[IC] Digimon: The Convergence of the Human and Digital Worlds

[Vocalia]

As Alphamon took his hostility head-on, Parasimon just glowered at her in return; if her words had reached him at all, there were precisely zero signs of it.

Fortunately, Alphamon didn’t seem to be alone.
“It’s over, father,” Kappa said to Parasimon, standing his own ground as he recollected himself from the Knight’s previous outburst of rage, “Either you accept it or you don’t. Your call, your fate.”

“Look, Parasimon,” Examon suddenly interjected, finally finding his own voice in the situation, “Like it or not, Yggdrasil’s gone. Imperialdramon strung you- no, he strung everyone along for years, got everyone else’s hands dirty for his own bullshit. You’re a Knight, aren’t you? Then take some responsibility like one.”

While Alphamon was quite glad to have support behind her words, especially from Kappa of all Digimons, she decided to stay in front, having decided that this issue was, for all intent and purposes, her responsibility as well, seeing that it was her own selfish decision that ended up starting the clusterfuck of issues. “Parasimon, I won’t talk to you as a Knight; I no longer have the right to call myself one. However, I’m talking to you now as another Digimon who wants to see the Royal Knights rebuild to their true purpose. If you have issues, take it to me, but leave the others alone!”

Parasimon continued to glare at them; but even as he stood his ground, it was easy enough to see the fire dying within his eyes. Sense and logic was slowly returning to him even as his rage burned, and the part of him that had been prepared to die saw that the possible fight before him was one that he couldn’t win.

“Have you both gone soft, or something?” He asked, after a moment’s pause, “Surely it would be easier for everyone if you just took my damned head as a trophy and called it quits?”

“Indeed, but that wouldn’t solve the matter at hand and that’s what matters,” Alphamon replied, a look into the horrifying Digimon’s eyes allowing her to see that he had started to calm down. “Besides, I’m not into trophy collecting. Can’t be bothered to keep them anyway.”

“What if I refuse?” Parasimon asked, the way he spoke positing it as a genuine question beneath the traces of rage in his voice, “Even if you have no interest in my head, there’ll be no shortage of those that do.”

“I won’t speak for any Digimon but myself, but should that be the case, then I suppose I could always take a page out of a certain Digimon’s book: Chew you up and spit you out until you agree.”

“Funny. Thought you’re not into that kind of thing,” Dorumon remarked with something of a gleeful, toothy grin.
“My apologies, but I just couldn’t resist,” Alphamon replied, a soft chuckle beneath her dark armor.

“Look, Parasimon, you’re not exactly helpless,” Examon spoke up, rolling his eyes slightly at Alphamon’s comment, “It’s your choice whether you want to join us or not; frankly, you’re lucky you’re getting the choice. If we didn’t know what we did, we’d be inclined to kill you along with everyone else that Imperialdramon and the other Knights ground into the dirt for so long. The choice is still yours, though; you could probably survive for as long as you wanted if you refuse, so long as you kept your head down and lived in solitude.”

“... So I either lead as pointless an existence as I’ve ever lead, or join you, is that what you’re saying?” Parasimon replied, some clarity seeming to dawn on him.

“Basically, yeah. If we’re not mistaken, there’s something more to you than a simple rabid dog on a leash; are you willing to prove us right?”

Alphamon waited until she had the all-clear to speak again to Parasimon. “We have no intentions of stringing you along should you decide to work with us. We only want to clear things up and set a concrete plan for the future of the Digital World. I don’t know how things would go from this point on, but there’s still hope for recovery. Not an easy one, yes, but it’s there.”

[Vocalia]

As Alphamon took his hostility head-on, Parasimon just glowered at her in return; if her words had reached him at all, there were precisely zero signs of it.

Fortunately, Alphamon didn’t seem to be alone.
“It’s over, father,” Kappa said to Parasimon, standing his own ground as he recollected himself from the Knight’s previous outburst of rage, “Either you accept it or you don’t. Your call, your fate.”

“Look, Parasimon,” Examon suddenly interjected, finally finding his own voice in the situation, “Like it or not, Yggdrasil’s gone. Imperialdramon strung you- no, he strung everyone along for years, got everyone else’s hands dirty for his own bullshit. You’re a Knight, aren’t you? Then take some responsibility like one.”

While Alphamon was quite glad to have support behind her words, especially from Kappa of all Digimons, she decided to stay in front, having decided that this issue was, for all intent and purposes, her responsibility as well, seeing that it was her own selfish decision that ended up starting the clusterfuck of issues. “Parasimon, I won’t talk to you as a Knight; I no longer have the right to call myself one. However, I’m talking to you now as another Digimon who wants to see the Royal Knights rebuild to their true purpose. If you have issues, take it to me, but leave the others alone!”

Parasimon continued to glare at them; but even as he stood his ground, it was easy enough to see the fire dying within his eyes. Sense and logic was slowly returning to him even as his rage burned, and the part of him that had been prepared to die saw that the possible fight before him was one that he couldn’t win.

“Have you both gone soft, or something?” He asked, after a moment’s pause, “Surely it would be easier for everyone if you just took my damned head as a trophy and called it quits?”

“Indeed, but that wouldn’t solve the matter at hand and that’s what matters,” Alphamon replied, a look into the horrifying Digimon’s eyes allowing her to see that he had started to calm down. “Besides, I’m not into trophy collecting. Can’t be bothered to keep them anyway.”

“What if I refuse?” Parasimon asked, the way he spoke positing it as a genuine question beneath the traces of rage in his voice, “Even if you have no interest in my head, there’ll be no shortage of those that do.”

“I won’t speak for any Digimon but myself, but should that be the case, then I suppose I could always take a page out of a certain Digimon’s book: Chew you up and spit you out until you agree.”

“Funny. Thought you’re not into that kind of thing,” Dorumon remarked with something of a gleeful, toothy grin.
“My apologies, but I just couldn’t resist,” Alphamon replied, a soft chuckle beneath her dark armor.

“Look, Parasimon, you’re not exactly helpless,” Examon spoke up, rolling his eyes slightly at Alphamon’s comment, “It’s your choice whether you want to join us or not; frankly, you’re lucky you’re getting the choice. If we didn’t know what we did, we’d be inclined to kill you along with everyone else that Imperialdramon and the other Knights ground into the dirt for so long. The choice is still yours, though; you could probably survive for as long as you wanted if you refuse, so long as you kept your head down and lived in solitude.”

“... So I either lead as pointless an existence as I’ve ever lead, or join you, is that what you’re saying?” Parasimon replied, some clarity seeming to dawn on him.

“Basically, yeah. If we’re not mistaken, there’s something more to you than a simple rabid dog on a leash; are you willing to prove us right?”

Alphamon waited until she had the all-clear to speak again to Parasimon. “We have no intentions of stringing you along should you decide to work with us. We only want to clear things up and set a concrete plan for the future of the Digital World. I don’t know how things would go from this point on, but there’s still hope for recovery. Not an easy one, yes, but it’s there.”

[Psyker Landshark]

One week ago, a portal was opened in Yoyogi Park. A week later, the same portal reappeared in late evening, just as most of the parkgoers had already left. Lucas and Leomon stepped out first, followed by the rest of the group. Yawning, Lucas pulled out his phone and turned it back on, checking the time. “8:30. Well, at least most restaurants should still be open. God knows I’m starving.” He muttered, turning to the others. “Night, guys. I’m going to go get food and let my girlfriend know I’m not dead. Leon, Veemon, don’t forget: Shibuya Station at noon tomorrow. If you’re late, I’m going without you.” Lucas said, waving a hand as he walked away with Leomon. As they walked out of the park, Lucas pulled out his phone and started typing away, talking to Leomon at the same time. “So, what do you want to do for dinner? Korean barbecue?” “Anything, really. I’m bloody hungry.” Leomon shrugged. “All you can eat Korean barbecue it is,” Lucas replied. “Let’s go grab Minako before we go. Pretty sure she’d be pissed if I got barbecue without her.” He said nonchalantly. ___ Knock. Knock. Knock. “Hold on, I’m coming!” A slender, short-haired Japanese girl said, opening her apartment door before her eyes widened in surprise. “Lucas?!” “Hey Minako,” Lucas grinned tiredly. “You eat dinner yet?” “No, but…” She paused for a moment, still shocked at her boyfriend’s sudden reappearance. “You’re back...you could’ve called, you know!” “...I sent you a text twenty minutes ago. Didn’t respond, so I figured you were asleep.” Lucas said. “Oh, right. My phone died yesterday. It’s in the shop right now.” Minako blinked. “Anyways, you look terrible.” She smiled softly as she went forward to hug him. “Huh.” Lucas blinked, noting the dirt on his face as well as the tears in his clothes that had accumulated over the last week. “So I do. Anyways, you want to go get some Korean barbecue? My treat.” “It better be.” Minako grinned. “Haven’t seen you in a week, and the first thing you do is show up on my doorstep without taking a shower? Ass.” She swatted at him playfully. “I’m sorry I walked halfway across a god damn desert,” Lucas replied. “Tell you what, I’ll tell you all about it during dinner.” “You better.” She said, leaning in to hug him again. “Thank god you’re alright.” “You’re welcome.” Lucas smirked, to which Minako mock-hit him again.

[Vocalia]

The lights flickered as they stepped into the small apartment before finally brightening up the room. From the looks of it, they hadn't been gone for long and nothing amiss had happened in their absence. Aside from a few mails, it seemed that nobody had suspected anything. It was late and it's been too long since they left, but, for some reason, she didn't feel hungry. "Zei, did you stock the fridge before you leave?" A soft gasp broke her from her daydream. Zei looked at Dorumon as the purple beast headed straight for her fridge. There were still food in it, most of which would tide them for the night. "I did, fortunately, but I don't really feel that hungry..." She smiled. She was quite happy to be home again and to still be in one piece in the aftermath of their battles, but there were still a few pressing issues deep in her mind. "Is this where you keep your food, Miss Zei? Looks more like a shoddy safe." "Shut up, fish head. At least you get a place to stay while you're here." "Hey! I came here with the best of intentions! Is that how you talk to your old friend, Dorumon?" "Old nuisance, more like." Zei chuckled as she gently pushed Dorumon and Ranamon aside to look at what they had. She could always cook up a nice meal for herself and Dorumon wasn't a picky eater. Her focus was more on her new housemate. "Ranamon, was it? Is there anything you don't like in particular?" she asked, looking at the blue Digimon as she tilted her head with one hand on her chin. "Not really... I do like fish though." That should be easy for her to prepare. "I see. Dorumon, would you kindly show her around the apartment? I'll prepare dinner in the meantime." With a light squeal, Ranamon didn't bother waiting for her answer as she dragged the purple Rookie with her, excitedly looking around at the human settlement. Amidst the string of curse words, chatters and groans in the background, Zei returned to the most important issue she had in mind while her body settled into her old human routine as she began preparations for their quick dinner. --- After attending Lucas' briefing, Zei had remained rather silent until now and her gaze had a grim glint in it. The remnants of the shock still remained in her system and it's hard for her to get rid of it. All she did was listen to what everyone was saying, the ideas and suggestions everyone was pitching and the revelations they began to piece together gradually, but what came about hit her close to him, too close for comfort. For one, Lucas brought up the likely culprit behind their earlier troubles: the attacks from BlackWargreymon, the rogue Digimons in their world, the mysterious organization that kidnapped Ruby and the man working behind the scenes. The name struck her like a bullet train. She couldn't and didn't want to believe it, but there was a hint of guilt in her heart that she couldn't push aside. That's because she knew him. Masashi Takeda was no acquaintance. She had met him in the past under somewhat dire circumstances and helped him, though she began to wonder if her past actions were now causing an unwanted consequence and whether or not he even remembered her. Being the CEO of a large corporation, Zei doubted that he would even recognize her. That said, if what was said about him was true, he needed to be stopped, fast. Lucas and Leon had the same idea, if the former's parting words were any indication. She knew every single one of the humans in their little ragtag group would strongly object to her going on this harrowing mission, regardless of what she knew about Takeda. However, she couldn't bear the thought of sitting back and letting the others delve into danger. A resolute idea was formed in her mind, deadly and almost foolish, but one she gladly undertake. --- "You're thinking about what those meatbags have been talking about?" Another gasp, this time louder and peppered with surprise, made Zei looked back to see Ranamon and Dorumon behind her, the former on the latter's back. She didn't know how long they had been there, but certainly long enough to catch her by surprise. "Face it, Zei. You haven't been the best liar I've known. You've been awfully silent since we left for the Human World," Dorumon said in a deadpan tone. Being fused with her allowed her to glimpse into her mind and her being her tamer helped her understood the human better than most Digimons. She could tell during the briefing that she was troubled and didn't want to disclose it to the others. "Miss Zei, I can't speak for my friend here, but I think I have a good guess on what you have in mind," Ranamon chimed in. "You want to do something about this Takeda person for what happened back in your world. I believe it's safe to say that we all share a common goal here. Besides, no offense to you, but there's no way you can go alone. Let us help you!" ""Us"? Since when did you have a stake in this?" Dorumon asked, her brow raised with concern and suspicion. "Since that blue munchkin and his human buddy said that I'm too small and dainty to go with them! The nerve of them! I am Ranamon, treasure hunter extraordinaire and thief by trade! There's no way I'm passing this up!" While aware of how rude she was, Dorumon couldn't help but chuckle at her old friend's burning anger and indignant pout before turning back to Zei. "Well, I don't want to waste your time, so here are a few words from me: Take us or we're not letting you out of this apartment." The passing time had brought her and Dorumon closer and, from what she was told, Ranamon and the latter also happened to be quite close, if not a tad shady, in the past. Normally, she would had been insistent in going alone, seeing that she was the one with the issue, but after their little adventure, she had come to value allies and friends even more than she did in the past. It would not be an easy task and failure would mean catastrophe for their worlds, but Zei had no plans on backing away or letting her two Digital housemates hold her ransom. She sighed, leaning against the counter and rubbing the bridge of her nose to regain her composure, then turned to the two Digimons with a calm, yet knowing smile. "It seems that words aren't of much use now. Shall we head out tomorrow?" Their grins were all the agreement she needed and it looked like the her composure was finally settling down... "Now that we're actually on the same page here, when can we expect dinner?" ... before crashing into pieces thanks to Dorumon's bluntness and her own fit of chuckles. "In a bit, Dorumon. I only have canned meat and sardines for tonight. I hope that's alright with you, Ranamon." "Food is food, Miss Zei," Ranamon replied with a smile, happy to experience her hospitality, before turning to her companion and whispering into her ear, "Way to ruin the mood, Dorumon." "Fuck the mood. I'm hungry."

[tobiax]

The return to the Digital World was silent. Although not as tired as the rest, Jordan wasn't sure how to feel. He just felt sort of hollow, and was unsure if anything had really changed. Sure, the Royal Knights had been effectively unseated, and Imperialdramon was vanquished, but with Yggdrasil -as far as he understood- having been inactive for quite some time (what that actually meant for the Digital World itself concerning him greatly) what had actually changed? What had been accomplished?

Shrewmon, who was usually quite cheerful, had been rather quiet since his reversion. He wasn't used to that much sustained combat, having lived peacefully within a small colony of others of similar species. However, upon looking up at his partner as they returned to the Real World, he noticed the pensive expression on the boy's face.
"Is something wrong?" the mouse-like Rookie squeaked softly.
"I'm not sure," replied Jordan softly, "And that's the problem."

Once the majority of the group had settled, with Jordan looking around at the cluster of people he barely knew, he overheard something that peaked his interest, although in a somewhat withdrawn and nervous way. Slowly, as Lucas moved away, Jordan moved towards Leon, looking slightly blankly towards them, standing before both Veemon and Lucas, with Shrewmon close behind.

"What's at Shibuya Station?" he asked with reserve.
To be honest, he didn't expect a straight answer, and slowly averted his gaze. Even though they had entered the Digital World at the same time, he was well aware he knew nothing about Leon.

[Vincanity]

With DemiVeemon sitting ontop of his head Leon held the digiegg he was given close to his chest. As they got out of the portal Leon's phone quickly buzzed. Taking it out and noticing it was a video chat be The Love Flame the digidestined quickly turned on the facetime. And it was, of course, EmperorGreymon.

"Seriously?! Not two minutes?!" Leon partially yelled at the phone in annoyance. A small silence quickly followed.

"... I was just checking to make sure your entire group made it through successfully. No need to get snippy." the Red Knight huffed at Leon. With an aggravated groan Leon gave the phone to DemiVeemon on his head. "Don't run my data up too much with the calls, alright? I know I said you could keep in touch through my phone but I'm not paying a huge bill just for one of your heterodigital life partners."

With a few departing words from Lucas and giving a quick nod back Leon once again turned his attention back to the egg for a moment, wondering how he was going to keep it safe over the next day, or any time a mission would take them away. Then again Veemon's egg hatched five seconds after seeing me. But this one is actually physical this time, Leon thought to himself before Jordan came over to talk.

"Hmm?" Leon said, not hearing him right for a moment. Then it clicked that Jordan may not have been around for the full update of what was in store for the next day. "Oh. Yeah. That fun picnic. Me and Lucas, along with Vee and Leomon are doing a quick stealth operation tomorrow on someone whose been genetically altering Digimon, making some type of fusion mega. Since we've been gone for a bit we don't want to lose any element of surprise and have to worry about the Mega, or Super Mega or whatever it is now, coming back and..." Leon rubbed the back of his neck out of worry. "Well, I guess the sum up is tomorrow might be a rough day. I'd be on guard in the afternoon. If you see explosions mid-city, come a-running. Oh!" Leon fished around what was left of his pack for one of the few things he always kept at the bottom: a business card. Handing one over to Jordan he laughed lightly. "God I remember making those when I was training kids in Tae Kwon Do. No real need for them anymore I guess. That's just in case you want to reach me." he said with a shrug. "We're gonna head home now. Need to get some rest. And food."

Turning to see the rest, including Elle, he gave a general wave to them all. "See ya guys. I'm sure if tomorrow goes south I'll be seeing you all reaaaaal soon." he muttered the last part to himself.

---

"Okay, you hang up first."

"No, YOU hang up first!"

"Nooo, yo-" the little back and forth was interrupted by Leon grabbing his phone just as they got to his apartment. "Twenty. Minutes. You two talked my ear off for twenty freakin' minutes." Leon said through gritted teeth as he picked up his key from under the mat, having placed it there before they left a week ago.

"Hey, we would have been alright if you didn't go through that marketplace!"

"You said you wanted fruit! Anything fruit related here would have been rotten by now." Leon countered, putting the bag of apples and plums on the table. Heading over to the pantry Leon began to take out all the different things he could find: pasta, sauces, jerky, a chocolate bar along with a six pack of warm water. He next went to the freezer and found his emergency frozen supplies he packed before they left: pork chops and bacon. Along with a few other ingredients from the fridge Leon began to do a bit of cooking while eating some jerky as he went. While that went on DemiVeemon turned on the TV to the local news and digivolved into Veemon as he dove onto the couch. Holding the Digiegg in his lap Veemon stroked a nail against the gold band that went around the center of it as he watched the TV.

---

Forty minutes later Leon and Veemon laid on the floor surrounded by dirty plates.

"Urgh..." Veemon said.

"Agreed."

[Draconis Nevyn]

As the exit portal opened Elle, Wizardmon and the rest of the group flew through one after the other. Elle managed to land hard but picked herself up quickly enough while Wizardmon casually warped the air around himself so that it seemed as if he were only out for a stroll. With a sigh, Elle looked up at the sky and smiled, she was back home. Earth.

"Wizardmon?" Elle whispered to her partner
"Yeah?" Came the reply
"Let's not do this again, please." She looked over at him and smiled wearily and gave a small laugh, which Wizardmon joined in on.

Elle listened as many of the group decided to go for food, going their own ways and two making plans to chase down another villain. There were too many of those now, she wondered if she should offer her help but she'd been almost completely useless in the Digital World. She had a lot to sort out. She gave a shy smile to Leon as he left and eventually turned away herself, pulling her phone out of her bag she turned it on and sighed.

"Hundreds of messages and missed calls, I think it's time I paid the parents a visit, Wizardmon, time to move on from everything, we have more to deal with, I'm not cut out for the fighting business, but if things work out.." Elle thought about her friends, the people who were counting on her, her parents and Leon, the man at the forefront of her mind.

"If things work out then I'm the best man." Said Wizardmon, smirking. Elle laughed, it hurt, she'd been stupid for too long. Lifting the phone up and scrolling through the contacts, she walked towards the city "Lets find some food, I need to make a call." She found her mother's home number and took a breath before making the call and placing the phone over her ear

"Hey mum" She began, "No, no I'm not dead, yes I was on the news, I remember the fireball I fought, he's my friend now." She paused as her mother worried about her and her father did the same in the background, their voices were rising, they were angry and scared but relieved "Mum I'm fine, honestly. No! I'm not Sam, I'm not stupid and I'm not going to die." There was a silence then, they weren't used to Elle bringing up the subject, she understood that. "He got hit and saved me, I'm thankful for that, but I don't need handled, mum. I'm my own woman now and I'm going to go back to school and maybe get a job." She had tears rolling down her face now, this had been a long time coming, it was hard for her to bring up but it had to be sorted, there was some finality in it at least. "I know mum, I love you too, I do. I will be careful, you can come meet me for food if you like? Okay, I know the place I'll see you in twenty minutes." She smiled and wiped her cheeks before looking at Wizardmon,

"I hope the next few years won't be like this, kiddo" The digimon said, before hugging the emotional wreck of a partner he had been given. "You did the right thing and now we can tear up the town and get some food. Elle took the Digimon's hand and the both continued their walk and made it to the restaurant, sitting down and ordering four coffees and a load of fries to eat before awaiting the arrival of Elle's parents.

[tobiax]

Leon's words hit Jordan like a ton of bricks. His fist clenched, and he felt his stomach twist. Shrewmon shot a swift glance up at Jordan, but left his words unspoken. A soft glow enveloped the Digimon, and soon the shaggy rodent was replaced a small round body with a long pink tail.
"Come on. Let's go," the small Digimon suggested as he was lifted by the rather sullen boy.

---

A few hours later, after Jordan's mother spent about half of one sobbing and gripping her son's head, he sat in the dimness of his room, looking down at the small Digimon in his lap.
"I have to go. This can't go on," he spoke under his breath.
Gostamon averted his gaze, and there was a moment of silence.

"I can't stop you," the Digimon replied.

---

The next day, in the bright sun, stood Jordan in a long dark jacket, holding a medium sized bag in his hands. In the large space, he looked rather small, but he did seem to be waiting for a train to arrive at Shibuya Station. The corner of the black bag hung open, and a small voice spoke out.
"Hey, I'm hungry," Togarimon chirped in a slight voice.
"There's a bag of chocolate in there, and some juice," Jordan replied under his breath.

[Vocalia]

"Ropes?"

"Check."

"Knife?"

"Check."

"Map of our target destination?"

"Check. Can we just fucking go already?"

"Dorumon, we need to make sure we have everything ready for an infiltration! You're getting really dull, aren't you?"

"Well, excuse me for being in a fuck-all situation I got thrown in!"

Dorumon and Ranamon were staring dead into each other's eyes, neither willing to budge, when Zei finally met up with them outside of the apartment building. She was dressed in a sleeveless white hooded jacket with a blue plain singlet underneath, black and blue pants and running shoes. She was also wearing short navy gloves, completing her rather sporty attire set. "Is everything set?" she asked the Digital pair.

"Ready to go, Miss Zei!" Ranamon nodded with a light fist pump. "My first infiltration in the Human World! This is going to be so exciting!!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get too happy. Lots of things are at stake here." Glancing at Zei, Dorumon noticed something a bit off about Zei now. She couldn't put her claw on it, but it was as if she wasn't acting like herself, yet was still herself at the same time. After her exposure to the Digital Hazard, both her and Alphamon could only hope that her sanity wasn't adversely affected. 'That said, I don't think I can blame her if her sanity goes on full tilt,' she thought as the three ladies quietly went on their way. "So this is it, huh? Do you think we can pull this off, Zei?"

"I can't say for sure, but I can only hope that we can. I don't dare think about what could happen if we fail." Zei herself was filled with a strong sense of apprehension. "I just hope that we don't have to encounter Leon, Jordan or Lucas. It will be very difficult for us to explain ourselves if any of them catches us."

"I'm pretty sure they will throw a hissy fit, at the very least," Ranamon chimed in. "Still, with all the preparation we did, we should be able to pull this off. With our skills combined, nothing can stop us!" In a way, Zei found Ranamon's enthusiasm to be something of an encouragement and a welcomed positive vibe to their otherwise dour day, but it didn't do much to ease her mind. She was well aware that even just getting her body to move towards their destination and not towards any hiding place was a great struggle in itself, a struggle she tried to hide from everyone else. Still, she refused to back down now, not after what they had done just for this.

'I know I'm scared and none of us know what would happen... but there's no going back now.'

[Psyker Landshark]

As the morning sunlight permeated through the room, Lucas rose with a groan, rubbing his eyes. He looked down to his side, smiling slightly as he gazed on Minako's sleeping form for a second before he got out of bed. After a quick shower, he threw on a shirt and pants before stepping out into the apartment's living room.

"Oi, wake up." Lucas prodded a slumbering Elecmon awake.

"Morning." Elecmon grumbled as he slowly rose from the couch he had been sleeping on, hopping off onto the floor. "Time to go, then?"

"Yeah," Lucas replied absentmindedly as he raided Minako's fridge in the kitchen, taking out a can of coffee for himself and a packet of curry bread for Elecmon. "Eat fast, we're doing the stuffed animal routine all the way back to my apartment." He tossed the curry bread at Elecmon before leaving a note for Minako on the table.

"Bloody fucking hell." Elecmon sighed dejectedly as he tore open the packaging and started munching on the baked treat.

___

Half an hour later, Lucas stepped back into his apartment with Elecmon in tow, who he finally set down on the floor.

"Sovereigns damn it, I hate trains." Elecmon spat as he followed Lucas inside. "It's not natural to cram so many into so small a space."

"Yeah, that's just the Tokyo subway." Lucas replied as he shrugged his clothes off, setting them down in his laundry hamper before heading over to his closet. "Trains in less crowded areas are a hell of a lot nicer." He said as he started to put on a clean white dress shirt, a two-piece black business suit, and a navy blue silk tie. After he finished, Lucas pulled out a large attache case out of his closet before gesturing to Elecmon. "Sorry, man, but we both knew this was coming. Only way we're going to get you into the building."

"I know, I know." Elecmon said, resigned to his fate. "I'll live. At least I don't have to stay like a corpse inside the briefcase."

Lucas stayed silent for a moment as he pulled out one last item tucked into the back of his closet, examining it for a moment before slipping it into the pocket of his jacket. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you tonight if it everything works out and we don't die. We'll go out to an izakaya and get absolutely batshit wasted." He grinned as he gestured to the attache case. "Now get in here."

___

Just before noon, a train pulled into Shibuya Station, and Lucas emerged first, tugging at his tie with one hand while carrying a rather packed briefcase with the other, looking like any other young professional. He frowned as he scanned the crowd in the station, seeing no sign of Leon yet...but Jordan was here, for some reason.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. Right, that guy that had showed up randomly at his apartment before they had all gone to the Digital World. He barely knew the teenager, but that wasn't exactly his problem. Still, best to check up on him.

"Jordan." Lucas nodded as he approached. "You waiting around for a date or something?" He asked casually, glancing down at the bag he was carrying before looking at the teenager's attire. Loitering around in a long coat and clutching a bag? If this wasn't Japan, he'd have pegged him for a dealer. "Because if you are, let me tell you something: you look like a goddamn drug dealer. And unless there's some weird Japanese fetish for shady stoners these days, chicks aren't really into that, you know."

[tobiax]

While waiting in the din of people's travels, the boy noticed something from a distance. Out of one of the trains, which he only saw out of the corner of his eye, someone familiar approached. Jordan wasn't sure who it was at first, barely turning his eyes to see someone about three years older than himself. Retaining his forward face, he only realized why he knew this person when he felt a small digital signal emanating from his bag, followed by the soft rustling sound of the soft horns of Togarimon moving about within his bag, which luckily only he could hear.
The young man approached and addressed him in a somewhat crass, mostly sarcastic manner. However, Jordan kept his composure, acting as if he was not acknowledging the individual beside him. His 'accusation' was rather odd. Had he been doing something of ill repute, he wouldn't have been in the middle of the station in broad day light right in front of the track in clear view of the streets outside.
"I'm doing the same thing as you," he muttered, not making eye contact, "Digimon's in the bag. So is..." he paused, "I'm assuming Elecmon."
He allowed a moment of silence to pass before them, moving only to slide a finger to his neck and adjust the tall collar of his sweater. After waiting for another train to blow by, he spoke up again.
"Leon told me what was happening," he answered in a rather flat tone, sounding almost casual, if not cold, "You weren't exactly discrete yourself. This isn't something I can allow," he stated, pausing for a moment to collect himself before continuing, "I can't let a thing like that subsist. If it comes down to it, I'll tear it apart piece by piece if I have to."

[Vincanity]

Waking up fairly early in the morning Leon groaned as he hated the idea of moving. Looking down in to his side he saw DemiVeemon sleeping on the pillow next to him. Leon gave the small 'mon a few pokes, getting squirms from the little guy. "Hey Vee. Vee. Veeeeee. Get your ass up. You have to do breakfast. I need to hop in the shower."

This got DemiVeemon to perk up. "Breakfast? I get to make the food?" he asked as Leon got out of bed.

"Hm? Yeah. Sometime small. No burning the place down."

Leon didn't even bother to shut the door to the bathroom as he got into the shower. What was the point? DemiVeemon would just knock the door down anyways, he thought. That thought was quickly interrupted by a heavy thud as Veemon appeared. "Why are you digivolving?"

"Because I can't reach the freakin' stove otherwise?" was the response he got.

"... fair point." Leon returned to his showering.

-

Not long later Leon stood in front of his mirror with an electric razor, taking off a lot of the facial hair he grew. As he shaved Leon kept a bit of the hair on the chin and a mustache, giving himself a slightly more mature look.

"Breakfasts done," Veemon said, walking into the bathroom. "What the- are you keeping that ugly little fur patch?" the blue digimon asked, leaning against the doorway with a curious expression on. "I don't think Elle's into beards. Or is facial hair a sign of virility amongst thou kind?"

This earned a glare from Leon. "One: Ye Old British? Not needed. Two: If this adds a year or two to my age it could help with getting into the building today so I'm leaving it for now. Three: What kind of Animal Planet program were you watching after I fell asleep? Do digimon have some type of 'virility' thing?"

"Well, yeah!"

"...wait, really?" Leon said, slightly stunned and sorry for asking.

"Yup yup. Claws. Very masculine to have long claws".

A small shudder went down Leon's back. "Well, may I say your claws are exceptionally short today?"

"And you can go make your own breakfast now, asswipe."

-

After an annoying morning of back and forth insults Leon and Veemon, now in his baby form of Chibomon, figured out a system for digivolution in case of emergency. The briefcase he carried the baby digimon in had a keyhole right under the grip, allowing air and slight communication between the two. There were four stages. If it was safe to come out when he opened the case Leon would knock on it first with "Shave and a Haircut". If they needed to fuse he would yell "Ulforce" and he would break out as Veemon. If he wasn't able to fuse, but they needed help Leon would say "Ex Vee" and warp to Champion. Otherwise, any other reason the case was opened without a designated warning he would warp straight to AeroVeedramon. It wasn't a flawless system, but it was the best they could do.

-

Even as he got off the bus at Shibuya Station Leon muttered to himself. "Can't believe I haven't worn this thing since that funeral. No deaths today, no deaths today..."

"Calm down Leon!" a hush whisper came into his bluetooth headset. Leon decided to fuck chances and made it so he could hear his partner with ease. "Lets find Lucas and get this party started."

With a small sigh Leon began to look around for fellow tamer. It didn't take long to spot Lucas. Suits were hardly a rarity, but living in an alternative world with people for awhile makes them a little easier to pick out of a crowd. Heading towards Lucas he noticed someone else with him, but all he could see was the outfit, which made Leon worry. As he got close enough to Lucas to talk he quickly began talking with an annoyed tone. "What the hell Lucas, did you need a quick "pick me up" before this thing today? Seriously, better times to start on drugs then todaaa-oh."

Seeing the face of the third man there Leon lost his bearings for a moment. "Jordan? Wha... Why are you-?" he turned his head to Lucas. "Were we bringing others from the group in on this? I thought we were just pairing up on this one?" he asked, obvious confusion on his face. He turned his head back to Jordan. "Man, I said be on guard, not in disguise! What are you even pretending to sell?"

[Psyker Landshark]

God damn it. Of course this new guy had to barge in, Lucas fumed silently as he listened to Jordan speak. Did he not understand the point of sneaking in? Lucas groaned, facepalming as Leon showed up and also assumed Jordan was a drug dealer.

"Alright, no." He scowled, all traces of good humor disappearing from his tone as he glared at Jordan. "Both of you stop talking for two seconds." He said in a hushed tone, making sure no one else around them could overhear. "Right, you." Lucas pointed at Jordan. "You want to help. I get that. I appreciate. But two things: First, it's not necessary. I made a plan to do this only with Elecmon. It was a stretch fitting Leon and Veemon into the plan in the first place. I could do this myself just fine. Leon and Veemon are literally only here as insurance. You're not even dressed correctly for it, anyways, considering we're walking through the front door. We're trying to look like salarymen, not dealers." He paused, sighing.

"Second, say you did go try to pull this off. You can't get into the building discreetly, and you have literally no idea where the guy is. Unless you've either been to the Tokugawa Heavy Industries building or know people inside, you're going to be rampaging around blind. And you know what happens then? The guy gets the hell out of there or bunkers down somewhere we can't find him. Just let me handle this. I know what I'm doing." Lucas said, turning to walk away.

"Leon, let's go. The building's a five minute walk from here. I'll do all the talking. You stay quiet, look pretty, and Biomerge only when I tell you to."

[Vocalia]

While sneaking towards the Tokugawa Heavy Industries building was the easy part, given that the company was trading publicly with their address available to the public, once they got there, Zei, Dorumon and Ranamon now had to think of a way to actually get inside. For the time being, they kept away from any visible spaces, going so far as to hide near the storage area behind the tall skyscraper. Between Ranamon and Zei's agility and Dorumon's past stealth experience, they were able to keep away from prying eye, though not easily so. Hiding behind a shipment crate, Zei, Ranamon and Dorumon were on the lookout for any opportunities to actually get inside.

"Can't we just kill everyone here?" Dorumon hissed, already becoming impatient.

"No! Now be quiet!" Ranamon whispered back as she peeked out, studying where everyone was going and what they were doing. With the storage area being a mostly hands-on area, it was easy for her to memorize the workers' movements and routines while Zei, also doing the same, slowly thought of a safe path for them to enter. She then noticed how big the storage area was overall, how noisy it was and, for the most part, how the workers and activities were centered on the ground, leaving the area above their heads mostly out of their minds. Zei also noticed air vents up above, accessible from the beams that kept the roofs above the storage floor. However, it wouldn't be easy to reach any one of the vents, let alone actually breaking into one without being spotted.

"We might have to go up," Zei whispered. Looking up and putting two and two together, Dorumon and Ranamon turned to her. "Good point. We either have to get someone up first and get the rope or..." Ranamon turned to piles of stacked crates. "... well, start climbing together, I guess."

"Climbing it is then." Dorumon then noticed a forklift carrying a rather large crate, big enough for them to hide behind.

Huddling together to stay hidden, they waited until the crate was placed before crawling their way towards a particularly tall stack of crates. Slowly, but surely, Dorumon, Ranamon and Zei worked together and climbed up the crates, the latter two climbing first upon the female human's back before helping the taller and bigger Zei until they reached the beams supporting the roofs. Zei would be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid, her breathing heavy and her hair standing on its end, but compared to being in a war, precariously walking on steel beams while sneaking around was a comparably tame act.

Ranamon, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping herself steady at first. "I'm never really fond of heights," she whispered as she gradually calmed down and kept herself steady.

"Tough luck, princess. Now keep walking." Compared to her humanoid friends, Dorumon seemed capable of keeping her calm, though it did help that her body shape made it easy to balance herself on the beam. With danger and death following their every step, the three females slowly made their way towards the closest air vent; they couldn't afford to make any mistakes now.

[Psyker Landshark]

In the middle of the day, the skyscraper that was the headquarters of Tokugawa Heavy Industries was a bustling mass of activity as businessmen moved in and out of the ground floor lobby. Lucas proceeded to ignore them all as he made straight for the receptionist's desk in the back of the lobby.

"Good afternoon, sir." The receptionist bowed as Lucas approached. "What can I help you with?"

"Lucas Okada and associate." Lucas gestured back to Leon. "I'm here to see my father, Vice President Hideki Okada. He still on the 74th floor?"

"Yes, sir." She replied, quickly typing into her workstation as she recognized the name. "I'll tell Vice President Okada you'll be coming up to see him."

"Thank you." Lucas said as he gestured for Leon to follow him into the elevator. The ride up to the 74th floor was mostly spent in silence as salaryman and researcher alike crowded into the elevator, with more leaving as the elevator went up until they were the only two left by the time the elevator reached its destination.

"Good afternoon, Lucas-san!" A middle-aged woman called out to him as he stepped out of the elevator. "What a surprise to see you here! I haven't seen you since you were in high school! Have you been doing well?"

"Chiyoko-san." Lucas nodded to his father's secretary. "I've been alright. Is he in?"

"Yes he is. I already told him you were coming up, and his schedule is free right now, so you can go in whenever you wish."

"Thanks, Chiyoko-san. Give my regards to Shuji." Lucas said before turning back to Leon.

"Wait here." He said, gesturing to the chairs in the front lobby of the private office. "Don't do anything stupid, and don't worry if you hear me shouting." Lucas narrowed his eyes as he turned towards the office door. "I...don't get along well with my father."

Knocking on the door, Lucas didn't even bother to wait for a response before entering.

"Well, boy?" A stern man in his late forties narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "What do you want?"

"Hideki." Lucas addressed his father, causing the man to glare at his son for his overly-familiar tone. "You do know what your boss is cooking up in this company's R&D labs, don't you?"

"And why should I reveal company secrets to you?" Hideki replied.

"Because he's been working on a monster like the ones that've been attacking the city for the past month, maybe." Lucas said dryly. "Tell me, how would you like a promotion?"

"What are you talking about, boy? Speak plainly." Hideki snapped, annoyed by Lucas's flippancy. In response, Lucas sighed and pulled out his phone, bringing up a picture of Kimeramon that he had taken during the battle on the train.

"Masashi Takeda is directly responsible for creating a bioweapon. I'm going to kill him. Fortunately for you, as vice president, that leaves you to take control of the company. All I need from you is the keycard that gives you access to the R&D labs and his private office. Also his schedule."

"And why should I cooperate with or believe you in any way? I'm five seconds away from calling security up here for conspiring to murder my superior, you little ingrate." Hideki snarled, before starting in surprise as Lucas whipped out a police-issue Sig Sauer P230 pistol out of his suit jacket, glaring furiously at his father as he flipped the safety off and pointed the gun at his head.

"Because otherwise I'll blow your jackass head off and take the keycard off your body. After all you've done to me, you think I wouldn't shoot you?" Lucas hissed, his voice barely above a whisper as he shook in fury. "The instant I got to Japan, you shunted me off to your mother's like I didn't even matter. When she died, you had me rooming with your god damn interns. The longest I ever stayed with someone was with your god damn secretary, and only because she was a decent enough person to see what a jackass you were being to your own son. And all the while my two half-brothers grew up like rich little bastards in the best private schools in the country before you landed them with cushy fucking jobs!" Lucas's voice gradually rose as he continued on until the last sentence could be heard outside of the office.

"So you think I won't fucking shoot you for failing to do your fucking job as a father and causing me to grew up miserable while your legitimate sons grew up like Kim Jong Un?" Lucas whispered, his hand steady as he leveled the pistol at his father.

"Are you done, boy?" Hideki said stoically, folding his hands on the table. "I don't doubt that a mongrel child like you would hesistate to shoot your own blood, as loathe as I am to admit my relation to you. You have me in checkmate." Hideki admitted freely, shrugging his shoulders as he reached into his desk, pulling out a keycard and handing it to Lucas. "I only count my blessings that whatever crime you're up to, it benefits me in the end. At this time of day, Takeda-san generally takes lunch in his private office on the floor above us. The keycard will get you through security. Ten minutes from now, I will be calling the guards to tell them that my son held me up at gunpoint for my keycard. Try to get your business done before th-"

A loud boom reverberated above, causing both men to look up in surprise. However, Lucas recovered quicker and leapt over the desk, lunging at his father, knocking him down to the ground before he pistol-whipped him in the temple, knocking the man out instantly. Rising to his feet, Lucas spat on his unconscious father, kicking him in the crotch for good measure.

"Call security on that, bastard." He snarled before flipping his pistol's safety back on and tucking it into his jacket. Lucas stepped back out into the front office. "Leon, what the hell's going on? If that wasn't you...shit. Was that Jordan?"

[Fish of Oblivion]

Siggy’s side of the operation had been running fairly smoothly up until now.

When he’d arrived back home, his parents had some fairly pointed questions to ask about where he’d been and why Ari had been with him; but their relief at seeing the two back after a few days quickly managed to paper over that crack, leaving him able to focus on Lucas’s plan.
Unlike Leon, he’d been more willing to take a backseat role; with Examon’s size making infiltration impractical, him and the severely depleted MonoGigimon had agreed they’d cover the outside of the building whilst Lucas took things up inside. They’d also been joined by MirageGaogamon- or rather, Gaomon. After his attack on Imperialdramon, the Knight had reverted to his Rookie form, and whilst he could regain his Mega level at any time with his spirits, he’d stayed in his current form when he offered to help out.

Currently, the three of them were sitting on top of a small building with a clear view of the skyscraper that housed Tokugawa Heavy Industries; and none of them seemed happy.

“That fucking idiot,” Siggy snarled to himself as he watched the smoke billow out of the 75th story window, as he whipped his phone out of his pocket.

“You want me to cover this?” Gaomon asked, a handful of orbs of light briefly emerging around his body- but Siggy gestured for him to wait.

“I’ll have to see what Lucas says,” He quickly replied, before he quickly got to work on contacting Lucas. Thankfully, his friend seemed to be just on the ball as he was, and he answered quickly.

“Siggy. Who am I going to have to punch in the face after this?”

“Take a wild guess,” Siggy groaned in reply, before he quickly continued with- “Look, Beelzemon only just entered the window- if I send Gaomon in now, we might be able to stop him before he compromises things any more than they already are.”

“Go for it. I think they just put the building on full alert, though. I’ll call you back later. Leon, let’s go.”

As Siggy heard the click from the other side of the line, he quickly turned and nodded to Gaomon; who scarcely needed a moment before he dissolved into a flash of light and shot up towards the broken window in the near distance. In the light of day, the canine was practically invisible as his spirits transformed him midflight- nobody outside or inside would be the wiser as he slipped in after Beelzemon.

“What about us?” MonoGigimon took that moment to ask, looking up at his partner.

“Leave it to Gaomon, you’re the one who convinced me and Lucas to take him up on that offer, after all,” Siggy replied, slumping back down into the folding chair he’d bought up to the rooftop with him, “If things get any worse, then we can consider Biomerging and contacting Baihumon.”

[Vocalia]

Zei, Dorumon and Ranamon weren't oblivious to the loud explosion, especially since it rocked the air vent they were in now. They were just starting to enter the vent and were planning to make their way into the building's ground floor when it happened and it certainly threw their plan up into the air. With everyone panicking and fleeing the building, going in through the literal backdoor would be much easier than sneaking in through the vent just to get to the ground floor, so the three made their way back down again, Zei already thinking of Plan B.

"So much for subtlety," Dorumon growled, then turned to her partners-in-crime. "Alright, what now?"

With the explosion came chaos and Zei knew the building would go into lockdown quite soon. "Dorumon, Ranamon, I will go in myself. I need you both to go and check out what is going on outside."

"We can't leave you alone, Miss Zei! It's dangerous!" Ranamon, while only knowing her for less than a day, already felt some form of protectiveness over Zei, mostly because she was Dorumon's partner and caretaker. "That explosion would definitely attract attention and more security! If you're spotted, you'll be in deep trouble."

"It's a risk I will take and it's a risk I will take alone." With a soft sigh, Zei placed both hands on each Digimon's shoulder. "I will be honest: I don't think I'm acting like who I used to be. Being in the Digital World, then going through what we saw... Something inside me changed, perhaps for good. Normally, I wouldn't even think of trying something like this, but now, I feel that we can pull this off, though perhaps not as cleanly as we would have wanted. I'll be fine, but more importantly, I need you both out of danger. If what we know about the Tokugawa Heavy Industries is true, they would do far worse things to you both than they would to me and I would never forgive myself if I don't do everything to keep you both safe. That's the least I could do." Taking her hands away, she looked at Dorumon and pulled out her Digivice, letting her partner connect the dots on her own.

"... You better come out of this fucking place in one piece, Zei. We're gonna go out for kaitenzushi like you promised and we're not letting you get away until you fulfill that promise."

Bumping the gem on her head against Zei's forehead, Dorumon then glanced at Ranamon and both of them nodded to each other. The white Digivice let out a bright flash of light and Dorumon's body dissolved into a coalescence of data, the Rookie Digivolving into Dorugamon while Ranamon watched with awe and a tiny hint of admiration.

"The fuck are you staring at?" The purple Champion gestured at her back, after which a dazzled Ranamon climb on and hold on tight. "I have the spare phone you gave me! We'll keep you informed about what's going on," Ranamon said. "Good luck, Miss Zei! Please be careful!"

Watching as Dorugamon took flight with Ranamon, soaring through the now-abandoned storage area and out to the sky, Zei took a deep breath after putting her Digivice away, then turned back and, with a dash, ran into the building. She only had so much time before the building was completely locked down and Takeda taken out of the building in the emergency. Though she knew the risk, with most of the employees no longer in the building, she decided to take the elevator, guessing that the top floor, the 75th floor, would be where she find who she's looking for.

[Draconis Nevyn]

Elle had spent hours with her parents in that cafe, crying, laughing and reconciling. Elle had recounted her experiences in the Digital world and all the fighting she had done, she regaled them with stories of all of the other tamers, who in her eyes were far more worthy of the title. Her parents had told her what had been happening in the real world while she had been gone, that they had worried about where she had been as well as her little friend DemiMeramon. With a chuckle, Elle explained how digivolution worked and that Wizardmon was actually DemiMeramon. In the end though the owners had kicked them all out. The foursome then decided to take their discussion homeward, and to get some rest as they were all completely exhausted.

Wizardmon had given them privacy, staying behind them as they all walked the streets. It was weird to be here, he cast his mind back to his first journey into the human world, he was a DemiMeramon then, confused and angry that he had been transported into this weird place with strange digimon. Of course he'd attacked, along with every other digimon that had come through with him. But in the end he had been confronted by this strange girl and a sudden clarity came to him. He understood what was happening, though not why it was. He saw the digivice and understood that he was her partner now, in everything. The rest was history, they knew each other so well now.

When they finally reached the house, they were all entirely out of energy and Elle went straight to her room and fell asleep, not even changing her clothes. Her parents threw a blanket over her and the pair sat and watched the young girl for a long while, reluctant to let her out of their eyes.

Elle's mother spoke after a while "Wizardmon?" The digimon lifted his head and looked her in the eye

"Yes?"

"I know you'll both have to leave again soon, there were more digimon and there will always be more battles. Just look after her please."

"Don't I always?" he mentioned with a chuckle before finally closing his eyes.

They slept through until well into the afternoon. Elle awakened after a while and having a small meal before hopping in the shower while Wizardmon ate her parents out of house and home. Halfway through, the pair heard the explosion, Elle hopped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and running to her room, getting dressed as quickly as she could and tying her hair back before heading into the kitchen.

"Ready?" She asked Wizardmon

"I am now" He said with a grin, indicating the pile of plates he'd piled up from all he'd eaten.

"Be careful you two, just be careful" her father said to the pair

"I will, dad, I'll be home soon enough. Besides I might even get on the news" She said with a wink before sprinting out of the door, towards the smoke and the screams.

"Wizardmon, time to digivolve I think." Elle said while running

"Agreed" Wizardmon grinned and began to glow "I've not been Mistymon in a long time."

"Wizardmon digivolve to.... Mistymon!" the glow subsided and striding alonside her was a much taller, knight looking digimon. They continued their run, it was a little while away until they reached it, they just hoped they made it in time.

[Vincanity]

Leon didn't say another word to Jordan as they left. He gave him a squeeze on the shoulder but continued to follow Lucas to and through the building. The two of them were a risk in and of themselves, Lucas being necessary and Leon more optional as well. But pairs made sense. Walking up with three people, only two of them looking professional, would have gotten them in trouble. He probably didn't need to, but Leon mapped out a couple normal exits in case they could find a way to not make everyone aware to what they were. After the wonderfully quiet elevator ride Leon had to resist an urge to make a could jokes as they reached their floor.

Everything was fine until Lucas decided to enter the room by himself. With a sigh Leon resigned himself to a seat, the briefcase placed next to him to block the receptionists view. "So far, so good." he said, feeling the need to say a cliche movie line to test their luck. While he had a moment Leon took it to get out his phone. Finding Elle's number he began to type, looking up at the door every once in awhile when he swore he heard raised voices. 'Hi Elle, sorry for not getting much time together when we first got back. We both had people we needed to see. Today me, Lucas and Siggy are planning something. We wanted to keep you and Zei safe, plus Jordan and Matt have been... off, so we decided to three musketeer it. If you see or hear anything dangerous happening downtown, come quickly. We are hoping to end the fight before it starts but we may need you guys. Maybe after today we can go out on a normal date? Seeya soon.'

Leon sighed. Closing his phone and putting it away he allowed himself a small chuckle at his nervousness of the text. "Huh. So I finally asked her out..."

"Whoo! Go Leon!" Came a muffled screaming from his briefcase followed by a quiet "oh no". With a small moment of shock Leon looked over at the receptionist who was looking around the room, confused by the noise. As her eyes began to fall on the briefcase the entire building shook as parts of the top floor began to give way. Nothing large feel, but the receptionist quickly screamed and made her way to the nearest stairwell. Standing up Leon's hand flew to his back pocket, where he kept his knife. It wasn't a lot, but he didn't plan on doing much killing as a human anyways. Waiting for the shaking to subside Leon was joined by a frantic Lucas.

"Leon, what the hell's going on? If that wasn't you...shit. Was that Jordan?"

"Did you actually think that was me? Even Jordan seems unlikely. Not improbable though. Give me a second." Leon said, running over to the receptionist desk. There were a few screens that showed certain parts of the building, mainly downstairs and the corridors of this floor. One, however, showed the lobby of the floor above them.

“Siggy. Who am I going to have to punch in the face after this?” he heard Lucas ask just as he saw the culprit himself. "Lucas... it's Beezlemon" Leon said in a resigned tone. Leon rejoined Lucas and waited for the call to end.

“Go for it. I think they just put the building on full alert, though. I’ll call you back later. Leon, let’s go.”

When Lucas hung up Leon pointed to the elevator. "The lift or stairs? Also, stay human or think we should break out the big guns?" Leon figured that the elevator was probably still the best choice, but he wasn't sure about biomerging. Beezlemon's blunder may become their own. "I say we stay human until we see what's what." he suggested, heading for the elevator.

[RBYDark]

It was well past ten o’clock by the time Kate opened the front door to the dwelling she and Dirk had shared alone until a few weeks ago. The leftovers from their dinner out were carried in by one of their new residents - Kotemon, who had dedigivolved from Guardromon in order to accompany them as a ‘costumed child’. The meal out had been Impmon’s idea, or his attempt at one - he still seemed rather out of it, struggling a bit with staying on any one thought for more than a minute.

Kate wasn’t going to lie - when she finally found Beelzemon, wandering aimlessly on the scorched battleground and practically unresponsive, she had been worried. She had been told later by the man who had called himself ‘Herald’ that Dirk had been involved in no fewer than three fights against Royal Knights, and the fact that he was still standing was rather confusing. Even when Beelzemon had split back into Dirk and Impmon, the two still seemed to be feeling its effects. Aside from Impmon’s general lack of focus (moreso than usual), Dirk had barely spoken a word to her.

And right now, he had just stumbled into the doorframe before Impmon pushed him inside, and Kate caught them before they could hit the floor and helped them both up.

“Hey, Dirk?” He didn’t look up at her. “Dirk, how about you turn in? It’s been a long day, and I can handle putting away the leftovers.” And checking the mail, hoping that none of the bills she had left unattended were overdue, cleaning those dishes they had left in the sink before getting pulled to the digital world...

After a minute too long, Dirk nodded. Kate beamed - he was still responding. Guardromon had suggested the two could be seriously concussed, but they seemed to be holding steady and hopefully tomorrow things would be better.

“Great. Impmon, you go with him too, alright?”

“Finally, a chance to sleep again in a real bed!” Impmon ran past Dirk.

“Impmon!” Her voice stopped him. “You forgot something.” He turned as she gestured to Dirk.

“Oh, yeah, Pineapple Head.” Impmon shrugged. Dirk huffed. “He can walk.”

“Just don’t want anything else happening to you two. I don’t think it’s much to ask.” She walked to the refrigerator while Kotemon dropped the bag of food onto the counter. Dirk nodded again and followed after Impmon. She exhaled and opened the fridge. Right then - yeah, she was also going to have to clean some stuff out, it had gone bad during their time away. Ah, the joys of being the responsible adult.
--
Dirk laid down in his bed, outfit unchanged. Impmon was taking the pillow out from under his head when, for the first time since they had split, Dirk spoke.

“You remember what they said too, right?”

“They?” Impmon was trying to remember who specifically, but Beelzemon had spoken with and been spoken to by so many that in the end, he just made a ‘dunno’ sound.

“BanchoLeomon and BlackWarGreymon.” Again, Impmon indicated confusion. Dirk groaned as he sat up, allowing Impmon the pillow. “After - after everything. I remember hearing them.” Despite his best efforts, Dirk couldn’t recall if he had even been talking with them or had been eavesdropping. “They know who made that Kimeramon. They know where he is. They know he can make more.” Right now, simple sentences seemed best for his fuzzy memory and likely for Impmon’s short attention span.

“Good for you, Dirk. I sure don’t.”

“Do you even remember what you had for dinner?” Impmon paused, trying to think.

“...uh-oh.”

“So, back to what I was saying.”

“Which was?”

“We - I know where we’re going tomorrow.”

“Alright, great.” Impmon pulled away the blanket. Then his brain seemed to boot up. “Wait, we’re going? Why?”

“Well, we know who it is. We can get in, kill the bastard, and get out in ten minutes top.”

“Sounds great but why us?” Impmon poked Dirk’s chest. “I’m beat, you’re tired, I can’t believe I’m the one saying this but it’s a bad idea and we’re not gonna be at a hundred percent tomorrow. I don’t wanna do it.”

“If we don’t, Lucas will-”

“So let ‘im. I don’t care.”

“Impmon, we beat two Knights alone, you’re scared over this?”

“Believe it or not, I ain’t dying any sooner than I have to. And not over something that someone else has covered. Let ‘im.”

“What if something goes wrong?”

“He can handle it.” Impmon waved dismissively. “I don’t hear how any of this is our issue.”

“Impmon, if something goes wrong with Lucas, it’s gonna be bad.” Impmon paused at the oddly serious tone Dirk had taken. He looked back up at his partner, whose gaze was aimed at the ceiling. “Siggy and Zei and Leon and Elle have Knight shit to deal with, and they’ll probably want Lucas to help. He’s the smart one. Jordan’s gonna probably go off to do his own crap. We don’t really have any plans of our own. If this goes well, it’ll give us a direction to go in.

“And if not, I don’t think any of them will give a fuck if it’s just me.”

Impmon flinched at the cold words.

“Dirk-”

“You know I’m right. If Lucas hadn’t said he’d do it, would you still be saying no anyways?”

“...probably not.” Impmon sat down on the pillow. “They’d probably be upset if things did go bad for us, though. You know that, Dirk.”

“So are you with me?”

“Yeah, we’ll do it.” If Dirk noticed how subdued Impmon was, he didn’t ask.

The two laid down to sleep.
--
When Kate came into Dirk’s room at 6 AM to check on them, she found an empty bed and a letter on the floor.
--
Many of the surrounding buildings of Tokugawa Heavy Industries building had no rooftop access, for reasons of ‘security’. Dirk’s plan to go in before Lucas even arrived ended up derailed by more than a couple hours and so, much to his frustration, it was noon by the time he and Impmon were on a rooftop, looking up towards the top of the building they were targeting.

“It’s always the rich bastards who can’t keep a low profile.” Dirk rolled his eyes at Impmon’s remark. Sleep had done them both a world of good - Impmon had said they wouldn’t be at 100%, but whatever they were at now, Dirk was sure it’d be enough.

“Lucky for us. We’ll just keep this simple. Ready?”

“To go in and shoot ‘em up? Of course!” Impmon grinned. For the first time in quite a while, so did Dirk, before he activated his digivice.

“Impmon! Biomerge!” The white light enveloped them both, merging their forms and leaving behind Beelzemon. Beelzemon opened his eyes.

“Form Shift! Blast Mode!” The wings sprouted from his back and the large gun grew over his right arm. Everything seemed to be working perfectly and, at a glance, Beelzemon didn’t see any digimon nearby. This might still work out in his favor.

He took off from the rooftop, soaring for the uppermost level of Tokugawa Heavy Industries and raised his gun as he did so.

“Corona Blaster!” The destructive energy flew from the gun and hit the building with a large, satisfying explosion, sending smoke billowing into the air from the flames now lit within. He hoped Masashi Takeda felt that.

Beelzemon landed among the destruction he had wreaked.