Thank you to a wonderful reviewer of mine for pointing out a slight typo at the end. You're awesome, Sara. This is why we need genuine reviews to point out things like this so thank you so much.

5. Mimi's Pure Heart

Mimi cut the line and frowned. So much had happened that she almost didn't know where to start. When the digimon had disappeared two years ago, there were many days she could not stop crying. Michael had supported her through this difficult time but parties for once had just become a distraction. They were fun but it wasn't the same without Palmon.

Without her cheerful friend who would mess up the party decorations because she didn't understand Mimi's instructions on where it went. Michael wasn't the same either. He wasn't Tai. Or Matt, Joe, Izzy, T.K. and the others either. He was her friend, and she adored him but even being around him, there had been an odd sense of loneliness. One that only Tai could take away.

And the others, of course! Why had she thought of Tai first? Her cheeks flushed at the thought and for a moment, she forgot the seriousness of the call she just had. Tai did always make her smile – whenever he joined her, they would have a lot more fun at the party even if they usually ran away from the party together because there could be a crowd, and Tai had never been a fan of them. Despite having been the leader in the first adventure, she knew while Tai didn't mind people, he did need his alone time to recharge as well.

It was odd – she would have never pictured him as an introvert back then, but now it was charming. It made sense though given his closest friends were Matt and Izzy and they both needed their alone time in more ways than one. Matt just hated going to parties while Joe was too busy for them with medical school. That was something she was beginning to realise about herself too. She generally got along with people but lately, being around Michael had been a little bit draining.

He had been inviting strange friends to the parties they had and had been getting a little close to comfort to her at times. She had bluntly told him no a few times but being here in America, even with all the friends she had wasn't the same as her friends back in Japan. This phone call was a good excuse to take a flight back and Izzy hadn't asked her to bring Michael or any of the other International DigiDestined, that was good. It would give her a break – although thinking of that, her heart sunk a little bit.

The change would have been a welcome one if it didn't remind her that Gennai had betrayed them. How could he? How could he do this to them after all the times that he had helped them through a tough situation in the digital world? Coward…she knew what it was like to be scared, to have the Dark Masters trying to kill them, to see Chuumon sacrifice himself so she could live.

That feeling…not knowing if she would make it and just wanting to go back home, she understood it. But even with understanding that, she couldn't justify his actions. She had never wanted Piedmon to hurt her friends, and she would have never sacrificed Chuumon if it meant living another day. The thought had never even occurred to her.

Gennai had snatched their digimon partners from the safety of the human world…it made her head spin to the point that she was trying to focus. No, she couldn't focus on the rage, the desire to want to grab him and get answers. Maybe Tai had been a bad influence on her or maybe he had brought out something in her even more than she already had, in matters more than just her fashion and clothes.

The person she had to call was the last person she wanted to call right now – but she needed Michael's connections to get her to the first flight back to Japan. Hopefully, he would not pester her about the dating him again like he had been for the last couple of months but Betamon and the digimon had to come first, right?

Sitting back down on her bed, she gave Michael a call. As always, he picked up on the first ring.

"Mimi! This is a surprise," Michael sounded ecstatic over the phone, causing her to roll her eyes. "Want to hang out?"

"Michael, I need your help," Mimi cut straight to the point. This was no time to play his little games. Palmon needed her. Before he could answer, she continued. "This isn't about us. We…as in the DigiDestined, have a chance of going to the digital world. Palmon and the others are in danger. Betamon is in danger. Do you think you can use your connections to get me on the earliest flight to Japan?"

She had never really had what she would call a business-like conversation with Michael, but with how much he had been bothering her to date him, she couldn't afford to get distracted. She had been meaning to talk to Sora about this, but the right moment had never come, and she wasn't ever sure how to bring it up over the phone.

There was silence on the other end and for a second, Mimi had to listen to hear the sound of breathing to think Michael had not hung up on her. Would he care enough about Betamon to put his feelings aside and focus on what they needed? Or would he refuse to help her?

"I'll get Dad to get you there, pronto," Michael finally said. "Is there anything the rest of us can do to help?"

That was the Michael she remembered – the one who cared about being her friend before anything else. The one who had fought by her side when there were wild digimon throughout the world. This was her friend – not what he had become most of the time now.

"We're not even sure how we can help right now," Mimi admitted. "We just need to get there and no; it just has to be the 12 of us now. We may be stuck in the digital world for a while since the gates were forcefully closed to keep us out. I might not be able to keep in touch once I get back but…" She trailed off, not sure how long this was goodbye for and while it had felt relieving at first, talking with Michael like this almost felt like old times.

"That's fine," Michael said softly. "Get your bags packed, Mimi. I'm going to make sure you get on the first flight today, so bring Betamon back to me safe, ok?"

Mimi couldn't help but smile at this even though he couldn't see it. "Of course I will."