. We don't want a war, Kids. We want the status quo to be exactly what it is right now."

Watanabe sighed and shook his head before fixing his gaze directly on me. I met it with a snarl. "So... Look, just give it some thought. We'll be watching." He turned and motioned for his team to follow him, and they listened without another glance at us. I glared at their backs. They wouldn't get away with this.

We watched them go for a while, the Digital Field slowly vanishing once they were far enough away. "... Bullshit," I finally snapped. I clenched my fists and turned to the others. "It's bullshit."

Davis, May, and their partners glanced at one another, sharing a look. "Um... I don't know," May finally said. She shrugged and rubbed her arm. "Taj, look... They might not be lying. And if they aren't, I mean, I already told you that I'm not sacrificing my family for this."

I stared down my best friend. "Taj, come on, say something," she begged. She reached out and I took a step away. "You're my best friend. And I think... Look, Gethen is up to something. Something terrible, and I think we need to take a step back and find out if this is part of it."

"What are you talking about?"

May and Dorumon took an exasperated breath, then turned to Davis.

He sighed. "I've learned that Director Gethen is working with a Reapmon. A really evil Digimon. I think that's how they got your dad's goggles from the Digital world and they're going to do something worse soon. It sounds like he has a plan, specifically for you and BlackGuilmon."

"He wants to use me?" BlackGuilmon asked. He shook his head and growled. "I knew he smelled wrong..."

I frowned. "Reapmon..? Who told you about this?" I wondered, trying to understand what was even going on now. I took a careful breath. Maybe... Maybe my friends had a point.

Davis grew quiet. "Well?!" I snapped.

"Hey, don't yell at us!" Huckmon exclaimed, jumping forward.

"Tell me!"

Davis put his hand on Huckmon's head to calm him, then took a deep breath. Finally: "Jennifer Smith told us. She corroborated other issues I had, and -"

I laughed in disbelief. No, they didn't have a point. Were they even my friends? Did they care if they would let her go free? "The crazy lady who tried to kill me!? Why the hell would you – I..." I shook my head. "So you're all just going to... abandon me?"

"Taj, we can find out another way to save your parents," May promised hollowly. "Come on, we can figure this out, especially if we have Henry helping us, right?"

"Henry? Henry's been lying to me. You're abandoning me..." I turned to BlackGuilmon. "We can do this alone."

He stared up at me, then looked over at the others. "I think we should listen to our friends."

My world shattered. BlackGuilmon wanting to listen to them? "Of course..." I laughed, doubling over and clutching at my gut. "Of course! You only want to listen to others when it hurts me! When it means abandoning me! You never make it easy for me!"

"Tasuke..." BlackGuilmon began, getting close.

I surged up and slapped his claw away. "I get it now. If my parents wouldn't stay, why would any of you."

"I'm not abandoning you, Taj. You're my best friend, and I just want to make sure that you're okay! I've changed you too much, and I want my partner to be -"

"Partners?" I asked. I shook my head and turned away. "Go to hell!" I sprinted off, ignoring those... those traitors. They weren't my friends if they'd abandon me... They didn't matter. I pulled out my Digivice and watched the merge rate appear and plummet to zero.

BlackGuilmon immediately cried out in pain behind me, but I ignored it. They abandoned me. Everyone always abandoned me... So screw them all.

I jumped in my car and turned the key before driving off. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know what I was doing. I just... I had to get away from them. I had to get away from those traitors. "Dammit!" I screamed at the empty roads. "Dammit!" I needed... someone. Something. I couldn't be alone. Not again...

And then the last thing I remembered was a lone figure standing at the center of the road. Everything went dark after that.

X X X

Henry stared at the clock on the wall as he sat on the couch, a beer on the table in front of him. It was so late. "Tasuke, where are you?" he grumbled anxiously. They hadn't spoken in days, and even BlackGigimon thought that something was wrong with Tasuke. Henry didn't like this. He'd promised to keep Takato's and Rika's son safe, and he was doing a terrible job. He resented Jeri for what she'd said, but she wasn't wrong. He was failing them, and worse he was failing Tasuke. Henry clenched his fists on his knees. He was failing someone he thought of as a son. Dammit, when did this become so hard? When had the bright eyed, orange haired kid become an angry teenager?

The doorbell rang, and Henry surged to his feet. He knew Tasuke had a key of his own, he knew Tasuke could get in the house whenever he wanted, he knew all sorts of things. But he still shouted, "Tasuke!" when running to the door, hoping beyond hope the young man was behind the door. He threw it open. "Tasuke you're -"

"He's not here?" May asked worriedly. She glanced down at a small black bundle in her arms, then over at that Davis boy she was dating. "What do we do now?"

"We'll figure it out, right?" her tiny dog said. The creature looked up at Henry as another creature walked around the corner. "Um... hi."

"No one's watching us," the other creature said as he stopped at the door. "We're safe for now."

"What's going on? Where's Tasuke?!" Henry whispered, fear striking through his heart. "May... Where is he?"

She looked down at the bundle again. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"We need his help." Henry's eyes flicked to the black bundle, which wriggled around in May's arms and stared up at Henry. It was a small ball with huge, wing shaped ears. It had no legs and large red eyes. And it was speaking in BlackGigimon's voice. He looked exhausted, and his data would fizzle every few moments. BlackJyarimon's next words were aimed at Henry, "I think something bad happened to Tasuke. And it's my fault."

Davis bit his cheek and sighed. "We need your help, Dr. Wong."

He looked at them all, then stepped out of their way. "Tell me everything."

X X X

Oh, hello! I guess this is where everyone's been going lately. It's interesting, seeing all of this. It definitely explains why Takato and Rika are acting so silly! If you had told me I'd be happy to see them together after me and Takato broke up, I don't know if I'd have believed you. But... Well, I'm happy to see them happy. I'm less happy seeing what is going to happen to all of us later.

I... I feel really bad about what grown up me said to Henry. I may be trying to help kids, but Henry's my friend. It feels wrong to treat him like that. At the same time, I think I might even make the same decisions if I was in the same position. I know Henry is strong. Takato and Rika are strong. I'm even strong! We can survive even if I have to say mean things like that, but... Well, it sounds like those kids might not survive without me. I just wish I could make the right decision without hurting the people I care about.

I wish Leomon were still here. If he helped me when I was grown up, maybe I could have found that answer. But I guess I just have to hope that the future me finds a way to fix this on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.