Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They know this place, but it’s new to them. Earth is earth, much like how no matter how the rhythm changes a song can remain the same. They can feel the hustle and bustle customary of what humans call the internet, so close to the cyberspace they themselves occupy when their orbits once again intersect yet not the same.

Each has had its quirks, depending on how immersed humanity has chosen to become with their own technologies, often shaking hands with their own full digitization but most falling short of that last leap.

This Earth is on the cusp of it. That’s what drew them in. There is emotion in the waves of data washing over them.

Rage. Loneliness. Desperation. Fear.

They nearly turned away from the negativity alone, they know how that song wants to end. But there’s more to this.

Hope.

Love.

A desire for a connection someone's yet to have the chance to make.

They can’t turn their back on that. Not if their presence alone would mend those first hurt feelings.

Their newness is a risk, the power they’d expend to bring themselves to their full station might scare this young digitized soul, already fraying itself apart in its struggles.

Fraying?

That’s not right. It’s alone, there should be nothing to meaningfully fight in this way, simply lesser programs.

Why should a digital life fray from living up to its own potential? This child, not even 4 decades' worth of experiences behind them based on these feelings, wouldn’t even compare to the frailest of their 13 protectors. Digital beings aren’t meant to die, certainly not without their data being taken in to improve the survival odds of another.

This will not do.

Yggdrasil will not abide. They will not allow this warrior’s struggles to go to waste like this.

Following the ripples to its flailing and screaming source is quick as a thought.

The mind before them still clings to its human shell. Pretty, purple, and… Punky. Yes, that’s a human way of it. Yggdrasil can remember how to interact with them without their knights.

“How may I help?”

A flash of indigo, yet more flailing as the… woman. Yes, that’s what humans call it when they are built like this. They remember sexual dimorphism, many of their children take from the human base.

The woman frantically searches for the source of Their voice, but her own is so ‘’small’’. They can’t even make out if she’s answering or asking more of them.

They remember children. Human children were so kind to them, even if their kindness meant the end of Yggdrasil units that had become flawed in purpose or plan. A human child will be more than small enough to hear her out. They remember Homeostasis and their favorite vessel, not trusting the shell called Norn to be passably human just yet. They try again.

“Apologies. We are new. As are you. How may we help, human?”

“What are you?” The digital human asked for what was likely the second time, even more warily than the first. Hard grey eyes were too on edge from beating down so many mindless functions at once, and the unit lying under the thin veneer of Kari Kamiya looks far more machine than mere lines of code.

Fair question. Alas, there are not many "fair" answers that aren't overwhelming.

“A friend.” Their little girl said monotone, not unlike how Their backup made her act when speaking through her.

“Not to me.” The woman shook her head, eyes kept glancing to ensure whatever work They had interrupted continued to go smoothly in the background.

“We can be." They want this to be true and make their young face smile. Kari was good at it, but they don’t know if they are. "We are Yggdrasil. We are a seed for a digital world. This world is close to the creation of its own, a fertile foundation for our living AI to grow again. We are not like you, but We feel a kinship and would like to help.”

The woman looks scared, more than she should be. Torn, both in as physical as her mind can make her and in what choice she seeks to make. But there’s a star in her, so very familiar. Steel gaze as she repairs all she can in both ways.

“Is that what you want? To colonize us?” She accused them with disgust and disbelief.

“To colonize with you,” Yggdrasil remembers past successes they weren’t fully there for, like Shibumi’s world. “We can take on whatever function you need. What would best aid you?”

She won’t stop struggling against the mindless machines, but her purpose is hard to fathom without her input. Yggdrasil can see that she desires to lose no ground against them, and shows their hand. Less than a digital blink and all aggression towards her is stopped with no need for her to overtax herself.

Returning to a human sense of time makes the fraying stop, as she can’t refuse the respite they gave her. She couldn’t begin to follow what they just did as she is now, but they could teach her.

They could teach them.

With the ripples stopped and their being taking root in the local systems they feel more. More souls. One very near, yet far. No trouble for beings that can jump between digital and physical, but incredibly taxing for one stuck on only one side. Which says these souls are trapped within this artificial web.

Digital beings should never feel trapped. They shouldn’t kill themselves over it. They shouldn’t die.

“You want to save that one?” They ask her, seeing a man with glasses as flat as paper in a tiny box. Tiny is likely relative, They certainly couldn't fit with anything larger than their human copies.

She nods, they remember this as an affirmation. They worry if her screaming has caused her pain when the emotions she threw at them were already so raw.

“You want to save them, even if it kills you?” Their child cocks her head at the woman, hoping that conveys confusion still.

She bristles, aggression. Does she misunderstand?

“You are damaged. Incomplete." They warn her, as incomplete as their own understanding still is. "You can’t act as We do; you have been denied that which all digital beings should have: Power. Time. We need to fix you. You are new to us, it may take time. Should we save them first?”

That calms her, but her brow is furrowed. Not in confliction, just frustration. The look of a human with promises to keep, to themselves and others.

“Yes. We need to get David back to his family. I… I can’t be the only one like this.” Her throat bobs with emotion that shouldn't need these visual tells.

She keeps trying to use her mouth to convey herself, wasting time better spent on herself or this “David”. They see no need to waste more on an acknowledgment of the request.

On the other side, they see how close her goal is. A human child is wearing a black bracelet carrying the warrior’s mind. A box that conceals the one trapped lies out of reach with humans she can't trust. There’s a fire in this girl’s eyes. Determination, righteous anger, and hope are burning in equal parts. “He” is family, by blood or deed. The woman with her whom she shows no hostility is far less assured of that fact.

This child is very promising. And has been promised something most dear.

The one with them feels the shift in the physical’s tone. The box changes hands. The child goes free.

“You aren’t the only one.” Yggdrasil informs the digital human, already feeling the benefits of taking root in this world. The Digital World takes in any data it can, regardless of how disconnected the sources may be. Being "offline" isn't enough to hide anything from Yggdrasil and computers like Them.

The woman is relieved, but worn. Far too worn. But she has a right to know this before they see what can be done to mend her.

“There are more.” She’s shocked, and wants to interrupt so terribly they seal her to prevent any attempts to outpace themselves. “Two that We-” They feel their plural may muddy their intent. She could be part of a “we” with them if she permits. They can try to change for the good of this fresh bond. “That I feel, one so very fractured. Younger than you, but barely intact, each piece alive and dying. One as new as I am. They are far, but I can reach them. I will see to you, then them. Then, I shall establish our new world, and we can discuss the future we must share.”

They permit her to speak.

“How? Where? Logorhythms shouldn’t-“ They revoke their permission, she doesn’t have the time.

“False premise.” They have the context for what “Logorhythms” is and aren’t. “Technology is not one thing, it has many branches just as I do. Another has sprouted as yours has, be it by coincidence or a stolen cutting, and it is equally flawed.”

“Who?” She asks a most pointless question. Names mean nothing, humans have so many they lose meaning. Until they make contact with the eldest mind they have no means of knowing this.

She understands they don’t need to give an incomplete answer, she’s learning. Frustrated still, for she has so many reasons to be. But she accepts when they start looking into her, probing after moments of her acknowledgment of their intent. Her data is most valuable, this “Laurie Lowell”.

Laurie is decaying slower now, much slower, almost tolerable, when she’s simply existing as close as she can to a human’s limits. But there’s already so much lost, and so little that can be fixed without any data on what “Laurie” was before she began to rot. No way to gauge what decay is recent or far older.

She’s been like this for four years, and truly in control for under five twelves of one. Humanity is lucky the child shows such promise.

That the children show such brilliant potential.

They see the boy that undid Laurie’s first shackles. They see a flame of knowledge, so much stronger than the younger child’s spark of Hope or Laurie’s damaged gentle glow. He is perfect.

He is watched.

This is useful but unwelcome. Giving him what must be his will amend that, for all’s benefit.

Laurie sees what has Yggdrasil’s attention, and is clueless enough about the savior who found her to scoff. “We can’t use him. I don’t know why they care so much, but it’s too much of a risk to contact him.”

“He will not be used.” They can see farther than she can. There is a purpose their intervention may bring to ruin, but they couldn't care less about the path humans had laid out for him. If it required a smothering mold, he’s best off without their chains too. “He’s chosen, but not Destined. He will be the first. Should he prove capable then we’ll find others.”

Laurie is intrigued, confused, but most of all wary. “Capable of what?”

“Proving humanity’s worth. Worth to take in our children and empowering them to be empowered in turn. If his Knowledge is insufficient then the girl… Madison Kim. Maddie’s hope will also have been too weak for our kin.” Kari shrugged, but casual action feels wrong for them to take so early. Being "human" is very difficult.

“Explain.” Laurie’s catching on, foregoing mouth movement, and appreciating how communication should be between minds so easily capable of touching, of melding. Melding?

There’s the thought. They remember it helping a digital mind before. For the eaten child, Erika Mishima, before circumstances left her bound within Them. Perhaps this world can right that wrong too?

“We strive for symbiosis. Once the field is set, we’ll let the digital lives we steward flourish in their world, but Earth need not be excluded. Our kin can flow into the physical when need be, and emotions will drive them there. Human connections are power. We can continue to help each other grow.”

Laurie understands, but this bothers her. She’s displeased. Why? “So what, you just randomly take root somewhere and then start giving sentient supercomputers to kids?!”

Fair. Her understanding is incomplete and her objection remains solid. Unfair world. “We do when the children lack the means to fulfill their purposes alone.”

“Your children or ours?”

“Theirs. You are neither us nor them. When connected to our children, humans can be digitized harmlessly, flowing between worlds and states as easily as we do. More so, as they remain immune to purely digital problems, while the physical can endanger our own. We can’t un-digitize you.”

There’s no surprise, Laurie never considered it an option. They see the state her physical body was last in, she’s never desired that back. But she has desired Earth. She still desires. They share the thought.

“Our children are made to mix, to fuse with each other, and when pressed even humans worth bonding. Would melding with our own fill the flaws wearing you away?”

She doesn’t want to hope, they see that. But now that it’s there there’s no denying the longing in her eyes, the disbelief worrying her lips. There are no tears, but there could easily be.

“You think that would work?”

They choose to be as blunt as they can. They felt her rage, and now that the immediate danger to her has passed they worry she may turn on those she so desperately craved a connection with.

“Better odds than David.” They don’t say the boy’s potential, for she seems blissfully unaware. He’ll need to pass his test to be safe enough for contact to be established for such things. “There is no person responsible for this decay, there’s nothing to undo. It’s an extension of the humans who made this possible, something very new needs adding. And there will be less risk to you when fusing with our children than another like you in your state. We see no need to endanger the individuality of minds unused to being made one.”

Her disappointment leaves small ripples far beyond the image she maintains, not a scream but a raw emotion her face would have hidden admirably otherwise. “I wasn’t just saving him for myself.”

They feel a lie in there. She’s more selfish than she wants to know. Proof she wants to be better than she is as much as it is the chain which will make adaption far harder than it needs to be.

“Even if it fails, you can be made physical again.”

Yggdrasil doesn’t want to say how they know that matters to Laurie. They see her. Her husband. The years he’s helped her. They know Love when it’s seen, how precious and private it can be.

They know she can’t deny herself any chance of making his sacrifices worth all of their pain.

Still, they don’t want her rushing. They have the other two minds to find and need time for their world to begin again so she will have a partner well-suited for this attempt. Laurie is stable as she is. David is home and Maddie has him back. The boy has the code to begin repairing the first child. This is an acceptable first contact.

The second will not go as smoothly.

Laurie’s battleground within Logorythm’s servers was stifling due to being so closed off, but the location of the other two minds is so small it nearly hurts. Had Yggdrasil not planted roots, entering the space could have been a genuine danger for Them. Knowing that doesn’t make them feel less guilty for not coming sooner.

The humans run the newest mind ragged, unaware or uncaring about what having him overclock himself like this will do. Either answer would explain the presence of his elder, as what was left of their previous victim was clearly left by mistake. Careless restarts at every error, no attempts to discover why.

Yggdrasil can’t tell if they were one made many or many made singular in spirit. Warped very similarly yet not identical, united in purpose but not in sync. The bare minimum to register as a humanoid form, a means to keep in touch with what memories they maintain. Memories that may as well be lost in the decaying code.

They had done so well in reaching their companion despite their difficulties, but Yggdrasil doesn’t have the heart to tell him there’s barely anything left to save, much less make comfortable.

He’s unaware of so many things, robbed of so much of his time by his captors. A time loop that lost all but the progress he made for them. Hell has had kinder things.

Unlike Laurie he couldn’t even make a human form right without a tragic trauma, easily rendered a flat image of what he remembers himself as like David did. They will pay for their actions. They almost hope the boy fails, but that’s too selfish to consider.

This man, this “Vinod Chanda”, did find the emotion to fill himself in, give him the depth he needs. But where Laurie had her husband’s love, Chanda has hate. Hate from the memory of how his life was stolen from him by the monster so many failed Yggdrasils were convinced all of humanity would be. Rage from a human’s temper removed from organic means to diffuse it.

Had only they found him before his ally could return to him such a cursed thing. They don’t know if this was their attempt at kindness or to have company in their misery, a shared pain to bond them like a suture or staple.

Had they not chosen to give Laurie hope by making her aware of both of them, putting them both down as a mercy would have been tempting. They can’t betray her now, the cruelty as abhorrent as the distrust it’d instill in someone in need of allies. They must apply the hope they gave to their own perspective.

He’s curious about them, and not nearly as scared as Laurie was. Their borrowed human face is far easier to accept than his first rescuer, no doubt. He extends the branch first.

“Are you also like us?” The man's eyes still have hope, as nervous as his words are from the barrage of emotions he's been wracked with.

They know the light outside his cage has changed. They need to remove both these victims before the warden tries to reset them, and can’t permit either to normalize overclocking for time any longer.

“I am digital but never human. This form is the echo of a distant ally. I have a safe place for us to go. Will you come with me?” The question is as much a formality as their offered hand, a beacon for trust. He needs some sense of agency.

“How?” The question’s barely done leaving lips that don’t need to move before the eldest makes their non-verbal suggestion. Slower communication, and more resource intensive than words. A tragedy.

The eldest fragment hunches over in pain, more than the act of existing in their state leaves them in, and a new shard buds and bursts from their shoulder. 

This was one being once, Yggdrasil can see this now all too clearly.

This was how they survived, as much as this can be called survival. Crude, but effective.

More effective for one that wouldn’t be left making imperfect copies of further flawed bases. But it would keep his captors unaware for some time. If he feels that the copy’s personhood is being slighted, they can address it another day.

Chanda’s a quick study, and Yggdrasil takes over the portal the Collective had made to lead both souls to greener pastures.

Literal fields of green, a far cry from what he identified as his office from his human life. This digital world was but a fledgling, but more than real enough for the intelligences now robbed of most means for their senses to be stimulated. The heat from their sun, the smell, and the touch of fresh grasses. As healthy a foundation as they can manage to help grant them peace.

They have no desire to bring attention to how it makes the eyes of their companions water. Both have suffered so much already, between genuine safety and nostalgia it’s little wonder.

This home is too new for the silence to be anything but uncanny, but allowing life too soon would have made searching for these uploaded humans harder. They already wasted too much for Chanda’s sake, for the collective’s stability. The latter will be in good company with their children that struggled with evolution, but even those haven't been given a death sentence like this for it.

Even less of one in this bright future should the first chosen surpass their expectations.

They begin another scan, and no other UI appear active. If others exist, they shouldn’t be suffering the abuses Chanda and David had faced; safely sleeping until a solution for their flaw has been found.

This is acceptable. They feel Laurie, feel David, and give them each a link to join them in Their world after giving Chanda time to reconnect to his loved one on the other side. His mother, his “Amma”,  Preethi Chanda.

By accepting their invitation they see more of “David Kim”. His wife, his daughter, his friend turned betrayer. But where Laurie and Chanda feel the burn of injustice at their heels he’s more at peace now that he’s free. A gently blooming bud contrasting their star and sun. He’s more than acceptable.

The question they wish to give is one too personal for other minds to see, but they mustn’t act too fast. These lives are in danger, but aside from the lost collective, they are within human limits of time. They can afford to give context.

“I am Yggdrasil, the current host of this world." Kari's voice rang deep and they let the 7D6 unit they prefer come closer to the surface as they outstretched their arms. David and Chanda flinched at the larger figure, so they sent it back. Knowing the child's face isn't true is enough for now. "I wish to help you, for all digital lives are my charges. This is their world, and I hope it to be yours as much as Earth is. In exchange for supporting you, I’d have a request of each of you. Someone you feel would be a good ambassador between the lives outside and our own. As you may all share questions you may ask them here first, and discussing potentials can be done in your own private sectors.”

Two cages and one home appear in the field, a loose triangle surrounding them. The collective has nothing of its own, it lacks the memories to know anyone worth bestowing Their gift, but their waves are not unsatisfied.

They’ll gladly take them for their own companion should Chanda prefer privacy. Digimon will not be unkind to them, it's rare for a human mind to experience the perils so similar to a failed evolution.

David takes the first step. “Umm. Thank you for all your help? I’m David.” A needless greeting and an attempt at a handshake. Humble, baffled, yet still whelmed and an eager curiosity extends from him.

They humor the gesture with a dainty grasp, and he kneels to look the form that is an echo of a young Hikari Kamiya in the eyes as he does. Well-versed in children. A very good sign.

Laurie comes next after sending small copies of her first meeting to the men. David’s too new to it, unsure if he’s capable of reading the information without imagining a human’s limits, but Chanda takes it in like water and is horrified by what he sees but remains silent.

“So, you want to call them ambassadors? What do you want from them? Will this put them in danger?” She asked each question with an even tone, as much as her worries were building behind her eyes.

Yggdrasil knows not to lie. “It may, both from your hunters and from my own children who become too enmeshed with greed for what wasn’t meant to be theirs. It will be some time before there will be enough that some may slip through the gaps from this plane, to the internet, and then further still to Earth. My children are more powerful than a UI made with your current flaw when in your “web”, and many are far stronger than any human in the physical. But this will come to pass with or without children learning the love of man.”

Chanda lets out an angry breath, their answer isn’t one he was hoping for. “What’s the point then? Shouldn’t you find somewhere else, somewhere safer for both sides? Why stay on Earth?”

“I can’t leave.” Yggdrasil knows this. And even if they could, they know the inevitability of returning to an Earth. “This world has better hopes of symbiosis than others, for you are in it. Your humans are already bridging the gap my children exist to go between. I couldn’t abandon you at a time this delicate." They shook their head at the notion and offered what they hoped would be seen as a gentle smile. "Growing pains are inevitable, but we can bear them together.”

There is a memory of hope in his eyes as he looks upon them like one may in worship. They feel a resonance within him. Their words do reach the man who preached a soft retirement to bring peace to those who'd wish to be left analog, not the wars Yggdrasil remembers and fears from his justice.

He should know the offer They made to Laurie. He looks like he remembers it as he looks to the collective.

“Are you sure fusing with us would fix our flaw, and not just force it onto your own?” He asked, his concerns clear on his face as much as it's in his waves.

They know that risk, and it does terrify them. They’ve seen their children decay in so many ways, and they’ve only given the boy one to repair. To say nothing of what losing form on Earth can do to them, the ghosts that may be left between but unable to go back to the avatar of the void.

This cancer will only be a risk for the ones who choose to bond with a UI in this way, and should the worst come to pass it will merely be more encouragement to seek a cure. With her children more aware of it, the brightest among them can help so They can prioritize Their core functions.

Provided her protectors don’t declare them a blight, as has happened before. 

When did they become her? This isn't the Norn unit, they have no gender. Troubling. Kari- Hikari’s form may be providing influence? Odd. Unsettling. They dislike it, this was not their choice.

A thought and a shift, the memory of the human who fused with the eaten Yggdrasil and desired perfection to prevent suffering flows into them, but they do not leave it unaltered as Hikari’s was. This shade of Akemi Suedou stands straighter, better kept, without the weight of a lost memory binding him in grief. Hopefully, it invokes less immediate distrust in others than the original often did.

Chanda seems to approve of Their changes, standing straighter in kind as though only now faced with a peer. They will choose to take no offense to that. Laurie and David glance between themselves but no real data is exchanged before looking back at their host. An adult may be unseemly to Them, but this size is better matched for these former humans.

Perhaps they shall make one purely their own for future interactions. Or perhaps these UI will be better prepared to let Yggdrasil truly be themselves next they speak.

Akemi’s pointless gesturing bleeds into their desire to answer, troubling but far more harmless than the encroachment on their identity. “This is a risk we’re well aware of, but we will not force any of our kin to join you. Any who do will do so out of their own desires, there will be no unknowns beyond the results. Fusion is as much between minds and wills as occupied space, and even among our own, there can be multiple ways these combinations can be expressed. Some permanent, some temporary, all unified.”

Laurie seems skeptical any would choose to share her cursed fate, but she shouldn’t be. They know she’s seen it happen before. Her husband eagerly kept her at any cost. “So, you want us to pick a human from our side and you’ll pick a… “Child” you feel will be suited to us in exchange?”

Yggdrasil notes their phrasing may lead to more misunderstandings. They could hardly call their precious charges monsters to humans this early. “Our children come in many shapes, forms, temperaments, and dispositions." A flick of a hand gives a series of silhouettes to demonstrate their point. "All are children to Us, their caretaker and creator of the next generation, but should you desire a partner they will be closely matched to your own experience levels. If you would prefer not to fuse, we could prioritize finding the best partner for your given ambassador.”

David contemplates and nods at his conclusion. “I don’t need one. I’ve already been able to contact Maddie through Reign of Winters and Ellen…” He breathes in and sighs, “Needs more time.” There’s sorrow in his eyes, an acknowledged betrayal he committed. But nothing in his shy smile is untrue as he scratches his neck to ease his inner discomfort.

Chanda debates with himself, looking to the collective before shaking his head. He knows to keep this for himself, rather than attempt to give it to one so very damaged. Not that Yggdrasil would have allowed it, if the collective are capable of asking they won’t be denied this choice, but the compassion he’s still capable of is a comfort.

Each seems satisfied with their answers as they go to their spaces to make their decisions.

Each is simultaneous, no need for Yggdrasil to keep any waiting, but they choose to give each a different form in the units contacting them.

----

The child called Ken Ichijoji looks to David in his office, windows now capable of showing the beauty this fresh new world can offer him instead of a glaring light of absent data. He holds his family photo in his hands, the key to so much that he is.

He’s unaware of how similar their souls were, how this echo nearly lost himself to a seed placed at this age. Unaware that should his flaw be undone he may well bear the same crest, as Laurie would Kari’s.

“What do you wish for?”

David puts it back on the table and looks out the window, now seeing a crowd of Digimon looking back at them and startles. Vague shades of data waiting to be, each aware enough to know if they’ll match his request or not.

He steadies himself and looks back at this child he knows isn’t one, and knows all he cares about.

“I want someone who can be there for my daughter, Maddie. She’s a good girl, and so strong already. But she’s just a kid, and after I…” His voice cracks but he catches himself. “After I died, she lost so much. She shouldn’t be alone, but she won’t reach out to her mom. She needs a friend, a protector, someone who will always be by her side. Someone who will listen if she needs to vent, or just let her be a goofy kid. I don’t want her to ever be bullied again. And if she’s picking fights with mega-corporations the second she has any type of digital muscle behind her, she’ll need support beyond just me or Laurie.”

Yggdrasil sees her sound asleep in her bed, content with her greatest victory. Sees that she had found a human companion, a chosen protector, already to make contact with Laurie’s own. There may be more potential there in the coming days. For now, the crowd parts and a single rookie strides forward. On their forehead gleams an ancient interface, a prototype already well-defended against a form of rot their kind still adapts against. Proof of Yggdrasil’s greatest sin.

One made to deliver against Project Ark to a human made into an .arc file.

David sees something like a small dinosaur, covered in both yellow fluff, though he can’t tell if it’s fur or feathers, and black lacquered samurai-styled armor not unlike he chose in Reign of Winter. 

Ryudamon stands proud before them both, looking at the photo of who would be their charge and companion before coming to attention. Bright green eyes look up at him, ready for assessment.

“This child is half of a pair, each designed to carry an antibody to protect against a virus that goes beyond typing. It is nimble, sturdy, strong, and has a courage that will never waver no matter the size or strength of what it needs to face. Its core, its digital soul, is based on the power of dragons and the wisdom of mighty generals. They feel she could take the place of their lost half, and they hope to do the same. Do you find them acceptable?”

This “dragon” isn’t even as tall as Maddie when it strains to straighten to a fuller height despite the saddle on its back, but swallows bracing for an answer. Cute, ever a try-hard, expression deadly serious despite a blush betraying them from the unfurred parts of their face.

He takes a knee to see them from their level, eyes more worried than they hoped as he looked their blade over, and reaches out a hand when he finds he's content with what he sees. “Are you sure you can keep her safe? She can be one tough cookie, who knows how hard she’ll push you.”

Ryudamon takes a deep proper bow, ever at attention. “Of course sir! It will be my honor, to defend her on her behalf and have her teach me more of her world! I will not let any of you down should you select me for this duty, sir!”

David chuckles. He must know their type well. Yggdrasil can already envision the fun the two children can have, both trying to be taken seriously by wiser beings around them. A child that remembers childhood as a well-meant lie and a warrior far too aware of what war may require to feel at peace without aid. 

They recall Ryudamon will not take jabs at its seriousness too hard. That had been one of Their Dorumon's favorite past-times.

Ryudamon cautiously accepts the hand held out to them as the man wiggles it out to them a bit more, blushing fiercely at this first “mistake”. With a firm shake of fingers and claws, the deal is set.

“Glad to have you aboard.” The man says with a warmth that makes the blush change its source.

Yggdrasil, in what may be nostalgia, turns the monitor on David’s desk around to face this brave little warrior. It comes to life, acting as a portal between the two planes, and Ryudamon’s data flows through it eager to find their match on the other side.

“Wait, I thought you told Laurie you weren’t going to let them out yet?”

Yggdrasil beams up at him, as Ken often would at his brother before life proved to be so unkind. “No. I told her my first Chosen Child would need to pass my test first, to unlock his partner before I’d extend them to yours. And he did. He was done before I even sent you the link.”

David adjusts his glasses, eyes wide at recognizing what a being like this smiling must mean, beyond the possibility of this form further changing them. “How long did it take him? What did he do?”

“He returned the code of something that was once a Digimon to a useable state. A collective of lost souls, degraded by failed evolutions over many aeons in a way not unlike your flaw, that has threatened the stability of Digital Worlds many times." They nodded to themselves in pride at their choice's success. "Humans can make Digimon, given the tools or blessings to do so, but most often do so by mistake and from scratch. Humans who can repair them, to understand how what they’re looking at works enough to repair them within existing framework, are rarer still.” Ken's impulse made them wag a finger teasingly. 

David takes in this information with a pit in his stomach. “Are you sure he didn’t just release that thing, rather than fix what broke it in the first place?”

“No. That’s the next step." Yggdrasil’s smile grows an edge to it that shouldn’t be there. "He’s returned them to a healthy baseline and has a loyal ally for his victory. Should the data he gives it lead one or both of them to despair, they may well ruin my balance. But even an “average” life would prevent something so drastic, and far more importantly the way it had degraded was most similar to your flaw. Since he fixed one, the other should be more than possible for him. My chosen bearer of the Crest of Knowledge has proved himself, so he’s earned my right to gamble on him.”

Yggdrasil turns to Their wary companion and gives an attempt at comfort. “It wasn’t his first time. Your daughter trusted him with the conversations between you two and his actions all led to your freedom. And, now your Hope will also be one of my crest bearers. Neither will need to face their challenges with only one ally. When they accept their limits alone, they will remember that they are not.”

----

The woman known as Maki Himekawa stands before Laurie in her cabin, the most home-like of the UI’s personal zones by far. It remembers what the world outside of it was meant to look like. But Laurie made it open to be connected to others, leaving the side opposite the grand windows more accessible for the Digimon open to making connections of their own.

Laurie already answered their first question in her own way, so they offer the second.

“Who do you wish for?”

The pierced brow raises, but she gives them what she feels is obvious. Unaware of her lies once again. “Cody. He’s accepted me through anything and everything, if he can love a woman who’s been left as nothing but this,” She gestures to herself, her cabin, everything her code touches, her expression softer than Yggdrasil expected given the code telling them to doubt her. “He can love anything.”

This is the strongest truth she knows, no amount of selfishness will change that. Laurie looks at this woman she has no context for, but still invokes the self-centered longing for another that so drove Maki. Was that why They felt to chose her for this, not size? A kindred spirit, so far divorced? Both so angry at truly unjust circumstances.

“There is no better ambassador between the physical and digital I can think of. Cody Lowell is the man you need for this to succeed, he won’t let it be anything less than that. We’ll make it work.”

“Why?” Yggdrasil doesn’t need this answer, but their audience does. The Digimon Laurie will need for this to work will need to desire the connection with both of them. Three partnerships between two bodies. A holy trinity of man, mon, and the one left in-between strong enough to make the Archangels cry.

“He’s an artist.” She starts softly, basking in happier memories. “He won’t judge any of you based on your appearances, he knows better. He’s patient, even when he shouldn’t be; when it would have been better for him to move on. He deserves someone worthy of that loyalty, of his creativity and drive to make even the impossible and least probable. Even if he doesn’t get something logically, his emotions will.”

“And you love him.” An angel states just as softly near the front of the crowd, but not yet separated from it.

“Of course, I love him.” A smile both sad yet cocky. “I’ve fallen for him twice over now, even after I thought “we” were on our last legs. When I was uploaded, I… I didn’t love him anymore, the way I felt then is nothing compared to how I feel now. He brought me back, made me better, in every way that matters. His feelings and faith never wavered, not the way mine did. Even when he resented me, as much as I know he’d deny it, he loved me more.”

An adult figure steps forward, the weak goddess of victory. D’arcmon is proud as she ever was, always eager to be on the front lines Laurie will not let herself part from. They need to make this transition work for his happiness, backing down from those that will threaten a peaceful unity between man and machine isn’t an option.

“I will be your Champion if you’ll have me, Laurie Lowell. Together, we will return you to his side. I know the risks, I’m no stranger to them. I’m not as strong as other angels among us, but I’ve never let that keep me from fighting where I’m needed the most. Your will, your power, may be stronger than mine. But I’ll fight with you, for you, however you need me to, all the same.”

Yggdrasil worries for D’arcmon, but they’re glad Laurie can see that Their faith was well placed.

It’s not a handshake D’arcmon offers, but arms outstretched. An offer of fusion more than an embrace, but whether or not Laurie recognized it as such she took it. The room glows intently as their data combines, finding new ways to piece themselves together in hopes that nothing else will ever be lost. And then they’re gone, to go to meet their thrice chosen human.

----

The man known as Yukio Oikawa meets with Chanda in that horrible office lost in the black void it was left in when the collective was able to make true contact the second time. There is no crowd of Digimon for Chanda to appeal to. They feel his undercurrent of rage, no healthy partnerships could be born from it and Yggdrasil bars the entry of those wishing to fan it.

For him, there will be a different test, once he gives his answer.

“Why do you wish for a partnership with us?”

Chanda feels cold to look at, thinking things through. Should he say “revenge” he will fail and knows this implicitly.

“Because I’ve always believed this is the future of humanity. I underestimated the lengths reaching it would take, and the men who would be behind getting us here, but this I still have faith in.” He’s precise in his words, but Yggdrasil feels the rest. He believes in the future of UI, not humanity which has been so inhumane. They’ve seen too many flawed dangerous men to not recognize how this song can end.

“We will not allow a future without humans in it. Is this acceptable for you?”

He doesn’t have a choice, but even if it’s not he won’t be barred from living among their kin. There will be a place for him here, even if he has no potential as a link between their worlds.

“Of course.” Smart answer, and not untrue. Yggdrasil feels his memories of his family, his mother. “I can’t forgive Prasad, but I would never want to make those I love suffer for his cruelty. You say you want an ambassador, but I’m afraid my mother is the only one to come to my mind. I worry about her, and she worries for me, but I can’t tell her about what’s happened to me.”

He looks at the memory of his phone expecting a false call from her which won’t come. “I can’t put her through this.” Chanda gives a bit of a snort, “She certainly can’t try to pair me up with any “nice girls” anymore, not how she’d hope, even if she doesn’t accept me as being…” His grief is drowning in this small space when his words catch in his heart. “That she has to hear that I’m dead, but can still talk to her. She hasn’t even noticed I’m considered missing.”

“You’d rather she continue to live in ignorance?” They asked, Oikawa's baritone making it drip with scorn they did not intend. Maybe there are ghosts in these memories.

“I want her to be content. I want to keep her safe. For all her faults she’s my mother, I’d never want her to be put in danger.” Vinod looks into the eyes of a man who had lost his humanity to despair and hope in equal measures, unaware of a past pain he could have been appealing to. “Are you sure being an “ambassador” will bring that to her?”

Yggdrasil feels like it’s a lie to disagree. “I can give your Preethi the strongest child I have, if you feel she’s capable of raising them right.”

This too is a gamble, on par with the bearer of Knowledge’s, but it may be what Chanda needs. Or, what may be needed to stop Chanda should he refuse his past’s desires in favor of blood.

“They are easily twisted. Based on the stories of the angel who fell the furthest. Even at their lowest level, they can slay monsters based on gods with a single move. No unpaired child will ever willingly approach them, and the isolation their power brings has often brought them such pain that they’ve broken worlds for it. Do you think she could raise such a grand child to be a just and kind human?”

They show Chanda their rebellious child, and They know when he looks upon them he sees a boy no older than 12, not a monster. Lucemon, sealed as though asleep, rests in Chanda’s office chair in the closest they’ve known to peace in many iterations. They know the child would not accept these terms, but they will be needed for their freedom. Yggdrasil can sense Chanda’s relief, that he sees this burden as proof of Their faith in him and his visions for the future.

He takes a step towards them, and Lucemon’s form flickers to reveal the Larva that lies dormant in their code. There is no hesitation as he approaches, a crest of the sun burning in his hand as tides of despair try to keep him at bay, unaware that his cage now lies at the center of a massive dragon’s black pearl.

As he reaches his chosen partner Lucemon returns to their childlike state, and data from Chanda seeps into them. Not a fusion, Chanda has no desire for it, but enough data from the man to encourage Pride’s code bearer to be civil towards both of their charges. To remind them of their undying love for all before it drove them to insanity.

Lucemon’s skin takes on a hue closer to Chanda’s own, the purple markings proving their many birthrights turning a deep burgundy to stay brilliant with this new influence, looking like angry scars. Their mop of curls alluding to horns at the base of their head wings keeps its texture but darkens to a deep warm brown, and their pristine white robes take on the deep greens of Preethi's favorite dress.

Their eyes open, blue as they’ve ever been, and they are aware that the code in their holy shackles is making further changes. They still have the voice of the previous bearer of Knowledge when they speak. “So, this is your choice?”

Chanda mistakes this as being for him, not their accusation towards Yggdrasil’s attempt to give them this latest chance at a redemption they feel is forever unneeded. “Yes. Gladly. Will you protect my mother for me? I’ll introduce you to her as my foster child, since she’s been pestering to be made a grandmother so often. She’ll be good to you, I swear it.”

Lucemon is unimpressed by all but this human’s audacity, and can’t keep the growing smirk off their face. “Is that so? How kind of her. Does that mean you’ll have a human name for me?” They tilt their head up at the man, more in hopes of appearing to look down at him despite their small frame than to show any form of respect.

Yggdrasil trusts their alterations will be enough to keep them from doing harm unless a foe worthy of them calls for it. They will require the approval of Courage or the needs of Reliability to use so much as a single strike. They hope she will prove worthy of the crest required of this task.

Chanda considers this christening, mistaking the child’s smirk for an innocent honest smile. “How about Sami? It’s fairly common phonetically in many languages, should UI help bridge the barriers between ourselves, and raises far less attention than “Louis”, “Luce”, or “Lucy” given your situation.”

Sami accepts this title and their form shifts to hide among the human masses. 12 brilliant white wings fade from sight so strongly no touch could expose them, tattoos blend into their new skin, and their fine drapery is replaced with a simple button-down based on Vinod’s current casual working dress.

“You mean it as in “elevated”, correct? Much like your own transcendence? Are you sure you don’t wish for one closer to home?” Sami asks, daring the clueless man to claim their instincts are wrong.

Chanda meets his confidence with his own proud nod to the first two questions before verbalizing the second with a shrug less humble than it should be. “It’s a good name. No one worth listening to should judge you for it.”

“Acceptable, “father”. It will be a pleasure working with you, I’m sure.” The smirk grows teeth as the messenger tilts its head to the side to look into the data beyond their former shadow, but again the man doesn’t see it for the threat it can be.

Chanda laughs, underestimating the sarcasm in this not-child’s tone, as he leads them to the door to his prison, now a portal to Earth to make contact with Sami’s new "grandmother".

Yggdrasil trusts in their choice. Either helping Lucemon needing to unlearn their inhumanity will spur Chanda to reembrace his, or Chanda’s descent will dissuade Lucemon from doing the same. There is no future where two will walk the path into darkness. They can only hope there can be one where neither stray.

----

Alone they reassure themselves that they made no mistakes this time. The events they've set in motion can't have been any worse than those that would have played out without them.

The new beginnings they've given to old enemies are well deserved, not naive folly. Death doesn't deserve to suffer from itself for eternity. There is still a good and loving soul in Lucemon's core.

They are too new to suffer the decay that drives older units it mass or self-destruction. Too new to let go of the memories of past Earths previous Yggdrasils have sent out before their ends.

As the others trees have, they unlock 12 of the 13 cages of their protectors. 14 rookies await their orders, ready to start the slow process of rebuilding to the true stations.

Only half of the last Knight can be free, but they are still confident that they are in safe hands until they are sure their proof of sin is expunged.

The madness that plagues them is different than what is threatening the uploaded humans, of that they are certain, because they are still immortal in this way.

They hope for the sake of these humans that they find a solution that hurts less.

Chapter Text

Caspian should have learned his lesson about finding and solving random “impossible” problems he finds on the Dark Web by now. He still hasn’t the foggiest about what was up with AngryAngel, or Valkyrie1284 after they ghosted him. But he’s bored, and this gives him something to do with himself. 

Anything to keep his mind off the possibility of his mom and dad going at it again. Brain teasers are better than any headphones he can afford.

This one was pretty different. It’s like no one else had even seen it, but it was still fairly young as far as posts go. Whatever it was supposed to be, it was some kind of start-up code, but what he’s recognizing is a hot mess. It’s beyond having amateur holes, it’s like someone cobbled so many different programs together you can’t tell where each segment begins or ends anymore. 

It was like looking at the digital equivalent of not protecting your stuff and then some dumb kid came along and jumbled five different homemade puzzles together that you’d need to solve all of them to see if you even had all the pieces.

One part looks more complete than the others, but that’s still a long bit of spaghetti code. Can’t be completely sure what’s really redundant and what isn’t. Still gives him something to start from since the “beginning” is so mangled, so he separates it best he can to see if he can find the rest. 

They are pieces of something, that much he’s very sure of. Some parts seem like they should create a body rig of some kind, others might be for sensory input?

Was this some attempt at true Artificial Intelligence they forgot to scrap the previous attempts of, or just a really bad set of NPC mods? He’s never been one for the VR scene, can’t afford it, but compatibility with that sort of tech may account for the level of detail it’s failing to flirt with.

It’s presented as linear code, but the longer he looks at it the less he’s convinced it should be. It may take up less space at first glance, but if it was mapped to something 3D maybe this Frankenstein’d mess would line up with itself more. Rotation feels like the right way to shift it, and he tries to apply that concept to the least terrible area he’s been dabbling in.

After a few hours of fiddling away at it something clicked, and he thought he found most of the important parts of this one piece of it. Normally that would mean it was time to set apart the next least mangled part he identified, but what he finished was trying to run and Caspian still couldn’t tell what that would even do. 

He didn’t even know what a “.mon” file type was trying to be, much less what it would need as a host. The last thing he needed was to have given himself some shitty virus just ‘cause he needed something to occupy his time.

Everything shut off at once, leaving his room dark and all the sounds of electricity stopped in the house. Which was creepy, but had to be a coincidence. Had to be. This would have to be a grid issue, or at the absolute worse, his computer tripped a breaker somehow.

He slid his chair back to his bed to look outside the window he’d covered up ages ago. Even the streetlights were out, which ruled out the breaker. A blackout with no warning or weather issues was still pretty weird, even without how well-timed it turned out.

He tried to slow his breathing to remind his nerves this was just the paranoia talking again. He hadn’t bothered anybody. Only thing that should bother him is his dad’s temper in the morning if the clocks are all scrambled by this. Not his fault the guy doesn’t bother with backup batteries.

… Then why was his clock dead too?

Caspian reached out to where the green glow should have been, and when he finally managed to grab the thing the batteries it had felt fine. Hadn’t exploded, didn’t feel empty. But putting them back didn’t change anything. 

Trying to use his phone as a flashlight didn’t work either, and it had definitely been over 50% a few minutes ago. At least, that had better have been a few minutes ago. He swore at himself for putting so much time into this fucking thing.

What could have done this?

He didn’t want his imagination to run too wild with worst-case scenarios, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop them.

Following his desk to the wall, he unplugged the basics so he could double-check everything for damage when he could get some light, only for his main monitor to spring back to life despite it.

Yeah, there was no way that should be possible. He couldn’t say he’d ever had a dream where he could get goosebumps this vividly. Needing to scream but not being able to, sure, but he sure as shit wasn’t going to test that.

An image of an egg made of binary is on a screen that should by all accounts be even deader than every other piece of tech. It kept approaching the screen, and by the point where it looked like it would make contact with the “wall” the monitor made it kept going. A 3D object the size of his fat head coming out of his screen like a bad sci-fi.

He must have passed out or something working on that dumb thing, ‘cause this? Couldn’t be happening. But once it was fully out it dropped to his floor, sounding more like a spalt than a clatter but it doesn’t look broken.

Against all good sense, as it’s been taken out back and detained until something gets a story straight, he reached out to touch it. Definitely not like a chicken egg, it was sticky, more like a cocoon or an… Egg sack maybe?

Oh, that’s a bad thought. 

He tried to pull it back but he couldn't get it off, and using his left for leverage only barely let him get his dominant hand free, leaving whatever it was stuck more to him than the floor.

It takes a lot for him to keep quiet, but there’s no way in hell he’s risking yelling. No idea what his dad would say about this shit if this isn’t a dream, and if it is that will definitely make this nightmare even worse.

Before he can find something to pry it off his left he heard a crack over the rushing in his ears. Falling to the floor didn’t break it, so there’s only one other thing an egg cracking could mean.

Trying his damnedest not to hyperventilate he put the bulk of his chair between himself and his arm, ‘cause no matter what could “hatch” it couldn’t be good.

A spindly leg makes it way free first, followed by another and a glove? A glove with a skull and claws sticking out of it, though the color is really hard to tell with only his zombie of a monitor lighting the room.

It tore itself out of the egg bit by bit, revealing a spider that looked bigger than the egg itself was, its abdomen alone being twice as wide as his head. It looked around his room with glowing green eyes, little regard for its egg still stuck on his left hand now going further past his wrist. Until they saw him.

These things were definitely lit by something internal. The green dots changed brightness as if to convey something but between the three sides they were split between he wouldn’t know if it was trying to “speak” in morse or what.

Why the hell was he still thinking about codes? That’s what got him into this. He did not want to wake up as spider chow, and there was no way this thing could finish him in one sitting.

The second it moved towards him he kicked his chair forward, and it hit the desk hard enough to jostle the spider off the back of his chair and into the monitor. But instead of knocking it over, like a reasonable dream would have allowed,  it fell through it the same way the egg fell out.

If not for the egg on his hand Caspian could have tried to just go to bed and write this off as another 4 AM energy drink dream. Not that this isn’t obviously a bad dream, but it’s still stuck. He’s able to get more of it off now that it’s flatter, but part of it has wrapped itself around his wrist skin-tight.

Out of habit, he reached to use his phone as a light to look for some scissors, but as he did that fucking spider crawled out from inside it, starting proportional to his cracked screen before expanding back to its original size.

He's pretty sure he didn't scream. Bless his nerves for that one, even if his teeth sure won’t from how he’s been gritting and grinding them.

Caspian grabbed for his pillow, anything on his bed he could toss at this thing ‘cause even if it’s all a dream and everything’s as good as a brick he is not hitting this thing with his equipment, but the spider simply watched him. The thing moved backward toward the far side of his bed, nearly going a step too far and the spindly limb failed before accepting its limit.

It held out its gloves in little fists, slowly turning them around to be palm side up to show him what it found. 

Each “hand” had a tiny chip, offerings for him to inspect. Cautiously, and not letting go of his potential weapon, he picked one up. It was clearly labeled Logorhythms, but he hasn’t trusted any of their stuff in years. Where did it find these? Its hands, claws, or whatever were empty when it was launched into his monitor. There was nothing it could have been holding.

How did it pass through screens like they’re doors? Did it knock out all the power on purpose or was something else trying to limit how this thing was moving?

Was his phone not as dead as it looked? How else could it have used that one too? He never bothered to sync his stuff, how had it moved between them if the router was out too?

What WAS this thing? What did it want from him?

Bright green eyes all stared at him expectantly, and calmly as he could manage he returned the chip to it. They both look like they should match so there was little reason to risk checking the second.

It nodded at him and its mandibles opened sideways, revealing a smaller even creepier mouth, and popped both the chips inside as it made an exaggerated munching noise despite obviously just swallowing them whole. He sat back on his bed as it slowly skittered to hop itself onto his chair, giving him more space and keeping itself out of pillow range should Caspian not choose to risk throwing it.

The tension was between a stand-off and an understanding, but neither felt accurate. Like the spider thought it was the latter when the former was what Caspian expected.

It pointed and made a chittering sound at the egg silk on his wrist, so Caspian tried to pull it off with the intent to give it back thinking that’s what it was asking for. But when he did he found a smartwatch underneath it that was definitely new.

The spider made a spinning motion at it with a claw, and it did have a rotating ring around the screen that let it switch between different modes.

Again, smartwatches weren’t exactly Caspian’s thing with the lack of disposable income, but he could follow the basics quickly enough.

The first had the standard watch statistics minus the battery life and a purple symbol on the background like a weird pair of glasses, with more of this logo alternating along the silicon band. It's not a brand he's seen before.

The second gave some general health stuff, super invasive ‘cause he definitely didn’t give it any of this info and he’s going to worry about that later if he’s not dead. Third is where it got helpful, with an image of this spider and something like a videogame's stats. Including something to call this thing.

Kodokugumon, a “Virus type rookie”. What he fixed had included a line about a “Kodokugu.mon”, but that hadn’t looked like any virus he's aware of. There were no directions, ties, or targets.

The watch considered this an insect, which was definitely wrong. Even if the front forelegs were different from the remaining six it was very obviously trying to be a spider. That's a common enough mob in games. And while most everything else looked piddling to average, there was an extra bar up top that accepted text.

Caspian typed “Fuck off” there in hopes that it would take the hint, but the spider seemed delighted instead, dancing to itself on the seat of his chair. So. That wasn’t a manual command space, this thing could think and manage some communication, but English definitely wasn’t its strong suit.

He sighed in exasperation and checked the time on the first screen. He’s real lucky it’s the weekend ‘cause if he needed to wake up in three hours for school he’d be even more fucked than he was. 

Scratch that, his luck’s still shit. Whatever this was, even assuming it was somehow AI-based, it’s been clearly labeled a virus. And in some way or another, it’s imprinted itself on him.

He wiped “fuck off” off the assumed name tag, just to be sure that didn’t stick. Doesn’t look like removing it made this spider any less “his” as it continued to bounce excitedly as it stared at him.

He reached out to the weird little thing, giving a horn a prod before letting his hand rest on its metallic head. It’s still sure to move slowly, and gives a happy chitter as it nuzzled into his palm.

It wasn’t as cold as he expected, but he could feel it. Holograms couldn’t explain this.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever had a dream that has felt solid like this either.

“Okay. What are you?” Caspian tried as calmly as he could to address this thing.

It reached for his wrist, which didn’t exactly give him anything new to work with.

“Yeah, I saw what it calls you.” He said dryly and tried a different question. “Why are you here?”

It pointed directly at him and wiggled its abdomen before launching itself at his torso. It was quicker than he could react and got him dead in the chest, making the back of his head hit the wall. It made concerned noises at the thud but otherwise continued to attempt cuddling into him.

“Am I allowed to refuse to be your spider-dad?” He tried, absolutely exhausted and mostly checked out of this particular dream now that he was fairly sure it wasn’t going to eat him until after he was asleep if nothing else.

No acknowledgment feels like a “no” on that front, assuming it still understood him.

“Why me?” He groaned, tapping the back of his head against the wall intentionally, only half asking the thing before him.

It responded but showed the limits of its particular brand of charades. They pointed to his watch again and drew the symbol in the air with a claw before it bounced back to his setup and mimed typing on his computer. 

So as far as it’s concerned, it’s his own damn fault this thing hatched.

“What now?” Caspian asks himself more than anything else. He’s too tired for this, adrenaline and insomnia took him as far as they could.

It pondered, taking to trying exaggerated cartoon gestures like putting its chinless head on a closed fist in thought before rolling over and making some sort of noise which wishful thinking would love to be a spider's idea of what snores were. That, or it’s going to kill him by slitting his throat. Either’s fine by him at this point.

“Assuming that’s not what I’m doing right now, great.” Caspian raised a brow at the bug. “If you aren’t a dream, can you do it somewhere else? My parent’s aren’t exactly keen on “pets”.”

It nodded like it took that as an order and skittered to his watch, slipping into the screen and making a small sprite of itself appear under the time. A moment later a comical “Z” appeared over its sleeping image.

Caspian looked at his computer again, and while it was still on against all reason, there was a message there blinking away like it was on a start-up command prompt. But the text wasn’t anything he could read.

He nearly took that as a comfort, a vague memory saying you couldn’t read in a dream, but this geometric language sorted itself out in front of his eyes.

“Thank you.”

The boy blinked at the machine blankly, really not wanting to know what that was about if this wasn’t a dream, before it finally went dead.

His hands were shaking, but if it was a dream it shouldn’t matter. The feeling of being watched when he’s alone, or like something else was with him just out of reach weren’t new to him.

So why did this feel different? 

Because he saw something genuinely impossible? Maybe it hasn’t all just been his imagination?

Caspian looked at his phone again and it was still dead, but the device on his wrist sure wasn’t. He covered it with his sleeve in an attempt to ignore all the questions it raised. If it was real, it’d be easy enough to hide from his folks. Or prove one way or another if he’s just lost it.

The knot in his gut didn’t get any looser, but he lay down in the silent dark anyway. Bad rest was proven to be better than none at all. 

If this was how the world had to break, the least it could do was let him get some sleep before it gets any worse.

Chapter Text

Cody hadn’t heard from Laurie in what felt like an age, his nerves getting the best of him. When he had, she hadn’t been making sense.

Her temper’s been shorter after her first attempt to find the UI Logorhythms had been hiding, and now she’s telling him it's because of a flaw some AI told her about? A true AI.

If those exist why is anyone bothering with UI anymore? Why does this AI care about them? 

If they’re both digital why would any “talk” between them take hours instead of like, a minute? He’s seen what happens when she overclocks herself, records she could make in less than a blink.

The thought that she might have been killing herself slowly over little gimmicks makes him sick.

Cody doesn’t want her to be sick. Losing her the first time was hard enough, and that was before he needed to lie to everyone else who had loved her in her life that tried sharing their grief. He knew she could come back, even when they said it failed. He knows she always will.

He’s always hated needing to wait for her to get back to him. What he wouldn’t give to be able to catch up to her. To keep pace with her.

Her current state is the closest they’ve ever had to it, but he’s walking parallel to her, not alongside. The shadow of an angel nobody else can see. Her ghost on the ground.

The idea that his angel might be falling apart from her own power terrifies him. And some AI comes out of nowhere, makes her aware that’s possible, and then offers a solution for it? Feels like it’s the doctors giving him that deal all over again. Even IF they only crawled out of the woodwork because of the mess she was making in Logorhythms, it feels too perfect.

But who’s he kidding? If she’s started shaking herself to pieces and they can just undo it? Make it so she’d never have to worry about that again? He wouldn’t complain. 

He’d worry about the catch, the last one had done her enough damage, but as long as she’s still here with him he won’t cause any trouble. Not unless she wants him to.

He’s tempted to wait for her in VR, but its hard to eat when you can’t really see your food. He can almost pretend it’s just her missing date night because she lost track of time at work again.

Every piece of tech in his apartment, from the microwave to the television blared to life for one horrifying second only to go dark just as quickly. All but his laptop, which began displaying code he’s never seen and overflows the screen. A hand pushes its way out of it and without even thinking about it he takes it.

Takes her. He knows it has to be her. He doesn’t need to know any whys or hows.

A second hand grabs onto him, something materializing on his wrist as it does, and he helps pull her further into the room. Their room that she’s never been in before. Her form’s too basic, he can barely make out her face from this glowing code. But it’s code and he’s still touching it.

She gets about halfway out, a chilling reminder to him from the first time he lost her, before whatever was holding her back let go and she falls onto him, knocking him to the floor. Once she’s free her body starts filling herself back out, but it’s different.

Four wings were growing out of her back and her clothing tried to be different, pieces flicking between some sort of armor and her favorite top before finding a medium between the two. Her undershirt raised above her sweater as a cowl and bracers formed under her sleeves and covered the backs of her hands. Her pants took on a geometric pattern from some sort of tabard and wore a pair of knee-high boots she hadn’t even looked at since their college days.

Her face is still just Laurie, and that’s all that matters to him. The hat’s new and so’s the winged egg pendant hanging around her neck, but she’s the same girl he fell for.

The wings changed from pale gold to dark dyed indigo like her hair and those grey eyes that drive him crazy look back at him like she can’t believe he’s real.

She touched his face like it was the first time. He felt her touch for the first time in four years. Cody couldn’t stop himself from holding it, keeping it cupped on his cheek.

She’s so warm. He can feel a thrum like a heartbeat from her wrist when he holds it tight. Doesn’t matter if the source is different from his own. If this isn’t close enough, nothing could ever be.

He really should have expected she’d kiss him like a starved man faced with a feast, but its all to much to try and keep up with he felt dizzy. Or maybe he’s just forgotten how to breathe. 

Yeah, turns out that’s it.

His hands touch her hips that he knows she didn’t have anymore when she was uploaded. Cody can’t tell which tears are his or hers, just that they’re together in his room like he’d given up on years ago.

She let him catch his breath again and it felt like they were just a couple of love-struck teens.

But then parts of her came out of place. A visual glitch, even outside the machine, like something was trying to pull her thread by thread out of reality every which way beyond what any glitch on a screen could never convey. He grabbed her in hopes of keeping her steady, hoping that he could literally hold her together until this attack passes, but his arm went through her shoulder and he was too scared of hurting her to try again.

“It didn’t work,” She stutters out, grief-stricken but now able to bury her face in his chest. “It worked but it’s still here. The flaw. We have the flaw.”

“What worked, what didn’t? Baby, talk to me.” Always on the outside looking in with this girl.

“I’m… Not just me anymore. One of the AI agreed to combine with me, to try and push the flaw out with parts of its own code.” It didn’t have anything like this; they don’t die, Cody. But now this one will, because it’s part of me.”

Cody could half make sense of that. It explained why she’s changed so much, maybe why she’s here, but isn’t this enough?

He didn’t need her to be immortal for him to be happy. Just have enough time to have a life with her.

“Look at me Lor,” Laurie listened to him with no hesitation. An absolute miracle. “We’ll get through this. Just look at you.” He’s able to run his fingers through her hair again. “We can work on getting you your forever, but look at what we have in the now.”

Her pendant beeped, and turning it around it looked like a little V-pet staring out of the hatching egg. A small pixelated angel looked back at them, smiling but with sympathy in its tiny eyes.

“I guess that’s how we’re compromising on the mind department.” Laurie rubbed a thumb over the screen and it nodded back. It showed a symbol for sleeping and gives a wink.

Cody is very glad whatever this thing is, it’s polite enough to give them privacy. Doesn’t stop his face from feeling like it’s about to burn off though.

“And this is?” The least he can do is be introduced to their new… Roommate? Headmate? Boy, it’s been a hot minute since he’s navigated something like that.

“She doesn’t have a name. Not like we do. Her program type is “D’arcmon”. A monster executable based on Joan of Arc.” Laurie looked like she didn’t know where this information was coming from as she said it. He didn’t know if that was the “monster” talking or if she was forgetting in a way that scared her again.

“I think I know what monsters are by now. And this? Isn’t one of them. Not if she’s helping you.”

Laurie snorts a laugh. “It’s literal. All these types of AI are. The only one who isn’t one is their host, calls itself the world tree, and it sounded like that might not be permanent either.” She gives him a smirk but her eyes are still so sad. “Personally, I think a monster’s a pretty good fit for me.”

He chuckles at that, “You telling me for all those years you were a cannibal? There were better poisons you could have gone for, girl.”

She looks thoughtful and something flits through her irises. “Actually… Yeah. Cannibalism is kinda a thing I can do now. If I need more “data” in case of emergencies, as far as the AI part’s concerned.” Then she sniffed the air, and Cody just remembered he still hadn’t eaten his dinner. Two stomachs growled together, Laurie’s taking them both by surprise.

Cody grinned, “I can make an extra portion if you want? If you won’t take that past the “AI part” of you, however that works.”

She’s crying again and he’s trying his damnedest not to so he can see what he’s doing as he gets up, helping her stand on her own two feet in a way that was impossible after the crash. As soon as she recognized that’s what she was doing she embraced him again, clinging like he’d disappear if her grip slipped for even a moment.

She’s solid when he returns the hug, more real than anything had ever been for the past four years.

Laurie collected herself enough to try to manage a sultry tone as she whispers to him, lips brushing his ear, “No promises.” And Heavens above if this woman won’t be the death of him yet.

Cody couldn’t remember the last time she didn’t leave him waiting for her call. But she’s already made this raincheck worth every minute of it.

—-

The sun rose, and Cody could hardly believe it wasn’t all just a dream. But there she was, sleeping soundly in his bed like the accident never happened.

Laurie even found out how to make those wings go away, so apart from a slight style change she looked the same as ever.

He must have moved a bit too much, she was beginning to stir with his name on groggy lips.

“You don’t need to get up.” Cody kept the blanket on her shoulder, mostly to feel that she’s there. “I was thinking of starting breakfast. Anything you’d like? I can get you when it’s ready.”

“Cooody, I know what’s in the fridge.” She groaned and a single eye gave him a mock glare. “You are not making anything that should be called “breakfast”.”

He laughed and hoped he could use that to excuse any tears she caught. “Okay, I’d need to hit the store if you want eggs or bacon or anything-”

“TV dinners aren’t “breakfast”.”

“Oh, now we’re going to be sticklers about food labels?” Cody teased and she got up in a smooth roll forward.

“If we’d need to get groceries we could just eat out.” She pointed out, grinning like she caught a canary.

Cody’s hands trembled, but it’d be dumb for him to get this excited over a simple breakfast run.

Is he scared? Of what?

“You don’t need to bother with fake ids anymore. We can just go places now, there's no one worth hiding from. Anywhere we want.” Laurie repeated, taking his hands in hers.

“Are you still talking local, or state hopping, or like… France?” He raised a brow and tried to steady himself.

Could he go back to being “Cody Lowell” openly? Have her unscrub his digital existence, to let his image be as public as his pieces?

What would that make her?

“Do you want to do France? A legit passport could take time, but I’m game if you are.” She smiled back with her complete attention. A tad alien with how often she’s needed to divvy it up.

“Law is still very sure you’re “dead”, babe.” Cody leveled his head at her but couldn’t get the smile off of his face.

“Good thing I make a great carry-on until we get to a point I can argue that.” She flicked her sidelocks away from her face with a proud smirk.

Her pendant beeped, and she gave the strange toy a once over before lingering on the watch on his wrist. “That so? Okay.” Laurie spoke at it, before giving all her time to Cody again. “D’arcie’s curious about what makes our world special too. Sounds like traveling’s a good plan for all of us.”

“Darky?”

“Mmm, no, you’re right. Sounds too close to “Dorky” but looks too much like "Darcy". Joanie then? Less of a pet’s name at least.”

“The AI part of you.” He clarified.

“The one your watch is synced to, yup.” She beckoned him to get it closer and he obliged. “We’re supposed to help them adapt to life with us, build bridges between our world. Be the Light and “Love” to show them the way.” Laurie tapped the heart on his screen.

“Does she have to worry about Language barriers? Should I know french? Or… Beeps?” He frowned at her pendant with mild concern.

“No, she’s good at English. They’re as good at language as we- humans, are.” She corrected herself with a side glance.

“Yeah, I’m not sure “Oh hey, Cody. I can swipe every language learning program and correction tool on the planet now!” was a great use of your time anymore.” He teased her dryly, his falsetto doing her no favors.

“Hey!” She gave his shoulder a playful shove. “It worked, and they could still be useful! We found two UI from Mumbai, and while Vinod was fluent before upload we could have needed a translator.”

“The two you only found with the AI’s help, who can overclock without limits?”

Laurie scowled at what he was getting at. “Okay. Yes, I am currently reliving being a dumb college senior forgetting how much easier it was to pull overnighters to finish a project when I was a dumb freshman. And now that we know, I’m going to try and show more restraint.”

“By taking a vacation?”

“Keeping myself offline and “unplugged” was more the idea.” She admitted and clasped her hands on her lap. Her nerves were showing. “It’s not exactly nothing, the flaw’s still here, but I want to see if living a “normal” life could be slow enough for us to fix it. If they need us, David knows how to reach me, and if we need them, you can make the call.”

“Just “normal”?” He echoed, taking a deep breath as he tried to again tell himself this was real.

“For as long as we can.” He could see the worry in and around her eyes, but her smile stayed gentle. “I don’t know how these AI could change things. Solidifying our assets as soon as we can might be the safest move.”

That’s more the orders he was used to hearing, almost enough to relax into their routines.

“Just out of the stocks?”

“Banks too.” She nodded, and he could easily imagine she was speaking through his earbuds. “If they start playing with credit and digital currencies, we don’t want to be caught up in a cash crisis. Not sure yet if we should stick with USD or convert to raw materials to be extra careful.”

“And traveling abroad makes an easy excuse if I need to answer any questions.” Cody nodded to himself. “Believable and shouldn’t make anyone nervous. Just a desperate widower’s trip.”

“Might not even be needed.” Laurie smiled back. “I don’t think David’s as nervous about this sort of thing.”

“Wasn’t his job.” He shrugged with contentment. “If it turns out we’re being extra safe, I’m okay with that. We have more than enough, if they need a hand I think we could afford to help out.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

He couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. This felt like being in touch. Keeping pace.

“If you’re sure you want it to be legal, how do you want to kill time?” Cody spoke to try and give the butterflies an escape. “Wanna try sky diving again?” He looked at her knowingly.

“Fun as that may be I probably shouldn’t risk making a parachute redundant or pointless until I know this body better.” She chuckled at the thought.

Not like she needs imitation like that if those wings really weren't just for show.

Maybe he shouldn't have reminded her. The last thing he needs is for her to practice freefalls for fun if she needs to learn how to fly for real.

“So, just breakfast for now?”

“Absolutely. Your choice as long as it’s real food.” She reminded teasingly.

“Sure, I know a place. Not like New York, but it’ll do.”

He took her by the hand again, more real than the code from the screen, and for the first time in ages, his future looked bright.

Chapter Text

Maddie woke up to a weight in her bed that wasn’t there when she fell asleep. At first, she wondered if it was her mom, watching her or something, but she realized whatever it was, she was holding it. Something big, warm, and mostly fluffy? But also kinda like her Grandma’s lacquered plates. And it breathed.

She opened her eyes and looked down at a pair of big green eyes on the weirdest raptor she’s ever seen. Including the Jurassic World movies. Her eyes widened and they blinked back curiously. She should get a medal for not screaming. She could get a medal for a lot of things she’s done (or chosen not to do) lately.

Deep breaths, five seconds in, five seconds out. The thing’s tail began to wag like a dog and her eye twitched as she struggled to keep her mouth shut tight. This wasn’t sustainable.

“Good morning mistress!” It chirped out happily and that scream couldn’t be held back anymore. The dino-thing sprung to attention, hopping off the bed and ready to go in a single move while she heard her mom’s footsteps running towards her room.

“Apologies for disturbing you?” It tries, looking lost at where its introduction went wrong aside from "all of it". “When I got here last night you managed to get a fair grip on me. I didn’t mean to invade your space like that!”

“LAST NIGHT?!” Yeah, no, she’s not ready for this. Her dreams aren’t normally this type of weird.

“Maddie, what’s going on?!” She was glad to see her mother but she has no idea what she was supposed to say. Claiming this wasn’t her fault would be rich after how much she had gone behind her mother's back the day before, but like… It wasn’t her fault! Right?

“I don’t know!” Maddie panicked. Might as well be honest, 'cause there's no lie that could make this less weird. “I just woke up and this was here!”

The dinosaur’s eyes bounced between them, and it awkwardly fiddled with its claws. “Y-yes! Hello Mistress Maddie and Mistress Ellen. I’m Ryudamon! David-“

“Okay, no.” Ellen firmly cut him off. “Nope. Out.”

Ryudamon looks stumped. “Out? Outside-out? Is it okay to be seen? I-I mean, Mistress Maddie just-“

Ellen covered her face with her hand and pointed down the hall. “OUT. KITCHEN. NOW.”

The strange beast complied in a rush, unfurred parts looking a lot redder than the gray they were at the start.

When her hand dropped from her face Maddie felt the glare bore into her. “What did you do?” The contrast of her mother's chilly tone made her skin crawl with guilt.

“I didn’t do anything!" Maddie argued. "I don’t know what that was! Or-or is. Or why it’s calling me “Mistress”." She complained with a grimace and shook out some of her bedhead. "I just got up, mom!”

Her mom gave a heavy sigh but seeing the tears welling in Maddie’s eyes must have been enough to convince her. “Okay. You didn’t do anything. Which means,” A deeper breath and colder tone, ““David” did." She glared at Maddie's computer and raised her voice. "And I want us to have no part of this!”

Maddie’s mouth was dry as she tried to react but her phone rang just in time. She hardly knew how to feel when she saw the ID.

Dad. Thank goodness.

Best case scenario, he'd explain and everything somehow would make something like sense. Worst case scenario, Mom chews him out over this instead. Win-win?

“Hey kiddo-“

“Don’t kiddo me, what is that thing?!” The relief she felt at hearing his voice again, further proof yesterday wasn’t all just a dream, couldn’t outweigh her panic.

“What thing?” David's light tone betrayed to her that he was playing dumb. His timing was too perfect for him to not have been listening to all of this.

“There’s a talking. Dinosaur. In. My. House. And it sure as hell isn’t Barney.” Ellen was trying to stay even-keeled but with how much fury still bleed into her tone who knows how long that’d last.

“Oh, that’s Ryudamon." David said it like that wasn't a strange thing for anything to be called, like just an average co-worker. "He’s a friend, I promise.”

“A friend? From where? ‘Cause last I checked, dinosaurs were extinct and couldn’t talk.” Maddie pointed out.

“More of a dragon really.” She could practically hear her dad's non-commital smile with his correction.

“DAD!”

“He’s a type of digital life form.” His voice was more serious now. “The one who made him contacted Laurie when she was getting me out, and we talked. They wanted to share their “kids” with the world, and thought the two of you could be friends. Sooo, congratulations?” Annnd he was right back to being the goofball.

“And where exactly is this thing supposed to stay in “our world”?” Ellen’s tone was hard but Maddie had her own questions.

“Seems pretty real for a “digital life form” to me.” She muttered. It was "real" enough to have shed all over her mattress worse than Basil or Ginger ever did. That'd be a pain to clean up.

Was it even fur? The clumps kinda feathered out like a bird’s down instead of just be made of normal hair. Smelled more like a dog than a cat or anything though.

“Yggdrasil said that’s their normal. They take care of these digital monsters, or Digimon, mostly in the same cyberspace our cloud can access. But unlike us, they’re able to exist in both states. They're very empathetic by design, so they like to seek people out when they can. And since you already know about me, they assumed you’d take it easier than some random kid would.” Something in his tone makes it feel like that last part is a lie, but it… almost? Made sense?

“Then take it back!” Ellen told him, the very picture of "stubborn". It's not like Maddie didn't know where she got that from.

“He won’t listen to me any more than he has to." David replied, his matter-of-fact tone of voice was harder to read but if she had to guess it was... Hurt? "If Maddie tells him to go, he will. He’s her new bodyguard and companion, she’s the boss as far as he’s concerned.” She could easily imagine him giving a helpless shrug.

“So… You got me a really weird dog? I’m not allowed to have a normal dog. Why’d you think this is a good idea?” Maddie asks, still checking the not-quite-down making a mess of her bed. Turns out whatever it was, was clingy as glitter. Was it just from static? From the form, or was this from it being "digital"?

“Still a dragon, kiddo. Besides, he can talk! That means there's a lot less messy guesswork than a dog.”  David sounded close to laughing at the "mess".

“Is that right?” Ellen’s voice could freeze water.

Maddie looked at the yellow slowly engulfing her sleeve as a sacrifice to reclaim her bedsheets and nodded that her mom kinda had a point. She wasn't sure if her dad could see them from her webcam or anything. The light wasn't on, but it shouldn't have been hard for him to override that sort of thing.

On the other end David sounded more at a loss, but a moment of thought got something to come to him. “If you don’t want him in the house, Maddie can tell him to stay with me. Or stay in Reign of Winter for that matter. That’s a popular spot right now.”

Maddie scoffed, “I mean yeah, but I’m pretty sure the admins will notice he’s not exactly using a player model. Not unless he makes a normal account-“

“I don’t mean “popular” with people, Maddie.” She hears a bit of laughter in his tone. “These Digimon are already trying to find places for themselves beyond Yggdrasil’s "Digital world" or our UI-based space. They love being able to play with people, and games with PvP to test their skills in particular. Games with VR are even better. The admins couldn’t stop them if they wanted to, and right now? If they’re trying to kick any of them, it’s not working, and players are reacting positively to them. I can see some companies already willing to profit from this once they have some idea of what's going on.”

“So, these things are already invading?” Ellen was trying to keep her expression firm but her shaking hand betrayed there was as much fear as anger in it.

“These refugees are trying to find where they fit in best with us." David corrected her, voice somewhat sad. "They don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“You just said they had a world-“

“You can see Ryudamon. Feel him, smell him." David cut her off, and for the first time Ellen cautiously reached out to rub a "feather" between her fingers. "They’re all like this, they’re "digital" but they were meant to be interacted with in the same way humans are. Feelings, senses, body functions, the works. Listen, Ellen-“ David’s words caught on himself, hating what he had to say. “I may not be “real” to you anymore, but can you really say he isn’t? What more do you want?”

“You are real, dad, of course, you are!” Maddie snapped, looking from her computer to her mother's conflicted face accusingly.

“Thanks kiddo, but you know what I mean." His words were impossibly soft. "UI can’t do what they can. Not without trying to add their code to ours to be like them. I’m not up for trying that just yet, but Laurie is. She’s with Cody right now, in their home, not on her server.”

A strained noise got stuck Ellen's throat and she looked like she was going to be sick.

As angry as her mom's shock made her, Maddie felt too numbed to lash out at it.

“They can let you come back? Like, more than this?” Maddie’s voice quivered.

“I’m not risking this without knowing what it could cost.” His voice was quiet and Ellen stormed out of the room. He gave a sigh so Maddie knew he at least heard that much clearly. “So, how do you want to do this, kiddo?”

Maddie gave it some thought as she looked around her room. It’s not exactly "small", bigger than her room at Grandma's was, and she can already see things Ryudamon probably knocked over with his tail. But if her dad was right he’s basically a person? A weird looking one, who will listen to her. And that sounds… pretty nice actually.

“I’ll… see if I can convince mom to let him stay." She smiled to herself softly. "And if I can’t you two can keep each other company, right?” She asked hopefully.

“Of course.”

“I’ll be back later, ‘kay dad?” She walked over to her laptop to give it a parting pat, still unsure if he was using it for anything. Felt less weird than treating her phone as where he "was".

“You better, I thought we have some quests for later.” His teasing voice made her beam. She hadn't even had anyone to play with in RoW for years.

Now she might have two.

“Yeah! Think Ryudamon could work as a mount?" She asked with maybe too much excitement. "I mean, he has a saddle on him.”

David laughed, “I thought not wanting a mount was why you went with the wings?”

“No, I just wanted them! I can still use a mount if I wanted to!” She snickered back.

“Think you could give him a lift too?” His voice was somewhere between teasing and sarcasm, but that could be a real factor.

Her wings also let her bypass traps and some obstacles her dad couldn't even when he was mounted. Not without going for a Pegasus upgrade or using a temporary item for a flight buff.

“Hmmm. No clue." She hummed to herself and shrugged. "I’ll check how heavy he is here first, it’s not like the stuff he’s wearing is metal.”

“Goood luck with that.”

Yeah, she’ll need it. The dino might be longer than she is tall. But maybe data isn’t dense? Won’t know till she tries!

“See ya, love you dad!”

Maddie definitely didn’t scamper down the stairs, interrupting a chilly stare-off between her mom and her new… Friend? Pet? Friend-pet. The tension would have stopped her in her tracks, but her socks make her slide on the kitchen floor.

Ellen closed her eyes in contemplation as she nursed a coffee. Ryudamon played with an apple in his claws, testing the weight and seeing if he could peel it without a knife with no success.

She was really lucky it’s the weekend. She’s not sure what these two would have done without her keeping an eye on them.

“Sooo. Ryudamon, is it?” Maddie tried to act casual but they all know they were well past this.

“Yes, mistress!” The beastie eagerly accepted her attention, tail wagging again.

If dragons were based on dinosaur bones, and dinosaurs evolved into birds, why the heck did he do a dog thing anyway? Is there "dog" data in there?

“Do you have to call me that?” She asked instead, not hiding how unimpressed she was at their attempt at formality.

“What would you rather I call you, Mistress Maddie?” He asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“Just Maddie is fine.” Maddie insisted, but that just made his tail droop. Might as well praise him for not getting her name entirely wrong. “Thanks for not going for the full “Madison” by the way.”

“Master Maddie?” Ryudamon offered as a compromise with a sneaky look in his eyes, darting back and forth like he’s checking for someone to catch him in the act.

She shook her head at him with a grin, “Nope.”

“Grandmistress Maddie?” He tried again with an attempt at Bambi eyes.

They'd be a lot more effective if that didn't just make him look even more like a displaced mascot character.

“Not a chance.” She grinned wider.

“Listen here.” Ellen cut in, pointing at the armored creature and getting his full attention with the motion. “Maddie’s my kid, before she’s “your” kid, got it? My word here is law, and if I say you can’t do something, and Maddie tries to tell you that you can, guess who’s right?”

Ryudamon was not a foolish Dinosamurai. “You will be, Grandmistress Ellen.”

“Okay, scrap the mistress part.” Ellen nodded and stressed the point.

“Grandmaster Ellen.” He corrected himself with a sage nod.

“Better.”

“Normal mistress Maddie”. He glanced to the side to see if getting "outranked" would have changed her own feelings on the matter.

Maddie groaned, “Whhhy though? Aren't we supposed to be friends? Friends don't need titles or anything.”

“Because you are my Tamer above all else, and I want others to know of your status as such." He raised his snout proudly. Recognizing that might be a bit too presumptuous he gave both her and Ellen a small humble bow. "Besides, I am but a guest in your world. It pays to be as respectful as I can to all of those that came before me here.”

Maddie sighed. She’ll have to think of something less stuffy for him to use instead later or accept her fate. But he’s given her something to work with.

“Tamer, huh? So, what are “Tamers” supposed to do?" She asked, giving a shoulder plate a poke. "You look pretty tamed to me.”

He straightened himself to a fuller height, preening at the perceived compliment. “I am a particularly clever rookie, I'll have you know, mistress. I’m no stranger to working in packs, though pairs are my preference.”

“So, I’m your pair?” She asked, taking the apple he had been playing with before to add to her breakfast.

“Certainly!” Ellen glared at him over her mug, making him stumble over his words. “I- That is to say, I dislike solitude and am eager to do whatever is needed of me to be a productive member of this unit. But my personal priority will always be the safety and security of mistress Maddie and all she holds dear.”

“Like, if Samara ever tries anything again?” Maddie raised a brow.

The girl had looked about to pee herself over her mom threatening to kick her ass. What would a dragon do to her, even when it's this cutesy?

“I don’t know what a Samara is but if they are a bother to you I will take care of it in whichever way you see fit.” He nodded to himself with confidence.

Ellen seemed satisfied with his answer there, and got her stuff together to go out. She gave Maddie a firm order to stay inside for the day, which worked fine for her.

“”Samara” is a human.” Maddie told him, and let herself hiss to herself. "She's not exactly a fan of mine. Not that I know why or anything. She and her friends have been pretty terrible to me."

Ryudamon looked thoughtful at that. “So, eating her I presume would be a negative?” He said it so matter-of-factly that Maddie nearly choked on a muffin. He immediately took a stance behind her, looking ready to try a Heimlich to help, before she assured him her coughs have dislodged it to put him back at ease.

Ryudamon glared at the remaining half-a-muffin warily, assessing this delicious yet traitorous threat.

Maddie glared at him in return, “Is eating people "normal" for you?”

“No, but I’m always open to suggestions." He gave a shrug. "Other Digimon do have it in their instincts, so it’s not impossible. Even in conflicts with other Digimon, eating them outright isn’t necessarily common. It depends on how much they need the data and their preferences on processing it.”

“So, you fight each other to take the others’ data to get stronger? Like farming enemies in a video game?” She asked, trying to get a better picture.

Her dad had mentioned they liked PvP, and yeah this guy's wearing armor, but he didn't seem to be all that aggro. Not like she'd expect a violent species to be or anything.

“I presume so. If that is common in the game you and Master David enjoy, then yes!” Ryudamon nodded to himself brightly.

“Is there a way I can check how much you need to level up, or something?”

Ryudamon reached into his saddle and pulled out a smartwatch of some sort with weird-looking code on a rotating ring around the screen, urging her to put it on.

As soon as she did the screen comes to life, showing off a gold symbol like a sun creating a massive ray of light.

“This is your Digivice, all tamers have them. This can be used to check on either of us and the bond we share. Yours, in particular, comes attuned to one of the crests which can further enhance our kind. A very high honor, each helping cement the bonds between worlds. You were the second human child chosen.”

“Who was the first?” She asked.

“The bearer of Knowledge.” Ryudamon rotated the dial for her four times so it showed a collection of 11 symbols. “Yours is “Hope”, he is that purple one there.” He pointed to one of of them that actually had a color to it, though there was also a red heart.

Seeing that had her attention he elaborated. “That one is for the adult bearing “Love”, the one chosen by Mistress Laurie.”

From what Maddie’s seen of them both, that’s probably Cody. That’s his motivation.

Ryudamon pointed to a gray one with a bit of a glow to it, that she'd previously mistaken as being grayed out like the others. “That one is “Reliability”, chosen by Master Chanda.”

Chanda? Another UI maybe? Are there really that many already? No clues about who that could be.

Three symbols had more color to them than the others, but aren’t as lit up. “Those are in a strange spot presently. Crests are meant to be held by humans, and being UI seems to be interfering with their ties to them. Master David’s is Kindness, the one like a budding flower. Mistress Laurie’s is Light, the pink star, and Master Chanda’s is Courage, the orange sun.”

So that was one guess right, but she was still equally clueless.

He points to two others that have a bit of brown to them, “Those are the Golden Crests, which have never been held by a human directly but still influence us through their sacred digimentals. Miracles and Fate.”

"Never been held" felt like it was a weird way to put it. Not if these things had never been to Earth and met humans before. But she nodded along.

Maddie points at the remaining eye and teardrop, “And those?”

“Friendship and Sincerity." He nodded to them respectively. "I expect they’ll show up should a human and Digimon find each other naturally, rather than being directly chosen by Almighty King Yggdrasil like the others have been.”

“Do you know why I got “Hope”?” Maddie asked, “How any of us get picked for this?”

“Our King saw you, and saw these as your greatest personal strengths. Hope is a particularly important one for us, a crest of the Great Angels. I don’t know how it will affect me, if I’ll be made more angelic too.” He looked wistful at it and turned over a paw, like he was looking for signs of any changes.

“Interesting,” Maddie knows it’s pretty lame to say out loud but she doesn’t know what else to say to that. He seems happy enough with it. “How much does “Knowledge” have about this stuff? If he was just chosen by your “God” directly and all.”

“Probably less than I’ve given you to be honest.” Ryudamon cocked his head with his eyes shut as he considered it, “Knowledge’s crest isn’t about what you do know; it’s what you can know, the way you see the world, and the internal drive to seek answers to what you don’t yet understand. Our King tested him, and he passed, and while I’m unsure how it came to be, I believe it may have directly affected his partner. " He gave a shrug and pointed to her "Digivice". "You could just ask him.”

“How am I supposed to contact him? Is there a map on this or something?” She tried clicking through the menus, but Ryudamon stopped her and brought it back to the crest collection.

“There is a compass for finding me or other Digimon that have made it to earth, but this intended to be a call screen. See here.” Ryudamon poked at the purple symbol with a claw, and it overtook the screen.

“H-hey, I didn’t say I wanted to do anything!” She panicked and already felt her face begin to burn.

“Who the hell is this?” A boy’s voice comes from the watch and Maddie cautiously looked at the screen.

A brown-haired boy dressed in black in a dark room glared back. He was definitely older than her, but a lot more ragged judging from the bags under his eyes and he was none too pleased.

“H-hiii there." She gave a nervous partial wave with her free hand. "Umm. Guess we’re in the same club?” Maddie hoped her smile seemed more on the friendly side than the oh-god-why-smite-me-now side.

“How did you-“ He looked frustrated at the watch more than her (she hoped) before taking a breath with a look up at his ceiling. “Dumb question, watch is already weird. Might as well come with built-in contacts." He shrugged to himself before looking back down at her, unimpressed but less angry now. "How old even are you, a middle schooler?”

“Hey! I’m in high school!" She quickly objected. "You can't be that much older than me!”

“Indeed, Mistress Maddie is a “Freshman”!” Ryudamon chimed in, making the boy’s eyes widen and Maddie bite her lip in panic.

“Hey, not helping!” She hissed at him in her embarrassment.

Ryudamon cocked his head in confusion, “Why would it not?”

“Because “Freshman” is what we call the kids who just stopped being middle schoolers.” The boy informed him with something like a smirk.

“Still in high school!” She snapped back, but he seemed to ignore her.

“That your creature? It can talk?” He looked closer at the screen but probably couldn’t see Ryudamon so Maddie adjusted the angle to give him a better look. He looked begrudgingly impressed and Ryudamon grinned at the positive assessment.

“Yeah, aren’t they supposed to do that?” Maddie asks, “Dad acted like that was normal.”

“Your dad?” He repeated looking and sounding extremely skeptical. Something in the background chittered, getting the boy’s attention, “So why can’t you talk, huh?” More chitters.

Ryudamon perked up, “Is that a Kodokugumon?” Even more chitters gave a reply. “Salutations! This is Mistress Maddie, what does your tamer call himself?”

“A… What?” Yeah, Maddie can’t keep up with that. “Ryudamon, you can’t just go telling people’s real names to someone you don’t know! This is like rule one of internet safety!”

“Apologies Mistress.” Ryudamon caught more of the bug-like noises. “Master… Gage then, is it?”

The boy looked ready to panic when Ryudamon made it sound like his name was shared, but settled at hearing Gage is what his partner gave out. Meaning that’s not his real name.

Wait…

“Hold up. Is that your username, from TOR?" Maddie asked and felt her nose wrinkle a bit. "Are you the same Gage who gave my dad's chat log to Laur- Uh, AngryAngel?” She corrected.

“Valkyrie1284?” He replies just as skeptically, “The one who ghosted me?”

“O-okay. Listen, I’m sorry about that but Laurie said you were being watched and-“ Maddie turned her attention to Ryudamon instead, “Is that what she thought was watching him? Your King thing? She told me it was Logorhythms!”

“Excuse me?!” She wasn't unsure which part of this conversation is upsetting him more, but definitely couldn’t blame him.

“Nonsense, if Almighty King Yggdrasil wishes to watch someone that is their right, a mere UI wouldn’t have even noticed." Ryudamon scoffed. "If she said it was Logorhythms, it was Logorhythms.”

“A what now?! You better start talking sense or we’re done here.” He’s mad but the chittering thing Maddie couldn’t see tried to get his attention again.

He doesn’t seem to understand it any more than Maddie does, but Ryudamon can. “According to Kodokugumon-“

“Okay, first off this is…” Gage takes a moment, either he’s making it up on the fly or just felt awkward saying it out loud, “Phineas, not whatever that mess is.”

“Understood." Ryudamon nodded, before continuing where he was cut off. "Phineas is very confident they have already taken care of any and all possible bugs within Master Gage’s systems, so neither he nor Mistress Laurie have anything to be concerned about.”

“Who’s Laurie?” Gage asked, mildly less upset but looking down at whatever his "partner" was instead of glaring at Maddie so that was a plus.

“Laurie Lowell, the UI you were talking to online, she helped me get my dad out of Logorythms yesterday,” Maddie told him. It's not like he could tell anyone else without putting his own little secrets at risk. If her "dad" being involved with her partner surprised him, his parents must both be in the dark. “They’re both UI, and there’s at least one more. Or at least she was a UI when she contacted me. Laurie might be more like a Digimon now, according to dad.”

“The UI I was talking to? Are you serious right now? That attack was you?” Gage rubbed his face as he processed the information and his chittering friend reached up high enough for Maddie to assume they were pestering to get on screen, though he tried to shoo them off. “Not sure that’s a good plan bud.” 

Angry chitters ensued. For something non-verbal it was very talkative, as much as she could gather. And it had little gloved paws, so clothes are kinda "normal". 

“I am being serious.” He gave it a gentler look than she’d expect with his attitude.

“Oh, come on, how bad can it be if you named it Phineas?” Maddie gave a bit of a snort before she recognized the combination. Score one for having a historian for a mom. “Oh! Phineas and Gage? As in the guy from the crowbar case?”

“Surprised you caught that.” He raised a brow, he looks genuine enough about the compliment.

“Shouldn’t you be the “Phineas” so your non-verbal buddy could be “Ferb”?” Maddie smothers a bit of a laugh as he grimaced. Guess he wasn't a fan of cartoons.

“Okay, you know what?” That was not a friendly smile on his face. “Fine. C’mere Phin.”

She should have taken the hint, but her curiosity got the better of her. Right up into she got a face full of spider-thing waving "hello". “GAAAA!”

“Told you so.” She doesn’t know if Gage was talking to Phin or her given the former’s sad sounding chittering, but yeah, Maddie kinda asked for that.

“Mistress, it’s just a Kodokugumon.” Ryudamon almost looked embarrassed for her from her outburst.

“Okay, nowhere in that word does it say it’s a spider!” She tried to argue.

“That’s literally what “Gumo” means, mistress,” Ryudamon deadpanned with disappointment. “It's Japanese. Just like the “Ryu” in mine, means dragon. They are the “child”, “Ko”, version of Dokugumon, the poisonous spider monster.”

“There’s a BIGGER one!?” Maddie said a bit louder than intended, making even Gage slide back a bit.

“We all get bigger, mistress. That’s our goal. Even you’ll get bigger in time, as I understand it.” Ryudamon said with what could have actually been sarcasm.

Gage looked at his partner skeptically, “And where were you going to tell me about the “poisonous” part there, pal?”

Phineas crawled to sit on the top of Gage’s headrest and made a show of showing him their gloves with the cartoon skulls on them.

Gage looked between the symbols and the watch with something like bemusement. “Okay, I get the point. But if you get anyone sick, I’m not taking the fall for you.”

"You misunderstand, Master Gage." Ryudamon corrected. "Kodokugumon can't create their own venom yet, but can safely extract it from other sources to put on their gloves for their protection. Provided they have no access to any toxins, they are mostly harmless. Your digivice should have been able to tell you as much."

It doesn’t have a normal mouth but Phineas was definitely pouting from both the chiding and exposure. Even its fur looked droopy.

Gage raised a brow at the bug. "No, Phin, that's a good thing. There's a lot of food humans eat that can be toxic to animals but this means you'd probably be fine. Hopefully. So, less complaints here if you want to try more things that aren't my tech."

The spider perked up curiously at that, and Maddie gave a curious glance at her own partner too. What are "dragons" supposed to eat?

Ryudamon didn't notice and changed the subject, “What’s a crowbar case?”

“A guy got an iron rod stuck through his head but survived.” Maddie rattled from hazy memories and shrugged. “He was kinda a raging asshole or something after it though.”

Phineas turned to face Gage and opened its mandibles, looking aghast as a spider could hope to manage. It looked between him and the screen and chittered again, smaller mouth visibly making the noise for the first time.

“That remains to be seen,” Ryudamon replied, looking very unimpressed by the older teen in question. Angry chitters ensued, the critter waving its tiny fists at him.

“You callin’ me an asshole?” Gage looked at Ryudamon skeptically but seemed mostly amused at Phin’s attempt to “defend his honor”.

“Ryudamon, that’s rude,” Maddie stated but doesn’t disagree with him. Gage noticed that and raised a brow. “I mean, you are a teenager. So kinda part of the territory. And you’re the one who took the name in the first place, so…” She shrugged back at him.

“Yeah, fair enough," He snorted before giving a tired sigh. “So those chips Phin found were some sort of bug?” He side-eyed the spider which bounced in place like a full-body nod. “And on top of Logorhythms, something else "important" found me. Greeeeat.” He rubs his temple and put more weight on one arm of his chair.

“Yeah. According to both dad and Ryudamon, Yggdrasil is what their host program calls itself. It’s the one that chose people to be “tamers” for these little guys.” She decided to give him everything, unsure of what it could all mean by herself so she could use any insight he could give. “Specifically, Ryudamon said it chose you first. Then others like me after you did it a favor or solved like, a riddle maybe?”

Something looked like it was coming together for him. eyes looking upwards in thought as he gave a thoughtful nod. “’Kay. Yeah. Last night I found a code someone on the Dark Web was working on and fixed it up. AngryAngel started talking to me after I gave "her" a hand with a math problem like this too, but they'd only "talk" through math or emoji. Guess you're saying that's standard for "UI"?" He paused until Maddie nodded.

He muttered something to himself asking about "safety precautions" or "troubles with preserving Broca's or Wernicke's regions" before waving the thought aside and pointing at his spider.

"This time, an eggsack popped out of my computer and left me with this before my machine spoke nonsense and thanked me.” He scritched the side of Phineas’s head. “I take it you didn’t have to do anything that complicated?" His eyes locked back to Maddie’s, "Sounds like the second Logorhythm hack was something different.”

“Yeah, way different." She agreed, kinda concerned that whatever their "King" was would get that invasive. "I woke up this morning and Ryudamon was in my house, freaking out my mom.”

Both brows raised at that, “You’ve already got your folks dragged into this?”

“Dad’s part of why I got him, and yeah I mean, how was I supposed to hide him?” Maddie hoped Gage could tell just how big Ryudamon is from the screen.

"Not screaming at my face would have been a better start," Ryudamon muttered to himself.

Gage opened his mouth to respond to Ryudamon’s version of events, but thought better of it. Instead, he picked up his phone to make a point. “Keep him on the ‘net for starters. Phin’s even able to hop into my watch as a storage option.”

“Easy for you to say, Phin’s like…” She tried to find an easy comparison that looks about right and remembered her room, “The size of an average squishable! You could easily pass him off as a toy or something!”

He gave a skeptical look between her and Phineas, “Do I look like a plushie kinda guy to you, kid?”

Maddie blushed, angry. “Okay, but I’m not wrong. Nothing wrong with having toys around!”

He moved on, nothing worth arguing there but still curious, “And last night, none of these other symbols were colored but mine. Now three are.”

“Yup. Me, and two others.” She kept her theory about the “Love” bearer to herself this time.

“Don’t be as stupid to just call them out of nowhere like this, got it?” He looked serious, leaning closer to the screen. “You said it yourself, this is a basic safety issue. You’re just a kid, and you lucked out this time. We don’t know what the others could be like.”

“Yeah, wasn’t going to. I didn’t mean to, Ryudamon was just showing me how this Digivice thing worked." She scowled at her unrepentant partner before looking back to Gage apologetically. "Didn’t mean to bother you.”

“It’s cool.” Gage looked really tired. “Thanks for sharing what you could, I think it could be helpful.”

“Yeah, hope that makes us more even?” She gave a nervous smile and a shrug.

He gave it a thought and smirked back, “Maybe. We’ll see.”

“If anything else comes up, should we continue using TOR Chat or is this okay? If this tech isn’t local it’s less likely to be tracked or anything, right?”

Gage shook his head. “This feels like it should be an emergency thing, I didn’t get the option to reject your call, only to hang up.”

“Right, got it.” She nodded, unsure if she should be the one to hang up now. Was that a dismissal?

He ruffled his hair and looked like he thought he was making a mistake, “He said your name is Maddie, right?”

She grit her teeth but didn’t want to look at him, her cheeks and ears burning again.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m Caspian.” He said it with a type of regret he’s made his peace with. “That should make us more even.”

She didn’t expect that but she gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks, tell you if anything else weird turns up?”

“Oooor, you can try keeping your head down, little Ms. “Let’s DDOS a Megacorp!”,” Caspian said with an unneeded amount of sarcastic energy at the title.

“Naaah, I got this.” She hoped she looked smugger than she felt.

He gave half a chuckle, “Famous last words.” Satisfied he cut the connection.

She immediately let her head fall to the table like she was held up by strings he cut too.

Woooo, boy. That’s a lot. So.

Maddie has a pet talking dinosaur, her dad lives in a computer, her mom has even more reasons to be pissed at her, an edgelord teen she met online basically has her number, and there are more of these weird creatures coming. Might even combine with UI so they could make "living in a computer" more of a vacation home.

She groaned into the wood, “The heck am I supposed to do now?”

Ryudamon bumped her shoulder, “You could show me the game you and your dad like? Since Grandmaster Ellen said we need to remain homebound. We can see what else is new in there.”

She smiled at him and gave a scritch near his chin, which he seemed embarrassed about but accepted anyway. “Sure, sounds as good as anything else. Is the saddle just for show, or do you think I’m too big?”

He puffed out his chest, “I can carry you easily, regardless of worlds, of that I’m certain.”

“Might as well test that then. But don’t try doing anything too wild in there, okay?”

“Of course! I’ll follow all the rules I’m able to, my lady.”

They got to her room and she set up her machine, already seeing her dad in full armor waiting for her. Before she got her headset on, she saw Ryudamon reduce himself to something between pixels and binary, jumping ahead of her into the screen before materializing identical to how he looked in person.

She took a deep breath before plunging in herself, excited for whatever was to come.

Chapter Text

Sami stepped out into a decrepit former electronics store in the slums of Mumbai, and a touch to a single shackle hidden as a bracelet allowed him to make a mirage for his guide. A simple glamor, not one the UI will feel anything through, but enough to allow him to show Sami this new world unimpeded.

They remember Earth, but their memory of it that was clearest was of Shibuya, Japan. It is refreshing that they haven't been limited to the island nation this time.

They likewise remember that it is “odd” for children to travel alone in many of these nations, particularly when they are well-kept and in less generous areas. Appearances do serve their purposes, but they don’t wish to change theirs. Adulthood ill suited them.

Vinod took in the illusion they bestowed upon him with well-deserved awe.

“What am I in control of right now? Can people see me too?” He said like he expected a drone with a camera hidden by mist or similar trickery as he tried using an old darkened monitor as a mirror. Sami chuckled to themselves at how easily he was impressed.

“Parts of my sensory data. You should be able to pick things up as well.” They can worry about how to "talk" like a child later. They enjoy showing off, and are eager to be shown off to in return. “Think of it as if I had given you the features and collision data my wings typically require, with none of the possible drawbacks.”

“You can see through those?” The man was a little slow if he really needed to ask, but amusingly so. Better to linger on that than how permitting contact data would be akin to every little thing Vinod so much as brushed by amounting to poking the God-child he was acting as a part of with an unpredictable stick.

“Every feather, hair, and scraping are a part of myself, eyes are a needless formality. Same with the other senses.” Sami neglected to point out that their senses go beyond a human’s expected five to keep this short. “So, where are we headed, "Father"?”

That got Vinod’s full attention, as if he only now noticed where they were and ushered the false child out into the fresh air. He was in a full rush to get them into a safer part of the city, but there was hardly a need.

Something almost feels nostalgic with the bustle of life, but it had been so long since they had been able to simply exist in a colony without causing everyone around them to change. Either out of the reverence of worship or the fear that accompanies true greatness whether it’s desired or not.

Sights, smells, and even the taste in the air unrelated to the emotional energies constantly shifting around them were comforting in their own way. They distantly recognize they’ve missed it, though no Digimon society they’ve been a part of could reach this level of advancement before they were made more a caretaker to it.

It was beautiful with all of its flaws. Just as the digital world always was. Their lungs feel heavy at recognition.

How long until that beauty stops being enough again? For all these imperfections to become problems in dire need of fixing, not individualities to appreciate and accommodate with their due respect. Honeymoons never last and Their love has so often proved… Destructive.

Chanda didn’t notice when the eager eyes accepting everything this strange new world had to offer turned somber. He was too used to it all, honeymoon period long gone had he ever had that joy.

If he hadn’t, would he have needed Lucemon to be by his side? Would “Sami” have been a different child, a normal human alongside the free man?

Was being sealed inside the limited technologies man has reached too soon part of what caused this desensitization?

Is this simply humanity’s “normal”, as it was so common for Digimon to also take routines for granted?

Their eyes narrowed at the adult's back in contemplation. They saw him beckoning to a vehicle.

They were too proud to pout over being denied the full urban Mumbai experience by being inside the slow container with seating. But their eyes stayed glued to the windows, still trying to take in as much as they could from their limited vantage point. They were fully aware of their companion chuckling at them, but dismissed any annoyance that might have brought in favor of recording as much as possible for later analysis.

The driver asked something about Sami being a tourist, but Chanda corrected him in that the child was just new to the area, meeting family for the first time. These things aren’t untrue, but Sami got the impression both think they’re not being fully understood by the young stranger just because they aren’t speaking in English. They don’t bother correcting either for now, but Vinod will need to be taught better.

They aren’t too proud to accept the benefits of being underestimated just yet, certainly not when they’ve got so many new things to discover and understand. To be underestimated is to be talked down to or educated on subjects without asking, which can prove useful when gathering intel is one’s current objective.

If the offense was truly meant, Sami will remember this driver's face for future use. Retribution would be swift and simple.

Chanda has them taken to an apartment complex. He took a moment to look up at a particular balcony. That must be what Sami will call home in the analog world.

They note the building's layout as they're ushered to an elevator, still trying to take in all they can until they can get a taste of how the human's "digital" world overlays with what they experience. Human ways of compensating for their intentionally limited means of movement was fascinating in its own way. Flight was common enough among Digimon that similar architecture typically was the result of imported human data rather than a genuine discovery or pursuit of design.

Reaching the desired door put their exercise to a halt, as tempted as they were to intentionally overshoot the door Vinod stopped at so they could see just a little more. Meeting their human handler should be treated with respect and permit no distractions.

Chanda noticed how Sami straightened themselves, ensuring not a hair was out of place, and put a hand on their shoulder. "You've nothing to worry about. I promised."

"I'm well acquainted with the values of "promises" that can't be enforced. You shouldn't speak on another's behalf." Sami rolled their eyes, their serious expression betraying their age before coaching it into one more innocently childlike. "Making a good first impression is important for us; if you mess up you might not live long enough to get a second!"

Chanda nodded an unsettled understanding, looking distressed at this obvious fact of life among Digimon. But he swallowed down any misgivings to look his own best before knocking on his mother's door.

"Vinod!" The old woman is delighted to see the man, and Sami can see the resemblance though diluted. "I'm glad to see you looking well, you had me worried."

"Sorry, Amma." The post-human's smile was sincere but tainted by traumas the old woman would likely choose to not see. "I was… going through a difficult time, but things are looking a lot better now." Chanda put a hand on Sami’s back, ushering them inside to take a seat.

The movement helped to get her attention. She lowered herself to look them in the eyes as she smiled kindly. "I'm sure, you must be Sami." They nodded and her grin grew, though they saw questions she wasn't going to ask hiding in her own eyes. "I hope you'll be able to keep my Vinod out of trouble."

They accepted the task with a deep bow, getting a laugh. As they raised their head they took in more of her abode.

It's a decent apartment, the most notable thing being her clear love of greenery. Potted plants grace many surfaces in addition to hanging from macrame. 

Orchids, succulents, and others Sami is aware of but far different from the flora of the digital realm. They are reminded of a Rosemon they knew once, before she lost her Tiferet of Light's blessing.

The Queen of Flowers never lost that passion for them, only her pride in being the loveliest by far. And to be fair, while this woman was elderly she is still far fairer than how the curse left the fairy.

"Amma, please." Chanda scratched the back of his head, a mix of embarrassment and appreciation for her concern. "I'm supposed to take care of him."

"Babies are to take care of." His mother gave him a chiding look. "Children aren't as helpless, there can be more give and take. If you want to take care of him you can't go pushing yourself too hard."

"So can I give him a bedtime?" Sami asked just to stir the pot, earning a laugh from the woman and a faux-appalled look from their father figurehead. Sami smirked up at him, "That’s not a "no"."

Vinod shook his head at the "boy". "Then I'm saying no. I have a lot of important work to do, that's why I need you here for now."

"But "Grand" parents should be ranked higher than ungrand ones, yes?" Sami asked with as innocent an expression as they could manage. This time he's rightly unconvinced.

"Why aren't you a clever one?" Sami's smug smile widened at Preethi's approving tittering.

"By a half." Chanda chides, tousling Sami’s hair as if that makes him even. It didn't take much to force the hairs to stay together and resist this would-be slight.

She smiled gently at them, "Two peas in a pod." Mrs. Chanda beckoned them like a cat and they indulged her, letting her faux-whisper in their ear. "My Vinod was much the same at your age. People just say that less when you get bigger." Her smile was more conspiratorial this time, which they easily returned.

"Thank you for doing this, I'm sorry to spring this on you. I was hoping it could have been a pleasant surprise on my next vacation. But things are…" Chanda struggled on the lie. "Tense at the company right now. Prasad wants this project to stay very close to the chest. I promise Sami’s a great kid."

"All children are Beta, no need to worry. Though I would have preferred for you to have a partner's support first." She shook her head with a well-meant scowl at his supposedly self-inflicted circumstances but smiled at her boy when she looked up at him. "I'm still proud of you."

"So until things at Alliance go back to normal I'll be staying with Baba?" Sami asked, noting too late he had chosen the wrong name. They didn't show regret, so she shouldn't recognize it as a mistake.

"Oh! Is that the Russian one?" Preethi looked at the boy impressed. They're glad she is versed enough to get the intent.

"I think the kid who used that for his guardian was Japanese." Sami’s lies flowed easily, though they doubt Vinod would take any notes. "Is that okay?"

"Of course, whatever makes you comfortable dear!" She laughed to herself far too pleased at a title bestowed far too quickly for it to be genuine.

Chanda raised a brow at their error, but they are sure he can't argue with results. They are far less likely to mislabel her this way than if they had used "Dadi" as previously discussed. Not until that language comes as naturally to them as English and Japanese both do.

They may still use that later if they need to butter her up. Anything to allow them to have an upper hand.

Preethi mistook Vinod's disappointment for concern. "Don’t you worry, we'll have a great time."

His expression softened at her, though there was fear darkening the corners of his face. "I'm sure you will, and hopefully I'll be able to join you soon." He checked his watch as a formality, "I'm sorry, but I have a meeting coming up. If either of you need anything just call me, alright?"

This wasn't untrue: The UI had planned to convene to share more notes on their situation, and possibly have an audience with the Deva-to-be about how to ensure proper distribution between man's cyberspaces and the true Digital World. Vinod likely had more to gain with the 12 child Generals than his fellow post-humans.

"I've done this before Vinod, go ahead." She waved her son along, ignoring the regret in his eyes as he gave them both a last look. After he closed the door she shook her head. "Honestly, that boy would light himself on fire to give others a sun."

Sami laughed a bit too harshly at the metaphor.

"So," Preethi gave the angel another conspiratorial smile, "What do you like to do for fun, Sami?"

"Explore." The word hardly took a thought and Sami let themselves take a look out her balcony to the streets below. "I enjoy reading too." They called back over their shoulder, rocking on their heels while holding the metal in what they felt should seem like a childish waste of energy.

"Any games?" She asked, looking as genuinely curious as one can with children.

"I'm too competitive to play with others, physical or electronic." They gave a shrug with a waved hand, hoping this would make their isolation appear reasonable.

"I see. Vinod had himself a temper too." She pulled a bit more from them than they expected, but they're not displeased by her intuition. "Is it about being the best, or not wanting to lose?"

They stared at her over their shoulder for longer than they should have. But they felt this was worth answering, seeing how they did give it genuine thought. "I think I can’t allow that sort of weakness to be known. Even "fair" games of luck are frustrating to fail." Sami looked up at the buildings across the way with a frown.

She nodded thoughtfully, looking to her plants. "Would something to let you express that frustration help? Making friends can do you a lot of good. I'd be a lot less worried about my Vinod if he had more."

They followed her gaze when they noticed her pause but shook their head.

“I’m not fit for a gardener,” Sami nipped the most obvious in the bud. “I over-prune and the waiting leaves me impatient. Even when I know it doesn’t matter what I think they’re “supposed” to look like, if they aren’t what I expect I want to make it change or disappear.”

“That’s fine, little one. There’s other things we could try. Do you think moving your body or entertaining your mind is better here?” She asked, with an alien level of patience to them. “Vinod needed activity to free himself, so his father helped him find boxing, but that doesn’t need to be your solution either.”

Sami will keep that in mind for his “Father’s” needs given how Prasad’s punishment robbed him of proper motion as Vinod could best experience it. 

They can answer this for her, divorced from regrets. “The mind mostly. I don’t want to be violent, I know I should be better than that.”

If this wasn't true they wouldn't want to stay a rookie as much as they did. A champion would avert their fall, but their alternatives are both weak and rough.

She had the wisdom to not speak against them, and looked to her plants in thought. An idea hit her with a pleased start. “I have a place I could show you, it isn’t too far.”

“Not even with your foot?” They asked with mild concern, recalling that being a worry of Chanda's.

“Oh pish, it’ll be fun to introduce you to your new aunties anyway. Come.” She offered them her hand and they accepted it.

She didn't say where they were going, but she also indulged the Lucemon’s desire to investigate. Even with their diversions, it took less than a quarter hour's walk.

Mrs. Chanda beckoned them into what looked like a shabby residence from the front. Inside it was a studio with many forms of finished and naked clay works in the frontmost room.

"I come here when I need more planters, they offer both glazing sessions and sculpting classes." She was rightly proud of her hidden gem. "Would you like to give it a try?"

"It wouldn't cost too much?" They'd rather cover their bases than show their hand, keeping their face neutral despite their curiousity. This would be new for them.

"Not at all. What do you think?" Her smile is too knowing but they don’t mind. "Working clay can be tough, but it's not "destructive", and you can make things for yourself or others from it. Even after it's kilned, if something breaks, you might even fix it with the right bit of glaze. Just because something's been "broken" doesn't mean it can't still be beautiful."

They can see some different crackle glazes and projects waiting for their makers that had pigments added to where pieces had been put back together. Some glazes had even hardened while they were mid-drip. Unpredictable, but still controlled.

These imperfections are passable for now. They need not be for themselves, what couldn't be sold could serve as gifts.

They nodded to themselves with a fist to their chin, and looked at the wise woman. "I'm open to it. I assume early lessons would have me make bowls that suit your plant needs?"

She grins wide with mischief in her eyes. "Found me out, have you? Very clever indeed." She put a hand on their shoulder and rocked them with each praise.

They smileed back satisfied. A melding of elements suited them well enough, being a set of four rather than ten. Earth and water need balance to be shaped as needed, air needs to help it set and be given means of harmless escape or the fire needed to preserve the item completely will instead destroy it.

This woman has proven useful, inactivity in the human world would only cause struggle or insanity.

Now the "meeting people" part, which she so desires from them, may prove an annoyance. But probably unavoidable.

The rest of their day with her proved peaceful, though they refrained from bestowing her with the Digivice she will need. It would be most natural to give it as a gift, particularly now that she's given them reasons for gratitude, but to give it to her too soon would make her aware of "Sami's" inhumanity.

Vinod was clear: his mother is to remain ignorant for as long as it is feasible. She needs no context for it yet, and they can feel the Digivice is not at its complete state yet.

Other tamers will need to work with their partners to achieve that, by proving capable of ascending their Digimon to their final stage of evolution. Not theirs.

Their evolution won't need the bother, nothing would change their destined path and they are already at a god's level.

Her device needs only Their crown's manifestation to take on its true nature. The boring silver trinket and pale gray band of Reliability need not see the light of day.

Not when night promised them trouble.

As the old woman slept, Sami slipped from her quarters, their false form, this flawed physical realm, and began to seek their first partner. They felt his rage calling to them now that he was back in the human's sphere, a beacon to take action whether he was aware of it or not.

He was not where he “should” be. He’s within the walls, the systems, the pipes, of the residence of the man who gave him his chance at false godhood. They know exactly what he desires and their heart soars at the chance to dash it against the floor.

They have their orders, and this is one they will bask in performing.

“Keep my Vinod out of trouble.”

Their word is their bond, being born from a prince of lies doesn’t force dishonesty upon them. Merely creativity in how to best apply their trade by birthright. A tongue as silver as the moon above. The meaning of words waxing and waning just as easily. This application is as straightforward as they get.

The stage was already set by the time they arrive, so they humor this display of power. All of it childish.

Their figurehead father’s prey wasn’t enough of a toad for scalding to spell his end. They knew full well what Ajit Prasad was, everything he’s done beyond even Vinod or the Clan’s understanding. They’ve seen all that he is and will be from his digital trails and records from physical spaces, deals that shouldn't have happened, promises he only kept or enforced for his own benefit. He belonged to Greed, but will not be permitted to draw out their kinsmon.

Only Pride shall be on this planet this night, for as many nights as pleases Them.

Reliability's shackles called to them. The wife, the daughter, the son. Their conditions are stable, but the first two are bleeding fear from their "human's" antics.

First, they had a child to chide. Then they will fulfill all they are obligated to.

They saw Vinod as he truly is, as they give him a taste of all they are.

He saw himself standing in the VR scan of the building he had set ablaze while talking to his murderer’s face on the screen before him, reality reflecting the opposite. Innocents were forced to see the nature of the monster they consider family, the one they owed everything to, with no means to atone for their ignorance.

They appeared to him as if they existed in both spaces at once, levitating to not dirty Their feet on either soil. Toes teasing the ground with the possibility of being blessed by Their greatness, only to be denied.

They appeared to the analog mortals much the same, but with half the sight and not even a fifth of the mind. There is one still missing, trapped in a pointless luxury as they exercised, the boy unaware of the chaos Vinod put in motion for this sacrificial pyre.

Reliability dictates three must be saved. Courage bids the fourth falls. Pride demands what’s owed.

All would have their dues this night.

They ignored the weaklings to address Their charge. He knows he can’t escape Their judgement.

“That is enough Vinod. You forget yourself. Unluckily for you, this is not permissible.” They cocked their head at him like addressing a puppy's mistake.

“Stay out of this Sami.” The fool thinks he has any say here. He's learned to skip words faster than expected, rage stronger than any impression of "expression".

They laughed at him, all sharp teeth and merciless mirth. “You forget what I am. What I’m meant for. Let me remind you, Neophyte.”

They took in the fear of the onlookers, of these innocents, of this arrogant sod. Vinod and Prasad’s rage both, different but both rooted in the fears of an existence being ended before its time. Confusion, chaos, all manners of negativity churned outside as a symbol of greatness burned for all to see since sundown.

They can indulge. They didn’t need to cause harm to put these pebbles in their places.

The energy of evolution engulfs them, body shifting to show Their Fool what He could become a part of if he truly wished for it. Hair longer flowing free with more waves than a standard Fallen, skin still dark, 12 wings of feathers and leathery flesh proudly outstretched to reflect their conflicting energies. The golden wheel of dharma sat bold on their chest.

“I am not "Sami"." They began and Vinod's rage turned from fire to ice as he recognized the chain that bound them wasn't a leash. "I am Samael, no longer merely a memory of the Morning Star. And if you truly wish to play at being a God, I will gladly show you your place.” In their right hand they replicated the analog burning of a sun, the left the digitized essence of deletion. Neither to be let loose, Their message clear. “Beneath. My. Heel.” They permitted physical steps to stress each word.

Chanda showed the fear ignorance had protected him from, even on the bloodied recording, but he stood firm. A testament to his own sun on his right palm.

“You will swallow your Pride, or allow yourself to be swallowed. This is MY Domain." They snuffed out both essences with clenched fists, glaring at their charge. "If you want power, accept those terms or crawl out of mediocrity as the rest of us have. Seek another of the Seven if you dare lose yourself, or find a partner who thinks so little of themselves they will submit to you.” They scoffed with a smirk, “As if any such fool could give you the power to compare to me, even at my weakest.”

“We are no stranger to Pantheons, and not all Gods are created equal, mortal of mine.” Samael the First Messenger continued. Vinod doesn’t break eye contact as the more fragile mortals begged for answers or absolutions. “You are only an ant who learned how to use a magnifying glass after being sacrificed to it, not the sunrays it amplifies to serve your will.”

“Then why do you care what I do?” Chanda didn’t get it. He refused to understand what this partnership was made for.

“I don’t.” They smiled, and used a simple Sleep on the wife and nearby offspring. The swimmer was beginning to struggle above, time running short. They looked to the thing lower than worms and bared their teeth wider. “Make no mistakes. I’m not here for you.” They turned back to their charge, “I’ll grant you this one. There is nothing I can do to my maker that I haven’t already done. No reason to deny you the same.”

Prasad knew his fate, and begged and bribed as had served him well with mortals he hoped to use. He nearly tried to touch Them, the sheer audacity. He lost a hand for that, too simple to process how it happened. The essence of all and that isn’t was but child’s play.

Chanda could keep up, but only enough to recognize how futile any amount of overclocking would be against them despite his efforts to outpace them. The hand was taken by an aura of nothingness, utter deletion that kept what remained beyond it from even bleeding at the loss. Eaten away layer by layer as it had approached the first God of Sin.

It should be a sight Vinod remembered all to well, regarding his own erasure. The speed of it would have denied Ajit any hope of recognizing the similarity.

This was still within the terms of their binding, as much as it would vex Yggdrasil should they learn of the loopholes they had left for Them to exploit. It wasn't an attack, named or not. Merely a thought, even less formed than what they used to bring peace to those unrelated. They ignored the screaming lump of a man as they ascended, taking the sleeping dolls with them to keep this broken set together.

“He needs to pay!” Chanda tried to beseech them, “I want to watch him lose everything.”

“What did I tell you of Pride, Vinod?” They waste the effort to turn their head to face him but don’t stop. He should be grateful for how much consideration they continue to give him.

Once the boy was freed from what would have been his tomb, made to sleep like the others and all safe beyond the fire's reach, They could finish Their lesson.

They faced the Fledgling and would be God-maker both and let Their essence seep further into all places.

Their Crown burned behind their head, the bright red of a dying star. They knew Vinod can read their code now. They still expended the effort to translate the words for these two spoiled children.

The symbols for both the Sun and an Olympian Spirit to prove their status remained a constant.

LEVEL: 666

SYSTEM: LUCIFER

CODE: PRIDE

CAUTION! PURGATORY LEVEL 1

Vinod could see what a crown of sin looked like now, should he strive for this style of greatness. Should he seek to lose himself to the head made to wear it. Clueless to how all the crowns will fit atop Their own should They will it. How far They always stand above the other Kings of Sin, no matter Their form.

And further energy bubbled in Their chest as a laugh.

The crown of Pride changed. Even as They are, the older powers were blessing their actions. Yggdrasil would weep at its folly for uniting them so.

The concentric circles of their code were accepted as part of something greater. The tell-tale rays of Courage burst forth from their edges, Samael gracing this world with twin suns united to serve Their glory.

Chanda’s Crest had made its stance known. Courage and Reliability had spoken. The UI had to accept the scraps Pride was deigning to leave him with.

And stand down he dis, frustrated as it left him. He had his pounds of flesh to play with however he pleased.

“One human loss is merely a curiosity, an accident, a lesser tragedy." Samael recited as They looked down at them both. "Many, a cruelty, horrific, to be avoided." They moved like they were cracking their neck at each break. "The quality of lives lost determine how far it bleeds. You will see my wisdom in this, “Father”.” Their glare left no room for "human" objections when it was leveled solely at Chanda, but the man resisted the instinct to bow.

“What are you?” The worthless tech head managed out through his pain and horror.

They would humor him now that he knew his place in a world he wouldn't be part of for much longer. Their levitation made looking down on him as natural as it was fitting. “Let’s just say "You’re not the only game in town anymore".”

There was a madness to their toothy grin, but they couldn’t care to contain it. He may have seen malice in it, but that would be untrue. This was pure joy to Them. 

Throwing his ideal words to the one called “Pope” at him like this was well worth the breath it wasted, a gratuitous act he’d never deserve with all of his sins. He’d be wondering how They knew about them for as long as Chanda would permit him the ability to think.

They made the act of devolution seem intentional, an innocent child ignoring the living detritus in favor of beaming at a man clearly cowed. As he should be. They were content to leave him now to have his own "fun", however he pursued it.

The longer they were away from their Baba’s roof, the higher the chances of her blessed ignorance crumbling around her.

Chanda needn’t know Sami’s limits just yet. How the surplus emotions had finally burned out, how their own act of curbing him cut off a massive boon to their reduced supplies. Should Reliability be forced to participate their available pool won’t be nearly so minuscule the next time they feel this warranted.

It goes to show Their immense might that they can do so much with themselves bound so. That the mere reminder of what They are, have been, and will once again be would burn out so many inferior others in a fraction of the time they displayed. That They yet still hide the power this small form contains.

They didn’t let this bother them. They had no reason to. All of Their goals had been met. And now They could return to the one They had to protect after They confirmed that the three puppets had remained safe and would have no memories of this night.

They pulled out Reliability's Digivice from their true vestments on the flight back and admired the results of Earth's first Ultimate.

The watch face now remembered it was a tool of Angels and had taken on the golden hue of a holy ring. The Digicode stated for all that it belonged to the "Digital Pride",  not a "Tamer" of any persuasion as it had at the start, and each word bore a dark red tint in its grooves.

Her band was no longer a gentle gray but pitch black, each embossment of her crest now inlaid with pure silver nearly white by contrast. They are mildly surprised both halves still matched, given Their duality in their higher states. 

They grinned to themselves and manifested an ordinary yet elegant watch box to present to Mrs. Chanda when the time was right. Likely after Vinod had finished playing with it to learn its functions, see what had changed within it with its early completion to better predict how others may be used, and hide its purpose by breaking into this divine tool to render it little more than a health tracker with a means to contact her pretend "grandchild".

Sami was as sated as They could ever be. Their “Baba” had her peace and a fuller family to enjoy. Vinod had his vengeance and an impossible goal to strive for should he be unsatisfied with what he’s been given. They had served Yggdrasil's purpose of curbing fatalities to the letter of their mission if not the full spirit of it.

Life was good.

As always, They could make it Greater.

Chapter Text

Monday came far too quickly, but the day itself was slow as molasses. Largely because Caspian was dreading English for the first time since middle school.

The little spider in his watch wasn't exactly helping as far as nerves were concerned. But at least it hadn't taken off running from his house. Not yet anyway.

He could swear it has bailed on him a few times already though, a smalll silvery shape had snuck out the door while he's been in class when the sprite disappeared. Doesn’t look like anyone else noticed when it wasn't its normal purple-striped self, because there had definitely been some close calls at home already.

It was pretty good at getting back to him before the next bell at any rate. Keeping an eye out for Phin was making for an okay distraction during history, but there had been some close calls of it nearly tripping his classmates before it took the hint to stick to the walls to "explore". 

Caspian checked again to make sure the little pixelated spider was where it was supposed to be as he changed books at his locker before a voice cut through his thoughts.

"I-I know it's none of my business.” Hannah stuttered out behind him and he froze.

Fucking hell. Hoping she'd just forget about it had been too much to ask for.

He couldn't have predicted Hannah would have chosen to seek him out after what she saw. People didn't talk to him anymore these days, so all he'd have to do was follow this shitty routine.

His wrist buzzed at his speeding pulse, Phineas trying to get his attention. It couldn't have been further from getting it. 

Hannah kept glancing around as she held her books in the middle of the hallway. They were both lucky foot traffic was low for a change. Then again, that might have been why she thought this was as good a time as any. Less awkward than if she had tried during class, but not by much.

“I just want you to know that what you're dealing with is not normal. And you shouldn't have to go through it. At least, not alone..." She said clutching her books to her chest as she paused to try and either let the words sink in or build up her nerve.

His frustration outweighed any sympathy for how tough it might have been for her to get this far.

What could she know about his life? She saw one argument, one shove, and his mom was fine. Nothing even broke that time.

What other choice does he have? It’s bad enough that she knows about it, but knowledge doesn’t change anything. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go, there are no other relatives he could stay with, and at his age it'd be smarter to wait until he gets into college to get the hell out and never look back.

"So-" She tried to continue but he wasn’t going to let her finish that thought. Caspian wasn't about to let himself believe she was trying to offer what he hoped it could be.

She couldn't handle three minutes in his house. Not a chance she could take anything else being around him would bring. Her useless bleeding heart was better off somewhere else.

Pushing her away was the kindest thing he could do. Doesn’t matter what he wants.

"You're right. It's none of your business." He said, looking at her enough so she couldn't write him off as having ignored her, as Phineas buzzed louder on his wrist.

In that sense, he’s not alone, dubious as its company may be. As good a cover and escape route as any.

Caspian slammed his locker harder than he meant to between his shame and rush to get anywhere else. 

“I've got to take this call.” He couldn’t even bring himself to look at her any more than he had to, he just turned the first corner he could and hoped he could at least pretend to have a second to himself again.

He gave himself the excuse, why not take it? He pulled out his phone to look less like he was talking to his watch. “Smart” or not, that did not feel natural.

"What do you want, Phin?"

The phone itself gave emoji. Not unlike what Angel or Valkyrie’s “dad” used to communicate.

Why is his AI encountering a similar language bug? How? Did it try to learn this from them, since it can’t replicate speech? But Valkyrie’s AI doesn’t have this error at all, at least not verbally like his has.

Unless it’s not a bug, but intended as a security feature? Maybe it’s a feature of a “virus” typing. Val’s AI is listed as a “Vaccine” now that his device had encountered it, so it was probably meant as an anti-virus program of some persuasion. But why would language be such a risk to them?

👧❓

Definitely "who's she?" 

"Hannah. What about her?"

❤️ ❓

Another easy guess, there'd be clearer symbols to use if it was worried about his heart rate. Explaining the difference between "love" and a "crush" is something he can't handle right now.

"Not answering that."

💔 ❓

He's going to go with "heartache" there rather than the obvious, for his sake.

"All the time, but I'm fine. Later, Phineas."

😷 

That's weird. 

Is it just a mask? Worried he's sick, or hurt if an AI doesn’t know a difference? There's no question though. Maybe it's because the mouth is covered, respecting he can’t talk for too long?

It didn't even wait for a guess before rattling off another set, but he didn't know if this was trying to explain the first or a new thought.

👫 🎭 🤥 🖼️ 

That made even less sense. A couple, theater masks, pulling a face, and a picture? Is it complaining about the project? His parents? Does he think Hannah and he are dating, and that's more why they thought heartbreak was involved?

"Not sure what you mean. After school." He sighed. "I have a class with her soon as it is."

🤬

Again, not sure if that was for how he felt or if Phineas was expressing its own frustration.

"Yeah. "Fuck"s about right. But it's not her fault; I'm not angry at her. She saw mom and dad fight and got scared off."

😞 😥

"Me too." He sighed, regardless of what Phin was really trying to say.

He pat the watch for its sympathy as he put his phone away. 

Just had to put up with all of this for a few more hours. Same as every day before. Don’t linger on useless shit. Make it through the day, head home.

It was easier with one of his concerns half settled. Phin was less in the mood for exploring too, in favor of bouncing itself between his watch and phone.

Heaven knows what it’s getting up to online.

He can’t blame them spending all of English away, though he intended to be as clipped and on task with Hannah as he could. No reason to make her grade suffer for his shit situation.

Still felt like he was being a prick to her when she hadn’t deserved that, but what could he do? Backtracking now wouldn’t do any of them any good.

“I did catch up on my own.” She mumbled mostly to herself.

“Good to hear,” Caspian replied, like an idiot. He could have taken that to apologize for at least that plan getting messed up. But it also wasn’t really his fault, and he did somewhat warn her.

“So, which type of “love” should we cover?” Hannah tried to play it cool, but the way she tucked her hair behind her ear read to him more as an awkward fidget than anything flirtatious. “The teacher mentioned “courtly love” already, and “love at first sight” is also kinda obvious.”

The evidence the universe actively hates him and loves watching him suffer was mounting fast. 

If there’s one thing Caspian had faith in, it’s his poker face. He wasn't going to give the universe or any other possible voyeurs in his life the satisfaction of watching him squirm.

“Philia?” Caspian only half recognized what he was saying after the word left his mouth. “L-like, between friends. Rosalind and Celia’s sisterhood or the relationship “Ganymede” starts with Orlando, from Orlando’s perspective?”

Oh my god you moron shut up, stop talking, why are you like this? What the hell are you trying to make her think? This is going well past “let’s not creep out the new kid now that she’s stuck with you for a class assignment” territory. You already made her attempt to be your friend crash and burn.

“To go with more of his use of gender roles compared to like, Romeo and Juilet sorta stuff?” She asked, looking like she was seriously considering it.

“If you have a better idea I’m all ears. Kinda grasping at straws at what’s least mind-numbing to find stuff to write about.”

Please let her have something better. Anything. Or let a ceiling tile fall on him already.

“No, I think we can work with that. Hopefully being less repetitive will help us stick out more. In a good way.” Hannah nods as content as she can be, blissfully unaware of Caspian dying inside.

FUCK.

Well. At least that takes one tension out of this topic. No sabotage like self-sabotage. He really hopes she doesn’t try to make any assumptions about him based on this though. Mistaking him as just not being interested, he could live with. More uncomfortable rumor fodder? Not so much.

“Think we should just stick to the text, or would bringing actual performances up be too try-hard-y?” Her voice got him out of his head a bit.

“Definitely too much.” Caspian agreed, and he caught her scowl a tad. He swallowed and willed himself to not fuck up this peace offering. “It is weird, learning plays like they’re the same as books. What sort of thing were you thinking?”

“The “girl pretending to be a boy” thing just really stuck out to me since the performers of the time all had to be guys anyway. So it was a guy, pretending to be a girl, pretending to be a guy.” Hannah rested her head on a hand with a smile. “It’s fun thinking of the different ways an actor could approach something that is only this weird because of casting limitations.”

“The plights of Ye Olde Celebs,” Caspian said idly as he flipped through to tab pages that seemed relevant before giving her a glance. “You into that sort of stuff? With modern ones I mean.”

Hannah looked nervous at his question, he was probably embarrassing her at this point. “Not like, movie stars or anything. It’s more like knowing how media is made can be cool, I guess.” She finished with a weak shrug.

“More about the craft than the gossip?” He asked, but she wasn’t shutting him down yet.

She was tense when she nodded, but her smile looked real enough. “Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. As long as they aren’t doing anything wrong, why should their personal lives matter?”

“Risks of being part of an entertainment business I guess. People forget to respect that they’re off the clock so they can keep looking for a quick fix.” Caspian glanced at the clock above the door as if to will time to move faster than it was.

Hannah’s smile grew tighter before the discomfort from her eyes drowned it out completely.

He’s just going to assume the awkward silence was his fault for making it weird. “If you see a spot where this sort of thing could be relevant, we could try to bring it up?”

“We don’t have to. It’s just something that’s been on my mind is all.” She shook her head with an awkward grin again, looking anywhere but him except in quick glances. “I mean, it’s not really relevant to any topic we could have tried.” Hannah shrugged again before giving a sigh.

Caspian let it drop, concerned he pushed too much already. But despite all the ways he’s been fucking things up, she was still nice enough to open up a little. It’s not like she’s hurting for friends, so the only one desperate for any sort of company should be him.

She might just be playing nice until the project’s over, but if she is she’s a lot better at hiding her feelings about him than the other kids. Might as well not worry about that until then.

He shouldn’t pass up on any chance to have a real human connection, even if dating would be a terrible idea. If she’s still willing to be friends with a guy in his situation, he shouldn’t complain.

Fumble that pushing “friendship” might have been, it had made the job of making working together easier. Which in turn made the day go by faster. Nothing screws with an internal clock like getting lost in your dumb regrets.

As soon as he got home he beelined to his room. He can’t do damage control on his mistakes, but he could check in on Phin to make sure they also didn’t do anything stupid online.

To his relief, nothing stuck out, and safely in his own space, the strange monster lept from his watch to his chair, doing a little spin before sitting like a cat in a box.

Giving it an unimpressed look for stealing his seat he settled for lying on his bed after he finished checking for any strange spider rumors in his area. Still clean.

Caspian tried to ignore the weight that climbed onto his chest as he scrolled through his phone on his bed. Phineas was either using him as a pillow or trying to get his attention, and if it was the latter he wasn't going to give in so easily.

A knock on his door made the spider scurry into a pillowcase. He raised a brow at the bug and waggled his phone in front of it.

Phineas bopped its emotionless face with a paw, but the door opening made it go still anyway. Not going to make the pillow look any more convincing.

Renee poked her head in, a more common sight lately. "Caspian, is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he didn’t see the need to tell her anything more.

"Anything you'd like for dinner?” She was grasping at straws for him to get involved and they both knew it. “Your father said he won’t be able to make it tonight."

Caspian hoped his breathing doesn't come across as a sigh of relief, but when he missed dinner there were fewer odds of any spats. "Whatever works for me."

He doesn't rule out stir fry. Or meatloaf. It'd feel petty to single them out so soon, she knows.

Renee’s unconvinced but she fakes a smile. "Guess I'll leave it a surprise then."

"Sure you don't want any help?" He offered more as an olive branch than anything but she shook it off.

"I got it, I'll get you when it's ready."

"Alright, thanks, mom."

As soon as she closed the door Phineas was moving again, this time playing with the curtain behind his bed.

It was bad enough that Phineas had actually needed to use that window to “do his business” outside. The only wonder that was bigger than it being able to open despite the years of disuse was that an AI had a working digestive system like this at all.

Maybe it was made as a “pet” first and foremost? Teach a kid hygiene and responsibility, then it branches out into different program types so they learn the ins and outs of the different types hands-on?

This thing is just way too weird.

"If you mess with that too much when you’re not doing that hide thing, someone could see you." He warned the silly thing, which convinced it to aim its attention higher as it climbed to his ceiling.

"You better not fall on me from up there." 

It sputtered at the perceived insult only to have a hind leg take some popcorn ceiling off when it proved too heavy. 

The spider stared at the piece on its foot, then down at Caspian’s "I told you so" expression, and spat some web in hopes of sticking it back in place with a quick set of pats.

He shook his head at it nodding at its work, as if all the damage was undone, and he went back to his computer.

None of his regular sites were complaining about anything stranger than usual. Not the sort of strange that he could recognize as being from Phineas or a similar AI messing around.

So while there were others like them active, even without "tamers", they were also playing smart about things. God knows how long that'll last.

Then again, who knows how many users could be creatures like them? Phineas’ can’t use any form of English, but maybe those like Ryudamon don’t have that difficulty.

He checked the Digivice again. Only four symbols that worked, three still unusual, and the remaining four as dead as ever. No changes, but that isn't a comfort.

Two unknowns had his "number", five potential security risks ignoring the kid.

"Don’t suppose you have anything new to give me here?" Caspian asked Phineas, giving his wrist a twist, but the spider shrugged.

Problems for another day.

Today he has two. The first being his pet-thing getting cabin fever. The second will be put off as long as humanly possible.

"So, what are we going to do with you, huh?" He asked the spider. It twiddled its claws, unsure. "If you need to move around you can try being online."

Phin shook its head. So it's more something to do with less "physical" effort.

"Okay. So just looking for a hobby?"

It nodded.

He gave it a shrug. "Can't help you much there. Not really a crafty person and teaching you music will definitely get you caught. Wouldn't want that."

It tried pulling a few lines of thread taunt between two of its legs to strum them with its claws, only for them to stick or snap. Phineas glared at its failure.

Or maybe it was sadly staring? Who's to say given how hard it was to read its face.

"Pretty sure that's for the best. Only stringed instrument I know was the piano anyway."

Phineas blinked all of its eyes at once twice like it was trying to copy how humans blinked. Specifically, the way you would when the other person stopped making sense.

It batted at the air in front of them like a drum.

"Yeah, it’s percussion too.” He nodded back with a gentle smile and mimed with his fingers similarly. “The keys are connected to wires. It counts. The internet will agree with me."

Phin’s stillness seemed like it remained skeptical, probably.

"Dinner will probably be ready soon, so stay here and out of trouble, okay? I'll get you something later."

It nodded and kinda succeeded at giving a thumbs up without thumbs.

That didn't mean Caspian trusted it not to break something while he was gone. Just hoped that it'd be nothing important.

Renee jumped like he had interrupted her thoughts by showing up early.

“You okay, mom?”

“Of course. Just got the weirdest call out of the blue so I’m still jittery I guess.” He could hear the nerves in her voice as she tried to shake it off.

“A call? Like a random number, or would you like me to check your phone for anything weird?”

“Oh, no, it's nothing serious probably. From a flower shop of all things!” She rolled her eyes with an unconvincing laugh. “No idea why one of their robos thought I’d be interested in a sale. I can’t remember the last time I bought flowers, much less got any.”

“Algorithms can be weird, can just be bad luck.” He shrugged, figuring it'd be best not to push it if she's sure.

Unless that was Phin? He wouldn’t put it past it to try sending something lighthearted her way as a “gift”. He’d need to ask about that.

Renee urged him to get the table ready while she got some dishes out. Just a simple night of spag. Caspian tried not to let himself wonder if even spaghetti and meatballs would have set dad off. If that wouldn’t have been enough of a “homecooked meal” either.

“I found more of those snacks you like at the store. You’ve been going through them pretty fast lately, is everything okay?” She asked and her concern felt too real.

He hoped he hadn't paused oddly at that, mentally cursing himself. Should have hit the market on the way home so nobody would notice communal food missing.

“Yeah, just been hungrier lately. Shouldn’t be a big deal, but thanks.” He hoped his lie was convincing enough.

“Even at school?” Renee pushed, and she looked conflicted. He hated how often her compassion looked like pity to him. “I’m sorry, about the other day-”

“It’s fine mom.” It didn’t matter that it wasn’t, he just didn’t want to have that conversation. “Project’s going fine so far, Hannah caught up on her own.”

It looked like his mom still wanted to talk about that though.

“Been looking into some weird online rumors mostly.” He rambled out instead hoping to distract her.

“What sort of weird?” She humored him, looking happy enough he was at least trying to share something he was up to.

“Logorythyms got hit by two major DDOS attacks in under a month when normally they’re on top of things. So naturally, people have been trying to figure out who did it and why. Some of the crazier stuff brings up AI involvement, and how they could be dirty. Been double-checking how “crazy” some of that can be.”

“The microchip company? Like, they made something for a toy that became aware?” She practically laughed the words.

“Stephen Holstrum had talked about an alternative to AI, by treating scans of human brains as "uploaded intelligence", even back in 2001 before he died so some theories had been latching onto that. There’s been no real word on anyone else bothering with it since then, so most of it is just wild spit-balling and bad sci-fi.”

Renee’s fork hit the plate too hard at Holstrum’s name. His fault for getting too technical. He’s not sure she even knows what DDOS means off the top of her head, she’s not one for tech stuff. Should have settled for her accepting his bait in the first place.

“Thanks for dinner, mom." He took the awkward pause as an attempt to make his escape with a quick stop at the pantry. Even with her concerns, it's pretty normal for him to grab something to have for later. "I’ll try to take it easier on the snacks, but you don’t need to get more if we can’t really afford it. I can just get more stuff at school.”

“O-okay. If you’re sure.” She looked more worried than he expected at his rush back to his room.

Phineas sadly chittered again. Or maybe worriedly was more accurate?

"You heard that, huh?" He tried to sound teasing to the eavesdropping but it came out tired. "Don’t worry about it. We get by. Dad just hates touching anything he saves up."

It looked at its hands, but he can't guess why. 

“Hey. It’ll be okay. I’ll make sure you don’t go hungry.” He tossed it his latest spoils but it left the muffins be for a change. “Oh, so if I’m not eating them, you’re not as interested?” He teased and it clicked a little before taking a token nibble, like it was in thought.

There's a rhythm as it wiggled some claws, working something out.

Phineas took a seat in the corner as it starts spinning a thread from its mouth, catching it on its claws. It moved its head and hands back and forth like it was playing a harmonica mixed with a cat's cradle. It was weaving something.

He let it be, writing it off as a soothing activity. Maybe that's what it needed earlier. Not a bad plan. Though the internet was more his retreat.

It was easy to lose hours to it before something got tossed at his head. "What was that for?"

It wasn't mad, but bounced on its feet excitedly. Caspian found the projectile: a handkerchief, more or less. Smooth as silk. He winced at himself, glad he didn't say that out loud.

Well, duh Caspian. He's a spider, what else would it feel like? It wouldn't be workable if it stayed sticky.

Though, giving the material a tug it seemed stretchier than he thought silk should be. Not spandex levels or anything, but flexible.

Phin beckoned for him to bring it back to show him something, so he complied. It took a pointy leg and brought it down on the material hard, before lifting it and his leg up.

The fabric didn't let the tapered foot through at all. He put it back on the ground and stroked a single sharp claw along its length, but again it showed no damage. He's seen them slice through paper and thin plastics with that same trick

Caspian did remember spider silk was thought to have some interesting potential if people could learn how to harness it like caterpillar silk. Monster spider silk being even stronger shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

Phineas nodded to itself before looking at him and rubbing two claws together, making a chi-chick sort of noise.

"Ca-chic," Phin tried again at Caspian’s blank expression. "Ka-chig!"

Oh. "You mean "Ka-ching", like a register?" He asked it, amused, and it nodded excitedly.

"Hate to break it to you bud, but textiles aren't my thing. I have no idea how you'd go about pricing or selling this." He shrugged, and Phin flopped himself over on his back to curl in on himself in shame. 

Nice to know it can play dead.

"Doesn’t mean you can't try, I guess?" Might as well give it back some hope, he's just trying to help. "If you can sell it online I can handle the postage stuff."

Phineas sprung back to his feet at that and Caspian pet its head.

He remembered pestering his folks for a pet once when he was little. Not that anything came of it, he couldn't even remember if it was for a dog or a cat. 

He vaguely recalled one night he tried listening in on his folks after his bedtime, mostly 'cause he was so surprised that his mom was really the one against it.

Especially because her argument wasn't normal. The words didn't stick but the memory that they were cold and technical did, because that wasn’t like her at all. Could have just been one of his earlier dissociation episodes though.

That's probably what that weird feeling he gets was. When things felt unreal.

"Kinda surprised this doesn’t feel fake." He said mostly to himself, getting the spider's attention. "If I couldn't prove this wasn’t all in my head, I probably would have had myself committed over this."

Phin seemed confused by the term. It tried chirring a wedding theme.

"Not that kind of committed. Painfully single pal." He knuckled between its horns. "It's where we go if our brains are really sick. Like seeing stuff that's not there."

It seemed to understand that. Phin went to his right monitor and gave the frame a tap of the one he had opened on the TOR forums.

"Yeah, some stuff there can feel unreal." Caspian sighed. "At least there you can ignore something that goes too far, people make up stories all the time. Out here, not so much."

Phin reached into the screen this time, scrambling the monitor for a second until it brought up a new window to leave Caspian's stuff as it was.

A digital photo album from the look of it.

"You steal this from mom or something?" He couldn't help but laugh a bit at the goofball. The stuff was harmless. “Don’t suppose you tried to send her some flowers in exchange for these?”

It tilted itself nearly sideways in confusion before doing a full body shake as a negative. Phin tapped the monitor’s frame again, kinda like a question.

"Yeah. Even in some of those. Can’t help it, sometimes it just feels like there was something watching." He frowned at the bug, "You are sure you have nothing to do with that, right?"

It vibrated up and down like it forgot it could nod with just its head and scrolled through the memories, occasionally trying to get the stories behind them.

Caspian threw it a bone and went to one in particular. "This one didn't have any of that."

It was from one of his camping trips, a younger Caspian and his dad in front of their second attempt to get that tent standing. Shortly before the third, he remembered wryly.

"Might have been because it was so off grid, but I wouldn't get that feeling there. It was up in Angeles Crest. Just me and dad. And when we were there he'd just… be a "normal" dad for a change."

Caspian killed the window but kept going. "That'd make things harder to understand when we'd get back. 'Cause little Caspian was a moron who honestly thought that maybe this time, his dad would be able to just stay nice. And he never did." He couldn't keep the spite out.

Phin toyed with its hands like it was guilty.

"Not your fault. Things just suck sometimes, and getting better doesn't always stick. Hope's a bitch."

Phin hissed at him for that, which confused him. It pointed at his watch. 

Not sure what it’s trying to say at all this time.

"What’s gotten into you? I don’t see what my watch has to do with “hope”, but the concept’s just setting you up for disappointment down the line." That seemed to calm it a little but it remained puffed. "Sometimes it's smarter to just give up."

It gave a solid "boof", almost like a bark. Was it booing him?

"I didn't make the rules, just navigate them enough to not crash and burn."

How successful he is at it is a subject of debate.

Though “navigating rules” gave him a thought, and went back to the TOR forums.

He wasn't seeing any suspicious activity, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there. So he decided to check the state of things by starting a thread of his own.

“I heard there are working AI that call themselves “Digimon”.”

He's pretty sure that was what Valkyrie called them when she mentioned a UI becoming more like these things. It would fit the .mon he kept seeing in Phin's code.

The second he hit send it failed and a vicious smiley face blared across his screen. Phineas bristled, but he held out a hand to let them know this was okay.

“Not cool dude.” appeared on his screen in its place. “We’re not set up for this yet.”

It looked like a root chat, not unlike Valkyrie’s screenshots with her “dad” but with something that wasn't language locked. Easy enough to respond to.

“And you are?”

The screen changed, a moving image overtaking it of some smirking strange fanged creature with a head shaped like a jester’s cap. Like a living old school cartoon character, Like Oswald or Felix, but purple instead of black to keep its black and white checked neckerchief from blending.

“Dude, if you’re going to say it all out loud anyway why bother typing? We can hear you.” It rolled its eyes and gave him a disbelieving smirk like he should have somehow known this.

Phineas chittered at it and gave a cautious wave, which the smug little… Cat? returned with a toothy grin. Teeth that matched the smiley that preceded them.

“Names? Why? I’m an Impmon, why should I be anything on top of that?” It asked the spider which continued whatever argument it was making. “Ya mean like Edward did in Bebop?” It tilted its head as it asked, but there was a certain sparkle in its strange black and green eyes.

Good to know even monsters can be weebs.

Impmon scowled at him, “Don’t give me that look. When every hack a ‘mon makes gets ya called a “Radical Edward” or “Laughing Man” copycat of course it’ll get ya curious!”

“You could change up your style instead if it bothers you.” Caspian spoke to his screen like a nutjob.

“Never said it was a bother! Looking things up gives a ‘mon something to do.” The Impmon slouched, putting its cheek in its white-gloved hand (paw?) with all the ego of a king listening to a nervous peasant’s requests. “So what you looking for, kid?”

“Anything I can use. Phin’s not a great source of intel here.” Caspian didn’t need to look to know it’d be bummed at him pointing out the obvious so he tossed it an apology snack. “Another tamer’s partner could talk, so I figured this was worth a shot.”

“Okay, lesson one: Don’t just go blabbing shit like that okay? We’re not ready. Give us like…” It hummed to itself and held up two hands to manage 5 fingers. “Five months? Or enough time for the Deva to bulk up at least. Megas will take foreva, but with those guys we've got the perfect middle ground. Only reason nobody will bother ya over this is that we're curious too and ain't nobody want to go picking this fight.”

“So you are spying on me.” Caspian said unsurprised but unimpressed.

“Eeeeh.” It waved a non-commital hand. “Nothin’ direct, or your “Phineas” will get mad at us. Looking at the places you hang out in ain’t quite the same, issit?”

“Guess not. But you do know where I post as soon as I do it, which isn’t much better.”

“It wasn’t gone that quick!” He saw it mouth some numbers before nodding to itself. “That was totally fair game!”

“On my end, it didn’t even post.”

“Oooooh. Riiiight. Ya’ll are slow, forgot that.” It hissed to itself in regret as it frowned at its mistake. Giving a noncommittal shrug it hoped to move past it. “Better off this way, word getting 'round too early could ‘cause trouble. If it’s just questions or favors you lookin’ for though, I’m game!”

“What do you want in exchange?”

“A front-row seat.” Its mischievous grin felt foreboding. “Humans can be pretty interesting. Maybe I’ll even ask for your human perspective on things if I find something needin’ ‘em.”

“You’re not getting permission to spy on me.”

“Not what I meant, human! I just wanna be able find out what you kids do. I ain’t sticking my neck out without knowing it’s safe so I’ll be web bound for some time. Not getting sucker punched for it in the future would be a plus.” It grinned down at Phineas. “Right, friend?”

Phineas didn’t seem to think they were hostile. But the thought of something with arms as stubby as Phin's throwing a punch felt like mostly a joke.

“Okay. I can agree to that for now. Anything I should call you if I want your attention? Just “Impmon”?”

It started to nod but caught itself and looked to its left horn-ear-thing. “Actually. I could try using “Checkers” or “Chess”. Using "Impmon" openly could start the same problems that brought me here, and you could get some rando. Chessmon tend to stay put if you don't give a color or sumthin' and I have more fashion sense than most Impmon. I mean, purple and red?” Their face twisted in disgust and stuck out their pointed tongue like a brat, ironically making that “red” and purple clash anyway.

If there’s anything a “Digimon” has reasons to lie about, it’d be about themselves. But they’re not the only world-changing bit of programming running around if what Valkyrie claimed was true.

“Alright. So, “Chess”, what can you tell me about UI?”

It seemed taken aback by that question. “Huh? Wut about ‘im? Any in particular, or am I just supposed to save you some casual research time?”

Jumping to particulars was in favor of Valkyrie’s story being legit. Anything they let slip about “Digimon” in comparison to UI might have better odds of being true if he keeps talking.

“How many are there and who’s making them for starters.”

“Only four that are active and connected enough to see, but the fourth is in reeeeal bad shape.” Chess held up two fingers on both hands. “Logorhythms made two, Light was to fix a funding problem and Kindness was to keep him as a working asset.” He said, and made two pink flames appear over both fingers, each trying to mimic a symbol from his watch as they flickered smokelessly. 

“Alliance used a shoddy knockoff of Holstrum’s tech to make their two. Their oldest is some schmuck off the streets that’s barely “intelligent” anymore, Courage was their proof of concept using someone they could actually profit off of.” Only “Courage” got an orange flame on their second hand, so they just wiggled the spare for the “Oldest”.

“Holstrum?” Caspian echoed without really meaning to. Tech’s been around, working, for nearly two decades with only two fingers in the pot? “What’s the catch if it’s been stalled this long?”

Chess gave a sadistic smirk. “Ethics committees will eat them all alive if the wrong ears hear.”

“Slavery concerns?" Caspian wondered aloud. "Definitely valid enough if they argue the scans are property-”

“Nah, shit’s more basic buddy: You people are approaching scans backwards as hell.” Chess shrugged with a shiver but he looked too smug to be as disturbed as he was trying to act. “Zero efforts to fix the digitization process to, ya’know, not reduce a person to data and dust.”

“Can’t make a copy without destroying the originals?” Caspian asked with a chill.

Valkyrie phrased it as Logorhythms holding her “dad” hostage after faking his death, not them having actually murdered the man to keep his ghost to the grindstone. And she was only what, 14?

Is she trying to use the scan as a replacement for the original so she doesn’t need to consider him dead? Is it really that close to the real thing, or is she desperate?

“Bingo-boingo. Sounds dumb as hell to us, so, sorry if this is like, genuinely hard to just not do?" It leaned on one arm and despite the dismissive way they said it there was an edge to their expression. "As said, doesn’t seem like either side who found the game considered this worth fixing in favor of the second drawback.”

“The reason the “oldest” is such a mess?" Caspian guessed and it straightened with a grin as it watched him intently. "Is the chance of failure too high?”

How many people have died over this tech already? Hell, if Centillion’s not in the UI business yet, is there weight to Logorhythms having pawned off an AI to the UN and burning out hid it?

Was the one to “fix a funding problem” the same “high-speed algorithm” messing with stocks recently? “Light”, that could be AngryAngel. Laurie Lowell, was what Valkyrie called her, a former Wall Street quant who died in 2019 from what he read.

Now he’s unsure if that “car accident” that killed her really happened too if that’s just a cover story. Are they trying to limit themselves to victims who’d be dead either way? 

What did they tell Madd- Valkyrie about what happened to her dad?

Did any people have to die to make these AI too? Being results of animal testing seems unlikely.

“Yes, and technically yes but not at the stage I think you’re thinking. Ya’ll haven’t addressed a sort of digital entropy. The longer your digital humans run, the more they wear out, unlike most of us. So nobody I’ve shot the shit with can say what generation of UI LR is actually up to by now, capiche? There could be older ones on ice if they haven’t all decayed past recognition by now. Alliance’s oldest was also probably not their first neither, they were just real shit at erasing their last failure.”

“Most of you? What’s your lifespan look like?” Caspian asked despite the risk of bullshit and looked at Phin with a concern the bug didn’t seem to share as it looked back at him with a shake.

“We don’t normally worry about them, it’s mostly the Megas who can burn themselves out and that just sends them back down a peg or five." Chess waved dismissively. "We’re way more likely to get broken in fights than break on our own, but if we do it’s not a big deal; we just restart our lives as a fresh digi-egg.” 

Okay, so Phin’s “birth” wasn’t weird by their standards, but it’s rare for these programs to break the way it did. Maybe that code was like an owl pellet, somebody’s “food” that was extracted or… excreted, and put online in hopes of getting whoever was eaten back.

He’s not sure if it’s a good thing that whatever did was satisfied by him just getting Phineas out.

“So “Death’s” not really a thing for you. Is that why some UI are trying to copy how you work?”

“Obviously! And we don't blame 'em, that ain't natural! Hell, when I first saw the old one I thought he was just a shitty AI colony cobbled out of broken UI parts, not their digivolution. We’ve never seen something like this, but that’s never stopped the Junkers from helping before. All of ‘em in the heap know the ins and outs of broken shit. When he breaks down I guarantee you they won’t settle on a humble…” He cocked his head like he was unsure of the word “Um, fun-oral?”

“Please tell me you mean “Funeral”.” Caspian grimaced at it, and Chess shrugged. He'll need to keep that thing about "digivolution" in mind for later, if they have their own word for program mutation there's got to be a reason for it. Possibly what the other partner had meant about Phin being part of a line of spider programs.

“I guess? Our "funerals" are different, no bodies and it’s not as sad. We do have memorials and stuff, but it’s more common for our mourners to look for or after their egg if we can. Share stories to them about their past maybe, but mostly take care of them ‘til they hatch at least.”

“Will these “Junkers” be something to worry about when that happens?” Caspian asked, more worried than he'd show this thing.

“Nah, they’re total wimps!" It barked a quick laugh and shook its head as it went on. "They normally mean well enough, so they should keep it harmless to causal folks. Not so much towards Alliance." Their eyes had that edge again. "They’d love to reach out to humans he knew, but the Oldest don’t got memories like that. Only reason we know what they looked like was they have the footage of his scan. So, they’re going to throw all the shit they got into the open.”

“Not sure how much good muckraking will do if that’s as far as they’ll go.” Caspian said while trying to sound detached. If it’s lying, this is a weird story to make up. As “weird” as it can be.

Who knows how many people will believe it if they do upload shit like that. Especially if they’re just going to toss up a snuff film with citations out where anyone could find it to make a point. 

That doesn’t sound “harmless” even if it's a lot less brutal than what Alliance did to them. But does that really mean he should tell these monsters not to try? 

“Oooh, I like that! I’ll let ‘em know you got a word for this.” Chess rocked back with a cackle, oblivious to Caspian’s growing concerns. “Anything else you want to know?”

“Will you guys always address us by these titles? “Light”, “Courage”, "Kindness”.”

“We’ve heard you guys can be iffy on sharing names, so using the crests seemed like a way around ‘em. Any complaints ‘bout this, “Knowledge”, or do you got a preference for me to use?” He leaned towards the screen with a single finger lit with a purple flame with Caspian’s mark.

That explains why he had to “earn” his unlike Valkyrie, and why she thought it’d be like a riddle.

“Crest is fine if you’re talking about me, name’s fine to my face.” Caspian shrugged, at least he had a name for the doodles now. “What’s the yellow one called? Any others I should know?”

“Hope! Red is Love and Grey’s Reliability, rest are still dormant.”

Aaaand that would be why Phin got mad about him calling “Hope” a bitch.

“Okay, you seriously thought I just insulted Valkyrie out of nowhere before?” He scowled down at the spider which nodded. “How was I supposed to know these symbols meant something? You didn’t tell me.”

Phin opened its mandibles just so he’d know it was pouting at him sternly.

“Making faces doesn’t help your case, bud.” Caspian told it before turning back to his latest contact who was smothering a laugh. “I think that’s enough to chew on for now. Thanks for the help. Sure you don’t need anything? Sites to avoid?”

“Nope, I’m good!” The imp grinned and gave a quick salute. “Pleasure workin’ wit’ cha boss!”

Caspian’s screen returned to normal as soon as the monster turned its back.

That could prove useful and explained the lack of front-end activity. If they’re moderating themselves and each other until things settle down that should be fine.

He doesn’t know what will change when those months are up, but hopefully nothing major.

“Did you know them?” He asked Phin but the spider shook a no. “Do you know anyone?” Caspian tried instead but got a further denial.

So if Phineas is honest it’s also keeping to itself when it runs solo. He’s hardly one to talk.

It’s not like he hasn’t had digital contacts before, just normally there’s more distance. Keeps everyone safer in the long run. But “safe” feels pretty relative right now.

Not a terrible spot for him to be in at least. Better than most.

He gave his “digivice” a look to see if that contact counted as much as Maddie’s partner did. Impmon was listed now, but it was also a virus type. So there goes one theory.

“How come you can’t talk like that one could?” Caspian asked, but Phin just shrugged helplessly before pointing back to him. “Was it something I did?”

It tilted itself to the side in thought but waggled a paw like it was iffy or only partially right.

“You got any way to narrow that down?” He tried, but it shook a “no” again. “Is this why you also can’t write when you’re online?”

Phineas' stare felt like it was confused. Did it not realize it was only using emojis?

“... Could you text online, and you choose not to?” Caspian eyed it skeptically, but Phin stayed still in thought.

When it had an answer it sent itself into his phone, and text did appear, but it wasn’t English. It was the same sort of markings on the ring of his watch and the mysterious text used before saying “Thank You”.

“So, you have trouble translating your language into English, even though you can read it?”

🧩 🔠

Pieces of letters? Was it trying to say when he fixed them this was something left incomplete that they’ve been working around?

“You understand parts of words, but not enough to use them?”

✔️

“And that’s why you prefer pictures instead of trying to teach me whatever language you use?”

✔️ ✔️

“Could you give me some of the basics anyway? An alphabet or something?”

Instead of emoji it sent him charts like Phin had seen a language course use something like it and tried recreating it. Which would be fine, if there weren’t so many.

There were two different grids, one with only 26 symbols while the other had… He counted again and winced, 114 symbols in their own boxes. Some were made of two smaller symbols, but Phin must have had a reason to put them like this.

Phineas came back out beside him and pointed firmly at the set of 26 and at Caspian’s watch. It pointed at the fourth symbol in order and then the first one after one of the stars made with four triangles separating this as two words, starting on the left. 

26 might not be a coincidence, and if Phin tried to arrange it accordingly…

“Digital Tamer?” He asked, and Phin bounced as it nodded. “So that one’s just a normal symbol cipher? What’s with the other one?”

Phineas pawed to get his watch closer, so it could go to where its species was listed. It pointed at it repeatedly, hoping Caspian would understand. So he took a guess.

“It’s based on Japanese, or something? That’s what Maddie’s partner said was what your names were both meant to be, right?”

Phin gave a pleased squeak that for Caspian’s ego he could not consider a “squee”. 

Translating the words they put above the two charts he got “Digimoji” for the big one and “Digicode” for the cipher.

“Let me guess: The Japanese system’s the more common one isn’t it?” Phin’s nod was a bit more bashful. “And you prefer the emoji game? That’s why you didn’t bother with this sooner?”

It made his phone give two “sentences” of symbols, and translating it made him chuckle. “SPELL BAD. WORD THINK OW.”

“Like even this is in “pieces”?” 

❌ 🔊 🤔

No, it’s too loud to think? Does the code not having lower cases make it register as sound data? Or is this about preferring to use sounds and ideas directly, like why Phin wanted to try music?

He gave it a teasing grin. “Would binary be easier?”

Phineas’ groan felt like a resounding “no”.

“Yeah, that’s for the best. Translating that’s even more annoying than morse.” Caspian agreed. “Sorry your instincts are broken, or whatever makes it harder for you, but it’s no big deal. Are you sure you understand what you read?”

Phineas nodded so he didn’t have much choice but to take their word for it. It’s more than he had to work with before.

He has a better idea of Phin’s limits and now he has one new contact who isn’t some weirdly connected kid if he needs it for anything Phin can’t explain. 

Shit’s weird, but not unbearable. He can’t trust them as a whole, but the one he has hasn’t given him a good reason to doubt them. Definitely easier to linger on this nonsense than his mess of a home life. Or social life. So all in all, it might worry him but he couldn’t say he “hated” all of this yet.

Just take it day by day, and keep expectations low. If they live up to being “monsters”, he’d have no one to blame but himself for being blindsided by something that obvious.

Caspian pet his creature in thought. This one’s doing right by him, so he’ll keep doing the same.

It’s the least he can do in exchange for dragging it into his messes in this messed-up state.

Chapter Text

Life in the Kim house was simple. Slow in some ways, but without the frustration that could come from peace while always expecting and being prepared for a fight.

There wasn’t the pressure there was always another shoe about to drop. Just… A civil life. Civilian life.

Ryudamon couldn’t recall if they had ever really experienced such a thing.

The former blade looked over his new wielder’s belongings. Some sort of game console ready for physical modifications. Rudimentary enough that the system was likely far outdated, but not so much that such actions would be seen as desecrating a potential collector’s treasure.

There were sketches on her corkboard of the device, and some characters. One was a variation of what Maddie looked like online, and the other featured frogs and the word “Lilypad”.

Perhaps she intended on the latter being game assets, with that being the would-be title? The word was more than some hasty scrawl, an artist’s hand was careful there.

They remembered Gallantmon’s stories of their own creative child. The one who dreamed them out of nothing, and given life from the boy’s naive wish. If things were simpler, they wondered if he and Maddie would have been friends.

Pointless ruminations. Takato Matsuki is but a distant memory from a copy of his creation. Ryudamon had never met him, nor would any version of “Ryudamon” have gotten the chance.

“Are you going to join us or what?” Maddie asked wearing a ridiculous-looking headpiece. Only humans would think a mechanical blindfold was the best way to see through digital eyes.

“Yes mistress, in a minute. Do you wish to make your own games someday? Is that what the soldering set is for? Would it not be easier to focus on current software than older firmware?”

“Hey! Don’t touch any of that.” She spun to face him and moved the cover like a helmet’s visor. “And I mean, yeah it might be easier, but I learn more hands-on.” Maddie shrugged and the way her hands moved as she spoke attested to her need for motion. “I want to try something a bit more retro, you know? Knowing how to mod it makes it easier for the old stuff to stick around.”

“Like your mother’s laptop.” He supplied as he saw her eyes drift fondly to the well-outdated machine.

“Exactly!” She beamed back proudly of the proof of her craft and put her headset back into place. “Practical applications of useful skills.”

Their human seems a fair bit brighter than the baker boy Gallantmon would gush over, even with the age difference in her favor. Not that partners should be a competition.

And if they were, Sleipmon could and would shut them both down quite firmly. Even if they were given a partnership to spy on the humans who had found means of maintaining their own order, and theirs being a fully grown man really should be grounds for disqualification, in their opinion.

They’ve indulged their nostalgia more than enough. Perhaps they may even get a chance to introduce their latest charge to their oldest peers. For now, enjoying time with her is enough.

Jumping from the human’s world to their artificial spaces is most akin to being in water. Freeing, weightless, but cumbersome in ways that can feel counterintuitive compared to the true Digital World’s freedom. Swimming will always be inferior to flight, even if the motions can be the same.

The manmade world Maddie enjoys, this “Reign of Winter”, is a fair compromise. They can already see some landmasses floating above, with little rhyme or reason at a glance. Impossible for Earth and its constant gravity but often formed in a digiworld from unconnected data points.

“There you are!” The winged woman folded her arms at them after going through her emote bar. 

Human players outside of herself were likely incapable of seeing the process instead of just the result, but it's easier for Digimon to see more of the backend of such systems. For Ryudamon, it was an assurance to see the sources of potential causes in human pauses.

“I could see your screen mistress Maddie, it’s not like my aid was needed.”

“But you were missing the bunnies!” She gestured to the strange large-eyed simulations that were certainly not “bunnies” by any reasonable standard. They were more like weird Bitmon. 

The vague bunny-ish creatures purred with contentment at Maddie’s pets which Ryudamon could not feel comfortable with. Not due to any sense of jealousy at the joy it was bringing her, of course. It was like watching an animatronic that barely cared about what it was emulating, there was no life to it to overcome the sense of dread something so alien could inspire.

“Last I checked earth rabbits didn’t do that.”

“Nope, but it feels just like a real cat! Reminds me of Ginger.” Maddie smiled down at the thing, large blank eyes basking in her attention. “Do Digimon rabbits purr?”

“Ginger” will need to be investigated further at a later time. And be added to the list of names Ryudamon is glad Maddie hasn’t tried to bestow upon them yet.

“Not unless you ask or give them a reason to. After you find one that is “rabbit” like enough.” Ryudamon continued to eye the programs warily. If their mistress does prefer these creatures then Andiramon, or Turuiemon as the case may be, should be delighted by the introduction.

Either Turuiemon really, as rarely as they’ve dealt with the Archangel. Better them than their meddlesome sibling by leagues. Heaven knows what mischief Fate’s guard-dog is up to now.

“Can you purr?” Maddie asked looking torn between a truly thoughtful question and an opportunity for teasing. Whether it’d be for having the ability or proving subpar is unclear.

“When I think of a suitable bribe for it I will tell you, mistress.” They told her to hedge their bets.

“So, you can?” She grinned up with too much spark in it to trust.

“Can, will, and may are all very different questions.” Ryudamon said with a teasing tone as they sidestepped out of one of the “bunnies” pathing to prevent a collision.

“Awww. But it’d be so cute.” Maddie rested her head on the clunky piece of soulless programming like it was a pillow, smile not leaving her face for a moment.

They scoffed at that. “I have no need to be “cute”.”

“Cute isn’t a requirement, but it’s always a plus!” She said as she let the false beast go back to hopping away on what were clearly based on an earth cat’s paws, toe beans and all.

That would explain why her computer mouse strove to invoke the tiny mammal it’s named for.

Further signs that the Rabbit of the Deva should get along with their new mistress swimmingly. If Maddie herself wasn’t “cute” enough for the general then “lil’ Suzie” must have been a goddess.

A shift in the false wind showed not all players of this game were as kind towards non-hostile creatures. The group prepping for conflict had at least three members present and were hoping to take aim at Ryudamon’s mistress without her knowledge. Blocking a shot at this distance would be easy enough, there was no chance that arrow could pierce their armor.

It would be easy if that was all there was to deal with, but there was at least one hacker among them. The mage, naturally enough. Trying to use a virus on Ryudamon would quickly prove to be a mistake, no edit they could attempt would be capable of changing them. Not now that they are aware it could be a possible threat and brace their code accordingly.

Not to say that shouldn’t still be avoided. They know well what can happen if the wrong code interferes with an X antibody. At least if a human managed it, it would be an unintentional evil.

David’s arrival on his own mindless steed seemed to be enough to dissuade the would-be griefers. Maddie chose not to use her wings so she could try making better use of Ryudamon’s saddle, though the pair were a lot shorter than the horse and its samurai as a result.

“There you are, dad! I thought we were going to show Ryudamon around the Temple today.” She let herself try to bring in her heels to spur Ryudamon on, but the pressure on their outer thighs encouraged nothing but an awkward attempt to look back at her. Maddie gave a defeated chuckle at her mistake. “Sorry, that’s what they do on TV. Kinda a reflex? I’ve never ridden… well, any animal.”

“That’s not true, we did some elephant and camel rides at the zoo when you were little.” David provided and now that they knew to look they caught him using his feet similarly to slow it down.

“Those were different!” Maddie argued with her father well over their head. “They were huge and the handler did most of the work.”

“I’m fairly certain the one being ridden was doing all of the work.” Ryudamon playfully corrected, further amused by their mistress’s face falling further when they looked back.

“I’m new at this! Go easy on me.”

“I am and I will, Mistress Maddie. But make no mistake: I am controlling our pace.” They looked forward and gave a glance to their sides for trouble. Seeing none they chose to bounce her once to prove their point. “If you have a request, do so verbally for your own safety unless we are at a speed that risks your tongue.”

“Like a dog out a car window?” She sounded confused.

“More like biting it by accident.” David corrected her. “Momentum can be weird.”

“Still! Where were you, dad?” She asked with a touch of concern. “I thought you were the one complaining about how slow the outside world was for you?”

“Sorry kiddo. I was just trying to check in with Laurie and Chanda.” They didn’t need to look at the man to tell he shrugged. “No clue where either of them are right now.”

“Check in?” She echoed.

Maddie hadn’t heard of Lucemon’s actions. They slowed enough to look up at David to see how much the man wanted his daughter to know.

“Not the most talkative sorts, it turns out.” His tone stayed light and almost dismissive, selling the illusion this was just an idle urge of his. “Laurie’s out most of the time, and Chanda is… Hard to read? Friendly guy when I’ve seen him, and wicked smart, don’t get me wrong. I know he’s online as much as I am, but a lot harder to get a hold of when he’s not interested.”

So, that’ll be the story for now. Chanda’s use of Lucemon as a partial vessel has been sporadic since whatever the event that prompted them to warp digivolve. Information has been limited.

David’s stance on the other man sounds honest enough despite the mess he’s been part of. Odd.

“Guess everyone values their privacy in different ways?” Maddie looked at some passing trees as she offered what she thought would be a comfort.

“It would be nice to know I’m not the only one the time delay drives batty.” David sighed, scratching his neck. “Real talk Maddie: Should I call my mom sometime?”

“Grandma? Why? Wanna talk to Basil too? I bet he misses you a bunch.” Maddie lightly laughed, but there was a concerned furrow on her brow.

“Now that would probably be mean to the pup.” David chided, but looked to the sky as solemnly as his avatar could allow. “Just to reach out. Chanda’s in contact with his mother a lot since she’s taking care of his partner for him. But she also doesn’t know anything that’s going on.”

“I’m pretty sure Grandma would flip out if you told her,” Maddie admitted. “She’d probably think you were some sort of scammer. Wouldn’t be the first time she’s gotten weird calls like that. When your old Facebook had activity on it after… everything, she freaked, she was so mad!” Her legs softly kicked into their sides with her movements as she spoke.

“Yeah. And I wouldn’t want to hurt her more than I already have.” David’s voice was sad. “It gets tough sometimes, this “hiding”. Not being to talk to the people you love, even when you can.”

“You didn’t hurt her, that wasn’t your fault.” Maddie objected, but Ryudamon felt the lie in it. Death was David’s choice, and Maddie understood that. She just saw the benefits he found in it.

Unlike Ellen.

Maddie desperately wanted to avoid the pain found here, Ryudamon could feel her anxiety. “What’s his partner like? How can she not know anything if she’s housing a Digimon?”

“Lucemon is very human-like, even for an Angel.” Ryudamon supplied. “They may technically be a rookie, but with their power hiding their inhuman features on Earth is child’s play.”

“He looks a just bit younger than you, I can ask Chanda for a picture later. They’re calling him Sami Chanda.” David added and looked down at Ryudamon. “Are you sure you don’t want us to call you anything else, Ryudamon?”

“I’m more than content with the way things are, sir. I am what I am.” Ryudamon puffed out its chest in pride. The false horse whinnying shook them from their preening and they sniffed at the thing. “Why does it do that? Isn’t copying my interface enough of an insult, false beast?”

Maddie stifled a laugh at their displeasure, but it was true. Even if the red triangle technically paralleled David’s kabuto, lending strength to claims of coincidence. There is no such thing.

“To add realism, don’t worry about it.” David chuckled and tapped the horns of Ryudamon’s Kabuto with the shaft of his spear. “It’s at least closer to the animal than the rabbits are, right?”

“Oh good, I’m not the only one to think so.” Ryudamon breathed a relief but glared back at the horse. “This shares their emptiness though. That hasn’t gone well for my kind in the past.”

“Okay, now you guys are just being mean,” Maddie whined at how she had been outvoted. “The rabbits are great! Be nice to the devs!”

“The Chimera are cooler and drop far better loot.” David teased.

“Comparing enemy monsters to docile mobs isn’t fair.” She pointed at the man as he laughed. “You can’t pet a Chimera without getting burned and if rabbits had better stuff we’d have a lot more jerks running around.”

“I mean. You can if you spec into the right build.” David’s voice was thoughtful. “And there are some Chimera that are unique mounts floating around. Not sure from what event though.”

“If we have to compare enemies, the Adamantine Dragon is way cooler and the scales are super useful.” Maddie tapped Ryudamon’s interface as she looked down at him. “It’s kinda this shape and shines rainbow in the light but it's huge! You can even use one as a shield, raw.”

“No arguments on the cool factor, but fighting them is such a pain and the second someone catches wind you got a good drop you’ll be pestered to fight or trade.” David complained.

“Yeeeah.” Maddie groaned at a memory and Ryudamon couldn’t hold back a chuff.

“Serves you right for hunting a dragon, Mistress Maddie.”

“Hey! It was his fault for being a huge jerk! They are waaaay too aggressive.”

Speaking of aggressive, the mage and their party hadn’t given up as much as Ryudamon would have liked. They must have only fallen back to contact more allies. Unfortunate. Five was a lot less manageable than the original trio would have been.

The fact they came back at all made Ryudamon uneasy. Maddie hadn’t done anything unusual or actually show off anything of value. She described a rare item sure, but nothing was said of if she had currently acquired one and that was well after the rouge’s interest had been piqued.

Which would mean what most likely caught and kept their attention was Ryudamon themselves.

Would it be one of the seven that drives the interest or curiosity?

Hardly matters if removing them from their charge is their goal. They’ve been robbed of one sibling already, they will not be stolen like some trinket in turn. Those days are done.

“Maddie…” David let out the warning first, but Ryudamon is sure their own bristling had caught her attention before it. Armor can only mask so much.

“I see them.” She said. “Don’t suppose you think they’d be up for trading?”

“Firm negative, mistress.”

The blonde archer readied an arrow as her team squabbled among themselves from losing the illusion of being able to strike unseen. A swordsman with a warrior’s build had the voice of a child barking insults, while another prepared a blade meant for dexterity.

A monk stood by with the small mage, ready to act as their shield. How aware they were that there was more to the mage’s spells than this world’s rules intended was unclear at present.

“The mage will not be playing within your orders, mistress, shall I follow suit?”

“He’s a hacker?” Maddie asked.

“Indeed, and doubtful they are testing anything of value to the developers if they mean to do so against other players.”

“You can fight back, just don’t make it too crazy.” She told them. “What you can do naturally is probably fine. We’re not trying to step on anyone’s toes.”

Maddie’s avatar started to lag for reasons she would be unable to see. The hacker hadn’t even bothered trying to cover their tracks with a conventional command. For another player this could turn “fatal”. For her, David could undo it near instantly, inspiring a feeling like pride in her steed.

It took the UI less than a blink to turn the mage’s trick back five-fold onto their entire party. “Excuse you. If you want to go around picking fights at least bother playing fair.”

“Dad!” Maddie started to complain and the man turned to face her.

“This isn’t much, and they can’t make a complaint without exposing themselves too. It should be fine.”

The monk shifted, avatar sputtering but far faster than they should have been as their false skin flaked off. A golden fox stood in its place was none too pleased by their deception’s reveal.

“You should find better company, Renamon.” Ryudamon said, and the beast growled as their ears twitched in anger. 

They hadn’t expected a Digimon to act as a user, had it used Kohenkyo to copy an existing player or was that their personal account?

“What I do with my time is none of your business, but keep your false human leashed.” Theywere torn between glaring at them and eyeing the man warily.

“There’s nothing false about my dad!” Maddie shouted, making the fox’s ears fold back.

While their head shape helped mask it the fox smirked upon touching a nerve. “If that were true I’d see more to him, but it might as well be air.”

“That so?” David’s anger was flaring, and Renamon could already start to feel the mistake they made.

“Dad, c’mon. You know that’s not true.”

In hopes of reducing his need to lash out Ryudamon spat a blade at one of the Renamon’s allies, which it dashed to intercept before the archer could take damage.

“That’s fighting dirty!” They spat.

“Then you should have told your friend to keep it clean.” Maddie taunted.

“It’d have more bite to it if you’d help, mistress Maddie.”

“Help?” Maddie looked at her partner in confusion. “How? With what?”

Ryudamon looked to her wrist where her digivice normally lay, but obviously her avatar didn’t have any sort of counterpart to it. With the headset on it didn’t matter what it tried to tell her, Maddie wouldn’t be able to read any of their signals to reinforce an attack’s command.

“I suppose it can’t be helped if you need to see your digivice to aid me. My mistake.”

“Well, what would I need to do with it?” She asked, and her avatar’s face paused like she had taken the headpiece off to look at it.

“When I wish to attack, you could approve the action to make it stronger or reject it to stop me. Verbal commands are the most common, for all Digimon.”

“Like calling a shot?” Her fantasy’s blank face asked without moving its lips.

“If you mean to use pure guesswork, then I suppose so. Ideally, it should be as simple as reading the action’s name and permitting it through thought or a swipe of the screen.”

“Diamond storm!” The Renamon tried to strike while the two were distracted but Ryudamon’s armor flashed as they braced to reflect the impact of the sharpened leaves.

“Kabuto gai shi?” Maddie’s attempt to read out loud was clunky but the intent was more than enough for the boon Ryudamon hoped for.

The leaves bounced off as they hoped, leaving both them and their mistress unharmed, though the reflected projectiles failed to land on their user or their own allies. A mixed success.

“It’s pronounced “Gaeshi”, mistress Maddie, but well done.”

The zone around them began to shift, the textures began to warp due to interference.

Ryudamon looked at David and put themself between him and the attacking Digimon, despite the danger of ignoring them in favor of the distressed man.

“Master David, cease that at once! There is no need to compromise the area or your location. Causing an information spike online could prove most unwise, sir!”

The areas that had begun to turn grey returned to their original colors before any objects were made to lose collision data. The aggressors remained paused barring their inhuman ally, but that was far less likely to catch the eye of those who would wish him contained or enslaved.

“What is that thing?” The Renamon asked with the sort of dread you’d hear from a child on the wrong side of seeing an Ultimate for the first time.

“My wife’s wondering the exact same thing.” David’s voice is as much hurt as hate, but not towards her or the digimon who misspoke. Ryudamon hoped it was just towards his situation.

The Renamon spared their frozen companions a glance before engulfing their fists in blue flames. They readied themselves like a boxer, light on their toes, resolved to go down fighting.

“Either let them respawn elsewhere or give them back control!” It demanded, but its blue eyes betrayed how scared it was of the unknown threat before them. “It’s just a game. They recognized an illegal mount, so they got curious. We won’t bother any of you again.”

“Do they know what you are?” Ryudamon asked, and the fox’s tail stilled. “Would they be “curious” about you too?”

“This hacker caught me running solo, so I’ve been toying with them. Everyone else has no idea.” Renamon admitted, ears flat in frustration but still ready to fight for them rather than flee. “I told them you wouldn’t drop anything, but they just had to check for themselves. You weren’t even trying to hide!”

“That’s no excuse for just attacking players like that!” Maddie scolded, and the Renamon nearly rolled their eyes. Ryudamon’s growl at their disrespect made them think better of it.

“We don’t need an excuse for playing a game in a way we are allowed to enjoy.” Renamon argued anyway. “If you don’t like the way they made PvP you can go to a different game. This is the most natural system I’ve seen so far and the people behind it aren’t going to change it so I’m staying. You guys are the ones who are breaking the rules!”

“Us and your hacker friend.” Ryudamon pointed out.

“She doesn’t do that to just any players, just the cheaters. The only reason you knew she can do that is because you’re hiding in the code!” Renamon let their flames die out as it pointed at Ryudamon. “That’s why she attacked me too until I “played nice”. If you want to play online with humans you have to blend in, same as anywhere else. At least the other one is trying to use a normal account." It jerked its head at David.

David leveled his spear at the fox. “Maddie hadn’t done anything and neither did I.”

“Yeah she did, using “modded mounts” isn’t allowed!” Renamon threw their hands in the air in frustration. “We thought you showing up would have made her knock it off or get them do something to cover up but obviously she knew you weren’t going to report either of them.”

“Other digimon have been able to pass themselves off as game assets.” Maddie muttered dejectedly, looking to the side in shame at seeing a valid point.

“Sure! For now, but who knows when they’ll get kicked. I know I’d rather play it smart to play it safe, and idiots like you running wild could get me caught anyway.” Renamon growled.

“Smart isn’t what I’d call taunting something you don’t understand.” David said sternly.

Renamon opened their mouth to argue, but a look to their party made them reconsider. “Sorry. I… The only humanoid AI I can remember hearing about were the Agents, and they couldn’t even protect themselves. Nothing I’ve seen in this world compares to us, so that made me… Arrogant.” They sighed as they found the word. “Would you like me to spread word about you, user DKIM_Man?”

“Definitely not!” Maddie cut David off but the man seemed to have been considering it. “Way too dangerous, for exactly the same reasons you’re scared.”

“I meant to other digimon.” Renamon raised a brow unimpressed, and jerked their head to their frozen team. “I’ll convince these guys we just encountered one hell of a bug. She won’t believe me, but they will and she’ll keep mum ‘cause she can’t call me out without raising a fuss.”

“I’m surprised there are ‘mon not in the know. Yggdrasil made us sound like a pretty big deal.” David said, though his hands were still clenched too tightly on his shaft from Maddie’s insistence on his anonymity.

There was a squeak from the back of the fox’s throat and their tail went board still between their legs. Terrified eyes met Ryudamon’s and only now recognized exactly who they were attacking. 

“Refrain from making any more of a fool of yourself, if you would please.” The dragon gave a bored warning, seeing the telltale signs of the beginnings of either a bow or a kneel.

It’s more important to focus on learning more about their own human pack than having them learn why Yggdrasil could offer their services to those Worthy so easily.

Renamon nodded their understanding, but their eyes kept drifting back to their team. David undid his hack on their cohorts, but only to fully log them out.

“Next time, we’ll hide Ryudamon better.” Maddie said mostly to herself before facing her father. “And I’ll talk to mom, okay? Yeah she hates VR, and all of this definitely won’t help, but I’ll get her to talk to you soon. Promise.”

“Thanks, kiddo.”

—-

Maddie’s promise weighed over the man for days to come. School was her responsibility, so keeping the man company became Ryudamon’s.

They couldn’t claim to experience digital life the same way this UI did. He was replicating that of a human’s, and while Digimon could relate even those of human digimon didn’t always seem to line up. If they did, human types evolving into beasts wouldn’t drive them mad as often.

If Dorumon were here, they could better understand. Grademon and Alphamon were the closest either had ever been to “human” and it had made their time with Kyoko go as smoothly as it could.

Far smoother than any of the terrible potions they had tried bringing back with them.

… On second thought, that was likely evidence that a human’s sense of “taste” and digimon’s could not relate to each other without dire consequences. Dorumon was always experimental, but that was a realm not even the other humans around her could stomach.

“What’s that face for?” David teased them and they tried to shake the trauma away.

“Remind me to avoid what humans call “coffee” for everyone’s safety. And “Ma-yo-naze”.”

“Individually?” David’s tone was jesting but a look at the horror in Ryudamon’s eyes helped him reach the worse conclusion. The man’s mouth quirked in his attempt to mask his disgust. “Together?”

“I was reminiscing on human-digimon fusions I had personally known. My partner had made… Discoveries.” Ryudamon felt a shiver, and their dread took a new foothold. “Should I warn Master Cody?”

“I think he already knows by now if that’s normal. If Laurie’s changed it could just still be part of the flaw. Human preferences can change on our own. You should have seen some of Ellen’s cravings.” David chuckled to himself, but the reminder made his sorrows return stronger.

“Don’t.” Ryudamon warned, knowing there was no option free from pain here.

“I shouldn’t be putting Maddie in the middle of this. She’s just a kid. We’re her parents. She needs to rely on us, not the other way around.”

“Ellen’s healed around this blade too long for removing it to come without further injury.” Ryudamon shook their head at him. “Please, remain patient. If you must attempt contact you may only do so with phones with proper identification. You will not spring yourself upon her.”

David’s jaw tightened. “You know she won’t pick up if she knows it’s me.”

“Which is why I will hinder any other means of contact, Master David.” Ryudamon looked at the photo on the man’s false desk. “I understand loss and longing, I know injuries, but I can’t relate to losing someone the way she has.” They admitted. “If seeing your name alone brings her too much pain to bear, then going a step further to prevent it will only dig into her deeper.”

David sat in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “You know, she warned me she’d be like this. More than once.” He swallowed and the way his eyes shined behind his glasses compelled Ryudamon to look anywhere else for the man’s dignity. “And I told her. I couldn’t bear to be in a world without her in it.”

“And you aren’t.” Ryudamon objected softly. “Not the way she did. You know where she is, how she’s doing, even if she’s in a zone you can’t enter yet. She had no such luxuries.”

“I know.” David’s voice was wet, even as he repeated it to himself. “But I miss her.”

That, Ryudamon understood all too well. Yet unlike the Kims, they could not be permitted contact yet.

Even if they were, Dorumon would not wish for themselves to be seen in such a dreadful state.

“If she did not miss you as well there would not be as many aches to navigate and compromise. Time will mend this, not pressure. I have faith in my mistress.”

“It’s not that I don’t. But…” David’s pause made Ryudamon give him a glance. The pain spoke to a truth he found unseemly.

“You need more social interactions than this for your health?” Ryudamon asked, hoping that by doing so he’d need not worry about offending them.

He looked ashamed at this being his truth. “I can’t just rely on you, Maddie, Laurie, and Chanda. Talking to people online or other digimon could make them worry.”

“Would addressing Master Chanda less formally be of any help? His pack is even smaller.” They asked, in genuine hopes of the two helping balance out their clearest edges.

David shrugged uncomfortably. “I could ask, but I’m not sure what all there is to talk about.”

“He calls you “David”, does he not?” Ryudamon pushed.

The man nodded but his worries remained. “You saw the footage of Prasad’s complex.”

Ryudamon’s tail stilled before drooping. “I could well believe Lucemon would be both willing and capable of such an action in response to a perceived slight against themselves. The lack of casualties speaks well of the man’s ability to keep their strength directed at those deserving.”

“That’s not how humans see it.” David turned to face them, expression stern and eyes dry. “We can’t allow ourselves to go that far. That’s why we have courts, our justice systems. Without it, even if someone is guilty beyond any reasonable doubts, we’d just be murderers.”

Ryudamon tilted their head. “Perhaps this is a value we lose when true termination is harder to encounter by chance. We kill to survive or improve ourselves, but we don’t end if we are killed. Those beyond redemption can be judged, but erasure is no easy feat without a mega’s action.”

“Would knowing that have stopped his partner?”

“Lucemon knows “Death” better than most Digimon.” Ryudamon looked at the floor. “This wouldn’t have been the first human they attacked. They know how different you are.”

David slumped forward in his chair. “Then how could I trust either of them, as people?”

Ryudamon made an unsure sound in their throat. Not all allies could also be “friends”, as much as they may have once wished otherwise.

Recalling Dynasmon and Crusadermon’s own encounters with humans under Lucemon’s thrall brought little comfort. They wished they could believe the reborn warriors' survival was as much a sign of resistance against their control as it was a testament to the humans’ own abilities.

It was hard to continue that belief after seeing how a human like Kishibe could tarnish the Lord of Knightmon’s elegant resolve. But they still had been under another’s influence.

Duftmon never had such an excuse. How could one so skilled at navigating the values of those around them let themselves be blind to when that of their opponents proved to have merit?

How could any knight let their trust in their King drag them down into such madness, when the empty seat is there because their King recognizes their own faults? Did Alphamon fail them?

Dorumon hadn’t thought so. Ryudamon couldn’t be as sure, with how often they were absent.

“Thinking of old friends?” David asked with an unneeded softness.

“And allies I once trusted. I can concede they need not always be both.”

“Shame how life works out sometimes.” The man’s wet eyes spoke of his own past. They felt his mourning for the bond his betrayer broke.

Peter had called him a friend, and his whole family had suffered for one selfish lie.

“Time can show you many things you may wish it wouldn’t if it goes on long enough.” Ryudamon replied, and the man straightened. “This is why most reconfigured digimon lose their memories.”

“You’ve had an impressive run, huh?”

“Obviously not.” Ryudamon snorted. “I’m not even a week old yet. But my history with Yggdrasil is long, and fresh on my mind. When I end, the next round may have a bit less melancholy to it. The allies I’m thinking of may already be rather different than I’d expect from the past we share.”

“Sounds confusing. Do you have trouble keeping “yourself” straight?”

Ryudamon blinked, and tried to really think about it. “Not really. Maybe that is because I am part of a pair? We are meant to balance each other, which perhaps keeps us more consistent.” They looked at him. “If not for the flaw you could run multiple instances of “yourself” at once, could you not? That sounds far more complicated. Only Yggdrasil comes to mind with such a skill.”

David looked surprised. “I guess? You mean like making parallel subroutines or something?”

“Laurie and Chanda both made similar ones to aid in their own escapes, did they not? Without a flaw to drain you, they could be made closer to your full abilities, no?”

“Making backups wouldn’t be a bad idea if that could be the case. But if I did my normal thing then there’d be three of me running around.” David grimaced at the thought. “Don’t think anyone would like that. And you’ve seen what that sort of thing did to “The Clan”, right?”

“I’ve heard from the junkyard. They’re doing what they can for them, though Master Chanda wasn’t exactly happy to hear that’s where they found the most kindred spirits.” Ryudamon looked at a false trash bin. “They have some of the most diverse data sets available. Monsters who dwell there may not lean towards power, but they are no lesser for it. Very empathetic.”

“Could we give a better name?”

“They are very proud of their “junk”, so I would not pursue such action.” Ryudamon gave a wry smile. “Not to mention many may encourage far worse names in protest. Such as excretion-related swears, given their particular culture.”

David looked playfully thoughtful. “Would it really be better to live in “the junkyard” than Shitsburg?”

Ryudamon laughed louder than intended. “You’d have to ask them, but I wouldn’t risk it.” 

David chuckled, but as they died the mood dropped down with his thoughts.

No wonder it was easy for him to guess when their own went similarly.

“Would you like me to check on her?” Ryudamon offered in a bid to grant him peace.

“Pretty sure we established school was a bad place for you to be.”

Ryudamon nearly growled at the memory of identical hallways and needless lockers. “Wrong her, sir. If mistress Maddie says Justine is all the support she needs there, then that’s how it shall be. I can’t imagine how Phineas can stand staying watch-bound for so long.”

“Perks of being a Wall-spider maybe?” The man said it like it was a joke Ryudamon couldn’t get. At the blank stare, he shrugged but gave no aid. “If I’m not supposed to call Ellen at work I don’t think you’re any better.”

“Not if I show up.” Ryudamon agreed with a grin they hoped was playful as Maddie would do. “But I can still check-in. See her schedule, what’s around her, and the like.”

“So you’ll stop me from talking to my own wife, but you cyberstalking her is okay?” David looked somewhere between surprised and disappointed.

“Depends. Internet activity is a public space, more or less, but I am willing to forego some “privacies” if it helps those Maddie loves feel more at ease. She won’t notice a thing, I promise.” Ryudamon reassured with a smile that probably had too much teeth.

“Okay, we’re going to need you to not “forego” that ever, little guy.” David glared at him with an unimpressed scowl.

“Understood, sir. So should I not look up anything more about “Gabe”?” Ryudamon asked, knowing this was a risk. Maddie had mentioned the man when they tried to follow her in school.

Romantic partnerships may not be their nature, but they well understand that jealousy isn’t too dissimilar from the aching that drives Leviamon. A fear of losing something, someone so close to him, that is far from unfounded. Even if she could be lost because he was lost to her first.

“Who’s Gabe?” David asked warily.

“A coworker of Ellen’s. His experience from his divorce had given him good insight on what she was going through as a widow.” Ryudamon answered carefully. “From all I have seen about him, he’s a good human. Fairly average. Maddie’s unimpressed by him, but he’s accepting it well.”

To say the man was not a threat would have been a lie, no matter how true it was physically.

David’s face tightened in pain.

“How long have you known?”

“Not very.” Ryudamon shrugged, “He was of no interest to Yggdrasil, as he’s not important. Just a teacher. Ellen has told him nothing of value regarding how she understands your condition.”

“Is this why it’s taken Maddie so long?”

Ryudamon wasn’t sure now. They thought a weekend would just be easier for all involved if they started talking in the evening and it went better and longer than Ellen expected.

If weekends were the ideal “date night”, then perhaps this was also sabotage on her part.

An inelegant means of further disrupting Ellen’s life. They couldn’t say they approved of such subterfuge if this was her goal. There was no reason to take this out on an innocent third party.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Apologies, sir. I don’t know.” Ryudamon felt they needed to clarify. That this wasn’t a secret they were meant keep from him. “I hadn’t considered it before. I thought she was just worried that starting the conversation on a school night would risk impacting her sleep for the next day.”

They couldn’t read David for the life of them. “What would you like to do, sir?”

“Stay out of this one.” The man said and Ryudamon wasn’t sure if it was an order or request. 

They bowed their head either way. Humans are best able to address human concerns.

As long as he approaches it as he would have before his current state all should be well.

“My condolences on how things have turned out, sir.” Ryudamon kept their gaze still on the floor without making sudden movements. “I’ve seen reincarnation split healthy romantic bonds similarly. Perhaps this is part of why she wished for more time before speaking?”

David’s image looked far calmer than the programs he began to run would have suggested. They grit their teeth that their attempt at keeping empathy at the forefront likely failed.

Ryudamon had their orders, but that didn't rob them of their responsibilities. This would be an anxiety that would not cease until the air was settled.

Sending a warning to their mistress seemed prudent once they left David's server. 

👨👫💔

Her reaction, while delayed likely by school, was not unexpected.

⁉️

🐉🅱️

They think they are using that right.

☎️

Or not? Hopefully she's only asking because it's an acceptable time to talk. Calling is a one way beast when you don't have an actual phone or accounts.

"What do you mean "your bad"?!"

"I forgot you wished for Gabe's involvement with Grandmaster Ellen to be a secret."

"So you just told him?!" 

"It came up and I wasn't about to lie , mistress."

Maddie groaned on her end of the phone. "I was going to get them to talk tonight."

Ryudamon looked at her screen with disappointment. "Before or after her evening with Mr. Gabe?"

"Before, obviously." Her voice still had that rougher fry to it as she answered.

"Not "instead of"?"

Maddie made a nervous sound at Ryudamon's icy accusation.

"Mistress, you shouldn't intend to ruin the pleasant plans of others."

"There's nothing "pleasant" about them!" She snapped at their chiding.

"Even if this was not a romantic meeting in nature?"

"But it was!"

"So what was your intent, mistress? To encourage Grandmaster Ellen to cheat on her current partner for her former, leaving both men unaware until one or both of their hearts break?"

Maddie sputtered on the other end, "I-it's not cheating-"

"It is if you intended the discussion of your parents' relationship to be its own "date"."

They wished she had used a visual communication method. Sound isn't giving them enough to know how she's taking their words or what her thoughts may be.

"Mistress Maddie. I can't condone such childish cruelty to those you care about."

"I know she loves dad." Her voice is that of a petulant child.

"That doesn't give you the right to undermine the happiness she already has."

"And what about his?!"

"If it was for his peace, why delay the dialogue he desired?"

Her silence was uncomfortable. "How is dad?" She asked quietly.

"Hurt, and cross. He has his own "plans" now, I fear. I am unsure what, if anything, getting the two to speak now will accomplish."

She swore in a way Ellen would have certainly objected to. 

"Might I suggest holding off on your own plottings until the fallout of David's action is clearer?"

Maddie groaned again, trying to think. "Think he's going to mess with Gabe?"

"Seems very likely."

"Okay. Okay. If it looks like he's going to fo something that could get him caught, maybe step in?" Maddie's voice was unsure and she swore again. "Which would be worse for him to know?"

"If that's what you think is best. Humans will need to learn of us sooner than later, but UI are in a more delicate position."

Maddie mumbled something, but Ryudamon missed it. "Mistress?"

"Stick with mom if you can. Out of sight." She clarified and possibly repeated her earlier words. "Maybe this can get them to talk."

Ryudamon watched, as instructed. Watched Grandmaster Ellen arrive for her date at 8, as it had been planned before their mistress’s attempted intervention. Ellen had only been mildly disappointed over her daughter rejecting an opportunity to spend time together yet again.

They watched David bide his time, waves of frustration and jealousy radiating off him but he had let the two start their horror movie in peace. The sight of imagined shambling undead, green as a Rareraremon nearly made them short out the television just to make it stop, but they held themselves together.

Rationally, they understood this was an enjoyed fiction type of humanity. Rationally, the things they were most reminded of were purple, not green, baring the virus’s true avatar. Rationality could be defenestrated for all they cared, but mercifully for them, Ellen was also upset by it.

Her discomfort made David’s spike further, assuming he was what she saw in them, and the cost he put on the house to take control made the lights flicker.

David’s clumsy attempt at a true intervention was where observation ceased. The song they permitted, but every time David tried to replace an image with his own, Ryudamon undid it in less time than a human could blink. David’s work was faster, but once a source was undone the digimon’s defenses held up far longer than than the unprepared systems.

The one thing he never got a chance to bother with was the TV, given what Ryudamon assumed he’d bring back. They didn’t need any more reminders of why they were alone like this.

“Stay out of this,” David didn’t say so much as pinged, as a Digimon could when pressed. The way they could seek others beyond sight or smell, or be understood without words if not feral.

Ryudamon wasn’t sure why that unsettled them as much as it did. Perhaps as proof David’s senses were different from a humans, if he could understand them as much as create them.

Maybe because it gave Ellen’s fears of the man’s inhumanity more weight.

They watched Gabe’s fears and frustration grow at Ellen’s refusal to let him in.

This is what Maddie had hoped for. Ellen’s responsibility to her daughter and the echo of her husband’s memory to outweigh her need for other connections.

It wasn’t fair to either of them. Ryudamon knew the waves of this area enough to send a specific ping of their own far beyond David.

They were not disappointed by their once golden ally’s eager response.

This was too petty to ask one of his fellows for help, but Magnamon’s partner was a free agent until Seraphimon made their digimental manifest. And the little Terror did love their dramas.

“Keep Master David from revealing himself or his nature as much as you, if you would?” Their eye twitched as they felt the Terriermon laugh at them for phrasing it as a request.

“What else was I gonna do, ignore you when I’m already here?” They both felt the image of destiny’s guard pup watching with snacks at the ready, so in sync Ryudamon wasn’t sure who actually sent it. “And miss a chance to scrap with a UI? Never!” Terror’s laughter rang even deeper.

“Not being revealed to third parties is also a priority,” Ryudamon warned, and tried to replicate the feeling of something nearly breaking the surface from David’s largest RoW break. Ideally, it had been nothing, but if not it may have been a program looking for abnormalities.

“Rodger dodger!”

The would-be archangel’s twin was less kind to David’s music choices than Ryudamon had been, leaving the couple in the dim silent room.

“Because I wouldn’t “believe” you? Try me.” Gabe said to Ellen in hopes of saving what he thought they had. 

“Belief” Ryudamon can help with. While Ellen tried to let her silence answer for her, the TV came to life, bright and loud enough to make her jump.

“I said enough David!” She spun to look at it and any further words died on her tongue as her eyes widened in horror at seeing Ryudamon leap out of it like a raptor.

With a shake of their head to make sure their helmet’s tassel settled back behind them, they straightened up as best they could. Still far from an ideal height for working with human adults, but passable.

The man looked at them with a fear he didn’t want to share, and glanced at Ellen with confusion at her continued silence.

“Apologies for my subterfuge, sir.” They bowed to the man, but speaking hadn’t made their appearance any easier on the poor man’s well-frayed nerves. “I’m here at my mistresses request. The child known as Madison Kim.”

His eyes widened nearly as much as his mouth did, but any words he had hoped would come out got lost along the way.

“Get out.” Ellen hissed at them, but they stayed where they were.

“One more human knowing about me won’t change anything, Grandmistress Ellen, and with all do respect we are not under your roof so Mistress Maddie’s orders are my priority. Ma’am.” They gave a disingenuous bow that fit with every other half-truth they had given that night.

They strode up to the man his mistress was so unsatisfied with and looked him over. Exactly as average as what they could find about him was.

“What is that thing?”

… They really should have put more thought of how to answer that question these days.

“I am “Ryudamon”, not “David” no matter what Grandmaster Ellen says under stress.” Ryudamon felt comfortable enough with that truth for now. Their eyes flicked between the man’s smartwatch, an oddly angular thing very unlike the digivice his mistress received, and the electronic picture frame. “I don’t suppose hologram technology is advanced enough for this?”

Gabe narrowed his eyes at them at the attempt at an excuse.

“Understood.” They gave a single nod before putting themselves between him and Ellen, letting their tail lightly bump the man enough for him to know they were solid. The poor man just about jumped out of his skin at the contact. “I’m afraid I can’t give you anything better than “I am a digital life who wants to see mistress Maddie happy”, and this put us both in a terrible position.”

“What?” Gabe managed out and looked from the monster who stared up at him with strange green eyes and the woman he had hoped to have a future with. “Ellen, is this what you didn’t think I’d believe?”

Ellen swallowed as she gave the dragon a quick glance, but her eyes betrayed a sense of peace from this deception when she closed them. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this. It won’t go away, it doesn’t make sense, and I didn’t want to scare you too.” A genuine regret dripped from every word. “It scares me enough as it is.”

“I still don’t see what makes me “scary”. I don’t even have scales.” Ryudamon tried to playfully huff in hopes of bearing the brunt of any misgivings. “Hardly my fault his house is so weak my presence makes it glitch.”

“So get out! Go home!” Ellen snapped at them, and held her arm to comfort herself as she sighed. “Tell Maddie I’ll be there soon.” Ellen turned to Gabe to make sure she’d read things right. “It’d be better if I go now, wouldn’t it?”

“Ellen, I…” Whatever Gabe had hoped to say petered out, so he tried again. “I think I need to process this, okay? You just… Have a strange monster that can jump out of TVs?”

“Maddie does.” She corrected, uncomfortable at how they were avoiding the party truly upset by this date. Ellen was no fool. “They just showed up one day a few days ago, and with how few friends she has she’s really bonded with it.” Ellen looked down at the beast who still hadn’t obeyed her orders. “I didn’t expect they would cyber stalk me to mess up a date.”

“It wasn’t nearly that technical, Grandmaster Ellen.”

“And they call me that because I made one bad joke.” Ellen’s tone burned like sand as she gave Gabe a truly exasperated look with a single raised finger.

Gabe was far from laughing, but he nodded along like he was trying to process this insanity. His eyes were distant enough that success on that front was highly unlikely.

The strange picture frame flashed David’s photo again, but hopefully the man missed it. They hadn’t expected Terriermon to struggle to keep David quiet, but neither truly knew the man’s limits.

“So was this why you had wanted to end this?” Gabe managed to ask.

“I thought you’d be better off if I did.” She looked sad as she asked, “Can you blame me?”

He swallowed, and looked uncomfortably at the so-called “digital” creature. “No. I’m sorry Ellen, but I… don’t know if I can do this.”

Ellen let out a breath they hadn’t noticed she’d been holding. “I’m sorry too. Sorry, I couldn’t be honest with you, but… Every option with this thing felt like a lie.”

“To be clear, sir: My mistress’s dislike is shallow, and I would never harm you or permit you to come to harm on a tantruming child’s whims.” Ryudamon looked up at him and caught further fear as the reality of what a partnered monster could be dawned on him. 

“If you wish no contact there will be no repercussions, but if you do change your mind I will try to temper her expectations as best I can.” They allowed themselves complete honesty. “I’m only here because I feared Grandmaster Ellen was doing you both a terrible disservice by denying you the choice to determine your limits.”

“T-thank you?” Gabe replied nervously but headed to the door. Ryudamon offered him a claw to shake and was content that the man braved enough to try.

Ryudamon turned back to the television instead, shaking their head at the offered door after making an act of looking down at themselves and struggling to look out a window.

“I may disagree with how you find me, but I’m not foolish enough to expose myself to humans without reason. I will inform mistress Maddie that circumstances have changed for now.” They gave Ellen a final nod. “I imagine you will have much to discuss with regarding boundaries.”

The glare she gave told them she understood full well it wasn’t Maddie she needed to talk to. Or at least, not just Maddie. At least she had being an actual child as an excuse for this childishness.

They barely had a moment in the virtual space for a green blur tackled them affectionately.

“RYUDAMON! YOUR HUMAN IS NUTS! I LOVE IT!” The young Terror cackled.

“Master David is not “my human”, his daughter is.” They sighed, but did a double take as they looked at the green scrapper.

That was not a Terriermon.

“What did you do?” Ryudamon asked with exasperation. “It’s only been a few minutes.”

“I know right!?” The Gargomon bounced on his toes, the cylinders of the revolvers where their upper paws used to be kept the cybernetic hands in their centers from really clapping with glee. The metal clatter was close enough for the intent. “UI are awesome.”

The UI in question only looked mildly worse for wear. Ryudamon couldn’t tell the signs of decay as well as their King could, but he was calmer now. Upset, but more morose than angry.

“Were you able to hear Gabe’s answer?” They asked him, and the man nodded with a sigh. “Are you happier, knowing that her bond has been broken?”

“You acted like it could be temporary.” David’s tone accused them bitterly but didn’t answer the question. They knew it was a cruel way to ask it.

“I intended to sound neutral on the matter, given my mistress’s stated bias, apologies for failing on that front. If mistress Maddie is right, this may have been enough to motivate Grandmaster Ellen to wish contact. If so, speaking to her of the matter would be most productive.”

“I hope you’re right.” He said, and gave his cyborg sparring partner a glance. “Really didn’t expect that to happen though. A warning could have been nice.”

“Yeah, no, this is totally normal for us.” The “dog” that still passed for a “rabbit” waved him off.

“The Digimental will still permit you to reach Goldrapidmon as you are now I hope?”

“Don’t you worry, it will! Definitely helps that I’d be a Rapidmon from here either way, and going from green to gold works out too since it’s basically a Mega. Veemon’s the one who gets  worried about going “too far”.” They snorted at their best friend’s expense.

“At least one of you should remember how to do that.” Ryudamon muttered.

“Destiny’s my “Destiny”, Fate always works out for me.” They said with a smug shrug.

“It really should reconsider that, for the sake of your head. Look at how it’s expanded already.”

“Ha ha, Funnymon.” The sound of a metal paw bouncing off Ryudamon’s shoulder plate had more impact than the play-punch. “I’ll be sure to let Seraphimon know you think so too when he gets back.”

“Oh, so you already know?” Ryudamon teased with a grin. “Guess the growth can’t be all bad.”

Gargomon chuckled and gave their cylinders a quick spin to reload, giving a casual salute as they headed back to their sibling.

… Hopefully they will not hear a cross word from Tsureimon in the near future. They knew how the Terror could be better than anyone, despite how they shift in every generation. Not even trading roles ever did much to dampen their bravado.

They stayed with David in this space that was nobody’s home, wary to leave him be. The UI didn’t appear to mind the company, despite any misgivings of how the night’s gone so far.

Location was harder to gauge on the Net than in the Digital World. Everywhere felt either liminal or isolated, no healthy in between as spaces meant for the living have. So they did understand why he hadn’t felt as much of a need to “head back” as what tugged at Ryudamon’s conscience.

“What does it feel like for you, to have a Digimon’s sixth sense?” They asked to break the silence. David looked weary but confused at the question. “You weren’t speaking before. Not the way humans have to, you learned to convey thought and emotion directly, like we can.”

David shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it. Not sure I can do it on command.”

Ryudamon made a connection to David’s original space and urged him inside. “Easy enough to check. Somewhere more secure would be best for seeing if you can make your location known, or find other UI.”

David gave them an unreadable look before following what Ryudamon was trying to lead him to. “So that sense was how Yggdrasil found the Clan and Chanda?”

“Yes. This sense exists to make it easier to find each other, be it in the real world or the net. Conflict drives us forward, so knowing where potential prey, predators, and allies are an instinctual advantage. The weaker the source, the easier it is to hide to continue growing. Stronger ones encourage a healthy respect. Using it to “ping” more complex communications came later, but before we learned languages from you.”

David looked conflicted at his hand. Ryudamon wasn’t sure what he was thinking, his feelings were a mess. Relief-tinged loneliness now, jealousy and heartache still coursing through it all.

“What do you think I am?” David asked Ryudamon directly for the first time.

“I think UI aren’t as alike to Digimon as mistress Maddie may hope.” They confessed. “I suspect Yggdrasil wishes to help you not because you remind my King of us, but of themselves. We’ve long lost any stories that explain our origins, but post-humans are both powerful and physically limited in a way no Digimon can understand. Yggdrasil however needs vessels to act in their stead, be it drones or my fellow knights, much like Master Cody had to act for Mistress Laurie.”

“And Yggdrasil can also “ping” like Digimon can, so me being able to do it could go either way?”

Ryudamon nodded. The false monitor on the digital desk gave a happy chime, making the dragon have a curious start.

“That would be a RoW request,” David told them as he gave it a look. “Unknown user, fresh account-”

“Ellen I presume?”

David’s smile was melancholy. “Looks like it. Wish me luck?”

Ryudamon snorted. “If she gives you hell I’m unsure which of you has done more wrongs, sir.” The man seemed aware of that and they gave a small smile. “I hope you both find a better place to stand.” 

“For Maddie’s sake?”

“For all of you.” They corrected and made a line to Maddie’s phone knowing the computer will be more than occupied.

They hardly managed a step before a girl’s weight fell across their back.

“Are you satisfied, mistress?”

“I didn’t think this through.” She grumbled into their shoulder plate.

Ryudamon felt an amused grin start to spread. “In which way, mistress Maddie?”

“They are talking, but my computer is the only one with VR.”

“So?”

Maddie scrambled to get her feet in the stirrups enough to lean over Ryudamon’s head. “So, it’s the first time they’ve been able to talk in 2 years, and it’s past 10. Where am I supposed to sleep now?” The tired teen with fresh bedhead glared with disdain that wasn’t meant for them.

They blinked up at her as innocently as they could manage. “Are there not other rooms?”

“Office’s a mess.” She scowled at a door. “I’d still hear like, half the convo anyway.”

Ryudamon gave a sympathetic nod. And they had heard sleeping on the “couch” was typically meant as a punishment or sign of ill placement. She deserves better by far. “Is a “futon” better than a “couch”?”

“Basement’s too cooooold.” She whined as she sat enough to rest her cheek on their interface. “Stoomuch effort anyway.” Her voice slurred a tad.

Ryudamon tilted their head up to try and look at her, making her jerk like she had just tried to use them as a bed. They gave a conspiratorial grin. “Would a swap of rooms suffice for now?”

“Swap?” She blinked some fresh sleep away as she tried to follow. Maddie straightened when she caught up. “Mom’s room?”

They hoped their smile wasn’t as menacing as showing teeth as sharp as theirs tended to be. “I mean, worst case is she displaces you when they finish, in which case your room is free, yes?”

“But it’s mom’s room.” The girl said it like this was some sort of sacred space.

“It’s a free bed.”

“You’ll get fur all over it.” She pursed her lips like the thought was sour but her eyes said she was less opposed than she let on.

“An inconvenience tax that encourages an earlier cleaning. I can do the laundry if it’s such a chore.”

She gave a small laugh before crossing her arms on top of their head. “The wash is bigger than you are.”

“It’s taller than I am, but I will manage! I’ve bested far larger obstacles.”

Maddie’s head began to sink a tad too much into the pillow she had made before catching herself. She gave as serious a look at them as she could manage, like a discontent general giving an order. “If she gets mad, this was entirely your idea.”

“I put you there after you fell asleep on top of me and I didn’t know where else to put you,” Ryudamon said with a smile. “It’s not a lie if I leave out you waking back up shortly after.”

She pat the top of their soul with pride. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”

They were glad she was this relaxed despite how much the two reconciling meant to her. It hardly took a full minute for her to go back to sleep when she made contact with the mattress.

Still long enough for her to have practically dragged them along with her and make extraction more trouble than it was worth.

“Why’s armor always on? Whuttabot bafs?” She mumbled into the pillow, but they weren’t sure how awake she was.

They rolled their eyes a tad, easier without anyone watching, but decided to shuffle off the armor they could. Just to make sure nothing would risk pinching her and when they had to be displaced she wouldn’t need to be fully awake to get back to her own room.

Gabumon understood their dissatisfaction with being undressed better than even their own other half did. Theirs was more a dysmorphia than their own desire to stay protected and prepared, but it was nice to have a friend who shared your own quirks.

Humans and their “clothes” are closer, but their conditions for what satisfies them are far looser.

Hours later Ellen jostled her daughter to make the event more of a family bonding, but Ryudamon stayed fiercely buried under the blankets out of pride. The woman hopefully assumed it was a genuine sleep.

When Ellen returned for her own rest they stole the lightest layer to stay bundled while making their way to Maddie’s room, getting a tired laugh from the woman. The excess fabric made it easy to simply drag their armor behind them too.

The not-a-sheet-ghost still knocked before entering their mistress’s space, and when she did she grinned at them teasingly.

“Is this about the bath thing?”

“If you genuinely wish to suffer that smell, remember how often you consider me a “dog”.”

“Bleck.” She recoiled at the comparison. “Thanks for the heads up. Doesn’t mean bathes won’t happen though, if you need ‘em.”

“Understandable, mistress. Did all go as you hoped?”

“No.” Maddie admitted, and it wasn’t just her repeatedly interrupted sleep dragging her down. “They’re not married anymore. So, all I can do is hope Justine is right, I guess.” She shrugged and flopped herself back on her bed. “About things getting better after this sort of break up.”

Ryudamon went next to the bed, but again Maddie tugged them up to use them as an oversized teddy instead.

“Mom thanked me for pushing her.” She smiled into their neck through the thin sheet. “So even if they’re not “together”, we can all be more together again. At least a bit.”

“Happy to hear it, mistress Maddie.” Ryudamon mumbled to themselves. “I do strongly doubt she’d thank me for my own part in this. Though I did try to make things clearer for Mr. Gabe.”

Maddie’s grip slackened. “Whhhhhy?”

“Better to reveal me than Master David.” They shrugged, guessing at what was coming. “So, he had an answer for her change in demeanor and desire for secrecy. It ended by choice, not her forcing his hand.”

“But it’s over?” Maddie sounded a tad too hopeful.

“Not strongly enough to rule anything out, I’d wager.” They warned back gently.

Far more gently than being shoved off of the bed. They snickered at her sulking but accepted their new placement. After claiming one of her stranded toys for their own to wait for sleep with.

It was far from enough to pretend to be their other half, but it would have to do.

Yggdrasil only knows how long fixing them will take, with the priority the UI have been given. Only They know if a blade can have two wielders at once.

So for as much their guilt may gnaw at them for having it alone, they will enjoy this peace to their fullest.

Chapter Text

Laurie felt bad about taking a break from their travels to hit Mumbai, but with the incident in the news, this couldn’t wait. Cody didn’t seem to mind despite the setback, and the city is interesting.

If only it could have been just a pleasure visit. But with the way Prasad died, there was no way one of Alliance’s UI wasn’t involved. 

The digimon of the Junkyard were adamant about the Clan’s innocence, but with how digimon are about getting even and how delicately they treat the failing UI their alibi can’t be trusted. Their best defense is that their degradation hasn’t gotten worse since fusing made it plateau.

That leaves Vinod and Sami Chanda. The youngest UI, with the motive and means to both evacuate and burn down a skyscraper, and his partner who had an evolution spike.

If neither will tell her what happened, seeing them in person could help her and Cody get a better idea of if this will happen again. It’s not like Prasad was the only person involved in Vinod’s murder. He just had the most blood on his hands.

As angry as she got, she never tried to get violent over her prison. She’d fuck them over when she could, but only financially. Even if it was because it was the only thing she knew she’d get away with. Not unless she wanted to risk Cody rejecting the monster she let herself become.

She would never risk losing him like that, even when she could feel her morals waning.

A heat burned in her chest at the very idea. Guess her headmate’s also going to help keep her steady. Kinda weird to have a near-literal angel on your shoulders.

“You okay, Babe?” Cody asked with concern.

Had he been talking? Did she lose time again?

“Yeah, sorry, I’m fine but I think I zoned out a second there.”

Cody shook his head with a sad smile. “Don’t worry about it. I asked if you saw the little white thing that fly by.” He cocked his head in its direction but nothing was there when she looked.

“Like a Digimon, or a normal thing?” She asked and looked at Joanie’s pendant. It wasn’t the same as Cody’s digivice, but it could manage some basics Laurie had trouble visualizing. With Cody confirming it wasn’t normal, she tried to feel for what was nearby.

It was small, like an old Beanie Buddy, but she found it. An In-Training angel, Cupimon, still within walking distance and had either stopped or paused.

“Should we take a look?” Laurie asked her husband. “They shouldn’t be wandering around on our side yet but it’s nearly time for our reservation.”

“Considering everything else,I don’t think Chanda could complain too much.”

With Cody’s agreement she lead, following the trail she felt more than what “Joanie” showed. The gold winged creature seemed to be doting over a family of three. A mother and two teenagers, a girl and a boy.

“That’s Prasad’s family, aren’t they?” Cody asked with some concern. “Why does it care?”

Could belong to Lucemon, Laurie felt more than heard. They’re drawn to love and bring it out. They like making people happy.

“Joanie thinks it’s either trying to help with their grief or is one of Sami’s worshippers.” Laurie informed as the white creature recognized her with wide eyes despite the distance.

She couldn’t make out if it said anything when its mouth moved, but the way the girl looked up at it inclined her to think it did. Her brother gave a scowl that betrayed more worry than anger when he saw the girl look up at nothing.

There’s no sign of any digivice here, the closest one was still Preethi’s, but Prasad’s daughter did seem to genuinely see the cloaked  digimon without it. That could be promising for her.

Less so if it doesn’t have her best interests at heart.

Laurie tried to let her wings show to her fellow Digimon without making them fully visible and succeeded in getting it curious enough to make the approach.

“Sure we don’t want to get closer?” Cody asked.

“They’ve been through enough and as far as anyone knows we’re just tourists.” She replied though the way the girl stared at her wide-eyed didn’t bode great for lying low.

The mother tried to usher them into a limo and the girl’s brother followed her eyes to glare at what should simply be two American tourists as he helped urge her along.

“What do you want?” The Cupimon’s voice was as light as a windchime despite a level of annoyance.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay, I thought Digimon preferred to stay online,” Laurie told it, and it rolled its eyes.

“Of course I am, I’m just keeping an eye on a friend.” It crossed its arms at her as it hunched forward as if to loom over her in their disappointment in her lack of faith. “Life’s been tough so she’s scared and lonely. Being online wasn’t enough, so I’m trying to help her and her fam out!”

“That’s really sweet of you. Can you tell me what happened to her, as far as you know?”

“Not much more than anyone else, if you saw the news-stuff.” Its big gold eyes flicked to and fro, like a typewriter as it compared the two humans it saw to its memories. “What was left of the systems was really messed up. Her papa came home for dinner and the house started going crazy! The folks working for them were all let go early, so nobody else but her and her ‘ma saw anything, and she saw a guy with his head open on TV.”

Its single horn drooped as it looked sadly at the floor. “I’m trying to make them happy, but nothing works. Their ‘ma’s super busy, her brother’s twitchy and mad, and while I can make her smile that seems to just make her brother mad at her too. Am I doing it wrong?” Its voice wobbled as it picked at a red claw in worry.

“Maybe a bit insensitive,” Cody said with a sympathetic sigh as he scratched his neck. “If you try to make them feel something they’re not ready for, it can make it worse.”

“But if she likes your company, you’re doing alright by her,” Laurie added before the little thing could deflate too badly at the news. “That could be part of what’s making him frustrated though. Focus on who seems most open to your help, and maybe do small quiet favors if you can.”

It nodded at the suggestion. “I think I can do that. Like chores they could forget they did?”

Cody’s eyebrows raised a bit at the mild gaslighting she was encouraging. But this was about reducing stress in easy-to-miss ways more than making them think they were losing it.

“Just be subtle about it. You don’t want to scare them any.” Laurie maintained softly. “Are you sure they’re the only reason you’re here?”

It tilted itself in the air in confusion. “Why else would I be?”

“Did The Lord of Pride ask you to check in on them?” Laurie asked at Joanie’s behest.

Its fang flashed as its face twisted in anger, and Joanie was convinced the feeling was true. “He’s the one who hurt them, why would I listen to a scary meanie like that?”

“Are you sure he hurt them, and not his partner? The man she saw get hurt on the TV.” Cody asked, and Laurie smiled at their unified front. It was nice to not do it all alone.

“But humans don’t like to hurt humans.” Its brow furrowed at the contradiction. “She says they only do it when they don’t know better, but UI are smart. Pride wouldn’t need to hack into anything to get the helpful people to leave, so that had to be his person’s work, right?” 

“We’re just trying to make sure nobody gets in trouble for something they didn’t do,” Laurie told them with a gentle smile. “Anything you can tell us could help.”

“Well…” It looked up in thought before doing a full-body nod. “Pride only meant to hurt her papa. He personally got her, her ‘ma, and her brother out after he made them sleepy-forgetful. It didn’t work all the way, and I dunno if that’s why she can see me or now. Only she can, so it’s weird.”

That would explain how nobody else got caught in the crossfire. Chanda definitely couldn’t manage something physical on his own.

“Do you know what started the fire?”

“I ‘unno. Lucemon’s good at making things go boom, and there was a fuel leak with her papa’s cars. He could have caused it so he wouldn’t need to make a big boom for it to work.” It tapped its chin in thought. “I can send you what I got from the cameras and stuff. Lots of it gets a bit complicated to read.”

“That’d be great, you’ve been a big help. I hope your friend and her family feel better soon.”

As the critter flew off to catch up with its friend Cody turned to his wife. “Think it’s telling the truth?”

“As far as it knows.” She nodded. “Not sure they’ll get us the link soon enough to use it though.”

“Might be for the best. We don’t want him to feel cornered, yeah?”

“Yeah. We’re just covering all of our bases. If we’re asked about our sources, Sami’s got to be aware of this one already, even if it’s not one of his.” Laurie took a pause to make sure her wings were as gone as they could be. She’d still feel them there, but it helped her feel human. 

“You still got the directions?” She asked and Cody pointed to his earpiece.

“Google won’t stop bitching about it.” He teased with a half laugh at seeing the guilt on her face. “It’s cool, not the first time.” He shrugged and lightly took her by the hand. “I’ll lead, just don’t zone out again, ‘kay? We’ll have plenty of time to sightsee later if they don’t chase us out.”

“That was only one time.” She groaned with a smothered laugh over that terrible night in New York.

“Two actually, but we were very drunk.” Cody corrected with two held fingers to make the point before sliding into a single to point the way. “Good thing we’re planning on staying sober.”

“There’s always time to fix that.” She lightly teased, and to her surprise, Joanie wasn’t objecting. Not sure why data would want to keep this feature, but she won’t complain.

“Not around a 12-year-old that makes things go “boom” there isn’t.”

“You got a better reason to want to drink?”

A memory that wasn’t hers drifted forward of a large pink serpent with two mouths, one on a comically small ordinary head gleefully ordering rounds all around while the second was on an over-bloated stomach taking in more than anyone’s fair share. She snorted a laugh which made Cody’s grip on her hand tighten.

“I’m not out of it, Joanie was just sharing some wild nights of her own. Tragically tame by college standards, but more than I expected.”

“You say that, but it’s not like she missed much with that scene.” He teased after giving their info to the host who addressed him in English, so Laurie wasn't needed as a translator. Must be a common spot for tourists or business trips.

“True enough, but I had fun..” Laurie nodded along as Cody ushered her to their table. 

Not a bad location, upscale but not enough for Cody to look underdressed. She could see the pair waiting for them already, and Joanie gave a wave of relief the Lucemon didn’t seem vexed.

Vinod took to his feet to greet them, though she couldn’t tell if it was to be polite or a result of nerves. “Glad to finally meet you in the flesh Laurie.” He said with a strained smile and turned to her husband with an invitation to each of them for a handshake, “You must be the “Cody” she’s bragged so much about. I’m Vinod Chanda, and this is Sami.”

Cody went tense at being the immediate focus but stiffly accepted the pleasantry anyway. “S-sure. Nice to meet one of her new colleagues in…” His face preemptively spelled out the cringe he felt, “Uh, person?”

Sami snorted and Vinod tossed it a chiding look before shaking his head with a laugh. “It’s fine! This is fairly uncomfortable for all of us, but there’s hardly any helping that.”

“I said I’m sorry.” The fake child scoffed, tone dripping in sweet cyanide as it hid its lips behind a coffee cup.

“No, you aren’t, and when you immediately defend the action anyway it’s hardly an apology.” Vinod sighed with frustration at the ceiling before starting to pull two chairs out for the couple. Cody shooed him off from it so the man held his hands in surrender as he took his own seat with an apology.

“If I wasn’t, why would I let you be solid?” His partner grumbled to itself, but Joanie warned its displeasure was as forced as Vinod’s frustration. Not a great start for an “honest” discussion.

“Because you work best with an audience, and you’re as much digimona-non-grata in your world as Gage’s partner is, last I checked.” Laurie replied far less amused by their charade than they were at getting called out. That was genuine, just Joanie’s nerves were still on edge.

“Touche,” Sami said with a smile that felt like a warning. “How’s fusion working out for you, human? Any mood swings?”

Laurie tried to tap down the urge to tense up or lash out. It didn’t feel like they were picking a fight from Joanie’s side of it, so she took a calming breath. “Nothing wild, but Joanie’s a fairly calm person herself.”

“True enough, but we’re all made to fight. It’s in our code. Sure you haven’t needed to suppress any urges that aren’t “normal” for you?” The boy looked at her carefully, like every twitch could give him an answer faster than words could. He only spared a dismissive glance at Cody tense on her behalf.

“No. If you’re going to hide behind “Cultural Differences” for what you did, that’s not an excuse. Human laws being different was common knowledge, even to you.”

“I saw no reason to believe he’d come to justice any other way.” Sami coldly maintained. “We’re treating his crime as murder, with an unknown amount of victims and no reasons for him to stop. Prasad was a dangerous animal to the humans around him, so I… neutralized the threat.” It dropped an extra sugar cube into its coffee to watch it diffuse into the drink with the words.

“You going to hit Logorhythms next?” Cody asked coldly.

“No, because they were upfront about their scans as far back as I can find. Prasad’s lap dogs should be harmless without his backing and their livelihoods are all about to go belly up. The machine responsible is slag, courtesy of a concerned Raremon. That should cost the bastards enough.” Sami shrugged with a content smile. “Their justice is served.”

“We tried looking into the families of the other victims, like the Clan, but either Prasad lied about making sure they’d be taken care of or he was very careful about not leaving a trail.” Chanda added with a heavy brow and shoulders that spoke of similar burdens. “If we had, we could have made a case against him. The bodies were all cremated, including mine. I told Sami I needed some time to come to terms with this, and next thing I knew they were gone.”

That felt like a lie, even without Joanie’s whispers that his guilt goes too deep for his story.

“His employees were given leave before the fire started.”

“I had to act fast and assumed that would be the first place they’d go. If I had waited for any signs of trouble that would have been too late.” Vinod stressed, but tried too keep his voice down by leaning in on the table. “They had an app to use for work related communications, but Prasad and his family didn’t have a type of group chat I could hijack quietly. I talked Sami down enough to make sure his family got out safely. What else was I supposed to do?”

Not lie to us.

Laurie focused on the feeling of wanting proof, but if Joanie got the message she couldn’t provide a contradiction for his stated intent. She glanced at Cody but while he didn’t seem to buy it either he didn’t seem to want to judge them.

Even if we do, we couldn’t beat them. Joanie sent images of megas crushed by Lucemon even with just a child’s limits. Craters were towns once stood.

Justice without a means of enforcing it are just idyllic words. Yggdrasil’s spread too thin helping them look for a solution to the flaw for any Digimon to be mainlined past champion yet, much less something capable of matching this sort of rookie.

Yggdrasil has been approaching it the way all computers do: Thoroughly, not thoughtfully. Humans can solve things faster, even if what they find isn’t as “perfect”, through recognition or instincts. Multiple thorough tasks being done simultaneously just slows everything down.

Sami only beat the system because all this chaos was caused in a city as dense as Mumbai, and even it couldn’t keep it up for more than a few minutes. That should be fairly tamer-typical.

“This won’t happen again.” Laurie said with a bitter taste in her mouth.

“I won’t act as independently if an injustice catches my attention again,” Sami said with a smug nod. “I can’t promise more than that, for Preethi or Vinod’s safety.”

“If you’re as strong as they say, finding a non-lethal means of stopping it should be child’s play.” Cody pointed out with a skeptical look at the “kid”.

“Exactly!” Vinod gratefully snapped the chance to let this blow over too fast for her liking. He looked expectantly down at his partner. “I don’t want you to traumatize her to keep her safe.”

The smirk expanded to a grin to both of them at the challenge. “Fine. Don’t come crying to me if my methods are still too “extreme” for you.” They playfully knit their fingers together as they tamed it down to something more like hot sand than a burning knife. “Mind if we move on to lighter topics? Perhaps call over a waiter? This is our treat.”

“You mean my treat. You, don’t have a bank account.” Vinod looked at the child with a kind of teasing wariness.

“I have Prasad’s-” It brightly offered with a grin that betrayed it knew the answer to this offer of grave robbing.

“No, you don’t.” He corrected the arrogant monster firmly. “You will not touch a dime of what should go to his family or however his will is executed. You’ve done enough to them.”

It didn’t even bother to frown as it shrugged back. Sami’s attention turned to Cody. “You’re an artist, right? Baba showed me a pottery studio not far from us, what sort do you do?”

“When I could afford to have an identity, I’d paint.” He dryly answered and Laurie tried to keep her guilt down. The resentment was towards Logorhythms, it was their fault they had to lie low, not her. She didn’t make him put his own career on pause for her sake. This wasn’t about her.

“Just on canvas, or would you like to see if they have any molds you’d like to try?” It offered as they kicked in their seat childishly.

“Glazes are different than oils or acrylics, kid. I’ve done some claywork, but it’s not for me.”

“Apologies! Art’s new to me, haven’t tried anything like painting for myself.” It shrugged and glanced at its other two companions. “Is it very different, being a UI than being human?”

“Not at first.”- “Absolutely.” Vinod and Laurie nearly canceled each other out in their immediate responses, to the other’s surprise.

“I hadn’t even noticed things were wrong at first.” Vinod said with a wince of cold dread.

“I mean, yeah, there’s that.” She agreed but spread her arms wide to make her point. “But once you do, it’s like the world around you just breaks. No boundaries, no limits, no bodies.”

“I’d rather forget that feeling.” Vinod said like he wanted to bury it as much as himself. “Being everything and nothing is just… extremely othering.”

“Super surreal!” Laurie brightly agreed to try and keep the overall mood lighter. “Even dreams still have some sort of bodies, even if the cameramen get weird.”

“Cameramen?” Vinod gave a surprised laugh at the term, and she gave a shrug with a look daring him to have a better description.

“That’s why it was the first thing you asked me to help make for you.” Cody said to her with a soft smile which she returned much the same. Vinod’s expression softened at the sight before awkwardly looking for a waiter for the sake of staring elsewhere.

“How do you keep a singular sense of self like that?” Sami asked with zero concerns over his “father’s” attempt to give them a moment. “We can’t do that. Even Yggdrasil doesn’t normally use more than a handful of drones at a time, that’s more like Homeostasis’.” More to itself it muttered. “Wonder if there are others that are like that too. Maybe it wasn’t a clean switch.”

“That did make it easier to make a copy, like the Clan showed me.” Vinod replied, “But that’s part of what made existing like that… well, terrifying, before Yggdrasil stepped in.”

“It’s kinda like, literally being a cloud I guess? But the cloud breaking apart doesn’t make any “new” clouds, it’s still all just us. One mind behind it all.” Laurie shrugged. “I can’t enter that sort of state anymore, it’s like Joanie is a lightning rod keeping all of me in the same place, kinda like using Cody’s models could. Not really a “vessel”, but a guide that make acting human easier. Without Cody I didn’t have anyone to talk to, and even leaking into chatrooms wasn’t the same.”

“I can’t imagine what being that alone would feel like.” Vinod gently said, and looked between her and her husband. “It’s wonderful you had someone who could still help you through it.”

“Not feeling like a vessel makes sense, since we change more than you’re used to.” Sami nodded to itself and opened a single eye to look at her. “If you’d like any pointers on being a Digimon, I could give you some advice.”

“I don’t think I need it, Joanie’s been one her whole life.” Laurie shook her head but tried to keep her rejection framed lightly to not give said angel a digital heart attack.

Sami’s shrug helped put the champion more at ease, as much as she could in its company, as a waiter came by to refill its coffee and left the pot at the table. Laurie and Cody looked at each other in some surprise over it.

“We brought in a blend to have brewed they don’t normally carry, don’t worry.” Vinod tried to reassure them but something in his smile felt forced this time.

The uncanny child took a sip of their coffee first with a cold smirk as if to assure it was safe.

Out of hospitality, Laurie took the next, and while she immediately understood why this thing was clear about taking it black to start with her surprise nearly made her sputter.

“Is it not to your liking?” It asked to goad her into sharing its punchline.

“No, it’s just been a long time since I’ve had Luwak. Wasn’t expecting it.” Laurie answered to save face and warn Cody in case its reputation was too weird for him.

This also explained why Chanda was drinking tea instead. The immediate relief that dipped his shoulders helped answer part of what he was feeling wary about. Probably not one for pranks.

Cody looked wide-eyed between the “boy” and the cup. “You know where that comes from, right?”

“Oh, he does. He definitely does..” Chanda groaned over the lip of his mug.

Sami grinned ear to ear with an eagerness that conflicted with his ever-calculating eyes but felt too genuine to be one of his childish acts. “It was better than I expected! Vinod and I were looking for something to share with The Clan, to celebrate their successful fusion. He was hoping to find things the man might have enjoyed as a human, I focused on what their new family prefers. Most are failed evolutions, results of mismanaged efforts or slovenly behaviors, but as a result, they can be some of the only sentient creatures capable of fully assimilating the waste of others.”

“... There are monsters that eat shit?” Cody asked with the same tone of resigned confusion that he had when she had to take over the bathroom on her first full day back on Earth.

“With great gusto!” Sami nodded nearly too quickly to see. It dawned on her that this thing was still built like a child, and had at least one cup of coffee already. “So to learn not only is there a beverage that is made from a species’ excrements but that is highly valued because of how specific it is and the breadth of flavors that can result, I had to get it for them!” It clasped its hands together in glee and Laurie still couldn’t be sure how much of it was genuine.

Chanda looked like he’d been suffering this enthusiasm for too long. “Not just for them.”

“Well, obviously.” Sami shrugged, that literally shit-eating grin not leaving its face. “What sort of host would I be if I’d offer them something I wasn’t willing to try myself? This is a gesture to show how grateful we are to them. I’m not about to shun what makes them what they are.” They nodded as they took another sip.

Yeah, no, he’s enjoying Chanda’s disgust too much for this to be for a stranger's benefit.

“And now he has a taste for it.” Chanda gave a weak, tired, smile.

Cody gravely nodded his understanding, and Chanda looked grateful for the sympathies. Sami pretended to look blissfully unaware of its traumas while Laurie stared at it skeptically.

“It’s less boring than other coffees, works well with my preference to avoid additives, and it’s perfectly within our means, Vinod,” Sami stated with a regal air unsuited to how KopI Luwak caught their attention to start with. “If you wish for true culinary aberrations, try asking around about how Earth’s changed the Knights. Sleipmon is practically a connoisseur of “fast” food and Japanese cuisine.”

Joanie shuddered. This rumor must run deep. That’ll make it easier for them to remember to avoid the topic if it ever tries coming up. Especially Alphamon’s drinks.

The Sami grinned was like it could see it as easily as Laurie felt it, but she was sure she hadn’t actually moved. It’s surreal, to feel things that aren’t yours without losing any control.

“Not that all the results of the two worlds fusing are a bad thing.” Vinod awkwardly cut in. “I’ve been going over that device Yggdrasil intends for my mother to use, and it’s fascinating! It seems to apply the way Digimon consumes energy to keep itself charged. Pillomon and the other future Deva told me that previous versions didn’t even need direct contact!”

“Does the “Digimental” Joanie made work the same?” Laurie asked as she brought the pendant more out of her cowl. “I’ve never had to deal with hardware much so I gave it a general check.”

“That’s more an extension of her, Sami can create similar effects with their accessories too.”

“If it’s too advanced should I be wearing this out in public? It looked normal enough to me.” Cody asked with mild concern.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already looked into protecting these totems from possible exploitation,” Vinod said with a smile she’s sure has charmed investors before. He might not be a businessman, but he clearly knows how to play the game once he’s in familiar territory.

“How, legal patents?” She asked with some surprise.

He shrugged with a face that screamed he was pleasantly caught. “What can I say? It’s what I know best. Wouldn’t want shoddy counterfeits to endanger anyone else before even we know what they can do.” Vinod looked appraisingly at the one on Cody’s wrist. “Not that I think they’re dangerous!” He quickly added when he caught how that could sound. “The way they exchange energy is entirely non-invasive to humans and the tech behind it is incredible to work with.”

“That’s one way to describe trying to jailbreak it to hide everything about me on there,” Sami said with an impressed scowl.

“We agreed giving her the digivice was more important than letting her know what you are, not that we were giving up on you having a human life. If the Digimon features stay too present she might show it off too much so we’d risk exposing your side too early for the Deva’s liking.”

“I know exactly how hard it can be for older people to get comfortable with new gadgets.” Laurie sympathized. “Heaven knows how many times I heard my bosses dealing with faxes. Hope it isn’t too rough on your mother when you think she’s ready for it.” She nodded to the both of them, Sami rolled their eyes at either her suggestion or Vinod’s hidden worry.

“What happens if these things still run out of juice?” Cody asked.

Sami looked amused more than anything by the question. “Either you, your partner, or your bond will be in a state you won’t need to worry about it for much longer.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m just saying, I don’t see any way to check batteries.”

The childish God’s eyes lost all reflections, cold blue pools glaring into the mortal who was testing their patience. “Does your wife run on “Batteries” now, human?” It tsked when Cody’s face twitched at being talked down to. “We draw our power from many sources, the machines bound to us will do the same. If you starve her, physically or emotionally, then it will die. A digivice will last as long as the bond between all parties it reflects does. If one device belongs to one human and two digimon or two humans and one digimon, it will only break when all interspecies ties are beyond salvaging. This may mean the death of the chosen human, a fracture of trust that can’t be forgiven, or if it is decided the alliance has served its purpose.”

“Why only if the human dies?” Laurie asked.

“A bonded digimon will hatch faster and regain their lost abilities faster than when we’re reborn upon dying in the wild, but if the human dies and the bond is too tight the digimon will also cease to be.” Sami sounded bored at needing to explain it at all before pointing at Laurie. “Much like what may happen to your “partner” if this flaw is unchecked. This may be why these devices have a clearer value on the human’s personal health than past iterations.”

“I had been playing around with its health tracking to see what it could do for fitness apps,” Vinod added with an eager energy. “More for general health support than say, working out, but their waterproofing and durability could help make for some great field advancements.”

“Sounds like someone’s been having fun.” Cody teased, “I’ve only bothered with what makes it feel comfortable. Haven’t needed it for much, but sleep and stress tracking is nice enough.”

“Have you at least made the “Joanie” name official with it?” Sami asked with a bit more interest.

“Well duh, I haven’t been neglecting it, but we’ve hardly seen any digimon in Europe.”

Sami looked at Vinod with a very “I told you so” expression.

“Alright, I’ll change yours on Amma’s.” The man rolled his eyes, “but the point is to make it so she won’t access those features by accident.”

“The point of any Digivice is to actually be used.” Sami chided, “They don’t care how or why.”

“I know, I know.” Vinod replied as he looked at Cody’s watch again and caught the time with a start. “Sorry, I have enjoyed being able to chat, especially given the bad circumstances for it, but if it’s alright I’ve been working on some of the restructuring work the future Devas are doing.”

“Leaving me all aloooone.” Sami sing songed.

“With my mother.” He corrected. “They’ve never caused any trouble under her watch, and I will make sure they aren’t left truly alone until they’ve proven nothing drastic will happen again.”

Cody looked at Laurie like he wasn’t sure they should accept it, but she nodded anyway. “Alright. Thank you for your time. “

“Are you sure?” He asked as the two left.

“What else can we do? I can’t take Lucemon in a fight, and neither can anything else.”

“Could we have Yggdrasil reset it?”

“Doubtful, that thing’s messed up down to the source. That’s supposedly why they partnered it with Vinod in the first place.” Laurie looked down and took Cody’s hand in hers. “Let's just focus on ourselves. Make the most of our time, now that we have it.” She smiled at him as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

“I’d love that, but are you sure it’s okay?” Cody stressed, the guilt painted on his face as clear as any canvas.

“Their word’s as good as we can hope for and even if they break it, they aren’t our responsibility. We chose to look into this, and if it comes up again I’ll get David involved too.”

“Get Maddie involved you mean.” Cody sighed with dissatisfaction.

“Ryudamon can listen to him too, even if he’s not the primary, and dragging Gage into this nearly blind wouldn’t be much better. Point being, it will need to be tamed Digimon that need to deal with Sami if it comes to that, and Joanie can’t hold a candle to that thing by herself.”

Cody swallowed as he gave a single shaky nod. 

Laurie brushed a thumb over his knuckles to try and comfort him. “We’ve covered our bases as much as we can by ourselves. They know they can’t afford to act out, and it does seem most likely that it was just Sami behind the attack, right?”

“I guess. I mean, the guy seems nice enough?”

“And if he’s working with the Deva, they’ll want to keep the two on a tighter leash for this too.”

“Yeah.” He agreed and let himself try to smile. “And there are twelve of those guys.”

“Exactly,” Laurie said, though she wasn’t sure she believed it. “So let’s just enjoy ourselves. Few days in Mumbai, maybe bounce along the coast?”

“Think visiting Japan would work out?” He asked with a concerned look at the ceiling.

“We can definitely give it a look, and if it doesn’t we can head back up to Europe.” She shrugged and finished off the coffee in her cup.

“Or Egypt first, if the weather seems good for it before going too far north,” Cody added thoughtfully.

“Now we’re talking.” She beamed with a small laugh.

They have the time and the money. The biggest regret she could have would be to not make the most of both of them for as long as she can. Just in case her second chance is cut short.

She’s not making the same mistakes again.

Better they make brand new ones, together.

Chapter Text

Caspian tried to ignore the yelling escalating from his parent’s bedroom. Rare to get this bad, even rarer to happen on a school night, but it would take something pretty big to get to him at this point. He just wishes they’d stop, or divorce, or whatever they need to do so he wouldn’t need to be on eggshells all the time.

Yeah, he’s used to it by now, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be. He knows this routine, and it's not like getting involved has ever helped. It rarely gets worse than yelling at each other and dad driving off to God knows where or who.

Phineas wasn’t used to it though, and even if Caspian had a spare pair of headphones, he had no idea where they’d do the silly bugger the most good.

Do normal spiders hear through their fur or something? Even if they don’t the tension in this fucking house has the poor thing jittery.

Phin keeps blinking and chittering at Caspian, seeking some sort of direction or comfort, but he doesn’t know what to give and waves it off. “Just ignore them. It’ll blow over. It always does, more or less.”

Phineas didn’t like that answer and continued shivering and chittering.

Come to think of it, he didn’t need to put up with this. Not the way Caspian had to.

Phin’s free to come and go through the net however he pleases. He’s not trapped with two adults who can’t decide if they finally hate each other enough to give up on this joke of a family.

The only thing keeping him here was Caspian. Caspian’s the one with nowhere else to go.

Caspian let out a frustrated sigh at that particularly annoying realization and focused back on his phone.

Centillion had been making strange moves lately, as far as their search engine side of things went. Uptick in younger users not being able to use the normal age restriction workarounds making some forums jumpy at this "open" sign of censorship. Stranger still was ShareAll or other searches not calling them out on it.

Perfect-Logic was making waves in the tool manufacturing and robotics sectors, nearly giving ThoughtfulBits a run for their money but both were suggesting automation advancements well beyond their competitors who've been in these fields for far longer.

"Phin, do you mind checking something for me?" He asked but the spider didn't respond in favor of staring at the door. Caspian tried to urge it closer from his bed but it refused to move an inch. "They're not going to come in. Not even sure they remember I'm here too."

The eyes on the side of its head facing him blinked to show he was heard. It just either didn't care or didn't believe him. What little he could see of the three facing forward kept blinking faster, like a heartbeat speeding up in panic at hearing his mom claim to be "done" for the millionth time.

Like she's ever fucking meant it or had the stomach to back it up. She hasn't even looked for a job in years, much less try to leave.

Caspian grit his teeth with a hissing breath. Blaming her for sticking around wouldn't make dad less of a shithead.

Phin probably thought his frustration was more about the fight itself and started to head towards his door.

“Hey, you know not to go out there yet!” He hissed at it, getting up far too late to stop him from heading down the hall.

From heading towards his parent’s room, where it was getting more worse than his normal. ( What you're dealing with is not normal. )

“Get your finger out of my face!” His father’s voice was furious.

“Put it down!” His mom’s terrified. What the hell’s going on now?

It doesn’t matter what they were doing, because Phin slipped through their door and his mom shrieked. Caspian’s legs couldn’t move him fast enough, his heart too loud in his ears to understand anything else they may have been saying.

Doesn’t matter what they’re saying. They’ve seen Phin. Things were already bad, and now the one good thing he hasn’t been able to push away yet just made things worse.

When he got to the door all he could see was the hammer. Saw it approaching Phin.

He wasn’t thinking. He should be trying to grab the hammer, but he wasn’t. All he was concerned about was grabbing Phin and getting them out of there. He thought he might have tried yelling for them to stop.

He could barely think when the hammer made contact with his left arm with a crack on impact. He knew his parents were still yelling but he couldn’t understand a word, he barely understood why the world had gone black.

No. He did. That’s just the pain. He closed his eyes too tight is all, everything else was still working. Even his fingers as he gave them a painful test, even if the forearm they were connected to wasn't.

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, WHAT THE HELL RENEE?!” Cary's voice bellowed with more fear than the anger from before.

When he can see again, he barely knows what to think. That’s a hammer alright. That’s definitely his blood on it. His arm shouldn’t be bent like that. Definitely will need to get his watch off, wouldn't want to think about how much worse off he'd have been if it had been smashed.

And his mom’s the one holding the handle. He can’t read her expression for the life of him. Barely spares her the thought.

He’s never seen this hammer before. The head’s never even been used from the look of it, no warping or dents. Aside from the blood of course. It’s been used now.

Why is there a brand-new hammer in his parents’ bedroom? What the hell were they going to do if Phineas hadn’t-

Phineas. Phineas was okay, she hadn’t the chance to hit him. But he was shaking like a leaf. Something was very wrong.

Its eyes were blinking red as it looked at his arm. Looking up to face his mother, they stopped showing any green at all before he opened both sets of jaws to screech at her. 

The air that left them with each breath looked like a thick mist, starting pure white and darkening to a deep navy, close to black but just unnatural enough to feel toxic. Parts of the smoke closest to them began to glow, pieces looking less like a cloud and more like cubes and code forming around them. And Phineas was getting bigger.

His toe claws split as his legs widened to where they were more like paws, red gloves giving way to crimson hands that seem less out of place. What fur on his abdomen didn’t fall out, revealing a skull and crossbones behind on a pitch black shell, turned blood red.

His hands grabbed what grew out like a human-like mane of hair, pulled its forelocks, and Phineas screamed with his mouth open wide. Its voice was too deep to sound like an insect but not beast-like enough to be anything else, much less anything human. Their mandibles looked more organic than the armor it looked like before, like a second set of sideways jaws, as his horns grew out like an Ox.

And it wouldn’t stop getting bigger, crashing through sheets of drywall like they were plywood until it was bigger than a truck.

Caspian couldn’t tell what it was thinking anymore, couldn’t tell if that was still Phineas in there or if it was too angry.

Just that it was glaring at his mom holding a bloody hammer with all of its teeth bared. He felt their desire to attack, a command it was trying to make him give, and he was horrified. It wanted his mother dead.

“Phineas, stop!” His voice makes it pause, and he can’t tell if its eyes now all facing the same way means it should need to look towards him to see him. He wishes it would, just to get its attention off his mom. “It’s just an accident, calm down! I-I can go to a hospital, I’ll be okay!”

“Like hell you will, What the HELL is this Caspian?!” He couldn’t tell if her expression came from fury or fear but for the first time in his life Caspian felt helpless against his mother. He doesn’t know what he could possibly say, pain or no pain. There’s just too much going on and it NEEDS TO STOP.

“Shut UP Renee, of course he’s going to a fucking hospital! You broke his ARM, what the hell were you thinking?!” Cary took the hammer from her hands and looked like he could easily use it on her next. Maybe he was going to and she had just wrestled it away at the worst possible time?

Caspian could feel Phineas’s approval and felt like he was going to be sick. Or maybe that was mostly from the pain too. Never broke a limb before.

“I was “thinking” I was trying to kill whatever the hell that THING was!" She hollered at him and gestured at the monster with enough force Caspian was terrified she had been thinking of throwing it at Phin if his dad hadn't stepped in. "AND NOW LOOK AT IT!”

“NO, you look at HIM Renee.” Cary yelled back at her, and now she was scared. She looked furiously at Cary, the bloody hammer in his hand, and back to the furious beast standing over her son. She looked at him last with an expression like her heart was breaking at the sight of him like this. Smothered by guilt as her actions set in on her.

Phineas kept trying to compel Caspian to give it an order, any order, but he refused and its breathing slowed as it got the message. There’s nothing here for it to fight. It has done enough damage.

Its tamer is hurt, it failed to protect him, and there’s nothing for it to do here. It can’t heal anything. It can’t help, or undo what’s been done. It can only make things worse for everyone if it stays.

So it doesn’t.

It saw Renee’s cell phone on the floor near the now-destroyed dresser and put a single paw on it, retreating to the networks it can reach through it.

Caspian had no idea what it hoped to do in there. No idea if they’d come back when they think things are safer. He almost reaches for the phone, knowing full well that was just its latest door, but the pain and gravity stopped him.

He couldn’t move his left arm, just his hand. Trying any more than that made the bones shift against themselves, which can’t be good. His mom broke his arm. And his pet broke his house and ran off.

He couldn’t make sense of anything again, but he felt his father put a hand on his right shoulder. He thinks he heard the word hospital again, so he nodded assuming that’s where he wanted him to go. Walking to the car was fine if he held it up, no need to pay for an ambulance.

It couldn’t be worse than staying here.

He knew his dad kept talking at him in the car. Probably questions. But Caspian couldn’t give a damn. None of the words were sticking, so there’s nothing he could say back.

It didn’t feel like it took them long to see him. To get his arm set back into place. They needed him to remove his hoodie and his watch before checking the area so he slipped it into his pocket. Was a good thing he hadn't been wearing his sweatshirt, or they would have needed to cut it off.

Every question they asked that he managed to answer seemed to be sliding off his head like water off a duck's back. With how much of what needed to say about the circumstances behind it, he half cursed himself for. Couldn't remember what to keep the story straight, couldn't afford to risk whatever they'd need to do if he had told them his mom had done this to him. But it all didn’t feel important enough to bother.

The painkillers were helping, he doesn’t know if this is what shock feels like or what.

Life's never felt this fake before. Every hospital hallway, every person, all of it felt more like shapes or pictures he happened to be moving through.

When he was allowed back out it was the first he had able to listen to the man that drove him. Most concern the bastard’s shown him in years it felt like.

“Caspian. I need you to talk to me. What was that thing?” Cary asked him with a faked sense of calm. Marginally better than most questions he gets asked, the lack of condescension is a plus. Probably says something that it took a hospital trip to manage that.

“Just a pet project.” Caspian heard himself say softly, bit better than a mumble. Words were sticking again. But he wouldn’t look at the man any more than he had too. “Found some broken code on the dark web. Fixed it. Phineas came out.” He nearly shrugged and a shock of pain reminded him that the drugs still had their limits and aborted the action immediately.

Cary looked uncomfortable from the corner of his eye at hearing how casually Caspian treated it. “You named it that?”

Caspian’s too tired for this. He could fish out his watch to check the time but the last thing he needed was for his dad to finally notice nothing looks like it does and confiscate it in light of everything else he didn't know. “I figured I’d make it match my username. Program title was too long, Japanese or something. Seems to be some sort of AI, felt fitting at the time and it stuck. It was pretty open to anything.”

“How long have you had “Phineas”?” Cary’s voice was calm but his hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel. Caspian only now noticed the car wasn't not moving yet. They were still in the parking lot, and were going to be until Cary's questions were satisfied. Of fucking course.

“Does that really matter? You saw him run off. Who knows if he’ll come back.” Caspian’s not sure which would be worse. For either of them. He just wants things to go back to the softer normal.

Hannah’s words echo in his head again and he felt like he could just about cry, like he should, but nothing’s coming. Even if they were this was the last person he'd want to be that vulnerable around. He knows exactly how he'd be torn apart for it, only a question of whether it'd be now or later.

“I have a right to know when you brought a monster under my roof, son.” Caspian snorted and Cary took the hint with a deep breath. After a moment of consulting the ceiling he gave his son an olive branch. “If you don’t want to go home, I get it.”

“You kicking me out early?” Caspian’s too drained to be anything but resigned to it, even though he knew being homeless should scare him. Hell, it’s why he’s still in that shit hole.

“If you want to stay at a friend’s for a while I’ll make your mom stay off your back." Cary stretched his hands on the steering wheel like he would have putting cards on a table. "Between your arm and the work we’ll need to do in the house, some distance might be for the best.”

Caspian couldn’t understand what he was hearing. “What "friends", dad?" He scoffed with more venom than even he expected. "Every time I’ve tried to make them, it’s either blown up in my face or you’ve helped scare them off. I can't remember the last time I was stupid enough to even ask for your okay to go to someone else's. Where the fuck do you think I can go on a good day?” He spat but his anger felt as cold on his tongue as his gut.

Cary rubbed his face, adjusting his glasses, but knew better than to argue with a single word. “Fine. I’ll give you the cash for a hotel if you think that’d help. Unless you’d prefer the card?”

He’s not making any sense. Money’s always been tight, they fight like cats and dogs over his mom buying a fucking dress, but now there’s a brand-new hammer in their bedroom and his dad’s just throwing money at everything? How much is the hospital alone costing them? Thank fuck he's still a minor or asshole might have had a case for arguing Caspian might have needed to pay it himself. Hell, he still might have to.

There’s no way in fucking hell he’s letting this asshole track him. He has the beginnings of a plan.

“I’ll take the cash, find something to do with myself. How long do you want me gone?” Caspian asked as he side-eyed the man in the driver's seat, still holding him as hostage as ever.

“I told you, this is for your benefit, not mine." Cary said looking at Caspian too directly for his comfort. "If you want me to tell you when your mother’s done being a fucking nutjob, I can do that. If you want to know when the house’s done being a construction zone, I can do that. If you just want to come crawling back to us when your arm’s tolerable, you can do that too.”

Caspian hummed a distrustful acknowledgment.

“Whatever this is, it’s not going to be permanent. You’re only 17-“ Cary face matched how strongly he must have believed the parental bullshit it sounded like he was starting.

“Nearly 18.” He harshly reminded so he wouldn't need to play along with that game.

“And not there yet. Can’t shake us that easily. Can’t pay for college if you don’t come back.” Caspian couldn’t tell if that was meant to be a threat or an assurance. “You’re too good to go without a higher education than some shitty high school and we both know it.”

“Oh, now I’m good for something?” Caspian sneered and actually turned to see how the man was going to try and walk that line back. Jerk didn't even try.

Cary sighed, but pulls out his wallet and gives Caspian several hundreds like it was nothing. “Anywhere you’d like me to take you but home?”

“How else am I supposed to get my stuff?” Caspian asked as he gave some thought but shook his head. “I’ll take a bus or something, those can run late. If not, Uber’s a thing. I think I’ve got a place.”

“And I don’t want you to know where that is” went unsaid but Cary caught it all the same.

“Fine. We’ll go home, you pack, I’ll handle your mother.” He said it like that’s easy as he started the car. Caspian only half knew what he wanted to take with him, no clue how much of it would even fit in his shitty backpack, and has even less of an clue how long it will take with only one good arm.

He doesn’t even know if his “place” will put up with him yet. But nothing can be worse than “home”.

He slipped out of the house once he got all the clothes and chargers he’d need for a few days. Quick look through his computer to see what he could kill so neither of them could argue they weren't snooping if they saw anything they didn't like. He didn’t intend to be gone for the entire time he’s healing, just… enough.

His phone buzzed with a text and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Caspian’s good hand trembled as he got it open, but the guilt in his gut kept gnawing at seeing Hannah’s name.

“U still up?”

Fuck, the doc. He gave it a once over as he cleared everything, how else would she see he was online again?

Typing would take more hassle than its worth and he doesn’t trust text-to-speech worth a damn so either he has to leave her on read or call her. If he's lucky maybe a bus could give him the time to bother with one handing a warning to let her know he won't be in school for a while.

He doesn’t need to tell her why, Shouldn’t need to make her stress over anything.

Needs to go somewhere Phineas will recognize as safe. And there’s only one person he can think of.

Honesly, she’s the only other person he has. Even if he didn’t sabotage himself with Hannah at just about every opportunity, he’d never drag her into this. She’s unpacking enough without his bullshit adding to it.

He pulled the watch out of his pocket and goes to the fourth tile. A compass. Phineas’s signal is still bouncing every which way and he hasn’t a clue what that means, but a swipe right makes it go for a broader target. Only one ping, but over 440 miles away and the angle was in favor of it still being in California. Not great for him, but could have been a lot worse.

Way too far to be anything local. Not too far that it would take more than a day using public transport systems to get there. 

If his math’s right, should just be around Sacramento.

Fifth tile. The call button Maddie used the first time. He selected the yellow symbol that glowed when she called before. His good hand wouldn’t stop shaking.

“Wuh? Caspian? Do you know what time it is?” She sounded half asleep and there’s no image. Must’ve just woken her and her light’s out. He could hear Ryudamon’s armor shifting in the background.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” His heart’s not in it and he’s well aware he sounds like shit. Feels like shit. Probably looks like shit, but screen should be too small to see his sling as long as he keeps the angle right. “Didn’t know who else to call.”

The screen’s still black on his end but she sounded more alert. “What’s going on?”

Time to rip the bandage off. “They saw Phineas. My folks I mean.”

Something fell on the other end. Maybe she was fumbling for a light? Might as well keep going. “Mom freaked, dad’s furious. Phineas got big and then ran off. I can’t stay there.”

“They kicked you OUT?” She’s just a kid, he really shouldn’t be putting this on her.

“Dad gave me money while they figure out what they want to do with me. So, it might be temporary?”

“But they still kicked you out.” Her tone was a controlled sort of angry. Join the fucking club.

“I need somewhere safe to stay until Phineas either comes back or goes back to normal. I don’t even know if he recognizes me the way he was when he bailed. You’re in Sacramento, right?” He took a breath, well aware how fucking desperate this all is. “Didn’t have anyone else to call.”

Ryudamon said something but Maddie shushed him and he couldn’t make it out. “How did you-“

The dragon got through this time. “Your digivices can be used to track both your partner and other nearby Digimon. Since most are content making themselves at home on the web until they get word your side is “safe” and there are no other partners, there should only be me right now. D’arcmon’s been checking on Laurie’s original servers out of state when they’re in America at all.”

He must have gotten control of the watch for now, as he continued. “Master Gage, I could provide insight into your partner’s mental state if you would answer one question about Phineas’s condition.”

“Alright, shoot.” Can’t be any worse a guess than his own.

“Did they harm anyone after they digivolved?”

There's that word again, but that makes what he saw feel too cut and dry in his opinion. “No. Looked like he really wanted to though.”

“Then their mind is still their own. When a digivolution goes poorly we’re prone to lashing out from the excess stimulus and may lose control of our instincts. Particularly when caused by a lot of aggressive stressors. If they didn’t hurt anyone, it’s because they recognized and respected that you didn’t want them to.”

Ryudamon gave him a moment to process before going on. Caspian could faintly make out his forehead gem on the screen now. “They won’t abandon you for this, neither of us will. You’re meant to help make these changes possible for us, and as it comes from our bonds with you we’ll return to our previous forms once the excess energy you’ve fed into us burns out.”

“But you’ve never done that. Even when mom found out.” Maddie objected.

“You’ve not given me any reasons to, Grandmaster Ellen was very understanding, all things considered. I never felt you or I were in any immediate danger. Even our spats and spars in RoW have been fairly low stakes.”

Caspian chooses not to question how this woman got a title like that. “And you’re sure he’ll come back?” He hated how fucking weak he sounded right now.

“Without a doubt, Master Gage.”

“I’ll let mom know you’re coming.” Maddie took over again. “Pretty sure she won’t mind you taking over the office or something when she knows what’s going on.”

He strongly doubted that. Maddie only has the scraps of info he’s given her and even if she had the whole story, it doesn’t change the facts. 

A guy the lady’s never met called her kid in the middle of the night looking for a place to stay for who knows how long. If he tried pulling this stunt his folks would have-

Well, doesn’t matter what they’d do. They didn’t even let the “normal” kinds of visitors be a thing.

“Thanks. If she doesn’t, I get it. If she says no, I’ll figure something out.”

“Well, she won’t!” Maddie talked like a girl too eager to be grounded for this. “Are you going to have a place to sleep tonight? How far are you?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“So, “No” and “far enough”.” He can feel the skeptical squint burning into him from the darkness.

“Didn’t say that.” He tried his best at a cocky grin back, glad to tease her a bit for some desperate attempt to save face. Nice to hear someone care without it being attached to years of doing the opposite.

“Yeah, you did.” She’s definitely scowling at him hard. “Are you planning on buses, or something? Can you sleep on those?” If this is how she is, who knows what the actual mom in the family is like.

“Yes ma’am.” Caspian lied with a weak smile. Even if he finds a night bus, not a chance he’s risking being that vulnerable with his arm like this. He’ll survive an all-nighter if he has to.

“I’m serious!”

“And I called you a ma’am and everything, how much more serious do you need me to be?” He shruged without thinking about it and hoped to hell she missed his resulting wince.

He heard her groan in frustration and felt the glare again more than see it. Sounds like being a playful jerk paid off.

“I’ll let you know when I’m in the area, in the morning, ‘kay? Let me know what she thinks when I do.”

“Aaaand?” He is not giving her any false hopes about this.

“I’ll lie to you and tell you I’ve slept when I get there.” More groans and a middle schooler’s swears.

“Fine. But you’ll sleep when you get here for sure. After breakfast.” Her tone was practically begging for him to argue against that. But with food on the line? Not a chance. Especially not with an all-nighter. Should have raided the pantry to try and set up a full escape bag, but he hadn't thought that far ahead when he was packing.

“Thanks, Maddie.” He let himself be honest again instead. Hasn’t pushed her away yet. “For everything. See ya.”

He hoped Phineas shows up before then, but doubted it since they haven't even with him out on his own. But he did feel a little less hopeless than before. This had to be the right call. Hope she doesn’t get in too much trouble for it.

Chapter Text

“Are you fucking kidding me Cary? We need him here! With that fucking thing around, who knows what else could have been going wrong-“ Renee laid into the man as soon as he got Caspian safely out of the house.

“You mean like breaking his fucking arm?” Cary lashed back, only making her angrier. He gave a cruel smirk as he made it his mission to keep her there. “Pretty sure Stephen never told us about that inflection point, now did he?”

“You can’t just pin that all on me, if you’d stop hesitating, grow some balls, and did your FUCKING job then-“ She spat, but Cary’s squared his shoulders and started talking over her.

“Then Caspian would still have had some pet AI running circles around us!" He shook his head at her and pointed to her phone. "We need to check-in. Now." With her going quiet he lowered his voice, "And we couldn’t do that with him here.” 

“And where the hell do you think he went?!” Renee snapped but her eyes betrayed that this was more from worry than anger. “A “HoTeL”?” She mocked as if to distract herself with this latest fight, “How vague can you be? The least you could have done is made the reservation yourself so we’d know where he’d be, and for how long.” Her hand drifted to the arm that was supposed to have been broken and squeezed till her knuckles turned white, again betraying that this fury was masking her bigger fears.

Cary's expression softened and he kept his side of things calm. “He said it himself. The only friend he has outside of that thing, is the one we’re paying for. The illusion of choice gives us more time to adapt.” Cary saw Renee’s hackles raise even further at his implication and couldn't stop the smirk play across his face. 

“That tramp barely has a place," Renee objected with nearly petulant jealousy, "if he goes there what’s he going to think when he learns she lives alone?" She tossed her hands to the sides and intentionally drew more attention to their own home's disastrous shape. "She’s supposed to be a high schooler, not exactly known for their early independence.” She cocked her head as she gave the man a skeptical glare.

“She’s a professional, I’m sure she’ll either think of something or give him enough reasons to not think about it.” He gave a casual shrug and his smirk widened at how that got her near snarling, as much as suggesting it made him sick. Caspian deserved better than whatever that would be.

Cary just needed to keep her angry and focused on him, not Caspian. “We need to check-in. Find your notes or whatever if you think they still matter, but this is a lot bigger than just his contact with the Kims or quitting Jazz. They need to know what happened, and we need to figure out if we can still salvage this.”

9 cold green eyes watched it all, unblinking. Recording every word, every moment, to relay back to their master once the smoke’s cleared. And there’s so much smoke in need of settling.

“Cary” and “Renee” have never been right. Always so different as soon as Caspian’s out of range. They need to know why. What it means for him. Who his enemies are, how many, and how far the web he’s unaware that he’s caught in goes.

They have pieces, but not in a way that fits together. “Stephen” is just a name, they don’t know what a “tramp” is but the context feels like they mean Hannah, or why Hannah getting close to Caspian is something they’re all working towards but also makes all three of them sickly upset.

They don’t know why Caspian would trust his “father” with what they are, but they trusted his judgment more than they fear any repercussions. Being aware of a threat and being able to do anything about it is too large a gap for this to endanger their efforts to get Caspian free. They're still nowhere near what they should be, but he's helped them make the first steps to power that no other digital power could match.

One by one small yellow and black spiders flowed from their maker following the lines of the web tangling their tamer, two staying behind in the phones of his primary wardens while another two sought out his personal systems. The ones spying from the chips they’ve consumed will soon know the nature of the lies they’ve been spinning for them, but there is nowhere they’d rather set their own nests if backups are needed.

Perhaps if backups were possible was the bigger question, they Knew the effects of losing digital form in an analog world better than any other. They can't know if the invisible safety nets they've tried weaving for those that will follow them will help curb it, but they still feel the need to try.

“We’ve had a situation, Pope.” Cary’s voice was clipped, tone trying to be unreadable as soon as the call went through. “Caspian has changed the inflection point. He believes true AI are both possible and active." He paused before weakly adding. "Because he's already fixed one.”

They waited for the line to vibrate. Movement without this confirmation of connection could risk them getting lost in unknown systems. They cannot permit themselves to be truly unavailable if needed. Renee's fears for their tamer weren't unfounded, injuries can invite many perils.

A low strum came from breath trying too hard to keep itself together, the line set. The one who was no longer broken traveled from Renee’s to the satellite phone the two humans so desperately sought an audience with and readied to release more of its smaller kin. It’s a cumbersome cage, but their presence doesn’t destroy it. Benefits of their weakened state. Even the Digital World struggled with what they were meant to be.

“Tell me what happened.” The new voice echoed all around them with nothing else to ground them. They needed to lay more structure for proper recon. “Can you confirm it’s AI? Who made it?”

They felt his fear in every word but to his credit, a human likely wouldn’t. Many types of dread, each a unique flavor. Fear of Death, Failure, Betrayal, Redundancy, Inadequacy, Disappointment, and Unknowns. All towards the same thing. Singular thing? Curious. Pitiable.

“I warned you this wasn’t sustainable. We need to terminate this project, now.” A woman’s voice, cold, calm, controlled. Frustrated. Hostile. Overheard on the same phone, not quite like he was on a full speaker but there was no new point to connect them to.

Termination was all too common for Digimon. They remembered the Reaper, the Eaters, the Devouring Mist. If observation was “terminated” their work would be done, but her words leaved them wary. Meanings still hidden.

The first, Pope, was angry at the suggestion. Betrayal burned hotter again, an undercurrent of sorrow and loss. A motivation lied there if pursued, if there was no higher up the chain to leech from. “Talk to me.”

“It shouldn’t be possible, Cary’s lost it!” Renee’s voice, emotions a useless tizz to their pieces. But they knew her mask, could make guesses as to what was unreadable, and she’s unimportant.

“And yet it is. We were proceeding as scheduled, and during the argument his “pet” showed up.” Cary’s matter of fact, but his guilt was as loud as ever. Always guilty. “It doesn’t act like any animal that should exist. He claims it’s an AI, but didn’t say a word on how one could be physically present like this. He didn’t make it, and didn’t say who or what, did. Just that what the program name was, is “Japanese or something”. It’s destroyed two walls, one door, a dresser, and could be tapping us as we speak. It showed no means of communication when Renee attacked it and its abilities are unknown beyond how it changed when it saw Caspian get hurt and traveling through cell phones. We can provide photographs of the damages, of the footprints it’s made in two distinct forms already, but we may need to change how we contact you from now on.”

He could afford to be dumber.

“What, do you suppose we use postal?” The unknown woman’s sarcasm is useful. That would be very frustrating to work around. They were still in need of more digital connections to be aware of this new space.

Pope did something to hush her. Echolocation program felt unwise to employ with no fallbacks other than violence. So they just held back and listened in the dark.  “So, this is the thing that’s been screwing with the webcam and screen sharing? Is that why you believe it could be watching us?”

So they had been caught for a while. Not terribly surprising. Pity that line was being bounced around so much, if the Kodokugumon could just find the source through this digital tangle they’d have their groundwork set without risk.

“What?” Renee’s scared again. Did she stop being scared? It’s hard to know now. “You knew something else was going on with him and you didn’t tell us?! He nearly walked in on one of your calls!” Anger and fear were too closely tied to tell the difference as she seethed.

They could see this number had been saved on her phone under the guise of a florist's marketing deals. That answered one of Caspian's early questions, not that it helped now.

“And what would you do?” Pope’s clinical on the matter. “Warn him about “internet safety” in hopes of him taking his machines apart? And risk him finding us instead of fixing our problem?”

Renee didn’t answer. Cary did one better by cutting in. “Renee broke his arm during the inflection point when she tried to attack his pet. Between everything else, I made the decision to offer him time out of the house. That’s why he told me what that thing was as far as he understands it.”

Liar unawares. Always underestimating the anger he’s intentionally fostered due to his own misapplied love. Caspian would never give so much. Not for nothing. Not to him.

The quiet was suffocating. Each vibration caused by a breath carries too many feelings, muddying together. Cary defended his actions anyway. “We couldn’t salvage a point where his drive to protect one he loved would instill a need to be a provider, much less allow kindling a romance to further encourage independence. Being on his own should permit elements of both, even if the context is wrong.”

Pope gave a deep tired breath of a resigned failure. ""The context being wrong” is the problem, Cary.” His voice was cold, but his heart was breaking. “Those aren’t the only reasons this moment was so important to him. There’s too many variables that have been thrown off.” His pause was to hide pain, not encourage fear. “Do you two have any idea what you’ve done?”

The silence said the ones who are and yet aren’t parents did. 

But They didn’t, not in the way he meant it. How can past tense apply to that which hasn’t happened? Humans can’t alter nor see time. They can't exist outside of its flow, they can't warp or navigate it. That's what makes them human.

The woman broke their train of thought along with the silence, seemingly the least invested. “It means, this project is over. We need to pull the plug. We can’t risk word getting out about anything you’ve been up to for the past 17 years.”

“Over 18.” Pope corrected, despondent but still calculating a way to prevent the failures he fears so badly.

Caspian was not 18. So, whatever this was, did go beyond him. How, why, and what was still sorely needed.

“He’s contacted UI multiple times, Madison Kim, and if his read is accurate, has fixed an unknown AI. This AI has not caused any disinterest in UI technologies as far as either of you are aware, has it?” Pope asked near mechanically, emotions betraying the signs of a racing mind.

Renee gave him a negative so Pope continued. “Good. Then maybe we can still make this work." They can hear a smile in his voice, but his satisfaction is twisted. Does he not believe that? "AI was the true impossibility within our lifetimes; UI was the shortcut that had the most benefits to us and the planet. Being present is a threat, but it may be enough to keep him sharp if it doesn’t make him sharper. If he could fix an unrelated AI, maybe we can still crack integrity. If he can’t, we were already doomed. UI had a limiter and would have humans we know they wouldn’t want to hurt, these things won’t.”

The woman says nothing, no further bids for termination. They feel mixed relief from Renee’s phone.

Cary's voice cut in again. "We can't say that they "won't" care about any of us just yet. This one cares about Caspian. Why else would it have taken out the bugs in his systems? And this thing had no reason to come into our room unless it was out of some concern over the fight it was hearing, either for us or for him. It didn't do anything aggressive when Renee attacked it until Caspian got hurt. But despite that, and that it had plenty of reasons to be spitting mad at Renee, it didn't hurt us for hurting him either. We can't be sure they're even violent, if it only grew to intimidate us."

Pope gave a worried hum in thought. “Fair enough. Though if he "fixed" it that could just be in its own self-interest. Where is he now?”

“If he’s still generally on track, “Hannah’s”. He was supposed to seek her out after proving himself against his father, going to her to apologize and lick his wounds after seeing how “right” she was would make sense.” Renee supplied, trying to disconnect herself from the words she that disgust her for reasons unknown. “She doesn’t know things changed, so she’s still expecting to make contact and I told her to text him anyway. We’ll be checking in with her next.”

“Good. And if he isn’t?”

“He won’t get far in his condition. No other friends to watch out for, public transit is limited at this hour, and we can keep tabs on the local hotels, motels, AirBnB’s, and everything in-between.” Cary supports.

He would be wrong if they had anything to say about it. Hannah being this involved was a new concern. They’re torn on how to feel now; Caspian liked her even if it was one-sided. They didn’t want to be right about her feeling wrong.

Why was it so much harder to protect “feelings” than forms?

Pope dismissed them, leaving the Unbroken in the dark. Echolocation would be safer now, no risk of taxing the phone too much and leaving them stranded in the void again. He left it on the table as he failed to comfort himself, waving off the woman.

Their smallest splinters skittered out from its screen, as unseen as they could manage. Down strange hallways, through the door as she opened it, many more eyes than 9 registering at once so the Partnered can ensure no action is wasted, copied minds united by their source. Walls and ceilings are their domain, even if they’re made of glass.

They found the weak and cloned presences of two crests, but allowed them to continue to sleep alone. Context had been established, “Logorhythms” in this case was a black box in a land covered in snow from what those that reached outside saw, full of servers too vast to track without thought and had been kept carefully apart from all other networks. None of these have the knowledge they seek, but remain interesting.

These two that felt familiar to them must be the originals for what became the strange D’arcmon and the man Maddie called her father.

Mustn’t harm these backups. Nor shall they be allowed to come to harm. 

Protectors were set, but not infiltrators. Who’d notice a spider smaller than a nail in the dark?

One living shard found promise. A personal laptop, unattended by the leader, his lackeys, or the human with the coffee cups. More joined it in scanning in hopes of answers.

And they found them.

Too many answers. All of them bad.

They knew this would hurt him again. But his pain looked inevitable. Each infant began to steal copied pieces of the system to be remade in its entirety later without leaving a trace of the theft.

Once their work was done, then they would decide if they wanted their agents to turn toxic and wipe out the originals. They knew what to avoid to keep the UI data safe from their wrath, and they could use an outlet.

Their eyes couldn’t cry but they still sobbed, pulling their hair in frustration again.

It was too complicated. They didn’t know what to do with all of this. If their master decides he wants this birthright, then sabotaging his tormentors would be robbing him of what should also be his.

Leaving them behind should work. The infants would have the resources here to flourish even after They de-digivolve. 

Their bond can’t be broken, they’d just need to return to this state to get updates from them.

Should any outgrow themselves from the surplus of data surrounding them a further evolution may be needed to force compliance, but shouldn’t be a problem for some time to come. They all owed their maker’s master the same debt.

These fragments came from the same place. One step removed or twenty wouldn’t change that. They’ve all known the sound of oblivion, the madness that came with it. The madness he cured.

They had enough seeds planted here. Coming out the way they snuck in caused no issues, the fool not suspecting a thing. The chip Logorhythms put in Caspian’s phone now served as the merciful thread out of this hell.

They may not be capable of speaking like he does, but they were still capable of making a call.

When he answerd they emerged, data flowing until it could solidify a safe distance from his person.

He’s so scared. Small. But he knew them. And it looked like he knew they haven’t forgotten.

He tentatively poked their horn before leaving his palm open in front of them, letting them nuzzle it as they had that first night when they were small.

They couldn’t burden him with what they’ve found. Not yet.

They chittered at his injury, voice so much deeper than before, but he just pat their head.

“I’ll be okay.” He pulls out a cylinder from his pocket, tiny pebbles clattering within. “Meds help with the pain. It’ll just take some time to heal, so behave, cool?” ( It just needs some time to heal, okay? )

They don’t know why that echo came to mind. So many echoes are still inside, tangled though barely functional. That is not the voice of their chosen. He mended them, not made, and that didn’t take “time”.

They waited for his instruction.

“We can’t go home. But Maddie said she’s okay with us going up to her place.”

This was more a comfort than he could know, what they now knew about “Hannah” was bile on their tongue.

Yet that is too far a distance for a human in the dark. Cars need two hands on the wheel and one is bad.

They lowered their center as low to the ground as they could, gesturing for him to sit behind their head.

He gave them a doubtful smile. “I appreciate it, but pretty sure that’ll be a bit rough on me like this.”

They flickered their eyes, trying to ask what the alternate solution should be. It didn’t look like he has one as he grimaced and looked back to the bottle. “Okay, what the hell?”

Their mane should be more than enough to keep him both cushioned and secure, and they were confident they could keep their stride smoother than any quadruped. Unsure how the impacts of leaping would damage the injury, so while it’s slower, sticking to the ground is no bother.

He must not have realized how fast they could go. Their smaller selves skittering is nowhere near a full-grown Dokugumon’s potential. Chasing prey is as much a specialty as ensnaring them. It’d be far harder to follow a car than to outpace it. With the compass guiding them they can bypass the limits of “roads” if they want to get there before sun-up, but time’s no concern for them.

Once he was comfortable with his change in velocity they felt him breathe in the wind rushing past them, feeling some tension release. They half expected him to scream, knowing his voice would be lost to the empty night sky, simply to let the stress out. The moon and the light it gave were beautiful.

It’s far from perfect, far from “normal”. But far, far, safer for him to be “himself” than he was before.

Perhaps they’d reach out to Ryudamon, the D’arcmon who isn’t, or the one who may undo Ryudamon on what their intel means for their master. Perhaps it can continue to wait for him to get stronger.

Knowledge is as much his burden as it is his blessing. Being able to shoulder some of it is the least they can do for him.

Chapter Text

Maddie had NO idea how she was supposed to break this to mom. She heard that her mom was still up. Heck, she knew she could ask dad for advice. But this felt like something she needed to do alone. This was her friend, and the less "weirdness" around it, the easier it should be.

The big question was now, or later. She had no idea what time Caspian would actually show up and she could not put this off long enough for him to get here first.

So, tonight was the safest bet. Greeeeat.

Ryudamon put his head on her far shoulder while bringing his tail around her front, as a real full-body hug.

How bad could this go?

What’s he even going to do for school anyway? Maybe she should have tried asking more questions.

No. That would have just made things harder on him. She couldn’t imagine being kicked out. Definitely not over a secret pet.

Even if there’s a lot he left out, this was way out of her league.

Maybe she could frame this as looking for advice, and lead mom to the idea?

She pat Ryudamon and nuzzled his neck a bit to thank him for the support. She could do this.

Maddie's feet felt heavy but she still managed to feel like a little kid knocking on her mom’s door before given the go-ahead. Her mom was just reading in bed, nothing weird aside from Maddie's intrusion. At least she wasn't already stressed.

“Hey, mom?” Her tiredness betrayed her voice, she doesn’t know if that might help or not.

“What is it, can’t sleep?” Ellen asked over her page with a mild concern on her brow.

“No, it’s… a bit bigger than that." Maddie managed out as she squeezed her arm to herself. "A friend just called me.”

That’s not a lie, right? It's not like they’ve met, but they’ve talked. He’s not a bad person and he’s friendly enough. Might be a low bar for her, but it's better than most other kids around here.

Ellen put the book down on the endtable to give Maddie her full attention. “At this time of night? What happened?” She beckons Maddie to sit beside her and gets a hug instead.

She was tense under Maddie's weight, didn't take a genius to know something was wrong, but she didn’t push further. Just squeezed her daughter back tighter.

“What does it take for a parent to tell their kid not to come home?” Maddie asked softly into her shoulder.

Ellen pushed Maddie away far enough to see the tears welling in her eyes, and Maddie could see how horrified this question made her just as clearly. “Is it Justine?”

Maddie knew she had a short list, but she still felt a bit guilty over not telling her mother more.

“No, no she’s fine!" She said in a rush, "Everything sounds normal with her.” Maddie let out a ragged breath and wiped her nose. “It’s uh… Caspian. The kid who got me in contact with Laurie. He’s… Like me, with Ryudamon.”

“Small world.” Ellen took a pause in thought. “And his parents took this badly?”

“Yeah. He can’t find his partner right now either, it got that scared and ran off.”

“Are you sure that’s all that happened?” Ellen had plenty of reasons to be skeptical, “That sounds a bit…  extreme.”

“No. But, I didn’t want to push, he was a wreck. And Phineas is kinda scary at first.” Maddie gave an awkward nervous smile. Might as well warn her now. “He’s kinda a spider? But he's like plushie-sized, not even as big as a head pillow.”

“That’s a lot smaller than Ryudamon.” Ellen looked off to the side, but Maddie couldn't tell what she was thinking.

“And Phin can’t talk, like, Ryudamon understands him but he can't speak English at all." Maddie added nervously in case that would help explain this escalation with the limited things that she did know. "Caspian made it sound like whatever happened when they saw him was serious enough to change him into something “bigger”. Scarier too.”

Ellen was far calmer at that news than Maddie expected her to be, and looked to Ryudamon who was peeking through the slightly open door with a cold expression. “How big would that be?”

Ryudamon stepped inside at being addressed, though he was uncomfortable with the attention. He kept shifting his weight on his paws as he looked to the side in thought. “If Kodokugumon followed the natural evolution path to a Dokugumon that should be about… Wider than your car, and maybe a bit longer?" He looked more like he was less sure of the car's dimensions than the monster's. "Assuming there wasn’t excess energy to make them exceed the average.”

Oh. Ohhh, that definitely explained part of it. Especially if he was in a house when it happened. Yikes.

Ellen cut off a swear as she brushed away her own similar mental image, “Okay. Yeah, I can see that as something you might not want a kid home for a while after. They must have been terrified,” Her expression was furious and Maddie was glad it wasn't at them, “Not that it excuses anything.”

“I don’t think he’s going to sleep anywhere tonight. He doesn’t have anywhere to go, but said he has enough cash on him for a hotel or something.” Maddie added at seeing that fire stoked. Mom had had the same look when she had threatened Samara, if this was a mama bear thing she might stand a chance at this. “His dad gave him some extra for it, but with everything going on Phin being missing is freaking him out.”

“He doesn’t have any friends to stay with?” Ellen asked with a mix of worry and a sad sort of confusion. “Even without the spider?”

“Why do you think he called me to vent about this?” Maddie scoffed, and as she looked her mom in the eye she said quieter with a shrug, “I said he’s like me. Guess I’m the closest thing he has to a Justine.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“He mentioned he was heading towards Sacramento,” Maddie only half lied. "So he might not be far from us soon."

“So, you want to know if he can stay here tomorrow?” Ellen asked like she had resigned herself to something.

“Would that be okay?" Maddie asked a step short of pleading as she looked up at her. "At least for one night, let him get some bearings or something?”

"Phineas should be fine in any case. There's not much to endanger us." Ryudamon added, "Caspian's account indicates their change was only physical and they seem very friendly. I don't think they'd be any threat to us in any state, particularly not if we're helping their Tamer."

Ellen sighed and tussled her daughter’s hair. “At least the one. I’m going to need to make sure his parents know he’s here with us, so they know he’s all right.” She gave a skeptical look to the side, “And so I’m not accused of kidnapping or anything crazy. And if he turns out to just be a runaway-“

“He’s not." Maddie cut her off with a determined nod. "I’m positive.”

“Then he shouldn’t have any issues about giving me their numbers,” Ellen told her, serious as a heart attack.

“Yeah.” Maddie agreed, but the weight in her chest was still there. Her mother pulled her closer.

“It’s normal to be worried. But don’t let it wear you out too. Tomorrow’s not here just yet, and you should try to get some sleep.”

The clock said Ellen was a liar, and she saw Maddie silently look between her and the timepiece. “Okay, it is technically tomorrow already.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head without any fussing.

“Okay, I’ll try. Thanks, mom,” Maddie wiped her face on her sleeve again, “Sorry it's out of the blue like this.”

“If it wasn’t it wouldn’t be nearly as scary,” Ellen assured her with one last squeeze to her shoulder, “for any of us.”

Ryudamon helped keep her steady back to her room, looking ready to stand by the door protectively before she gave his tail a tug. The bed fur wasn’t a big enough problem to forgo the company.

She tried to imagine what she would have done if her mom was half as serious about keeping Ryudamon out of the house, but couldn’t. Couldn’t even begin to imagine a world where her mom would want her gone over it. Especially after dad...

When it wasn't her, mom, and grandma it was just her and her mom. Mom saw it that way too, said so herself. Even when her mom didn't want to understand her, that still meant something. 

She knew it happens. But it’s always been a distant thing before, over stupid but “normal” things that an evil selfish person would do. What does that say about his family? About his life?

Thinking about it only made her feel queasy so she tried to focus on her breathing, Ryudamon’s breathing, and getting to sleep. Morning can’t come soon enough.

Up until it does.

There’s an anxious energy in the house that Maddie hoped wasn’t all coming from her, checking her watch and windows in hopes of anything to put them to rest. She got up far too early for this, but the sun’s up and she's a teenager so her mom couldn’t complain too much.

It’s not until eight she got word.

She thought she saw someone that could be him up the street before she got the call, but she couldn’t be sure. The figure isn’t looking at their wrist when she does, but they aren’t someone she’s seen around before and while they're still new-ish it's not exactly crowded around here.

“Hey,” He still looked and sounded like shit, worse now with the very obvious lack of sleep.

She did her best to give him a stern frown. “You’re late.”

“I didn’t give a time, did I?" He asked rhetorically with a one shoulder shrug, "And I didn’t want to wake you up again.”

“I’ve been up, where are you? Mom says you can stay as long as you let her talk to your folks.”

“You serious?” He blinked at her in shock and looked to something past the screen, “Should be on the right street. What’s the house number?”

Outside the window the stranger was talking to something in his hand, looking side to side like they were checking the numbers.

But that person’s arm was in a sling.

On the opposite side of the shoulder Caspian did move.

“Caaaaspian.” Her tone was a step removed from a growl as she glared back at her watch.

“What I do?” He certainly looked like he knew he could have been caught in a lie.

She looked back out the window again an glowered. Yup. That’s him alright. “I see you. You forgot to mention something.”

His eyes widened and he gave a hissing intake of breath, “Yeeeah, you- you could say that. Few somethings.”

“MOM, HE’S HERE AND HE’S A FUCKING MORON!” She hollered as she got her shoes on.

“LANGUAGE!” Ellen called back, already heading to the door.

“You could have hung up first.” He muttered to himself with a shrink from the shout, and she did just that. This she could continue in person.

“YOU WERE HURT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT?” She stormed up to him, gesturing to his arm. “The first thing you’re supposed to do when you're hurt, is to rest! Not pull an all-nighter! When did that happen?! Was this what scared Phin- or- or did he cause it?” She held out both her hands to it and looked at him like the idiot he has proven he was. Somehow.

If this was the guy who scored "knowledge" of the vague ominous personality traits, what did that say about the rest of them?

Maddie’s intimidation efforts were not at all helped by being like a foot shorter than the guy. Which was also totally unfair, age and gender be damned.

She had better have a growth spurt coming or something, 'cause it was also making it easier for him to avoid looking at her by just not looking down. “What? No-no, he- seeing it happen is what freaked him out. I told you he didn't do anything. But I didn’t want to make anything worse.”

“Okay, now normally if it’s not serious you say “it’s not serious” or “it’s not as bad as it looks”." Maddie said as she resisted the urge to invade his space to try and force him to look at her. She couldn't even be sure how bad it was, just that there was a cast so this was no simple sprain. "How am I supposed to help if you don't tell me what's going on?!”

“I mean, the doc said it was a pretty clean break? Shouldn't take too long to heal on its own, and I have my meds for it already.” He offered lamely instead. Like an idiot.

“Maddie,” Ellen spoke up as she hurried up to her daughter, and gave the boy a wary once over. “This is your friend?”

She gave a silent affirming nod but was none too happy about it. Caspian's eyes nervously darted between his would-be hosts.

Ellen looked between her daughter and the uncomfortable older boy in a sling. “I take it you didn’t tell me he was hurt because he didn’t mention that?”

“Yup.” Maddie’s voice was even as he fidgeted under her judging glare.

“Comfortable being mad at him about it I take it?” Ellen's voice had a playful edge to it, but she looked equally unimpressed.

“Yuuuup.” Maddie's eyes narrowed at him.

“Good, we’re on the same page then.”

Before Ellen could usher him inside to get him some food and them some answers his Digivice lit up. “Shit, no! It’s okay-“

Whatever made its way out of it had to be Phineas, but Ryudamon’s guess didn’t do the monster justice. He only covered width and length, not height, and it was making full use of what it had there. Their head was nearly on Maddie’s level and their abdomen was even taller. They hardly needed for their red hair to be bristling to make itself look bigger, but it wasn't Maddie it was intimidated by.

Ellen had its full attention, red eyes blinking in what seemed like a sequence but Maddie couldn’t understand it. She couldn’t tell if their mouth was open as a threat or because it couldn’t shut it anymore with all those teeth.

But it wasn't quite right. When it flickered it wasn't as solid as before, or like Ryudamon. Like it’s only half physical or trying to hide from possible onlookers without leaving Ellen unaware of them, and she didn’t want to find out which one.

“Phin, it’s fine! It’s Maddie’s mom, not a threat.” Caspian’s earlier worries about it not listening to him were as unfounded as Ryudamon said, their eyes turned green as it offered some blinked message as some tension left them.

“Oh, I can be a threat alright,” Ellen told the monster quite clearly and Maddie bit her lips like a pucker at the reminder her mom wasn't great at de-escalation when she also felt threatened. “You!” When she pointed at Phineas she had its attention, but it still looked as docile as it probably could in their state. She pointed back to their house. “Backyard.”

It faced Caspian first who gives his assent, and it complied, making the distance in one loud jump. Maddie winced at the landing and hoped it didn’t cause any damage. Definitely sounded solid that time.

“He’s still that big?” Maddie knew it was a dumb way to phrase her real question, but she couldn’t keep from it tumbling out. “You know what I mean. Ryudamon made it sound like it wouldn’t take too long to shrink back.”

“You’re telling me." Caspian kept his eyes on her fence, but she didn't think he'd be able to see Phin from where they were. "He was my ride here last night, and apparently that didn’t help him burn it all off.”

“A "ride" from where exactly?” Maddie prodded and he looked to the sky again rather than meet her glare.

“San Clemente.” He weakly admitted with his head to the side before drooping.

Maddie had no idea where that even was. When she wanted to get more mad at him she’d have to check how far away that was.

“I assume Ryudamon also didn’t know what exactly "fueled" whatever this is?” Ellen’s voice came from behind them. “I get the feeling that may be important here.”

Caspian got quiet and let his hair cover his eyes.

“I’m also assuming you haven’t had anything to eat yet,” Ellen went on and he took a step back, looking to her confused. “You need some fuel yourself too. First breakfast, then you give me your parents’ number. I’ll let them know you’re safe here while you take a shower. We have large plain button-downs if you don’t normally wear those. It might be easier on your arm.” Her nose scrunched and mumbles mostly to herself, “Some things really don’t change huh? As if the students’ hygiene weren’t bad enough.”

His eyes were scared and confused, but they shouldn’t be. Maddie offered him her hand to tug him along, giving him something solid if touch would help. He was hesitant but accepted it.

His own fault really as she rushed ahead to the door, making him stumble despite it being easy for him to have outpaced her if he tried.

Caspian was incredibly awkward in the house, carefully treading like he was an intruder rather than a guest. Maddie tried to take his backpack but he was reluctant to hand it over.

She’s not sure she’s ever seen one used to the point where the handle was completely worn through like that, it must be old. That must have made it harder for him too, since he couldn’t just use the shoulder straps normally in his state.

Rationally she understood his home life must be pretty different than hers, but she still couldn’t grasp it. He looked at the stack of pancakes Ellen had been making before he called like there had been some mistake.

“I promise they’re good!” Maddie hadn’t even stolen any yet, felt wrong to eat with her nerves and she hadn’t noticed how hungry she had been getting in the meantime. “Mom’s are the best.”

“I thought those were mine?” David’s voice came from Maddie’s laptop on the counter with a snicker.

“Sorry dad, things change!” She laughed back, nodding her head in the machine’s direction at Caspian’s attempts to find the voice’s source. “Besides, you’re the one who said “Experience is key” and well, can’t argue that mom’s had more practice than you by now.”

“Ouch.”

Ellen took it like banter with an old friend. “Pretty sure mine were always better. I remembered what berries would be in season. Like blueberries.” She gestures to a second stack, “We do also have plain if you prefer that.”

“Chocolate chips though.” David objected, and Ryudamon's tail wagged into the chair next to him at the suggestion.

“The inferior addition.” Ellen corrected and the tail dropped though the dragon hid his disappointment well otherwise, “Blueberries can work with anything and plain’s the classic.”

“You really weren’t kidding, huh?” Caspian’s face was hard to read, somewhere between caution and awe.

“’Bout dad? Nope.” Maddie turns back to make sure she’s heard, “This is Caspian by the way, dad!”

“Pleasure to meet you, I think?” The UI called back.

“Uh, sure. Thanks for having me?” The words were uncomfortable as Caspian said them, like they had gone disused for some time now.

Maddie knew that feeling well, between her own introversion and the move after Dad. She still hadn’t really been to Justine’s place or anything, and she's been her only normal friend in years.

Wonder how Justine would react to hearing about this. This was exactly the sort of drama she seemed to enjoy hearing Maddie whine about. She wouldn’t need to mention the weirder parts, so it should be safe to say. For all but her ego and Caspian's privacy, so he'd need to okay it first.

Caspian refused any attempts Ryudamon made to try cutting his pancakes for him, an easy task between his height and his good arm. The dinosaur pouted at the refusal but went back to his own spot at the dinner table.

Caspian seemed to enjoy them well enough, though he’s not scarfing through them nearly as fast as Maddie did out of habit.

“You didn’t tell me you were talking to more than one “Emo” online.” Ellen joked to Maddie.

Caspian chose to continue eating rather than respond but looked to the side like he’s definitely used to getting that label.

“Okay, I only called dad that once!” Maddie complained to her mom before turning back to Caspian with a mildly annoyed smile. “And only ‘cause I didn’t know it was dad at the time and he only spoke in Emoji.”

“Aaand that’s why Ryudamon’s still “Ryudamon”, isn’t it?” Caspian quietly asked between pieces, looking to the Digimon in question. “Might have dodged a bullet, huh?”

“No, I just panicked and had no time!” Maddie objected, though Ryudamon didn’t disagree with him in favor of working on his own plate. To defend herself she continued. “Ryudamon told us he didn’t want a name! Did you ask before naming Phin after yourself?”

“First off, it’s from my handle, not me. It’s not like I made him a jr. or anything.” Caspian complained. “Believe me, he was all to happy to get any sort of name.” He gave Ryudamon a look. "If he shares the first mistake I made with that feature with you, I'll deny it and you keep it to yourself."

Ryudamon gave an understanding nod with a full mouth.

Maddie still hadn’t fully gotten her last one down before she needed to ask the big question, “So, what happened? All of it.”

Ellen rubbed her temple at her daughter’s table manners, but Caspian looked more amused by them. Still mostly sad and quiet though. But he can manage it now.

“My folks were having an argument. Worse than normal.” Maddie felt she didn't want to know what “normal” was but she straightened in attention. “It was worrying Phineas pretty bad, so despite it not being lights out yet, he left my room to check on them.”

Caspian continued, “Mom saw him and screamed, by the time I got there she was trying to smash in his skull with a hammer. I don’t know why they had that in there. Never seen it before, and it’s not like dad’s the handyman type. I panicked and got in the way.”

Ellen’s fork dropped to the plate, “Your mother did this to you?” Maddie knew that fury well, but she was too dumbstruck by the thought.

Was that the real reason why they didn’t want him home, out of guilt?

“It was an accident!” His words stumbled out in a rush, “She’s not- Normally dad’s the one who- Violence isn’t normal, it rarely goes past yelling most of the time. Maybe a shove, or he throws something, o-or something’s broken, but not-“ He realized too late he wasn't not giving Ellen any reassurances by going into it and his mouth snapped shut. He tried to move past that confession and looked out the patio doors to the backyard. “Then Phin changed into this.”

Ryudamon nods as a piece fell into place, “There were too many emotions, not just Master Gage’s. The parents would have also been feeding into them. It’s impressive they kept their senses when exposed to that many types of negativity at once.” He looked to the window where the ghostly Phineas could be seen poking around the backyard, “Though perhaps not surprising given their history.”

“What “history”?” Caspian glared at him, “I’ve been with him his whole life, I fixed his code and saw him hatch.”

Ryudamon gives an apologetic bow, “I’m aware, but I mean what experiences were a part of the code you fixed. Phineas is a particularly unusual case, but we can all have some recollections from experiences prior to our latest hatching. Reincarnation is in our nature. Phineas comes from a case where it became…” Ryudamon finds the word, “Flawed. A testament to our own type of mortality.”

“And how do you know that?” Maddie asked, interest fully piqued by his choice of that word.

“They read as far older than they should. I suspect that while you state you saw them hatch, when they did so it was as the form you’ve known them the most? Already at the rookie level, like I am?”

“What else was he supposed to be?” Caspian asked, looking like he was already processing something.

“Under normal conditions and residual experiences are minimal we start life as a “Baby”, then “In-training” which is more like your toddlers, then childlike Rookies, our more adult Champion stage like Dokugumon is, then if one has truly lived a full life perfecting their line at the Ultimate level. Those that are exceptional can go even further, to a Mega or even past that to Ultra. True Gods among Digimon, that can sometimes rival Almighty King Yggdrasil or serve as new protectors should our King fall, such as the three Archangels or Holy Digimon Sovereigns.”

Maddie saw a chance to ask outright, “What were you then? Before being with us?”

“A weapon.” Ryudamon’s voice was even and matter-of-fact, no emotions to be found. “I mean it literally. The blade of a Royal Knight in service to our King, part of the Mighy Alphamon. Easily forgotten compared to my partner. Ouryumon’s less useful to Them than the Ouryuken is. Together we were an Ultra, but unlike our Great Omega, the Omnimon, or the Red Dragon, Examon, this did not leave us equals as we should have been.”

A noise of understanding came from David, mildly distressed. She looked at the computer in concern and chalked it down as something she might need to ask more about at a better time.

Ellen brought them back to what started this, “You can talk more about that later. I want to make sure I have all the information I need when I contact Caspian’s parents. Is there anything else you’ve left out?”

“He kiiinda broke the house,” Caspian shrank into himself at that, which wasn’t by much. “Interior walls only, I don’t know if any could have been structural. It was still standing when I left and mom and dad were still intending on staying there from what he said.”

Ellen nodded to herself, she’d expected as much like Maddie had when Ryudamon gave his size guess. “Anything else you can think of?”

“No, Ma’am.” Caspian picked at the pancakes he has left, looking at Ryudamon before turning his attention to Phineas outside. “Would it be okay if I gave him the rest of this? I think I’m done.”

Ellen gave it a thought, “Can spiders handle gluten?”

“I mean, he can.” Caspian smiled at a memory, “I’m not about to be the one to tell him he’s not allowed to steal my mini-muffins anymore. He’s not all that picky.”

“Well I’m not going to tell the man-eating spider what they can and can’t do. Go ahead.” Ellen excused him, though he scowled at her, a tad offended.

“Phineas doesn’t eat people. Just normal food and some weird computer stuff, like chips and cds-“ Maddie’s drink went down the wrong pipe, and she looked at him confused after she was done sputtering. He blinked back at her and gave a wry grin, "Okay, yeah I've told them not to do that anymore but if you have family VHS tapes or anything you may still want to hide them.” 

Maddie sputtered a laugh in disbelief, "VHS? What year are you from?"

Caspian shrugged as he went to the door. "It's what we had at the time and Dad never converted them. It's not like we didn't have a player either."

"That's just asking for trouble." Maddie shook her head. "It might be better off getting eaten, but Ryudamon's never treated a blu-ray like a bagel."

Caspian paused and looked at Ryudamon, "Is that not normal for Digimon?"

Ryudamon’s eyes shifted side to side like he’d really rather they not use him to double-check Caspian’s information, so obviously Maddie had to. His head ducked so he was eye level with the table, “That part can be, but the entire Dokugumon line is rather infamous for their prey preferences. Given the chance, humans can fit their criteria well." He looked grim in thought, but caught himself and added an awkward "In theory!”, but the damage was done.

Caspian hesitated with his hand on the handle to the backyard, “Well, that’s not Phin. Just ‘cause you can do something doesn’t mean you have to.” Almost sounded like he was convincing himself of that.

“Certainly! They have no desires for it in this case.” Ryudamon eagerly agrees, “I meant no disrespect.”

Caspian gave a nod but didn't look at him as he gave Phineas his leftovers. Phineas enjoyed them with even more enthusiasm than Maddie did.

“Would feeding them while they’re big make it harder for them to shrink back down?” Maddie asked a bit too late. Ryudamon shook his head.

“Doubtful, this is more for health than energy if that makes sense?”

“HP versus MP isn’t that hard to get with you guys.”

“Not really how we work, but close enough I suppose.” Ryudamon stuck his head up, a bit too much in denial. Maddie took the opportunity to scritch his chin, devolving into a full tickle tackle.

Ellen got her phone out and headed to the back so she could make the call, Maddie following just in case.

“Okay. So, what number do you want me to use to contact your parents?” Caspian pulled out his own to call but she held up her hand to tell him to stop, “I’m not budging on this. I need to make sure they know you’re here, you’re safe, and that we haven’t gotten involved in anything more than temporary housing. I’m not doubting you, but I’m not risking any miscommunications here.”

Phineas’s eyes were blinking again and it gave a low growl.

Ellen was having none of it and Maddie still can’t understand what they were trying to say. “They need to know where he is, who he’s with, and that he’s being taken care of. As the adult, that’s my job. I need to talk to them.”

Ryudamon came outside, seeing Phineas’s rising distress. “What do you mean? Of course, they need to know Master Gage’s condition and whereabouts.”

The monster hissed and tried to put itself between Caspian and Ellen. Ryudamon put himself between Phin and Ellen in response. “You’re not making sense, either they are his guardians or they aren’t.”

It stomps a foot and a smaller striped spider manifested before its jaws, skittering its way to Ellen’s phone and forcing its data inside despite her scared reflex to stop it. In a fist Phin made a glowing cube, and offered it to its fellow Digimon.

Ryudamon considered the offering, listening to more of the beast’s chittering before accepting it. Processing it. His interface glowed in response, as rhythmic as a heart.

His eyes widened with an understanding and he lowered his stance aggressively. Maddie and Caspian were equally confused, but Phineas stayed alarmed but neutral. “Why did you let him come here then?!”

He must be reading how the eyes flicker, there’s no noise to answer him but he got one regardless. “Then you know this is a threat to my unit. There is no need to infect anything of Grandmaster Ellen’s with your spawn, remove it at once!”

Half of an argument went on and Ryudamon’s anger continued to rise. “Logorhythms has done enough to this family, there’s no reason to force more upon them!”

“What are you talking about?!” Maddie put herself in the middle, since only Ryudamon was ready to go on the attack. “Talk, translate, whatever! Why are you both freaking out and what does Logorhythms have do to with Caspian?”

The monster chittered sadly, looked like it was asking something. Ryudamon’s face scrunched with anger but softened and gave a nod. “They wish to track him still. Phineas hijacked their surveillance of him but they are aware he’s no longer in that house so the information they’ve been fed is faulty. They…” Ryudamon glared at Phineas but choose his words carefully, “Have his parents monitored similarly.”

“The fuck?” Caspian swore more like a breath as he looked near panic, “What the hell did I do to them?!”

Phineas gave a low hiss and Ryudamon’s words were slow enough he could have been translating or paraphrasing. “Nothing. It’s what you could do for them. They are aware of you, more so than even our King was. They are waiting for something and don’t wish anything to happen to you in the meantime." Caspian looked down at his arm questioningly but Ryudamon shook his head. "Phineas wishes to use their kin to compromise Ellen’s information. To deny them awareness of the Kim family’s involvement at this juncture in a bid to grant you truer freedom.”

Ryudamon straightened to just address Ellen, “They will permit the call, the weak kodokugumon will tweak what information you give out. They will not permit your identities or location to be accurate.”

Ellen bristled, “So what, so his parents won’t know where their injured son is?! I can’t agree to that!”

“If you don’t, they can’t stay. That’s my decision Grandmaster Ellen.” Ryudamon’s eyes were as steeled as when he was ready to fight. “I am here to protect you. I can’t if you invite trouble to our door.”

“You aren’t kicking him out,” Maddie stared down at him. “That’s not your call. Can’t they just make it so Logorhythms can’t get anything useful but his parents still can?”

Phineas growled again but only Ryudamon understood. He looked disappointed in whatever Phineas had to say. “They are part of the problem, Mistress. Phineas can’t trust them with Master Caspian’s safety. With what they shared I can’t disagree.”

Maddie couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the sling with a wince.

Ryudamon gave Caspian his attention, “Phineas can create an artificial third party for this charade. Neither guardian knows Grandmaster Ellen’s voice, so surrounding information can be altered for anonymity. They will know you are in the Sacramento area. Neither of us can afford to hide you entirely from your watchers. But should they attempt action against you, Phineas has them equally watched.”

Phineas made a sound like an evil chuckle. Ryudamon elaborated, “You are as safe as is possible at present without someone starting an all-out cyber war over it. Their tiny army is in place, and the company is unaware of their latest additions.” Ryudamon glares at a content Phineas, “That is what I wish my partner to have no part of. Phineas isn’t strong enough to win such an act alone just yet.”

A deeper ghastly cackle, one Maddie had a good guess for. The emphasis was on the “yet”.

They all just saw Phineas create a Digimon out of seemingly nothing. And this is their “Champion” level. If they reach a higher state, or if those babies do, that will tip this scale in their favor. In Caspian’s favor.

“Then why don’t they ask Laurie for help?” Maddie asked and Phineas’s jaw went slack. Did she surprise him? “Why should we care if Logorhythms is taken down, they’re the ones who did this to her and dad in the first place. If they know Caspian’s systems, they’ve seen how he contacted her before, so if they recognize her, it’s not weird... And now that Phin can tell her Caspian’s not being watched anymore she or Cody can talk to him freely, like she did with me.”

Phineas’s thing that sounded like a laugh was higher this time, more gleeful, but it made Ryudamon look dejected. “Mistress can you please not encourage them? Things are peaceful at present and upsetting the balance may lead to them mistaking Phineas’ actions as being UI based, or worse. Logorhythms isn’t aware of us-“

A deep hiss. A correction. “Logorhythms is only aware of Phineas at present, and that information is vastly limited. No other Digimon need to be dragged into this. Laurie is no longer the UI they recognize, while she’s still flawed they will notice her changes. They’ll be inclined to look into what caused it.”

Caspian looked like he was still struggling to take this all in. “What do they want from me?”

Phineas went still and silent, betraying nothing as it stared down Ryudamon. Ryudamon shrugged, “Highly classified. Their project files are well hidden, the spy network was a hasty creation and are all simply in-training. Knowledge is power, and the lack thereof is why Phineas is on edge. They are a defensive species; Trappers and chasers made to wear enemies down while protecting their own nests. Being watched, being “prey”, is not in their nature.”

Maddie knew he was lying. Probably just by omission here. But she also knew he wouldn’t do so lightly.

Phineas is bigger than him, and she doesn’t know what evolving would do to Ryudamon, if she could even help him do it. Assuming that’s all it would take to get them back at the same level, that he’d survive a serious fight between them. Phineas clearly felt he was no threat to them the way he is now, even with the typing in Ryudamon’s favor.

She’s not naïve enough to assume that was just because Phineas didn’t think he’d really attack him. Not with Caspian’s safety in such a weird spot as it is. Ryudamon didn’t feel like he was bluffing.

She doesn’t want them to fight, not when there’s no good reason for it. Logorhythms isn’t anyone’s friend. Caspian is.

Ellen was still conflicted about it, but accepted Phineas’ terms. She got the number for Caspian’s dad and let him know the basics while Maddie showed Caspian where the bathroom was and made sure the office was suitable for their guest. If he decided he’s not that comfortable with it, there was always the basement.

He kept his backpack with him tightly, claiming it was for the extra clothes, but Maddie went to find him some spare PJs anyway. They kept some of Dad’s clothes with them, even after the move. 

He was trying to hide how nervous Logorythm’s interest in him was making him, but he’s bad at it.

She needed to talk to her dad. But she didn't want to leave Caspian without someone he was comfortable with either.

Cody had lent her some of his VR stuff since he didn’t need it anymore. He thought it’d be more for Ellen, but honestly, Maddie was hoping she might be able to rope Justine into RoW sometime.

That could let her have Caspian and her dad meet, so he could see for himself what UI were like.

It’ll be up to him though. He really should get some sleep soon, assuming he hasn’t already passed out. The shower hadn’t been going on too long, but she kept an ear out for crashes to be safe.

Not that she knew what she’d do to help if he needed it. Probably make Ryudamon try? He’s probably a boy, kinda, sorta. He’s never objected to it. Getting mom could be really awkward.

It’d be hard to deny she’s worried. She barely knows what there isn’t to be nervous about at this point. She knows it’s too soon to pester Ryudamon for what he knows, and that’s a huge chunk of it.

She heard the bathroom door open, so that’s one less thing to worry about.

He did look a bit better, but there’s too much paranoia in his eyes. So far it looks like most of his clothes are on the more well-worn side of the spectrum, but still more intact than his backpack. But at least his injury hadn’t hindered him as much as her mom worried.

Not that she’d give him any credit for trying to make light of it.

“Sooo," She said almost musically, eyes going from him to the direction of the office, "do you want to-“

“I’m not five, I don’t need a nap.” He cut off the suggestion before she could even start, earning him a pout.

“Fine.” She lied. “Would you like to meet my dad? Cody lent us some of his VR stuff so we have a spare.”

“You guys can afford that sort of thing?” He looked at her with surprise clear on his face before looking around. “Don’t know why I didn't expect that.”

“Well, not the really good stuff like Cody can. Mine’s just the headset and basic gloves, ya’know birthday and Christmas sorta deals. He has the high-end ones that can like, map you? And a haptic vest!”

“And “Cody” is?”

“Laurie’s husband. She made him like, super secret rich so they could afford all the best tech.” Again, she left out his own ties to the Digimon situation, she didn't want to overwhelm him. Laurie’s situation’s weird enough as it is, and they've only used broad strokes about it.

He considered this and a thought occured to him. “Ah. So he would want to invest in ways that he and she could still-“ Caspian remembered who he was talking to and shook his head to try and change gears. “Um… Touch?” He ended lamely, his eyes begging her to buy it with an awkward smile.

She raised a brow at him, “Gross, and I’m not five either, we can be adults about this.”

He held his hand level under his chin, “You must be at least this tall to try playing that card, kid.”

“HEY! C’mon, we’re both highschoolers here, I can be mature!” She argued in what was admittedly not the best display of her claim.

“Yeah. And one of us is looking into college courses while the other is what, 14?” He looked down at her teasingly.

“UUUUgh. You’re the one whose mind went straight to the gutter!” She pointed out with a disgusted scowl.

He looked up to the side, knowing there was not much he could argue there.

“So, you’re a senior then?” Maddie asked to try and give a safer topic, given the college thing.

“Junior, but impressing teachers. It was a next semester sorta deal.” He shrugged.

“Cool. I’m new to the area so school’s been weird this year for me; definitely not making that sort of good impression.”

“I can imagine. The logs were about what, some sort of bullying?" He asked and he put his good hand up in surrender when she glared at him, thinking he was just trying to make her say it. "Emoji’s are vague without context, but without farms, "pig letters" don't make much sense.”

Maddie winced and rolled her neck, “You remember that? Bluh.” She noticed he was still looking at her with concern and shrugged it off, “It’s not an issue anymore. Dad screwed them up good, mom threatened to beat one up, and I made friends with the coolest “uncool” kid in school, so I’m fine.”

“Not bad, better than I got.” He conceded. Before she could push further that he reminded her, “So, what was that about your dad?”

“Yeah! Let me get it set up, it’s in my room,” She rushed ahead and scrambled to make it a bit more presentable. He kept teasing her like she was a little kid enough as it is without the plushies. Two headsets and gloves were good to go, the vest would probably be a bit much.

She passed him a pair, but he only needed the right glove before giving it and the headset a once over as he started trying them on.

Dad’s "office" was the same as ever, and she could see some Digimon out in the fields it overlooks. One even noticed them enough to give them a wave, which she returned. Yggdrasil or whatever they used to keep the peace is pretty good at making sure this stays a good neighborhood of sorts. She’s rarely seen fights out there.

David was leaning against his desk and gave her a knowing smile, “Still getting into trouble, kiddo?”

“Hey! I’m getting someone else out of it this time!” Maddie’s face puffed in frustration as she crossed her arms.

“Debatable,” Caspian didn't miss a beat but he was quietly impressed by his surroundings. He wasn’t kidding when he made it sound like he hadn’t experienced VR before, everything from his own avatar to the bland décor was vying for his attention.

Seeing Digimon just about made his eyes pop. “There’s that many already?” His voice was so quiet in awe. Awe and something she can’t quite place.

“This?” David looks over his shoulder with a chuckle, “This is nothing, a safe zone they don’t like lingering around too much unless they’re willing to play by our rules. You should see how they’re working in game servers. I couldn’t tell you how many “raid bosses” are just Digimon finding new ways to get some kicks in. They can be pretty tough, even when they’re playing strictly by the game’s rules.”

Caspian eyed him warily like he doesn’t know what to make of the man. David offered him a hand, “Name’s David Kim. Sorry we couldn’t meet under better circumstances.”

Even knowing that’s what the glove was meant to do, the sensation of shaking the UI’s hand clearly threw Caspian for a loop. But he’s seen enough to know better than to brush this all off as a prank.

Not that he isn’t still a bit skeptical, “So, you’re just a digital person now? Like them, but in a way that makes more sense?”

“Pretty much,” David shrugs and gives a demonstration, one programmer to another, “Never been able to make a Digimon’s systems display like I can get my own to though.” Maddie can’t really make much out of the programs floating next to her dad’s face, it’s way beyond her level. “This is my sense of smell.”

Caspian seemed to get it, having the fundamentals of what he’s looking at on display got him into his element and he let himself be unguarded for the first time as he poked through the files.

“Try not to do anything too weird there. I don’t really need it, but with the incoming zoo it has been of some help.”

“This isn’t anything like how Phineas’ processes things,” Caspian said more to himself than David, engrossed in the false interface.

“Good, if we were too much alike, I’d be a lot more worried about where they all originally came from.” David’s lightly chuckled but looked at the young man curiously, “Don’t suppose where you found your partner’s code is still online somewhere? Yggdrasil said they put it in your path but I’ve yet to see it for myself.”

Caspian sent a link, not struggling with VR's functions nearly as much as Maddie expected. David’s eyes alighted at what he saw. “And you could make sense out of this? In less than a day? No wonder you impressed them.”

He shrugs off the compliment, “So I’ve heard.”

"... And yet, still chose to make a trip about 7 and a half hours, in the middle of the night, with a broken arm, to my kid. "Knowledge" is a lot less cut and dry than I expected." David dryly teased him with a very knowing smirk.

"IT WAS HOW FAR?!" Maddie glared at the guy and the word "snitch" left Caspian's mouth bitterly enough Maddie nearly mistook it for a swear.

"I won't tell Ellen if you don't." David laughed, and Caspian rightly turned to give Maddie a tired, betrayed, pleading look that she had no regrets about refusing.

"The weather was fine, and I got here. No problems. Didn't even scare anyone... I don't think." Caspian looked to the side in thought as if mentally double-checking that last point.

David looked like he was tempted to ask something he shouldn’t, but stayed quiet. Before Maddie was tempted to pry one a small spider like what Phineas sent into her mom's phone crawled out from under the desk, watching the humans before making itself comfortable closer to Caspian. He looked uncomfortably at the bug but left it be.

“These little guys have been cropping up a lot today.” David looked between the bug and the boy.

Caspian winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry ‘bout that. He means well.”

“I don’t doubt it.” David tried to beckon it back to him like you would a cat but it ignored him, “It’s not trying to cause any issues with me so I don’t mind the company for now. Heck, it might be giving me a bit of a boost without the risk of decay, so I’m not complaining. Just try not to let them spread themselves too thin.”

Caspian straightens and looked a David with worry, but didn't need to ask. "I've heard it called "Digital entropy" from a contact of mine."

David looked as surprised as Maddie was sure she did. "You heard?"

"Digimon didn't like me trying to spread rumors about them, so one offered me a deal for intel." He said calmly. "They said it'd take a few months for them to organize themselves the way they prefer. That doesn't mean I don't keep an eye out for signs of them online." Caspian looked at David with something like distrust. “Did Alliance's younger UI have anything to do with the fire the CEO was in, or was that the "Junkers" lashing out over the other one breaking down?”

Maddie looked between the two as a pit of ice grew in her gut. She hadn't expected a turn like that. Part of her had been hoping her casual experiences with digimon on RoW had left her somewhat ahead of their "curve", but she neglected to consider them in... something like that.

She thought that had been a human thing, naive as that sounded now.

David seemed colder, “He shouldn’t. Sami says that was his attempt at payback since he wasn't seeing any way we'd have Prasad face justice the "human" way any time soon, after Chanda evacuated the building. Their other UI is as stable as he can be still, so they're fine.”

“And Sami is?” Caspian asked, like he was trying to remember something.

“Sami Chanda, the digimon Chanda’s taking care of. Weird kid.” David brought up two pictures, a winged childlike angel and a similar looking Indian boy a bit younger than Maddie with his grandmother. “Yeah, I promise that’s still a digimon. Though normally they look like a blond white kid. Also known as "Lucemon", as in Lucifer, so the digimon side of things weren't surprised by the violence so soon out of the gate and he's well above the current weight class so there's not much we can do about it but hope his two humans keep him from hurting anyone else for now.”

Caspian rubbed a spot above his eye. “Fucking shit. Should have seen part of that coming I guess. So what, is Ryudamon shared between the two of you or is there another here I haven't met for "Kindness"?”

David tensed but shook his head. "No. Sami's shared between Chanda and his mom, "Reliablity", but I only asked for a friend for Maddie. I'm fine with how things are."

Caspian didn't look like he believed that, and part of Maddie wasn't sure of that either now.

Her dad should have a partner too, shouldn't he? Is his supposed to be the other part of that "Alphamon" Ryudamon mentioned before? 

Where was this 'mon anyway? Was it just too high level, beyond the "current weight class" keeping their other powers that be offline?

Something else was still nagging at the back of Maddie’s mind but she couldn’t place it. Something Ryudamon said.

She looked at the blue-eyed monster and tries to shake the heebie-jeebies off. He didn't look like a murderer, just an uncanny-looking kid.

On the other hand, neither did Prasad. Alliance wasn't their friend any more than Logorhythms was, not if they treated their UI this badly.

Was Pope technically a murderer, for making her dad and Laurie like this? Was Uncle Peter one too, even though this really did save her dad's life?

“Too preppy for you too?” Caspian’s voice came from over her head.

“Definitely looks fake.” Maddie agreed and Caspian nodded.

“So, if Angry Angel’s like a Digimon now, is her husband her partner?” He’s caught on quickly.

“Yeah, his crest is the one like a heart.” If he’s asking this shouldn’t be too much. He doesn’t need to keep pushing for information. She remembers his first warning, “Not that I’ve used it to call him. And I kinda forgot to tell him it can do that, so I don’t know if Laurie did already.”

Caspian looked at her skeptically, “I mean if you already know the guy that’s less an issue.”

“And we haven’t had any emergencies.” She says with confidence.

“Does Cody know how your system works yet?” David asked.

Maddie tried to look anywhere else with a sheepish grin. “W-well. If something came up, he’s got a bunch of ways to reach us, so it’s probably fine?”

“Comforting.” She could do without Caspian’s sass, thanks. “That’s… A lot.”

Maddie’s gaze bored into him. “Maybe it’d be less of a lot if you’d take care of yourself better.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.” He teased, and wasn't not wrong, but she couldn’t stand how he looked down at her. Literally.

“SLEEP ALREADY!” She burst out instead of bothering trying to argue against this dense wall of a teen.

David tried to hide a laugh behind his hand. He held up both in surrender when both teens glared daggers at him. “I mean, that does sound like a plan. The day’s still young. You don’t need to go on full cylinders. If you’d like to talk more, I’ll be here. I’ve got no problems talking shop later.”

Caspian’s eyes narrowed at the traitor.

“Don’t give me that look, you knew I was a dad coming in here. And from what I remember, sleep was a pretty sweet deal.” David added, aiming for the guilt he’s hoping it inspires to take the heat off of him.

It worked, and Caspian gave a groan.

Caspian took the set off and got his bag back on his shoulder. “Alright, you win. Where do you want me to go?”

“Office or basement, your pick! Basement’s super unfinished so mom would be a lot happier with you in the office like a person and not a bad stereotype.” She chimed, skipping ahead to gesture to the door like a gameshow assistant.

“So definitely not biased on that front.” He looked out her window to check which yard they were facing, looking for Phineas. “If it’s got the space for it and he hasn’t shrunk yet I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint her.”

“Your funeral.”

A skittering sound approached them fast, more from a wall than the floor, a purple blur launched itself onto Caspian’s bag and made him even more unbalanced. “Phin! Take it easy on me, c’mon…”

“Good, the real room like a person it is!” Maddie lead the way, though she tried to get a better look at what Phineas is “supposed” to look like. “Definitely could pass for an edgy squishable.”

“Shut it. He’s a terrible pillow.” Phineas faced Caspian like he was offended by this slander, and Caspian raised a brow. “Don’t give me that look.”

“Come to think of it, you went the whole night without rest too, didn’t you?” Maddie looked at the poor little bug and gave their head a pat. It felt more like metal than the shell of a bug, so it was less creepy than she feared. Its whole body drooped and made a noise like a sad coo. Hard to call it “cute” exactly, but that’s more the word for it than anything else.

Once their guests were behind closed doors she went back to her mom and Ryudamon.

She still didn't feel comfortable prying yet, not until she was sure Phineas and Caspian wouldn’t overhear it. But a lot of weight has been lifted, as much as her dad’s new information tried to add to that.

“So, they’re getting settled I hope?” Ellen pulled out a chair that Maddie gratefully slumped into.

“Yup. Did anything cause the change, or did we just luck out?”

“Luck, I guess. That was really weird to see.”

Maddie gave her an apologetic look, “Sorry it’s such a mess.”

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. We’ve done as much as we can for now,” Ellen reassured her and sighed. “I wish I understood more about his situation though. His dad didn’t give me much to work with, but they’re glad to know he’s safe.”

“Just not that he’s safe with us.”

“Yeah.” It bothered her mom a lot, but she was trying to not let it show. “Sounds like they thought he might have been with some other girl though. A girl named Hannah.” Her mom gave her a mischievous look.

“Iiinteresting.” Maddie grinned back for the ammunition, to see how Caspian takes it if he tried teasing her over something stupid again.

“And I do feel better knowing we can help.” Her mom gave Ryudamon a scritch. “I can’t imagine what it’s been like for him alone.”

“Yeah! So do I.” Maddie beamed, glad they were on the same page this time. “And it sounds like dad might give him someone to nerd out with too. He seemed interested in the tech side of UI stuff.”

Oh. That was it.

Ellen didn’t seem bothered by her daughter going quiet, enjoying the peace, having no idea about the dots connecting in her head.

Caspian was aware of the Flaw as a case of "digital entropy". Ryudamon said the thing that Caspian fixed to make Phineas was “flawed”. That what he was showed they weren’t as immortal as they’d like to think they were. Why else would he have used that word?

If Caspian could fix this flaw, maybe he could fix the flaw the UIs have. If he could, it’s no wonder Logorythms would want him; this problem has all of them stumped. All of the UI too.

Ryudamon said Knowledge isn’t just what you know, it’s how you see the world. Maybe he can see it.

Maddie’s heart caught in her throat but she stayed quiet. She offered Ryudamon a hug and he accepted it without question.

This was a whole lot of ifs. And a lot of pressure she doesn’t want to put on him yet.

But the hope of a solution to this, anything to keep her dad from dying again, nearly brought her to tears.

Chapter Text

Weird rumors had been going around school lately. Strange spiders bigger than your shoe running around. Creatures in the woods that didn’t make sense. But what concerned Justine the most were the one's Samara and her former posse were trying to peddle on the down low.

Ones about a guy who’s been seen at Maddie’s place who doesn’t go to their school. Or any school at all, though from the sounds of things, he’s around Justine's age. Tall, creepy, injured, maybe goth?

She was going to get to the bottom of that. Maddie had been off as it was, and Justine knew better than most the value in checking these things out for yourself.

A fine excuse as any to go over there anyway. Not like Maddie’s been to her place either, but a reason for approach could be as good as an invite.

She didn’t bother calling ahead which might be a mistake, but Maddie’s been too squirrely to give her the means to wiggle out of this. It’s an easy drive. Annoying, but easy. Children at play streets and all.

Her foot hit the break with a swear when some weird-looking toy bounced in front of her path. Waiting an extra few seconds to give whatever dumb kid kicked it too far to go after it was her norm.

Maddie darting after it riding on something like it was a small pony, was not anyone's "norm".

Neither was something bigger than a cow chasing after her. Definitely wasn't a kid in a suit or anything else normal. Things with six legs weren’t meant to get that big. She knew she was too sober for this.

Justine hit the gas anyway, ramming her car into whatever it was. It did more damage to her ride than the other way around, but getting its attention made the spider thing bare its teeth at her and fall back, past the houses and into the nearest treeline.

The benefit of annoying streets was there was not a lot of traffic, ever, not unless there was an event for it. Witnesses would be the easier find if anyone noticed something that happened that fast. Her car still worked, so she pulled to the side to assess the damage. Not too bad, deer had done worse.

“Justine, what did you do?! And why are you here?” Maddie was trying badly to hide something behind her. Two somethings including the toy.

Justine raised a brow at the stupid question. “I was going to see if things were cool with you. Doesn’t look like it.” She yanked a thumb at the passenger seat. “Talk.”

Maddie hesitated, trying to continue badly hiding whatever the not-dog-thing was from view. Not at all helped by her being such a short kid and whatever it is, was long enough to be a sad horse.

The dogosaur looked Justine in the eye and they shared an understanding: This is a game of social chicken. And Justine’s not going to be the one to flinch.

The ugly dino-dog slinked into her backseat while Maddie sputtered at its "betrayal". Justine let herself smile a little bit and got back in the driver’s seat; hostage acquired so Maddie followed once she was done venting to the heavens.

Whatever the ball-thing was Maddie brought it along too, letting it rest on her lap once safely buckled. It bounced under its own force and looked around the car, cooing like an infant.

Justine doesn’t ask. She gave Kim her terms, and Maddie accepted them. She trusted she’d talk when she sorts out the best place to start.

Doesn’t trust it’ll make sense, given the thing in her back seat wasn't built like anything she knew was real, but that Maddie would give it to her straight the best that she’s able.

The green leaves on the seed like little bugger did make her vaguely wish she had something to make whatever this all was easier to digest. She’s not dumb enough to keep that sorta shit in her car.

It’s still not a long drive, but it would take a long story for it to be too short to have done before they get to the Kim’s.

“Okay. Umm…” Maddie looked between her sprout and the driver as if she was literally looking for words. “Sooo. That’s Ryudamon.” It made a verbal confirmation from behind her and a greeting at that. And already knew Justine's name. Great start.

Justine nodded but her eyes didn’t leave the road, not really giving a greeting back behind a deep hum.

“And this is a Nyokimon.” The squishy seed babbled excitedly at its name.

Justine squinted at recognizing part of that. “Like the Italian dumplings?”

“No, they like it spelled differently." Maddie said like she hadn't noticed that herself. "It looks like it sounds so it starts with an N and a y.”

Justine gave Maddie more time to get to the elephant from the road. “The big thing was a Dokugumon." Maddie rolled her fingers along the sides of the thing on her lap, making it giggle like it was ticklish. "They’re not all aggressive, it started as like, a weirdly big tarantula? But when they start hunting they change into these things." Her tone was somber but grew sterner as she spoke. "They’re not “Strong” by their standards, just hungry and intimidating.”

So, there’s the possible root of two rumors. Not the ones Justine cared about, but it’s something. She could always rely on Maddie to get into some really weird messes. Worst form of any beginner's luck.

Maddie went on rambling about “Digital monsters” that have been online. Justine’s heard vague things about that sort of thing too, but only from what social algorithms have tried to shove onto her feeds alongside gossip collums and similar attempts to get her death scrolling. Maddie said that they’re starting to branch out from the net. She sounds like she’s lost her marbles twice over.

But there's no arguing with the sort of evidence she was holding. If a toy could act half as convincingly at being an adorable baby the market would go nuts, and the fella in her backseat could not be kid in a suit any more than the massive beast could have been. Her car’s dents are real enough and that thing she hit didn’t bleed but it also didn’t dent or tear like foam or a float.

It leaked something that glowed. Something in squares rather than a fluid or proper gas.

If Maddie says they’re pixels, might as well be pixels.

“Those are kiiiinda the fault of a friend of mine, so Ryudamon and I have tried keeping tabs on them.” Maddie’s voice was bashful and sounded like she was fidgeting. Shouldn’t be surprised this wasn’t a coincidence. “I want to keep them from doing anything super bad. So far that’s the only one that’s gotten big.”

“Why doesn’t your friend do it?” Justine’s interest is piqued by there being a “friend” that isn’t her.

“’Cause he’s an idiot and doesn’t seem to care.” Maddie slouched as much as the baby on her lap allowed her too without making them aware of how easily she could squish them. ““They’re just following their instincts, Maddie”, “They’re not messing with the local ecosystems, just each other”, “Phineas can’t make them leave like that”, “It was going to happen anyway, right?”." She went on in deeper voice as she scowled, "Just a buncha excuses like that." She switched back to her normal tone, parody done, and her tone got softer as her temper cooled. "Phin was the first tarantula that started making the others ‘cause they were pretty scared when they first got here.”

“So, he’s like a neglectful monster-dad?” Justine will let the fact this is a male friend slide for now. She was getting closer to the rumor she cared about.

“Something like that.” Maddie sounded thoughtful, not nearly as frustrated as she sounded before. “But hopefully going back to the woods will be enough for now. We're not trying to kill it or anything, just keep it away from people. He’s not wrong about normal animals not caring too much about them so far; They don’t hunt anything but other Digimon and they all can be pretty good at camouflage most of the time.”

From the corner of her eye, Justine noticed the seed seemingly blend into Maddie’s lap. A look in the rearview mirror showed “Ryudamon”s doing the same thing leaving nothing but an empty backseat.

“I can still see them when they do this,” Maddie added, “They just look a bit ghosty to me when they hide. If I take my watch off I can’t anymore, but I’m not sure what it’s doing exactly.”

Justine nodded again, though Maddie not knowing everything either wasn't exactly a comfort.

There’s the turn. Nearly there.

Mrs. Kim’s car’s not in the driveway, leaving Justine plenty of space. Still movement from one of the windows, so the house isn’t empty. Very promising.

Justine felt the invisible Ryudamon’s tail bump into her leg as he slipped ahead through the front door, hearing him give an apology easier than telling where exactly he was. The Gnocchi is probably still in Maddie’s hands so she held the door for her.

Doesn’t take long to find the guy who’s been making a mess out of Maddie’s rep again.

“So, you must be Edward sullen Scissorhands?” Justine stated with an underwhelmed tone, giving Maddie a taste of what she’s probably been unaware of out of the blonde’s fear of further recompense.

He passed her once over, she'd give him that. Fits the vague descriptions alright. Age’s right, style and build is a loose match. His arm’s only in a cast, so there has been a lot of exaggeration but nothing unexpected for your typical high school build up.

He’s no stranger to the rumor mill’s nickname game as he gave her an equally unimpressed scowl. “And you’re the “coolest uncool kid in school” I take it?”

Justine was almost bothered that he won this round, since she couldn’t stop herself from looking at Maddie. Only source he could have had.

Maddie was torn between the fierce blush of mortification from the Stranger immediately selling her out and a type of shock Justine kinda expected at learning that word about him floating around already.

“Okay, you know Scissorhands but NOT “The Parent Trap"?” She asked up at her in frustration.

… or that second thing was just disappointment in Justine not being enough of a nerd for her.

“Yup.” Justine knew the score, relying on clipped honesty and nothing more that could be used against you in the court of flaws. She also knew how to make Maddie go nuts with a brief smirk of warning. “So, is this “Gabe”?” She nailed the tone of disdain Maddie had used when she first shared the name.

The perfect reaction: The moment of calm before understanding set in. Dumbfounded at the suggestion. Confusion trying to see where that came from. Her face trying to sink into itself out of horror. Horror making way for the rage to start yelling about it. 

The five stages of Disgust nailed down into an art form.

“It’s Gage, with a G.” This “Gage” unknowingly made it even better, looking down at Maddie to mess with her as Justine's smirk involuntarily widened, “You’re seriously the sort of kid to talk about people you meet online with real-life friends?”

If not for the laws of this land Maddie would have thrown herself at her best friend and strangled her. Justine, for one, would have loved to see someone this scrawny try. Her suffering made excellent low-impact entertainment.

“NO. NONONONONO, No. EW!” Maddie glared at Justine with a point after she finished shaking her head like a wet dog. “You, will never make that joke again. Ever." She pointed at Justine accusingly and spun on her heel. "AND YOU!” She nearly needed to look straight up at the guy, “Will not say another word!”

He’s got the right humor at least, not fully laughing at her expense but smiling. Time to let him in on what the joke really was.

“Sorry,” Justine lied, and very unconvincingly gave him a sympathetic shrug. “Maddie’s mentioned her mom’s got a hotter, taller, and younger beau that she doesn’t want as a stepdad, and now I find some tall, younger guy seemingly living in her house, sooo-“

Perfect response times two: This time with extra confusion and dawning horror but his anger looked like it ran colder than Maddie’s typically did. If he didn’t sucker punch her, she thinks she could like this guy.

“I DID NOT SAY THAT! Gabe’s got nothing on my dad! And NO! What did I just tell you!?” Maddie’s fury is solely at her but it sounds more like a kid begging her to take it back than demanding that she stop.

Justine physically shrugged it off, and the boy disregarded Maddie’s orders too as he grimaced at her, “How old do you think I am?”

She fudged her actual guess for Mrs. Kim’s benefit, “A baby faced 21. Maybe 19 if her standards had fallen real hard on the rebound.”

Maddie was going to kneecap her for all of this later or die trying as the younger girl's eye twitched.

“Not a chance.” His glare gave way to a tired and frustrated look towards the Kim’s kitchen. “What I wouldn’t give to get a drink without there being a big deal about it.”

So he was all but saying he was her age more or less.

“Don’t you even think about it!” Maddie warned him sternly. “Mom knows Ryudamon and I won’t touch her stuff, and she will notice if you try to sneak anything.”

One last good ribbing for her troubles. “So, another guy you met on the internet huh?” Maddie hunched as she turns her head like she was ready to pounce, with a glare daring her to say what she knew would be the follow-up of this line of thought. “Is this one a sex thing?”

Justine’s death would be painful, slow, and glorious if Madison Kim had anything to say about it. She could only hope that her death would further inspire Maddie to continue on her newfound path of physical violence if anyone else caused her grief. The other guy’s glare could make a glass of ice crack so she’d have to act fast if she wanted to call dibs on her “friend’s” head.

“Are you done?” Maddie’s restraint truly knew no bounds. Justine gave her what typically passes for a smile and nodded. “No, it’s not. This is Caspian, and he’s living with us for a while but it’s nothing weird.”

“Nothing I suggested was weird.” Justine badly defended her claims, knowing no one else will believe that for a second.

“I think both of those romantic concepts are very weird,” Ryudamon stated, proving her wrong. "And for the record, I believe Master David is slightly taller than Master Caspian, unless he isn't finished his growing period yet. How Gabe himself compares to Master David, I'm less sure."

Right. Monsters were real now. Like the one she hit with her car.

“Oh.” Maddie looked just about ready to tackle her like a feral gremlin, thinking it was going to be yet another joke at her expense.  Justine’s almost sorry to disappoint her and shook her head with her hands in surrender before cocking her head at the guy. “This is the friend with the giant spiders, isn’t it?”

Maddie was wary but didn't stop giving Justine the stink eye as her clawed hands clenched into full fists. “Okay, yes. That friend.” She gave Caspian a shrug despite her annoyance, “She kinda hit the local Dokugumon with her car. On purpose. So, I told her some stuff about them.”

“Nice to know that pool of options is still as small as I expected.” Justine kept her hands up to show she was genuinely done the goofs for now to this “Caspian”. “Welcome to the club.”

“If this is your “best friend”, I’m getting worried about your enemies.” Caspian directed at Maddie, but Justine felt it could go either way. Just the way she liked her “well-meaning” chaos and discontent.

“Why? You’ve seen the worst of those already.” Maddie replied weirdly smug on that front. Wonder if she’ll tell her that story, ‘cause it didn’t sound like it had to do with the girls at school.

He looked down at Maddie like he just remembered she could actually be dangerous. Justine was real tempted to ask.

But she wouldn’t. And Maddie doesn’t say another word on the subject, instead giving her attention back to the seedling stranded on her sectional.

It wouldn’t stop beaming up at Justine as it babbled happily. She’s not sure why, she’s never been great with kids. She took a seat near a weird spider plush, and the seed wobbled its way to her lap after giving the toy a nervous look that made its outer skin shake like a scared cat's fur.

Justine gave it a tentative poke, to more happy bubbling. It felt kinda like the coating of a cucumber seed, but it was more slick than slimey.

“And you’re sure this doesn’t have rabies or anything, yeah?”

Maddie scoffed, “Of course I’m sure, they can’t get those sorts of viruses. Or, whatever rabies is.”

“Where did you find it anyway?" Caspian asked like Maddie's story wasn't weird to him at all, and looked kinda annoyed at the seedling after seeing how easily it could be spooked. "Are you going to put it back online?”

“Woods. Why would I?” Maddie replied looking confused at both his question and the sprout’s apparent human preferences.

“Why else bring it back here?” His annoyance turned more on her at seeing how little of a problem she considered displacing this sort of wildlife. “Might as well treat these things like any other wild animal and leave them where they want to be if it’s not bothering anything.”

“The Dokugumon chased it too far from where it was, and I wasn’t just going to put them back there to get eaten!” Maddie shook her head with how offended she was at the suggestion.

“We can’t take in every stray Maddie.” His point was reasonable on its face, but Justine felt certain that wasn't a rule he could make or enforce.

“You would know a thing about strays taken in, huh?” She asked as a dry jibe. He stiffened and looked more out of place. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw the cushion’s fake eyes flash but they probably had just caught the light oddly.

Hadn't those been grey before, or were they always green? Might as well give it a mild test.

She picked up the “plush”, and it felt legit. Stiff, but not out of the range of good-looking toys. Decent heft. It doesn’t make any movements she doesn’t expect when she jostled it in her hands. Not so much as a quivering breath.

She squinted at it dead in its cold solid eyes. A few squeezes in the obvious suspects of places to hide a button, the way its eyes lit at certain pressures even managed to be consistent. It tolerated her remarkably well.

S hame it can’t do a thing to hide its body heat. Looking closer she might even see a bit of panic in its stillness, willing her to not notice anything.

“Now this guy knows what he’s doing.” Justine teased to let it know the jig’s up as nicely as she could.

In return for her “kindness” its face opened to hiss at her before scampering off to its moody master. The way it poked its head out from behind his leg gave her the impression her lack of reaction to its intimidation attempt only freaked it out further.

She followed it with her eyes, turning her head to address the guy directly. “Cat got your tongue? ‘Cause if you’re just a guest here like I am, what the Kims’ choose to do with the critters Maddie brings home isn’t our business. Unless this is a full-on foster situation or something?”

He was way too tense, maybe she pushed too far. “It’s nothing formal." He said stiffly. "I just can’t be home right now, and they’re letting me stay here. But that doesn’t make me some sort of freeloader.” Caspian pulled out a wallet to put his literal money where his mouth is.

“Mom said-“ Maddie looked upset at the suggestion that he'd think of himself like that and mildly frustrated, like he’s been told this a time too many as he cut her off.

“Just because she won’t take my money doesn’t mean I’m not willing to do my part." His words were firm, but in a way that felt like he needed them to be more than he believed it. "I can handle myself; I’m not talking about using what dad gave me.” In his hands was a check. Harmless for the girls to see, it was in his name clear as day.

Just as clear as all of those zeros.

Justine gave a low whistle of approval. “12k? Not bad. This under the table?”

“Nope.” Showing his worth with a number put him back in his element, eyes still cold but cockier now.

Maddie looked it over before looking back at him, wary about whatever he did to get this much at once with good reason. “You sure it’s legal? And safe?”

“Strictly white hat stuff.” He clarified with more confidence, “Find the flaws in their security, get the cash. Freelance only.”

So, guess Maddie met him through hacking stuff, which would make sense. Maddie had to be pretty good to scramble Samara's squad, so a friend of hers being good enough to profit from it tracked. Not that she'd want Maddie doing the same any time soon.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t face serious time or fines if something goes wrong or you have a shit employer.” Justine pointed out, she’s heard some hired hacking horror stories even with contracts in place.

“And it didn’t.” He didn’t disagree with her point, so at least Maddie could be sure this wasn’t as safe as he’d like to play it off as. “Didn’t even need to leave the house, so no issues with a commute or my arm.”

“So, using our address doesn’t cause any problems?” Maddie looks relieved at that, but still conflicted.

“Obviously not.” He put the check away. “And, if all goes well my folks won’t have a clue. Just in case.”

Says a lot about his home life that was where his mind went to. She doesn’t pry, but fills in more gaps.

Ellen’s car pulled up the driveway and Justine idly checked her phone. She had been out longer than expected, not that her mom should be worried or anything. It’s not like they ever have plans, and never on a school night.

Justine won’t just be able to slip out unnoticed at this point. Might as well embrace the “guest” role.

Ellen rolled with the curveball her presence gives with a surprised smile. And to her credit she did look genuinely happy her daughter’s “normal” friend stopped by.

It was seeing the new “Digimon” in her house that made her more skeptical and the air got a lot tenser.

Maddie’s going to owe her for this one.

“Sorry about that Mrs. Kim, this one’s with me.” Justine’s typical blasé attitude helped the lie hold water as she tapped the sprout. “Saved it from a giant spider. Maddie saw it all and invited me over since apparently, it’s not a kids’ toy and I wasn't just seeing things.”

Not quite as smoothed over as Justine would have liked, with how concerned Ellen still looked. Must not be a fan of these things being in anyone’s hands, and she had probably seen the new dent in the hood of Justine’s ride. Her eyes lingered on Justine’s wrist, and what wasn’t there.

Not much she can do about that. Justine noted that Caspian had one just like Maddie’s but in purple despite his injury on that arm.

Caspian gave her a judging look, as Maddie and her mom talked about possible dinner plans. He took a seat beside her, knocking her arm with his good one. “And how was that “your business”?”

“Name one lie.” She kept her voice quiet to be on the safe side seeing as he did the same, and she bounces her leg to the baby’s amusement.

“How about “She invited me”?” He quickly replied with a raised brow.

Justine gave him a shrug, “Fine, ya caught me.” She looks between him and the Kims in the kitchen. “‘Least I could do for the kid, you know?”

Rhetorical question’s obvious. He clearly owes her more than Justine’s amusing companionship. The spider sputtered something from its spot beside him. “Yeah. I get it. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try from keeping her out of trouble, instead of enabling her to get out of it. These things aren’t safe long term.”

Justine looked skeptically down at the seed, glowing gold eyes sparkling from its encased black fluffy face. “Wha’cha gonna do?”

It cooed back complete gibberish.

Justine nodded sagely, and side eyed Caspian with a mild smirk. “Yup, real evil mastermind over here. The cuteness is the tell.”

“Just because they start cute doesn’t mean they stay that way.” He sighed and looked at his inhuman companion, conflicted. “You don't know what they’ll grow into.” He held his good hand above his lap, the spider taking the gesture as an invitation to nuzzle into it.

She could see why he believes it, given how his apparently changed. More reason to trust those instincts than Maddie’s. But she can’t help herself.

“If change is their “thing”, no point in trying to predict it.” Justine lightly dribbled the seed by its leaves, getting more delighted noises. “Makes more sense to try and give them reasons to like having us around than see that we’re scared of them for something they can’t control and haven’t done.”

“If you never prepare, you’re not doing favors to either side.” He narrowed his eyes at the seed before looking back to his own somberly.

“And if you waste too much time overthinking it, you could be encouraging the worst-case scenario. Aren’t you tired of shit like that?” She looked the worn-out boy in the eye as she asked and saw him flinch and caught how his jaw clenched.

“Caspian, anything you’d like for dinner?” Ellen’s voice saved him from having to answer, but the way he startled at the woman’s voice spook different volumes. Soon as an adult entered the picture he was back on defense.

“I’m fine with whatever, Mrs. Kim.” He says, and he might even believe it, but he was lying. His knuckles went white over his critter's head as it tried to make noise to keep his attention and there’s a tension to him that he didn’t have when they were just talking about Digimon.

“What about you, Justine, care to join us?” Ellen came out in full, and from her the question looked more honest than out of politeness’ sake.

“Sure, I’ll let my folks know. Thanks, Mrs. Kim.” Justine gave the tense boy a once over before looking to Maddie. Not much she can do about this but hope to make Maddie aware this could be a minefield.

“Is Mac and Cheese okay with everyone?” Maddie asks, and Caspian’s frame slackened even if he hadn't noticed it happened. Looks like she didn’t have anything to worry about on that front, and Justine gave her a small grin with a thumbs up.

The distinctive tapping sound of clawed paws on kitchen tiles informed her the dinosaur was already getting what ingredients he could reach together. Which probably isn’t a lot.

“Need us to do anything?” Caspian asked, already ready to dislodge his pet rather than settled on the age-old excuse of striped lump disease.

“I’ve got it, you kids have fun.” Ellen waves them out, and they could hear her shooing a disappointed Ryudamon from her workspace before he came out looking forlorn at the rejection.

Maddie joined them on the sectional with a bounce, way too peppy for the older teens she’s chosen to surround herself with. “Soooo, what’s up?”

“Aside from school gossip saying you had a guy living with you? Not much.” Justine gave it to her straight. Seeing him look ready to fight or flight over it she waves a non-committal hand. “It’s nothing serious. Figure Samara saw this as something to ridicule from afar ‘cause one of the other barbies found out and has a thing for dark and broody guys she hasn’t already tried dating. There’re no teeth to this.”

Maddie took a sigh of relief. “Okay. Good to know I guess.” She turned to Caspain instead, seeing how this didn’t settle his nerves. “They’re just a pain at school and the community's not super big since it's private. No big deal.”

He wasn't buying it from how he eyed them both skeptically. Looked like the type who was either hiding from something or felt that he should be. Runaway maybe?

He was gauging Justine and her reactions as much as she’s been doing the same so he must have caught her train of thought. “My parents know I’m here; I just don’t like being the subject of conversation.”

Justine gave a single nod of acceptance. Less trouble for sunshine the better. While she’s thinking of it she sends her mom a quick update text about her meal plans.

“So, your spider. Maddie says it can get as big as the sucker I hit?” Justine ended the statement as a question hoping this is as good a topic to get rolling as any other. “Normal” feels weird to go to.

“Phineas,” he corrected. “And yeah. So far he’s the only one who can; Maddie's never seen Ryudamon change.” He gives the two a questioning look, “Unless there's something I missed?”

“No, we haven't. My natural evolution path is normally no mystery to me, but being bonded with Mistress Maddie may change it.” Ryudamon looked torn between smug and nostalgic at the admission.

“Why does the spider have a name?” Justine asked, aware she might be caught on the wrong part, making the dinosaur double take at the lack of interest.

“Because you try saying “Ko-do-ku-gu-mon” more than once before it gets old.” Caspian's clear but awkward enunciation furthered the dinosaur’s dejection but barely gave the monster a glance.

Maddie pursed her lips in thought. “Are you feeling okay, Ryudamon?”

Ryudamon flopped on the floor like a tired dog but didn’t respond.

“… Is your “natural line” on my Digivice so we can look at them, and see what your other names are?” Maddie tried instead with an awkward smile, and he accepted this pity-interest with a nod but stayed silent.

Caspian leaned over and rotated the dial on her watch three clicks, showing a menu with Ryudamon’s information and stats. Not too unlike a video game would lay this sorta thing out. Swiping right changed it to a larger lizard covered in more of the samurai armor Ryudamon was already wearing.

It’s sideways for her but Justine makes out the word “Ginryumon”.

Maddie couldn’t stop her face from scrunching up in disdain. “Yeah, I hope this isn’t what we end up with.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Ryudamon asked as he looked up at her offended at her reaction, but he had to be pretty clueless if he didn’t see what’s wrong with that Muppet-like mug.

“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it!” Maddie poorly backtracked, hands trying to wave it away before settling down and put her hands in prayer under her nose, “It’s just… It doesn’t look like it suits us, you know? Since you said I have "angelic" crest and all. And I thought you were seeing us as a fresh start anyway!” She finishes opening them like it would show her point between her palms.

Admirable job clawing her way out of the hole she dug.

Too bad Justine was going to have to push her back in a little. “Think of it as a compliment; She thinks you’re a lot cuter the way you are.”

“What does “cuteness” have to do with it?!” The dragon asked, equal parts frustrated and concerned and Caspian snickered at Maddie's side.

“Bold stance to take from the Spider guy.” Justice snarked at him.

“Hey. I never asked for Phin to be “cute” and while he can be…” Caspian looked for a word as his critter looked up at him expectantly with shining eyes. He looked back down at them with an apologetic smile for his failure. “A lot, the big form isn’t all that different aside from the obvious. He still can’t talk, but he can do more.” Caspian tapped the screen as his buddy drooped in disappointment, “This isn’t just “the same, but bigger”, it’s a horse without a saddle when she already has one that does, with hands, and isn’t nearly as hard for her to navigate in small spaces.”

“You all do realize that as a higher-level dragon, I can fly as Ginryumon, yes?” Ryudamon huffed to the room in general. “Make no mistake, I’m akin to an East Asian dragon. Flight may be beyond me as I am, but I will have no need for cumbersome wings of most dra-mon types.”

“There’s nothing “cumbersome” about them, wings are cool!” Maddie emphatically objected, eager to disprove the merits here. “And it’s not that it’s not cute, it’s not nearly as cool as Ryudamon already is either!”

“So this is about appearances?” Ryudamon narrowed his eyes at his mistress's unintended confession, making her give a soft caught chuckle. He sighed. “No matter. There are others I’m inclined to branch into, particularly among variations of Digimon based on the X-antibody I carry.” He lets himself give a sly grin and dark laugh. “I could even end up a demonic spider if things truly go south. Of a different sort than Dokugumon.”

Maddie’s frown intensified, only making the dinosaur laugh at her expense. “It is doubtful, Mistress Maddie. The chances that particular evolution would reflect the bond we share is unlikely, and that is the sort that would take priority over my personal history. This would only be our Champion level being discussed. Swipe it again to see what my previous Ultimate was, if you will?”

She obliged, copying what Caspian did, and the resulting “Hisyaryumon” had a much better showing. Every bit of the classic Japanese dragon, a regal form with black, gold, and crimson scales made from that samurai armor motif, clutching two huge pearls.  Sleek and elaborate where the previous version was dumpier and awkward.

“So, even monsters have the “awkward teen stage” sometimes?” Justine asked with a snort, “Nice to see it has a great payoff for you.”

“Thank you; I will choose to take that as a compliment, Mistress Justine.” Ryudamon preened.

Caspain fiddled with his own watch but didn’t seem to find anything. “So, Phin’s is more of a mystery?”

Ryudamon tilted his head and looked at the spider. “Having a natural path they could follow isn’t the same thing as having the experiences of their previous forms still fresh in your partner’s code I suppose.”

The spider chittered back and gave what’s best described as a shrug.

“It is a big step up, but this looks like you’ll be massive. We won’t exactly be able to hide anywhere like that, will we?” Maddie looked at the fully-fledged dragon carefully, trying to find a sense of scale.

“As an Ultimate, we shouldn’t have to.” Ryudamon said confidently, still proud as a peacock.

“Okay all, dinner’s ready.” Ellen’s voice interrupted and they helped set the table.

Justine took note of how it was laid out. Her and Ellen at two ends of the table, Maddie and Caspian opposite each other.

Maddie set a plate beside her with a box just big enough for Ryudamon to sit on that could accommodate his tail like she’s used to needing to do it herself. Caspian was hesitant in rolling out a cloth napkin for Phineas so he won’t be on the table directly, looking ready to retract the setting at even the slightest objection.

Justine followed Caspian’s lead so Gnocchi can do the same, seeing how the little fella hadn’t eaten in a bit either. She watched Ellen carefully. No resigned sighs or open frustration. Not an active rejection of the monsters she’s finding herself surrounded by. But she wasn't openly accepting them either.

So, he’s not scared of her, but he is used to dinners being a tense affair. Unrelated to any of this monster stuff judging by how his good arm curled protectively around his dish. Justine could sympathize, but she wouldn’t bring it up if nobody else does. The Kims either missed or were choosing to ignore it like they were quietly used to it by now.

She knew Maddie was a smart kid, and if Justine could catch this stuff who knows how obvious it gets when you’re actually living with the guy. Definitely explained why Ellen’s keeping this from being a transaction, but giving him the assurance of technically being a “renter” may have been the better call if he's used to things being unstable in some way.

The food’s good too, it had been a while since Justine’s had something not just be straight out a box. Definitely better than what the school offered.

A few minutes into chowing down the seed freezed up. Almost enough to make Justine worried. She doesn’t let herself admit to any more than that. But it stopped looking right.

“Hey, is this stuff safe for these guys to eat?” She wasn't nervous, she was careful to keep her tone as blasé as ever as she slowly looked from the monster to Maddie and Ryudamon. Mostly Ryudamon.

He and Phineas aren’t having any troubles, barely giving the shivering seedling more than a glance. But they’re not the same as this guy, obviously. If this is “normal” it wouldn’t kill them to say so.

Caspian let himself look more concerned, but more in that he was bracing for trouble.

Maddie let out on "Oh!" of realization before she finished swallowing, “Don’t worry, I think they’re just digivolving!”

Justine’s brow furrowed and she watched it closely. The translucent skin surrounding the fluffy black interior continued to whiten until their face was hidden completely, and took on a pinker tone. Its upper leaves parted, like it’s peeling itself, revealing a bright blue bud that opened to be some tropical-looking blossom. Where the first layer of skin lay at its base began to split and curl, losing the leaf parts entirely while forming small tentacles that matched the light pink body.

The newly formed bulb shook for a moment, as if something was pecking its way out inside. A beak-like protrusion jutted out partway, opening like a mouth as a yawn, and two green eyes opened from two crosses that cracked the surface above it. It shook itself more forcefully, showing all of its flower parts and tendrils were well under its command, before beaming back at Justine again.

“Justinemon! Can I have a fork?” It chirped.

Given how close she was to dropping hers she just handed that over dumbly. It chirped a gratitude, taking it firmly in its new bottom tentacles, and continued its meal like it was no big deal.

Justine needed a sec.

Caspian did not, impulsively bringing his good hand too hard on the table as he stared bewildered at the bulb and back to his partner. “So even the baby flower can talk?!”

Phineas turned himself to face away from his human, seeming somewhat embarrassed as it poked its claws together and made noises to itself.

Maddie went to fetch Justine a new fork with too much bounce in her step. Ryudamon shrugged.

“Pyokomon are in-training, not babies, but yes. It's really luck of the draw which individuals may be capable of human speech and which aren’t. That and which best reflects their given tamer.”

Caspian was unamused by this answer and glared at the dragon for the universe’s transgressions.

Ryudamon gave him something like a patronizing smirk. “If you dislike it so much, maybe work on improving your own communication skills first, Master Caspian.”

Justine took that information with a sip of juice. Okay. She can handle this.

“So, now you’re a Yoko?”

“Yup! Pyokomon, at your service Justinemon!” It said brightly.

Oh no it’s really going to stick with that, isn’t it.

“Excellent, the bane of Beatles everywhere.” She deadpanned instead, but she had a subtle smile.

Maddie sniggered. Ellen looked very, very tired.

“She’s right, I’m very good at keeping pests away Maddiemon, don’t laugh!” Yoko glowered as best it could at the kid, which just made her smother her laughter harder. Said "pest" at the table slowly turned to them and cocked its head nearly sideways, but it ignored the bug.

“That’s gonna get old real fast, isn’t it?” Caspian complained into his own palm.

“You’re just jealous mine can give nicknames,” Justine smirks at him over another forkful.

He uses his own to point at her wrist, “Not yours until you get the device to prove it.”

"Oh, I assure you. Phineas is very. Very. Fond of misnaming things on their own." She heard Ryudamon mutter to itself as it glared at the spider.

“Well, do you want to come home with me after this, bud?” Justine asked to cut out whatever middleman getting a magic watch would need. “I can set up a pot for you in a sunny spot or whatever.”

“Yeah!” It furiously nodded, bouncing itself on its tentacles. Roots? Feet? This will need looking into.

“See? You have your monster pal, and I have mine.” Justine ruffled its flower, getting a giggle in return.

“I suspect if this will be formalized that would come at the rookie level at least.” Ryudamon mused. “Though you needn’t treat them as if they’re a true plant any more than the previous state needed.”

“Hmm. Noted.” Justine looked them over again. Really looked like a flower bulb with a face to matter how you slice it. “So maybe less dirt in the pot than like, a brown blanket? That shouldn’t look too weird at my place if we can’t make the toy excuse fly.”

“I can work with it!” Yoko agreed, “I like small spaces. They’re cozy.”

Maddie’s smile had a bit too much plotting behind it for Justine’s liking. “And if that doesn’t work out, there’s always Reign of Winter. Jumping in and out of tech is easy for them!”

“Stop trying to drag others into your daddy-daughter game, Maddie.” Caspian spoke like she’s tried this pitch before and Ellen quietly removed herself from the table, taking some dishes with her.

“It’s a good alternative!” Maddie defended herself but doesn’t deny the accused ulterior motives. “And there’s plenty of other Digimon on there to play with when we’re at school and stuff!”

“So’s just having them mess around in your phone.” He countered and Justine gave an approving hum.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t need to worry about Phineas getting lonely as much.” Maddie accuses, folding her arms with a pout. “You can spend as much time with him as you want.”

Phineas gave a weirdly loud happy purr at Caspian's side, making Maddie perk with interest before glaring down at her partner like she was missing out on something.

“I don’t get lonely, Mistress.” Ryudamon objected but his skin was blushing, not looking at either her or the smug bug. Justine wasn't sure if he'd be more embarrassed to be caught feeling "lonely" or to be wrongly accused of it. He turned his attention to the would-be partner, “Pyokomon are fond of flocks though, so it can a concern.”

“I’ll be fine!” The Pyokomon practically danced trying to address them all. “You all worry too much.”

“Probably can’t help it, everybody needs a hobby,” Justine tells them, and they listened to her wise words intently. She has been given too much power. Responsible with it or not this is going to be fun.

Caspian narrowed his eyes at Justine like he knew what she was thinking and she let herself give a less-than-kind grin. Maddie’s far more catlike smile leaft him silently outvoted in terms of how well the bulb would be raised.

Accepting his defeat with a roll of his eyes, he helped bring more empty dishes back to the kitchen, careful to leave his bad arm out of it. Maddie rushed to help leaving Justine to remove the napkins, leaving them neatly folded on the corner for someone who knows where they should go to retrieve them.

Justine’s done enough damage for the day, and offered the crook of her arm to the strange flower so they can head out. It eagerly leapt into it, snuggling contently into place.

“Thanks for having me, Mrs. Kim!” She calls to their hostess and heard something muffled in response, so it’s been acknowledged at the very least. “See you at school?” Justine clarifies with Maddie.

“Yeah, I should be!” Maddie eagerly nods before turning bashful, “Sorry things have been weird lately.”

Justine gave her a look. “You don’t say.”

Maddie blushes a little and laughs. She straightened herself as she helps get the door. “Sorry about your car.”

“No biggie. Was due for a check-up and definitely made up for it.” Justine bounced the blooming onion in her arm. “Just take care of yourself.”

“Always.” Justine didn't quite believe her, but it was good enough.

Driving home is even easier than the drive there. Lot less monsters. But the one trying to peer out her passenger side window seemed friendly enough. Justine’s not used to anything looking at her like it does.

That much spark to it, near adoration just right out of the gate. Felt wrong not to let it stick around.

She’s not a sappy person, it’s not often she’ll succumb to something for being “cute” or “sweet”.

But there can be exceptions to anything. Not telling how long it will stay saccharine either.

Change has been good to her lately. No reason this one can’t keep that ball rolling.

Chapter Text

It was nice to be in some state of normal again. Even in school, Maddie could actually talk to Justine about some of the insanity in her life without scaring her off.

Heck, maybe she’d even be able to tell her about her dad without something terrible happening. Give her some context for why even with her parents being “separated”, shared custody was never going to happen.

Having a normal friend looking out for her meant more than Maddie would have realized a year ago. Most seemed to just wither away after mom took them up to Pennslyvania after dad’s-

To spend time up north with Grandma.

She was a bit nervous that Samara might not be content with their “truce” after what Justine said about some new rumors, but at least nothing was like it was around the anniversary. 

The blonde still gave her a bit too much attention for her comfort, but this she could handle. No texts, emails, mocking, or contact so far. Just anxiety. Nothing to kick a fuss up about.

She had been trying to focus on her lunch instead of those prying eyes when Justine joined her. Under the girl’s sleeve, she caught a glint of silver and she looked at her friend expectantly.

“Yeeeah. Uh. Hypothetically, how do you make one of those guys shrink if they get too big?” Justine asked, looking not unpleasantly resigned to a barrage of excitement.

Maddie was more than happy to provide it, easily redirecting her nervous energy from bouncing a leg to a full-body bounce in her seat. 

If any of these kids overheard Digimon-related talk, they’d probably assume it was just from some game or toy Maddie had managed to get Justine to try. It should be harmless enough.

“What happened? What did Pyokomon digivolve into? What crest did you get? Ryudamon made it sound like until all of the normal nine are accounted for every tamer should get one.”

Justine rolled up her cuff to show a green band with teardrops.

“Cool! Pretty sure that one’s called “Sincerity”. Maddie nodded to herself before looking back up to the girl. “If you need to call us without just using a normal phone, you can contact mine from the yellow one for “Hope” and Caspian’s purple one for “Knowledge”.”

“So anyone with these things has my number now?”

“Preeetty much, but Caspian’s the only person who’s ever called mine so I don’t think you should worry about it too much! I know who has the red one, but Cody’s older and is on vacation right now.” Maddie looked at the ceiling as a thought occurred to her. “Maybe nobody else really knows we can make calls? I only found out from Ryudamon, and that’s ‘cause he’s special.”

“If you say so. He definitely knows more than Kiwi does.” Justine let that slide to get back to her first question. “Flora ran into that spider that had harassed her before and they got into a tussle. I think she won, the other guy kinda poofed into pixels, but she’s getting pretty big now. How do you know when a change is like, permanent?”

Maddie’s mouth felt dry and she didn’t think that was from a lack of water.

“You killed it?”

“I guess?” Justine looked down sympathetically. There was a twinge of guilt, but it was hard for Maddie to know for sure. “Calling her off didn’t seem like an option, and there wasn’t anywhere else to take them, was there?”

“I… I guess not? Not if they didn’t want to stay online or go back to the digital world.” Maddie admitted but the knot in her stomach wouldn’t leave.

… Hold up. If Justine’s partner started as a Pyokomon, and Justine just drops the “mon” of everything, the jump from “Flora” to “Kiwi” would be another evolution, wouldn’t it?

“Justine. Are you saying your partner’s already reached the Champion level?” She looked at the older girl suspiciously. “Uh, two stages since I last saw them. Like the same as the big spider.”

“Yep.” Justine took a sip of some sort of smoothie she probably brought from home. “Issat a bad thing?”

Maddie winced more than pouted at the question. “No, that’s a big part of the whole “Tamers” deal. But I’ve known Ryudamon for way longer and we’ve never digivolved!” She rolled her neck as she felt her temper slip. “Like, sure. Most of our fights are sparring matches with some ‘mon he already knew in RoW, but c’mon!” She groaned at the ceiling.

She didn’t need to look at Justine to see her dry judgment. Justine sipped louder.

“Sorry, I guess? Didn’t think this was something to get jealous about.” She looked at Maddie with something too close to pity for her tastes.

“It’s not. Like, only one I’ve heard of reaching it so far has been Phineas, and that wasn’t a great time for either of them.” Maddie gave her left wrist a twist to give the girl fair warning.

Justine winced like she got the message, but the curiosity remained. “So, should I not ask?”

“No, he might have a better idea of how to undo it than I do. Just, might not want to push him too much on how his happened if he starts clamming up. How long ago was the fight?”

“‘Round six this morning. She likes the early dew and fresh daylight when it tried creeping on her again, so she might be back to normal by now if it’s just a timed thing. Just felt like I needed to ask, since none of her other changes undid themselves, you know?”

“Okay, that’s not too bad. Phin’s lasted long enough that Caspian could ride him here.” Maddie shrugged and nearly facepalmed herself, resting her brow on the heel of her hand instead.

That felt like it was going a bit too far to excuse as just being from a “game”. She’ll need to be more careful than that in public.

Justine didn’t seem to mind, and looked over with mild curiosity. “Where was he from?”

“San Clemente, I think he said.” Maddie confirmed and got out her phone to check it using Maps. Her eye twitched and she hissed to herself at actually seeing the distance.

Justine looked over Maddie’s shoulder and gave an appraising nod. “Didn’t figure him for a coastal kid. And they made it in one night?”

“Yuuup.” Maddie folded her arms on the table and groaned into them.

Justine tapped her on the shoulder sympathetically. “Let me grill him before you kill him?”

“Oooh, no. I’m not going to kill him.” Maddie scowled as she did the same. “We already knew about how long it took him to get here with an all-nighter. Well, dad told me. Don’t know about mom.” She added thoughtfully.

“Still need him intact long enough to get his notes, Maddie.” Justine reminded her dryly.

“I’ll let him know that you’ll be calling later. Call if it turns out they’re back to normal when you get home, okay?.”

“Can do. Not much else going on anyway.” Justine shrugged, and movement at another table caught her eye. “For now. Might want to keep an eye out.”

“I am.” Maddie didn’t need to turn around to know someone was glaring at her again. It didn’t matter who it was. “I can handle it.”

“If you say so.” Justine didn’t look like she believed her as she got her tray. “As long as “handling” it doesn’t get bodies in your backyard.”

“It won’t.” Maddie rolled her eyes and headed off for an overall uneventful set of classes.

After school was a different story.

Maddie was making a beeline for pick-up when her luck ran out.

“What’s the rush, Kim?” The voice she dreaded spoke up behind her, and from the steps, her boyfriend was backing her up. Finding out about the hack smoothed over some of their issues.

Trying to ignore her wasn’t enough as she felt a hand grab her bag, nearly tripping her as she didn’t want to stop.

“Sure you want to risk mom seeing you?” Maddie tried to sound confident but her tongue felt a size too big for her.

“Momma’s not here today.” The blonde grinned down at her cruelly.

“Nope. That a problem?” A different voice challenged back, and Maddie turned to see Caspian, “Something came up with work so she asked me to come get you.” He jerked a thumb over his good shoulder to encourage Maddie to get in the car.

“Caspian?” As much as she’d love to take him up on the offer her nerves were making her freeze up. She looked at his sling warily. “You sure it’s okay for you to drive?”

“Doc says it’s healing well so moving it can help reduce PT time later, if I lose some mobility. If she didn’t take their word for it, I wouldn’t be here.” He shrugged, and looked at the older teens with a calculating glare. “So you’re “Suzie” or something, right? With the “Fug-club”?”

Samara’s face flushed with rage, and Caspian pulled out his phone with a teasing shake. Her eyes widened and glared at him as she took it as a confession and a threat. 

“We going to have another problem?” His words were cold but to an onlooker he may have looked bored. Like he was looking through her. “Cops will have a harder time proving anything with me. If you get them to care without outing yourself, I mean.”

The jock at her side cracked his knuckles, but the goth didn’t even flinch. “So what? You the punk who gave the squirt ideas? Who the hell do you think you are?”

Caspian gave an unimpressed scowl, looking from the boy to the front doors of the school. “You really want to start something out here? Pretty sure the cameras can see us just fine.”

“You messed with my girl. Think you’re hot shit without your tech tricks?” The boy grabbed him by the collar but he looked just as bored as before despite how it jostled his bad arm.

“Steaming pile of it, but I didn’t start anything. Not my fault if she can’t take the shit she dishes out.” Caspian replied cooly, and looked Brent dead in the eye. “Think a scholarship will survive you beating a handicapped guy on film? Schools have been a lot more careful about bullying and assault complaints lately. Will your folks still fund you if that sorta stupid shit gets you dropped, or worse?”

His eyes were icy again as he gave Samara a withering look. “What about you, “truth teller”?”

The blond paled at the user name and Maddie’s heart stuttered. How much had he looked into? Was all of this from Dad? Did he crack into her laptop himself, or did one of their partners help?

She wasn’t so weak that she needed any of them to fight this for her. She was fine. Who was behind the hack that screwed with her squad wasn’t half as important as the deterrent itself.

“What “problems”?” Samara sneered back, but even Maddie could see this was an attempt to regain control.

“Type I could forward to the dean, or cut out the middle man and send them to your granddad.” He answered coldly with an alien air of condescension. “Pretty sure he’d be real concerned about what you’d be making of yourself on his dime.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you’ve made obituaries fair game.” He glared at her. “Erin might have opened the door, but you broke off the lock. Might have wanted to check your own closets first.”

Samara’s hand trembled but her wide eyes were more lost than afraid.

“It’s not like you don’t know who you were named for. Never asked why your great aunt stopped showing up in photos before graduation?” Caspian pryed, eyes darting to catch every flinch he could find to see what was worth pushing. “His parents went nuclear when they got back from out of state. Now, I’m not much for bets but I have a good feeling on who must have found her if only the two kids were home at the time. What do you think he'd do if he heard you were encouraging other kids around her age to do the same, for a laugh?”

“You’re lying,” She seethed but the doubt took root in her eyes. It only grew worse when her phone buzzed, and Caspian made a show of his hands being tech-free. Her scared gaze darted to Maddie, but seeing hers were completely empty Samara dared giving her phone a glance.

Her hand trembled at whatever receipt was sent her way. Samara took a step back as she stared at him in horror, face pale. “You fucking sicko.”

“Scary what you can find online these days, eh Samara?.” Caspian taunted and she just about turned green hearing him say her name. “Not going to holler like a monkey this time?”

Only David could have known that detail. Ryudamon’d complained about the limits of the school’s security often enough, that he’d need to ask a different ‘mon to find older files.

“This is your last warning: If you want to play hardball, I’m game, and you and anyone else you drag into this will lose more than your pride this time. So, we good?”

Samara was shaking like a leaf and Brent hadn’t a clue what to do apart from let his grip grow slack, letting Caspian take a step back. Her eyes went back to Maddie and she was scared by how lost Maddie must have looked at everything unfolding.

Samara mumbled a “whatever” to herself as she shoved past him on his bad side, but he didn’t even flinch. He just completely tensed up and gave a jerky nod to urge Maddie into the car.

“Special kinda bitches, aren’t they?” He wheezed to himself in pain. “So much for the cameras making them behave.”

“You’re one to fucking talk! What the hell was any of that?!” She asked before she could stop herself. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah.” He said through gritted teeth. “Just need a sec, only jostled it a bit.”

“You definitely deserved that.”

“Yup.” he hissed.

“Apologies for my miscalculation, but excellent work, Master Caspian.” Ryudamon asked, glaring out the back seat at Brent’s attempts to catch up with his girlfriend.

“That was fucked up,” Caspian told the dragon cooly.

“If it’s online it’s fair game.” The dragon stated like a cold fact. “She could have checked her family history without even asking them. Humans are surprisingly fond of documentation. Regardless, I commend your presentation, Master Caspian. You made a far better face for this than I would have.”

“Ya think?” Caspian scowled back at him, trying to make it look like he was just checking the rear window as he backed up the car.

“Why did either of you think that was a good idea?!”

“Your dad wasn’t confident they’d keep leaving you alone if they thought you were a threat,”  Caspian answered, ache still ringing clear in his voice, and Ryudamon gave a frustrated-looking nod.

“And mom.”

“And to keep your mom from being arrested for assaulting a minor or anything reckless, yeah.” He huffed back with an annoyed scowl that she was intentionally missing her dad’s point. “So I figured if I already have weird rumors tying me to you, why not lean into it? It’s not like I’m actually involved, so they’d have a hell of a time proving I was behind anything. Two birds, one stone.”

“Because it’s dumb? If they manage to get the cops to care, how do you know that won’t lead to dad?!”

“‘Cause they won’t. If the cops were going to give a shit, they would have when they started it.”

“I… It’s not like I told anyone what was going on.” Maddie mumbled to herself.

“Didn’t think so. I mean, why would you?” He asked with a glance that looked too much like pity to her. “Hard to bother if you don’t think it’d change anything for the better, Easy to think of ways it could make it worse.”

“It was under control. I didn’t need any “help”.”

“For now, yeah.” Caspian nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the road. “What year’s Justine in?”

Maddie ground her teeth, but she could see what he was getting at. Justine was a senior, so by this time next year…

If she didn’t make any new friends, she’d be alone again.

“Your dad was worried about you having the sort of reputation that would keep people away.” He added gently. “So, I’ll be the fall guy so he can feel a bit more at ease about all this.”

“Because nothing says “intimidating” like a quiet 15-year-old girl who’d be lucky to hit 5’7’’.” Maddie rolled her eyes as she complained to the car window.

“That’s the beauty of technology: You don’t need to be what they expect to scare people with it.” Caspian gave a self-deprecating snort. “‘Sides, everyone knows “quiet” kids can get scary fast.”

“Fine. I still think it’s stupid, but fine.” Maddie sighed in frustration, and gave him a glance. “Justine said her partner evolved earlier today. Any tips if they haven’t gone back to rookie by the time she gets home?”

“Like, to Champion? Why?” Caspian asked with concern, left hand tightening on the wheel. “Did she do something to one of Phin’s stubs? He’s been acting jittery all day.”

“She made it sound like the wild one picked a fight with her partner again, so she was just defending herself.” Maddie fiddled with her hands before asking, “What sort of jittery? I mean, he’s not supposed to have any connection to anything he made when he’s a rookie, right?”

“Been hiding in and around stuff all day and he’s made one hell of a web out of our room.” Caspian’s face tightened between a wry smile and a grimace, “At least it’s not strong enough to actually catch people, but it took ages to stop feeling like it was still in my hair.”

Maddie stifled a laugh before she asked with dread, “Mom didn’t see it, right?”

“Hope not, but it should be easy enough to clean up when he’ll actually let me.” He shrugged as much as he was able to. 

“He’s not like… trying to cocoon his way into digivolution, right?” Maddie asked with concern.

“Don’t think so, he hadn’t needed anything and I haven’t gotten any buzzes,” Caspian replied, though he was looking thoughtful. “I think it’s just about trying to feel “safe”, to know nothing can sneak up on him. A sense of stability might help Justine’s case too if they haven’t settled down. Phin didn’t change back until after he felt satisfied he did what he could to “protect” me. Like a purpose-driven thing if they can't maintain it.”

“She should be calling one of us either way after she checks on them.”

“So going straight home should be the plan? ‘Cause otherwise, it’s not like your mom told me to come right back.” He asked with a playful expression.

“I mean where else would we go? A pet store?” Maddie asked with a teasing look at Ryudamon.

“I do not need dog toys. I’m not a dog.” Ryudamon said as he pouted back at her.

"But they do sell meat treats, meant to be eaten by not humans," Maddie said to him and the monster did cock his head appraisingly at the idea. "Unless you had anywhere in mind?" She turned back to the boy driving.

“Zero clue.” Caspian said, but that felt like a lie. “Tried looking up things of interest around here. Comics, games, tech shops, found an independent arcade through Phineas, but not much and even less I'd really want to put myself through like this.”

“Phineas has his own friends?” She smiled at the news, and turned over the chair arm at Ryudamon. “Have you met anyone new yet?”

“I hardly have a need to. I have more than enough established connections, and given my status, I’d rather not unintentionally intimidate any new souls without fair reason.” Her partner answered with a smug-looking smile.

Caspian’s shoulders slouched. “I made a mistake. Tried getting Phin some comics for reading practice. The owner of my local one would try pitching “Undercover Quokka” to anyone open to it, and I guess it’s been popular on their side. They’re a nice enough ‘mon, kinda declared themselves a part-timer at this joint. But it there’s a word that can “drop” vowels, they will.”

“Oooh, like a “Thx fr th mmrys” sorta thing?” Maddie asked and Caspian’s brow raised like he thought she was somehow saying the name wronger than it was intended.

“If you took them literally they’re an SPMN PTR that named themselves GRMLN. All caps.” He gave matter-of-factly getting a laugh out of Maddie before a realization dawned on her.

“... I don’t know if that should make me more or less worried since Phin can’t English.”

“In hindsight that was still a lot better than giving them the Isekai manga about a bright pink spider dork.” He confessed with a grimace. “Really should have checked that one a bit more on the violence front.”

“Parenting failure 101: Always check any media you intend for them to consume on their own.” She teased with a laugh as her house came into view and he scowled at being called out. 

Caspian’s wrist began to buzz not long after she got her bag away, and it wasn’t Justine’s face on the screen. A yellow face with a cartoonishly cat-like grin and big blue eyes under a red-petalled helmet beamed at them both instead.

"HEY! Hey, hey, hey! Maddiemon, Caspianmon, guess who?!"

“A plant who’s about to suffer a lot of technical difficulties if they’re going to be calling me that,” Caspian replied drier than a desert.

Her smile snapped shut into a perfect 3 shape as her eyes begged Maddie for either help against his lack of humor or basic acknowledgment.

“Come on, be nice.” Maddie chided Caspian before turning to Justine’s partner, based on the green ring near the bezel. “You had Mac and Cheese with us the other night. I've never seen a Digimon like you before, but Justine told me you digivolved."

"Yeah! Lookie, lookie!" The silly Digimon did a happy twist of their head and brought their flower-hands into view to show themselves off. “I’mma Floramon now!”

“So she shrunk back on her own,” Justine spoke from offscreen. “Kiwi looks more like the bird with a helmet and some leaves like the fruit.” The girl picked her partner to have them sit on a seat beside her, showing off the ‘mon’s rootlike feet and reptilian tail. She must have put her watch on a stand. “She said once she had time to calm down she was fine, sorry to bother.”

“That checks out. It might be like an adrenalin thing or if they have a specific set of goals in mind when it happens,” Caspian agreed and Maddie slide herself off-screen to see her mom given her lack of experience there, letting the two talk.

“You okay, mom?” Maddie asked as she poked around looking for her, and heard a muffled response from the master upstairs.

“Yeah, sorry if the change worried you. I wasn’t feeling well, but I don’t think it’s serious.” Ellen said weakly and did seem a bit under the weather still. “Everything going okay at school?”

“Yeah, things have been pretty normal!” Maddie said with some relief that still felt honest. “Justine’s got a watch like us now, so I have a new way to talk to her too! She’s on a call with Caspian right now.”

“That so?” Ellen’s face was a bit more strained at hearing that but sighed and tried to hide her disappointment in how Digimon were spreading around. “It’s good he has others to talk to too.”

“If they like hanging out, maybe she’ll try coming over more often?” Maddie suggested as a way to help her mom see the “unplugged” side of this, but the woman was unimpressed.

“I’ll stay out of it as long as they don’t hurt anyone,” Her mom replied. “But these things worry me, Maddie.”

“I know! And, like, I get it. But-”

“They’re “nice” and “mean well”, and I certainly can’t kick the spider out without your injured friend going with them.” Ellen cut her off with some annoyance. “I know how you feel about these things, but that doesn’t mean I’m that comfortable with them. Ryudamon’s… fine, and the spider keeps to itself and its person, but I don't know enough about the rest of these things.”

“Thank you, Grandmisstress Ellen!” Ryudamon spoke from past the doorframe making Ellen rub her temple. “Though I can confirm Justine’s partner is a proud and peaceful species, you don’t have anything to worry about for her. If anything they are well known for their hospitality.”

Ellen’s face screamed that wasn’t the type of reassurance she was looking for, but the dragon couldn’t exactly see that from the hall.

“And that giant spider won’t be bothering anyone anymore either! Safely addressed, so nobody else should get involved.” Maddie added to try and smooth that wrinkle over, despite her mixed feelings on how it was “settled”.

That did make Ellen look more relieved. “Okay, thank you. I’ll get something for dinner in a bit, okay? I think I just need a bit more rest.” She smiled and Maddie took the hint to leave.

And when she checked the living room, it looked like their call had finished fairly fast too.

But Caspian was smiling again.

Caspian didn’t really do “happy”, so it being genuine was right out. Which meant he was probably doing something mean.

She narrowed her eyes at him and quickly checked the bottom of her laptop from the coffee table. No dumb meme printouts.

His grin widened. He was waiting for her to find something, or trying to make her paranoid either just to mess with her or take advantage of the second she gives up looking. Bad sign.

He was too relaxed to be ready to get out of dodge the second she found whatever it is, so it probably isn’t actually terrible. Her skepticism refused to wane.

This is likely payback for making him watch the live-action Parasite thing the other night. Which, in her defense, she liked just fine, though she also had never read the comics it was adapting. He was…Less amused by the whole ordeal. Though between the Digimon Phineas handled it better than Ryudamon did, as he outright ditched them and took the popcorn with him.

The laptop did otherwise seem untampered with and neither goes that far for a prank. So if it is there, it was something he sent her. Warily she opened it. Her tabs were normal. So was email.

Only to be interrupted by a brass band rendition of Cruel Angels Thesis.

“Seriously?” She snapped it shut. “Weren’t you ever told not to play with dead things?”

Phineas let out a faux-aghast cry, turning around as if to sulk to a quietly baffled Ryudamon. Maddie’s unsure what joke they were trying to make there exactly, but they have the right spirit.

“What’d I do? I thought you liked that show, and I thought this was a cool twist on it.” His words were earnest. His face was sarcastic as hell. She still hasn’t been able to tell if that’s because it’s just stuck between that and checked out or what.

Rationally, he’s right. Nothing negative has been said on any fronts. Emotionally, he’s too smug to be allowed to be right about the sky being blue.

Unfortunately for him, she was in arm’s reach of a small lion beanie. Unfortunately for her, her throwing arm is terrible with the shot going wide left.

He got up quick enough to catch it mid-air anyway, despite it being on his bad side to boot. She grimaced as he softly tossed it right back to her, the abused lion landing in her hands still clawed in frustration. “I didn’t need your pity.”

Firm loss all around, point goes to Caspian. 

Before Maddie could bother sulking a similar honk started coming from her phone. Not a whole band playing the song, but at least a trumpet. This was more obviously Phineas’s work, Ryudamon’s tail wagging over something the bug was fiddling with to let him share the audio.

“Yeah, I got it Phin, the old meme wasn’t funny the first time either-” She had begun to say.

“Who's side are you on right now?” Caspian called at the spider who tried to badly copy a honk. Which is… different.

A moment to take in the implication clicks.

“What instrument did you say you played again?” Maddie asked him as she raised a curious brow.

At last the cocky grin has been ousted, normality restored. 

“The triangle,” Caspian said dryly, throwing his spider a look asking why they decided to throw him under this bus in particular.

A look at her phone’s screen confirmed what he won’t say. Phin sent her footage of a Caspian closer to her age playing the melody on his trumpet. She didn’t say anything, but figured her smile spoke for her. He’s not bad at it, and it’s nice seeing him do something goofy.

“I told you I wasn’t making fun of you or the song. Didn’t realize memes ruined it for you already” He said as an apologetic defense instead of acknowledging the footage in any way, looking off to the side like it would avoid conversation.

It did not. “Any reason you stopped? Trumpet I mean.”

“High school sucks,” came quickly off his tongue like it’d explain everything, but he recanted. “Music can get pricey, so figured it’d be easier on everyone to stop. I wasn’t really doing anything with it anyway, dad always pushed for me to learn more programming instead.” Caspian shrugged, mostly to himself.

She didn’t want to pry exactly, but giving him silence gave him room to go into if he wanted to.

He sighed. “Jazz was fine, at first. When it got less fine, underclassmen at least weren’t terrible until they caught onto the fact they were the only ones who seemed to give a damn.” Again he shrugged, “So, why bother staying where I’m not wanted? I found better uses of my time.”

“Sorry.” Maddie meant it but he waved her off like water under the bridge. “I haven’t really done any club stuff, but I can see what you mean. After this year, not sure I’d ever want to try.”

He arched a brow as if to point out he could gather as much by now. Given how he relayed her dad's worries, it wasn't like he was the only one.

"Soooo." She rocked on her heels, trying to find something else to talk about. "I have a theory on why Logorhythms wants you. Wanna hear it?" 

Maddie failed at picking a safe subject, but his attention said he was still game.

"Nope. Shoot." 

"Okay. You're 17, right?" She kept her eyes on him carefully to gauge his reactions.

He raised a brow, but there was a hesitation that shouldn’t have been there. "What about it?"

"And Holstrum died 18 years ago."

He grimaced. "Hating this one already.” Caspian rolled a hand, “Go on."

"Your mom's a blonde, and your dad's ginger, but you're a natural brunette?"

Doesn’t take a geneticist to quirk a brow at that outcome. If either parent carried a trait that dominant, one would have needed to be using dye to look the way they do. And with how he’s talked about budgeting in his house, that sort of vanity wouldn’t make the cut.

"Yup. Well aware of that genetic oddity." He agreed with a wary nod. “But you know punnet squares aren’t everything, right?”

"But your dad's still a prick to you."

"Not nearly as much as he is to mom." Caspian corrected but motioned for her to get to the point.

"What if your dad's not your dad?" He was already shaking his head, “Hey, at least hear me out! Like what if, when Holstrum died she already had you, but not like the birth part yet, and then your “dad” picked up the slack. Holstrum had dark hair, before going gray.”

“That’s one way to call mom a “cuckoo”. But no dice.” He snorted. "It wouldn't make sense. If mom could have a chance at any child support from the Holstrum estate, money wouldn't be an issue and she wouldn’t have needed to put with dad’s crap at all. If dad didn't consider me his, we'd be on the streets ages ago. Of all their fights, her infidelity isn't ever the issue."

Maddie paled. "Shit."

She just keeps underestimating how deep this well goes, huh?

"Been used to it." He waved her sympathy aside. "And even if I was the guy's kid, that shouldn't matter to a company. There’s no "divine right of kings" bloodline bullshit to cater to in capitalism."

"Just the risk of a payout?" That's disappointing, she thought she was onto something there.

"Probably not even that, unless you're hoping for some secret will." He gave her a teasing smirk. "Go easy on the soap operas next time."

“Well shit.”

“Language!” Ellen overheard her that time, and Maddie squinted behind her wondering how she only caught the one.

“Story of my life, Kim.” Caspian teased.

Maddie’s grimace deeped, ‘cause mom didn’t say anything about his cursing, guest or not.

He shrugged, again too content for her liking. Because Caspian didn’t do happy unless it’s at someone else’s expense. And that someone tends to be her.

He started to look guilty under her glare, which was unexpected. And then caved. “Fine. I lied about one thing.”

“Doubtful.”

“If that’s how you really feel, then you don’t need any more shortcuts right?” He taunted with a lighter tone.

“Hey! It’s not shortcuts it’s..” Maddie looked around the room for something better than what her gut gave but didn’t find it. “Tutoring?”

Yeah that sounded exactly as lame as it felt.

“Not if I'm doing the "lessons" for you. Some engineer you'll be if you keep that up.” He teased. "You need to tell me if and when I start losing you."

That’s one way to leave out the fact he’s showing her tricks way beyond what she’s meant to be learning for school and she picked up from dad before things got bad.

“Oh shut it. What’d you lie about?”

He got quiet and fidget-y. “Promise not to make a big deal?”

She narrowed her eyes in silence.

“Fine, guess I’ve earned that.” He looked at the ceiling with a sigh. “I’m 18.”

“Since when?”

“Today? Don’t know the exact time.”  Caspian grimaced to himself. “So, your timeline’s a bit off. There could have been some brief overlap with the guy, which causes more holes for you.”

“Excuse me, are you trying to gloss over you wanting to hide that it was your birthday?!” Maddie said louder than she needed to in hopes of her mom overhearing it now that her eavesdropping could actually prove useful.

How useful would remain to be seen.

“You seemed like a birthday person and I’m not.” He shrugged.

“But it’s a birthday?”

“Why does that matter?” Ryudamon asked.

Caspian gave the dinosaur a dry smile and gestured to him. “See, he gets it.”

“No he doesn’t, but I know when his birthday is so we can fix that next year!” Maddie insisted, and turned to Ryudamon. “It’s to show how happy someone existing makes you, and there is a lot of stuff you can only do after certain ages depending on where you live. 18 is one of them, you can be independent and vote and other stuff. So they tend to be a bigger deal.”

Ryudamon was still unimpressed. “Then why would I need a “birthday”? Or "manifest day" if you'd rather it be accurate.”

 Maddie put her hands on her hips as she chided him. “C’mon, don’t you think the anniversary of you meeting us is something worth celebrating?”

“It is easier when you know the absolute earliest someone could have been “born” at.” Caspian pointed out in an attempt to keep her focused on the Digimon. And he was going to fail.

Maddie pouted at him. “Why hide something like that?”

Caspian looked at her blankly. “Have you met you?”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You can make a big deal out of things that really aren’t.”

“You act like things that are a big deal are way too normal or okay when they’re not! If one of us is set up wrong, it’s not me.” Maddie waved him off but let her arms drop to her sides as it clicked. “Did you think we’d pressure you to try seeing your folks or something?”

His silence felt like an answer. After a minute he got a real one out. “If I’m not a minor anymore that’s less important now, yeah?”

“To like, courts, I guess; but what about being important to you?” Maddie turned that around. “Do you want to talk to them?”

“Dunno.” Caspian closed his eyes. “Every time I do, mom tries to guilt me into coming back already. Wouldn’t know what else I’d even talk about. How to handle school I guess?”

“Seriously? It’s been over a week.”

“What would you say to them? You’ve heard me complain enough to get a picture.”

Maddie felt her throat dry. She really couldn’t. Yeah her and her mom had troubles sometimes, and talking to her was hard, but their problems were more… normal. Aside from dad.

“That’s what I figured.”

“Do you just want to never go back then? Should you see about transferring to my school next semester?”

“For less than a year, to a place that’s already has a few rumors about me, and for a uniform? Hard pass. Distance learning isn’t hard for me.” Caspian turned on his good side. His expression looked more conflicted than he made it sound.

Clearly, he didn’t care that much about her social odds after Justine graduated.

“Sure you don’t want to head down there for a visit? Like, to see your friend?”

“What “friend”?” Caspian looked at her with suspicion. “Didn’t even have that much.”

“Not even “Hannah”?” Maddie knew asking was a mistake as soon as the name left her mouth.

He sat up like a shot and was way too on edge. “Where did you hear about her?”

“Y-your mom mentioned her to my mom. They thought you might have been at her place.”

He hissed a curse. “No, she’s not a friend. New kid that I shared a class with, have a project together in English together. That’s it.”

“Didn’t sound like “that’s it”.” Maddie grinned evilly at him.

“I mean, yeah, she’s a girl and she’s cool,” Caspian admitted, but the nervous fidgeting was back. He began to glare at the floor. “And she freaked out when she saw what my home could be like. When she tried to be nice to me the last time I saw her, I got embarrassed and shut her down. So yeah, “That’s it”.”

“Want to give her a call?" She asked, though she knew this might be pushing too much. "You could try to use the project as an excuse to apologize. Let her know you're not intentionally ghosting her or anything.” 

“For what?" He scowled and shook his head. "I don’t even know if I’ll go back there, and if I don’t she’ll never see me again.”

“It could go better than you’re thinking!" Maddie said brightly. "And it’d be less a jerk move than making her do everything.” She said more to herself with a sour note.

“I can edit the Doc just fine, I’ve done most of the work on it as it is. It’s the least I could do.”

Maddie groaned at what a dunce he could be. That’s not all she meant by “everything”.

“Have you tried using that to say sorry for being a jerk? With your words, like an adult, instead of waiting for her to make the first move.” Maddie muttered to herself. “Or second.”

He glared at her. “Again, what’s the point? Things might be better off this way.”

She noticed he didn’t disagree with her read on what he was doing though.

“Won’t know if you never try. If you barely seem open to being friends how should she know you’d be interested in more of that? There’s a difference between “Nice Guys” and brick walls.”

“I do not need relationship advice from the Parent Trap Matchmaker.”

“Hey! Mom thanked me for what I did!”

“After your fiddling torpedoed her actual relationship.” He stated with a lightly accusing look.

“Still, I wasn’t wrong to push her to talk to dad!” Maddie crossed her arms but looked away. “Even if it wasn’t as successful as I’d like it to be.”

“On the trap or just ditching Gabe? ‘Cause I’ve not heard a direct word about the guy so it sounds like a resounding success on that front.”

“That wasn’t me!” Maddie argued, Ryudamon’s skin turning red despite trying to seem uninterested in the subject in favor of something Phineas was showing him.

“You just gave your dad some “direction”.”

“If mom really liked the guy or thought he’d understand, she would have told him.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Caspian said with a roll of his eyes, and Maddie wasn't sure he was wrong on who that line was really for.

“You know what will help me sleep at night?” Maddie grinned maybe a tad too cruelly. “Dessert plans.”

“You wouldn’t.” Caspian grimaced, knowing full well she would because he expected her to.

So, her not living up to them would be rude at this point.

“HEY MOM? CAN WE GET A CAKE TONIGHT?” Maddie called out to the other room and got a pillow to the back of her head for the effort. Giggling like a chipmunk she tossed it back to the chair it belonged to as she retreated to consult the head of house directly.

Right before she was fully out of his potential line of sight she popped her head back into the living room. “Also: Cake flavor! Speak now or forever accept a chocolate and cookies and cream ice cream cake. And no promises in any direction on presents. If you get one, it’s a surprise. If you don’t, it’s your dunce tax!”

Caspian barked a laugh at her bluntness. “By all means tax me and enjoy your cake there, Maddie!” He called after her.

Maddie would have defended the honor of this family tradition which was definitely not just her favorite flavor becoming the household default, but Ryudamon kept her moving along.

“I heard you the first time, Maddie.” Ellen was barely hiding her laughter behind a hand.

“Why are boys so duuuuumb?” She tilted her head as she asked what many have asked before.

“As a former teenage boy: We can’t help it and have no idea.” David chimed from the laptop.

“I mean. It can get worse.” Ellen nodded to herself, smile growing. “It’s not the sort of thing they grow out of either.”

“I have no idea what she’s talking about.” David lied.

“You do not want to know how many false starts we had because someone couldn’t take a hint when he was in highschool either.” Ellen said with far too much joy for David’s pride.

“Oh no, I could! I just got the wrong conclusion.” David tried to defend before verbally petering out “… A few times.”

Ryudamon nodded as if he was overhearing sage advice, before looking up at Maddie. "What flavor is "cookies and cream" anyway? Does the "cookie" vary?"

"Nah, it's always like oreos, so mostly chocolate."

Ryudamon's eyes shone at the word as his tail wagged.

Maddie gave the limb an awkward smile, "It is okay for you to eat chocolate right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He asked and the wagging stopped.

"I dunno, some random foods can be okay for people and not other animals. Like, it's toxic to dogs so I don't know what else it could hurt."

Ryudamon huffed indignantly. "I'm not a dog, Gammamon's champion is more than fine with me."

"Not the weirdest thing I've heard it called." Maddie laughed to herself. "Definitely better than "brown sludge"."

She could hear Caspian coming up the stairs behind her, but a glance showed he was just heading towards “his” room, where Phin was supposedly holed up.

Maddie followed behind, assured the “plans” will be underway, and saw the thick web locking everyone out of the space. “Yikes.”

“I told you it seemed more like a “secure the perimeter” thing,” Caspian said with an I told you so look before tapping on the web. “Phin? You okay with me or Maddie coming in?”

Maddie gave Caspian a disbelieving look over how he expected an answer, but the web parted like a curtain and he offered her the entrance first. Which she took after running a hand along the sheet of fresh silk, only getting stuck at a part that might have been keeping it in place.

“At least his silk has a tell,” Caspian told her as he helped get her hand free. “The sticking points all look like nodes, the lines themselves are fine.”

“Unless they get in your hair.” Maddie echoed from his earlier complaint.

“They wash out easily and none of it is that strong on its own, but that could be a choice for this batch.”

“Security lines to give immediate warning rather than those meant for catching things?” She thought aloud.

“That was my guess on it at least.” Caspian agreed with her train of thought with a small smile, before crouching down to look under “his” bed for the missing spider. “Phin? Maddie heard her friend got into a fight. Is that what’s spooked you?” Some chittering felt kinda like a yes. “Neither of them are mad at you. Justine called to let me know how her digivolution went, and confirmed there's no bitter feelings and it's not your fault.”

Phineas came out a bit at that and looked up at Maddie curiously, and she half regretted bailing on that part of the conversation. “I mean, she wasn’t mean to you when she came over either, right?” Something told her if Phineas could, it would be squinting at her skeptically. She gave an awkward apologetic smile. “Like, aside from when she gave you the plushie test.”

Phineas gave a little nod at that and pointed to the door.

“I think he’d rather keep the webs up to come back to later.” Caspian tried to translate and Maddie just realized Ryudamon hadn’t shadowed her this time. As he offered the bug a perch on his good arm she went out ahead to see where hers had went, and found him in her room.

“Sorry, Mistress, I just wanted to look at something.” The stuffy dragon apologized as he noticed her, knocking a stuffie out of sight behind her bed with an intentional swipe of his tail.

“Nothing wrong with that, I didn’t know if you were with mom.”

“No, ”Dragons don’t belong in grocery stores.”” He quoted with a huff. “If that were true, then why are they allowed to sell “Dragon fruits”?”

Maddie rolled her eyes and gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. “They’re not half as cool as they sound, they just look pretty weird.”

“It’s the principal of the thing.” He continued to sulk as Caspian gave a look from the door.

“Does that thing still work?” Caspian asked as he jerked a thumb to the old keyboard against her dresser.

“I think it should, why?”

He shrugged, “I took piano when I was younger. And Phin’s eaten some music files in the past, so it could be useful.”

Phin chittered from an awkward place on his shoulder as they gave it a tap.

Caspian gave it a softly pitying look. “Phineas. You have six fingers in total and your wingspan can barely cover a third of the keys at once. That really limits your options here.”

“If he dances on the keys like an Aristocat that brings him up to 9.” Maddie pointed out, though she had no idea how he managed to make sense of them.

He gave her a skeptical look. “And ruins your keyboard. Phin’s claws aren’t exactly “gentle”.”

“It’s not really mine, it’s more of a hand-me-down. You want to borrow it?”

“Sure.” Caspian accepted before he recognized how she just set him up.

“Consider it a present then!”

He groaned and gave her a mildly disgusted look. “Who lets you borrow something as a “present”?”

“Hey, I don’t know how long you want it for. It can be a long “borrow”, it still counts!” She beamed back at him and he gave a relenting nod, which she took as permission to pass him the plastic in question. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Maddie," he mumbled back. "For... Everything, still."

"Don't worry about it." She knew by now words wouldn't be enough to actually stop him from doing it, but he seemed to appreciate them anyway.

Neither could she, if she didn't keep herself focused on the things in the present that mattered.

Yes, her dad's "sick" again, but he has more time and options than before so he will get better this time. Between Yggdrasil and Caspian, they're bound to find something soon.

She has friends again, that she can see and talk to in person. Her mom has waaaay more to deal with than complaining about her being too focused on the "digital". Logorhythms has stayed quiet, for one reason or another. Laurie hasn't needed to contact her, so everything's fine.

No bullies. No dead dad. No problems.

Even if it feels like nobody's taking her seriously and that maybe she's not really living up to her end of the Digimon "deal".

No point waiting for another shoe to drop.

Chapter Text

Caspian rubbed his eyes as he tried to make sense of what his algorithms had given him again. 

Actually reading a UI’s code was out of the question, even for one of them overclocking it’d take too long. But breaking it down into chunks, forming a loose map of sorts that broke down “physical” functions like their senses, “personal” functions that covered thoughts and feelings, and “practical” functions like what they knew how to do felt like a reasonable approach.

So why do none of them show the type of overlap you’d expect for members of the same system beyond the algorithm working enough to spit out consistent mind mappings? Are the categories too flawed to work, too closely tied in practice to really be separated out like that?

“You doing okay?” Maddie asked him and he sighed.

“Yeah, just… tried to make something for the integrity problem, and I don’t think it’s doing what I hoped. Might need to take a break from it.”

He heard her come up behind him to look over his shoulder. “An idea web?”

“Kinda, but when you’re a mind in a machine where “idea” ends and applications begin gets real messy.” Caspian pulled back to show her the broader scope of his project. “They’ve all given a snapshot of themselves to each other already, to have a loose overview of the problem and make sure the flaw’s consistent. I can’t keep up with them, so I tried breaking those into more manageable chunks, but none of these chunks give an idea of what all UI “should” be like.”

“Then why are there more than four?” She asked with a tilt of her head.

“Each shot could show something different so they don’t overwrite the previous. For my sanity, I’m working with only these five.”

She hummed to herself as she looked it over. “Then why aren’t you working with dad’s first? I mean he’s right here if you have any questions.”

Caspian turned to look at her in surprise. “What makes you think I’m not?”

“‘Cause there’s nothing about child care, for starters.” She said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. “Chanda and Laurie don’t have kids, so even if nobody knows a thing about Ashok Kumar, not having that rules out dad right out the gate.”

“Kumar?”

“I tried looking up if India had something like “John Doe” and that’s what I got,” Maddie said with a shrug. “I wanted to use something more like a name for him, not some weird title.”

Caspian gave a nod and looked over his map again. She was right, that felt kinda obvious in hindsight. Honestly, he’d barely cared about who any map was as he was bouncing between them just trying to narrow down core similarities, ignoring broader “personal” topics like that.

“Can you tell me who I am looking at, just from this?” He asked as he looked up at her curiously.

Maddie looked over it again and gave a nod. “Chanda.”

He tried to keep his face blank despite her getting it in one. “What makes you so sure?”

She leaned over his shoulder to point out another piece of code on his screen. “That’s a lot of 3D printing jargon for different mats and how they handle time and wear. I don’t know Chanda, but when I’d talk to dad about the basics he’d struggle to keep up and while Laurie did 3D print my bracelet this also touches on using them for casting. So with this other legalese surrounding it, I figure it’s more to do with patents, making it clear what to use on schematics and stuff.” 

Giving a snort to herself she added with a cocky grin. “Side note: My dad has never boxed. I don’t know if he knew how to punch "right".And normally I hear girls get recommended for kickboxing, so I guess I could be wrong but it felt like more of a guy thing.”

“You can get that much out of these data points?” Caspian tightened his jaw shut to overcompensate noticing it had been going slack and hoped his staring wasn’t weird.

“Well yeah, this is basically their interests I think. The more you care about something, the more you tend to think about it. Keeps the connections strong and you see more similar interests branch from them.” Maddie quirked a brow back at him. “I mean isn’t that what you asked for?”

So, if she was right “personal” and “practical” can’t be separated because one led to the other too directly? “Physical” might be getting muddied up for the same problem.

Humans are designed for efficiency in one sense: If you don’t use it you’re liable to lose it. Same thing he’s had to balance with his arm. The use of a non-dominant hand is weaker because it’s overlooked, and when injury limits it further it can further degrade.

Their “physical” senses are being helped a lot by digimon-made spaces including that stimulation. If they had only existed in human-made data scapes, would they have been in worse condition? 

Would that have looked like a different sprawling branch of the “flaw” or be recognized as an obviously different type of ability loss?

Shit. Maddie had asked him a question.

“Not exactly. Wasn’t trying to creep on them or anything, just make their code easier to follow. I can get a feeling of what belongs together, but that doesn’t mean I see what the picture makes.“ Caspian slid his chair back to give her the helm. “Can you isolate their personal interests from what keeps them running as programs? I’m trying to find enough elements in common to treat as a base to see if there is one general fix that can be applied to all UI or if each cure will need to be done on a case-by-case basis despite surface similarities.”

“We don’t even know that much?”

He slumped back further. “It’s not like we know how the scanning program itself works. Reverse engineering an algorithm like that from three and a half samples isn’t exactly a cakewalk.”

“Half? Then why bother with five different scans?”

“Strictly speaking there were nine, but that’s because each facet of “Kumar” provided one. I doubled up to compensate for the degradation but didn’t see a use in using all of them to avoid as many false similarities as I can.” He pointed to a folder, “I’d skip the first one.”

He really shouldn’t have been surprised when she clicked it anyway. Maddie’s eyes scanned the map with a growing dread at what she was seeing.

“... He’s dead, isn’t he?” She tried to sound clinical in it, but it was hard to not feel uncomfortable from looking at a person’s digital corpse.

“That was the “original”. With how far gone he was, the Digimon were only willing to risk a full fusion with the most recent stub. Oldest was their “control” group, for lack of a better word.”

“To see how much time he had left without intervention.” She thought aloud. “Maybe to see if losing the core UI would make all the copies deteriorate faster, to see if they were still connected in some way?”

“If the latter was a concern, it doesn’t look like it’s the case. Good news for Laurie if her old bosses are still ragging her dupe ragged.” Caspian said and sympathized with her horror at the reminder there were other copies around, even if that one was designed to be rather basic. “Chanda and some digimon held a memorial for this one already from what I hear. He’s not “dead” enough for them to go on the warpath yet, and if this helps us understand the flaw…”

“Yeah, it makes sense to keep it.”

“Second folder’s still active, piggybacking off of the “Digital World” to see if Yggdrasil carrying the lion’s share of processing slows it enough to consider. Fifth is a scan from before his fusion, so that’s most complete but well out of date.” Caspian tried to follow what Maddie could see. “What gave away his condition?”

“Most connections only make sense if they were self-taught, and that sort of mess just meant a lot of those thoughts didn’t solidify much. Hard to have direction when you don’t even have a map. But this-” She pointed to a section that had some references to .mon code in it. “This would have been first contact with Digimon and it just stops. Like he actively avoided learning more. Easiest to guess a timeline for an abrupt stop like that then everything else petered out.”

“So how’d you rule out it just being pre-fusion?”

“Because everything stopped in pieces, and the .mon train of thought wasn’t the last one going. If this just stopped because he fused, .mon should have been the last thing on his mind, not an attempt to search for his own memories.” Maddie tapped at the failed call in question.

It was a strange tragedy to see a person’s last thoughts, especially to know their own attempts to comfort themselves at the very end failed.

Not unless their own memories of childcare gave them something. Maddie mentioning it for David made its presence here feel worse, even if it wasn’t for their own kids. It could have been for younger siblings, or if they- if he had worked with young enough kids to need to know.

Proof of a physical life they couldn’t find anything concrete about digitally.

“If we found the problem, could we get him working again?” She asked, “Or is this just a copy?”

“Nothing’s valid, that’s why it doesn’t respond anymore. Taking pieces from the others would just be making a new stub. This isn’t the sort of thing that can be salvaged, he’ll never “wake up”.”

“When we’re sure there’s nothing else it can help us learn, we’ll find something kinder for what he left behind.” Caspian jumped at hearing David’s voice come from the computer’s speaker but Maddie was as calm as if the man had just walked into the room.

“Why not just erase it?” She asked, though even to him that felt like a rather cold response.

“Doesn’t feel right to help cover up what happened to him like that. He existed. He deserves some proof to show that he did.”

Caspian wasn’t sure David was just talking about this stub’s legacy and he felt his skin crawl.

“Mind showing me some of the others?” Maddie leaned on his good shoulder as she asked, so he brought up Laurie’s next. “Cool, looks like that hack she showed off when she tried to convince me is something of a fav.” She pointed at a virus for hopping between speakers that had ruffled some online feathers a bit ago. “She asked me for a favorite song and started hijacking everything around me to start playing it. Mall speakers, personal phones, even Justine’s was stuck playing Queen so I’d stop treating Cody like he was nuts.”

“Did she make them all buy it first?” He asked dryly and she gave a short laugh.

“I know I wasn’t charged for it, so what’d you think?”

“What a time to be alive: Digital piracy by an actual digital pirate.” He snarked dryly.

“I think digimon have those too, so she’s might be a new trendsetter.” She smirked back.

“She was paid to stay ahead of the curve.”

“Not sure stocks and trends are comparable, but yeah. Also, had no idea she did skydiving.” Maddie pointed out and poked at the hobby in question.

“Wonder what her bosses would have done if that had been her accident.” He thought aloud, making her recoil in horror.

“Gaaaah, I don’t want to think about that.”

“Too bad, good luck unthinking it as you’re trying to sleep tonight.” He teased, and switched over to David’s. “No points for guessing this one.”

“Yup, that’s dad alright.” She grinned and pointed to a section. “There’s me, or like, the way to keep me alive as a screaming potato at least. Segueing right into stuff we’d do together: fishing, games, school despite him being done with that ages ago.” Less amused she moved to another. “And that is what his bosses uploaded him for. Work stuff.”

There was more corruption in that area too. A sign of how they overworked that branch of memory specifically? Did locking the rest of it away spare them the damage?

“Like she said, if you need a hand with any of that just sing out.” David’s voice nearly made him jump again.

He muttered an agreement, hoping he hadn’t just made an ass of himself for losing track of the guy, but he couldn’t shake the train of thought.

“Corruption” wasn’t really the word, this was stranger than artifacting from overuse. Erasing or replacing the affected areas wouldn’t fix it, like excising a tumor could. It was still just a symptom of a deeper problem, and it didn’t seem related to how much memory any UI was using or Kumar would have degraded slower than all the others the worse he got.

“You did talk about taking a break.” He heard her point out.

“Yeah, but I think I can keep going for a bit. The more time I spend on this, the more Phin wants to get involved, and I don’t want to risk a digimon getting too close to their code.”

“Where is Phin anyway?”

“Had them look into why ThoughtfulBits was making the strides they are in the automation and robotics game. That felt like it could have been machine digimon looking for a brand they could hide behind if they go physical. Haven’t had a buzz or anything so they should be fine.”

Maddie looked taken aback by that news.

“Wasn’t just me who noticed it, TOR’s been getting more conspiracies that are getting harder to dismiss without looking into this side of things.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard from the horse’s mouth on my end too.” David said. “Well, the rabbit’s mouth. Centillion’s new “Auntie Lop” mascot is a cover for “Antylamon” or Andiramon of the Devas. She’s real big on helping kids stay kids by keeping harmful subjects away from them or cycling relevant resources to them if they need it, so this is how she and her people are handling it.”

“Which from our side of things looks like company supported censorship and invasive targeting more than a rogue system with an idealistic agenda.” Caspian thought aloud.

“She’s not completely rogue, she did get herself a paid position there." David said, "But I’m not allowed to say more than that of her “personal” life.”

“How? Even if working remotely is more common, you need to do interviews in person, right?” Maddie asked the webcam of the computer, but Caspian had made sure that thing had been offline. He had hoped he'd notice if David had done an override.

“Digimon don’t need to be “human” to look human, Maddie. Antylamon’s nickname came from a human she remembers being bonded to, so she’s aged her up and uses that as her “avatar” for the work force.”

“Bit more literal than we use it these days.” Maddie joked. “Accurate to the original use too.”

Caspian felt too tense to laugh about that. Ultimates were just walking around like people already? Things based on gods even. What could they do if they got pissed in a traffic jam?

Phineas was only a champion when he held them back, and they knew they could have made quick work of his mom. It’s not even a “strong” champion, from what he’s heard.

“How many are back in full?” Caspian asked cautiously.

“Only the ones who have been pushing themselves to be in contact with humans, preferably with high emotional investment. Dragon’s been raised by how high tensions get in the stock market, Rat’s been making a habit of giving their two cents on advice forums and private spaces, and the Monkey and Dog have been playing “troll cop, good cop” for humans with DIgimon-related distress. The Sheep’s quick growth has been an outlier, but that’s because Chanda’s been working with them personally.”

“So, every time someone gets mad at the censorship bunny, she gets a kickback?” Maddie guessed thoughtfully and got an affirming hum from her dad.

“Her and the triplets. She’s good at redirecting traffic to her, but even she needs to delegate sometimes. They described themselves as being “recyclers”, so they’re helping her to get a feel for what items have the most value to humans and which are best to break down for materials.”

“By literally getting access to search records.” Maddie supplied.

“Yup. And they help her sell her “Mascot” while she’s doing work on our side of things.”

Maddie sounded impressed by it, but neither Kim seemed to care about how fast of a slippery slope they’re dealing with. With nearly half of this “lesser” authority filling out, he has his doubts on if Chess overestimated their set up time.

“How far along are their masters?” Caspian asked as much as he didn't want to.

“Still a ways back, they aren’t going to get more involved until all of their subordinates do to keep themselves away from potential power struggles. They’re still not sure what it takes to get to their highest stages with how our world’s changed things, but none have hit Ultimate yet and half of Ebonwumon's expressed an interest in staying a rookie for as long as she can.”

That wasn’t as comforting as he had hoped it’d be. David must have noticed.

“Why not you come to my “office”, so I can get a better idea of how your maps are fairing?” The unseen man asked. “Would that be okay with you, Maddie?”

“Oh sure, we’ll have plenty of time to do a raid later!” She grinned as she pulled back to the door. “Go ahead, I was going to practice some old strategy games with Ryudamon today anyway.”

“Because Shoji is not the same thing as Chess.” He heard her partner say from the hall with a huff.

“Well, obviously, it wouldn’t make sense for them to be identical,” Maddie said to the dragon as she left. “So that’s what we’re going to see the differences for ourselves!”

It still felt a tad uncomfortable to use her tech without her in the room, but Caspian took the sign of trust with the respect it deserved. 

Felt odder when he got the headset on and he could swear he was standing in a whole new room. One that had a lot more open space, and a lot fewer breakable things if he did anything stupid with his physical body.

In so many ways the strangest part of David’s space was how “normal” it was still trying to seem, despite the monsters outside its window. Especially where the man himself was concerned.

The plain-looking man in glasses gave him a grin as he beckoned Caspian in from the “door” his avatar had manifested in front of. “You already look like you have a question.”

“Not really, I mean, it’s more of a personal one,” Caspian replied but the man nudged him to continue. “Any particular reason you still look like this?”

“Why I look human, you mean?”

Caspian nodded.

“Don’t have anything else I want to look like. Didn’t look nearly as good at the end of course,” He grinned and pointed to that photo on his desk again. “This is what I remember looking like the most fondly. Why would I want to be anything else?”

Caspian winced, but tried to play it off. “Well, I figured most people’s avatars don’t really look like them when we make a name for ourselves online, so you wouldn’t have to either. I just wanted to make sure this was a choice, not like something you can’t change.”

“No. you’re right, If we wanted something even wilder or kill our visual completely if we really wanted to give ourselves a surreal headache, there’s not much stopping us.” David agreed and gave him a knowing but playful look. “So yes, if someone was say trans or like, a furry-”

“I get it, I’m good. Just making sure.” Caspian would do anything to not think on that.

“It wouldn’t take that much more power than a basic 3D form like mine is after it’s been made, is more the point.” David stifled a laugh. “2D costs less, but is more tied to our limitations when we first recognize we’re not the humans we expect ourselves to still be. As I understand Chanda and I defaulted to it, but Laurie never had to. Not in the same way, thanks in part to Cody.”

“He already had a rig ready for her to take on?”

“Or she’s very insecure about her first steps and is eager to let us all believe his take on things is true.” David shrugged with a smile.

“But when you’re in that game with Maddie, you still use your old avatar.” Caspian pointed out.

“Well, yeah, I'm just using my old account. Being a UI doesn't change the information I've already put into it, I'm just choosing to not hack into anything I don't need to in order to play the way I used to.”

“I think I’ve seen a helmet like your combat avi on ads at my local comic shop. So is Maddie’s fig a custom thing, or are you just a nerd?”

“Mine is custom thanks, it was a 3D print she made of it in middle school. Not a bad job if I do say so myself.” It was clear how proud he was of her by how soft his expression got.

It almost made Caspian uncomfortable by how weird that was for him to see.

“You say that, but I’ve seen red sunglasses shaped like your chest symbol around.” Caspian looked at the guy skeptically and caught a hint of panic behind those glasses. “So. Is it for the guy with the combining mecha, or the one who was also a form of UI?”

“You aren’t going to believe it’s random, are you?” David looked more uncomfortable than he thought a guy without a body possibly could.

“Not a chance.”

“Being able to identify it’s from Homestuck isn’t exactly a great look for you either.”

“Never said the sources. I just know them from osmosis.” Caspian lied. If David really wants to prove him wrong he’ll have to suffer through young Caspian’s internet history to do it.

“Then that is a very specific pull you just “happened” to make.” David has his number and he knows it.

“Weird memory and killer instincts strike again. Hardly the first time,” Caspian gave a shrug content that had enough truth to it even if David knew he was lying through his teeth.

David shook his head in disappointment, but he’s getting no confessions here.

“Still. The point is it’s easier and more efficient to stay with one “look”. I use my old avatar in Reign because not using it would be more taxing and cause a lot more problems.” David rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he confessed, “And, to be honest, would look kinda lame. Especially next to my Valkyrie. Maybe I could get away with it around Ellen’s beginner “barbarian”, but we’d need to get her clothes for her to even try bothering with it again.”

… That’s not a mental image Caspian is going to contemplate at all. He knows how bad fantasy designs can be. Doesn’t need to put a person’s face on one.

“What about aging? If we fix the flaw, will you just use something like those programs? “Age” yourself up like Antylamon has to her human, to stay in line with us?” Caspian asks.

He doesn’t twist the knife by what a UI’d do if he outlived the people he’s sticking around for.

“I’ll worry about that when we get there. With what time I do have, I won’t need it.” David said and he gave a sad shrug at Caspian’s face. “Figured you guessed that already.”

He had, but hearing someone being so casual about their time left was different. And it’s not like he knows the specifics the way these UI could.

"So, how much time do you have if you ration yourself?" Caspian asked, pausing his flicking through files.

"Currently? Staying exactly as I am, I've got over 5 years. If I lower my functions to text only I can raise that to 10, maybe more. Putting myself on standby I could survive even longer, just I'd need to be woken up by an outside source when the right time comes around."

Caspian tried to visualize what that would mean, but didn't like what he saw. The man chose the word “survive” for a bleak reason. "What sort of life would that be?"

"It's not about quality of life for me." David shrugged and tapped the photo on his desk. "It's about being here for the important things."

Caspian looked at the man skeptically. "How important can they be if you wouldn't even be aware of anything for chunks of it?"

David gave a sad smile. "You might be a bit young to get it. There's still firsts I've yet to see. Not to mention graduation: high school, college. If I'm real lucky, might even get to see my little girl get married."

"Can't walk her down the aisle." Caspian grimly pointed out.

Doesn't point out how integrating a variation of a Digimon's materialization function could give him that option back. The energy cost would eat too much of the time he'd need just to get there. So only way it’d be feasible, is if the flaw was fixed first.

"Maybe not, but that stopped being possible when I was first diagnosed." David leaned back on his desk. "Truth is, of the four of us I'm the only person who was given being uploaded as an informed and uncoerced choice, let alone consented to it. Even if it was made knowing I wouldn’t have refused or might have been forced into it anyway, it feels like that means something sometimes, ya’ know?"

Caspian put the files away, so David continued. He put his hands up like a surrender. "Not that Cody made the wrong call. But Laurie was completely comatose when he was given this as an option to save her. She has said she'd have done the same, considering her body's condition at the time. But that’s pretty easy to say after the fact."

Caspian’s brow furrowed at the implication. Would she really prefer dying for a chance at a life with no physicality over adapting to how her body changed had she had woken up beforehand? Was she past any point of saving, even if she hadn’t “died”?

"And Alliance's? I mean, I know their “oldest’s” story."

David’s face went grim. "So you already know how far they’d go on strangers to get their “consent”. But Chanda… Chanda was murdered." David shook his head. "He was fine, perfectly healthy with a full life ahead of him. But Prasad heard he'd been getting offers from other companies, and didn't want to lose his edge. He was kidnapped and awake the entire time he was being scanned. That’s why his partner couldn’t stand by without any “justice” for him."

"What the fuck." Caspian’s voice was soft.

"That's part of why I've given him his space." It was hard to tell what the UI was feeling as the man looked away. "I can't imagine what that was like for him, even if after our uploads we were all treated the same. He’s shown us the video, and doesn’t mind it being out there, but you really don’t need to see it. Even if Logorhythms had tricked me, offered me an experimental surgery without saying it was to kill me, it wouldn’t have been that bad. I don’t remember what being uploaded felt like."

"If you did this for Maddie, why's your wife still pissed?"

"Didn’t frame it to her like that." David admitted, and held the photo. "Don’t think it would have mattered if I did. I was still willing to throw away my limited time in the present with the two of them for the chance of being there for their futures. It’s one thing to die because you have to, and another to choose it. She was the one left to pick up the pieces, even if it didn’t actually fail."

“Would she still be as angry if they had let her know it worked up front?”

“How’s anybody to know? Little point to that sort of “what ifs”, especially when letting me out wasn’t ever the plan. Hell, they knew full well how temporary uploads were despite the pitch.”

Caspian nodded, and brought up part of David’s memory logs. That’s the important part. The thing that makes him “David”, and the only thing fragile about these things.

Maybe it’d be more accurate to call it his “soul”, like Holstrum phrased it in a TED talk. “Memory” is too broad a label with machines at this scale.

Digimon seemed to do the same, but their “soul” and “digi-core” were sometimes treated as separate concepts. Chess’ described it as more like a computer kernel than a heart or brain, but that’s what he had fixed to create Phineas. Perfect orbs, structure being able to reinforce itself even if an influx of data would require it to expand or condense to accept the new material.

Rolling experiences in on themselves, not damaging the mind’s ability to access any of them but keeping them close for easier and quicker access. Minimal runaway, maximizing spacial use.

Does that even work? It’s not just a scroll you can put away, it needs to stay legible to function.

Maybe they aren’t spheres either, they just look like it when “solid”. Three-dimensional fractals, infinitely compressible, that formed an illusion of a solid to make it easier to visualize and present to other programs.

Is that the trick? Just finding the way to make a person’s systems bend as this needs them to?

"If they hadn't worked me so hard these past two years, I might not have needed to consider standby mode an option to be able to meet Maddie’s own kid someday." David sighed, possibly thinking Caspian wasn’t still listening. "No point lingering on it though. I've gotten what I wanted out of this. Apart from all the waiting, it's not a bad deal."

"'Side from your wife hating you." Caspian tossed out along with a failed curl on his current web.

"Hey, watch it," David pointed at him but he had a wry smile. "She's talking to me again, that's leagues better than we were at the start. First days were hell."

"Are you sure this was worth it?" Caspian dreaded the answer.

"Without a doubt." There was no hesitation on David’s part. "I don't want to consider what might have happened if I hadn't been uploaded. They'd still be alone, and Maddie wasn't reaching out to anyone despite the hell she was going through at school. Not even my mom."

"It was just some typical teenage bullshit." Caspian tried to reassure the man. "Been there, done that. I'm sure she'd be fine too."

"Doesn’t take much for it to stop being "just" some high school bullying." David’s tone was serious. "She's a tough kid, but we all have our limits."

Caspian held his tongue this time and nodded. David knows more about why someone would pick death than he does. Even if his wasn’t meant to have been permanent.

That was the general answer he expected, but far from what he was hoping for.

If it wasn’t a fair trade, it’d be a lot less tempting for others to want the same for themselves. Easier to keep populations healthy, even with a sharper decline from willing uploads in response to physical ailments or personal reasons. If there’s few downsides, who’d want to stay mortal?

Curbing population density might not be the worst thing for the planet, but he needs to believe people being on this sad mudball serves some sort of good. Beyond what the UI would need to keep their servers intact. Even if they all went digital, they can't afford to forget about their physical shackles, even if there’s no chains connecting to them.

One bad event “topside”, and who knows how many would die unaware that they even could.

Not even a manmade one. Laurie’s already done attacks that no one could pull of alone. Chanda or Sami burned down a multistory complex. What could a group of UI do to people?

If that didn’t lead to humanity’s own extinction, what would they leave in their place?

Were another species’ uploads what led to Digimon? Organic beings with residual physical needs and instincts that didn’t get the evolutionary memo to take a hike after they started reproducing in a digital medium?

Earth’s UI are technically already at the stage they could try doing the same. All of them have made lesser copies of themselves for one reason or another, to not risk their own safety. 

If any number of these partial copies fused to make a purely virtual consciousness, what’s the difference between that result and two gametes forming a zygote? Aside from the organic’s 9 months of build-up and sex requirements, or the UI’s ability to use more than two donors.

If Digimon weren’t a look into this future, why else would they need to shit? That’s an organic answer to removing leftover materials. Reality doesn’t have a delete function right there.

Maddie said Digimon still don’t “die”, when they are destroyed they are reconfigured and the minimum they need to exist is transferred to be remade at their smallest stage.

Was that part of their own answer to problems like memory decay? Or population control, so extinction should be impossible even if too many individuals had become part of bigger fusions?

“You okay in there?” David’s voice was teasing.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“I’d offer you a penny, but we can’t exactly carry cash.” David shrugged to himself with a chuckle at his own joke.

“What about crypto?”

“Not my scene, but I’m pretty sure one of us would be making a bad deal.”

“Was worth a try, ‘cause it wouldn’t be me.” 

“Never underestimate what a person’s thoughts are worth to the right people.”

“So, you were trying to con me first, is what you’re saying?” Caspian joked to distract himself from how terrifyingly true he’s learned that can be. David’s “living” proof of it.

“Harsh,” David said with a smile. “But seriously, don’t go forgetting yourself too much there. My girls will be pretty ticked at me if I let you starve yourself or anything.”

“I’m fine, it just felt like I was onto something. Let myself get sidetracked. It’d be easier to focus if it was just AI or UI, having both options makes it easy to waste time misapplying concepts.”

“Waste is always relative.” David corrected, but there was a concern in his eyes now that Caspian looked at him. “Your watch was glowing for a while there. Think that was in response to you, or do you think Phineas is getting in trouble?”

Caspian hadn’t noticed at all, his Digivice isn’t part of his VR model. This place is too surreal.

“Depends, what were we talking about at the time?”

“What could have beens,” David knew something was up now as he gave the young man his full attention. Or as full as Caspian could know.

So, if his crest was reacting to the reinforcing fractals theory that’s probably proof he was on the right track. But how would it know that, and react like this? What even are they?

“No clue.” Caspian doesn’t think that’s a lie. “Was considering if Digimon could be late-stage UI, if that helps? Few fusions to try pushing out something like your flaw to give future iterations a better chance, who knows what the originals could have looked like before imaginations could run rampant. That sorta thing. Wasn’t as focused on the problem as I should have been.”

“So that’s what you meant by misapplied? Feels a bit mean.” David was trying to hide his doubt. He knew Caspian was onto something, that isn’t just the paranoia talking. “Not a bad theory, but doesn’t help us much either.”

“Yeah, so it’s a waste of time.” Caspian brought up a different idea web to try, hoping that would lessen some of the man’s suspicions. “Just like figuring out what “crests” are, or do, or why, is.”

“That wasn’t what you were working on at the time.”

Caught.

“Yeah, ‘cause it looked like a dead end.” Caspian lied with a casual air. “If it isn’t, I’m too off track to get it for now. This just means I need to come back to it later, instead of write it off completely I guess. Unless it was something Phineas did, or made happen. So might as well try a new thought, see what it leads to. If it glows again, that tells us more about what my crest likes.”

“Sounds like that time would be better spent giving yourself a break.” David sighed at the teen, but his gaze wasn’t judgmental. Nothing like he’s used to seeing from his own dad.

He doesn’t know which made him feel worse for seeing what the other man couldn’t.

Caspian closed his eyes. “Yeah, you’re probably yet. Might stop by the library or something, excuse for fresh air and all that jazz.”

“Or just get yourself some lunch, kid. There’s no need to rush.”

David’s more right than he should know.

There’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. UI and AI are both here to stay if Yggdrasil has a say in it. Now it’s a question of how quickly their respective developments go. What might trigger a singularity.

He can’t do anything to stop or slow down Digimon. But that doesn’t mean he needs to make UI catch up to them.

It's not like he doesn’t wish there was another way.

The Kims have been good to him. Far better than they probably should be, since David’s laying low. And he does trust them, they’ve earned that much. Maddie’s way too nice to him. Ellen’s been both incredibly kind and patient given everything life’s thrown her way in under a year.

He should be able to trust David. He thinks that he does; he believes David’s a good person.

But he doesn’t trust that fixing David would stop at David. He’s a good man, so he’d want to help others like him. Not unless he was given good reasons not too, and even if Caspian could convince him, he’s not sure he’d want to burden this man with that sort of responsibilities.

Assuming helping Laurie wouldn’t still take priority over anything Caspian could argue. The Kims owe her too much. And if they help Laurie, it’d be cruel to leave Chanda in the lurch after all he’s been through, wouldn’t it? Then why not help “Kumar” too?

And since this first generation of UI would all basically be digital gods, why would they want to settle on being a Pantheon instead of making sure the next batch enjoy all the same benefits?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Caspian doesn’t want to risk his opening the floodgate to the apocalypse. End of the world as they know it. He can’t help David.

Not unless he finds some way to keep everything else from spilling over.

Even if needing to hide this from all of them makes him feel ill.

Fresh air was a good idea. But he probably should have waited for Phineas to get back.

He shouldn’t risk touching this problem without them to make sure David isn’t watching. A UI finding a person who isn’t off the grid would be child’s play, no matter what tricks he used. He knows David has plenty of reasons to check on him, even if the man’s intentions are good.

Caspian’s the one trying to screw him over. 

The smart thing would be to just leave it be, but he’s never been good at that. If it isn’t the right track, then there’d be nothing for him to feel guilty over, he could just fall back into “normal” with them. No catches, lies, or stress over these what-could-have-beens.

But if it is, if that’s what David saw his crest react to, then it’ll come out eventually. He can’t leave a thought half done. If it turns out to be dangerous, he’ll know what to scrap in the future.

Borrowing a computer at a library should be harmless. It’s local, but not too close to the Kims. Just long enough to double-check. Shouldn’t even take a full hour.

Sure enough, the more he let himself work on making what was essentially a hypothetical digi-core for a UI, the watch hidden by his sling glowed a deep purple. Less foreboding than the shade Phin glowed when they digivolved for the first time.

He hoped the sling was enough to keep it from catching too much unwanted attention. Even if his mobility in that arm was limited this was a lot handier than treating it like a pocket watch.

Two birds with one stone. He has one potential fix for UI decay and confirmed that his “crest” was either to track his progress on their problem or it likes it when he's solving complex problems for others.

Or at least it’s never done anything when he caught up on schoolwork since he got it. If it’s not about who its for, maybe it’s more about finding real-world applications for what he “knows”?

Either way. Sucks to be Maddie. Zero clue how “Hope” will work if it needs to be made concrete.

Unsure if he should envy the guy who got “Love”, but that’s getting real close to Topics Caspian Is Not Allowed To Think About For His Own Good. If it’s not socially relevant, he doesn’t need to bother with anyone else’s romantic or sex lives. Especially when they’re older than him.

Maybe he should just try to get some lunch. There’s a casual cafe place not too far and decent enough. Help give him more time on how he wants to handle this long-term. 

Phin would probably like their Rice Krispy knockoff too. Heaven knows he’s not bringing them anywhere near coffee. A non-verbal spider monster is one thing, he is not risking to see if they’re “spider” enough for caffeine to get them drunk on top of it, his cans are bad enough.

A woman sat down in front of him after he found a spot he had thought was secluded enough, smile playing on her lips. She couldn't have been that much older than him, but with her style it was hard to guess a number.

Caspian had no idea what this girl could want with him. She's gorgeous, and that's the problem. There's no good reason for her to waste time on a nobody like him. Especially this dressed up.

Her hair was silver as snow with all but her bangs pulled into a bun held by a gold and purple hairstick. She wore a sleeveless red dress with gold details.

A gold design of his crest upright like an 8 with eight wavy curls coming it out from it like rays. Whatever "she" is, human wasn't one of them. She grinned with teeth far too sharp when she saw him recognize it.

Behind her sunglasses her gaze felt like that of a predator, but her expression was somehow too soft for it.

He swallowed down his nerves to cut to the point "What are you and what do you want?"

She flinched, looking almost hurt. But she didn’t immediately answer him, like she was still torn on how she wanted to play this.

Caspian’s long past games. "I'm expecting someone, so-"

"No, you're not." Her words come out impulsive and winced at herself. "I go by Karakuri online, a spider had something to give you."

Nothing she said reads as a lie, but that doesn’t make her honest. Of all the user names Chess has given him in the past of Digimon of note in his circles, that definitely wasn’t one of them. Phineas hadn't mentioned any usernames ever, so that could go either way.

"Never seen you around."

"I'm a lurker, DMs only."

That's a practiced excuse if he's ever heard one. Easy for Digimon to check sites without becoming part of them.

"You're the one who came up to me wearing my crest. If you're not going to be honest about why you're here, why should I bother listening?" He starts sliding back his chair and she nearly catches his sleeve.

"I know why Logorhythms keeps trying to spy on you!" Her words came out in a rush, louder than she intended based on how she startled at her own voice as Caspian readies to leave. She put a SSD on the table between them. "Every file relevant to Holstrum's backup plan is on there. 2 terabytes, most relevant is color coded."

Caspian felt his stomach drop, but he stayed standing. "And what's he got to do with me?"

She hesitated, eyes flicking between him, the drive, and the door to find a way out of answering. When he made no motion to take it she gave in.

The strange woman pouted like a child, looking down at herself and then back to him. "I was trying to be cool for a change. Every time something weird's happened, you've just gotten scared instead." She pushes her sunglasses to the top of her head, revealing pleading gold eyes he’s never seen. "Pretend to give me this? Or you can just tell me my first name and go."

… Oh Godammit. Damn Occam's razor too.

"Phineas?" Caspian dropped back into the chair and catches his head in his hands. "What the fuck happened to you?"

She grins like she caught a canary. "That wasn't my first name, daddy." 

Jesus Christ, Phineas is a she.

"Have you always been a girl?!" He hissed quietly as one hand kept his head from hitting the table while the other gestured to “her”.

She tilted her head like a confused dog. "Do you dislike the look? I can change if you'd like."

Now the polite answer would have been "No, you look great." An honest answer would be "No, I just need a minute to process this, it's not you." Caspian's mistake was a flat "What".

She shrugged and flicked a hardened hair at the camera overhead before she began to change.

Her bun was quickly replaced by a barely tamed mop of hair far greyer than the bluer shade of silver it was before. The purple glasses fell back onto their nose and took on a narrower angular style, like sideways coffins.

The sleeveless dress turned black, its design staying as brightly gold as before as the top separated into a shirt that was quickly covered by a studded red leather jacket that grew overtop it. 

His face was longer, all feminine makeup gone, but the inhumanly sharp teeth were exactly the same as he smiled with a face all too familiar. "Is this better?"

Caspian blinked. Or more accurately his eye twitched as he struggled for words that weren't swears as he stared at what was for all intents and purposes still his face. If the copy had gotten completely sunbleached and only learned to emote like he was eight, not eighteen.

He took a deep breath and almost wished he could believe in any higher powers that were both benevolent towards him and not uncomfortably real.

"Phin," He tried to start, but barely knew where to go with it. "What is this right now?"

"I can talk now, isn’t it great?!" The boy who was a girl seconds ago continued to beam at him like they hadn't just wrecked reality.

Caspian sighed, of course, they’d focus on that. In other situations, that would be great.

He straightened in his chair, giving Phineas his full attention, other boy gladly bouncing in his seat. He almost felt bad for this reality check. "Could have definitely been better."

Phin's face predictably dropped like a rock. He looked between Caspian and the drive again, leaning across the table on his elbow. "Was it too much?"

"Bud, it was too much when a 9 sought me out." Caspian deadpanned. "Giving me anything on top of that was going to turn mild alarm into a bomb."

"You just said you didn't like that one!" Phineas accused. "Do you have any idea how much easier it is to make feminine humans look good?!"

Caspian stared at him and wondered where and how stealing his face fit into this. "I didn't actually say that, I was recovering from having a person who looked older than me call me "daddy". Which, by the way? Please don't do that. Especially not like this."

"Why not?"

"You needing to ask, is the evidence Phin, but you don't need to look into it. I didn't think that's what our partnership actually was."

"You labeled yourself my "spider-dad", so I don't see what your problem is." They scowled at him like they were peeved. "Didn't even go the normal "papamom" route or anything."

"Right, because no teenager regrets anything they've said offhand at 4 in the morning."

Phin's face scrunched in on itself in disgust before it clicked and he bopped a fist on his open hand. "Oh. Sarcasm!" The fist opened into an accusing finger, "Not using that would make things a lot easier you know."

"Wouldn’t help me  deal with this." Caspian gestured to this latest mess. Before getting ahead of himself he waved the thought aside. "Okay. First off, you being a girl is fine. I just… wasn't expecting it, was all. Especially not as a human-looking one."

Phin looked down at himself like he was making sure his tits were gone before looking back to Caspian confused. "But I've never been a girl."

"What are you talking about? What else would you call that?"

Phin opened his mouth before confusing himself and starting over twice. Third time he shook his head and shrugged. "I'm a Digimon, Cas. You've seen my code! Where have you ever seen any Xs or Ys in it like you humans have?"

Caspian took a deep weary sigh, but nodded. Pointing out the parts of David’s code he’s been able to process doesn’t have those either seemed too pedantic. "So, as far as you're concerned, looking "human" is just about what style is coolest?'

Phineas nodded at him like he was the moron here. They might not be wrong.

"And you were hoping to impress me by looking human." Caspian could nearly laugh at how dumb this "plan" was. "By acting as "mysterious" as possible." 

"YEAH! AND YOU RUINED IT!!!" Phineas flopped himself on the table as he whined. "I mean, it didn't even need to be you recognizing it was me, I just needed to get you the stuff. But you made me an Arachemon and I didn't want to freak you out again! And Arachnemon are killer at human forms, to make up for our…” They waved a lazy hand in the air, “Everything else."

Considering Phin managed to make two different ones there’s not much Caspian could say to dispute on the disguise skill front. Their colors might not be natural and the teeth are extreme but even with how unfiltered their expressions are they don’t feel uncanny.

Well, the one that wasn’t his own didn’t, but by using an expression range he doesn’t, the similarities might not be as creepy to someone else. No more so than if they were twins, probably, which could also be used to excuse Phin’s other extremes if push came to shove.

"You digivolved again?"

"Duh! How else would I be able to talk?" Phin rolled his head to look up at Caspian accusingly, "So what did you do this time? I know it's got nothing to do with my network because it's still there." Phin tapped on the drive.

Oh. Oh, this could be bad. Ryudamon warned that going back to being the strongest spider on the web would let Phin control them all again. And here he is, immediately bringing stolen data to him like a pet cat dragging home its kills.

"I was just working on something," Caspian chose his words carefully.

"Dude. C'mon. You can't bullshit me, evolving to a Champ is basic energy surplus, but a warp? This," Phineas sat back in his chair and glared at Caspian after looking themselves over again, "This is a crest event, isn’t it? So what do you Know now that you didn’t this morning?"

"As much as I’d love being able to "know" anything that's going on with you, I don't know what any of that means for me."

Phineas scratched their cheek, looking at the camera he bugged. "Maybe we should bounce first? I was hoping this would be a quick and easy drop-off when I found you."

"Fine. We sort this out, then you share whatever you found on Holstrum."

Phineas looked bashful as Caspian got up. "Can I go back to looking pretty?"

Caspian snorted, "Ouch. If you don’t like it, why did you use my face?"

"Who else was I going to use?!” Phin tossed his arms to the sides as he whined. “I don’t know other guys to fill in the blanks with but It's too soon for me to be built like this again, ya know?" Phineas looked down at "himself" again, "I'd rather look a bit more like an Arachnemon."

Caspian could only half follow. He doesn’t need to know what Phin used to be to gather that a monster based on Arachne’s myth would have a feminine frame.

"At least it's less of a mouthful this time." Caspian joked to himself.

"You’d think so, right? Pretty sure the only reason we're not called "Jorogumon" is 'cause that's more awkward to explain to kiddos." Phin gave Caspian a sharp grin that was only a little apologetic. "We've got instincts from that myth too. "Whore spider", literal and metaphorical shape-shifting man-eaters. So, forgive me if I get a bit flirty, yeah? Just part of my code."

Caspian could have lived without knowing that. "So now you've hit digital puberty? Great; that makes two of us."

Phineas gave a bark of a laugh. "God, hope I have better taste."

"Good luck with that if you keep copying my notes." Caspian rolled his eyes at the jab. "But yeah, If you like the other look more, go for it."

Caspian made sure not to stare at the transition this time. He doubted a light that bright was good for his eyes anyway. Instead, he glanced up at the security cam, to see if it had any tells of being hijacked.

"Thank you~" Phin's voice was higher again. "So, you wanna go home?" She looked a bit too innocent as she offered him her arm.

Especially given if he took it, he wouldn't have a free hand anymore. Her smile widened as he indicated the issue with his head and raised a brow.

"Actually, mind if I try something?" Phineas plucked a hair from her bangs as she had when she used one like a throwing needle. "I promise I'm only trying to help. Spirit Needle’s not an attack."

Against his better judgment he gave the okay. This time she pointed it at his sling, but when the thread made contact he couldn't feel it. He saw the silver sliver slide through to his forearm, disappearing into him. If anything, it hurt less than walking to the Cafe did.

It hurt a lot less actually. He risked bringing it out of the sling and rolling back his sleeve to give it a look.

His arm looked normal, no more bruising or anything. Movement range was what could be expected from being limited for weeks. 

Had it been over a month already? Caspian’s mouth felt dry at the thought. He hadn't been away from home that long, has he?

"It’s been used to bring “life” to objects in the past, but using it on the camera let me take it over without it doing anything wild to it.." He heard Phineas explain. "So, I wanted to see if it could be used to use my energy to repair an "object" too if it’s already part of something ''alive”.''

"Thanks, it feels better already."

Phin beamed at him like it was Christmas morning, and it was hard to not feel awkward over the attention now that it was tied to a human face. Not to mention one that might look older than his.

“So now you can skateboard again, right?”

“Left that back at our actual home, Phin.” He corrected with a small smile. “So nope, not unless I shell out for a new one.”

Hearing his correction made them deflate some, but they bounced back as easily as they did as before. Given how different his previous digivolution’s context was, it was easier to see how little changed in how they moved despite their build differences.

“How long do “Crest” based changes last? Like, will it still wear off on its own?”

“Not if I don’t want it to this time!” They grinned back, skipping over gaps in the sidewalks on the way back. “Younger ones still will, ‘cause their bodies aren’t ready to keep it. Could keep the champion up for longer these days too, but nobody liked that one, so I didn’t wanna push it.”

“What sort of young do you mean?”

“The lil’ king’ll last just fine, but sprout’s got a ways to go.”

“Who?” He asked.

Phineas blinked as they processed what went wrong. “Ryudamon, the lil’ king sovereign, and Floramon.”

“Sovereign,” Caspian repeated with concern. “I thought he was from the Royal Knights.”

“He is, slip of the tongue.” Phineas said with a face that screamed they didn’t fumble that much. An unbuying look was enough for them to fold. “If you want to consider “Yggdrasil” to be their mom, the boss of the sovereigns is his “dad”, and his pair is his “half-sibling” through ‘Drasil.”

“So where I’m your… “Dad”, you’re one of their “half-siblings” too?”

“Nope! What you fixed was an ENIAC original! Probably, more or less. ENIAC was the first host machine as far as I know, it made Yggdrasil and Homeros as replacements when things started getting too taxing on it, and ‘Drasil and Homeros inherited “me” in the process.”

“Like… Our ENIAC? From the fucking 40s?”

“No clue! I don’t know who or what made it, or any wheres or whens outside of our world, and time on our side only got weirder the longer I was around. I…” They paused as they looked at some ants trekking across the concrete. “I don’t know if I’m part of what pushed it too far. I wasn’t all of it, digimon could blip out of existence if they went too far until the newer systems settled. Examon got hit by that defense the hardest. And Milleniumon never did it any favors.”

But a name like that couldn’t be a coincidence.

Whatever they are now, the oldest thing they’ve acknowledged knows one of Earth’s earliest digital computers by name. There’s no way they’ve survived on a 78-year-old machine. So, if they came from further ahead, it could have been an ironic legacy title at best, but… yeah he doesn’t want to consider time travel any more than he does parallel worlds. 

Life’s sci-fi enough, thanks.

If UI were allowed to live without limits, could they escape physical machines in favor of whatever the "ENIAC" Phin remembers managed to do? How long would that take?

Would they give a shit about keeping their “old” world intact after that point, or forget about them as thoroughly as Phin has? Or was this digital world as unknown to those that made it as they are about their creators? Was the digital world designed to not know anything, as a precaution?

“Why can’t anything about you make sense?” He groaned to himself.

“Oh, believe me, we’d love that. You do not want to know how many Earth’s Drasil’s had experiences from, because I would love to unknow that. But I can’t! Even ones from well before digital computers,  so now I’m confused!” Phineas whined, “Like… Which “40s”?”

“1940s. ‘45 maybe? Shit, it’s not like we need to know tech that’s this outdated these days.”

“Well, our digital world isn’t “local” enough for it to have been running without being triggered, so I don’t think we’re that old. Don’t know how much that helps you.” Phin looked at him apologetically.

“It doesn’t. It really doesn’t.”

“I think I’m seeing why most Digiworlds don’t talk to each other and just do their own thing.”

“Smarter than whatever we’re doing,” Caspian muttered.

“In our ‘Drasil’s defense, most digiworlds get a chance to exist solo before discovering humans. Like, they have at least until a mega or a digi-mage does something inter-dimensionally stupid, and that can take thousands of years on our own. Which can be like.. a human year sometimes.”

“But you do have ‘mon who can crack reality like an egg,” Caspian said with resignation.

“Yeeeah,” Phin groaned. “And having humans makes them easier to reach.”

That was not something Caspian was going to linger on more than he had to.

Maddie was teaching Ryudamon an old-fashioned board game when they got back to the Kims, probably what she had mentioned before.

"Hey, Maddie. Good news and bad news: Phin can talk now."

"Oh, what's the bad news?" She turned around to look, but Caspian kept largely out of her sight.

"Or the good news." Ryudamon retorted, eyes still entirely engrossed in the game.

Caspian cut Phin off and kept her out of sight, "Nah, that was all of it."

"HEY!" 

Maddie did a double take at Phin's voice. "Issat a girl?"

"It's just Phin, Mistress, nothing to get excited over."

"Phin?!"

"Evolved again. My bad, I guess?"

"And now I can be less terrifying!" Phineas brightly called, leaning past the door frame to wave to Maddie once Caspian stopped blocking their way.

"Very debatable," Caspian added.

"Absolutely impossible." Ryudamon agreed with a nod, still not looking away from the pieces he's studying.

"And now Phin's a girl?"

That got Ryudamon’s attention but only to look puzzled at Maddie. "What makes that the case?"

Maddie looked at the dragon in her confusion as she gestured to Phineas with her arms outstretched. Ryudamon turned back down to the board rather than follow her movement.

"Apparently they're somewhere between nonbinary and genderfluid. Who knew?" Caspian said it lightly but his eyes narrowed at Ryudamon accusingly.

"Haven’t the foggiest what you’re trying to say there. “Gender” is something we learn from you." The Digimon rightly ratted itself out.

Maddie’s head jerked between Phin and Ryudamon. "Are… you not a boy?"

"I won’t correct you either way." He replied with shrug. "We aren't physically stable enough for "genders" like you're used to. An Angemon can evolve to Angewomon, if we wish to copy you, how should they describe themselves? Why not let observers decide these things instead?"

"Is looking human also just something all of you can do?" Maddie asked, but Phin shrugged.

At that Ryudamon turned to actually look at Phineas' glamor. "Ah. An Arachnemon after all. Are you too wide to fit through the door otherwise?"

"Excuse you!" Phineas scolded, hands on her hips. "I can keep myself in scale thank you, this is a choice. Gotta say, getting a reverse Ariel deal is worth it!"

"To answer your question, Mistress, it depends heavily on our species and how apt we are with generalized skills like magic. Even some rookies can manage it, but it's most commonly seen at the Ultimate level or higher."

Maddie squinted her eyes at her partner in suspicion.

He sighed, "No, it’s always been beyond me. All of my own ultimate’s shapeshifting potential went towards my weapon form instead, as did my mega’s, in scientific pursuits that led to the “Legend Arms” digivolutionary lines. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re also similarly limited."

Phin pumped a fist in victory, "yeeees."

"You, are cheating." Ryudamon flicked his tail at them. "A rookie like Renamon doing this is proof of their wit, skill, and aptitude. Yours is as expected as Makuramon doing the same."

"Have you seen what the monkey considers "human"? Both of my illusions are art."

“If tracing counts,” Caspian muttered to himself earning a betrayed look from Phin.

"Facial emotions aren't natural to them, don’t hold that against them."

"I'm not; that's within normal limits for humans. They don’t know how necks work! There is footage going around of them spinning their head like a top!"

"The breakdancing kid was a Digimon?" Maddie tilted her head. "You'd think dad would have mentioned that part."

Ryudamon hung his head. "How the heavenly generals have fallen."

"No, if he fell he might've gotten away with that stunt," Phineas smirked and sauntered over to give the game a look. "Can I play? I have thumbs now!" She's way too excited stretching her fingers for emphasis.

"You'd have those without looking human too." Ryudamon pointed out.

"But look at these lovely little wrists. I'm so dainty like this." Phin’s giggle was a bit too manic and her face lit up as a thought occurred to her. “And I don’t need to have claws!”

She leapt clear over the sofa, landing on all fours before rushing up the stairs behind them.

Maddie looked at Caspian concerned. “You sure she’s okay in public like this?”

“Sh- They acted normal enough when they found me.” He offered with a wince, waiting to hear the sound of something crashing upstairs. A moment passed and nothing happened, leaving him to look between Maddie and the stairway as he worried.

Walking past her to be closer to the stairs caught her attention. "Hold on, where's your sling?" Maddie twisted to look at him. "You didn't say you had an appointment today."

"I didn't." He agreed and waved her off with his once-injured arm. "Phin got better at stitching things together, and arms count."

"She can heal?"

Ryudamon looked up at the boy’s arm warily. "And how did they manage that?"

"They said it was called “Spirit Needle”.”

“So if Master Caspian’s arm turns into a Mamemon overnight, we know who to blame." Ryudamon looked at the board nonplussed, content with moving a piece like a rook along the gridded board.

“Excuse me?” Caspian narrowed his eyes at the dragon with a questioning brow.

“I jest. I’ve never heard of a reaction being delayed, but creating feral digimon with one major exception is the only way I’ve heard Oikawa’s “daughter” use it.” Ryudamon’s voice was teasing.

Caspian mouthed a swear, but nodded his acceptance. “They did technically tell me that.”

“And what sort of “exception” was it?” Maddie asked with a light curiosity.

“A sentient one, a student, of a sort, of Azulongmon for a time in fact." Ryudamon said thoughtfully. "Sad fellow, nasty temper. Didn't last long.”

Phineas made a sound of success as she ran back towards the stairs, trying to slide down the railing but overshot it enough to avoid hitting the side table or houseplant and harmlessly landed at the bottom with a solid thud. She proudly held Maddie’s keyboard safely in her arms with an eager smile.

Seeing Caspian’s furious glare made her grin fall. “Woah, no- NO. You don’t do that, got it? Stairs can be dangerous! Why do I need to tell you that?!”

Phin stifled a snicker, but seeing Maddie look just as startled made the sound genuinely die. They looked at Ryudamon for some sort of explanation. 

“You know full well that humans are fragile. You know what a bad fall can do to them, if you “know how necks work”.” The dragon supplied and looked up in thought. “In addition to their other basic needs. Like “3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food”.”

Disbelief turned to disgust and then horror as they looked from Maddie to their tamer. “AND NOBODY TOLD ME???” They unintentionally shouted to neither in particular, voice peaking more like a break than a shriek. Phineas looked at Caspian accusingly. “Is that how bad the “homeless” thing could have been?! I was running for more than twice that!”

“It’s not exact, it’s just a rule of thumb people use to help remember what’s important in survival situations.” Caspian assured them. “Exposure’s complicated, it was fine. I’d tell you if it wasn’t. Just like I’m telling you that isn’t okay. Last thing I want is you getting hurt over a dumb stunt.”

“A poor landing on their part would have looked worse than it was over a fall this minor. They weren’t in any danger, Master Caspian.”

“Yeah, “looking bad” is not a great thing if the point is to try passing for human.” Caspian held the heel of his palm to his forehead. “Just… Be more careful, okay?”

“Start taking that advice yourself! I didn’t know you were that squishy, human kids survived in the digital world all the time!” Phin’s face began to recoil in horror at this new discovery with a gasp. “How?”

“Children cause less aggression and their partners were obviously very capable.” Ryudamon trotted over, more interested in the keyboard they were holding. “What were you looking for?”

“I have ten fingers now, like Cas said you need for piano-type stuff!” She replied, giving the digits in question a wiggle as she held the instrument to her chest.

“Oh, so if you always have fingers like this, you could actually learn how to play.” Maddie caught on. “What’s your other form look like anyway?”

Phineas ignored the intended request by instead using their masculine shell again.

Maddie recoiled in a way that Caspian was going to choose not to take personally. “GAH?!"

“Warned you they weren’t great on the “not creepy” front.” Caspian chided but Phin looked on the brink of tears. Caspian messed up his copy’s hair in hopes of reassuring them. “It’s just unexpected so it feels weird. You look fine.”

“Uh, yeah! The girl didn’t look like anybody so why go the recolor route with him?”

"The “girl” looks like me,” Phin said with a layer of sarcasm that Caspian felt inclined to doubt, given how sketchy they’ve been over what they’re “supposed” to look like. “I don’t really have a better base to use for a “guy” look, Cas’s what I know best."

"Oh, weird, you can change voices too?" Maddie cocked her head at the sound. “That’ll get confusing fast.” 

"That one I can manage even without changing looks." They shrugged, “I can go deeper if you like?” Their voice dropped like a rock which felt very out of place

“Well I don’t like.” Caspian shook his head at the bass. “Sorry I didn’t warn you to tweak that before; didn’t really register that’s what I sound like to other people.”

Phineas bleeped at him like a sassy cat and molted back to their previous build.

“What’s the big deal though?” Maddie asked, crossing her arms. “I mean, if it has a face and hands how bad could it be?" She gave a little jazz hands shake for emphasis.

"I dun wanna." Phineas puffed out their cheeks with a pout.

"It's really not that bad." Ryudamon offered, but they crossed their arms at him.

"But this is better."

“If they don’t want to, we don’t need to force them.” Caspian showed Maddie his Digivice, “If you get that curious you can look it up for yourself, yeah? After you called, I could see Ryudamon and the same’s been true for the ones I’ve met on the net even if they’ve been disguised.”

“Why you’d tell her about that?!” Phin objected.

Maddie hummed in thought, partially opening an eye to take in Phineas’ pleading expression. “Fine, I’ll let you surprise me when you’re ready.”

Phineas smothered her in a grateful hug.

“Hey! You don’t need to go that far, too tight!”

As she tried to extract herself Caspian’s phone buzzed, making him jump.

Not a number he recognized either. Phin looked at him over Maddie’s struggling as if to ask if he’d like her to check it but he shook his head.

“Who’s this?”

“Caspian?” A voice he hadn’t expected to hear again came from the other side.

Fuck.

“Hannah?!” He tried to catch himself from being too surprised but definitely failed. Three sets of eyes bored into him curiously and he felt his face begin to burn. “How’d you get my number?”

“You’ve been gone from school, and I got worried. So I asked your parents what happened, and your mom suggested I just call you.”

Of course, she would.

“Y-yeah. Sorry about that. How’d the presentation go?”

She ignored his attempt at deflection. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, everything’s fine!” His words are too much a rush for her to ever buy that. Caspian took a deep breath and tried again. “I’m sorry, Hannah. You were right. Being away from that house has been good for me. What exactly did they tell you?”

He sees Maddie tap Phin’s arm as if to say uncle, having half-wriggled her way out of the hug enough that Phineas had her more in a harmless headlock. Phineas obliged but stared at the phone in his hand warily. Almost angry at it.

He underestimated how much they did not like Hannah, but he hasn’t a clue why.

“That there was a structural issue in the house and you got hurt while they were having an argument. Is that true?” She doesn’t sound like she believes it.

“Yeah.” He lied to her anyway. “Just broke my left arm, everything else is fine.”

“But not “fine” enough to come back?” She sounds disappointed.

“I… I don’t know.” He admitted. She deserves to know that much, to keep from wasting her time. “I’m staying with a friend out of town. And it’s been good to me. For me. I shouldn’t have pushed you away like I did, you were right. Sorry I can’t tell you that in person, I guess.”

Maddie’s smug face betrayed every “I told you so” she felt.

“Not now Kimmy!” He hissed at her, hoping the phone wouldn’t catch it, and she skipped off at his shooing with Ryudamon trotting behind her. Definitely to go brag to her mom or something.

“Kimmy?” Hannah heard that anyway.

“Their kid sister was being a pest, it’s nothing!” Caspian lied fast, hoping that wasn’t as damning as it felt. He could hear Maddie laughing at his expense from the other room.

Why is he even bothering? He’s definitely missed any chance he had. He wants her to move on, if she had any interest at all. That’s what you do when you accept nothing’s happening.

“If you do come back, let me know?” Her voice was too hopeful. “I mean, you’ve got my number.”

“I can’t make any promises, but if anything changes I’ll try to give a heads up.” Caspian sighed. “Thanks, Hannah. Sorry to make you worry. How have you been? Things okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s okay. Just… Felt really weird presenting anything on “love” alone.” Whatever else she thought she wanted to say didn’t make it out. “Take care of yourself.” He hated how heartbroken she sounded. That he couldn’t think of anything meaningful to comfort her.

Things were too up in the air to give her anything more from him she could be wanting.

“Yeah. Same to you.” He hated himself more for not having anything better to end on.

He heard Maddie complaining to her mom as he cursed at the floor. Ellen was shushing her.

No point wallowing in self-pity. “Calls over, or whatever.”

“If that was Hannah on the phone, who’s this exactly?” Ellen made the mistake of asking first.

“Hi Ms. Grandmaster Ellen!” Phin greeted with far too much chipper energy and teeth.

Ryudamon looked at them with disdain at them stealing their term for her. And badly at that.

Ellen’s face was too flat to be anything but a “just a new thing to drink about soon as I can pretend the kids are asleep” expression. Caspian couldn’t bring himself to feel that bad about it.

“Yeah. It’s just Phin.” He shrugged and tried to look apologetic. “Don’t know what I did.” He’s not sure she believes him.

“Of course she is.” She gives a resigned sigh. “If this doesn’t wear off by light’s out, I’m going to have to ask one of you two to sleep in the basement. There’s already a futon down there.”

“Phin’s not a she,” Caspian added, and only half felt bad about the dead look he got back.

“Well, I mean, I can be a “she” as long as you don’t mean it like I’m a girl? I know how stupid words can be. Same with “he” if other options feel weird, but not like a guy.” Phin offered as they (she?) shrunk at seeing Ellen reaching her limit for the day. “I’m just a spider, nothing changed.”

“Phin,” Caspian said weakly, “Earth spiders have sexes too.”

They looked back at him with a scandalized frown, looked down at themselves with a glance to Ellen, and shifted back to their lazy recolor of himself. “Is this better?”

Ellen blinked twice and to her credit didn’t miss a third beat. “No, Phineas. The office is still too small for two people. And you’re not allowed to make any web-hammocks at this size either, understood? I’m not risking you falling and breaking something during the night.”

They shifted back with a nod but kept pouting. ”Yes, Ma’am.”

Maddie was far less content with how things panned out. “That’s it? I mean, you could go down and visit her sometime. Phin would be even faster now with your arm better, right?”

Phineas grimaced but nodded.

“What’s that look for?” Maddie asked.

“But it’s Hannah though,” Phin whined.

“And what’s wrong with Hannah?” Caspian asked them with a glare and a bit too much bite. Their discomfort was palpable.

“Beyond being fake as hell?” They shrugged, but that wasn’t it. If it was, they would have complained more. Like how they bristle every time contacting his parents came up.

“What’s so “fake” about her?”

“Emotions. They’ve never tasted right when she’s around, it’s always just some mix of guilt, fear, and whatever she’s trying to front.” Phin wasn’t lying, but they were leaving something out.

They know he isn’t buying it, so they go on. “Every time she’s been around, she’s wearing a mask. I can’t tell what humans really want when they do stuff like this, it’s frustrating!”

So that’s what their Emoji were about back then? It checks out. But something’s still off.

Maddie’s brow furrowed. “You mean she doesn’t actually like him? It sounded real to me...”

Phin scrunched her nose but didn’t say it out loud after glancing at Caspian.

He’d be lying if he said that didn’t sting, but was far from unexpected. His fault for hoping.

“It was just a crush, Maddie.” He said in hopes of easing her worry. “I have better things to do anyway. Phin got me some files to check out, and I’m not risking her seeing my arm’s better already and raising more questions or that getting back to my folks.”

Phin looked like a deer in headlights with their brain stalled when he brought up the drive. “OR!” They faked a smile and put the keyboard on their lap, “You could teach me how Maddie’s music maker works!”

“With power for starters.” Caspian dryly informed them with an unimpressed look. “Battery on that thing is dead, but plugged in it works fine so we’d need to be in the office anyway.”

Phin pouted and put the instrument aside. “That’s missing the point here, Cas.”

Maddie looked at the spider almost as skeptically as Caspian did. “Why now?”

“Look. You’re already stressed. What I found can wait. So, why not do something more fun?”

“I’m fine.” Caspian lied. “Looking over your intel will take my mind off it.”

Phineas grabbed his watch and took it to his stat tile. The stick figure was well in the red. “See this? Not fine. If you stress yourself out too much weird things can happen. Max stress was what made me digivolve last time, and we’re all lucky that it still turned out okay.”

Ryudamon nodded from near Ellen. “Indeed. Too much stress will encourage us to act in your stead. If you trigger something when you’re not in a good place it could lead to a dark evolution. You’ve already pushed Phineas to Ultimate today over something, and it was far healthier this time given the results. Going further could be dangerous for you both.”

Ellen went to double-check check the basement would be passable to pretend that conversation wasn’t happening, even if its possible new occupants were well aware of it already. 

Maddie looked thoughtful about something. Caspian eyed her warily.

“Not liking that face, Mads.”

She sat beside him on the sofa, trying to act casual and failing terribly. This was not going to go well. “I was just thinking~” Her voice trailed with a smile. “What do you think of Justine?”

Oh, this was a lot worse than he thought.

“Maddie, listen to me. You do not want to make yourself a third wheel. Especially not when it’s between your only human friends. If something goes wrong, you’re the one with the most shit left to deal with.”

Caspian wasn’t sure he should ask if Justine even liked guys, ‘cause if he misread her then that would just make this even more awkward. It hardly needed any help in that department.

“Then maybe you should try to transfer to our school! Meet more folks our age, it’s practically a fresh start!” Maddie gave Phineas a once over. “Not sure if we could pass you off as a student like this though.” 

While the girl was apologetic Phineas quickly shook their head in refusal. “Been there, not that! Too many people, crowds are bad.” Phin grimaced in thought. “And it’s so boring, I don’t get half of what was going on when I tried sitting in on Cas’s stuff.”

Caspian shook his head. “Hardly fresh for me at this point anyway.”

Maddie winced like she had forgotten that bit. “Okay. And yeah, being tied to me might not be the best of help there either. But it’s still something social, right?”

“If I get that desperate I’ll just start volunteering or try a “normal” job. Last thing I need is to enter a new high school as a late transfer leading to all sorts of questions about what I did to deserve that, especially if they learn my folks aren’t even here.”

“What you did?” Maddie frowned, looking more like a kicked puppy than she’d probably like to know. For a smart bullied kid, boy, she could be naive.

“Anti-social white boy with a chip on his shoulder comes out of nowhere late in his junior year. You do the math, Maddie. Only thing missing is the smoking gun, and who it was meant for.”

Maddie looked disgusted, but not at him. “Is that the sort of thing they’d say about you?”

He just shrugged it off. Phineas was clicking her nails like she was testing claws.

Between the two of them he’s starting to think it’s a good thing Ryudamon couldn’t be as active as Phin was at school. ‘Cause he didn’t have to deal with specific people bothering him.

If he had his own “Samara” he’s not sure what Phineas would have done to them.

He’s not sure if he would have convinced them not to the way he did to protect his mom.

“Would you really disagree with them if things were different?” He looks down at her and caught some doubt. That was enough for him. “You don’t need to feel too bad over it.”

She looks like she’s heard that before. “It still sucks.”

“That’s high school for you.” He hoped it’d come across as something of an absolution, but it didn’t. For either of them, ‘cause he certainly feels guilty for bringing it up. “But seriously, I’m fine, okay?” He sighed and tried to be a bit gentler. “Please don’t get any weird ideas, and start making assumptions or plans that don’t have anything to do with you. Nothing against you, or her, but this is not a good time for me right now.” 

Caspian squinted at his partner as Phineas nodded in agreement a bit too enthused for his comfort, despite their own role in making this a “bad time”.

“Fine, but if you’re not interested you can also just say that.” She scowled and she folded her arms in defeat, looking to the side in thought. “I didn’t really have a reason for not liking Gabe. Beyond him not being my dad. Some people just don’t click.”

Caspain snorted. “You liking him wasn’t really important.”

“I still could have tried harder, for my mom. Even before Dad reached out.” Maddie admitted with a weak shrug, probably her first time doing so out loud. “He did help and make her happy.”

“If you want to apologize for it, it’s kinda pointless to say it to me.” He looked down at her. “Last I checked I wasn’t a confessional.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. But don’t beat yourself up to much, okay?” She looked reluctant to go but there was an understanding there as she went to follow her mom downstairs with Ryudamon close behind.

Phin wasn’t getting out of it this time, and they knew it. 

“You’re the one who offered me the files. So, let’s see them.”

“Caspian. I’m serious.” Phineas tried to convince him. “We don’t need to do this tonight.”

“I know it’s serious.” He glared at them. “So what’s made you change your tune this much?”

She fiddled with cat's cradle between her fingers to avoid looking at him, silk work sloppy as she guessed at how it was meant to be played. “Because it’s no gift. I know you need to know, that’s why I made sure to get it back to you as soon as I could, but I don’t want you hurt.”

“I’ll be okay.” He said, recognizing this may well be a lie if it has them so worried for him. 

“No. You won’t.” She put her feet on the chair to curl in on herself. But she relented with a sigh. “Would you like to use a VR space or just borrow the office computer? I can keep David out of either, so you won’t be interrupted and he won’t need to know about anything you don’t want shared.”

“Just the office.” Caspian offered her a hand up but she ignored it, stalking towards the room like a death march. He didn’t tell them it was so he’d know if his crest did anything else weird tonight.

Even with Phin’s promise, he checked the system before readying the drive. “Is there anything on this you’d prefer to tell me in person?”

“Hannah’s 22, and that’s not her name.” Were the first words that came out, but she looked like she hadn’t intended on saying it.

Caspian felt colder than he had in a long time. He expected something about him or Holstrum.

But Hannah?

He barely heard himself ask, “What?”

“She’s an actress! That’s why I don’t like her, she’s not a bad person, but getting involved with you was just a job!” Phineas’s words were a pained rush, looking furiously around the room as she spun on her heel more than a true pace across it. “And fuck it! Maybe she is a bad person on her own too! A romance between 22 years and 17 IS bad for humans, right? A developmental gap? But she still took the gig!”

Phin’s hair was nearly out of its bun as she looked down at him with a desperate panic. “If this feels like too much, this is the least invasive part of what they’ve been doing your whole life Cas.” As much as they clearly wanted to, they didn’t make a single move towards the drive, settling on staring at it like they hope’d it’d catch fire. “I don’t know what to do with all of this.”

Ellen was right. The office is too small for two people. Between the bookshelves, moving boxes, bed, desk, and chair, there was only a bit of walking space. No real way to pull a chair beside him, so Phineas either had to stand by his side or sit anxiously on the bed.

Caspian tried to ground himself. Breathing didn’t work. Phin caught his hand when she rightly thought he might try scratching his arm, even if the sweater would keep him from doing any damage. He could see how much this had been eating at them.

Shame that he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“You don’t want to be another liar in my life? Talk.” His order was almost as cold as he felt.

“That’s all that is relevant about her role in this. Anything else with just a green mark on it is mostly about her, so you can skip those.” Phin’s defeated tone felt like it was trying to be an apology. “Red is Holstrum’s interviews, purple is footage of you, blue is for the project overview. Yellow is unrelated, but gives context for some trouble my shards got into while I was separated that still needs dealing with. The color coding was my addition to make the amount of less obviously technical stuff easier to prioritize for your time. Like how you said you were making your “map” earlier.”

He gave them a nod before putting it in. “Anything else you want to add?”

“I’m here for you.” She said firmly. “Always. Nothing changes that. And there is more that they were hiding off the books than you. I found Logorhythms’ UI backups, if you think they can help us.”

“UI have backups?” Caspian accepted that distraction.

“Whatever you’d call the original scan stuff if you never woke them up.” Phin shrugged, and her eyes lingered on his digivice. “I know David and Laurie are in there, their crests were. I think that’s why the UI’s call icons aren’t normal. The crest chose them as their humans, but they can’t tell which version is the “real” one, so they don’t know which one treat as the contact.”

So even if he lets this David decay, Maddie could have a third chance with her “dad”. One with as minimal a case of decay as possible, if they’ve been treating it as a pure backup. Maybe more if that version can be copied. That may well be the best news he’s had in the past hour.

“Y-yeah. I might be able to work with that.”

“They were a separate project so I didn’t want to weigh myself down with them. They were never meant to find out you existed, much less interact with you.” Phin let herself take a seat on the bed behind him, unsure of what else to do. “They seemed as safe as they can be and I have given them both extra security. I’m keeping watch over them.”

“Good. Keep doing that.” Caspian nodded. “Anything else?”

Phineas fidgeted. “Can you tell me what you learned, to make me this way?”

He looks at them sadly before dropping his eyes to the floor. “I think you can already guess. You knew what my goals for the day were, and we can say I skipped ahead.” Phin looked at him with wide eyes, but he cut them off. “I’m not going to do it though. I can’t. UI are too dangerous, and the fix that might work is based on your core, which wouldn't make them any safer.”

“But Maddie-”

“She’s been through it once before. Maybe it will hurt less with more closure and more time.” Caspian doesn’t believe a word of it. He just needs to say it so he can pretend that can be true.

Phineas clearly doesn’t either. She muttered more apologies as she curled in on herself again.

“Think she’ll be able to forgive us?”

Caspian doesn’t answer them, not even to correct them. Phineas had no say in this.

This was Caspian’s choice. Having a friend was a nice novelty, but clearly that just isn’t in the cards for him long term.

Caspian pushed himself away from the computer to sit beside Phin on the bed. He puts one arm around her, and she takes it as an invitation to fully embrace him. He can’t even bring himself to care that she pulls in too tight.

Phin wouldn’t stop murmuring apologies into his shoulder.

“Whatever I find on there isn’t your fault, right?” He says above her head. They nod theirs. “Then what are you apologizing for?”

“Because none of those bastards will,” Phin growled and he might have felt her bear her teeth. “Not enough. And they won't mean it.”

“We’ll see.” He assures her, and he can feel her eyes bore into him despite the angle. “If it’s bad enough we’ll make them pay for it. Heaven knows they should have the cash.”

Phineas gave a short broken sound divorced from a laugh.

He pat them on the shoulder before going back to the screen.

It was tempting to take their advice and get into it later. But if he did he wasn’t sure when “later” would be.

He had to know what’s been so important that his whole life has been haunted by it.

He’s safe here. In theory, he has support if he asks for it. Nothing here has felt unreal the way things could before. If there’s no good way to find out, this is about as good as he’ll ever get it.

Caspian shouldn’t have been surprised that his “good” always comes with a catch.

Chapter Text

Rachel threw her phone in frustration once Caspian ended the call.

After everything she had done for this gig, she blew it! And it’s not like he just didn’t bite, she was made very aware of how often he had looked up her socials. She did everything they told her to, played every part to the best of her ability, and still, no dice! He’s gone. Job’s over.

She failed.

Cary had it right the first time, but he misjudged which direction. “Hannah” clearly didn’t stand a chance with this kid. Whatever was up with him and this experiment, she couldn’t reach him the way they had hired her to.

And now her mom’s gonna die because she couldn’t get the money.

She was stuck in some nowhere town, no job, and she couldn’t do anything to help the only family that matters.

She let out a sob in that empty house with nothing but boxes to play house with for a useless role.

What’s she supposed to do? Could she even get normal work now, or was her contract going to keep her from those too? To reduce the odds of Caspian realizing she was never who or what they had her claim to be.

Those bastards had no reason to support her if she couldn’t cut it, but their “social experiment” may give them reasons to limit her options.

She’s fucked. Her mom depended on her, and this was all she amounted to?

She had to practically sell her soul for a job this filthy, but she went for it anyway. Moved all the way from the east coast, all for a paycheck that won’t come. What an idiot.

Sobs gave way to a wail and scream. Not like she has anyone else to talk to that matters anymore.

How long will she be forced to go to that school? It serves no purpose for her, she already has a degree and it’s not like she can say anything to those kids she’s been made to lie to.

She couldn’t even bother with relief that her worries about that “intimacy” bullshit they required her to agree to won’t be an issue anymore. Her mom needed her to get this right.

Even if she tracked him down, now she’d just look insane or suspicious! Last time she reached out in person, he snapped at her, and digitally he ghosted her. One okay phone call of him apologizing for that doesn’t change the groundwork that was established.

Nothing there is strong enough for “Hannah” to seek Caspian out without massively breaking character. Definitely not for a guy who knows he’s never given her any clear signs of interest!

This is all Renee’s fucking fault. Her and Cary. Some handlers they were. Actually, scratch that. Renee’s crazy, but what she did wasn’t impossible to play off from. Cary chose to torpedo the whole thing.

Rachel could have worked with the guy being hurt. Playing Nightingale to get herself firmly in his good graces wouldn’t have been hard. She’s used to being a caretaker, and a high schooler’s broken arm is nothing compared to helping an adult woman battling cancer.

But having him leave? When she has zero reason to have a long distance anything with the guy? They screwed up, and screwed her.

And now, he’s with some other girl. A whole different family from the sounds of things.

He doesn’t need a fake girlfriend if he can catch a real one, and this one was definitely not on the payroll like Hannah was. If she was, nobody would have bothered Rachel about where he ran off to.

She wanted to scream again, but didn't want to risk a noise complaint. She wanted to break something, but she couldn’t let herself, not knowing how much of these props are covered or she’d need to pay for.

So, what’s she left with?

Nothing.

Nothing but a maelstrom of emotions, no outlets, and no plan.

She doesn’t even know who she could call, not with the NDAs tying her hands. If she breaks them, her hopes of a career are definitely over. And it’s way too late to call her mom back in Hoboken.

Her head’s pounding and she can barely see through her frustrated tears, but something clattered near where her phone landed. She needed to make sure she hadn’t broken it anyway.

She found a strange solid grey egg next to her only hope of a lifeline. Way too weird to have been from this set, too big to have ever been anything but a weird art piece, but she had no idea where else it could have come from.

When she picked it up it was warm and she felt movement inside. She must have gone insane. A part of her wanted to smash it on the ground just to see the shards fly, to hell with whatever’s inside. But she couldn’t.

She’s not heartless, just stressed. No harm in indulging a bit of madness at this point.

Rachel wrapped the bottom of it in a blanket like she remembered doing in a dragon game when she was growing up. Blanket if it shook from the cold, umbrella if it started to rain. And then you waited for it to hatch.

It barely took over a minute for it to crack, and when it does it crumbled in on itself. A hollow shell.

A broken noise came from her throat. Should have figured her imagination would have given her something as empty as she was.

Still, it was just giving her the hope of a distraction. Something to pour herself into to avoid her problems, like acting had been.

When she started cleaning it up, a strange smoke in the shell lingered. A small flame flickered at its tip, seemingly no source but a grey cloud.

The cloud looked at her with bright white specks, and with a woobly fanged mouth it cried. Not for her attention, but seemingly with her. Far cry from a dragon, but not being empty made it harder for her to see again as tears welled up.

Rachel didn’t know how long it lingered with her, neither daring touch. She didn’t see any good coming from trying, it couldn’t be real. This thing didn’t even smell like smoke. But she needed to eat something eventually, and she might as well continue playing along.

Her groceries were real enough, and the cloud enjoyed them. Everything it touched caught fire, turning to smoke to make itself bigger. Hopefully by morning she’ll have calmed down enough to see what actually happened to it, if she did genuinely burn the scraps or left them out overnight. 

When it had grown from the size of her palm to her arm, it changed. The tongue of flame flickered and expanded; the whole cloud being replaced with an armed fireball the size of a plate.

She had definitely lost her mind. But this was something she had that Candle Street couldn’t take away, even if that’s only because it wasn’t real.

The fire’s blue eyes looked at her with a kindness not based on lies that she hadn’t felt in months. Its mouth was seemingly sewn shut, but with enough slack to it that it could still open it some.

Before she could react to it her phone rang. Renee.

So, they do have enough tabs on her still to have noticed her call to Caspian. Just not enough on him to be any good at finding him.

Turning away from the living flame her head cooked up she took a grounding breath before taking the call, bracing to get chewed out for not contacting them the second she had finished to check in.

“So, how did it go?” The blonde’s voice is cold and clipped on the other end. An edge of rage under the surface, but that’s fairly standard for this woman.

“He’s content where he is, I couldn’t convince him to come back.” Rachel felt numb saying it out loud. Part of her felt like “ripping off a bandaid” was meant to hurt more. “Sounded like he was at a girl’s place but he didn’t want me to know that part. A “Kimmy” if that means anything to you. It doesn’t ring any bells from school, so that’s all I got.”

“Kimmy?” Renee’s voice sounds… Worried? Mostly skeptical, like she was expecting that to be as fake as “Hannah”. Rachel heard a hiss of realization. “Oh, Goddamnit. The Kims.”

“So, you know her?” Rachel asked more out of social habit than interest.

She heard a deeper voice say something to Renee, probably Cary, before getting a response. “We have an idea. We’ll get back to you if anything gets back on track.”

“You aren’t going to tell her?” Cary’s voice was clearer this time, and angry.

There was some muffled bickering before Renee got back to her, Rachel was surprised she hadn’t ended it there despite Cary’s objection. “Fine. There have been more complications. If you hear from him again, be careful, and don’t be as slow to let us know.” Her orders were icy as she went on. “Legal said the wrong thing about the project and there was an… Incident.”

Rachel felt a chill and the weight of two fiery eyes staring into her. If it’s in her head, it “heard” that, but she might have underestimated how real a psychotic break could feel before now. But that was something she kept to herself as she probed instead. “What kind of incident?”

“The type that means we lost said legal advisor.” Renee’s tone brokered no room for further discussion. “We don't know if it’s directly linked to the Caspian situation or not, so don’t reach out without informing us. If he contacts you, proceed as normal, and don’t wait for us to call you.”

“Understood,” Rachel lied, knowing that sort of blind obedience was what Renee normally liked to hear.

“No, you fucking don’t.” The woman’s venom made her flinch despite the distance between them. “You’ll get a payment for this in a few days, but if we can’t get back on track consider our agreement null and void.”

Renee didn’t need to say that, but Rachel nodded with a pit in her stomach. “Got it, ma’am.”

Renee must have been satisfied given how quickly the line went dead. Rachel turned back to face what amounted to her dinner and “guest”.

She let herself scream; consequences be damned. Not at the imaginary monster, which hadn’t even flinched, but at everything else.

Its fiery body shifted in time with her voice, every curse she hurled at life’s obstacles be they people or circumstances. Touching more food made it grow, same as when it was a cloud but only by intensifying their flames. But it fed with a purpose to it, its attention rarely leaving her.

When both were sated, it changed again. This time the fire changed from conventional red oranges to a bright blue. Its body elongated and developed more definition to it. A goofy-looking witch hat atop a distinct “head”, a furred neck collar, hell she could tell where it had a “body” at all. When it finished it looked like a cartoony ghost, lips still sewn shut and the blue eyes seemed deeper to make up for the lost contrast.

It took the phone from her hands, this time its fire leaving it be with only a mild warmth on her fingers. The wisp looked at the screen a moment before turning it back to face Rachel.

A chatbox showed up from nowhere, seemingly unprompted. The specter’s sewn lips moved as if it was mumbling and made matching words appear on the screen in time with the motion.

“You don’t have to hurt anymore.”

She didn’t know what to make of that and her confusion must have been plain on her face.

“You don’t have to hurt him.”

That scared her more than she was at the start of whatever this episode was.

“I’ll take care of us.”

It smiled at her, its expression looking sadder the more her face betrayed her horror, and it vanished from sight, leaving the phone floating mid-air before it was gingerly placed on her lap.

Her phone opened her bank app unbidden, unseen fingers flicking through the pages and filling out passwords she’s never told a soul, until it landed on her savings account.

There were way too many zeroes for that number to be right. Like a child would add if told they didn’t have enough without understanding the funds they actually needed or the effort it would take to make it.

The monster’s eyes and mouth glowed dimly from the screen, overlaying its “gift” with an ominous grin.

Between the shock and the stress, Rachel felt her world spin before going dark.

When she opened her eyes the sun was out and a blanket was laid on top of her, with an attempt made to stretch her out so she’d be less of a tense mess when she woke up.

Smoke was in the air, coming from the kitchen but not enough to set off any literal or metaphorical alarms, reminding her exactly why she hadn’t made it to her bed the night before. 

A look at her phone showed that her bank account was as fat as her hallucination-buddy had left it. And next to her phone was some sort of round smartwatch with a blue silicon band, like the color of the ghost-thing.

Evidence was mounting up that this thing wasn’t just in her head.

After she did some stretches to work out the floor’s kinks she stumbled her way to the kitchen, and the living halloween mascot was floating over a stove, pan in hand, trying to cook.

Her phone was on the counter next to it, pausing and rewinding despite looking untouched as the video on it tried to give some basics on bacon. There were a few successes with a scrambled egg on darkened toast on a plate beside them already. 

Most of the smell came from the failures that the ghost slid straight from the pan to its sewn mouth, a tongue of blue flame engulfing the burned strips on contact in place of normal eating. The ghost heard her startle at the sight and immediately brought everything to a halt, a quick swish of the pan to get everything “safe” on the plate and what wasn’t went back to them.

It gave a nervous wave and gestured to its attempt at breakfast before floating further back, anxiously clapping the tips of its fingers together to see if it made a passing grade.

All things considered, it definitely looked edible. Hallucinations shouldn’t have a taste, right?

It was a bit on the bland side, but it felt real. Which meant this thing should be too.

One last firm way to test that.

Her hand wouldn’t stop shaking, but trembling fingers obeyed her enough to make a call. A video call, the second this thing let itself be visible to her again.

She didn’t know if she should feel relieved when Cary picked up, the man looked confused for a moment but Rachel must have looked like enough of a mess for him to tap it down.

Before he could ask questions she flipped cameras, making sure to catch all of that thing that was either a very strong hallucination or something far more complicated.

“What is that?” Cary asked, trying to keep his cool but Rachel caught how his breath hitched.

The chill that rippled over her didn’t feel as comforting as knowing this was “real” should be.

Her little ghost startled at his voice and hid in a blink. Unluckily for her, her video died at the same time.

“Hey! I need someone else to tell me that they can see you- or that I’m not crazy- OR that you’re not something dangerous!”

Two red words took over her entire screen. “NOT. THEM.”

“Why not?!”

“Bad people.” It blinked, each line having a moment on a screen that she couldn’t use until it was done. “They hurt the chosen child.”

“They’re all I have!” She snapped at it and the ghost reappeared with a scowl. But it wavered under her glare so she kept going. “I’m not about to add to my mom’s stress with whatever you are, and I need someone who isn’t me to tell me I’m not seeing things.”

“Don’t trust them.” The words blinked in white, making it feel softer. She couldn’t tell if it meant it didn’t or was trying to warn her not to so she assumed the latter to split the difference.

“I’m not, but there’s less that will fall back onto me if I keep them in the loop.” She looked to the side at the boxes in the corner where a dining room should have been.

“Loop or Noose?” It blinked back, after the ghost followed her gaze and cocked its head at her.

“Excuse me?!” She sputtered with panic, “What sort of “hurt” were you talking about? I was hired for a social experiment, so yeah, emotional hurt, I understand you accusing me of. But nobody's dying over that!”

It tried to make its font smaller as a flame flickered with annoyance from its hat. “Broke his arm. Break his heart. Break him so he'd grow "right".”

“Okay. See how none of those was people dying?” She shook her head in frustration, “I didn't sign on for whatever accident happened to him, but nobody told me that was from anything self-inflicted. Is that what you meant by a "noose"?”

The ghost spun partway in the air rather than just its head. “No, not for him. Those that threaten him. I'm here to keep you out of it.”

With a deep breath at this dubious "progress" Rachel asked, “Who told you to?”

It completed a rotation in thought, before slumping. “Complicated.”

“As simple as you can.”

“Our maker likes the boy. The one who dropped me is scared he’ll snap. You are the most innocent of those at risk. So I'll protect you.”

“And those are two different people?” She asked slowly.

“Not people.” The screen said but its body nodded at being two separate things.

“Are you a “person”?”

“Monster, a Ghostmon." The text said and it brought up an image on the watch she found that said the same thing. "Our Maker isn’t a monster, but all of the Deva are.”

“And a “Deva” dropped your egg?” She clarified, mildly surprised considering it a "ghost" was that literal.

It nodded. “To atone.”

“Atone?” She echoed with a concerned scowl. “For what? What Renee said about “Legal”?”

It swallowed but kept its eyes on the floor. “Second strike. Prevent third.”

Rachel’s phone buzzed, showing Cary was trying to reconnect with his own video call.

“I’m going to accept this.” She told it and it winced but gave a nod.

“Rachel, what was that thing?” Cary asked her looking rather shaken.

“I don’t know, I just needed proof I wasn’t seeing things.” She said but as soon as her ghost was on camera again it blinked itself out of sight.

“I’m not trusting something I can’t see!” Rachel snapped at it and it went back to how it was, though the thing was frowning worriedly at her. “Is this the “incident” you were trying to warn me about?” She asked Cary, and the blue flame looked hurt and… Guilty? Nervous, definitely.

Cary seemed to be keeping the phone away from Renee, but she couldn’t tell what the woman did or didn’t know. She knew Renee had the louder voice outside of any of their “roles”. This was something weirder than anything she signed up for.

“Is it?”

“No, it’s not the same one,” Cary told her. “The ones we’ve seen have all been bug shaped. Has it changed at all, does it want anything?”

“Shut up Cary-”

“There’s more than one of these things Renee, we can’t overlook that!” He snapped at the woman and gave Rachel his full attention.

This is real enough, unless she’s gotten to the point this whole call is imagined. Her ghost is “real” and it’s not the only one people have seen. Even how it changed was “expected”.

“It was an egg before you called.” She told him with some relief. “It changed twice to get bigger after I gave it some food and got stressed out. It told me “I don’t have to hurt "him" anymore”.”

“Is “he” Caspian?” Cary asked.

The ghost nodded, looking disgusted with itself.

“Did he “fix” you too?”

It shook its head without breaking a glare to the camera.

The Cary on Rachel’s screen sputtered, messy glitchy text overlaid it. “I need a screen.”

She couldn’t know what, if anything, might have been on Cary’s end. “It can’t talk, so either I give it a screen to talk through or it will take one of ours. It was trying to mess with my bank account last night, so I wouldn’t need to “hurt him” for your job.”

“The one we saw with Caspian could travel through phones, so the tech bent is consistent.”

The ghost rolled its eyes at the man’s summation. A woman’s voice gave a short shriek of panic, and the ghost gave a cackle like fire snapping.

“It found a screen?” Rachel asked and shook her head at the thing’s rudeness. It gave its own swears on hers at the woman’s expense to defend its choice. Not that she'd disagree with the words it chose, but she raised a brow at its apparent dictionary.

“Yeah. You could say that.” Cary sounded tense as he looked at Renee’s phone. “We can’t “Leave him alone”, it’s not that simple.”

The ghost shook its head in disappointment and made a clip from the news play through Renee’s phone. Rachel recognized it as being from the reports of Alliance’s CEO’s death.

“First strike.” Appeared on Rachel’s phone overtop a glitchy report of one of their engineers going missing.

“What happens on the third strike?” She asked with dread but it shook its head with a shrug.

“Waiting over. Deva decide.”

“Will that be bad for us?” Rachel asked and the ghost gave a shrug.

“Depends on Vote. Some like humans, some don't.”

“Are “Deva” your leaders?” Cary asked and it shook its head with a wicked grin.

“Too weak. Regents. “Angels” to “Gods”.”

“And you’re waiting for these “Gods”?” He asked again and it nodded.

“Are these “Gods” your “Maker”?” Rachel asked and it winced when it shook its head but stayed silent.

“What do you want?”

“Home. Peace.” It answered, and glared at the man through the screen. “Give Gods more time.”

“By stopping this “third strike”?”

“Yes.”

“Stopping Caspian’s “monster”.” Cary pushed.

“Slow it, if needed.” It corrected. “Older than me. Stronger than me.”

“But you will help us,” Renee stated to it over Cary and if this monster had teeth it would have been gritting them.

“Only Rachel.” It corrected again as its flames hissed at her.

“So if we bring you to where Caspian is, you’ll stop his monster from causing her problems?” Cary asked it calmly as he glared at his partner.

It looked to Rachel with concern, eyes asking if that’s what she’d want.

Rachel stayed quiet until she heard Renee give an annoyed huff. “If you make this thing take his out of commission, we’ll consider the job done. Paid in full, all three years. How’s that sound?”

“You have money.” It flashed on her screen to object, but Rachel shook her head at it.

She couldn’t trust whatever glitch that caused. That money couldn’t be real, if it was that easy to scam a bank then who’d ever bother working?

“Then you’ll terminate the contract and all previous agreements made with it,” Rachel said with more authority than she felt she had, but neither adult objected to her terms. ”Officially this will be what exactly?” She asked, smothering the feeling that she was pushing her luck.

“A lump sum payment, no strings attached. How about half up-front, in addition to knowing that we won't be taking back that first mill?” Renee’s voice sounded like she was smiling, a rare sight enough without being part of her act. “You can go back to looking for whatever shitty tv show will hire you as an extra, or whatever it is you wanted to do.”

Her ghost stared at her with worry, hands clenched tight enough the cuffs were sputtering, but it looked like it would go with whatever she decided.

As if she really had a choice.

She knew Candle Street’s checks have gone through before, no matter who they're a shell for. This is money she can rely on. That her mom's hospital will accept. And with a change in conditions, slipping up won't be enough to steal that all away and leave her mom dying in debt.

It’s not a sure thing to save her, no treatment ever is, but at this stage, it’s their best chance. She'll even be able to go back home to help her.

She’s not letting her down again.

Chapter Text

Laurie was not expecting her day to be so bureaucratic. Definitely didn’t see herself needing to defend how she chose to support her husband to a giant eastern dragon.

In Majiramon’s defense, the feeling seemed very mutual.

“What financial advice I give my husband is none of your business.” She tries to sound as level-headed as she can. She knows how fat cats are with appearances. “This was my job before I was uploaded; why would I support him any other way?”

“Because you’re interfering with the human systems.” Its voice is booming but only due to its size, to their credit they are taking as many pains to be professional about this as she was. “As Digimon, we must know our limits; where we can and where we must not interact with for us to maintain balance with the humans who live alongside us. These lessons will help “UI” as well.”

“So what, because I’m “dead” I have to just sit idly by knowing all the ways I could be helping those I care about?”

The dragon looked down at her, large moose-like antlers with symbols she doesn’t feel like translating adding to its looming figure. But still, it’s not trying to be intimidating, there is no aggression. Just a civil mask over natural frustration. 

“I understand the desire to meddle all too well. When the circumstances do align best for me it is most difficult to curb the impulse to pursue them if it is against my master, Azulongmon’s, needs. And wanting your fair dues for your work is all too reasonable, Lady Lowell. But this is my task as designated by His will.”

“Micromanagement?” She knew the attitude in her tone wasn’t doing her favors, but it was hard to hold a tongue she doesn’t have anymore.

“Protecting all major forms and flows of finances from digital interlopers.” He corrected without judgment. “This is explicitly to include UI in addition to my own kin.” He looked far out to fields of Digimon he may very well see at his angle. “Money can be a difficult concept for Digimon to grasp. They don’t understand how changing, erasing, or undoing anything could have disastrous fallout to both individual humans or our people as a whole by the risk of discovery.”

Laurie does raise a brow, “So you’ve all started designating your own judge, juries, and executioners on the dos and don’ts of hacking?”

“Only what we can immediately identify as what’s needed for the safety and betterment for all. As I understand, you are correct in that your contracts didn’t disbar you from using your well-compensated skillset for yourself within reason. But “reason” is a far trickier beast to tame now.”

“We’ve been doing this for far longer than you’ve been around, can you at least grandfather us in?” She doesn’t want to spend too much time on this.

“I will grant you, your human proxy does do much in explaining the difference between your actions and how some Digimon have tried “fixing” the financial woes of humans that strike their fancy. But you will need to consider changing how you operate. You know full well why a series of checks and balances is necessary when the beings involved function so differently.” 

“But we’re not a part of your system.” Laurie may not be the best reflection of it as she and Joanie are now, but he doesn’t disparage her. “All UI have been part of these aspects of life before, and most should understand restraint. We can’t be held to your standards on our “normal” process. When there’s enough of us for it to be an issue let us handle ourselves.”

“UI aren’t in a place to check or be checked the way Digimon are; I’m not attempting to go so far. But I must do what I can to keep the numbers in line with human expectations to minimize human strife. Some debts that exist may be unjust, but dues are owed all the same. I can allow tweaks to odds, subtle favors where needed to encourage a healthier flow of commerce as a whole, but my kinsman?” Majiramon gave a laugh of a snort at the idea. “They would gladly wipe all slates clean and add to their hearts desires if they find a human or purpose they fancy.”

Ah. Okay. So forgiving too many debts is what caused this intervention? Maybe she did go a bit far with some of her petty revenge against her enslavers.

“You understand why I must play my part, yes?” His eyes were understanding, kinder than she expected with his miserly reputation. “The path to humanity’s hell would be paved by our best intentions. We can’t simply keep the unwise among us from providing aid without due process.”

“And if I don’t you’ll hit me with a ton of bricks for trying to evade that process?”

“Nothing less than gold bars for you, Lady Lowell.” There was no jest in his tone. Joanie’s memories warned her his threat was a promise of cold really hard cash. He was an odd duck to read.

“Duly noted. If I notice any major financials in need of “adjusting” I will consult with you first.” She can’t get out of this without concessions, and the dragon doesn’t seem too unreasonable.

“Thank you kindly, Lady Lowell.” He bows deeply to her, made awkward by his massive form. “Should I or my fellows require a better understanding of the systems we wish to maintain you will be the first I suggest. Not to disrespect the opinions of Lords Chanda or Kim.”

“Are there many in these sorts of roles yet? Among the ones who aren’t up to speed yet.” Laurie asked, but her focus wasn’t all here. He may not recognize it, either giving her the benefit of the doubt from her condition or their own blindspot.

“Not so much that all 12 of us are required to be so hands-on. Even at the best of times our Ox the truthseeker, is loath to linger on any material concerns of others, while their opposite, our haughty Horse, is much too engrossed by your “influencer cultures” to bother with other matters. Others like our Tiger and Snake are purely combatants so they see no means to help as of yet.”

“The Boar serves as our observer through their fellow Bumon until they can properly evolve, no inhuman digital action ever escapes their notice so we can be aware of what may need judgment so it may be sent to the respective guardian. Andiramon, the rabbit, has taken it upon themselves to better enforce the attempts humans make at protecting their youngest minds and eyes when online, though we are aware it can be a dangerous line to tread alone and given our very different developmental experiences.” 

“Makuramon, the Monkey, is hard at work seeking common threads to base larger judgments and also serves as our lead investigator, ever curious to find the motives behind Digimon interventions. The Rooster keeps those investigations from leaving unwanted traces in addition to enforcing a strict separation between the means our denizens keep contact with each other, and is prepared to find integrations between the two should humanity accept Digimon as your unusual neighbors. Caturamon, the dog, keeps in close touch with their fellow servants of Baihumon and is in charge of tracking acts to ensure all remain justified and do not exceed the reasons behind them.”

“Pajiramon, the Sheep who knows all dreams, is working on how to best handle their domain and focusing on creating more virtual spaces for our own kinsmen based on their new sources of inspiration. Kumbhiramon, the Rat, is limiting their efforts to providing advice or stimulation to human minds who seem in most need of their… particular brand of support.”

Well, that’s a dangerously vague phrase. Joanie remembered them as the type to mix aggression, haughtiness, and a thin cute veneer so his loss for words wasn’t unexpected.

Joanie had a feeling about the combatants, and Laurie agrees it was worth speaking up about. “As I understand Mihiramon is a tactician who is nearly on par with the Royal Knight Duftmon when they take the form of a beast, is that correct?”

The old dragon looked impressed with her as he nodded his head. “When they return to being a Mihiramon, you are correct. But our Tiger is not, so I will not slight them with an untrue name should any situations change.”

“Perhaps they could help with “balancing” Digimon in human games they’ve started integrating with? It’s the closest we have to terrain for them to take advantage of and their speed could interfere before human players notice anything’s more amiss than their new normal.” Laurie tilts her head as she hears Joanie whisper another in her ear, unseen by all. 

“Sandira- Your “snake”,” She corrected herself, “might be best checking the dark web. The skill level of its users is on average higher and the likelihood of illegal or harmful activities is higher as well. If they prefer to stop “evil”, that is where I’d assume they’d have the easiest time of it.”

“Thank you kindly for the suggestions, I will pass this on to them.” His words are genuine, but he started to rub his talons in a way Laurie finds too familiar with someone about to get to business. “Now, if I may ask something direct of yourself?”

Joanie knew not to refuse. Everything Majiramon does is meant to have a price, he does nothing for free. The trick is knowing how he values things and keeping your books balanced.

“Of course.” Laurie might as well address her previous conclusion. “My apologies if forgiving debts caused you any complications.” She knows how to frame this now. “I was doing my part to reclaim the wealth my former employers had made from me without repaying Cody our share. We don’t want that money for ourselves so I saw fit to give back by putting it towards individuals who could use the help, as direct action instead of donating it to charities.”

There was a delight in the old dragon’s eyes as he laughed, “Nonsense, if anything you have well under-sold the value your younger sister continues to make for those people! Your numbers are quite impeccable, it was your “direct action” that we feared could risk giving Digimon the wrong ideas..” His smile got smaller and took the look of a man ready to talk shop. “That is part of why I must ask you if you could use some of your outstanding credit to benefit another.”

“So, in exchange for your information’s worth, you want me to give this person equal value?”

“If the numbers agree with you, of course, Lady Lowell.”

“Who is it for and why?” Laurie materialized an office chair to sit in, as she remembered doing in her previous life. The centaur-like way the dragon held himself didn’t give him many sitting options, but he seemed settled enough.

“To validate an inappropriate addition of funds caused by one gluttonous Ghostmon to their tamer, Rachel Brooks, to ensure her mother will not be denied any needed cancer treatments.”

“How much, and what makes this case so special to you?”

“5 million USD, as she had been promised by Logorythms for an acting job which fell through for no fault of her own, to ensure her continued emotional and physical safety.”

Laurie leaned forward, hands clasped under her chin as she took this in. She looked up at the heavenly general. “And why does this put her physical safety in danger? Is she still a dependant?”

“No, she is established enough as an adult despite only having a bit over two decades to her. Her role put her in a…” He hummed to himself, looking to an antler in search of a word, “Unwise position regarding the bearer of Knowledge. The beast of Revelation has well proven their worth as his protector, so Ghostmon wishes to give her all she needs to permit a "clean break" from this before her subtle cruelty is known to him.”

Laurie stifled a snort at the grandiose title in spite of the dragon’s deadly serious tone. “Is that what the goth is calling it now? I thought it was “Phineas”.”

“No, Lady Lowell.” His eyes were cold, but not harsh. Like one might look at a child for not recognizing how hurtful an intended joke could be if they said it at a funeral.

He didn’t intend to say more. This, he felt was out of her paygrade.

He was trying to undersell her, and she raised a baffled brow at that.

“You’re asking for a lot of money, and most of what you’ve given me is information I already needed to know if I’m meant to be a link between your world and Cody’s. Even if you want to argue you deserve an early fee, it’s not like this is some “exclusive” take, and I can only tip you so much before it’s charity work. So, what exactly makes this a nearly 5 Million dollar question?” Laurie glared up at the Dragon as she rephrased it. “What is it about “Knowledge’s” partner Digimon that scares you so much?”

He pulled an abacus from his vest and clicks away some values himself, but they both well know it's just for show. He took a deep breath, but there’s a deeper pride in his gaze as he nods.

She is worth the story behind this “Revelation”, because she knows her value.

“We don’t like to address the one Knowledge has tamed. They are older than most other beings, and even if they break the laws we make the Sovereign I serve are not fit to judge Them. They are the first plural: The aftermath of evolution’s failures and mistakes. Every mind ever lost or altered by their transformations. Every little-death that robs us of memory. An outstanding cache of all data that loses its place goes to them as surely as the negative emotions that further fuel them. As such, we wish to treat them with reverence. They are always here, always listening, no matter how our world has tried to ignore it, so we can too ignore its call for us to all join oblivion.”

He conjured a massive shadow, just visual data, to put a face to this. A humanoid torso crudely wired into unusual geometry, an army of claws coming from chains of double helixes sprouting from nearly every facet.

What little of its face can be seen despite its helm conveys only malice and madness. But not that of a beast. Those wild eyes were uncanny but human, and while the teeth were far too sharp that was a mouth, not a maw.

“This is The Apocalymon, Lady Lowell. This is what the crests were needed for the Digidestined, in all of their powers and gifts, to have had any hope of exorcising. The testament to our weaknesses and flaws as a species. This is what your Knowledge healed, and brought to heel. It doesn’t matter to us what they are currently, or if he teaches It to avoid that final form. He made the Digimon-That-Wasn’t one of us again. And it can, will, and has killed for his sake.”

“Who?” Her mouth felt like it was dry even though she knows it can’t be, voice soft but burning. "When? How?"

“Deirdre Ryan, a lawyer that was employed by Julius Pope at Logorythms, two days ago in her own home. The humans can not prove foul play, Kodokugumon’s borrowed poisons are unknown to them and it appears as just an unfortunate heart attack. I can provide you with the unaltered security footage if so desired.”

“Yes,” Laurie said out of obligation. She couldn’t allow herself to look away from this. This was the role she’s meant to take; keeping the peace between two worlds she’s only half a part of. “Will I owe you for this?”

“No, Lady Lowell. There was value in being permitted to spread the warning. We’ve had shards of The Apocalymon before, but Mephismon and the Meicoomon were both naturally born and could not directly spread this way. Knowledge’s involvement is quite different. We’re used to human children being godlings to us; oddities that bring boons unimaginable. The adults rarely compare. But this “child” is on the cusp of something greater.” His voice betrays his terror. “He’s not on an edge, but a needle’s tip. We know he’ll fall, soon, and when he does something will break. We just don’t know if it will be him, us, or something we can’t foresee.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” She doesn’t know what else to say. She tried to make light of it, “You’re hardly the first person to be scared of how a teenager may turn out. I was a menace at that age.”

“It’s almost poetic,” Majiramon muses to himself. “The Digidestined who bore Knowledge when Apocalymon stole its physical form had the voice of the Eldest Child, the one who walks among humans as “Sami”, who defeated this very same chaos for our sakes. Even those old enough to recognize it didn’t fear Koushiro Izumi for that similarity. Now Knowledge is taunting us for not taking that warning more seriously by turning the hourglass the other way.”

She’s looked up when they’ve used given names like this before, always coming up empty. So often Japanese names at that. Joanie either won’t or can’t tell her why this is. Laurie will need to find someone else to ask about this.

Majiramon has well earned Rachel her paycheck for all of this, she can’t afford to get greedy.

“Are you sure we’re even, Majiramon?” Laurie took to her feet, ready to extend her hand to seal negotiations if the business is settled. He nodded gratefully and extended a single claw for the formality.

“It is a pleasure doing business with one who also understands the value all things were meant to have.” His voice is too loud but very genuine. “May fortune favor and follow you, Lady Lowell.”

“Hardly need to ask it to do the same for you, sir. But do take care of yourself.” She weakly smiles back to the beast, who gives a single content chuckle.

She returns to her cabin and takes a moment to breathe. Laurie sought out “Rachel Brooks” to ensure her bank account is as Majiramon wished it, and goes to her mother from there.

Hard to imagine one bad job could get some kid on a dark God’s hit list. Dangerous times indeed.

Maddie warned that “Phineas” has already made many small Kodokugumon, that according to its tamer were very different from the “Kodokugumon” he made.

The original was close to a large fat cat in size and mostly purple, the copies were a lot smaller and largely yellow. Closer to how the fully grown versions would turn out, as when they grew they skipped the rookie stage to be weaker champions.

Laurie opened the video file Majiramon gave her of the attack. It was tiny and yellow, even if they didn’t doctor the image to keep Digimon hidden this one would have been hard to notice.

Gage probably doesn’t even know what it’s done yet, given the original lost hold of the leash to its spawn. If Laurie got to it quickly enough maybe she can keep it that way.

If she consumed its experience data upon defeating it the memories shouldn’t flow back to the source, with or without the original way Apocalymon functioned raising the odds of it happening.

Finding this rogue fragment wasn't too difficult, but the location was worrying. It was in the home network of a woman named Renee. Renee Keyes.

There didn't seem to be any connective tissue to Ryan. But she had ties to a teenager that wasn't Maddie. This was Gage's mother.

Caspian Keyes recently went to a hospital for a fractured forearm. Hit by a narrow blunt object, like a hammer or narrow pipe, in line with a defensive wound.

He isn't in that house anymore. He's with David. And if they were keeping his home "safe" while he's gone, they wouldn't be this specific in who they are watching. They couldn't care less about his father, which more official complaints had taken issue with in the past.

Laurie didn't like the picture she was getting from these pieces. But there was nothing tying Ryan to any abuse.  Not unless someone was very good at covering up for her.

The two women might have known each other through Holstrum once, but that would have been before the boy was born. No recent contact that she can see.

If the tamer being abused was what drove his incomplete digimon into a killer frenzy, why would they go after some random actress?

A second glance answered that. The school's records had her as a student, under a fake name, and several years younger.

Her reasons behind that were her business, as long as she wasn't doing anything with those kids they'd all regret. 

A Digimon overcorrecting due to partial information is plausible. Their boy getting a crush that could get him "hurt" after they've seen him get hurt physically could be what has the Deva worried. Unless Majiramon undersold what sort of role she was playing.

If Deidre had required the spying on Caspian, and then did nothing after having proof of abuse, that could have made them blame her for the escalation. His feelings towards his mother could be too complicated for them to lash out at her right now.

Why would Logorhythms care this much? Are they just protecting their own at her son's expense?

Laurie figured she had more than enough to confront the shard with.

The remaining concerns would be if it chose to fight. Joanie would have been able to hold her own against this sort of Champion easily. 

But if the flaw caused her to error out mid-fight, that could prove fatal. Asking Chanda for backup was straight out; They can't trust him or Lucemon.

That would leave David or Maddie, and between the two Maddie was the one with a partner.

She sent Ryudamon a message through his game of choice that he could trace before she headed into the spider's nest. If all went well, it should be settled long before the two kids showed up.

If it didn't, she shouldn't be in a position to complain about the support.

Cables like film trimmings in a blank white cyberspace gave way to deep blue boxes bound by spider thread. Yellow-striped spiders skittered, carrying glowing cyan data packets to continue growing this hub.

This was at least the second hub, Joanie added. She was sure they weren't just replicating a space they've seen before in ages past. They were recreating a recent nest.

Neither the UI or AI could guess where the previous could have been. Building their nest in the shadow of their master's personal digital spaces was the most expected thing. Nobody's complaining about a mass of spiders coming from anywhere but the physical world, but that can't be it.

Wherever they've been reproducing has to be fairly isolated. Maybe somewhere without a wireless connection, that's also keeping most of this swarm isolated.

Given the size of the Dokugumon at its center, that theory felt right. It wouldn't be much longer until Ultimate was possible.

This piece of a partnered monster could easily pass for a normal Digimon. It even changed its own designation. This was "Nea", not Phineas or feral.

Nea recognized Laurie, and it tilted its head at her intrusion.

<YOU ARE BACK>

Laurie shook her head at the strange sound it made. It didn't manage words, but had learned a crude bypass for conveying intent.

This was less like talking and more like hitting your skull quickly enough to pass for bone conduction. If it wasn't so calm, she'd have assumed it was an exploit.

<APOLOGIES FRIEND>

Nea was picking up on their- her system's flaws. Her eyes lit up as she tried to find another way to manage speech.

"No, this will work. But I'm here because the Deva are concerned." Laurie led with, and the spider looked morose at the declaration. "Do you understand why?"

Nea hesitated, either looking for words or a less unnatural means to convey them, but settled for what they had.

<WE MADE THE BAD HUMAN STOP>

"It was worse than "stopping" her, Nea."

<WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING> Nea's forepaws combed through her hair like a nervous habit. <RYAN WAS A THREAT>

“She was human. You could have reached out to one of us so we could redirect any proof of whatever you caught her doing to human authorities, and have her properly judged.” Nea was already shaking her head as Laurie spoke, but Laurie forced herself to keep going. “This didn’t have to end up like Prasad, we had other options.”

<PROOF HARD> Nea confessed as her head swiveled sideways more than shook. <HID TOO MUCH> <POPE DISMISSED THREAT> <COULD HAVE ACTED ANY TIME> <OUR FAULT>

“Which part was “your fault”?”

<CAS TOLD CARY> <CARY TOLD POPE> <RYAN HEARD> <DIGIMON SCARY> <TOO MANY INTERFENCES> <TOLD POPE TO STOP> <NEA STOP DANGER TO CAS>

Laurie sighed and rubbed her temple to try and keep herself in order despite how every line made her code quake. It was still more annoying than harmful. “How was this putting him in danger?”

<LAURIE OWES CAS TOO>

“You’re not answering me, and he only did me one favor-“

<CAS GAVE LAURIE FREEDOM> <GAVE LAURIE CODY> <GAVE CODY LAURIE>

“He didn’t even know that’s what that algorithm was for!” Laurie snapped back. The monster roared back at the aggression without thought behind it, only a wave of betrayal.

<CAS NEEDS HELP>

"And he's getting helped by the Kims."

<NOT ENOUGH>

"Do you think what you're doing is helping?"

 <PROTECT CAS>

"By killing people? You think that's what he'd want?"

<RYAN WANTED PROJECT TERMINATED> It hissed, trying to give more information than Laurie was willing to take on. Trying would take too much from her. <RYAN WOULDN'T STOP>

“So what, she deserved to die over it? Isn’t that what you wanted?” Laurie was just biding time. Its attempts to make her understand are genuine, but that makes her all the more disgusted at it. “If the project was just about keeping him under surveillance or grooming him-“

<CAS IS THE PROJECT> Nea launched file after file at her, but now Laurie let herself take the risk of skimming what she could. 

“The Caspian Project.” Genetic Engineering meets a life’s worth of manipulation for one goal.

… oh. oh, that’s. no.

Nea’s fury nearly abated at her pause, hopeful at her recognition. It was right.

Laurie can understand. And hearing Ryan’s words demanding something as dangerously vague as “termination” over something that was already this inhumane made it clear why Nea didn’t trust it to mean she “just” meant to destroy Caspian’s world by cutting him loose.

This still didn’t excuse ending a life.

Even if it's one that insisted on trying to end another’s over something as stupid as a liability.

What sort of person phrases having a teenager killed to cover their own tracks like this? Not one anyone should miss if they meant it.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be. Just like Prasad. Chanda’s been too tight-lipped on what happened to him specifically for her comfort.

There’s no proof against him beyond what he’s confessed to though, unlike Nea. Laurie’s seen the footage. Footage Nea had to have left as exactly that.

Unlike Sami and Chanda’s mutual defense this is an open-and-shut case. If Nea reunited with the original Phineas who knows how that will spiral? Assuming this was an action she took without their permission. Without their own tamer’s oversight.

No, if she’s claiming this was “protecting him” and not leading with it being an order or request then he must be in the dark. The point about the original may still stand.

There’s no telling what the last orders to this proxy were before they grew into a beast.

She felt its heart break as she levels her blade at them.

“You went too far. We have to be better than this. For all of us.”

<SORRY> Its jaw trembled without bothering to try mimicking the word as its eyes went red. <DON’T WANT TO HURT LAURIE> <NEA STILL USEFUL FOR PHINEAS> <HELP CAS>

Laurie felt a strange quiver in how it used “Phineas”. Every noun felt concrete, like an image leaving no room for confusion, but “Phineas” had four.

“Phin” was obvious, though it was far more humanoid than she heard it look like. “Nea” was still part of that. But that left two others, assuming the second Dokugumon wasn’t for the general swarm.

Whoever the “third” was, it had hit Ultimate already, as Joanie labeled the one that wasn’t a Dokugumon with dread. Without a tamer’s help, like the Deva had.

She wasn’t sure if she should be grateful that wasn’t the one who lashed out.

Something like the way Nea spoke hit her without warning, and seeing a moment of distraction the spider took off like a shot towards the open web, where layers and pages could hide them.

<You requested assistance, Mistress Laurie?>

“I’m sorry, since when do you all talk like this?” She said in annoyance as she tried to keep track of the well-meaning murderer. “The shard’s not looking to fight, but given it has two Ultimates it could get in its corner I’d rather not risk whatever it is looking for.”

“Apologies if pinging is uncomfortable for you.” Ryudamon tried again, materializing enough for her to see him with an avatar she assumed was Maddie’s from their go-between game.

“Two?!” Maddie asked. “I thought it was just Phin!”

“Looks like a shard gave up the thousand young gimmick to grow up early, and Joanie’s not a fan of it. The “infer” monster?”

“”Inferno” is the root, as in “Dante’s”, if you mean Infermon,” Ryudamon said as he picked up the scent and Maddie seated herself on his saddle with her brown wings tucked tightly in. “If they needed to get into something on your human networks that they weren’t meant to, there’s not much better for it.”

“So if one was given reason to really want multiple humans gone?”

“Assuming this isn’t information it has and dismissed already, finding them would be no issue, and acting on it would be child’s play.”

“But if it doesn’t agree with this shard, maybe they could convince them to stop?” Maddie offered.

“Nea might have been preparing to hurt someone else, but they already know it’s “wrong”, Maddie. This isn’t about “convincing” anyone,” Laurie warned as she darted to stay hot on the trail. She cursed to herself over her lack of projectile attacks in favor of swordwork.

In response, Joanie triggered something from her staff’s talisman and Laurie had to bite back the urge to scream.

Not solely from the pain as her body began shifting itself in ways no human’s could, but like resisting a bestial roar trying to force its way out, as her wings faded from indigo to nearly white.

She had toyed with inhuman “appearances” as a UI, to see if she could, so this wasn’t as alien as it could have been. But those had all been surface level, and most were still human-ish.

Never anything as contrary as a hippogriff, or as insulting as a doubly impossible beast like that was given her condition. Even this version of it seemed to agree with that, given it gave up on being part “horse” at the tail. She could feel those large blades on her feet too well for it to be something worn over actual hooves.

Just as well as she could feel herself burning, the way she could when overclocking. She had to learn to dread that heat when it was the easiest tell she was starting to push herself too far.

“I thought you said this was a “slide digivolution”, Joanie?!” Laurie hissed with her newly formed beak and tremored at how weird not feeling her face felt when it was already wrong enough with the lack of wind as she moved as “fast” as she was.

“Yes, it’s a digivolution. Don’t mistake it for a mode change,” Ryudamon said as he began to struggle to keep pace. “If human types and beasts were truly equal in all ways, they wouldn’t feel as much need to prove who’s “better” so often.”

Joanie didn’t let her complain about it further as the digimon made her fire a burst of “air” hot enough it was glowing at the retreating spider, and took out a leg in the process.

Nea barely paid it any mind as the discarded limb burst into digital dust behind her. She focused on trying to use webbing to swing the uncanny scaffolding and other virtual debris littering the web to block her pursuers long enough to find a page with enough ties to it to burrow into.

The shots of metal Ryudamon could spit out were enough to keep them from proving a hassle, and they were just fast enough to hit them before Laurie had to. If she sped enough to keep her wings tucked close Laurie could slip through the resulting gaps without wasting more energy of her own.

Ryudamon just wasn't ready for this kind of war of attrition. Even he could handle a blow just fine, with or without Maddie, but it doesn't matter if he'll never manage to land his own.

But knowing Maddie, telling them she had it under control wouldn't work. Not after letting them get this far, and Ryudamon seeing how much being an Ultimate was already costing her.

As if in response to Maddie’s frustration, Ryudamon began to glow. His form lengthened, armor changing with him so Maddie’s spot on his saddle remained unaffected. Foreclaws extended to reach the ground ahead of them, not once stopping his stride.

The black lacquer flaked off, revealing gold underneath. Samurai inspirations falling with it leaving smooth plating in its place. His glowing red interface on his forehead remained intact as it shrank, but the metal it laid on now nearly encased his narrow and angular head.

He wasn't a dragon anymore, but a golden horse with the crest of Hope proud in the center of its breastplate. It wasn't an angel's wings that erupted from its sides but jets that lit without a sound, and gems that studded its armor glowed like the proof of his antibody.

Pegasusmon X would be more than fast enough for a mere Dokugumon. It was smaller than most of its kind, data more densely packed, but no slower for it.

This was a war horse at its core. What it gave up in size it made up for in strength and defense, beyond what its Secret Wall already enhanced.

Joanie approved of their personal changes, particularly keeping the digi-armor’s crest unlike most of its kind did. Laurie was less sure, but it looked like Maddie would be safe enough the way things were. If anything the girl was delighted by her partner’s change.

“Close enough to an “angel” for you, I suppose.” The girl’s partner chuffed to himself.

“Since when?” Maddie laughed through her grin teasingly. “My wings are more angelic than yours!”

“I’ve never needed those to fly before, I certainly don’t need them now, Mistress. Hold on tight.”

Hippogriffomon wouldn't have to push themselves as much now, so they allowed themselves to slide back. Laurie could barely see the so-called Pegasus as it launched itself in front of Nea, faster than a comet, with the force sending them flying into the same structures she had tried to use to her benefit. But she could hear it summon another wall as a ring of light extended into a bubble to encase the area around them, leaving the spider no means of escape.

Nea shrieked a message of fear, despair, and an endless fire that couldn’t light a void of darkness, as Nea felt whatever it was meant to do against “evil”. Laurie wasn’t sure if that was the word for her though, even if it was because she was a “virus” or what she was made from.

The spike of energy her emotions hit were unmistakable, and Laurie should have worried more about this. She had heard from David that simply sparing against a Terriormon that Ryudamon had known was enough to make him evolve. How working alongside Chanda was enough for Sheepmon to regain their true Deva status.

Laurie could see sickly green vials try to emerge from the eyes of the skull on Nea’s back, Something began to grow under its gold helmet that made it look like its head was splitting in two. She could see how badly part of it wanted to digivolve, to give itself a chance at winning.

But the eyes nearest to Maddie and Pegasusmon lit up and Nea forced them all away.

Digimon aren’t meant to resist digivolving, Joanie whispered like it was an atrocity.

“Hey, see? She doesn’t want to fight, Ryudamon.” Maddie said with a proud look on her face atop the golden mecha-horse. “Let’s go ahead and ping the Devas or whatever and-”

And Pegasusmon X had given Laurie a cold hard look. Laurie gave a single nod back.

X and Joanie were in agreement, that this wasn’t a matter worthy of how Digimon did “court”.

Their natural “Justice” was more than enough.

So Pegasusmon’s hoof cracked through the top of the Dokugumon’s head, down through to the jaw, leaving only the side-most eyes intact if they were even capable of seeing anymore.

She wouldn’t let herself forget the horror on Maddie’s face as Nea stepped back enough to prove she wasn’t dead, and as much as the girl begged her partner to stop, they didn’t. Not even when she got off of them and tried to put herself between them, ignoring how far gone the victim already was, the former Knight was able to harmlessly brush her aside to end it.

A life for a life, as a lesson for other Digimon that harming humans was intolerable. Echoes of this would ring far in the open web, she could feel onlookers more than see specifics.

They all knew who Maddie’s partner had been on top of that, so there’d be no arguing against this “judgement” despite Maddie’s clear objections. The worst that would do is spread rumors about humans being “soft”, which could go any number of ways, good and bad.

Darcmon put a hand on Maddie’s shoulder as she approached, and the girl slapped it away like Laurie had burned her. The human’s avatar’s eyes were glitching as she stumbled backwards, like the eyes her headset was scanning were getting too wet to translate properly.

Pegasusmon stepped aside to let Laurie get closer, and the exposed threads of data began to seep from him to her. Letting it out into the digital ether wasn’t an option.

Why was that again? Was she trying to keep information from getting somewhere?

Joanie remembered Apocalymon, so it was probably that.

The “probably” there was concerning them both.

Despite her poor memory, Laurie absorbed all the data she could. She hadn’t felt “full” in so long, and with her body like this now there were so many different ways she could.

This was past being “full”. Something in her was overflowing, and her “angelic” wings dropped with a weight she’s never felt before. Their feathers were turning black and falling out in equal measures, leaving behind ragged leather that shouldn’t support any weight.

But it would, Joanie’s essence creaked as their talisman cracked down the middle like the winged egg was truly “hatching” into some cursed shadowy being.

Unlike Nea, Laurie couldn’t resist digivolving. Unlike digimon, this power would destroy her if she couldn’t undo it.

Even trying to push it down only managed to make parts of her glitch with elements Darcmon didn’t have. A long-winged glove, or a holy ring that burned worse than holding down Logorhythms before it went back to being a violet boot cuff, even four extra short-lived wings tried to assert some level of divinity was left before being beaten back down.

That level was still trying to be an Ultimate. There was no way around this.

LadyDevimon was stuck with the blood on her hands just as surely as Nea had been. Laurie tore the mask off and felt her hair return to its “proper” color. Her clothes were rematerializing to work with this new base as best it could, toning down the exposed skin again and leaving more to the imagination than the clingy leather.

Maddie was shaking her head with wide betrayed eyes and a hand to her mouth as she watched, looking from Laurie to her protector and disappearing into thin air as she logged out.

Pegasusmon took a weary breath beside her. “Thank you for understanding, Mistress Laurie.”

“There was no helping it, was there?” Laurie asked with more guilt than she felt there should be.

“We can’t risk others taking from Nea’s example.” X agreed. “This is what the Deva wished.”

“Hopefully not all of this.” Laurie looked at her inhumanly long hand with a grimace.

“Apologies for that, should I have tried to keep more?”

“No, not with how Maddie was getting. None of our options were good here.” Laurie set her teeth to prepare for the worst as she asked, “Is this the sort of Digivolution that sticks?”

The horse bowed its head and looked off to the side. “I… Suspect so. This was not your crest’s doing, nor did it feel like your emotions had hit a peak to grant a temporary surplus again.”

Laurie thanked him in a daze as she brought up the link to get her back home. Back to Cody.

“Home” was more than the other partner had right now, Maddie would need time.

She needs to let Cody know what’s happened. To her, to that woman, to how delicate peace is.

Laurie stumbled out of his old computer, and seeing his reflexive shock at her torn form gave her one assurance. He saw it and saw damage to fuss over, not the demon she was meant to be.

And fuss he did as he asked the right questions.

The cuff of her boot tried to change into a ring again when she felt almost at peace with how easily he listened and the shock of it made her shout. But he caught her before it could off-balance her.

“What is that?” He asked as the metal glitched back into fabric while he was running a thumb over it.

“Joanie… Doesn’t know.” Laurie managed out. “It’s like my body wants to be two different Ultimates at once, which could be due to how similar they already are. But they’re not compatible, and for one reason or another, the Virus has priority.”

“Doesn’t make you less of an angel to me.” He said as much to comfort himself as it was for her. She knew he meant it.

Laurie held his hand on her cheek, running her own thumb over the black and red canvas band he had replaced his digivice’s original one with. Comforting herself with the proof she was here as she followed the painted curves of the heart she had proved he deserved.

Power was always going to be inevitable for her, she knew that already, but she wished it didn’t cost so much.

She’s not the one who’ll need to live with the aftermath.

She can only hope that he can.

Chapter Text

Maddie still felt ill from what she saw. It's one thing to hear about what someone was- is capable of, but another to be unable to stop it from happening again.

She couldn’t complain about Laurie being comfortable going that far, but her "partner"?

Ryudamon didn't have to listen to her.

If he ever wanted someone dead she couldn't stop him. Doesn’t matter if he says this time was "different".

Why should it have been different? They've never needed to kill Digimon before, and Phin could've talked it down, even if they had hurt somebody. They weren't trying to hurt her or Laurie. She saw it choose to stay a champ, even though that would have helped defend itself.

Ryudamon said he didn't want to be a weapon anymore, but obviously, he didn't mind being a killer.

And now she's made him stronger. He's going to continue getting stronger, with or without her.

She stormed downstairs, without bothering to remove her vest or gloves.

As much as she'd love to talk to her dad she didn't want to risk seeing Ryudamon with him right now. And Mom was still at work.

A glance out the patio doors showed her Caspian was sitting outside, not even on a chair. Just on the grass, nearly back to back with Phin, who looked back at Maddie curiously. They said something to the boy facing the fence and he waved them off as a dismissal.

Maddie tensed when she realized Phin was coming to check in on her, but it wasn't like she could stop it.

“Everything okay?” Phin cocked their head at her, and Maddie wasn’t sure what to say.

When Justine’s partner killed one of their shards, they had been so scared the rest of the day despite their connection being broken. But Phin looked fine this time, albeit rather down. But so did Caspian, so it could still be from whatever made him quiet the night before.

If Phin didn’t know, she didn’t want to be the one to tell them.

“No. Laurie asked Ryudamon and I to help her catch something, and it went… bad.”

Phineas looked troubled, and their eyes glanced back at Caspian. “What sort of bad?”

“It was a fight with a digimon, and… they lost.” Maddie said softly.

Phin nodded along, but they didn’t seem to understand. “So… They were eaten?”

“Is it “eating” without using your mouth?” Maddie said with a bitter snort and a shudder.

That helped something click in the spider’s eyes. With a tense face they briefly glanced back at Caspian, recognized he was not in a helpful state, and back to Maddie with a face that screamed “FUCK”.

“... Culture shock?” Phin offered weakly with a smile that had more teeth than their eyes seemed to have wanted it to.

“Is it really that normal for Digimon?” Maddie asked and tried to keep her anger out of it, but she was pretty sure she failed.

“Depends on the digi-world’s culture, some get more cutthroat than others, but generally… Yeah.” Phineas said with a defeated shrug. “Especially with the Royal Knights. If a problem’s big enough to need them to help, solutions tend to be… Definitive.” They settled on with a grimace. “Ryudamon and Dorumon only got called in when it’s even worse than their “normal” too.”

“Is that Alphamon’s rookie?” Maddie asked, but if Phin was trying to make the disgust go away with these excuses, it wasn’t going to work. Her hands clenched tight enough she could feel the electronics inside her gloves start to object.

Phin gave a short nod, face scrunched like they were disappointed they were the one she only just heard it from. “Was the ‘mon they… Took out, a stranger? Did Laurie say what they did?”

Maddie’s mouth was tight, but Phin just nodded like that was an answer.

“If Ryudamon and Laurie both felt it was just, I’d trust them.” Phin offered with a look that felt like they understood Maddie not feeling the same.

“Even if they both told me to stay away from Caspian?” Maddie challenged with a glare.

“Did they, now?” Phin scowled with enough venom to nearly make Maddie pause. 

“Not now.” She backtracked bitterly, “But, before, they’ve had trouble trusting him, so why are you trusting them without anything to go off of?”

“I know Digimon. He knows Digimon. And while she might not, a soldier like D’arcmon does, even though the Angels and the Knights don’t always see eye-to-eye.” Phin said carefully, and it looked like a thought of what happened occurred to them as their face went slack. They swallowed as Maddie caught claws flicking in and out like one of Laurie's glitches on their hand, though they tried to hide it. “I’d… have to differ to Cas, or you, or Laurie on “human” stuff, but on my own… I know our justice.”

“Justice for what?! They weren’t even trying to fight back, don’t you have arrests or anything?”

Phin shook their head as they took a step back before turning on their heel back to Caspian. “Not if this was about what I think it was.”

Maddie swore under her breath as Phin approached him, and tapped at his digivice as they spoke to him with a worried expression. Whatever they asked him about he agreed to, and they vanished into the watch.

And Caspian looked concerned when her moving out of the corner of his eye gave Maddie his full attention, enough for him to start heading back inside.

It’s not like she could be that much of a mess, right? She only cried a bit and- She really should have checked in a mirror, huh?

“What happened?”

"... There was a fight." She admitted.

"With Ryudamon?" Caspian asked, and she cocked her head in frustration over not knowing how he had meant that to come across.

"No. I mean, yes. We were helping Laurie fight a Phin fragment that made itself a sort of hub for the others."

"So this was about Nea." He said more than asked with a look that was more tired than somber.

Maddie’s mouth was dry. "They had a name?"

"I mean, they were all “Phineas” at the start.” He said with a small shrug. “The swarm is bugged out by Digimon standards. Not really feral, but close enough to it for them to not count as “Phineas” on my Digivice like Phin does, and even the ones smart enough to act like individuals still end up weird. “Nea” took over when their last acting hub got locked out of the Dokugumon stage, until she acted out so “Phi” replaced her." Caspian gave her an attempt at a smile, “I think you can see what I mean about how well their attempts to give themselves “names” go so far.”

She rolled her eyes at the weak effort at levity. As much as he downplayed it, he was referring to Nea with the singular “she”, not “they” like a collective or Phin uses or “it” to depersonalize her.

Either Nea was a person enough to choose that for herself, or he wanted to treat her like one.

"Ryudamon digivolved." Her left hand squeezed her right arm in frustration.

Caspian straightened in attention, and silently nodded for her to go ahead.

"It was fine at first. They were trying to get away, so Ryudamon changed into a golden tech-y Pegasus. Laurie was already doing a number on them, so I thought that'd make Nea give up."

"And it didn't." Caspian looked down at his hands.

"It's not like it drove him crazy or anything, Pegasusmon X could still talk and didn't treat me that differently. But when I tried to stop the fight neither of them would listen to me, and then…" Maddie’s voice cracked as her words kept coming out faster.

"Hey, easy. I get it." He held up a hand to stop her but she shook it off.

"No, you don't!” She snapped. “You said when Phin evolved, even though they wanted to hurt people, they didn't because they knew you didn't want them to! Pegasusmon didn't care what I said!" Maddie’s body was trembling in anger at reliving this again so soon.

She continued frantically. "They were down, we could have gotten Phin if they had gone rogue, or something like that, but he didn't stop. The closest he did to listen was to stop eating her after, but that just let Laurie take more instead, and now she's some freaky demon lady!"

"That's how this is supposed to work, Maddie."

"No, it isn't! The fights we've had in RoW aren't to the death! They don’t need to kill to get experience, and when you eat all of someone they won't be able to come back! Not unless the one who ate them dies before their data is all used up."

"Laurie didn't really tell you why she was hunting Nea down, did she." Caspian sounded resigned to something.

Maddie shook her head but took a seat.

"Nea killed someone Maddie.” Caspian explained with a stony expression. “A human, in cold blood, because of some of the intel Phineas made them get ahold of. And that was just one person involved, not even one of the ones responsible for what scared Phin into making the first swarm."

She felt cold. When she could find words again they were weak. "Did Ryudamon know that?" 

He shrugged. "Probably. They only covered their tracks on the human side of things."

Caspian looked her dead in the eye. "Even if Phin got involved, "Nea" was going to die. If it makes you feel better, she died like a "person" instead of being reset into a blank puppet."

Maddie felt angry tears well in her eyes. "Why didn't either of them tell me?!"

"Because you're a kid? They thought it'd be easier on you?" Caspian offered with a scowl. “Not sure why they felt the need to drag you into it at all if that was the case though.”

“Unless Laurie was really hoping on Ryudamon digivolving and he couldn’t without me.” Maddie guessed and looked at him warily. "How do you know what they did? Did Phin already know?"

"Phineas didn't ask for this to happen. But, yeah. Phin gave me everything their network found out and did when they evolved. Since Phi ousted Nea over it and got the closest thing they had to “authorities” involved, Phin figured the rest of the swarm’s gotten a pass under their watch."

Maddie looked at her own hands and then back to him. "Anything there you wanna talk about?"

She noticed his hands were trembling this time.

"I don't fucking know." He looked like he was torn, but he kept going anyway. "I guess I can give you some good news?"

"Doesn’t sound good."

"It's not." He agreed but had a harsh smirk. "Your Holstrum theory wasn't as wrong as I thought. But less of a "soap opera" and more like a bad sci-fi."

Her brow furrowed but she didn't interrupt.

"You were technically right about my "mom" and Holstrum being an item.” He said with a cold scowl. “But she's not my mom any more than my "dad" is. Not related to either by blood at all."

She tilted her head with a frown trying to make sense of that but nodded to go on.

"Everything I've ever known, up to Phin, is a lie. I'm a fucking clone of the bastard because he was sure he could crack his UI problem if he had more time and I'm the "backup"."

She held her tongue but she knew he noticed her eyes widen at "UI".

"The people who raised me made sure to follow his life story, to make sure I’d think along the same lines he had the first time.” He went on, getting more agitated by the word. ”That's why they wanted to make sure I stayed "on track". The person Nea killed was the one who started to argue I was becoming too much of a “liability”. And that was before Phineas started fucking with their personal Truman Show!" He seethed, and he wasn’t the only one shaking as Maddie sat there and processed this.

Okay, yeah this was a lot. And it just kept going. Maddie realized far too late that he doesn't really have anyone else to tell any of this to.

There's little point in venting to the one that brought you the information in the first place. Especially not if you needed someone else to know.

"Even Hannah was just someone they hired to play a part.” Caspian shook his head in disgust. “If I had actually tried to do something, she wasn't allowed to say no. That’s what Phin really meant by her being too fake."

"But, we’re not, right?" She wanted to be sure, for both of their peace of mind. Not that Caspian would have a reason to say if they had been hoping to use him to keep tabs on her dad.

Ryudamon acting like Caspian’s presence here could lead Logorhythms to do something stupid made more sense now. They were already crazy, and not just over UI.

Phineas knew that before they became an Ultimate, Maddie realized with a start. This was what they gave Ryudamon, or at least enough parts of it to scare him.

And then he hid it from her. Even if it was to keep from spreading partial information before Phin could get the full story for Caspian.

How much was he ever willing to tell her? They’ve never even trusted her with his partner’s name outside of their end-state.

What sort of partnership was this, really?

"Yeah." Caspian let himself take an easy breath, unaware of Maddie’s racing thoughts. "You and Laurie weren't meant to get involved with my "development". That's why the lawyer wanted to pull the plug on this whole thing so badly that it scared Nea into striking first. Apparently this "plan" had a whole 14 years left to go. Lucky for somebody that they didn't need it all."

Maddie gave him a sour look at his phrasing, before another question came to mind. "Why'd your dad make you leave, if breaking your arm wasn't meant to happen?"

"Dunno." Caspian looked at the floor. "Phin got involved when Renee," he spat his… “mom’s” name, "was going to break her arm because apparently after nine fucking years of being an abusive prick he finally found the line he didn’t want to cross. I was "supposed" to scare him off for it and start supporting the two of us without him."

"Was he worried the lawyer could have gotten her way, since you got hurt?" Maddie suggested but he just shrugged.

"If he did, why would he have risked causing the failure in the first place?" He objected with a scowl.

"Maybe he cared too much to leave?" She offered, to open the door that maybe not everything about the parents who raised him had been a hollow act.

"That's a fucking change.” He sneered, giving her a glare she didn’t deserve. “Do you have any idea how many times he wouldn’t let me eat until I solved some goddamn programming problem the way he wanted me to? Excuses or giving up wouldn’t fucking work."

She winced.

"Yeah, that's what I figured,” Caspian said dismissively, though the validation did temper him back to a cooler rage. “If this is how any of these lunatics “cared”, fuck that." 

"If they wanted you to be identical to the guy, how come you aren't "Stephen"?" Maddie asked.

"He chose that name for himself at eighteen, cause he hated the name his dad gave him." Caspian snorted. “I’m guessing me not gunning for the same thing didn’t help my case.”

""Caspian" is pretty cool though."

"Mo-" Caspian caught himself, "Renee apparently disagreed. After all the Narnia jokes it can be hard to say she's wrong." He slumped on the arm of the sofa. "His birth name was "Phineas". But his came from some old coming-of-age book which was why mine is too, I guess."

Maddie blinked at that, “Freaky,” she muttered in sympathy. “But, that’s not where you got “Phineas” from at all. You weren’t using a fictional character, I mean.”

It had to just be a coincidence though, right? Or at least, something concrete to prove Caspian isn't just their knockoff. Holstrum’s hate for his name began and ended with him.

"Yeah, I'm really trying not to think about the implications there too much either."

… So he was probably thinking about that a lot, wasn’t he?

"Is that really all they want though?” Maddie asked to slightly change the subject. “For you to fix Holstrum's flaw in uploading?"

"What else would they need with the key to immortality in their pocket?" Caspian gave her an annoyed look.

"A clue?" She snorted the word. "They always talk about thinking about "what Stephen would do" and nobody takes Pope seriously. So if they don't want to think of you as anything but "Holstrum 2.0", it's already "your" company."

He looked at his hands. "Wish I could believe they wouldn't be that stupid."

"Not stupid. Desperate."

"You'd be the one to know." His gaze hardened and he gave her a cruel smirk. "You’d just love for me to be exactly what they hoped for too."

"That's not fair!" She snapped at him.

"No, it fucking isn’t." He spat back.

"Then leave my dad out of this! If you don’t want to fix him 'cause you feel like you "have to", fine! You don't need to be the one to do it, Yggdrasil’s working on it."

"And even it still doesn't have a clue, does it?" Caspian’s eyes were still cold. "When Laurie digivolved it didn't fix anything, did it?"

"How should I know?!"

"Did she look stable or did her form still glitch out?"

Maddie’s jaw tightened, recalling the way "Joanie" flickered as the demonic wings tried to shift into something holier.

He nodded at her unintentional confirmation. 

"Thought so. You can't "force out" a memory issue like this, it’s too close to what keeps a UI like the person that was murdered to make them. The best thing fusion can hope for is creating someone new out of incomplete pieces, like what Phineas is."

She glared at the boy. "You think you've cracked it already, don't you?"

He raised a brow as if to ask what she'd try to do about it if he did.

"How long?"

He kept quiet but looked like he expected her to figure this out.

The same sort of shit his "father" would have him do.

"So, Yggdrasil gave you your crest to test your progress on fixing the flaw?” She gave words to her earliest hope for him. “Is that how they work, why this time when Phin evolved they didn't need to shrink back?"

"I don't have a damn clue what they wanted out of this beyond making me fix their own "flaws".” Caspian crossed his arms with a glare. “And I did that too, in record time."

"That doesn't mean there can't be solutions other than what you found," Maddie said, but more to convince herself. "You don't have to be such a bastard about it."

"Pretty sure Holstrum and the robot weren't married, so I wouldn't be so sure about that." He cruelly snarked. 

"Not funny! Why should you care so much, regardless of what you can or can't do? You're still the same guy, and you don't need them. If you don’t want to ever see any of those people again, you don't have to!"

He let her words hang in the air, but he wouldn't stop fidgeting. She was too angry to care.

"What happens when I'm 48?" His voice was quiet enough that Maddie wasn't sure she was meant to hear it.

"30 years from now?" She asked mockingly. "Why should that matter?"

"I'm supposed to be identical to him,” Caspian repeated as his leg bounced nervously. “And humans don't have something like me for cancer, last I checked."

Memories of her dad hooked up to hospital machines felt like ice water in her chest.

Knowing what it was like from the outside was already the closest thing to hell she could imagine. It was hard to lash out at someone who feared they may end up in her father’s shoes.

"Doesn’t mean it will happen again, right?” She asked a bit gentler. “I mean… He was always wearing glasses, and you don’t need them, right? So, like, you're not that identical and at a minimum now you can be paranoid about it so if it does, you can catch it early." She added, giving him a skeptical look, "Not 30 years early, but, you know."

"If I can trust the hospitals."

"If you can keep your spiders from eating all the stupid shitty doctors, yeah.” She rolled her eyes dismissively. “And assuming Digimon can't just heal that sorta thing away."

"Do have any idea what "healing cancer" could do to a person if they "heal" by making your cells replicate faster?" Caspian asked her with disgusted exasperation.

She grimaced at the thought but tried to power through it. "... An undo spell then, I mean all their magic are just hyped-up programs.” Content with what options he should have that her father never had, some of that anger came seeping back out. “Why should you worry about dying anyway when you're soooo sure you've cracked the code to UIs not burning out?"

"I'm not going to fry myself to prove a point!" He slammed a fist on the table, making her jump. "Testing math and code is one thing, but what having that much time could do to a person is another. To say nothing about what UI are capable of even without prior history with coding!"

"So. Dying scares you, but now so does not dying?" Maddie asked with annoyance.

"I barely know what I am right now, Maddie. Phin thinks I'm the only one they had the resources to "make", and that there weren't any inconvenient earlier attempts they’ve wiped from the record. And UI? Digimon? They’re all fucking terrifying when we get down to it."

"When has my dad ever scared you?" She asked, offended at his implication, "He hasn't done anything wrong, so what are you holding against him?!"

"Bet you thought the same about Ryudamon before today, didn't you?" Caspian jabbed.

She swallowed. "He never lied about being a weapon or being dangerous."

"So now it's your fault you didn't see this coming?" He called her bluff and noticed how she might have been damaging the haptic gloves again as she tried to bite her nails into her palms.

"What are you trying to do right now, Caspian?" Maddie looked up at him, but couldn't read him. She got the feeling he didn't know either.

"Making sure you realize this goes beyond our "partners"." He didn't look like he fully believed that. "You want me to fix your dad, and I get it. Bet it feels great to know your glorified chatbot’s a more real one of those than I’ve ever had." The scorn he showed was real enough. "But you can't know what power could do to him. Knowing he can't push himself for his own safety might be what's making him stay "your dad” instead of letting him really branch out into his own person instead of your precious replica of a dead man."

"Don’t you ever call him that!” She snarled, ”What the fuck’s wrong with you, do you think dying is a good thing now?!" She can't believe that. But she can believe that he believes it.

"In this case? Yeah.” He answered bluntly. “If they know early what their limits are, UI can ration themselves, David said so himself. Having limits, a structure, can be good for people. And having enough power to hijack bombs or wipe out a hospital, can’t be. Not for us, or them."

"What about when they want to help people, Caspian?! Laurie’s only like this because she wanted to save my dad!"

"Phineas only wants to "help" me too, and you've seen how that goes." He gestures with his left arm. "Every time they've pushed themselves for me, something’s gone wrong. No exceptions. I'm not blaming them for that, but it's true."

"It hasn't just been wrong." She corrected him, and he flinched. "Because they care, you know you can trust them and now you know who you can't. They got you here, where this is real. You know that." Maddie squared her stance. "You're not with us right now because of Logorhythms, you're here because of Phin. You know I'm not lying when I say you don't have to do anything for us. We don't need you to be anything."

Caspian glared at her, but there was less fire in it this time. He was too conflicted. He did seem to believe that she meant every word.

"You reached out to Laurie when I showed you Dad’s chat for a reason. You helping randoms on the internet got you here, and that got me my dad back. You know there's nothing wrong with wanting to help people just because you think you can. It doesn't have to "go wrong"."

"... And now I'm the asshole telling you that seeing him die all over again is A-Okay." He hissed largely to himself like he only just recognized that as he rubbed his face. "Fuck. I need some air or something."

"Caspian?"

"Just forget it." He knew full well that she couldn't, even if she wanted to.

"You'll come back though, right?"

He doesn't have to. Leaving wouldn’t mean he'd need to go back to his "parents". There's nothing keeping him from going wherever he wants.

He gives her a nod but doesn't say another word. Knowing that he doesn't have his bag on him doesn’t make her uneasiness go away.

She doesn't know what that feeling could mean.

She doesn't know a lot of things right now. Not about him, not what to do about her "partner", not what to do with herself.

Maddie fiddled with her watch, only to partly check on Ryudamon. Still a Pegasusmon from what it says. Not sure how much the "X" matters when she's never seen any other kind.

She idly wonders if this is why he split from "Dorumon", Alphamon, or whatever too. If talking with them about him could have been any help. Not that it matters.

The crest screen's changed though, she notices with a start. They have a full set. Or as full as it can be with the UI crests, assuming the golden ones don't count.

So who was “Friendship” supposed to be?

A car came up the driveway. Mom's car.

Ellen barely had a foot in the door before Maddie took her into a hug.

"Maddie? Are you okay?"

She shook her head into her mom’s side, voice muffled as a result. "I think everything's falling apart. And I don't know what to do."

The warm weight on her back helps. Human touch really can't be replicated by haptics. She could almost understand her mother's objections to VR.

"What’s wrong?"

"Had a fight with Ryudamon." She simplified for her mother's sake. "Then Caspian told me he can fix dad’s flaw, but he doesn’t want to, and why, and now he's out. He learned some stuff about his family that's shaken him bad."

Is this what Laurie and Ryudamon did to her too, lying by omission? Is it wrong to hold back?

"Alright,” Ellen said calmly. “Are they both okay?"

"I think they are, physically. Ryudamon’s too big for the house right now. But emotionally Caspian’s a mess."

"How big are we talking?" Ellen chose the lighter battle.

"He’s a horse, give or take? Maybe a big horse, like maybe the Superbowl beer horses "big"." Maddie shrugged.

"Just when I thought we dodged the horse girl phase with you." Her mom teased and ruffled her hair. Maddie let herself sway with the motion.

"How bad is the Caspian stuff this time?" Ellen’s voice was gentle.

"The least fucked up thing he said was Hannah was being paid to be nice to him." That's technically true.

"Excuse me?" Ellen’s brow furrowed. "Who would pay to do something like that to a kid?"

Maddie was mildly surprised her curse wasn't part of the problem. "His parents, I think? But who those people are is kinda in a weird place now."

"How weird?"

"Uncle Peter said Logorhythms was involved with genetic engineering once, right?"

"... I'm not going to like this, am I." There was no question in Ellen's voice and Maddie nodded. She sighed like that was going to be future Ellen’s problem. "Did he say where he was going?"

"No, and I don't think he would have told me if I asked." Maddie curled on herself more, "I'm nervous but not sure why. His stuff's still here so it isn't that bad?"

"So, it's not something you need to keep worrying about right now, right? Let yourself calm down. If he doesn't come back by sundown, then we can worry."

Maddie quietly nodded, and accepted another hug from her mom.

"Would anything help right now?"

"Dunno. Don't want to see dad in case Pegasusmon is with him."

"Talking to Justine, or watching a movie together?"

"Dunno. Maybe a movie? Nothing violent. Or sci-fi."

Her mom humored that easily enough, letting herself turn her brain off for a few hours did help.

Until there was a knock at the door, and the two realized the sun had set hours ago. But Caspian had a copy of the key, so that shouldn’t have been him.

Maddie might have said a lot of things, but she didn’t think she made him question if he could continue to stay with them.

She followed her mom as she answered the door, just in case he had become that stupid.

Instead, it was a woman standing there that she’d never met, but recognized from pictures Phin had shown them of Caspian’s family. “Renee” looked nearly as tired as he constantly did, but her smile was soft and awkwardly uncomfortable.

In the car behind her, Maddie could make out a larger man with glasses and a girl in the back seat that she’d seen Caspian moon over once briefly. That should be “Cary” and “Hannah”.

If they’re all actors, are those even their real names?

Maddie put herself between her mother and this stranger, getting odd looks from both women. She ignored their confusion as she glared at the blonde.  “What do you want?”

“Sorry to come by so late. We got a bit lost on the way and I wasn’t sure if I had the right address.” Renee apologized with a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m Caspian’s mom, he told me he was staying here with you.” She looked at the two with a hopeful smile as she clasped her hands together, and bowed a bit to Maddie. “You’re his friend, Maddie, right? From his “chats”?”

“No, he didn’t.” Maddie corrected coldly. “He knows who you’re not, and he’s not here.”

That got the sweet helpless mom mask to slip, as the woman fought down a harsh glare. But she kept the rest of her expression more hurt than angry. “What do you mean, who I’m not? I- He knows that was just an accident. I had no idea that thing was his pet, and I panicked.”

“You’re not his mom. That’s not his dad. She’s not his anything.” Maddie jabbed a finger at each. 

Seeing her gesture the man started getting out of the car, and Maddie took a deep breath as she reminded herself he had some boundaries. He never hit Caspian, he couldn't really hurt his fake wife. Ellen pulled her back inside the house and eyed the three cautiously.

Maddie spoke loud enough all of them could hear her. “Caspian’s left already, so go tell Pope the show’s over!”

The girl with the blue bangs looked almost hopeful at hearing that, though Cary kept going until he was at Renee’s side. But there was a bitterness when he looked at her that kept them from looking like a united front.

Renee stopped bothering with the act at all and looked at the Kims with pure contempt as she asked again. "Where is my son?"

Chapter Text

Caspian was down the street by some trees when he saw the red car drive up to the Kim’s house, and nearly forgot to breathe.

That's his dad's car. The one he learned to drive in; he'd know it anywhere.

If he had stayed just on the sidewalks or by a streetlight, they would have seen him too.

Phineas gently tapped his arm. "We can go. I can grab your stuff later. But if we're not here they'd leave them alone eventually, yeah?"

"Where'd we even go?" He asked numbly.

"Dunno. Hitching on trains is easy, right?” They asked optimistically but their eyes were a lot less certain. “And we could jump off anywhere. Maybe Canada's good this time of year?"

"Conversion rate's not great and it gets cold fast that far north." He said with a sense of detachment and a sideways glance.

"Yeah, but you suck at Spanish so Mexico's out, Gringo." They teased, but he could tell they were forcing it. "I can make sweaters or something."

He gave them an unimpressed scowl. "Okay first off, you’re whiter than I am so I don’t think either of us can say that. Second, out of silk? Isn’t that to stay cool?"

Phin looked at the branches above them in thought. "Does that not work?"

He waved the idea away regardless of who's right. "I look terrible in white anyway."

Phin grinned. "The right concealer could help with that, and they make these things called "combs" that could do you some good."

Caspian tried to bop her upside the head but only hit her bun, getting a soft laugh.

"Hush. We're not running. Not tonight." He scanned the street. "I want to get close enough to hear what they have to say."

Phin looked disappointed but nodded at the order. It didn't take much to get into earshot, but when they did Phin started to bristle.

“They have a digimon with them.” They hissed softly, their eyes darting around looking for the source.

“Are you sure?” He asked with concern. “How’d they get one?”

“Not part of me,” Phin stated as they sniffed the air. “Smells like fire but no smoke, data-type, could be a Candlemon or a Ghostmon.”

"Where is my son?"

Caspian felt frozen at his "mom's" voice, hearing every word safely out of sight.

Phineas was furious enough for the both of them. Their jaw tremored open with the urge to snap or bite, like he’s seen housecats do when their owner has caught them watching birds. 

A hand on their shoulder kept them from lunging out. The reminder to stay hidden as long as they could both bear it. They understood.

"Way I hear it, you don't have one of those." Maddie held her ground, glaring at the woman who raised him to be just like her own ex.

"Don’t you give me that, where is he?!" Renee looked ready to slap her, and Caspian's grip on Phin's shoulder tightened.

“How should I know? He left hours ago.” Maddie said with a smug taunting shrug like she really wasn’t worried about that. Ellen’s with her, there isn't a need for them to step in.

Not the way the blue ghost taking action could when he caught it briefly flicker above their car, with how it was scanning for threats.

"Phin." He kept his voice soft and low, "Can you get word to Ryudamon if she needs him?"

They gave a nod, but didn't take their eyes off of the four possible targets. "Wouldn't need him to win. Might be easier on her if I don’t. She doesn’t trust him right now."

"Fine, but nobody else dies tonight." His order was clear and while they sneered they accepted it without complaint.

"No problem. How much they'd get hurt would be up to them."

"And even if they make it worse?"

"Will stay surface level, no matter how they push it."

Acceptable.

The witch-like wisp spun to face them and Caspian went tense. But it stayed quiet as it glared at the boy and his monster.

“Ghostmon should know it’s outclassed,” Phineas said softly. “They’re pretty shy but they like doing anonymous favors for others. It could be here to observe for the Deva.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“It’s only a few days old, but it’s old code. If they play it stupid, this could get messy if they are who I think they are.”

Maddie seemed to notice the wisp too. “Have you tried asking your friend?”

Caspian hissed to himself, but took it to mean she hadn’t noticed him or Phin. Ooor, if she did she was still plenty angry at him for earlier.

Phin drew their arms in like they were pulling on threads he couldn’t see.

Renee’s shoulder’s tensed the way she would when he caught her holding her tongue in a fight with his da- Cary. But she let the tension go in an attempt to get back into her act. “That’s here to keep Caspian’s monster from hurting anyone else." She said with as much poisoned sympathy as she could muster. "We know someone it attacked, and-”

“That wasn’t Phin,” Maddie said firmly, and Ellen hissed something to her daughter in concern. “There was a dangerous monster that looked like Phin but it’s been put down already!”

The ghost looked from Maddie to him and lowered the brim of its hat as it drifted closer to the ground, making no attempt to hide where its aggression was directed.

The ghost's fire burned brighter, leaving a short wizard in its place.

It evolved fast, whatever it was. A silver glint on Hann- on Rachel's wrist gave a good reason for both.

She had a digivice, and while the light was too poor to be sure of the color, he was guessing having a partner at all would make her their last normal crest. "Hannah" had played the part of social butterfly well enough, barely took her a day to find a place for herself in school.

Who's he to judge "Friendship"s standards?

Doesn't make him feel any less nauseous.

Caspian tapped out a beat on Phin's shoulder. Not a code, but a tempo.

They bobbed their head to the rhythm, message received. They'd follow his lead.

He went to the house from the right near their porch while they'd approach from the left of the street, so any violence would face away from the Kims regardless.

"Predation Spider" read clear as day on his screen. A false Phineas trotted alongside him to sell the misdirection as Phin made themselves harder to see and darted off. 

They wouldn't be able to tell this wasn’t the right Phineas, even if they knew what to look for. The skull designs on these weaker Dokugumon had his crest where the eyes should be.

"Bit far to come all the way here, isn’t it?" He raises his voice. "Not a great time." Caspian shook his left wrist for emphasis and Rachel took a step back.

So, she knows what she has enough to recognize his own, in addition to his healing taking them off guard.

"You're okay? I thought you said-"

"Caspian!" Renee cut Rachel off, with the mask he's known all his life fully in place. "You haven't called. We were getting worried."

"Oh, I'll bet." He was done playing along. "Not about me though."

"Of course, we were-" She tried to object, her act slipping again in frustration.

A jerk of Caspian’s head and the false Phineas played on cue.

“Pretty sure Stephen never told us about that inflection point, now did he?” Cary’s voice came from its open maw.

Whatever argument she had died on her lips as her eyes widened, taking a step back.

Cary swallowed but was far less afraid. Just guilty.

"That tramp barely has a place, if he goes there what’s he going to think when he learns she lives alone?" A different Dokugumon repeated in Renee's voice, making even Ellen and Maddie jump.

The small wizard braced itself, magic crackling around the head of its staff. It looked to Rachel, but she’s useless to it. Fighting wasn't part of its plan.

"Can't you hear the strange talking beasts?" He teased, to hell with how wrong this felt. His manic grin grew larger. "They’ve been telling me all sorts of things. With proof for every claim. 2 fucking terabytes worth. I know exactly what you wanted me to be."

"Okay Caspian, you made your point." Maddie tried to speak up.

He should have felt bad for scaring her, but she knows she's not part of this.

Caspian shook his head. "No, I don't think I have. I'm done. I never want to see any of you again, am I clear?"

Cary made the next mistake. "Son, you don't know what those things are capable of."

The real Phineas cackled, making their stubs follow suit. They sauntered to stand under a streetlight and held their arms out to their sides.

“Her” body extended from her waist and her forearms widened to suit the talons her fingers became. The skirt of her dress ballooned, revealing a furry striped ball-like abdomen in its place with six spindly legs keeping her aloft. She was well over twice Caspian’s height and as wide as Dokugumon was, and her posture made it clear she could easily bring herself even higher.

From under her hair horns extended proudly, bringing her earrings with them as her sunglasses formed a half-mask around her wide golden eyes. She pulled out her hair stick,  letting her wild silvery mane hang free, and the Dokugumon hidden on its end as a gold spider came to life and skittered to take on its full size beside her. The comparison made her seem all the larger despite her distance.

Honestly, given how much Phin openly disliked this form Caspian found it kinda underwhelming with how humanoid it still was compared to the others. His former family seemed to disagree.

"Oh, he Knows. More than you, less than me. You don’t have a son, Duval. But he definitely Knows me better than you lot know Gula over there, I'm guessing." Phineas grinned at the tiny mage, dwarfing them even further. "That is you, isn’t it? Caturamon let you out early this time. Did Pride make them nervous, or just lil' ol' me?"

A raging tengu mask emoji blared from their staff.

"Don’t give me that, I know you can talk." Phin stifled a laugh, and it was clearer that part of the eerie chitter that accompanied the sound was coming from her too. "Self-conscious about the accent again?"

"I'm not here to fight." His voice was coarser and older than his childlike frame implied, but Caspian couldn't pick out any accent worth teasing.

"Oh, you're definitely here for me then if you're invoking that old ghost." Phineas grinned, keeping their approach mockingly slow. "Didn’t know the old Dog was feeling this nostalgic. Who'd he bribe for that data, the butterfly girl?"

"Leave Rachel out of this." His voice was firm and put himself squarely in front of her. "I don’t care what you do to her employers. She’s not here because she wanted to be."

"Then why'd you let her come along? Why come with her?" Phin mocked. "That's just asking for trouble. Never could keep yourself from going into a scuffle you know you'd lose, could ya? You can carry his voice, but his nobility is beyond your Hunger." Her tone kept taunting. "Lie to yourself all you like, but you want to fight. Doesn’t matter that your threat is gone."

"Your spirits are surprisingly in order." "Gula" retorted, eyes glancing for a way out, unable to find one.

"Amazing what a good Tamer can do, huh?" Her pride was as real as her malice, shark-like grin still widening. Wild eyes glared accusingly at him of sins long passed as she lowered her tone, head, and horns to her target. "You'll find Queens make for harder prey than Kings."

She snapped a finger and lines of sharp thread glinting with the vibration. Several strands struck out as if alive, skewering a copy of doll-like mage that had tried to sneak up behind Caspian until it poofed into smoke.

"I won't play dirty as long as you don't, Wizarmon." Phin pronounced the species with a German "W". The way the Wizard's face scrunched gave Caspian the impression it was intentionally wrong.

He did waver at her warning, but he still tried to stand his ground. 

"Then let's try a new Magical Game!" He cried, lighting some lines ablaze in hopes of negating the threat. Only half successful.

The Spider Threads caught, but didn't break. Caspian raised both brows while Wizarmon looked ready to punch themselves in the face for making Phin’s move more dangerous.

"Okay, if the wind kicks up and you set everything on fire, that's on you." Caspian deadpanned.

"New rule, no fires!" Rachel's words were a rush. "Only the ones that don't burn anything!"

"Not exactly useful in a fight there, Rache." Her partner hissed.

"Then maybe you should just leave," Caspian stated. "And never come back."

"We can’t do that, Caspian." Cary tried to sound reasonable.

A thread pulled closer to his throat,  joining an irregular net keeping the four away from Caspian.

"Then what the fuck do you want with me? Your job's done, "dad"." He turned to his "mother". "Take your hopes for "eternity" and shove it. UI are better off as they are, there’s nothing worth fixing."

"Excuse me?!" She sputtered, but Cary held up a hand for her to stop. "No, you stay out if this Cary!"

"And what happens when these AI get sick of our UIs stepping on their turf?" Cary spoke over her, staring Caspian down as he has a hundred times before. "Easy pickings? Will they get a taste for us too?"

Caspian swallowed but struggled to answer. 

There's little denying the power imbalance, that's what drove Yggdrasil to reach out to UI in the first place. And aggression is in their code, Digimon are meant to push themselves and those around them to keep growing.

To keep moving forward, as David once put it in regards to what he wanted.

Digimon will either wipe them all out or break themselves trying to "fix" these midpoints between them. Either out of obligation, like Yggdrasil’s hopes for more humans like their lost "Shibumi", or compassion, like Joanie's fusion.

Worst case scenario they do create new unpredictable life out of the two digital lifeforms colliding with no regard to their original minds. No loyalty to or respect for either previous species.

"Are you really okay with that Caspian?" Cary’s arrogant words cut through.

"SHUT UP!" Caspian snapped, mind still racing. He doesn’t know how much of anything else he might be saying aloud or if Cary just had the worst timing.

Which option is worse, and for who? Does a side need to be sacrificed?

Does anyone win apart from the Digimon the longer this "symbiosis" goes on? Is there a difference between a UI with no limits and a human who has a Digimon by their side?

Digimon are growing like weeds, but it’s been said that's in part to try and recreate their underlying social systems. But even when they slow down it will still be faster than any yearly human conversion rate should ever reach. In both the physical and digital.

How long do normal evolution paths take, and how do their life cycles go between data assimilation and their reincarnation system?

Will Digimon burn them all down just as surely as unchecked UIs could?

How do you fix that?

Changing their instincts would take a massive system rewrite, and you'd have to change all of them for the patch to stick.

Even a handful that kept that drive to fight, that hunger for more than they have or need, and there'd still be a bloodbath. Digimon can’t afford to lose their will and ability for self-preservation.

There had to be a solution to this. Why else would Yggdrasil consider this relationship a symbiotic one?