Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His first memory was of running.

His very first memory, mind you; his earliest days, whenever they had been, were such a confusing blur to him that he just couldn't make sense of them at all. As it was, the constant terrified running and hiding from the servants of the Digimon Emperor had been his life, his reality, for as far back as he could remember.

From what he gathered from the other Digimon who'd been around longer than he had, the Digital World hadn't always been like this; in fact, the Emperor had only really been around for a few months. But oh, what a few months they had been. Digimon had been captured and enslaved by the hundreds, taken away from their homes and friends. Somehow, the Emperor had the power to turn them into mindless servants, subservient to his every whim, going out and attacking the other Digimon, conquering the land in his name.

Nowhere in the Digital World was safe anymore.

Wormmon didn't actually know the first thing about the Emperor, except that he wasn't a Digimon at all, but a "human", whatever that was. Apparently they were creatures who lived in a whole other world, different from the one they were in now. He'd heard countless stories of other humans who had traveled to this world years ago, but they had been heroes who had saved it from destruction. Of course, not all Digimon were good, so it stood to reason that not all humans were good either… but on the other hand, no Digimon in living memory had been this utterly ruthless.

He often wondered what he would do if he ever found himself face to face with the Emperor… not that it mattered, since he'd probably wind up enslaved before he even had the time to try anything. The thought haunted him constantly. He wasn't strong or smart or fast enough to defend himself from such a monster; it was a wonder that he'd managed to evade his ringed slaves all this time. No, there was nothing he could hope to do against someone so powerful, so wicked… all he could do was keep running and hiding, living his life out day by day and praying with all his might that they would never cross paths.

His prayers were futile.

––

The day that would change his life didn't start out as anything special. As usual, all he'd done was emerge from his little hole in the ground to go off foraging in search of something to eat. Berries, seeds… it didn't take a lot to satisfy him. He was a humble little Digimon in every sense of the word, preferring to avoid confrontations and live quietly as much as he could. He came to this place every day to look for food; there weren't any Digimon living around here, and he didn't have to worry about defending himself.

He reached up into a bush and started chewing on some berries when there suddenly came a faint rustling from behind him. He instinctively froze up, wondering if he should run. Was something following him? If he didn't act quickly, whatever it was would be upon him and that would be the end of it.

Finally he decided it had just been a breeze and relaxed a little. Anyone else would have said he was being too jumpy, but he was that way out of necessity, really. He was just a little Rookie, and not a strong one at that. Pretty much any Digimon that wasn't at a Baby level was bigger and stronger than he was. It was really just best to treat everything as a potential danger. Because everything was.

So when he suddenly heard a bunch of screams and shouts coming from up above his head, he wasted absolutely zero time dashing behind a rock and hiding.

What's going on? He thought frantically as he peered out from behind the rock in the direction of the noise – it seemed to be coming from inside a high-up cave several yards away. Nobody ever comes over here… oh, of all the rotten luck…

Much to his dismay, the shouts seemed to be getting louder and closer. He slowly shrank back, wondering if he ought to just leave before it was too late – but then it was too late, as a bunch of screaming and panicking people suddenly came running out of the cave before dropping to the ground below.

It was a group of Digimon – well, no, that wasn't entirely true. Some of them were Digimon – he saw an orange reptilian one, a little white cat, a small flying one, and a blue dragon. But there were four others with them, and they were…

Could it be? Were they humans? They certainly fit the descriptions Wormmon had heard from other Digimon in the past, those who had been lucky enough to see humans before. Still, he'd never laid eyes on one before, and he found himself entranced as he stared after them.

What could they be running from? What were those Digimon doing with them? Were they good or bad?

His first question was answered quickly, anyway. From inside the cave came a deep rumbling, and then suddenly a ferocious Monochromon came bursting out, spewing fireballs from its mouth as it chased its quarry. Wormmon balked at the sight of it; its eyes were glowing bright red and it had a large Dark Ring around its midsection, telltale signs that it had been enslaved by the Digimon Emperor. He instinctively backed away several feet, knowing he should be running for his life, but his feet weren't listening to his brain right at that moment.

"Tai! TK!" cried one of the humans, the only female among them. She was sprawled on the ground and grabbing her ankle, looking like she'd injured it. The little cat Digimon was perched protectively on her shoulder and hissing at the Monochromon as it advanced on them, but it didn't look like there was much she could do. It didn't look like there was anything any of them could do, as their pursuer quickly forced them all together and backed them into a corner.

I need to go… I need to run now! Wormmon thought to himself. After all, how long was it going to take that Monochromon to lose interest in them and go after him? And yet still he found himself unable to move, unable to look away. He could somehow tell these humans, and the Digimon with them, were very important…

"Great… our first day back in the Digital World after how many years? And we're already toast!" cried the blond human as the Monochromon closed in on them.

"Davis, it's up to you!" shouted the blue dragon Digimon. "You have to use your courage! That's the only way we can win!"

The human he seemed to be addressing, an odd-looking boy wearing a jacket decorated with flames, looked at him in surprise. "My courage? What are you talking about, Veemon?"

"That Digiegg will answer to your courage! Just say 'Digiarmor energize' and I'll take care of the rest!"

The fiery boy winced against the Monochromon's pounding footsteps, then glanced worriedly back at the human girl sitting on the ground. "All right then… you want courage, I'll show you courage!" He held up something in his hand. "Digiarmor energize!"

Veemon was suddenly engulfed in a brilliant orange light, and when it died away, he'd suddenly transformed into a taller version of himself, covered in flame-decorated armor with a large horn growing on his head.

Wormmon blinked and stared. Was he seeing correctly? That Digimon just digivolved! But how? Ever since the Emperor had come into power, nobody was able to digivolve!

"I am Flamedramon, the fire of courage!" the new Digimon proudly announced.

At any rate, the fiery boy looked thrilled. "Did I just… do that?" he marveled. "Awesome! Let's teach this guy a lesson, Flamedramon!"

The other humans and Digimon could only watch in awe as Flamedramon leapt into the fray against the Monochromon, throwing a volley of fireballs out of his fists at the larger Digimon. Unfortunately, the Monochromon shook them off like they were nothing before throwing itself at its opponent, but Flamedramon was far faster and nimbler, easily leaping out of the way of the ferocious beast before continuing his attack.

For reasons he didn't really understand, Wormmon started growing afraid for the Flamedramon… not to mention those humans. What was going to happen if they lost? They were just defending themselves, weren't they? And from the looks of things, they had no other way of fighting back… and Wormmon knew from experience that the Emperor's slaves never backed down from their targets.

"Don't hurt him! Aim for that Dark Ring!" shouted the human girl. That was a surprising thing to hear; did those humans know the Monochromon was being controlled? Were they trying to help it?

At any rate, it didn't look like they would succeed. The Monochromon suddenly lashed out with its powerful tail, taking Flamedramon off guard and striking him right in the stomach. He gasped in pain as he was send skidding backwards across the ground. Wormmon winced; maybe he could pack a punch, but he couldn't take much punishment in return.

"Flamedramon!" cried the fiery boy as he tried to race over. Flamedramon was struggling to stand, but it didn't look like he would be fast enough. The Monochromon was already advancing on him to finish him off.

No… not again… Wormmon was horrified. He couldn't stand to watch this again, to watch more innocent people be hurt by the Emperor… he'd seen so much suffering already… he couldn't take this anymore –

A lot of surprising things had already happened that day, but what happened next surprised Wormmon the most of all.

"Sticky Net!"

A web of sticky thread shot out of his mouth, hitting its target right in the face and covering its eyes. The Monochromon roared in confusion as it shook its head and staggered around, vainly trying to get the web off its face. Everyone else stood back and looked stunned.

"…Hang on, what just happened here?" asked the blond boy.

"Who cares?! That guy's down for the count!" shouted the fiery boy. "Go get 'em, Flamedramon! Now's our chance!"

"You got it, Davis!" Flamedramon leapt up into the air, engulfing his entire body in flames before streaking down and slamming into the Monochromon. "Fire Rocket!"

He slammed right into the Dark Ring, causing it to shatter and fall to pieces. Instantly, the Monochromon stopped what it was doing, the red glow vanishing from its eyes as it came out of the Emperor's control.

"He did it!" exclaimed the tallest of the humans. "Way to go, Davis!"

"Yeah! At this rate, we'll have that Digimon Emperor on the ropes in no time!" the blond boy cheered as all the other Digimon celebrated as well.

Flamedramon gave off a flash of light before shrinking back into Veemon, his original form, only for Davis to run up to him and pick him up, swinging him around with a laugh.

"That was awesome! Way to go, little guy, you took on that big nasty dude all by yourself!"

The human girl, on the other hand, seeming to be glancing away from all the celebrating and looking thoughtful. "I don't think so, Davis… I think we had a little help." Suddenly she starting walking over to something…

Wormmon had been so entranced by what just happened he'd forgotten he himself was even there – and so he instantly seized up in panic as he realized the girl was walking directly over to him. Everyone else present looked in her direction, surprised to see Wormmon for the first time. Suddenly, all eyes were on him.

The human girl knelt down in front of him, held her hand out to him and smiled invitingly.

"Hey there, little guy. Who are you?"

For one instant Wormmon was frozen in shock, in fear – and then he spun around and dashed away as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him.

Though he couldn't see, the girl stood where she was with her hand still outstretched, no longer looking cheerful, but sorely disappointed.

"Oh, no… where's he going off to?"

––

Far away from where the battle had taken place, in a dark and largely empty room, a lone figure shifted lazily in his seat as he pondered what he had just witnessed. The myriad computer screens lining the walls had just broadcasted the entire fight to him, and their light caused his glasses to flash conspiratorially as a smirk crept onto his face.

"Armor digivolution…" he said to himself. "So those kids actually found a way to bypass my Dark Digivice… talk about a lucky break for them. Still, this might prove to be more interesting than I thought…

"I may have finally found myself an actual challenge."

––

Wormmon kept on scurrying away through the leaves and bushes as fast as he could, without looking back, not wanting to be found by those humans. He didn't stop or slow down even as he grew certain he wasn't being followed, just kept running, trying to make sense of what had just happened to him.

He'd just stood up to a Champion! He, a lowly little Rookie who couldn't even digivolve! What on earth had possessed him to do a thing like that? He could've gotten himself killed! It was a miracle he was still alive…

It was those humans, he realized. The humans and their Digimon partners. They were in trouble; that was why he'd put himself in danger like that. They were in trouble and he wanted to help them…

But why? What if they were dangerous too? Why had he felt such a strong urge to help them, no matter how little he could do?

It wasn't until he'd scampered nearly all the way home until it finally occurred to him.

Those humans had freed one of the Emperor's slaves. They were fighting against him. They wanted the same thing as Wormmon: for the Digital World to be free of his cruel reign.

And maybe, just maybe, people like that were people that Wormmon didn't have to be afraid of.

Chapter Text

That night, Wormmon lay curled up in his small underground burrow with his usual array of nightmares.

It was always the same. He'd be running away, just like he always did in real life, except he wasn't actually getting anywhere no matter how hard he tried. He was stuck in one place, and so was powerless against the laughing form that suddenly rose up from behind him to tower over everything, blotting out all light… the Digimon Emperor.

Of course, Wormmon had no idea what he looked or sounded like, so he was always just a formless shadow with piercing red eyes and a low laugh that no human or Digimon could possibly make. In his dreams, Wormmon would balk in terror at the sight of him and try even harder to run away, but he just wouldn't make any distance. He'd have no choice but to brace himself against what the towering shadow was about to do to him… but he'd always scare himself awake before he could find out what it was.

Just like always, then, Wormmon's eyes flew open and he gasped, flailing around inside his little hole before calming down, forcing himself to remember that it was just a dream, that he was safe… for now. Anyway, the Emperor never came out at night; everyone knew that. He had no reason to be afraid right now.

With a melancholy sigh, he turned over and curled up as tightly as he could, trying to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come so easily. He was just too preoccupied with what had happened to him that day.

He still couldn't figure out why he'd been so drawn to those humans in the first place… but the more he thought about them, the more certain he became that they hadn't been a danger to him, and that maybe he shouldn't have run away. If they had been fighting against the Emperor, what reason could they possibly have to want to harm him?

And that Monochromon… he'd actually helped defeat it! He'd never in a million years have guessed he was capable of something like that… and if he hadn't run into those humans, it never would have happened. Did this mean he was stronger than he thought he was? That maybe there was something he could do against the Emperor's slaves after all?

His heart started pounding in excitement. Those humans must be coming back to the Digital World at some point… they'd been talking about fighting the Emperor like it was an ongoing thing. If they came back, did that mean he could help them again? Maybe they would need him… they'd needed him today, after all. Maybe it was his responsibility to help them again, however he could, for as long as it took…

Wormmon was surprised to find his resolve suddenly growing steely as, for the first time that he could remember, he came to a firm decision that didn't involve running away.

He would find those humans again.

––

Wormmon did a lot of running in his life by necessity. There were some nights when he couldn't even make it home; he'd be driven miles away by onslaughts of the Emperor's ringed slaves, forced to run for hours until he found himself quite hopelessly lost. Those nights he'd be forced to camp out in unfamiliar areas of the Digital World, and it wasn't until the following morning that he'd be able to begin the long trek back… just so long as he wasn't attacked again.

One of those nights had brought him here. It was a large clearing that contained a brick laid ziggurat, with a tall staircase leading up to a small interior chamber. This afternoon, Wormmon found himself returning to this spot, having set out at the crack of dawn to make it here.

He'd come back for a very good reason. The night he'd been forced to sleep inside the ziggurat, he'd seen two stone pedestals standing side by side, each one with a strange egg-shaped object resting on top of it. Yesterday, for the first time since then, Wormmon had seen something else like that – in fact, it had been the object that Davis, the fiery human boy, had used to make his Digimon digivolve.

If Digimon need these things to digivolve, he reasoned to himself as he crawled up to the base of the staircase, then maybe those humans will come here looking for them? Then I can meet them again!

It was as good a plan as any, and so he settled off to the side of the staircase, curling up to make sure he wasn't a visible target for the Emperor's army… and started to wait.

As the minutes ticked on by, Wormmon sat diligently where he was, waiting for the humans to appear. He had to be right, didn't he? Surely they would have to come here eventually… these strange objects seemed to be the only things that permitted digivolution so long as the Emperor was in control…

Eventually he started to let his mind wander, wondering what he'd say to the humans when he saw them again. He was determined not to run this time, no matter how scared he got; he wanted to learn more about them. He wanted to find out what they were doing in the Digital World, and why they all had Digimon with them. He would stay here, no matter what.

But as time dragged on longer and longer, it grew harder and harder for him to keep his focus, and he started growing tired. It occurred to them that even if the humans did come here eventually, it might not be today… it might not be for weeks, or months…

He snuggled up, deciding he might be in for a long wait… really, he had no idea if he was right or not… maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe he shouldn't be wasting his time waiting here… maybe… he should…

CRASH!

He jolted upright, flying several inches off the ground, just then realizing he'd drifted off to sleep. He looked frantically around for the source of the noise, then realized it had come from a large flying Digimon who'd just burst a hole through the roof of the ziggurat.

"Careful, Halsemon!" cried one of the two human girls riding on its back.

"My apologies, Yolei," it replied.

"Davis must be this way! Let's go!" shouted one of two human boys being held in the grip of a large yellow insectoid Digimon as it flew off after the other one. Wormmon jumped backwards, staring up in fascination as the two of them soared off into the distance along with the humans in their charge.

They came here! They came and I fell asleep and missed it! he cursed himself. Well, he'd made it this far; he wasn't about to give up now, not when he might not get another chance to meet them.

Still, he realized with a sinking sensation, those two Digimon were going much faster than he was able…

It's a good thing I'm so used to running, he thought resignedly, quickly scampering off after them.

––

By the time he caught up with them, the action had already begun.

They were battling inside a large canyon; Flamedramon, along with the two Digimon he'd just seen, were each engaged in a one-on-one fight against one of the Emperor's slaves. Flamedramon was facing off against a Mojyamon, the yellow one was going after a Drimogemon, and Halsemon was locked in an aerial battle against a Snimon. The Emperor himself was nowhere to be found, for which Wormmon was quite grateful.

He scurried to the edge of the canyon and peered out at the battle unfolding before him. Halsemon was gracefully zooming back and forth with a funny-looking purple-haired human girl (Yolei, wasn't it?) riding on his back. Wormmon watched, overcome with awe and jealousy at how lithe and powerful Halsemon looked as he battled. Both he and the Snimon were firing attacks at each other in rapid succession, though each was flying around too quickly for the other one to hit…

Though that couldn't last forever.

"AIIYEEEEEEE!" Yolei shrieked as the Snimon's Twin Sickle attack struck Halsemon directly in the side, sending him flying backwards and crashing into the stone wall and causing Yolei to slide off his back, plummeting toward the ground below.

"Oh my goodness!" Wormmon reacted too quickly for his mind to catch up. "Sticky Net!"

Halsemon was too dazed and injured to help her, but Wormmon wasn't. An enormous sticky web, the biggest one he'd ever produced, shot out of his mouth and plummeted down past Yolei, catching itself between a large group of pointy rocks at the bottom and forming a thin, but strong and durable net.

"Ack!" Yolei gasped as she landed right on the net, which bent inward under her weight but didn't break. Once she realized she was safe, she turned over, looking at what had just saved her.

"What in the… what just happened?"

She didn't get to ponder that any further before a loud buzzing noise told her the Snimon was flying down after her. She gasped, but before it could do a thing, it was suddenly struck from the side by two bright red beams of energy from Halsemon, shattering the Dark Ring around its midsection.

"Phew… thanks, Halsemon," she sighed in relief as the Snimon came out of the Emperor's control and returned to its docile state. "What… what happened just now? I was just falling and… did you save me?"

"I'm afraid not, Yolei," Halsemon said as he landed on the ground next to her. "I believe that was someone else."

And with that, he glanced up at the top of the canyon. Yolei followed his gaze, and with a thrill of fear, Wormmon realized too late that both of them were staring directly at him.

"Oh… oh, dear."

––

Several minutes later, after the Digimon had finished releasing the Emperor's slaves and sending them on their way, everyone was gathered at the bottom of the canyon… including Wormmon. Yolei had insisted on bringing him down to the others to find out just who he was and what he was doing here. Wormmon recognized three of the humans who were here now: Davis, the blond boy, and the brunette girl. He'd never seen any of the others before.

At any rate, it was a good thing he'd already promised himself he wouldn't run away; as he looked around at every single person present staring at him in interest, he was finding it very, very hard to resist.

"So, Hawkmon says this little guy saved me when I was falling," said Yolei, looking down at him with her hands on her hips. "You guys don't have any idea who he is, do you?"

"Hey, I know you!" Davis exclaimed with a delighted smile on his face. "You're the little guy from yesterday! You helped me and Flamedramon!" He looked very impressed. "And you saved Yolei just now too, huh? Well, I dunno why you bothered doing that, but – "

"You wanna say that to my face, meathead?!" Yolei snarled, grabbing him by the collar.

The brunette girl shook her head and knelt down next to Wormmon. "Just ignore them," she said. "Anyway, it's nice to see you again. What's your name, little guy? Why'd you run away before?"

Wormmon stared back up at her, forcefully reminding himself she wasn't going to hurt him. "Oh… well… my name is Wormmon," he said timidly, glancing at the ground and fidgeting around. "I guess I ran away because… well… I was scared." Of course, he was still scared, if that wasn't obvious.

"Aww, there's no need to be scared of us! We're the good guys!" Davis boasted. "We're not gonna hurt you, we just wanna sock that Digimon Emperor!" He swung his fist demonstratively at the air.

The brunette girl giggled. "Well, you already met Yolei and Davis. My name is Kari, and this is TK and Cody," she said to Wormmon, gesturing to the two other boys at her side.

"I'm very honored to make your acquaintance, Wormmon. Thank you for helping my friends," said Cody, the youngest of the children, giving a respectful bow. Wormmon was quite taken aback; no one had even shown him that kind of respect before. He didn't exactly merit it.

"Oh… er… you're welcome," he said uneasily. Though he knew it was impolite, he blurted out the next thing before he could stop himself. "If you don't mind my asking… you're all humans, aren't you? What are you all doing in the Digital World?"

"Ah, well, see… we're what's called the Digidestined," TK spoke up, his orange winged Digimon perched happily on his head. "Not just any humans can go to the Digital World, but, well… this place is kind of our responsibility. It's our job to protect it, whether it's from evil Digimon…"

"…or jerks like the Emperor," Davis muttered. "Where does that guy get off, trying to turn Veemon into one of his slaves?! The next time I see him, I'm gonna…"

As he kept muttering to himself, Wormmon felt his nervousness around these children ever so slowly fade away, to be replaced by curiosity. "So… who are all these Digimon with you, then?"

"These are our partners!" Kari said cheerfully, stroking her Digimon on the head and earning a contented purr in response. "They're the ones who do most of the fighting, really. We humans don't really have any special powers like you Digimon, but we can help our partners grow and get strong through the special bond we share with them."

"That's right! Hawkmon and I only just met, but I can already tell we're gonna be the best partners ever!" Yolei declared, happily squeezing her Digimon to her chest. "Isn't that right, Hawkmon?"

"Er… absolutely," said Hawkmon, looking like he was having trouble breathing.

Wormmon gazed at them all in fascination. Digimon partnering up with humans to become stronger… he'd never heard of something like that. But if they were able to digivolve thanks to these humans, then maybe they stood a chance against the Emperor after all…

"Anyway, it's getting late. We should get going," said one of the two older humans who had been hanging back, a redheaded girl with a pink avian Digimon at her side. "I think we've all had enough excitement for one day."

Wormmon immediately grew concerned. "Wait… you're leaving?" he asked plaintively. "Where… where are you all going?"

The kids had been preparing to set off, but now Kari turned back to face him. "Back to the human world," she said. "That's where we live. We can't stay in the Digital World forever."

Wormmon frowned deeply. He'd just started to open up to these humans, just started to feel like he could trust them… and they had to leave already? "But you'll come back… won't you?"

"Of course we will. As long as the Emperor's still out there causing trouble, I feel like we're going to have to come back here quite a bit," TK said with a chuckle. "But it really is getting late. We'd better hurry back."

And just like that, all the kids and their Digimon set off through the canyon toward some unknown location, talking eagerly amongst each other and seemingly forgetting all about Wormmon. Only Davis turned to wave at him as they left.

"See ya around, Wormmon! Don't be a stranger, okay?"

Wormmon said nothing, just staring after them, rooted to the spot, as the entire group walked away without him, leaving him standing there all alone. Within a few moments, they'd all vanished into the distance, and yet still he was there, without anyone left to care what he did.

He kept on staring after them, his mind full to bursting with everything he'd just learned.

Human children… the Digidestined… protecting the world from the Digimon Emperor… with their Digimon partners…

He'd wanted to help them, and he had. And they'd thanked him, but… that was it. When all was said and done, he wasn't one of them. They'd left him, left to go be with their precious friends, their partners…

…and leaving him, for the first time in his life, feeling very much alone.

Chapter Text

"YAHOOOOOO! This is awesome!" Davis cheered as he raced down the sidewalk away from Odaiba Elementary with Veemon's In-Training form, Demiveemon, in his arms. Momentarily he stopped and held up the little Digimon, spinning him around in the air. "You guys never said our Digimon got to come home with us! Man, Demiveemon, this is gonna be the best! I can show you my room and you can see all my games and my comic books and my sister and – well, no, don't meet my sister."

"Yeesh, Davis. You don't know the meaning of the word 'discreet', do you?" said Yolei as she held onto her own In-Training Digimon, Poromon.

"Remember, guys, you have to be careful about having your Digimon out in public," TK said as he pointed up at his Patamon, who was doing his very best to keep still as he perched on his partner's head. "If you have to have them out for everybody to see, it's better that you pretend they're stuffed animals or something. Most people still haven't really accepted that they exist."

Yolei frowned. "What… really? Even after the Odaiba Fog Incident from three years ago? How did people forget about that?"

"Nobody forgot, it's just… some people like to pretend it wasn't real."

Davis looked very upset at that. "Not real?! My sister and I were caught up right in the middle of that! And people are gonna act like it didn't even happen?!"

"What's the matter, Davis?" Demiveemon asked timidly from his place in his partner's arms.

"Davis, calm down," Cody said sternly, keeping a dutiful hold on his Upamon. "The fact is, most people can't accept that there's another world with creatures living in it that they don't know about. I'm still getting used to it myself. I think our job as Digidestined is as much about helping the Digimon as it is keeping their secret from people who aren't ready for it."

TK smiled down at him. "You sure are a smart kid, Cody."

"Yeah, fine," Davis sighed, stroking Demiveemon's ears absentmindedly. "But seriously, who wouldn't want to know about the Digital World? That place rocks!"

"Guys, let's talk about something else," Kari said pleasantly, her Gatomon stretched out lazily on her shoulders. "What do you guys think about Wormmon?"

Everyone turned to look at her. "Hmm? What about him?" asked Yolei.

"Well, he saved Davis yesterday, and he saved Yolei today… kind of funny he'd be in both places right when we needed him. Do you guys think maybe he's following us around?"

TK frowned. "Why would he be doing that?"

"Well, TK, it's not every day you see a human in the Digital World. You and I both know that," Kari giggled at him, causing TK to start looking flustered and Davis to start looking very irritated.

"ANYWAY, the little guy looked kinda lonely when we said goodbye to him just now," he said loudly, trying to get Kari's attention back on him. "What do you guys think? Maybe tomorrow we could go visit him or something!"

"Davis, we don't even know where he lives," Yolei reminded him.

"We don't have time to go off doing something like that. We need to find out as much as we can about the Digimon Emperor," said Cody, all business as usual.

Davis frowned. "Man, I told you guys! He's just a kid like the rest of us! I saw him! Taking down a little snot-nosed punk like that is gonna be a piece of cake."

"And yet you still managed to get caught by him," Yolei said with a smirk, prodding him in the side. "Oh and by the way, you're welcome for saving your sorry behind!"

"Okay, that's enough, you two," TK sighed, stepping in between them before they could break out in a fistfight. "We'll figure out what we're going to do about the Emperor tomorrow. Now we should all go home and get some rest."

"Yeah, whatever," Davis muttered, falling to the back of the group as they continued to walk down the sidewalk, though he immediately brightened up as he saw Kari fall back next to him.

"Don't worry about Wormmon, Davis. I'm sure we'll see him again… after all, he's always the one who finds us."

––

The Digimon Emperor was not in the best of moods.

Mostly because he wasn't out there doing what he loved most: enslaving Digimon and making them suffer as he laughed. He was currently seated in his control room, where he spent most of his time, reviewing the archived video footage of the past two days, studying these children who'd gotten it in their minds to oppose him.

First, there was the annoying boy in the goggles, the one he'd managed to capture yesterday before his friends had to swoop in and save the day. And now there was that geeky glasses girl and the short little brat… apart from all dressing like idiots, these kids had no business being in his Digital World.

It irritated him that they'd found a way to fight against him under his nose. They were all using this strange new method of digivolution he wasn't familiar with… he had to study this further. Surely there must be some way to modify his digivice so that it could block this evolution as well…

Even so, though, it shouldn't have been enough for those kids. Both yesterday and the day before, his slaves had put them on the ropes. He rewound and reviewed the footage again. What exactly had happened that had saved them both those times?

Something caught his eye, and he frowned. Pausing the video on the left, he noticed a small green blur in the corner of the screen right at the crucial moment of the battle against the Monochromon, when it had suddenly started staggering around and looking like there was something in its eyes. Then on the right, he saw a suspiciously similar green blur perched on the cliff above the girl, shooting something down after her as she fell off her Digimon.

Was it just him, or was that the same little green Digimon helping them out both times?

How obnoxious, he thought to himself, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. He hadn't counted on the other players getting help from NPCs in this game… and who was to say other Digimon wouldn't get ideas when they saw this one's example? These kids were getting to be tricky enough as it was…

It was time to nip this problem in the bud. He hadn't gotten this far by being complacent.

However resourceful that Digimon was, it looked far too small and pathetic to be a worthwhile slave… so there was only one thing to be done.

It would only take one Tyrannomon. Surely he could spare that much.

––

"BLAZE BLAST!"

Wormmon's eyes flew open to the sound and sensation of scorching heat directly above him.

Shrieking, he scrambled backwards and pressed himself against the dirt wall of his burrow, staring in horror at the roaring flames and rippling air he could make out from outside the entrance. He winced against the heat, and the moment the flames died away he frantically crawled up and stuck his head out of the hole, suspecting he'd be cooked alive if he stayed where he was…

There was a Tyrannomon standing directly over him… a Tyrannomon with glowing red eyes and a Dark Ring around its neck.

Wormmon nearly fainted where he stood, but the Tyrannomon didn't even give him time to do it. It shot another Blaze Blast at him, and he screamed and dived out of the way at the last instant, scurrying off through the trees and the bushes. The Tyrannomon immediately gave chase, indiscriminately spewing fire at any tree or branch that got in the way of its quarry.

"Wait! Stop! Please!" Wormmon cried, but of course his pursuer paid him no heed, if it could even understand him. It stomped after him with a mighty roar, lashing out with its powerful tail and striking a decaying tree branch, causing it to topple over and crash directly in front of Wormmon's path. Wormmon scurried to a stop and made a hard left turn, only for the Tyrannomon to stomp directly in front of him, blocking his path.

"Sticky Net!" Wormmon defended himself the only way he could, shooting out a thick sticky web from his mouth, but the Tyrannomon knocked it away with a swipe of its hand. Feeling his heart sink, Wormmon spun around and took off in the opposite direction as the enormous Champion shot another blast of fire at him. Feeling its heat on his back, he swerved wildly to the right at the last second, causing the fire to strike the ground and sending the surrounding grass and trees up in flames.

He's burning the forest down, Wormmon realized with a slow dawning horror. My home… this can't be happening…

The fires the Tyrannomon had started were rapidly spreading, turning their surroundings into an inferno. Wormmon's eyes began to water from the smoke filling the air, and he coughed violently as he ran, but the Tyrannomon's pounding footsteps told him he still hadn't gotten away. His only advantage was that he was small and fast while the Tyrannomon was slow and stupid, but that wouldn't be any help if he couldn't even tell where he was running.

"Please… stop…" he whispered, cringing against the heat and the flying embers striking him in the face. He was overcome by wild fear, his mind filled with nothing but the instinct to run. He had no idea how long he ran, nor did he notice the Tyrannomon suddenly stopping its pursuit and falling back as it received some unheard order. Still he kept running, long after he'd outrun the fire, just kept on running blindly ahead, his vision blurred by hysterical tears.

The Emperor… why has he done this to me?

––

"All riiiiight! Here we are, back in the Digital World!" Davis cheered as he and the others were walking along. "Now let's get out there and – woah. Uh, guys… is that supposed to be happening?"

Everyone turned and looked where he was pointing, wearing an uncharacteristically worried expression. Off in the distance was an enormous cloud of black smoke, billowing up from somewhere deep in the forest.

Gatomon immediately grew stiff. "We're not safe here."

"Is that – it's a forest fire!" said TK, eyes wide. "Guys, I think we'd better – "

He didn't get to finish before a small green figure came bursting out of the bushes, screaming at the top of its lungs with panicked tears running down its face.

Davis spun around. "What in the – Wormmon?"

"Davis! Davis!" Wormmon screamed, barreling toward him, shimmying up his leg and clinging fearfully to his shoulder before the gogglehead could even react. Davis whipped around and tried to figure out what was going on, but the little caterpillar was crying too hard to even form a coherent sentence.

"Wormmon! Wormmon, are you all right?" Kari cried, running up to him as Davis was flailing around and trying to keep his balance. "Were you running from that fire? Wormmon, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," came a voice that did not belong to anyone present – a dark, dangerous voice. "You kids are protecting a traitor and a fugitive. If you know what's good for you, you'll hand him over right now."

Wormmon timidly opened his eyes at the sound of the voice, sensing Davis and the others growing tense and turning to face it… and then his eyes grew far wider as a holographic figure materialized several feet away from them, revealing a humanoid form clad in darkness. Everyone present instantly realized they were looking at the Digimon Emperor.

Now, at last, Wormmon had a face to give to his nightmares.

The Emperor seemed to be about the same age as the other human children… not that it made him any less terrifying. He stood with a regal, imperious air, one that exuded utter self-confidence and offered no room whatsoever to challenge his authority. He was dressed in a blue and white jumpsuit with black metal-clasped gloves and a long, bifurcated cape draped over his shoulders. His hair was wild and spiky, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark tinted shades, creating the impression that trying to look into them would be like staring into an abyss.

Wormmon had thought he'd been a nervous creature before. But he'd never known true terror until now. He couldn't look away, shaking so hard he thought he might fall off Davis's shoulders. That wasn't helped when Davis suddenly clenched his fists and took a step forward.

"You," he spat. "What the heck did you just try to do to Wormmon, you big jerk?!"

"Now, now… don't act so innocent," said the hologram, a smirk drawing across its face. "If you should be blaming anyone, it's yourselves. You're the ones trespassing in my world without my permission. If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have to punish him for helping you."

"You tried to kill him?! Just for helping us?!" Yolei cried, wearing the same mortified expression as everyone else, even as they all realized this meant the Emperor had seen Wormmon helping them both times. Just how far did his influence extend, anyway?

"And why not? I see no reason why I can't deal with any Digimon in this world as I see fit," said the Emperor. "I'm just sending a message. No Digimon who gets it in their minds to help you kids will escape punishment. What kind of emperor would I be if I couldn't control my subjects?"

"Digimon are not your subjects!" TK shouted at him, growing red in the face. "Nothing gives you the right to come in here and do these things to them!"

"Is that so?" the Emperor said snidely, in a tone of voice that suddenly made all the kids feel like socking him in the face. "And who are you to say such things? As far as I'm concerned, you're the ones with no right to be here. Only perfect humans such as I should be allowed in the Digital World." The smugness suddenly left his voice, replaced by a steely coldness. "You're all trespassing where you don't belong. Turn over the bug and get out of here before I lose my patience."

"Get real! We'll never listen to you!" Patamon shot back.

"Not on your life!" Gatomon snarled.

"I had a feeling you'd make this difficult," the Emperor sighed theatrically, and then suddenly his hologram vanished. Before the group could wonder where he'd gone, there suddenly came a number of loud, crashing footsteps from all around them… and then a grand total of five Tyrannomon, each one wearing a Dark Ring, came crashing out of the trees, completely surrounding them. The real, flesh-and-blood Emperor himself was standing on the shoulder of the one in the center, and Wormmon instantly recognized it as the one who had chased him over here.

"Maybe this will help persuade you?" the Emperor sneered. "Tyrannomon, attack!"

"I'm not likin' the looks of these odds…" Cody's Armadillomon said timidly as the ferocious Champions advanced on them.

"Come on, guys, we can't just do nothing! Let's get in there and fight!" Davis shouted. Yolei and Cody nodded firmly, and all three children held up their respective Digieggs, transforming their Digimon into their Armored forms.

The clash that followed was chaotic and terrifying, at least from Wormmon's perspective. After all, the only thing he could do was cling tightly to Davis and pray the other Digimon could save them, cursing himself inwardly for his uselessness, remembering how ineffective he'd been against the one Tyrannomon. If only there was something he could do… the others were risking their lives to help him… all of this was his fault…

He was so wrapped up in that that he never even noticed TK, Kari, and their Digimon getting separated from the others amid the confusion… and neither, it seemed, did Davis, at least until two new Digimon suddenly flew onto the scene.

"Woah! Who are those guys?" the gogglehead gasped.

"That's Pegasusmon and Nefertimon! They must be Patamon and Gatomon's Armor digivolutions!" said Flamedramon. "We've got this fight in the bag now, everyone!"

Sure enough, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon suddenly produced a noose of shining golden light that they wrapped around the Tyrannomon, immobilizing them, and then all it took was a few shots of their own attacks to destroy the Dark Rings around their necks. Everyone sighed in relief as the Tyrannomon returned to normal, recognizing they'd won this round…

But much to their annoyance, the Digimon Emperor was nowhere to be found. It seemed he'd fled the battle long ago.

––

Recognizing there was nothing they could do about the forest fire, the group quickly moved upwind where the flames couldn't reach them. As they stood on a low cliff and grimly watched the smoke, all of them had the same thing on their minds.

"That Digimon Emperor… look at what he's done," Davis growled, grinding his fist into his palm. "I just wanna wipe that grin off his face!"

"I'm liking this guy less and less the more we learn about him," TK muttered. "He's enslaving and hurting all the Digimon, and he can keep ours from digivolving? He's like some kind of anti-Digidestined!"

"Come to think of it… does he have a Digimon partner?" Yolei said thoughtfully.

"Why should he?" said Cody. "It's not like he's one of us. He doesn't belong in this world."

"But he does have a digivice…" said Kari, thinking uneasily back to the pitch black, modified digivice in his hand that somehow had the disturbing power to suppress evolution.

"Yeah? He probably stole it from somebody! Some kid who deserves it!" Davis said in a huff.

The only one who wasn't looking out at the smoke was Wormmon. He was standing several feet away from the others, gazing miserably at the ground. He still hadn't fully accepted what had happened to him… he couldn't even begin to understand what it all meant.

Whatever they say, this is all my fault, he thought. The fire… the Tyrannomon… it's all because the Emperor wanted me. And my new friends… they're in danger, all because of me.

He started tearing up again. All I wanted was to live away from the Emperor, somewhere safe… why? Why did this have to happen to me?

Momentarily, the others seemed to realize Wormmon wasn't standing with them, and they all turned around to gaze over at him with sobered expressions.

"I can't believe that guy… going after Wormmon just because of us," Yolei said softly.

"I've never heard of anything so despicable," Cody muttered, a grim look on his face. Armadillomon gently nuzzled his leg, sensing his partner was getting upset.

Finally, Davis walked over and knelt down next to Wormmon, gently pulling him into his lap. He knew he should say something… but he couldn't think of anything that would help. He wasn't used to consoling people.

"Wormmon… hey, Wormmon… come on, buddy, it's not that bad…"

"Yes… yes it is!" Wormmon choked out through his tears. "My home is gone! I can't go back… I don't have anywhere to live anymore… and the Emperor, he wants to… I'm not safe anymore!" He finally broke down sobbing and huddled as close to Davis as he could, desperate to be comforted. He should never have left his burrow that one day… never have tried to help the Digidestined. He should have done the smart thing and run away the moment he saw them. Everything new, everything unknown was just a danger…

"He has a point, though," Kari said softly. "If the Emperor's targeted him, there's really nowhere safe for him…"

Strangely, Davis suddenly brightened up.

"What're you talking about? Of course there is!" He looked down at the little caterpillar Digimon. "Wormmon! You can stay at my place!"

"WHAT?!" screamed everyone else present… except Wormmon, who was suddenly gazing up at Davis with lights dancing in his eyes.

"Oh, really, Davis?" he cried in delight, not seeming to notice everyone else looking utterly mortified. 

Chapter Text

"This is a really bad idea, Davis. I'm just saying because I'm trying to help… Davis, are you listening to me?"

The five Digidestined children, along with their partners (and Wormmon, at Davis's insistence) had traveled all the way back to the small television set up near the forest that would transport them back to the real world… and Davis and TK hadn't stopped arguing the entire way back.

"I'm telling you, you're not thinking this through. You realize you have to give him enough food and a place to sleep and everything, right? Are you positive you can commit to this?"

Davis just gave an unconcerned shrug. "Dude, I already got one Digimon living with me. What's one more?"

"I'm surprised you haven't messed up with the one yet," Yolei quipped. "But I really think it'll be fine, TK. If Davis says he'll do something, then he'll do it. He's way too bullheaded not to."

"I know that, it's just…"

Wormmon was hanging back silently, watching this exchange with unease, acutely aware that he was the reason they were arguing. He hated that his presence was causing them so much trouble, after everything they'd done for him… he would have just left them then and there if he could have, but he really did have nowhere else to go…

"…and I know you mean well here, but I really, really, really, really… really wish you would reconsider," TK was saying in the meantime.

Davis was clearly losing his patience. "What's to reconsider?! Come on, you guys heard the Emperor! It's our fault he went after the little guy. And besides, Wormmon helped us! Doesn't that mean we gotta help him back?"

"I agree he's our responsibility, but…" TK paused slightly, seeming to come to a decision about something. "If he's going to stay with one of us… I'd rather it be me."

Everyone stared at him.

"You?!" Davis looked affronted. "And why's him staying with you so much better than him staying with me, TB?!"

"Because, Davis, I've been a Digidestined a lot longer than you have," TK reminded him. "You've only even had Veemon a few days. I'm not sure you really understand how hard it can be to take care of a Digimon. Let alone two at the same time…"

"I think TK is right. Wormmon should stay with someone who knows what they're doing," said Cody.

"Oh come on, Cody! You're gonna throw me under the bus too?" Davis threw up his arms. "How come nobody here even trusts me? I swear, I can't even turn around without one of you guys taking a crack at me! What's it gonna take for me to…"

Davis, TK, Yolei and Cody continued arguing heatedly back and forth over who should take care of Wormmon and why, leaving their Digimon to stand back and watch with blank faces.

"I've never seen them go at it like this before," said Patamon.

"I get the feeling this won't be the last time," Veemon sighed.

"I say, Wormmon, are you all right?" asked Hawkmon, who had noticed the little caterpillar curled up with his head lowered in misery. Of course, it was clear he wasn't all right; the look on his face said it all. He just wanted everyone to stop getting angry and fighting over him. He wasn't worth it.

Finally, Kari seemed to have had enough of the fighting as well. "Guys?" she said patiently as she cut in between TK and Davis, with a tone of voice that suggested she'd had to do the same thing many times in the past. "Why don't we let Wormmon decide where he wants to stay? He's the one being affected by this, after all."

Wormmon lifted his head up in surprise as everyone turned to look at him.

"Hmm… I guess you're right, Kari. That's probably only fair," said TK, looking a little guilty for not having realized it before. "Okay, Wormmon. I guess it's up to you."

Wormmon said nothing, just looking back and forth between the two boys as they waited for him to come to his decision. He suddenly felt quite overwhelmed, and very nervous. Where should he stay? What if he made the wrong choice?

On the one hand, TK did seem a lot more responsible… but for whatever reason, Wormmon felt a lot safer around Davis. He just seemed so sincere, and so protective of him, even though he wasn't his partner. He was the most gung-ho about stopping the Emperor, which could mean more safety for Wormmon.

More than anything else, though, Davis was the one who treated him the most like an equal.

"I'd like to stay with Davis, if that's okay."

TK immediately lowered his head and sighed as Davis balled his fists and grinned. "Awesome! Don't worry about a thing, Wormmon, me and Veemon'll look after you just fine! It'll be great! We can play video games and watch TV and…"

"This is so bad," TK groaned softly as Davis continued rambling.

"It's okay, TK. I still want to stay with you," Patamon said commiseratively, flying up to him and perching loyally on his shoulder.

TK didn't look much happier. "Thanks, Patamon…"

"Okay! Now that that's settled, let's get going!" said Davis, whipping out his digivice. "Wormmon, come on up here. You ever been to the human world before?"

"Uh-uh," Wormmon said as he crawled up next to the gogglehead.

"Well I'd grab onto something if I were you, 'cause you're in for a wild ride!" Davis pointed his digivice right at the television screen. "Digiport open!"

Suddenly, everyone standing around the television was enveloped in a flash of light coming from the screen… and Wormmon gasped as he felt himself being pulled inside the set.

He tried to scream as he was whisked along through some nonphysical realm, no longer physical himself, merely a stream of data being carried from one location to the next. Everything rushed by him in a blur, and he had no idea where everyone else was. He started to panic as he zoomed past a series of shapes of flashing lights, losing all his sense of self, praying for it all to be over…

Then finally, he came flying out of another screen and crashing to the ground along with everyone else, tumbling across the floor.

"Ooooh…" he moaned as he came to a stop, his head still spinning. Was that what it was always like traveling between the two worlds? It certainly wasn't very fun…

"Ugh… that never gets any less unpleasant," Yolei grumbled from where she and the other children were sprawled on top of each other in a pile. As they detached themselves from each other, Wormmon looked around and realized he was in a large indoor room filled with computers, each one with its own chair. Apparently they'd just come flying out of one of those computers. Not only that, but he noticed Davis, Yolei and Cody were suddenly all wearing different outfits than they'd been a moment ago… and their Digimon had all reverted back to their In-Training levels as well.

"Well, we're here. I hope we didn't stay too late with the forest fire and everything," TK sighed, getting up and stretching. "Oh, good, Wormmon's here. I thought maybe he wouldn't be able to…"

He suddenly broke off, and Wormmon realized he was regarding him strangely.

"Hmm… that's interesting…"

Wormmon looked up at him. "What is?"

"It's just… you're still a Rookie," said TK. "Our Digimon have to go back to In-Training level when they go to the real world… except Patamon and Gatomon, but that's because they did a lot of fighting in the past and built their strength up." He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at the little caterpillar. "Have you been in a lot of fights we don't know about, Wormmon?"

Wormmon found himself very confused and flustered at the question. "W-what?" he said timidly. "I… no… I've never done anything like that…" He hadn't, had he?

Much to his surprise, TK suddenly burst out laughing and pat him on the head. "I'm just kidding, Wormmon. No need to get so worked up!"

Wormmon blinked. "Oh… okay then…" he said uneasily. TK was telling him to calm down, but the honest truth was, there was something about the blond boy that just made him nervous. For one thing, he was so confident, which just made Wormmon's insecurities stand out all the more… but more than that, he was knowledgeable. He seemed to know far more about the Digital World than Wormmon did, and he'd lived there. That wouldn't have been so bad, but Wormmon's experience had taught him that the more knowledge people had, the more they could use it against helpless people like him. Just look at the Emperor…

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Davis sighed, adjusting his goggles. "Guess I'll see you guys here tomorrow, then? Same time, same place?"

"You bet! I can't wait to go back tomorrow and teach that Emperor a thing or two!" said Yolei, swinging her fist around with a determined look. TK and Kari giggled, while Cody seemed quite unmoved.

"Awesome. Come on, Wormmon, let's go!" said Davis, opening his backpack up wide for the little Digimon. "You can ride in here. I dunno if I can hold you and Demiveemon at once. Might get uncomfortable."

"Oh… okay," said Wormmon, obediently crawling into the backpack. Davis zipped it shut, though he left a large hole open for his passenger. Then the kids set out, leaving the school and heading back to their homes after a long day of work.

From his place inside Davis's backpack, Wormmon curiously peeked out and looked around, getting his first look at the human world. There certainly were a lot more buildings than he was used to, and a lot fewer trees. There were a whole lot of cars on the roads as well; there certainly weren't many of those in the Digital World. And of course, there were all manner of humans walking around up and down the streets, young and old, male and female. Still, it was so strange to see just one species out and about like this. Wormmon was used to seeing all types of Digimon from day to day.

Finally, Davis stopped at a large apartment building and opened one of the doors. Further interested, Wormmon realized this must be where Davis lived. He'd never seen a human home before, but it was certainly far huger and more lavish than his little hole in the ground. He didn't even have time to take in all the lights and the furniture before Davis turned down a hallway and opened another door, entering his room.

"Phew. Made it home without a hitch," he said proudly, plopping his backpack down on the bed and kicking his shoes off. "Okay, Wormmon, we're here. Come on out!" he said cheerily. Wormmon was just in the process of doing so when…

"DAVIS!"

"Ack! Gobackingobackingobackin!" Davis suddenly shoved Wormmon's head back in the backpack before the caterpillar could even react. Stunned, Wormmon shook his head and cautiously peeked out in time to see Davis spin around to greet the teenage human girl who'd just thrown the door open.

"Oh, uh… hiya, Jun. What's up?"

"Davis, don't even try to act innocent!" the girl snapped at him. "This is the third day in a row you've come home late without saying anything! Where the heck have you been going? You realize Mom and Dad are going to get mad at me if anything happens to you, right?"

"Oh, right…" Davis's mind was clearly racing, something it wasn't very used to. "Well, actually, I just… joined the computer club."

The girl stared at him. "You joined the computer club."

"Yeah! Totally! Ask my friends, they'll vouch for me!"

"Davis, that's the worst lie you've ever come up with. You barely even know how to turn on a computer!"

"Well, yeah! And what better way to learn more than to join the afterschool club, right?"

The girl looked exasperated. "Ugh. Forget it. I don't even care." She spun around and stormed off. "Just don't do anything stupid, or it's my head on the chopper!"

After she'd vanished down the hall, Davis exhaled loudly before turning to open up the backpack again.

"Okay, Wormmon, all clear."

Wormmon cautiously crawled out of the backpack as Demiveemon poked his head out from under the bed where he'd apparently been hiding. Davis collapsed onto the bed with a tired groan. "Sorry about that, you guys. That was just my sister Jun."

Wormmon cocked his head slightly. "What's a sister?"

"Hmm?" Davis looked surprised at the question. "That means we have the same parents…" He paused, looking like something was just occurring to him. "Oh, right. TK said… Digimon don't have parents, right? You guys just hatch out of eggs…"

While Davis had been talking, Demiveemon had already crawled over and plopped down on his partner's stomach, wiggling around in a wordless request to be pet. Davis quickly obliged, stroking the little In-Training behind the ears and causing him to sigh in delight, stretching out with a thoroughly contented look on his face.

Watching this interplay of affection between the two, Wormmon began to understand why Davis had been chosen to be a Digidestined. While he may have been quick-tempered, and maybe not as astute as TK… or Cody… or any of the others, really… he was undoubtedly a good person.

"So hey, Wormmon… speaking of that. When were you born, anyway?"

Wormmon immediately grew stiff. Davis had just unknowingly breached one of the most sensitive subjects of all to him: the fact that he couldn't remember a thing about his birth. He knew he'd come out of an egg, of course, but only because that was how it was with all Digimon. It wouldn't have been so bad that he didn't remember, except for the fact that every other Digimon seemed to remember their birth perfectly well. When Wormmon tried to think back, though, nothing came to him. It was just another thing that weighed on him. He was an anomaly; he was different. And it shamed him.

He realized Davis was still waiting for an answer.

"I… I don't know," he finally whispered, gazing down at the bedspread.

"Hmm?" Apparently he'd spoken too softly for Davis to hear.

He lifted his head back up. "I don't know," he repeated, marginally less softly. "I don't remember."

"You don't?" Davis looked surprised, and that just made it hurt all the more to Wormmon. He'd never wanted to talk about this. It ate at him day in and day out, and Davis had to bring it up…

It's not his fault. He doesn't know.

"So what do you remember?" Davis asked.

Wormmon glanced away again. "Running," he said, somewhat evasively. "I've always just been running away from the Digimon Emperor's slaves. That's as far back as I can remember."

"Oh." Davis looked at him long and hard. What a sad little creature this was… it was a good thing they'd found him. Maybe they could help him somehow.

He shrugged, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit. "Oh, well. I guess I can't remember being born either. I just thought it was different with Digimon."

Wormmon decided not to say anything.

"It's okay, Wormmon," Demiveemon suddenly spoke up, sliding off Davis's stomach. "I don't remember when I was born either."

Now that was something… "What? You don't?" said Wormmon, turning to him in shock.

"Yeah, I don't think Hawkmon or Armadillomon do either. The first thing we really remember is coming out of those Digieggs and meeting our partners." He shrugged and rolled around a little. 'But I just know I was waiting for Davis! For a really long time!" He giggled. "I was so happy when he found me."

Wormmon kept on staring at him. Did he even realize he might have been missing part of his life? Wormmon wondered how he could possibly be so glib about it… but finally just shook his head and said nothing. That was what made him the perfect partner for Davis, it seemed…

Davis had to leave his room not too long after that; his "parents" (there was that word again; Wormmon still didn't really know what it meant) were coming home, and he had to help set up for dinner. He explained to Wormmon that he and Demiveemon had to stay hidden in his room at all times; apparently, none of the other humans he lived with knew anything about Digimon. So while Davis was away, Demiveemon took the opportunity to stretch out on the bed and nap, leaving Wormmon all alone with his thoughts.

Several hours later, Davis pushed the door to his room open again, carrying a plate full of food he'd apparently managed to sneak away from the dinner table. "All yours, guys," he said, placing it on the bed as Demiveemon cheered and started shoveling it down without a second thought. Startled, Wormmon crawled up and began inspecting the food cautiously before taking a tentative bite himself.

To his surprise, it was delicious.

Within moments, he was chowing down right along with Demiveemon. He'd never had human food before, and he'd never imagined it would be so good! All the berries he was used to eating in the Digital World seemed so bland and downright intolerable in comparison.

Davis just stood back and grinned. "See? I do know how to take care of Digimon. What does TR think he knows?"

As the Digimon were eating, Davis sat down at the desk behind his bed and pulled the books out from his backpack, beginning to, as he called it, "do his homework". Wormmon didn't know what that meant either, but Davis didn't seem to enjoy it at all; it seemed to entail reading through the books while writing things down in a notebook, grumbling and muttering and looking thoroughly fed up all the while. Wormmon wondered why Davis was doing it if it was bothering him so much.

"Okay! Done with that!" he finally said some time later, flipping his books over. "Now whaddaya say we have some fun, huh guys? It's Wormmon's first night over and we gotta make sure he has a good time. Let's play a game!"

"Yay! Yay! Yay! A game!" Demiveemon cheered, bouncing up and down on the bed. With a cheeky grin, Davis opened up a drawer in his desk and pulled out a pack of cards.

"We can't do anything too loud or else we'll get found out. But this'll still be fun!"

The three of them seated themselves down in a circle on the floor and started playing, with Davis explaining the rules as they went. The cards were all spread out facedown in a circle, and they would go around picking up one card and placing it face up in the center of the circle. Whenever anyone placed a card that was the same suit or rank as the card below it, everyone had to slap the cards in the middle as fast as they could, and whoever was slowest had to add all the cards to their hand. The winner was whoever had the fewest cards at the end.

"Man, I'm creaming you guys," Davis gloated near the end. Sure enough, Wormmon and Demiveemon both had a large number of cards while he had barely any.

"You're cheating, Davis. You've got long arms," Demiveemon pouted.

"Hey, you get to shoot fire out of your hands, little guy. Don't complain," Davis countered as he drew the six of spades and placed it down in the center. "Okay Wormmon, your turn."

"Erm…" Wormmon gingerly reached for one of the very few cards left in the circle, drew it, and placed it down in the center. Much to his shock, it was the six of diamonds.

"Oh my goodness!" he gasped, throwing himself on the cards as fast as he could as he felt Demiveemon belly flopping on top of him.

Davis blinked. "Hey, what just happened?"

"Davis loses! Davis loses!" Demiveemon sang. "You have to take alllllll the cards!"

"What?!" Davis had been winning, but if he had to take all those cards he was the loser! "Now wait a sec! Who's cheating now? You guys can't just jump on the cards!"

"Davis loses!" Demiveemon kept on singing, rolling around and spreading the cards all over. Finally he crashed into Davis's leg, and the gogglehead couldn't be mad anymore. They both fell to the floor and started laughing hysterically, covered in playing cards flying everywhere.

Wormmon stood and watched, silent as a stone.

Finally Davis stopped laughing and noticed Wormmon just standing there, not joining in. The smile quickly fell from his face.

"Hey… you okay, Wormmon?"

"Oh… yes… I'm fine," Wormmon said softly. "I'm sorry." He didn't want to say anything, but as he'd been watching the two of them, he'd started to feel the traces of some unhappy emotion stirring up inside of him. They were so close… he wanted so badly to be their friend, but he didn't think he'd ever feel that close to them.

Davis sighed and sat back up, giving Wormmon another thoughtful look. "I guess… you're not a lot like me and Demiveemon, are you?"

Wormmon stared at him. "Is that bad?"

"No! No way. It's totally fine, Wormmon. You should just be yourself and not let anybody tell you it's wrong." He smirked, rocking back and forth on his heels a little. "Plus, I know Jun would say that even one of me's too much."

As usual, Wormmon didn't really know what Davis was talking about.

"I was just thinking… I hope it's okay with you, Wormmon," Davis went on. "I mean, sometimes I feel like you're not really comfortable around us. Like, we're too loud for you. You like the quiet, don't you?"

"I guess…" Wormmon shook his head. "But it's fine, Davis. I like you, I really do. Nobody's ever been this nice to me."

Davis grinned. "That's great! Well, I mean… it's not great that nobody else has been nice to you. You're a really sweet guy, Wormmon. I think you deserve a lot better than what you've got."

Wormmon was stunned. Time and again, he was taken aback by how much Davis wore his heart on his sleeve and said whatever was on his mind, no matter how blunt. It was honestly a bit unnerving… Wormmon supposed he should be grateful that Davis had nothing but good things to say about him.

"I… thank you."

It was getting late, so it was at that time that Davis started changing into his pajamas and getting ready for bed. He promised Wormmon that they'd go back to the Digital World tomorrow, so he wouldn't have to leave his home behind forever. Hopefully, he said, once they'd dealt with the Emperor, Wormmon would be able to move back where he belonged permanently.

Wormmon was thankful, but deep down, he couldn't help but wonder how likely it was that the Emperor would ever be taken down, even with the Digidestined fighting against him. He was just too powerful…

And Wormmon was too small and weak to do anything about it.

Davis flicked off the light, curled up in his bed with Demiveemon at his side, and dropped off to sleep in a matter of minutes. Wormmon had relegated himself to the very foot of the bed, where he wouldn't get in anybody's way. He didn't deserve to sleep up there with Davis; that was Demiveemon's place, and he would never intrude anywhere where he didn't belong.

Wormmon lay where he was for a long while, gazing over at the two partners curled up together, snoozing away without a care, looking so content. He remembered how the two of them laughed together, played together, goofed around together in such a natural way that he would never understand. He couldn't imagine either of them being partnered with anybody else. Davis loved and cared for his partner, and in return, Demiveemon grew stronger and protected him. Everything about it was perfect.

As he watched them, he felt that same unpleasant feeling from before start to come back… and now, all of a sudden, he realized what he was feeling.

Jealousy.

Why couldn't he have a human partner of his own? Someone who could help him to digivolve just like the others? Then he could get stronger, and he could help fight against the Digimon Emperor!

But it would never happen, he thought sadly. Digimon went with their partners for a reason. They were meant to be a good match. Surely there was no human out there who could ever make use of a worthless little thing like him.

And so he wearily closed his eyes, not knowing what else to do except what he always did, and resign himself to his sadness.

––

Wormmon was expecting to have the same dark dreams as always that night. The dream he ended up having was quite different.

He was somewhere very pleasant – a meadow, it seemed, with swaying green grass and dotted with little flowers. He must have been in the Digital World. The sun was shining down, the digital clouds were puffy and white, and somehow even in his dream state he could tell the temperature was perfect.

And there was someone with him.

Dreams are often vague, as was this one. Wormmon couldn't really make out anything about the other person; they were more of a felt presence than anything. Still, Wormmon got the sense that the person was a human boy… a very young one, only about Cody's age.

Then suddenly, Wormmon was laughing and playing with the human boy. They were racing through the meadow as the grass rippled in the breeze and the sun warmed their bodies, and then they were both on the ground, rolling around in the flowers and giggling as the blades of grass tickled at their skin. And then the next thing Wormmon knew, the human boy had turned over and reached for him, pulling him into his arms in a safe, loving embrace.

"I love you, Wormmon."

Wormmon instantly jolted awake, gasping in shock.

It took him a moment to register his still-unfamiliar surroundings and remember where he was. Davis's room… he lifted his head up and glanced over to where he thought Davis and Demiveemon were in the darkness, wondering if he'd woken them up, but he could still hear them both snoring loudly away.

Finally he lowered his head onto the bedspread again, pondering what had just happened.

What a strange dream… why would his brain conjure something like that out of the air? It must have somehow been brought on by the events of the day… was that Davis in his dream? No, it hadn't felt like him… that boy, that presence, whoever he was, had felt so gentle, so nurturing, so loving…

Wormmon remembered what the boy had said to him at the end, and his throat started to tighten.

Never, in his whole life, had anyone told him they loved him.

And then Wormmon realized why he had dreamed what he did.

In my dream… I had a human partner.

That was what went through his mind as he slowly closed his eyes and went back to sleep… that, and his pondering why in his dream, he'd been happier than he could ever remember being.

Chapter Text

Night had fallen. The Digimon Emperor was nowhere to be found, his slaves had withdrawn from their daily rampage and gone back to who-knew-where, and things were, for lack of a better word, peaceful. This was the time the entire Digital World had come to cherish; after hours of running and hiding and praying, they could all breathe sighs of relief, knowing they'd made it through just one more day. Now was the time for solace and for rest – it was the only time they had left for it.

At least, it would be on any other night.

Agumon rubbed his hands together nervously as he was marched through a dark, spooky area of the forest he'd always taken care to avoid. He kept glancing back at the two Gazimon directly behind him, trudging along in perfect formation and making sure he didn't go anywhere they didn't want. They certainly weren't the Emperor's slaves, judging by the lack of Dark Rings anywhere, so he couldn't imagine why they'd rounded him up in the middle of the night and led him out here. He was pretty sure he could take them in a fight, but he didn't want to do that just yet… not until he was sure he was really in trouble.

"This is certainly no way to treat a lady," huffed Biyomon on his left.

"It's no way to treat anybody, if you ask me!" said Tentomon on his right.

"Quiet, all of you," said one Gazimon. "We've already told you, our leader needs your cooperation, and you're going to give it to him."

"And don't even try playing dumb," warned the other one. "We know who you are. You're the partners of those Digidestined."

Well, that was no surprise. Just about everybody in the Digital World knew who they were; being the partners of the children who'd saved the entire world, they were probably the closest thing you could find to celebrities. At least they had been, all those years ago.

Agumon and his friends walked in nervous silence for the rest of the way, wondering what in the world was going on, until finally the Gazimon marched them through the trees and into a broad clearing in the middle of the woods.

"What in the – what's going on here?"

There was a large campfire roaring in the middle of the clearing, and crowded around it in an attempt to keep warm, sitting on logs or perched up in the tree branches, were dozens of Digimon of all kinds – Floramon, Mushroomon, Gotsumon, and more. All of them looked exhausted and beaten, most looked hungry, and none of them looked happy.

"Who… who are they?" Biyomon asked nervously. Neither of the Gazimon answered her, but one of them suddenly stepped forward to address a small Rookie Digimon standing on the other side of the campfire from them, arms folded and facing away from them.

"Hey! Bearmon! We got 'em!"

The addressed Digimon turned to face them, allowing Agumon and the others a good look at him. He looked just like a little bear cub, if not for the myriad blue buckles he wore across his arms and chest and the blue baseball cap he wore backwards over his head. Unlike the rest of the gathered Digimon, he didn't look tired at all… in fact, he looked pretty tough.

"Ah," he said, looking quite satisfied. "So, the guests of honor've finally showed up, huh?"

He walked over to them, and Agumon and the others subconsciously braced themselves a little. "Nice to finally meet the famous Agumon. The name's Bearmon. I'm the leader of all these Digimon here… circumstances bein' what they are."

"Uh… nice to meet you?" Agumon said awkwardly. "If you don't mind my asking, Mr. Bearmon, why did you bring me and my friends here in the middle of the night?"

"We'd like to know that too," Tentomon grumbled. "I'm falling behind on my beauty sleep."

"I figured you'd ask. You guys are here because we're all havin' a problem, and you're gonna help us," Bearmon said sternly. "Like I'm sure you've heard, Agumon, a few days ago there was a huge forest fire a ways away from here. The Digimon Emperor sent one of his slaves on a rampage, and 'cause of that, all of us lost our homes."

Biyomon gasped. "You mean you – all of you are from the forest?"

"Yes, we heard about the fire," Agumon said uneasily. "I mean, we saw it too – but was it really the Digimon Emperor?"

"He burned down nearly half the forest," Bearmon said angrily, clenching his fists very tightly. "We all had to run for our lives. I don't think I gotta tell you that not all of us made it out."

Agumon glanced back at Biyomon and Tentomon, who were both sharing his horrified expression – well, he thought Tentomon was, anyway.

"I… that's horrible," he said softly. "Where will you all go now? Where will you live?"

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd tell you," Bearmon grumbled. "But that's not why I brought you guys here. You're here because I gotta put a stop to this. I gotta make sure this never happens to my friends again… and that's where you all come in."

"…I'm afraid you're going to have to repeat that," said Tentomon.

"We thought this was just another one of those acts of terrorism the Emperor always does," said Bearmon, starting to pace back and forth. "But news travels fast in the Digital World, y'know, and we've heard things. People have been sayin' that he sent that Tyrannomon into the forest for a reason. He was trying to get rid of somebody."

He stopped pacing and glared directly at them. "Somebody you guys all must have met."

All three of them were momentarily silent.

"I'm… not sure I follow," said Agumon, not liking where this was going at all.

"We all know the Digidestined have finally come back after all this time, to fight the Digimon Emperor," Bearmon said shortly. "And that's not all. We also know there's been a wild Digimon helpin' those guys out, one who doesn't even got a human partner. The Emperor was trying to rub him out to make a statement."

"Wait a minute – " Biyomon's hands flew to her beak. "You mean – you're talking about Wormmon? Cute little Wormmon?"

"You mean the Digimon Emperor went after him? Why, that's horrible!" Tentomon cried. It was true, all three of them had been present one of the times Wormmon had stepped in to save the day… not only that, but Agumon and Tai had helped the others to liberate a group of Gotsumon prisoners earlier that very day, and Wormmon had been there for that too. Was that the only reason the three of them were here? So Bearmon could find out who he was?

The leader of the forest Digimon narrowed his eyes. "So, his name's Wormmon, huh?" Well, that answered that.

"Yes, he's a little green insect Digimon," said Agumon. "But it's a good thing you told us about this. He's a friend of ours. Maybe now we can find him and protect him…"

"I don't think you guys get it," said Bearmon. "We're not interested in protecting him. We're turning him in."

Dead silence.

"Wait – you're – what?" cried Agumon.

"Now, wait just a minute!" Tentomon shouted, buzzing up and down in anger. "What gives you the right to do that, you big bully?!"

"Don't you get it?! If this Wormmon guy is still out there, then the Digimon Emperor won't stop until he's gotten rid of 'im – and in the meantime, we all gotta suffer from the collateral damage!" Bearmon snapped at them. "We all lost our homes because of one Tyrannomon! Imagine what the Emperor could do to us with his whole army if he got desperate?"

"So you think handing Wormmon in to that monster will solve all your problems?" Biyomon demanded, hands on her hips.

"Of course it will! The Emperor's only after him! I say we give him what he wants before we lose anybody else." Bearmon turned to address all of his followers, still circled eagerly around. "And now, thanks to Agumon and his friends, we finally know who to blame for all a' this! By this time tomorrow, he'll be outta the picture and we'll finally have justice for what's been done to us!"

Much to the horror of Agumon, Biyomon and Tentomon, every other Digimon present started roaring in agreement, throwing their fists into the air, jumping up and down and clamoring in righteous fury. Agumon looked at his two friends in the midst of the cacophony, who were looking very hopeless indeed.

"Oh, man... I really need to learn when to keep my big mouth shut."

––

Wormmon slowly opened one eye at the sound of a loud beeping noise coming from Davis. The gogglehead had been casually sprawled on his bed and tossing a soccer ball up and down, but at the sound of the beeping he immediately sprang to attention, sitting up and pulling his D-Terminal out of his pocket.

"What is it, Davis?" asked Demiveemon from his partner's lap.

"Is there something going on in the Digital World?" asked Wormmon. He'd been curled up at the foot of Davis's bed, where he'd spent most of his time the past few days when they weren't in the Digital World.

"Sounds like it, yeah," said Davis as he opened his D-Terminal and studied it. "I just got a message from Yolei. Guess we got an SOS signal from the Digital World. She wants us all over at the computer lab right now."

"Right nowwwww? But I'm sleepy!" Demiveemon whined, rolling off Davis's lap as he stood up.

"Vee, you did nothing but nap all day today. Now c'mon, you two! I don't wanna look like a bad leader and show up late!"

"Okay, Davis!" said Wormmon, hopping on Davis's shoulder as he strode out the door with Demiveemon in his arms. Ever so slowly, Wormmon was becoming acclimated to living in the human world with Davis and Demiveemon… as much as one could get acclimated to Davis, anyway. He still missed his old home dearly and was deeply unhappy at the thought of never getting to go back… but at least he was safe where he was, he reminded himself. He should count himself lucky that the human children cared so much about him.

Davis raced out of the apartment and over to the school as fast as he could go, Wormmon clinging to his shoulder all the while. He was already panting by the time he made it inside and scrambled to a stop in front of the computer lab.

"Hey guys, I'm – aww, no," he groaned as he saw everyone else was already there waiting for him. He held Demiveemon out in front of him. "We're late! This is your fault, man!"

"Nice of you to join us, Davis," Kari said with a giggle while Yolei was seated in front of the computer with her arms folded impatiently. Wormmon suddenly realized that there was someone else in the room, someone he didn't recognize: an older blond boy wearing a green school uniform.

Davis didn't seem to recognize him either. "Hmm? Who's this guy?"

"Oh, right… you guys might not have been introduced yet," said TK. "Davis, this is my brother Matt. He was one of the original Digidestined, just like me and Kari."

"Ohhhh… you're Matt Ishida?" Davis's eyes widened in recognition. "Hey, you're that Teenage Wolves guy, right? Man, my sister's crazy about you. Didn't you guys have a concert today or something?"

"…Something like that, yeah," Matt said evasively, shaking Davis's hand. Then he noticed the little Digimon he was holding in his other arm and the second one riding on his shoulder. "Hey, what gives? You have two partners?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. My partner's Demiveemon," said Davis, glancing over at his shoulder where Wormmon was perched. "Wormmon is a friend of ours. He… well, he had his home destroyed by the Digimon Emperor, so he's staying with us for a while."

"Just like those Gotsumon from the other day… lucky for us Wormmon is a lot easier to hide," TK laughed. "Sheesh, at this rate we'll be hiding half the Digital World over here…"

"Oh, is that right," said Matt, giving Wormmon a curious look. "So you don't have a partner then, Wormmon?"

Wormmon shook his head sadly. "I want one very badly, though," he said, as though that would make it happen.

"Uhhh, hello guys? Whenever it's convenient for you?" Yolei cut in, still folding her arms and looking quite irritated at them for wasting time. "We still got that distress call, in case you forgot."

"Right! Gabumon might be in trouble!" Matt snapped to attention. "Let's go, everyone!"

The trip from one world to the other was as unpleasant as ever; Wormmon didn't think he'd ever get used to it. At least they didn't have far to go when they arrived, as the first thing they saw was a badly bruised Digimon sprawled in front of the TV. From the way Matt rushed to him with a cry of "Gabumon!", it was clear that they were partners. Wormmon couldn't help but feel another prick of sadness and jealousy as he watched Matt take his partner into his arms.

"It was horrible, Matt," Gabumon groaned. "There's an entire village that's been taken prisoner by the Digimon Emperor. I barely made it out of there in one piece."

"Not this guy again," TK groaned. "He just doesn't know when to stop, does he?"

Gabumon quickly led them over to the entrance to the village, where they were able to hide and observe it from a safe distance away. Sure enough, standing atop the cliff overlooking the village was a Control Spire, one of the Emperor's sinister black obelisks that signified his dominion wherever they stood. Wormmon had seen plenty of those before ever meeting the Digidestined, and he shivered at the sight of it.

"This is terrible… we need to free all those prisoners right away," Cody muttered. Armadillomon nodded in firm agreement.

"I agree, but how do we do that?" asked Matt. "There's too many guards over there, and we can't fight them if they're using the prisoners as hostages."

Wormmon started thinking deeply before timidly lifting up his head and venturing to speak. "Well… what if… what if I went?"

Everyone turned to look at Wormmon as he spoke. "What do you mean, Wormmon?" asked Kari.

"I'm sure the Digimon Emperor wants to capture me," said Wormmon, sounding a bit glum as he did. "If I turned myself in, I'm sure all of the guards would be focused on me. Then maybe… you could all sneak by and free the prisoners?"

The others actually seemed to be considering this idea. They hadn't actually seen the Emperor since the forest fire, but the way he'd spoken about Wormmon, it wasn't hard to imagine that he'd divulge special attention toward having the little caterpillar in his grasp.

"That's really not a bad plan, Wormmon," said TK.

"Yeah, well, I don't like it," Davis said shortly. "Wormmon's our friend! We can't have him put himself in danger for us like that!"

"Davis, he's been putting himself in danger for us since we first met him," Kari reminded him. "This is no different. Besides, we'll be right there to help him if things go wrong."

"Please, Davis?" said Wormmon, gazing up at his human friend. "I want to help all of you somehow… even if I can't digivolve. I don't want to just be a burden to all of you every time I come with you to the Digital World."

Davis looked reluctant, but finally he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Kari was okay with it, after all, and he certainly didn't want to disagree with her.

"Yeah, okay, fine… I guess we don't have any better ideas."

"While Wormmon's distracting the guards, we'll look for a way to rescue the other prisoners," Matt said determinedly. "And get rid of that Control Spire too. That thing's an eyesore."

And so a few minutes later, Wormmon found himself slowly and timidly shuffling up to the village gate, stopping in front of the two Vegiemon guards who were each wearing a Dark Ring.

"Erm… hello?"

Both guards snapped to attention at the sight of him. "Hey, wait a minute!" one of them gasped. "You… you're Wormmon, aren't you?"

"The Digimon Emperor's been looking for this one!" the second one realized.

"Uh… yes, it's me," Wormmon said awkwardly. "I'm here to… turn myself in."

There's no way they're going to fall for this, he thought nervously.

As it was, his fears were completely unfounded. "Ha! No way! Wormmon's surrendering to us?" the first guard laughed. "Talk about a lucky break!"

"The Emperor will give us a raise for sure!" the second one cheered.

"We don't even get paid!" the first one cheered along with him.

Wormmon gasped as they both shot their long fibrous arms at him, wrapping him up and hoisting him in the air. "You're coming with us, prisoner," one of them sneered as they turned and marched into the village, carrying him along above their heads.

Oh, Davis… please come and find me soon… thought Wormmon, trying not to whimper as he was carried away.

Back where the others were waiting, Davis immediately stood up. "Okay, he's in! Now let's get in there quick before it's too late!"

"I'm with you, Davis!" said Veemon as he raced after his partner, who had already taken off without waiting for the others.

"Remember, Davis, we're here to rescue the other prisoners first!" Matt shouted after him. "Ugh… this guy is like Tai, only more so."

"What a brave little guy… I sure hope Wormmon will be okay without us," Kari said quietly as they all followed after Davis.

"He'll be just fine, Kari," said TK. "We're getting him out of there the minute we save the other prisoners."

Unbeknownst to any of them, they weren't the only ones who had been watching the scene at the gate. As soon as the Digidestined had all disappeared inside the village, a Gazimon stuck her head out of the bushes where she'd been hiding in perfect silence.

"The Digimon Emperor has captured Wormmon?" she said, looking quite alarmed and ducking out of sight as fast as she could. "I have to tell Bearmon about this!"

––

Wormmon grunted in pain as he was hurled inside a small cell and slammed into the wall, wincing as he slumped to the ground and the door slammed shut behind him.

"Just you wait, prisoner," sneered one Vegiemon from the other side of the bars. "We're going to personally let the Digimon Emperor know you're here. You're going to pay for your insubordination!"

Both guards threw back their heads and laughed as they marched away, leaving Wormmon all alone inside the cell. He gazed after them, then lowered his head to the floor, curling up with a sigh.

Well, I did it, he thought. Oh, I hope the others get me out of here soon… I don't like it in here one bit.

He let out a shudder. What if the Digimon Emperor gets here before they do? What would he do to me if he actually captured me? …What if the others couldn't save me?

He frowned. No… I can't think like that. My friends wouldn't let anything happen to me. He closed his eyes. They'll be here… I know they will.

But the minutes ticked by, and there was only silence. Wormmon cautiously opened one eye, looking for anything going on outside, but there was nothing. He stood up, crawled up to the bars and peered out, but there was no sign of his friends anywhere; only guards standing at the corner of every street.

They said they'd only be a few minutes… he thought, trying not to get scared. Ohh, what if something's happened to them? What if they were all captured too?

He went back to the middle of the cell and settled down, trying to keep calm. No, it can't be… I know my friends. They're stronger than that. They won't be captured. They couldn't be…

But still time dragged on, and Davis and the others didn't show up. Wormmon told himself again and again that nothing was wrong, that they were just taking longer than he'd thought, but it was doing him no good at all. He was getting more and more afraid by the second.

Oh, Davis… where are you?

There was a loud crash that sent him flying nearly to the ceiling with a scream. He scrambled to the back of the cell and spun around to face the noise, realizing with widened eyes that a large hole had just been burst in the wall of his cell, sending in a shaft of sunlight. Standing among the wreckage was a duo of Gazimon, neither one wearing the Emperor's Dark Rings.

"Wormmon… we got you in time," said one Gazimon, dusting her hands off and never taking her eyes away from him.

Wormmon stared up at both of them. If they weren't the Emperor's slaves, then who were they? "What… what's going on?" he asked. "Who are you? Are you here to rescue me?"

The Gazimon put on a dark smirk. "Not exactly."

Wormmon didn't have time to react before a large net was thrown over him.

––

"Well, whaddaya know… the Control Spires are what's powering all the Dark Rings!" TK laughed as Digmon was destroying the Spire in front of them. "Somehow these things are broadcasting the power from the Emperor's digivice. We just have to knock all these things down, and the Dark Rings are useless!"

"All of them? But this was just one!" cried Davis. "Ugh… sounds like we're in this for the long haul. And I thought math homework took forever…"

"Guys, we should get Wormmon out before the Emperor finds out we were here," Gatomon reminded them.

"Right! I saw where they took him! Follow me, everybody!" said Patamon, flying along ahead as the others raced after him. They ran back down the cliff to the village, ignoring all the confused-looking guards standing around the streets, only for Patamon to suddenly come to a stop in front of a small cell block and look confused.

"But… he was in here! What happened?" he cried, everyone gathered around him and staring at the large hole in the cell wall.

"Wow. The little guy's stronger than I thought," said Davis.

"Davis, I don't think Wormmon did this," Cody said flatly.

"But then who did?" asked Kari, sounding alarmed. "What could have happened to – "

"Davis! TK! Help me!"

Everyone whipped around in a panic. "Wormmon!" Davis cried.

Wormmon was already several yards away, caught in a large net. He was thrashing and flailing but unable to free himself as he was quickly being dragged away from his friends by a group of Gazimon. Standing next to them and surveying the scene was Bearmon, and as he noticed the Digidestined he turned to them with a stone cold look in his eyes.

"Tell the Digimon Emperor that if he wants Wormmon," he said, "he's gotta get him from us, and nobody else."

And then as quickly as they had come, they were gone, and Wormmon was gone with them.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"So Wormmon's doing all right?" TK asked into the phone.

"Yeah, he's fine," said Davis from the other end of the line. "Well I mean… he's physically fine. I dunno, I feel like the guy's been in a funk ever since he fought the Emperor. I think he's feeling guilty or something."

TK was incredulous. "Guilty about what?" he asked. "The Digimon Emperor's tried to kill him twice now. Why should he feel guilty about defending himself?"

"I dunno, man… I've tried talking to him about it, but he's not really a chatty guy, y'know."

"Yeah, I know," TK sighed, sinking into his chair. "I just wish we could figure out why he's so unhappy all the time… maybe he still just misses his home or something."

"Maybe," Davis muttered, deciding not to disagree with TK, but he wasn't really convinced. Had Davis the capacity to put his thoughts into words, he would have said that Wormmon's sadness seemed more profound than just that. He would have said that sadness almost seemed a part of his being – and not just sadness, but some sort of vague emptiness, like he wasn't really whole. Privately, Davis wondered whether Wormmon had ever been happy a day in his life.

"Well, anyway… I got homework I gotta do. I'll talk to you guys if I find out anything."

"All right… see you at school, Davis."

Davis let out a sigh as he hung up the receiver. He sure didn't like talking to TK as much as he liked talking to Kari… she probably would have made him feel a little better about what had happened in the Digital World. He hadn't wanted to say anything to TK, but in all honesty, Wormmon wasn't the only thing bothering him right now…

"Davis! Davis! Davis!" came a loud chirruping voice as he walked back into his room to find Demiveemon bouncing up and down on his bed, flailing his arms. Wormmon was nowhere to be found, but Davis wasn't really surprised; after what had happened to him that day, it seemed like he just wanted to be left alone.

"Heya, Vee. Wanna keep me company while I do my homework?" he asked, pulling up his chair as his partner jumped off the bed and scampered across the floor over to him. For some reason, though, he looked reluctant to climb into Davis's lap like he usually did.

"Davis?"

"Hmm?" Davis frowned slightly at the worried gaze his partner was giving him. "What's up, little guy?"

"Davis…" Demiveemon looked uneasy about something. "Would you rather have Wormmon as your partner instead of me?"

Davis looked shocked. "What? No! No way! You're my partner, Demiveemon!" he exclaimed, scooping the little In-Training into his lap. "Dude, why would you ever worry about a thing like that?"

"You guys talk about Wormmon a whole lot," Demiveemon sighed, looking down at the floor.

"Well, yeah, that's 'cause we're all just worried about him. C'mon, Vee, you know you're the only one in the group who can stand me," Davis joked, scratching his partner behind the ears. "Really, Wormmon wouldn't be a good partner for me… I feel like I'm always walking on Digieggshells around that guy, honestly."

"Davis?" asked Demiveemon, peeking up at his partner. "What if Wormmon did have a partner? What would they be like?"

Davis burst out laughing. "Now that's a good question."

He fell silent after that, continuing to stroke his partner as he curled up in his lap, really not in the mood to start his homework. The events of the day were still nagging at him… he didn't want to say anything to Demiveemon either, though. Better not to worry the little guy.

"Davis," he heard him say after a moment, snapping out of his thoughts. "You're upset about something."

Davis blinked down at him in surprise. How did he… ah, well. He shouldn't have been surprised. A lot of times it seemed like Demiveemon knew him better than he knew himself.

"Yeah… I guess I sorta am."

"Are you sad about what Bearmon said?" his partner asked, gazing up at him with those big innocent eyes.

Davis gave a crooked smile. "Yeah… you nailed it." He sighed, gazing off at the corner of the room. "I 'unno, Vee… you really think he's right? Do you think maybe I'm not cut out for this leader stuff?"

"You just started, Davis." As always, Demiveemon didn't look worried at all. "Don't worry! You'll get better, I'm sure."

"Yeah, maybe," Davis muttered. He still couldn't stop thinking about what Bearmon had said to him… mostly because he'd been right about everything. He really couldn't begin to imagine what Bearmon and the others had gone through. After all, he'd never had his home destroyed by an insane tyrant… never been charged with the lives of so many people. It was really dumb luck that saving Wormmon turned out to be the right thing to do after all…

Well, whatever the case, Bearmon was gone now… and Davis wasn't really sure he wanted to see him again.

––

It really was a good home they had found for themselves, the refugees had decided. It was far more exposed than the forest, meaning they were more vulnerable to attacks from the Digimon Emperor's slaves… but it was still much more than most Digimon had these days.

They'd spend the past several days building straw and stick houses for themselves in the small valley they had found, concealed at the bottom of several grassy hills. It was a good way to put their minds off their troubles, and they were in unusually high spirits as they went about it, deciding they should at least be grateful for the second chance they had been given.

Their leader was not sharing in their good mood.

Bearmon had been a lot quieter than usual for the past few days. Ever since their encounter with the Digidestined and the Digimon Emperor… when Wormmon had been forced to come to their rescue.

Gazimon was unsurprised to find him in his usual spot, sitting on a large rock, gazing off at nothing.

"Bearmon… you know you've hardly said a thing since the Emperor attacked us," she said, sitting down next to him. "That was days ago, you know. And we all made it out in one piece. You don't have to feel guilty anymore."

Bearmon didn't turn to look at her.

"How can you ask me to not feel guilty?" he muttered. "I made the wrong choice. I put all a' you guys in danger. I shoulda known the Emperor would never listen to us…"

Gazimon shook her head in sympathy. "Come on, Bearmon… don't say that. You had no way of knowing – "

"Don't you get it? It's my job to know!" he snarled, rounding on her and making her jerk back in surprise. "It's my job to know what's safe and what's not, and I messed up! I led the Digimon Emperor right to us! If it hadn't been for Wormmon, we'd all be…" He trailed off, too pained to finish.

The irony wasn't lost on him… the very Digimon he'd tried to sell out was the one who had saved them all. The very thought made him burn in humiliation. How was he supposed to live with himself after this?

"I shoulda listened to that human… he was right all along," he said quietly, gazing back down at the ground. "Turnin' Wormmon over was never the answer."

Gazimon said nothing for a moment, sitting silently with her hands in her lap, trying to think of something helpful to say. It pained her to see her leader lose his spark like this…

"…But, there was no way you could have known that either," she finally spoke up. "Can you imagine, someone like Wormmon beating the Digimon Emperor all by himself? I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it."

Bearmon allowed the tiniest smirk of amusement to creep onto his face, though he still didn't turn to look at her. "Yeah… never woulda guessed the little guy had it in him…"

He fell silent.

Something strange seemed to come over him as he heard his own words. A look of slow dawning realization crossed his face, and he slid off the rock and stood up, staring directly ahead.

"And if he did all that," he said, mostly to himself, "then what excuse do the rest of us have?"

Gazimon stared up at him. "Bearmon? What's wrong?"

Bearmon turned to look back down at her. Whatever he had just realized was making him look rather surprised. "Y'know, Gazimon… I think we've been goin' about this the wrong way."

––

The Digimon Emperor stalked through the dark halls of his fortress, his footsteps echoing and his cape swishing behind him as he went. His gaze was focused squarely ahead, and he spared no glance in either direction as the occasional Digimon slave cowered and fled at the sight of him. Even the very shadows seemed to retreat from his presence as he passed by.

He smirked. Exactly the way he liked it.

He hadn't shown himself to the Digidestined for several days now, and in the intervening time they'd managed to destroy many of his Control Spires and free several areas of the Digital World from his control. It irked him, of course, that they still had the nerve to defy him like this, but he had bigger things on his mind.

He'd spent the last several days holed up in his control room, devising a plan for one purpose and one purpose only: killing Wormmon.

He couldn't exactly take out his anger on the other kids like this; they were real, after all, not just data. But that accursed Digimon… that craven little worm… the one who'd repeatedly helped the Digidestined under his very nose, and then so thoroughly humiliated him in front of his enemies… oh, but he would enjoy grinding it beneath his heel. It enraged him to no end that it was still alive even now, despite his best efforts. That thing was no caterpillar, it was a cockroach.

He recognized on some level that it was ridiculous – undignified, even, to behave this way. With all the power at his fingertips, he shouldn't allow that festering little grub to get under his skin like this. He should be above such pettiness…

But what of it? He was the ruler of this world. If he wanted to be petty, there was no one to stop him.

And besides… it wasn't just the creature's insubordination that made him want to throttle it. He didn't like to admit it… but there was something else.

Just the memory of how that creature had stared up at him… that pathetically sad, weak, helpless, innocent little thing… it stirred up some very unpleasant feelings in him, feelings he had been sure he'd squelched for good. It reminded him too much of an equally sad and pathetic little boy from very long ago, and even as he banished the memory once more, he still couldn't understand why that creature was affecting him this way. There was something about that Digimon he just… didn't like.

Well, no matter. By this time tomorrow, he'd never have to bother himself with it again.

He rounded a sharp corner and entered his control room, seated himself in front of the glowing computer screens, and began to work.

Yes… it was time to be rid of this problem for good.

––

"That's an… interesting place to build a Control Spire."

The strangeness of its location was what had drawn the Digidestined to it in the first place, from when it had first shown up on the school computer. It was perched on a cliff at the very edge of the Server Continent, many miles away from where they had been doing most of their fighting lately. Hundreds of feet below, the Net Ocean stretched out for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see.

Apart from that, there was nothing there.

"Why would the Digimon Emperor build this all the way out here?" wondered Kari. She and the others were gazing over at it from a safe distance away, though there didn't seem to be much need for caution. "There are no Digimon villages for miles and miles… there's nothing to control around here."

Wormmon didn't really care whether it had a purpose being here or not, he decided… these things always frightened him. He shrank back from it ever so slightly, wishing that the others would just hurry up and destroy it before it was too late.

"He must have done it for some reason," TK said firmly, arms folded. "He has a reason for everything he does. There must be something strategic about this location that we don't know about."

"Strategic? I dunno if you noticed, TH, but there's nothing here," Davis said listlessly. "If you ask me, the guy just had his glasses on too tight."

Gatomon shook her head solemnly. "No… the Digimon Emperor doesn't make mistakes like that. This was done on purpose," she said, years of knowledge and experience audible in her voice. Wormmon gazed over at her as she spoke, finding himself wishing he had that sort of wisdom.

"If there's no Digimon to control, then it's here for something else. Something like – "

"Guys?" Yolei suddenly said nervously, freezing up and gazing over her shoulder with a frightened look on her face. "Do you… do you hear that noise?"

Everyone quickly fell silent and followed her gaze.

Somewhere within the trees behind them came a low, throaty growling noise… and then it was quickly joined by several more.

Everyone stared and slowly backed away, not daring to make a sound, eyes fixed on the trees as the growling noises slowly escalated and the bushes began to rustle.

"…Something like luring us into a trap," Gatomon finished.

Davis froze as he felt himself step on a stick, the loud snap breaking the silence… and that was the signal.

Yolei shrieked as a large black form came exploding out of the bushes, snarling and barking as it leapt at the hapless children. TK and Kari barely had time to recognize the creature as a Dobermon before screaming, spinning around and fleeing with all the others.

"Davis! Davis!" Wormmon cried out as he tried to scramble after the others, but it was no use – he was just too slow. His cries were drowned out as one, two, three more Dobermon suddenly came bursting out of the bushes, each one howling and baying as they took off after the human children and their pawsteps shook the ground. Davis couldn't hear Wormmon begging for help. None of them could.

"What – what are those things?!" Cody screamed as TK frantically grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along. Where they were supposed to have spiked collars, each Dobermon instead had one of the Emperor's Dark Rings clamped around its neck. The five partner Digimon were each desperately trying to fend off the pursuing Dobermon with their attacks, only to be effortlessly sent flying by the ferocious Champions.

"Guys, we have to get away from the ocean!" TK shouted as he attempted to lead the others back in the direction of the trees, but he quickly realized that was not an option. One of the Dobermon had raced along ahead and was now suddenly swerving in front of him, cutting him off, forcing him to veer off to the right with a jolt of panic and pull Cody along with him.

The Dobermon were herding them straight toward the edge of the cliff.

"Yolei! We have to Armor Digivolve!" Hawkmon cried down to his partner from where he was flapping in the air and out of their pursuers' reach.

Yolei managed to steal a glance up at him as she ran and nodded. "Right! Digiarmor ener – ack!"

One of the Dobermon threw itself at her, knocking her to the ground with a painful thud and sending her skidding forward several feet, stopping just short of the edge of the cliff.

Yolei winced and stared up at the Dobermon in horror, its front paws pinning her down by her chest, rendering her unable to do anything but squirm.

"N… nice doggy… good doggy…"

Davis and the others had abruptly found themselves in a very similar position. The remaining Dobermon had grouped them and their Digimon together at the cliff's edge, ever so slowly closing in on them, growling as their eyes glowed red. Patamon and Hawkmon could only watch in horror from the air, already knowing that trying to attack them was useless.

Davis quickly glanced over his shoulder, looking down at the crashing waves far beneath them. "All right… I didn't wanna do this, but you guys asked for it," he said, trying to keep his voice steady as he reached for the Digiegg of Courage. "Veemon! Digiarmor energi – "

"By all means, keep talking if you want to die."

Davis immediately fell silent. All five children winced and turned to face the all too familiar voice.

The Digimon Emperor had just come walking out of the trees… actually, waltzing was a more accurate word, as he was looking quite thoroughly pleased with himself, seemingly not remembering or not caring how his last encounter with them had gone. His Dobermon stood where they were as he approached them, never once taking their glowing eyes off their prey.

"All it will take is one snap of my finger for them to send you over the cliff," he said threateningly, raising up his hand and looking more than ready to snap. "Do you really think you can make your precious partners digivolve faster than that? Here's a hint: you can't."

All five of the Digidestined stood frozen, not daring to move, only able to glare at him with immeasurable hatred and disgust in their eyes.

"Fine. You beat us this time, Emperor," TK said in a low voice, trying not to sound afraid. The Emperor had to be bluffing, didn't he? He couldn't honestly be threatening to kill them… did he even realize what he was doing…?

"Look, just call off the Dobermon, let us go, and we'll leave here without a fight."

The Emperor just let out a laugh, not one to show any sort of mercy. "I may," he said thoughtfully. "But there's something I think you all should see first."

Suddenly, one more Dobermon stepped out from behind his cape, standing at his side… and holding someone in its jaws.

"Wormmon!" Davis cried. Everyone else gasped in horror.

Wormmon was bruised and beaten all over. His head was throbbing, his body was weak and limp, and all he could do was wince in pain as the Dobermon's fangs dug into his tender flesh. As he saw his friends all staring at him, too terrified to make a move, he feebly lifted his head up and gazed back at them, his eyes full of pleading and sorrow.

"Davis… everyone… I'm so sorry…"

"You all talk so much about being a team, it really is amusing how easily you forgot about him when your own lives were in danger," the Emperor sneered, glaring down at his victim in utter contempt. "But it's too late now. Your precious little team mascot here has been a thorn in my side for too long. I'm killing him now, and you're all going to watch." He shifted his hardened gaze onto the Digidestined. "And this time, there will be no interference."

"Oh, you WANNA BET?!"

From behind his glasses, the Emperor's eyes bulged. He barely had time to turn his head around before a fuzzy black blur came bowling into him from clear out of nowhere, knocked him to the ground and promptly began beating the stuffing out of him. The Dobermon staggered back to get out of the way, and in its shock it loosened its jaws and Wormmon dropped to the ground.

The Digidestined stood and gawked at this. "Wait – is that – Bearmon?" said TK, though they didn't get to ponder that before a chorus of battle cries filled the air and Bearmon's refugee Digimon all came charging up behind him, dozens upon dozens of them, throwing themselves at the utterly bemused Dobermon slaves. The Champions thrashed around, snarling and biting to free themselves, but the refugees were beating them back by sheer force of numbers.

"Digidestined! It's up to you now!" Gazimon shouted from within the chaos.

Davis immediately snapped out of his shock. "Right! Let's go, guys! We gotta knock down that Control Spire!" he shouted, lifting up his Digiegg. The others quickly followed his lead, and in a flash their Armor Digimon were all racing along the cliff toward the Spire.

Wormmon gasped in fright, dragging his injured body out of the way as Bearmon grappled with the Digimon Emperor. The refugee leader had his hands around his enemy's throat, leaving the Emperor's eyes bulging as he struggled to free himself.

"You…" he choked out. "No! I won't be beaten by a Rookie! Not again!"

"You're nothin' but a pathetic human, Digimon Emperor. You're less than a Rookie," Bearmon sneered at him.

The Emperor finally managed to pry one of Bearmon's paws free and hurl him off, but as he sat back up and tried to collect himself, he was immediately greeted by a most unwelcome sight.

The Control Spire was destroyed.

He froze up in terror, watching as his Dobermon slaves suddenly stopped what they were doing, looking around in confusion as the red glow faded from their eyes, their minds freed from his control.

He was suddenly completely defenseless… and surrounded by dozens of very angry Digimon.

And just like that, everything's ruined again –

"You," one of the Dobermon growled, his hackles rising dangerously as he and the other four glared at their would-be captor. "Digimon Emperor! You did this to us!"

"You enslaved us!" another one snarled, slowly stalking toward him. "We'll never let you get away with this, you tyrant!"

The Emperor stared at them in horror, frantically scuffling away, too terrified to even try to stand back up. The Digidestined watched this as they all suddenly realized that if they were powerless against the Dobermon… then so was he.

What are they gonna do to him? thought Davis, growing uneasy as the Dobermon slowly advanced on their enemy. He's just a kid like the rest of us – we can't them hurt him, no matter what he's done –

But whatever he was about to say, he was beaten to it.

"No – wait! Stop!"

From where they had been mere seconds from throwing themselves at the Emperor, the Dobermon froze and turned to face the voice. So did everyone else.

"Wormmon?" said Davis.

Wormmon was lying forgotten on the ground, injured and all, panic flooding through him as he stared at the scene before him. Everything was silent. All eyes were on him.

He couldn't let them do this… and he didn't know why.

"Please… please don't," he almost whispered. Why? Why was he saying this? "Don't attack him… please."

It was the last thing anyone had expected. Everyone was too shocked and confused to make a move… except for the Digimon Emperor.

Taking advantage of the moment, he leapt to his feet, fled back into the trees and vanished.

By this time, Veemon and the others had rejoined their partners and reverted to their Rookie forms. They all watched in surprise as the Emperor disappeared among the trees, his cape flying behind him, suddenly looking very pathetic indeed as he went.

"You guys let him get away?" asked Patamon. "But why?"

Nobody present was really sure how to answer that. The moment had passed, and suddenly it felt to everyone like their inaction had been a huge mistake.

At the very least, Wormmon's outcry had reminded Davis that he was there.

"Wormmon? You okay, little guy?" he asked worriedly, walking over to him and scooping him up in his arms. "Man, you really have a knack for getting in trouble, don't you?"

Wormmon lifted his head and gazed up at Davis, looking timid and ashamed. "Davis… I'm so sorry… I tried to run from the Dobermon, but I couldn't…"

Davis sighed and shook his head. "Man, don't apologize… it's not your fault the Emperor can't let go of a grudge." He paused. "But, Wormmon… why'd you make those guys stop? Why didn't you want them fighting the Emperor?"

Wormmon grew stiff at the question. "I… I…"

It was the exact same feeling he'd had the other day, when he'd felt so horrible about attacking the Emperor himself. He'd felt the same thing as he watched the Dobermon about to finish him off, the same sickening feeling that this was wrong. Why? Why was he so reluctant to see anyone hurt like this, even if it was the Emperor? Was he really that weak?

"I… just… I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt," he finally whispered.

Davis let out a deep sigh. "Well, you got your wish… the Emperor's gone now."

"It would have been better if we'd done away with him then and there. It would have been the last the Digital World would have ever seen of him," growled one of the Dobermon, looking quite displeased that their hunt had been interrupted like this.

"The next time we see him, we won't be so lenient," another one agreed, and together they all stalked off into the forest and disappeared.

The other Digidestined had all walked up behind Davis and watched them leave… but Kari suddenly found herself distracted by something else.

"Bearmon?" she said, turning to face the one who had saved them. As the others all heard her and turned to face him too, he suddenly found himself shying away, feeling very awkward.

"Thank you helping us just now, Bearmon. You and all of your friends," Kari went on, giving him her warmest smile. "But… why did you do it? We thought you didn't like us."

Bearmon obviously hadn't prepared a speech for this occasion. He glanced away, fidgeting and looking like he would really rather not be having this conversation.

"Well… it's not that exactly," he said quietly, determined not to look them in the eye. "See, it's just… ever since Wormmon saved us that one time, we got to thinkin'… well, it's sorta like…"

Gazimon cleared her throat. "I think what Bearmon's trying to say, Wormmon, is… you inspired us. This whole time, we've been so afraid of the Digimon Emperor we thought the only way to protect ourselves was to betray each other… until we saw you, it never occurred to us that we could actually fight him."

Wormmon blinked in surprise. "Oh… well… I…"

"Yeah, what she said," Bearmon muttered in agreement. "So, yeah. Basically we all agreed it's time to stop hidin' and start fightin'." He turned to face Davis and the others. "So, you Digidestined kids! We're gonna be helpin' you guys out from now on, if you don't mind."

The Digidestined all stared at him. "Wait… you're… what?" said Davis.

"Of course, if you guys are too special to need our help, that's fine too," Bearmon said casually, folding his arms behind his head. "We just figured, maybe… it'd be useful if you had some of us workin' on the inside, y'know? I mean, we live in the Digital World. We know this place back and forth. Could be a help to you guys, y'know."

Quite understandably, the children were all at a loss for words. Except for Kari, anyway.

"Oh, Bearmon! You'd really do that for us?" she cried in delight, hands clasped together, looking like she wanted to hug him like a teddy bear. "You want to help us fight the Digimon Emperor?"

"Wait… you guys really mean it? Even though you know how dangerous it is?" asked TK, looking astonished.

"Well, yeah, why not?" Bearmon said with a shrug. "If Wormmon's willin' to do it, then so are we. And hey, d'you guys see how I kicked the Digimon Emperor's butt just now?" He sprouted a devious grin. "The guy's an amateur. This'll be a piece of cake."

"And it won't be just us. We're gonna get as many Digimon as we can to join up with us too. The Digimon Emperor can't control all of us," said Gazimon.

"Yeah! It's time to stop being afraid!" shouted a Gotsumon in the crowd, and all the refugees started cheering loudly in agreement.

Unsurprisingly, Davis looked thrilled. "Yeah! This is great! This is awesome!" he cheered along with them, throwing his fist into the air. "Now that we're not the only ones fighting the Emperor, he'll go down faster than ever!"

"I must admit… the extra help will definitely be nice," TK sighed, smiling faintly.

Bearmon had been looking quite pleased, but suddenly the smile dropped from his face as he glanced up at Wormmon again, still nestled in Davis's arm.

"Oh, and uh, one more thing… uh, Wormmon…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm uh… sorry we tried to turn you over. Yeah. That was… uh… the wrong thing to do."

"Oh… I…" Wormmon started blushing faintly. "It's okay, Bearmon. I'm okay now, so… there's no harm done."

"You should be sorry. Wormmon is our friend, and what you did was cruel," Cody said sternly.

Bearmon shot him a glare. "I'm sorry, was I talkin' to you?"

Kari let out a giggle. "Oh, let's not start fighting. We're all on the same side now, aren't we? And it's all thanks to Wormmon!" She stroked the little caterpillar on the head, beaming with pride. "See, Wormmon? There's no need to feel down about yourself. You really are important!"

Wormmon's eyes widened at her touch. He felt his gaze traveling across every human and Digimon present, realized in astonishment that they were all looking at him with the same warmth and friendliness, and suddenly started feeling something unfamiliar, but very warm and welcome, slowly growing inside him…

Was this what happiness felt like?

"Oh… thank you… thank you, everyone… I'm just glad I could be useful," he said bashfully, feeling like he was blushing from head to toe, as it finally occurred to him that maybe he didn't have quite so much to be sad about after all.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing he could not tolerate, the Emperor had decided, it was defeat. No, not just defeat – failure. Putting forth all his vast power toward preventing his defeat, and simply, irrevocably failing.

As usual, all his failures could be traced back to that damnable Wormmon… first it and now Bearmon had gotten the jump on him, exposed him as the fallible human being he was so certain he wasn't. And thanks to them, Digimon all over his great empire were getting ideas and coming together in rebellion against him – exactly what he'd been trying to prevent! What good was being able to predict all the potential setbacks of his campaign if he was unable to do anything about it?

It was unfair, that was what it was. Just a few more measly Digimon fighting alongside the Digidestined shouldn't have made any difference, but when those Digimon started inspiring other Digimon, and they started inspiring others… it was an exponential growth curve, like the spread of an infectious disease, and for all his power there wasn't a thing he could do to wipe it out.

He gripped his whip as he stewed in his rage, his knuckles turning white inside his velvet gloves. He should have been out there fighting to reconquer his lands, but he was so far behind schedule that he couldn't even do that. The Digidestined were liberating and destroying his prison blocks almost more quickly than he could construct them, and if he wanted to get any conquering done, he needed somewhere to hold his prisoners…

He took a few steps forward and glared down into the ravine far below him, watching his hundreds of ringed slaves toiling away in the rocky quarry, struggling to finish construction on the prison block where they themselves would soon be held captive.

"Faster!" he barked down at them. "Unless you want to feel the whip on your backs, you'll – "

There was an explosion.

––

Wormmon scampered through the winding maze of a tunnel, following the same path he'd taken the past several days when he'd been sent out on recon. Being such a small little Digimon meant he was an ideal scout, able to map out the Emperor's prison blocks without ever being noticed.

"You're sure this is the way, Wormmon?" Cody whispered from behind him.

"I'm sure, Cody," he whispered back. "This is the way I went yesterday. I remember it."

"You'd better be sure. We've only got one shot at this," muttered one of the three Gotsumon who were walking along behind them. All of them belonged to Bearmon's refugee group, although really Wormmon had taken to thinking of them more as rebels than refugees. Though they no longer seemed angry at him for it, he still carried with him the guilt of being the reason they had first lost their homes, and he would do anything in his power to make up for it.

"I trust Wormmon," Armadillomon said firmly. "I'm sure he knows what he's doin'."

The group followed Wormmon through the tunnel in silence for a while, only coming to a stop as it opened up into a large cave that faced the ravine and was probably in the process of being turned into a prison cell. Cody and the others watched as Wormmon balanced on his hind legs, feeling around the rocky wall before drawing to a stop and nodding.

"Here it is," he said. "I checked, and this is where the rock is weakest, Cody. If you and Armadillomon attacked it right here, the whole wall would come apart."

"Hey, don't forget about us!" said one of the Gotsumon. "We were built for this job. Literally!"

Cody nodded and turned to his partner. "Now remember, Armadillomon, our job is to create a distraction," he instructed him. "We need the Emperor's attention on us so the others can knock down the Control Spire. And that goes for the rest of you too," he addressed the Gotsumon. "Everyone understand?"

The Digimon all nodded.

"Right. Then let's hurry." Cody held up the Digiegg of Knowledge. "Digiarmor energize!"

Wormmon and all the Gotsumon stepped back and braced themselves as Armadillomon was enveloped in a blinding light, transforming into Digmon before their very eyes. Cody gave his partner a nod as he brandished his drills with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Right. I think this place could use a little remodeling!" he shouted, launching his drills directly at the wall.

––

"Faster! Unless you want to feel the whip on your backs, you'll – "

There was an explosion. The left wall of the quarry came bursting open with a deafening crash, stone and gravel flying in all directions and causing the Digimon slaves in the ravine to scream and scatter. The Emperor's eyes bulged as he saw an all too familiar Armor Digimon flying out of the hole in the wall with a malicious cackle.

"No! No, no, no!" The Emperor screamed, grabbing at his hair. "You can't tell me they followed me all the way to – attack them!" He jabbed a desperate finger at Cody and Digmon, and all his slaves immediately turned around and converged on them.

"Guys, a little help?" Cody nervously called over to the Gotsumon, but all three of them were busy bashing away at the cracked stone where Digmon had broken it, causing more and more of the quarry wall to crumble and collapse.

"Just leave it to us!" came a triumphant voice, and suddenly Bearmon and his rebels all came pouring out of the hole, shouting deafening battle cries and meeting the Emperor's slaves in a spectacular clash. The quarry instantly devolved into total anarchy as the Gotsumon continued to destroy the half-finished walls of the prison block, causing an avalanche as the stone came crashing and tumbling down and forcing everyone in the melee to frantically scramble backwards.

"Be careful, Bearmon!" Cody shouted from up on Digmon's back.

"Can't make any promises!" Bearmon shouted back with a cheeky grin before spinning around and slugging a Gizamon in the face.

The Emperor could only stare down in dumbfounded rage at the chaos unfolding before him, not even noticing the other four Armor Digimon and their partners racing past him until it was too late.

"No you don't!" he shouted, his voice breaking as he spun around to see his hated enemies converging on the Control Spire up on the rocky hill just behind them. "You're not beating me that easily! Not this time!"

He held up his digivice as its screen glowed an ugly purple, and at his summons a group of DarkLizardmon slaves suddenly appeared, stomping in front of the Digidestined and their partners and cutting off their path to the Spire. The four human children immediately skidded to a stop, but not one of them looked intimidated in the slightest.

"It's gonna take more than that to get rid of us!" Yolei laughed. "Halsemon, let's show these guys what we're made of!"

"It will be my pleasure!"

Yolei hopped on her partner's back, and TK and Kari did the same. The three Digimon took to the air, circling around the heads of the DarkLizardmon, deftly dodging the attacks of shadowy flame targeting them and firing off attacks of their own.

"Davis! Go!" TK shouted down.

"All right Flamedramon, you heard him! Let's take care of this!" Davis shouted at his partner, and together the two of them raced past the distracted slaves, directly toward the unprotected Spire.

The Emperor could only watch in complete helplessness. "No! Stop it! Stop it!"

Flamedramon leapt into the air, wreathed his body in flames and slammed into the Spire with all his might.

The Spire didn't stand a chance. It splintered and cracked, finally bursting apart completely and crumbling to the ground in a pile of useless rubble.

The Emperor was already long gone, having fled the scene in fear the moment he realized his Spire was about to be destroyed, unwilling to repeat the incident with the Dobermon. He was not missed. All at once, his slaves returned to their senses as their Dark Rings lost control over them, looking around in confusion before filling with relief and joy as they realized they were free. The quarry was in ruins, and the chaotic whoops and cheers of victory, the signal of another defeat of the Digimon Emperor, could be heard for miles around.

––

Some time later, the rebel camp was filled with the same laughs and cheers as the Digidestined, together with Bearmon and his friends, came tromping back in the highest of spirits, arms slung around each other as several of them collapsed to the ground for some well-earned rest.

"Man, did you guys see the look on his face?" Davis snorted in laughter, clutching his sides. "He was all, 'How dare you free all those prisoners who never did anything wrong? Who do you think you are?'"

"Serves his ugly mug right! I only wish I coulda slugged him some more. This time I'd really make it count!" Bearmon snickered.

"Man, Bearmon, we never coulda made it this far without you guys. You're the best!" Davis said with a grin, he and Bearmon sharing a fistbump.

If any of the others thought this was a rather unlikely friendship that had formed, they didn't comment. "Yeah, I have to admit, Davis is right," TK said with a genial smile. "Bearmon, you and your friends have been a huge help to us. We've done more with you guys than we ever could have managed by ourselves."

"Can you imagine if we had to fight the Digimon Emperor all by ourselves?" Yolei laughed, stretching her arms above her head. "Talk about obnoxious. We probably would've gotten nowhere by now. And he'd still be prancing around going on and on about how he's better than everyone else – "

"Well, he's still doing that, but he's not fooling anyone anymore," Kari giggled. It wasn't hard to see that thanks to his latest long string of defeats, the Emperor's veneer of control was beginning to slip. Gradually, the Digital World was coming to see him less as a warmongering tyrant and more as an overinflated bully with more bark than bite. And without his fear tactics, more and more Digimon were finding there was nothing stopping them from standing up to him…

"Well, enough talk. I think it's about dinnertime, don't you guys?" said Bearmon. "I dunno about all a' you, but I'm so hungry I could eat a Whamon right about now."

"Not if I eat it first!" Davis shouted as he ran off after Bearmon. Everyone else obediently set off to prepare the food, and within a few minutes the large group had a number of campfires going and was chowing down on some delicious smoked salmon… at least it tasted like salmon, thought the Digidestined, but given what world they were in, it could have been anything. The first day Bearmon had invited the human children over for a meal, Davis, Yolei and Cody had all looked somewhat wary at the offering, only for TK and Kari to laugh and assure them that Digital World food was perfectly safe. That was enough for them to eagerly dig in – more specifically, Davis and Yolei had dived into an impromptu eating contest with Cody looking on in disgust.

Today, Davis was sitting apart from the other kids and having what looked like a very involved conversation with Bearmon. Wormmon watched the two of them as they talked; apparently Davis was having another one of those "lessons". Just a few days after they had first formed their truce, Davis had sheepishly approached Bearmon by himself with a rather unexpected request.

"So… listen, Bearmon," he muttered, rubbing his arm uneasily. "I was thinking about what you said before, and… I think you were right. You are a way better leader than I am." This was clearly making him uncomfortable to confess. "See, I kinda just started doing this, and I don't know a whole lot, and I know I should… I mean, I know the Digimon Emperor's not a joke, and it's really important that we beat him, so… I was wondering…" He paused, unsure of how to continue. "D'you think maybe… you could give me… leader lessons?"

Bearmon stared up at him, completely blank-faced. "'Leader lessons'?"

"If ya don't mind," Davis said with a lopsided grin.

Bearmon could only continue to stare at him in silence for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "You're a weird human, Davis."

"So is that a no?" Davis looked disappointed.

Suddenly, to his surprise, Bearmon grew a grin of his own. "Hey now, I didn't say that," he said. "So you wanna learn from the best, huh? Well, you came to the right mon."

They seemed to have had a lesson like this every day since then. Wormmon was truly impressed with Davis lately; he really had started taking his leadership role seriously, and Bearmon was more than willing to accommodate. With how closely their teams had been working together, Wormmon supposed the two leaders would want to learn from each other as much as possible.

Wormmon himself was seated with Veemon and the other partner Digimon, all of whom were gleefully chowing down on the large fruit pile in front of them while chatting about the day's events. He rarely joined in on conversations like this; he was much more of a listener. Of course, today he was finding it hard to even do that, and before long he had abandoned the apple he had been toying with and drifted off into his thoughts.

Things really had been going better for him lately, he thought. Barely a month ago he'd had no friends at all, and now, somehow, he'd become one of the most popular Digimon in the Digital World. Since his courageous stand against the Digimon Emperor, it seemed like he'd become an inspiration to just about everybody, and he was nearly overwhelmed by all the Digimon who wanted to be his friend nowadays. The Emperor was surely still out for his blood, but with both the Digidestined and Bearmon's team grown so protective of him, it hardly seemed worth panicking over anymore. For the first time ever, it really seemed like his future was looking bright…

…Though deep down, he had to admit he still wasn't quite as happy as he should have been. He was grateful, of course, grateful to Davis and Bearmon and everyone else… but he would never be completely at ease so long as he was with the Digidestined and their partner Digimon, living with the reminder of how very partnerless he was himself.

It didn't help that he was still having the dream.

When he wasn't having nightmares about the Digimon Emperor, it seemed, he was having the dream of the make-believe human boy, the one who laughed and played with him, the one who said he loved him. He was always so happy in that dream, and so devastated whenever he woke up and realized none of it was real…

He couldn't explain why, but he loved that boy in his dreams, more than he loved anyone in the real waking world. Just the fact that he wasn't real filled Wormmon's heart with such an aching longing that he couldn't begin to understand.

Maybe it was that this was the closest he'd ever get to having a real human partner. This was the only way he'd ever have of knowing what it was like.

As it was, he couldn't stop thinking about that boy. He couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like if he were real, and if he were part of the Digidestined with Davis and the others. Wormmon would be able to digivolve into something big and strong and protect him, and when he wasn't doing that his partner would carry him around everywhere in his arms. And he'd see Veemon and the other children's Digimon, and he'd wave and say "Look, everyone! I have a partner too! I have my very own partner!" And they'd all look so surprised and so jealous because of course Wormmon had the very best partner of all.

He was busy having that very daydream when he realized he was being nudged. Startled, he broke out of his reverie to see Gatomon looking directly at him, stifling an amused smile from the surprised look on his face. The others had apparently finished eating and had run off to play with the other Digimon.

"Something on your mind, Wormmon?" she asked him. "You looked like you were thinking very hard about something."

"Oh… I'm sorry, Gatomon," he muttered, blushing and fidgeting as he gazed at the ground. Gatomon had always filled him with a sort of awe; she was so wise and mature, nothing like Veemon and the others. It probably had something to do with being a Champion level by default.

"It's fine. Is it anything you want to talk about?"

"I…" He paused. None of the others really knew how much he wanted a partner, how much it had grown to consume his thoughts. He'd mentioned it to Davis, but that had been a while ago, and since then it had seemed like the rebellion against the Emperor had been the most important thing.

"…I don't know," he said. "I don't know if I should talk about it. It's silly, really."

Gatomon sighed and looked at him sadly. "Oh, Wormmon. You shouldn't talk down on yourself like that. I'm sure it's not silly at all." She shuffled closer to him. "You know all of us are your friends, don't you? You can talk to us about anything."

Wormmon stared at her. His natural inclination was just to keep things buried, but seeing the sincere look in her eyes, he suddenly began to reconsider… she was so wise, after all. Maybe she would understand.

"Well… I… it's just, I…" He paused and took a deep breath before plunging in. "I want a human partner. I want one very, very much. It's almost all I can think about." He was looking at the ground off to his side, afraid to look Gatomon in the eye, and only went on when she didn't respond. "I thought being on the team with the Digidestined would make it go away, but it's only made it worse. I want my own partner. I know it sounds silly, but… it feels like I'm supposed to have a partner, like I won't really be okay until I find them."

He rubbed his forelegs together, antennae drooping miserably as he continued to gaze at the ground. He was sure Gatomon was about to admonish him for having such a selfish wish… he wasn't prepared for what she did say.

"I believe you."

Wormmon looked up at her. "What? You do?"

She nodded. "Tell me, Wormmon… this isn't just something that's started recently, is it? Is this something you've always wanted deep down in your heart? Something that just keeps eating at you, something you can't ignore?"

Wormmon nodded vigorously, his eyes wide. "Yes! Yes, it is… well, I always knew I wanted something, but I wasn't ever sure what it was until I met you and the Digidestined." He fidgeted. "But now I know for sure. I want a human partner, more than anything in the whole world." He glanced up timidly at Gatomon. "You… you really believe me?"

"I do," she said. "Because I had that exact same feeling."

Wormmon stared in shock.

"Listen, Wormmon… I haven't told you everything about myself. Kari and I… we didn't meet when we were supposed to. I was lost as an egg, and I ended up being raised by an evil Digimon named Myotismon."

Wormmon instinctively drew back in fear. He'd heard that name from the other Digimon, of course. "You were? Why, that… that sounds horrible…"

"It was," she agreed, looking very glum. Wormmon thought he saw her gazing down at one of her gloves for some reason. "It's not a time of my life I like to think about. I don't know how I would have carried on all that time, except for…"

"Except for what?"

"A feeling I had," she said with a small, sad-looking smile. "I always had this feeling deep down that I was looking for someone. That there was someone out there who needed me, and I needed them… and no matter how much I was beaten or punished for it, that feeling never went away."

Wormmon was gazing at her with such fascination that she couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face. "And I was right. I found who I was looking for… and I've never looked back."

She and Wormmon both glanced over at Kari, who was currently holding her sides and laughing at a joke Yolei had just made. She was truly beautiful when she laughed like that, and as Gatomon gazed over at her, she no longer seemed like the stoic Champion she was, just a Digimon filled with wide-eyed adoration for her partner.

Wormmon tried to fight back his jealousy, but he didn't stand a chance. He ached to see how perfectly Kari and Gatomon fit together, just like Davis and Veemon… how would he ever find someone like that?

Gatomon finally seemed to remember where she was, turning back to Wormmon with an embarrassed smile. "What I'm trying to say, Wormmon, is that if you really think deep down that you were meant to have a human partner… then I believe you. And you shouldn't let anything or anyone stop you from finding them."

Wormmon had no idea how to respond, and so finally she got up and walked over to join the other Digimon in their game, looking over her shoulder and giving him a wink as she left.

Wormmon stared after her in silence. Had that conversation really just happened? Gatomon, of all Digimon, had had the same feeling as him? She'd been missing her partner, and she'd found her? Did that mean… could the same thing possibly happen to him?

He'd been so sure the boy from his dreams wasn't truly real, but… what if it wasn't just a hopeless fantasy after all? What if his dreams were trying to tell him something?

Davis was still utterly convinced that the Digimon Emperor wasn't even a real Digidestined at all ("What Digidestined would act the way he does?" he always reasoned), and the digivice he owned simply belonged to somebody else. It wasn't entirely impossible, the others decided; what with all the pain and death he'd already inflicted on this world, a little something like stealing clearly wasn't beneath him. Though of course that would mean there were still other Digidestined out there they still didn't know about…

TK had been skeptical at the idea, of course, but… what if Davis was right? What if there was another child out there who was meant to have that digivice? What if –

Wormmon stopped moving and froze.

What if the Emperor's digivice belonged to his partner?

His heartbeat began to escalate, and he nearly started outright twitching in excitement at the very thought of it. He desperately tried to calm himself down, not wanting to be disappointed if it turned out to be a false hope, but… it would explain everything, wouldn't it? How someone as horrible as the Emperor got into the Digital World in the first place? Why Wormmon was so desperately sure he was meant to have a partner, and yet that partner was nowhere to be found? If the Emperor had stolen his digivice, that meant he had no way of getting to the Digital World! No wonder he and Wormmon had never met each other…

It gradually dawned on him that this conflict with the Emperor was a more personal matter than he'd ever realized. Not only was he wreaking havoc on the Digital World, why, he was keeping Wormmon from meeting his partner, the one human he was meant to devote his life to!

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he barely even noticed the game between the other Digimon draw to a close, or Davis and Bearmon saying goodbye before the gogglehead walked up to the other kids and announced that they'd better get back to their own world now. Wormmon wandered along after the group without a word as they set off, his head spinning in dizzy excitement. Even if someone had tried to talk to him, he was miles away.

He really might have a partner after all… the thought made him giddy, but at the same time, he realized how serious the situation truly was. He would have to do his very best to help the others defeat the Emperor; that was the only way they could take the digivice back from him, and then find out from whom he had taken it…

He decided not to tell any of the others about his plan. For now, this would be his little secret.

We will beat the Digimon Emperor… I'm sure of it, he thought solemnly. And when we do… then I can finally meet my partner.

Chapter Text

"Wormmonnnnn! Hey, Wormmon, wake up!"

"Wake up, wake up, Wormmon~!"

"Hnngh?" Wormmon blearily forced his eyes open. His head was still clouded from a night's worth of sleep, but somehow he could make out Davis standing over him and poking him in the side, Demiveemon clinging to his shoulder and bouncing up and down.

"Ohh… what is it, Davis?"

"Heh, sorry, little guy." Davis stood back with a sheepish grin. "I was gonna let you sleep in, but you don't wanna miss today! You remember what today is, right?"

"I…" Wormmon really wanted to just go back to sleep. He was having a hard time thinking straight. "It's… oh!" He quickly sat up. "Today is your big soccer game, right Davis?"

"Huh? Oh no, that's tomorrow. Today's the big party Bearmon and those guys are holding in the Digital World! You remember that, right?"

"Oh… yes I do! That's really today?" Time certainly had been moving quickly lately.

Davis laughed at his surprised look. "Yeah it is! Now c'mon, Veemon and I are all ready!"

The gogglehead was in quite high spirits as he raced over to the school, Demiveemon and Wormmon in their usual places in his arms and on his shoulder, respectively. For once, he was actually the first one to arrive at the computer lab and started pacing back and forth, punching the air excitedly as he waited for everyone else. Finally the other four children and their Digimon arrived, and Davis wasted no time whipping out his digivice and transporting everyone to the Digital World.

"Man you guys, this is gonna be the best day ever! I can already tell!" he cheered as they all marched along toward the rebel camp. "Veemon, buddy, you gotta tell me all about parties in the Digital World! Are they crazy?"

"I don't know, Davis. I live with you, remember?"

"…Oh, yeah. Never mind then."

"I still think it would be more prudent to wait until after the Emperor is defeated to throw a party," Cody said to himself, eyes to the ground as he walked.

"Aww, c'mon, Cody. Don't'cha like havin' fun?" said Armadillomon, giving him a playful nudge. His partner still wasn't moved.

"We're assuming nothing is going to go wrong when we start our final campaign! Do you all really think the Emperor is going to just let us walk all over him? Any number of things could happen…"

"Actually, Cody, I'm not entirely certain that's true," TK said thoughtfully. He had his hand on his chin as Patamon flitted excitedly around his head. "The Emperor's already lost most of his forces thanks to Bearmon and the rebels. And thanks to us, he's lost most of his Control Spires." He smiled. "From a strategic standpoint, there's really not a lot he can do to us. Unless he magically gets some secret weapon that completely turns everything around…"

"I'm just saying we shouldn't underestimate him," Cody muttered, impatiently marching ahead of the others before anyone else could get in a word. Armadillomon gave a light sigh before following after him.

Wormmon watched them with concern. "Oh… do you think Cody is right? Maybe this is a mistake…"

"Oh, it's fine, Wormmon. Cody's just being Cody right now," TK assured him, glancing down and noticing the look on his face. "Hey, if you're worried about the Emperor, don't be. If anything happens, you know we'd all protect you."

Wormmon blushed a little. In the past, he probably would have been too afraid to even show up today, but from the way the rebellion was going, even he had started to relax. It had reached the point where they were certain they could have a party without fear, confident there was nothing the Emperor could do to ruin it. That enough was cause for celebration.

The group kept walking along through the grassy field, quite pleased to see there were no Control Spires or enslaved Digimon to be found. Finally they walked between the two hills where the rebel camp was hidden, all drawing to a stop and gasping as they saw what was waiting for them.

The entire camp was decorated with colorful balloons and streamers – it must have taken hours to get the place looking this lively. Not only that, the place was packed; standing around were all the rebel Digimon – and not just them, but numerous Digimon the children had never seen before, presumably there by invitation. Bearmon was visible amongst them all, standing on a small constructed dais and looking around supervising everything.

"Hey! Glad you guys could make it!" he laughed as he saw them, waving them all over. "Now we can really get started!"

"Bearmon, you really outdid yourself. This place looks amazing!" Kari said in astonishment as they all pushed through the crowd of Digimon and approached him. "How long did it take you all to do this?"

"Ah, you guys don't need to worry about that. Anyway, what kinda Digimon would we be if we couldn't throw a proper party?" He grinned. "Clearly you guys've never been to a party in the Digital World. They're crazy!"

"I knew it," Davis said smugly, folding his arms.

As the other Digimon continued to chat and murmur amongst themselves, Bearmon suddenly pulled out a megaphone. "Attention Digimon and Digidorks! Hey, shut up and listen!" he shouted into it, causing everyone to quickly fall silent.

"That's more like it. Okay then, this party is officially under way! The snack bar is over that way, and the juice bar is over that way. Oh yeah, and we're playing Capture the Flag in exactly one hour, so everybody figure your teams out and meet back over here before then, or you're outta luck. Oh yeah, and no biting!"

"What's a game with no biting?" Gatomon pouted to herself, but everyone else (particularly the Digimon) started cheering and raced off to every corner of the camp to gorge themselves, race around and play with their friends, and generally just have fun.

There would be no worrying about the Digimon Emperor today, no working to destroy the Control Spires. Today was a celebration.

As much fun as everyone else was having, Wormmon quickly realized he was not quite the type for wild parties. Everyone was being so loud… finally he decided the best thing to do would be to just sit back and watch. Amidst the laughter and excited conversation of the other Digimon, Wormmon trotted over to a deserted corner and curled up by himself, happy enough that he was just able to relax, not needing to worry about turning around and seeing the Emperor towering over him.

Davis was of a somewhat different persuasion than Wormmon when it came to partying. The rebel Digimon had been certain that Bearmon would be the big mon of this party, but suddenly this cheeky human kid was threatening to upstage him. It seemed like he'd cleared out nearly half the snack table by himself, and now he was suddenly standing on top of it, dancing and singing karaoke as a large group of Digimon gathered around him and cheered him on.

"…What was in that punch, exactly?" said Kari.

"Nothing, I think. Pretty sure this is all Davis," said Yolei.

TK noticed Wormmon watching Davis and shot him a wry sideways smile. "Davis is certainly enjoying himself, isn't he?"

Wormmon turned to look at him. "I think it's not just the party. He's very excited about his soccer game tomorrow. He's been talking about it a lot."

"Ohhh, that's right. We're playing Tamachi Elementary tomorrow."

"That's right! It's gonna be awesome!" Davis cheered as he jumped off the table and raced over to the other two, arms over his head. "You guys know what this means, right? This means tomorrow I get to play against the famous Ken Ichijouji!"

Wormmon's antennae lifted in interest. "Who's that?"

"He's some genius kid who's been showing up on the news a lot lately," said TK, clearly not as excited about the whole thing as Davis. "People are saying he's one of the smartest kids in Tokyo… maybe the smartest. And not only that, he's one of the best soccer players."

"Yeah, and tomorrow I'm gonna grind him into the dust!" Davis shouted, swinging his fist around.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Davis," Kari chimed in, leaning next to TK. "You know Tamachi is undefeated this season, right? And Ichijouji has scored forty-five goals by himself!"

"That's just because he hasn't met me yet!" Davis boasted, puffing his chest out. "You just wait, guys. Tomorrow I'm gonna show that genius kid a thing or two about playing soccer!"

And then he spun around and raced off, kicking an imaginary soccer ball between his feet and grinning to himself.

"In one ear and out the other…" TK sighed. "Well anyway, Wormmon, we're all going to go watch the game tomorrow and support Davis. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you came too."

Wormmon looked surprised. "Oh… really? Me?"

"Sure, why not?" Kari giggled. We're all bringing our Digimon. Just pretend you're a stuffed animal and you'll be fine!"

Wormmon brightened up. "Okay! That sounds like fun. I would love to watch Davis play soccer."

He wasn't really sure how long the party went on after that. Hours? The other Digimon had their game of Capture the Flag in the meantime, but it was nothing he was interested in. He spent most of the time curled up next to TK and Kari, thinking his own thoughts, though he was frequently interrupted by one of the rebel Digimon bounding up to him and eagerly striking up a conversation with him. He was stunned at how excited they all were, and of course he answered all their questions politely, but it was getting to be a bit draining.

"Everybody wants to talk to me," he muttered.

Kari smiled. "Well, you inspired them, Wormmon. You proved that you don't have to be partnered with a human to make a difference against the Digimon Emperor."

Wormmon suddenly started fidgeting at that. Of course it was a good thing that he was inspiring the other Digimon, but… what would they all think of him if they knew how badly he wanted a human partner?

Finally the constant interruptions got to be too much. Leaving his spot, Wormmon found himself naturally gravitating over to Davis, the one who was best at making him feel less anxious. To his surprise, he found Davis, along with Veemon, sitting off in a corner and having yet another of his lessons with Bearmon. Apparently not even a party was enough to stop him from learning as much as he could.

"…So, wait, why is this part of the lesson?" said Davis as Wormmon approached him.

"Davis, if you're gonna be the guy in charge of savin' the Digital World, don't ya think you oughta at least know something about its original rulers?" Bearmon said sternly. "Really, all a' you human kids should be over here listening to this. Now then, what are their names?"

Davis groaned and rubbed his forehead, obviously thinking hard. "Ugh, they were all so weird… uhh… Azoolimon?"

"Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon," Bearmon snapped, flicking Davis in the forehead. "The four Harmonious Ones. C'mon, Davis, this is important."

"Oh, I've heard of them," Wormmon spoke up. "I thought they were called the Digimon Sovereigns."

"Yeah, well, they got a lot of names," Bearmon said shortly. "Anyway, they're the guys who're supposed to rule over the Digital World. They're responsible for protectin' all the rest of us Digimon from evil… problem is, ever since the Digimon Emperor came into power, nobody's seen 'em."

"Really? They're not doing their job very well then, are they?" said Davis. "So what, you think they all ran away or something?"

"Of course not! They'd never do that!" Bearmon snapped. "The Digimon Emperor must've imprisoned them all somehow. That's the only explanation. It's the power of those Control Spires."

Davis sat back thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah, I guess that could be it."

"It's not even the first time it's happened either. Years ago, the Digital World got taken over by these four evil Digimon called the Dark Masters, and they all imprisoned the Harmonious Ones too. But the Digidestined defeated the Dark Masters and used their power to set the Harmonious Ones free. I just know that once we beat the Digimon Emperor, we can set them all free again. And then they'll waste that little human punk!"

Davis blinked. "Uh, well, I think we'd rather do it with no 'wasting'. The guy's just a kid, he must have parents or something."

"I've heard of the Harmonious Ones too, I think… I don't really remember when, though," said Veemon. "Bearmon, you must care about them a lot."

"Well, yeah, of course I do," said Bearmon as though it were obvious. "They're the gods of this world! The wisest and strongest of all Digimon. I've wanted to meet 'em my whole life. And once we beat the Emperor, I might just get my chance." An excited grin lit up his face, and Wormmon found himself surprised at the change that seemed to come over the Digimon who had once frightened him so.

"Uh, so… is that the end of the lesson?" Davis cut in awkwardly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's it. But you gotta remember this, Davis. This is the whole reason why we're fighting the Emperor."

"Right, will do," said Davis, standing up and stretching. Wormmon was prepared to leave along with him when Bearmon suddenly called him back.

"Hey, Wormmon. I'm glad you're here too, because I gotta talk to you about something."

Wormmon turned back to him. "Oh? What?"

"Well, see… I can't talk to about it here. Not now. Wormmon… can you come back here tomorrow? Alone?"

"Tomorrow?" Wormmon was surprised. "Oh, but… what about Davis's soccer game? I can't miss that…"

"Aw, it's okay, Wormmon," Davis assured him. "I mean, I'm sure whatever Bearmon wants to talk about is way more important."

"But Davis…" He couldn't go tomorrow. He wanted to go support his friend who had done so much for him. "Why does it have to be tomorrow, Bearmon? Why not now?"

"This is serious, Wormmon. I don't wanna ruin the party… and it's something I gotta talk to you about in private." Bearmon folded his arms. "This is somethin' really important, Wormmon. For all of us."

Wormmon looked up at him, growing anxious under the other Digimon's gaze. Even if he'd been feeling a bit more confident lately, he still didn't have it in him to stand up to Bearmon when he was like this.

He finally lowered his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Davis…"

Davis knelt down next to him. "No worries, dude. I'll tell you all about it afterward, 'kay?"

"Thanks, Wormmon. I'll make it up to you," Bearmon promised him. "Well, enjoy the party, guys."

He walked off to strike up a conversation with some of the other Digimon gathered nearby. No sooner had he left than a familiar voice suddenly chimed in from behind Davis.

"Bearmon! Where are you?" Gazimon called as she approached them, staggering back and forth and trying to keep her balance as she struggled to hold a large platter covered in delicious-looking digital food over her head.

"Bearmon? Bearmon? Oh!" she cried, tripping over a rock and spilling the contents of the platter all over as she fell to the ground with a thump.

"Sorry, Gazimon. He left already," said Davis.

"Oh, no…" she groaned, pulling herself up and gazing at the food all over the ground. "And I was bringing him his favorite… I was so excited to see the look on his face…"

"You were?" Davis looked surprised, but after a moment, a sly grin suddenly spread across his face.

"Waiiiiit a minute… I know what this is about." He bent over to look down at Gazimon. "You liiiiiiike him, don't you?"

"W-What?!" Gazimon had been gathering up the spilled food, only for it to fly out of her hands all over again. "N-no! It's not like that at all! He's our leader and he's important to all of us! That's all!" she sputtered.

"Are you sure, Gazimon?" asked Veemon. "You're always looking at him the same way Davis looks at Kari."

"H-hey! That was uncalled for, dude!" Davis shouted frantically, clamping his hand over his Digimon's mouth and dragging him away as Veemon struggled and let out muffled protests. Staring after them for a moment, Wormmon finally let out a sigh and resigned himself to wandering off alone again.

The four Harmonious Ones… I wonder if they can tell me who my partner is.

As he sat back down, he saw that one of the Digimon had apparently found a large ball, and Davis had immediately taken it upon himself to teach all the Digimon how to play soccer. He played a number of games with them himself, but eventually even he got too tired to continue and the Digimon started playing games of their own.

Then Veemon and the other partner Digimon all gathered around the ball, looking ready to start their very own game. Wormmon gazed over at the five of them, knowing better than to invite himself over. They were their own special group, and he was not a part of it.

So he was quite surprised when they all suddenly turned to face him instead.

"Wormmon! Why don't you come play with us?" Patamon called over. "That way we'll have three Digimon on both teams."

Wormmon lifted his head up and stared over. "R-really?" he stammered. "You… you want me to play with you? Oh, but…" He gazed down at his pods. "I wouldn't be very good…"

"That doesn't matter, Wormmon. This is all for fun!" said Veemon.

"Yes, indeed, Wormmon! We would love to have you join us," said Hawkmon. "It wouldn't do to have you sitting over there by yourself."

Wormmon's spirits slowly began to rise. "Oh… all right, then… of course I'll come play."

It was Wormmon, Veemon and Patamon on one team, and Hawkmon, Gatomon and Armadillomon on the other. Just as Wormmon had predicted, he wasn't very good at playing soccer; he could barely scamper fast enough to keep up with the others, and he couldn't hit the ball hard either. But as the game went on, he found that he was somehow still having fun.

"Patamon! Go wide!" Veemon shouted as he kicked the ball along toward the opposing goal. He'd obviously picked up a thing or two from Davis. "Here it comes!"

He kicked the ball clear into the air over to Patamon, who let out an excited squeal as he whacked it with one of his wings, sending it soaring straight over to the goal… only for Hawkmon to come flying up and smack it out of the air.

"Noooooooo!" Patamon wailed.

"This game is over, my friends," Hawkmon chortled, twirling around gracefully in midair and kicking the ball in a wide arc across the playing field, straight over to Gatomon, who'd been crouching in wait near the other goal.

"It's not a ball of yarn, but it'll do!" she laughed, striking it with her tail and send it straight over the goal line.

"GOAL!" cheered Hawkmon, Gatomon and Armadillomon.

"Nooooo! We lost!" Veemon wailed melodramatically, collapsing into the grass. "Davis will never forgive me! I'm a horrible student!"

Wormmon quickly grew alarmed. "Oh, no… I'm sorry, Veemon. If only I had played better…"

Veemon suddenly sat up and gave him a smile. "That's okay, Wormmon! I was just joking."

"…You were?"

"Sure! It doesn't matter who wins," said Patamon, rolling the ball over to the others as he balanced on top. "We're just having fun! That's what friends do!"

Suddenly the ball slid out from underneath him, sending him tumbling backwards through the air with a yelp as it flew forward and hit Veemon right in the face.

"Aaah! I thought you said it didn't matter!" Veemon shouted, grabbing at his face. This was enough that Hawkmon, Gatomon and Armadillomon all immediately burst out laughing…

…and then, so did Wormmon.

He didn't even mind that his team had lost. None of that seemed to matter as he laughed along with all of his Digimon friends, able for just this one moment to forget how different he was.

––

It was a thoroughly tired and happy Davis Motomiya that returned home that night, carrying Demiveemon in his arms with Wormmon skittering loyally along at his side. He collapsed onto his bed with a contented sigh, his partner rolling back and forth across the bedspread and giggling quite loudly. Wormmon quietly hopped up onto the foot of the bed where he always stayed, curling up and watching the two partners laughing and enjoying themselves.

"Aww, today was great, wasn't it?" Davis said with a big grin, poking Demiveemon in the stomach. He craned his head up and looked down at the foot of the bed. "Didja have fun, Wormmon?"

"Oh… yes, I did," said Wormmon, surprised to find that it was true. "I had a lot of fun today, Davis. Thank you for asking."

"Well, just wait. Once we beat the Digimon Emperor, you'll get to have fun like that every day."

Wormmon blinked slowly. "What… what do you mean, Davis?"

Davis pushed himself up with his arms and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Well, I mean, once we beat him, you'll get to move back to the Digital World. Then you'll get to have fun and play and do whatever it is regular Digimon do all day. No more evil Emperor to worry about." His smile fell at the somewhat alarmed look on Wormmon's face. "Isn't that what you want?"

"Well… I…" Wormmon still hadn't told Davis that his real plan after beating the Emperor was to find his partner. He wondered what Davis would think of that… come to think of it, he didn't know how much he'd even see of Davis once this was all over, or any of the other children for that matter. What if his partner lived far away from all of them? Wormmon realized that he'd grown so used to sleeping in Davis's room every night, even if he was just a third wheel… that he'd genuinely miss it when he had to leave, far more than he'd ever missed his hole in the ground. At least here he was with friends.

"But, Davis… we'll see each other again, won't we?"

"Well, yeah, of course we will," said Davis. "We wouldn't be a team without you, y'know? You're the one that brought us all together."

"You promise?"

"Dude, of course I promise, Wormmon. No matter what, we'd never forget about you."

Wormmon lowered his gaze to the bedspread, hoping against hope that he could trust Davis with his promise. "All right… thank you."

Davis flicked the light off, cuddling in bed with Demiveemon and chatting excitedly with him about his upcoming soccer game before the two of them both eventually dropped off to sleep. Wormmon sat watching them in silence for a while, though to his surprise, it didn't come with the sadness and jealousy that it usually did. He was feeling almost… content.

The Emperor would be gone so soon… maybe even tomorrow. Bearmon was his friend. All the Digidestined and all the rebels were his friends. They would never let anything happen to him. And once the Digital World was back to the way it was supposed to be, it wouldn't be long before he was just like Demiveemon, falling asleep in the arms of his beloved partner.

And he'd see Davis and the others again. Davis had promised.

He thought about his day with a warm floaty feeling in his stomach, and as he finally closed his eyes, he found himself, for once, unable to feel sad about anything.

Wormmon thought he could safely say that today had been the best day of his life.

Which should have warned him right then and there that tomorrow would be the worst.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The rebel camp was solemn and quiet. None of the Digimon wandering around were in the mood to speak. There was no sign that such a lighthearted party had taken place there just two days ago.

Now that the Digidestined knew the Emperor's true identity, after the initial shock had worn off, they had unanimously agreed to confront him at his home in the human world, where he had no slaves and no empire to protect him. Wormmon had not come with them; he was still nearly catatonic, for reasons nobody could explain, and so Davis had decided the rebel camp was the safest place for him for the time. Now he was curled up alone by the fire pit, too broken to speak, his mind a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions.

The Digimon Emperor was his partner. As impossible as it seemed, it was true. And it really did explain everything. Why Wormmon had felt so awful about causing him harm. And why no matter how much he'd wanted to live free of the Emperor, their fates had somehow become intertwined.

But why had he forgotten? How could he? Ken had been his partner, his best friend, his reason for living… and yet that was all he could remember. He couldn't remember anything more specific, not how they'd met, what they'd been through together… or what had torn them apart.

He thought back to all the times he'd run into the Emperor, how terrified he'd always been, and how full of hatred the Emperor had been towards him. But why? Weren't they chosen partners, meant to go together? What could have caused Ken to hate him so much?

Was it possible Ken had forgotten him too?

––

"Finally. Here we are," Yolei huffed, grinding her fist into her palm. "Time to teach that sexy dreamboat a lesson he'll never forget!"

The five Digidestined had traveled from Odaiba all the way to Tamachi, and currently they were walking up to Ken Ichijouji's apartment building. "So remember guys, we're not getting violent," TK instructed the others. "We're doing this as peacefully as we can and – uh oh."

Everyone came to a stop. A number of police cars were parked outside the building, and several policemen were standing around and appeared to be interviewing some of the residents.

"This can't be good," Cody muttered.

"Wait here a sec, guys," said TK, hurriedly walking over to the nearest policeman. The others stood back and watched him before turning to glance uneasily at each other.

"What do you guys think happened?" said Davis. "Did Ken go crazy and burn the whole place down?"

"Does it look burned down to you, genius?" Yolei snapped, smacking him upside the head.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, guys," Kari said gently. "We don't even know if this has to do with Ken…"

She trailed off as she noticed TK wandering back over to them, a very worried look on his face. "TK? What's the matter?"

TK pulled his hat off and started fiddling with it, looking agitated. "Guys? I just finished talking with the police," he said uneasily. "They said… Ken's parents found a note in his room. It sounds like he ran away from home."

––

The computer screens in the control room cast their pallid light across the Digimon Emperor's face as he typed furiously at his keyboards. For the first time in what felt like ages, the looming threat of failure had vanished, and his confidence had returned.

Home sweet home.

He should have left that other world long ago. Maybe it was a good thing the Digidestined had figured out his identity; it had been the final push he'd needed. There was no way he could stay in the real world now, not where those brats could attack him at his weakest.

Besides… he had too much work to do to ever leave this place. If he was going to put his master plan into action, he'd need to be here to supervise every step.

His fingers flew over the keys, and a manic grin appeared on his face as he once again recalled his genius plan. It had come to him the moment he'd revealed himself to the other children, and he'd seen the anger on their faces. The betrayal they had felt when they'd realized the boy they admired was really their greatest foe.

And then he'd realized… that feeling could be weaponized.

He could make them suffer that betrayal all over again. And not just them, but those accursed rebel Digimon as well. And whose betrayal would hurt them the most? Who was the one Digimon all of those idiots loved without fail?

He wasn't finished yet. Not by a long shot. He was going to turn all of this around. And the Digimon who would help him do it… was the same one who had started this whole mess in the first place.

He did so love poetic justice.

––

"Wormmon?"

With some effort, Wormmon dragged himself back to reality and lifted up his head to see a Floramon standing over him. He stared up at her for a moment, feeling like he didn't recognize this one… but then, the rebel camp was full of Digimon. He probably hadn't met them all.

"Err… yes?" he said, realizing she was waiting for a response.

"Bearmon wants to talk to you," the Floramon said without preamble. "He said to take you to him."

Wormmon stood up in surprise. "Bearmon? But, isn't he here at the camp somewhere?"

"No. He wants this conversation to be private."

The Floramon said nothing after that, and Wormmon immediately felt that old familiar awkwardness creeping over him.

"Well… okay then, I suppose," he finally said, still not sure where this was going. They had just had a "private conversation" yesterday… what could Bearmon want to talk about now?

The Floramon immediately turned around and began marching out of the camp, and Wormmon hurried along after her in astonishment. She was acting awfully strangely… but Wormmon was still so wrapped up in his thoughts that he couldn't even wonder about that for very long. All he could think about right now was Ken.

After they had been walking along for several minutes, heading into what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, Wormmon finally began to realize something was wrong.

"Wait a minute. Where is Bearmon?"

"This way. Follow me," the Floramon replied tonelessly.

Wormmon immediately jerked to a stop. "No. What's going on here? There's no reason for us to meet out here like this." Fear was creeping up his neck.

The Floramon stopped and turned to face him, wearing no expression on her blank mask of a face. Wormmon stared at her in horror. "I was right. I don't recognize you," he said accusingly. "You're not one of the rebels! You're – "

The Floramon's eyes started glowing red, and the petals around her neck lifted up to reveal a Dark Ring clamped down underneath them. Wormmon didn't even have time to scramble away before a deafening screech filled the air, and he looked up at the sky just in time to see a ringed Devidramon descending upon him.

"NO! NO!" he screamed, trying to run away, but he didn't stand a chance. The Devidramon was upon him in an instant, his screams cut off as it snapped him up in its jaws, and then as darkness fell over him, primal terror swelled up and consumed him entirely so that he could remember nothing else, and then he remembered nothing at all.

––

The next thing he was aware of was a sound like a loud pounding on metal, along with a very unpleasant voice coming from somewhere.

"On your feet, prisoner!" it shouted. "The Emperor will see you now."

Wormmon blearily forced his eyes open, coherent thought returning to him only gradually. He numbly realized he must have passed out. He tried to remember what had happened to him, and as soon as he remembered the Devidramon, he jolted awake in fear, only just then seeing where he was.

He was inside a prison cell, two ringed Goblimon glaring at him from the other side of the bars. He looked around and realized that they were standing in a long, dark hallway, with either side of it lined with cells identical to his own. Nearly all of them were filled with one or more weary, frightened, emaciated Digimon, prisoners who looked like they hadn't seen the sun in a long time.

I'm inside the Emperor's fortress.

So he'd finally been captured. This had always been his deepest fear… and it still was, only this time his fear was tinted by the faintest, wildest hope.

Does this mean… I'll get to see Ken? I can talk to him?

"Hey! Are you paying attention?!" one of the Goblimon shouted, jerking him back to reality while the other one fumbled with a set of keys and opened the cell door. "The Emperor doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

"I'm sorry," Wormmon whispered, timidly crawling to his feet and out of the cell. His two wardens led him down the hallway, flanking him on either side so he had no chance to run away. Of course, they needn't have bothered. He didn't plan on running away from this.

They left the prisoners' cell block and traveled through the fortress, following a long, winding series of metal hallways that Wormmon would never remember. Everything was vast, dark, and empty. Wormmon kept glancing nervously around as he went, but aside from a few ringed slaves performing maintenance, he saw no one. His heart began to ache as he thought of Ken spending all his time in such a lonely place.

Finally the Goblimon led him through a door that seemed to open up into the very front of the fortress. It was a wide open room lined with windows, through which the outside world could be seen. There was only one person in the room: a tall, dark figure standing with its back facing Wormmon.

"We've brought the prisoner you requested, your highness," one of the Goblimon grunted, and then both of them bowed and backed respectfully away, standing on either side of the door, making sure Wormmon had no way out.

Slowly, the figure turned around.

The Digimon Emperor stood with his cape wrapped around him, creating an aura of impenetrability. He glared silently down at Wormmon, and Wormmon could only quail as he stared back up, his heart swelling with a mass of confusing emotions. The more he looked, the less and less sure he became that this person was really the beautiful, kind boy from his dreams.

Ken… oh, Ken… what's happened to you?

"So… the guest of honor has finally arrived," the Emperor said in a low voice, completely calm, perfectly still, like a cobra coiled and about to strike. "Wormmon. To think… I was almost beaten for good by something as weak and pathetic as you."

And then he struck.

Wormmon didn't even have time to flinch. Quick as a flash of lightning, the Emperor pulled out his whip and surged toward him, lashing out and striking him across the face. Wormmon cried out in pain, tumbling over onto his side, but Ken wasn't finished. Again and again he lashed out at Wormmon, relishing in the creature's wails of pain, unleashing all the rage and hatred that had been festering within him for months.

"Ken!" Wormmon finally choked out, scuttling away from his attacker. "Ken – please – stop!"

That just made the Emperor's rage burn hotter. "Don't call me that! Don't ever call me that! I am the Digimon Emperor!" He started whipping Wormmon even harder, but even as stars exploded before his eyes and his head swam with pain, Wormmon knew he couldn't give up.

"Ken, please! Don't you remember me? I'm – " The words spilled out of him. "I'm your partner!"

The Emperor stopped dead, if only due to surprise. His eyes briefly widened, then narrowed dangerously as he lowered his whip.

"What are you talking about, you little maggot?" he hissed. "You think I'd fall for a lie like that? Me?"

Wormmon felt his heart sink into his stomach. It was just as he'd feared, then. Ken didn't remember him at all.

"I'm not lying, Ken," he said pleadingly, slowly picking himself off the floor. "It's true. We were partners… when you were a little boy…" His eyes were stinging with tears. "Please, Ken, you have to remember – "

"Shut up!" the Emperor snarled, cutting him off and lashing out at him with his whip again. "Shut your filthy mouth! As if I'd ever be partners with a useless thing like you!"

Wormmon winced in pain, curling up and trying in vain to shield himself as Ken dealt him blow after blow. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the whippings came to a stop, and Wormmon timidly opened his eyes to see Ken simply standing where he was, breathing heavily as he glared down at him, visibly restraining himself. For all his fury, it seemed he didn't want to kill Wormmon… at least not yet.

Wormmon had to get him to remember… but how? How was he supposed to remind him of their shared past when he could barely remember it himself?

"Please, Ken… why would I lie to you?" he begged, trying to think of something, anything, to convince him. "Don't you think it's strange? How you're the only human in the Digital World with no partner?"

Ken just scoffed at him. "Don't be ridiculous. The Digimon Emperor doesn't have a partner. I don't need one. Why would I, when I'll soon have every Digimon in this world under my control?" He suddenly turned away from Wormmon, speaking to the wall on the other side of the room. "And anyway, those Digidestined fools are the ones with partners. And I'm not one of them."

He clenched his gloved fist, glaring down at it with something unreadable in his eyes. "I'm nothing like them," he muttered softly.

Wormmon could only stare up at him, wondering fearfully what was going through his head. Did he really think he could still enslave the entire Digital World? Even after the Digidestined had nearly defeated him? What was he planning?

Well, whatever it was, he realized with an icy chill, he probably wouldn't live to find out.

"Are you… going to kill me now, then?" he whispered.

Ken turned his head back around, glaring over his shoulder down at Wormmon in contempt. "I would love to, more than anything else in this world. But that's up to you."

Wormmon didn't like the sound of that. "Up to… me? What do you mean?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, you are singlehandedly responsible for ruining my plans for this world." Now the Emperor began walking, circling around Wormmon like a vulture. "You've forced me into damage control. It's because of you that I've had to retreat to the Digital World permanently."

"Permanently?" Wormmon cried, his eyes growing wide. "But you – don't you live in the human world?"

"That's a thing of the past," Ken said sharply. "As I was saying, you more than deserve the death penalty for your treason… but your Emperor is magnanimous. I'm willing to make a deal with you. Either I kill you, right here and right now… or you agree to be my spy."

Wormmon was sure he'd heard wrong.

Ken couldn't be serious. He couldn't be forcing this choice on Wormmon. Not this. Anything but this.

"Spy?" he whispered, the disbelief audible in his voice. "You mean you… you want me to spy on the Digidestined?!"

"Them, the Digimon working with them, everyone. They're all a threat to my power," the Emperor hissed. "You're in a unique position. Somehow, someone as pathetic as you has become the most beloved person in the Digital World. Everyone trusts you."

"But… I…" Wormmon was too distraught to even speak. How could he even consider this? How could he betray his friends? The ones who had saved him from the Emperor and given him a place to stay? Given him a sense of worth?

"I don't understand… what do you want me to do?" he finally said.

"Obviously, you're going to keep working with the Digidestined. Go on and keep being their little pet, or whatever you like to call yourself," Ken said derisively. "But every night, you will report their activity to me. I want to know everything."

Wormmon's brain scrambled to make sense of all this. "But – but – they're going to ask where I'm going every night! What would I tell them?"

"That's your job to figure out, not mine," said the Emperor. "These are the terms of my arrangement. As long as you do as you're ordered, I will guarantee your protection. Something I can't promise to anyone else in this world."

His expression suddenly grew stony. "But if you ever choose to renege on it, or think of telling those friends of yours the truth… rest assured, your end will be swift."

Wormmon was silent for a long moment. He was almost ready to cry. The Emperor had no idea how cruel his ultimatum actually was.

He knew what the heroic thing to do would be. What Davis would have done. He would have spit in the Emperor's eyes and refused to ever betray his friends, even if it meant his death. But Wormmon…

If Wormmon died, he'd never find out what happened to Ken. What turned him into this monster. He'd never get his memories back, or have another chance to remind Ken of how he used to be.

And… this was what he'd wanted all along, wasn't it? To be at his partner's side, helping him whenever he needed it.

"All right. I'll do it."

The Emperor blinked in shock. He clearly hadn't expected Wormmon to cave in so easily – he'd been prepared to resort to far worse than threats. After a moment, though, he realized what this meant, and he began to grin triumphantly.

"Pathetic," he sneered. "So this is the great hero of the Digidestined. Look how easily he breaks." Without warning, he delivered a painful kick to Wormmon's side, sending him tumbling across the floor. "You're even weaker than I thought."

Wormmon gasped in pain, struggling for air, lifting his head up and gazing at Ken forlornly. This wasn't how he'd wanted it to go. "Ken… Ken, please listen to me – "

"Tomorrow night. After those kids have gone home. And make sure it's worth my time," Ken cut him off, then finally turned away from him once more, as though Wormmon was no longer worth being in his sight. "Guards! Escort him out of the fortress. Make sure no one knows he was here. It wouldn't do to have my secrets spilled early."

"Yes, sir," the Goblimon muttered, neither of them able to see the deranged grin on the Emperor's face as he faced away from them. In truth, he wasn't overly concerned about the Digidestined learning about his new weapon. They'd learn the truth eventually, of that he was certain. He wanted it to happen. Imagine their rage and hatred when they found out – Wormmon, their precious hero, traitorous spy of the Digimon Emperor! He'd tell them all how quickly, how easily the cowardly little thing had agreed to it. How readily he'd sold them all out. And every word of it would be true.

The future was finally looking bright.

Wormmon finally managed to drag himself to his feet, dawning horror slowly seeping through his body. What had he just agreed to? There was no way he could betray Davis and the others. They had saved his life. He owed them everything…

But even after all that, there was one thing they couldn't give him. The one thing he needed most of all. Only Ken could give him that.

With that knowledge weighing heavily on his heart, he spared one more longing glance back at the Emperor, then finally allowed the Goblimon to escort him away.

"I love you, Ken," he whispered before turning away and crawling out of the room.

Chapter Text

"I… I don't understand, Wormmon."

When Davis had returned to the Digital World that evening to retrieve Wormmon, he'd been quite surprised to hear that Wormmon refused to go back with him. Now, the next day, everyone else had joined Davis in the Digital World, and Wormmon was forced to give them all the same explanation he'd already given their leader.

"Why do you want to move back here?" TK went on, he and the other children gathered around Wormmon. "I thought you liked living with Davis. And it's a lot safer over there for you, especially now that…" He furrowed his brow. "This doesn't have anything to do with Ken, does it?"

Wormmon tried to ignore the pang in his heart. Yes, it did. It had everything to do with Ken. But the others couldn't know that. As much as it was tearing him apart, if he wanted a shot at saving his partner… he had to betray them. He had to lie.

"Well, you see… the day Davis had his soccer game, and Bearmon and I were talking…" he began uneasily. "He said that the rebels all want me to come live with them, and I… I said I would do it."

Start with the truth, he thought. Make the lie easier to swallow. He really had spoken to Bearmon and agreed to his request. Unfortunately for everyone, the rebel leader had given him the perfect excuse to stay behind.

"But Wormmon… Ken's run away to the Digital World," said Kari. "He's going to be here twenty-four seven now. You know that, don't you?"

"I'm sure Bearmon will get it if you say no. I mean, things just got a lot different," said Yolei.

Wormmon just shut his eyes and shook his head. Why, why can't they understand, why are they making this so hard? "But that's just it," he said. "If he's really going to be here forever… what's going to happen when all of you have to leave every night? What are all the Digimon who live here going to do?" He opened his eyes slightly, gazing at the ground. "Bearmon said it himself…everyone feels better when I'm here. I might be their last hope."

"Well then screw their hope!" Davis snapped, shocking everyone as he stomped forward angrily. "How the heck can Bearmon ask you to do this?! Doesn't he get you're going to be in danger?"

"Davis, calm down," TK said softly, reaching out and placing a hand on the gogglehead's arm. "I know you don't like this, but… Wormmon's as much a part of this group as all of us. We need to trust him to make his own decision."

Davis turned to stare at him. "What?" he said, sounding outraged. "You actually think this is a good idea?"

"I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. But maybe Wormmon's right. Maybe the Digital World does need someone watching over it when we're not here." TK sighed. "It's true we can't be here all day. We still have school and everything else… of course, so does Ken, but I guess he doesn't care about that anymore."

"Seriously. What kid in their right mind just drops everything and moves here forever?" Davis muttered, ruffling his hair in agitation. "I mean, I wouldn't miss Jun, but… I couldn't just leave my parents and everybody else. This guy's even crazier than we thought."

He turned back to Wormmon, still looking uneasy. "Wormmon… you really wanna do this?"

It would be so easy to just confess to everything right there. He didn't want to hurt them. He didn't want to shoulder this burden alone.

"Yes. I do."

Davis sighed and turned away while TK nodded. "Okay then. If this is really your decision, Wormmon, then I want you to have this."

He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it on the ground, nudging it toward Wormmon with his foot. Wormmon looked at it in surprise.

"…Your D-Terminal?" he said. "But… why? Don't you need this?"

"Well, I'll be wanting it back whenever we come back here," TK chuckled softly. "But as long as we're away, you should have it, Wormmon. That way you can contact us if anything bad happens. Promise me, all right?"

Wormmon stared at the D-Terminal on the ground for a long moment, overcome with guilt. Finally he remembered the others were still watching him, and so he did what they were expecting him to do and shuffled up to it, pushing it behind himself.

"All right… thank you, TK. Thank you, everyone… I'm sorry for making you all worry."

"I still don't like this one bit," Davis muttered, arms folded tightly against his chest. "But if you really think this is for the best, Wormmon… me and Veemon are gonna miss you."

"We'll still see each other every day," Kari reminded him. "And we'll keep fighting together. Like we've always done."

––

The Emperor leaned back in his chair, sneering to himself as he held up TK's D-Terminal, toying with it between his fingers. Behind him, cowering in the shadows, Wormmon could only gaze up at him silently and hopelessly.

"Now this," said the Emperor, never taking his eyes off of the D-Terminal, "this is what I call results."

––

"EVERYBODY LOOK OUT!"

The inhabitants of the quiet and peaceful Digimon village began shrieking and fleeing in all directions as an entire army of Tuskmon came crashing through the gates. Each and every one of them had a Dark Ring clamped around its neck, and each one's eyes burned blood red. Standing on the shoulder of their leader was the Digimon Emperor, in higher spirits than he'd been in a long time.

"Say your prayers, Digidestined fools!" he cackled. "Didn't I tell you this wasn't over?"

The five children all spun around where they stood together and stared in shock. "No – it can't be – " TK gasped. "How did he know we were going to be meeting here?!"

"Less talking, more running!" Yolei snapped, scooping the loudly protesting Cody under her arm and fleeing the scene.

The Tuskmon went rampaging through the village, smashing though every house and building they came across and trampling the poor innocent Digimon who couldn't flee fast enough. One Geckomon found himself scooped up in the jaws of the lead Tuskmon, screaming in pain as its fangs dug into his body before he finally exploded into data. Then from behind the stampede came flying a sea of Dark Rings, one for each of the fleeing villagers.

"W-what's goin' on here?!" cried Bearmon as a frantic mob of Geckomon and Floramon went racing past him. He hadn't brought any of his rebels with him. They'd all been sure this place would be safe without them.

"Come on, guys! We can't let him get away with this!" Davis shouted, throwing up the Digiegg of Courage. The others all followed suit, and in an instant the five Armor Digimon surged forward to meet the Emperor in battle while their partners could do nothing but continue to run.

Wormmon was with them too, of course. He was there at Davis's side as they all fled from the destruction. But no one was there to notice the look of guilt and shame on his face as he ran.

"I don't understand… why would Ken even think to come here?" Kari whispered as she and the other children huddled behind the ruins of a building and watched the chaos. "Didn't we choose this place because it was far away from his other conquered lands?"

"He must have known we'd be here… but how?" Cody said in a low voice. "Can he see everything that goes on in this world, now that he never leaves?"

It was rapidly becoming clear that Flamedramon and the others weren't winning this fight. They were suffering savage blows from the Tuskmon, who fought tirelessly without showing any signs of slowing, the Dark Rings forcing them to continue no matter how tired they were. Finally the children's Digimon were each knocked out of the fight one by one, shrinking back to their Rookie levels as their strength left them.

"Veemon! Guys!" Davis screamed, racing back out of hiding and into the middle of the street where his partner was lying helplessly. He briefly locked up in terror as he stared up at the Tuskmon stampede descending upon him, then snapped out of it, grabbed Veemon and dived to safety seconds before he could be flattened.

"Guys, it's no use! We have to run!" TK shouted, grabbing an exhausted Patamon as he came dropping out of the air.

"But – " Davis looked around and realized with a sinking stomach that TK was right. The Dark Rings had all found their targets, and all the villagers who hadn't been destroyed were now servants of the Emperor. Bearmon was backed against a wall, trying to fight off six of them at once. The village had already been destroyed, leveled to nothing but rubble and dust.

The Emperor had won.

"Grr… this isn't over," he muttered, his blood boiling with hatred toward the one who had caused all this. "C'mon, Veemon, we gotta get out of here."

"Hey! Wait for me!" shouted Bearmon, shoving his way out from between two Geckomon slaves as he scrambled after the children.

The Emperor watched after his enemies as they all ran for their lives. He lifted his chin and smirked in triumph. He could easily follow after them and destroy them if he really wanted… but why bother? They needed to be punished for defying him. And that punishment needed to be absolute. Ending it prematurely wouldn't do at all.

Far better to make them squirm.

Wormmon was at the back of the group, the last one to escape the wreckage. It was all he could do to briefly glance behind his shoulder, getting one last look at his partner… and then, in a shimmer of binary, the Control Spire fading into existence behind him.

––

This was Wormmon's life now, day after agonizing day. Every day after school, he would meet up with the Digidestined as they tried and failed to fight back against the Emperor's latest counterattack, watching in dismay along with the rest of them as more and more Control Spires began to cover the land. Every evening once the children had gone, he'd go back to the rebel camp with Bearmon and the others, commiserating with their failure, trying to encourage them, trying to be the symbol of hope he was meant to be.

And every night once they'd all gone to sleep, he would sneak off to the Emperor's fortress and spill every last secret they had.

He hated it. He hated it so much, but… what if Ken found out he was withholding something? Anything at all? He'd be killed on the spot… and the Ken that Wormmon loved would be gone forever.

Perhaps the only good thing that had come of these past few days was that Wormmon was starting to remember more of Ken.

Ever since he'd first remembered who Ken was, that horrible night, his dreams had begun to reveal more of their past. Bit by bit, the fog was clearing. He still hadn't remembered anything substantial, just him and Ken playing and talking together, but he cherished every memory with all his heart. Amidst everything that had gone wrong, his dreams gave him hope; if he could regain his memories, so could Ken.

Wormmon just had to help him.

Several nights after everything had changed, Wormmon was lying curled up in the cell where he'd first found himself after being captured. The Emperor had him kept under lock and key during the night; he didn't want Wormmon sneaking off anywhere he didn't know about, running away from their deal. He was fast asleep, lost in his dreams.

Just as they always did, Wormmon and his partner were playing and laughing about something, without a care in the world. Everything was peaceful, everything was perfect. Then Ken suddenly leaned over and pulled Wormmon into a hug.

"You're my best friend, Wormmon. Nobody else cares about me. Not even Mama and Papa. They just care about Sam."

"Who's Sam?"

"He's my big brother. He's really smart… he's a super genius. Everybody loves him…"

Ken looked so sad all of a sudden. Wormmon knew he had to cheer him up, even if he had no idea what a "brother" was. "Don't be sad, Ken. I don't care how smart you are. I like you just the way you are."

"Really?" Ken looked back at him in surprise. "Even though I'm not special like Sam?"

"I don't care about that, Ken! You'll always be the perfect partner for me."

Wormmon woke up from his dream in astonishment.

Ken had a brother… and thanks to Davis, of course, Wormmon now knew exactly what a brother was.

Ken would have to remember this.

The next time the Goblimon came patrolling through the cell block, Wormmon called them over and told them he had something important to tell the Emperor. The guards glanced at each other skeptically for a moment, but after they seemed to realize there really wasn't anywhere for Wormmon to run, they reluctantly unlocked his cell and escorted him back through the fortress to the control room.

Wormmon cautiously craned his head around the corner and peered into the room. Ken was hunched in his chair, lost to the world, focusing single-mindedly on the computer screen in front of him as his fingers flew over the keyboard. It was clear he'd been sitting there for hours. He hadn't been getting much sleep at all since he'd moved to the Digital World… just one more reason Wormmon had to help him.

"Ken?" he said timidly.

Ken immediately froze, and his glare slowly traveled over to rest on Wormmon.

"What do you want?" he said dangerously.

Wormmon swallowed hard, slowly crawling into the room. "I… I was just wondering… can you… can you remember anything yet?"

Ken's glare somehow got even icier. "Remember what?"

"About us? Back when we were partners?"

The Emperor tightly gripped the arms of his chair. "You… you're still going on about that nonsense?" he growled, the threat very obvious in his voice. "You came over here to waste my time with this?!"

As much as he wanted to, Wormmon didn't avert his eyes from Ken. Be brave, he thought. Be strong. "I'm telling the truth, Ken. We were partners… we still are. I'll prove it to you." He braced himself. "You told me about Sam. Your older brother? You told me he – "

Wormmon never could have prepared himself for what happened next.

Faster than should have been possible, the Emperor leapt from his chair, grabbed Wormmon by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Wormmon's head exploded in pain, but Ken had such a death grip on his windpipe that he couldn't even cry out, and a choking gasp was all that came out. His legs started flailing around in a panic as he struggled to breathe, tried desperately to break free.

"What did you just say?!" Ken's eyes were bulging. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU PIECE OF FILTH?!"

He didn't just look angry, he looked… deranged. He looked almost frightened. Like Wormmon was some sort of threat, and he was just defending himself.

"Ken… please… stop…" Wormmon's voice was the faintest wheeze. His vision was starting to tunnel. But Ken didn't stop, continuing to dig his fingers into Wormmon's throat as a rapid-fire series of emotions flickered across his face. He was trembling all over, his free hand clutching the handle of his whip, but he didn't move, looking like he was trying to figure out what to do –

And then suddenly he dropped Wormmon to the floor. Wormmon landed in an ungraceful heap, coughing and ravenously gulping down air, but he looked up in time to see Ken's hand had flown to the back of his neck. He was clenching his teeth, shaking and straining in what looked like terrible pain. His breath came in gasps, and his face looked even paler than normal.

Then before Wormmon could do or say a thing, Ken suddenly turned and dragged himself out of the room.

"Ken?" Wormmon cried in alarm. "Ken! Where are you – " But Ken was gone before he could even finish.

––

The Emperor staggered almost drunkenly down the hall, his head spinning, dangerously close to losing his balance entirely. He collapsed against the right wall, sliding against it as he struggled to stay upright.

It can't be – he – he mentioned Sam, he –

Forget.

How could he know about him? How? Unless I – I've been –

FORGET.

The pain in his neck rose to an unbearable pitch, and then with it came an overwhelming wave of drowsiness. Ken suddenly felt his eyes growing heavy, his muscles growing weak. His thoughts began blurring together, and in a moment he couldn't remember anything he'd just been thinking about…

Couldn't remember… anything…

He'd barely made it into the room where he'd moved his bed before he slid to the floor, unconscious.

––

Several hours later, Wormmon hadn't slept a wink. It was almost sunrise, he knew, and he couldn't have Bearmon and the others waking up to find he was missing – but more than that, he couldn't leave until he knew Ken was all right.

He had spent nearly the whole time worriedly pacing up and down the hallway, waiting for Ken to show some sign of life. What had happened to him? Why had just hearing about his brother caused all that?

Ken… I want to help you, but I don't know what to do…

Finally he heard a sound coming from behind him, and he turned around to see the Emperor come stepping out of the room where he'd been lying unconscious. He was swaying lightly on his feet and still looked pale, but otherwise he seemed to be back to normal. Wormmon's heart soared in relief.

"Ken! Are you okay?"

Ken didn't answer him, of course, just came to a stop and gave him his usual cold look. "What are you still doing here?"

Wormmon fidgeted a bit. He should have known by now just to keep his mouth shut around Ken, but he couldn't help himself. "I… I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said softly. "About last night…"

The Emperor went very still, staring down at him with an unreadable expression.

"What do you mean, last night?" he demanded. "What did you do?"

Wormmon blinked in surprise. "I – well – we were talking, and… you got angry, and… it looked like you had hurt yourself…" He trailed off slowly as Ken continued to stare at him uncomprehendingly. "You… you really don't…?"

The Emperor stared at him for a moment longer before brusquely turning away. "Stop talking nonsense," he said shortly. "Get out of here. Before those damned rebels know where you've been."

He turned on his heel, striding away without another sound. Wormmon watched after him as he vanished, silent and astonished.

He… doesn't even remember? he thought. But he was so angry… how could he have forgotten? He must have –

And then ice flooded Wormmon's veins as he slowly realized what this must mean.

Whatever it was that had made Ken forget everything… hadn't gone away.

Chapter Text

After Wormmon's frightening incident, things continued as usual for a few days. He reported to Ken, and Ken ruined every attempt the Digidestined made to score even the smallest victory against him. And still no one suspected Wormmon. He wondered how much longer this could possibly go on.

He had a lot more to think about now that he knew whatever had wiped Ken's memories was still affecting him. It was a frightening thought, and a sobering one. He still didn't know what was doing this to his beloved partner. It was his job to help Ken, and after all this time, he still couldn't do that. He didn't know where to start.

Worst of all, he didn't even know whether sharing memories with Ken was safe anymore. What if it set him off again? He'd reacted so violently… he'd looked like he wanted to kill Wormmon in the worst way possible… and then the entire incident had been wiped from his mind.

It was almost as though there was something that didn't want him to remember. But what if he did? What if his memories started to return? What would happen to him then?

Until Wormmon figured that out, his only option was to stay close to Ken.

One afternoon, he found himself sitting alone with Kari near the outskirts of the forest. The rest of the team was off scouting, looking for any nearby Control Spires that were actually safe to knock down – the Emperor had increased his forces by so much lately that most of the Spires were too heavily guarded to even try. Gatomon was curled up asleep next to the two of them as they sat together in silence, waiting for the others to return.

"Wormmon… have you been doing all right lately?"

Wormmon jerked his head off the ground and looked up at Kari.

"Er… what do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, Wormmon. I don't mean to intrude. It's just… since Ken moved here permanently, you've been looking worse and worse. I'm just afraid all the stress has been getting to you." Kari smiled gently at him. "You know you can talk to us about anything, right?"

No. No, he couldn't. But she was right. Keeping everything bottled up was just making it worse. Once again, he'd have to give her a half-truth.

"Well, it's just, I'm… I'm so worried, Kari," he said miserably. "I'm scared of what Ke – what the Digimon Emperor is going to do. I… I wish I knew how to stop him."

Kari's smile grew a somber overtone. "I know the feeling, Wormmon," she said. "Things have been scary lately. But you can't give up hope. We'll figure a way out of this." She settled onto the rock she'd been sitting on. "The older Digidestined are counting on us, after all. We can't let them down."

Wormmon didn't have much of a response to that. Aside from Tai and Matt, he had barely even met the older children. He knew next to nothing about them, only that Kari and TK had been part of their group as well. But of course, he'd heard all the stories about how they'd saved the Digital World in years past.

"They must all be great heroes," he said.

"Hmm… yes, they've all done some incredible things…" Suddenly, Kari's face lit up as she seemed to get an idea.

"Did I ever tell you about how my brother and Matt defeated Diaboromon?"

Surprised, Wormmon shook his head. "I've never heard of that Digimon. Was he dangerous?"

Kari giggled. "You could say that, yes. He was probably one of the most dangerous Digimon we've ever faced."

And so Wormmon sat back and listened as Kari related the amazing story. How two years ago, a malevolent amalgamation of viruses had come to life within the Internet, starting out as only a Digiegg but quickly growing into the monstrous Digimon, Diaboromon. How it was able to hijack a nuclear missile from the United States and launch it at Japan, hoping to destroy the Digidestined in their own world. How Tai and Matt's Digimon had battled it at their highest levels of evolution, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, but even then hadn't been powerful enough to stop it.

"Things were looking really bad," she said. "But something happened that nobody ever saw coming. Tai and Matt's bond with their partners was so strong that somehow… they were able to enter their computers. They were there inside the Internet along with their Digimon, and they gave them strength and told them to never give up."

"I see," said Wormmon. He supposed that was a little strange, but then he and the Digidestined had traveled into computers many times now, so maybe not that strange.

"And then something even more amazing happened," Kari went on, leaning forward with an excited look on her face. Clearly she was getting into the role of storyteller. "WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon combined together."

Now that got Wormmon's attention.

"They… combined?" he repeated. "I've never heard of a thing like that…"

"Neither had we. But it's true. They turned into a brand new Digimon called Omnimon. It was the most incredible thing we'd ever seen." Kari leaned back, a nostalgic smile playing across her lips. "Omnimon was powerful enough to destroy Diaboromon once and for all, and that disabled the missile."

"Wow…" Wormmon stared up at her, eager to hear more about Omnimon, but that seemed to be the end of the story.

"And that's how it happened. We were really lucky that nobody got hurt. But what an amazing day that was."

Wormmon wasn't really listening anymore. Two Digimon combining together… there were so many things about Digimon that he still didn't know about. And he was one!

"I wish I could have seen them," he murmured.

Kari nodded. "After the fact, Izzy – you remember him, he's our computer nerd. Anyway, he called it 'Jogress digivolution'. Though he seemed to think it can only happen in very special circumstances." After gazing off for a moment, seemingly lost in memories, she finally remembered Wormmon was there and leaned forward to pat him on the head. "So you see, Wormmon. Things might look really bad now, but they'll get better. We've dealt with worse things than the Digimon Emperor."

Wormmon considered that. "Yes… I guess you have." He wasn't sure if he should feel good about that or not.

––

That night, Wormmon was escorted into the Digimon Emperor's control room as he was every night. As soon as the Emperor sensed someone else was in the room with him, he turned his chair around and glared expectantly down at his spy.

"So? What did those kids get up to today?"

Wormmon was especially nervous tonight. The Digidestined hadn't accomplished much of anything today, meaning he had nothing to report. He wondered if Ken would even accept that answer. He was all too aware that he was only safe as long as he was useful. But all the same, he couldn't lie to his partner.

He was about to tell Ken the truth… and then he remembered what he and Kari had talked about. He remembered her incredible story.

"Well?" the Emperor snapped. "I'm waiting."

Wormmon hesitated. He had promised to tell Ken anything useful, but… was the story of Omnimon and Diaboromon really useful? It happened years ago. Surely it had nothing to do with them now. Should he say anything about it…?

Something deep down told him that was a very bad idea.

"N…nothing," he finally said. "They didn't do anything today, really."

Wormmon knew Ken wouldn't buy it before he'd even finished speaking.

"You're lying," said the Emperor. It was a fact, not a guess. "You're keeping something from me."

Wormmon wilted beneath the Emperor's glare. He'd always been a bad liar, and this wasn't helping. "No… no, I'm not. Nothing happened today, I promise…"

"Out with it," Ken snarled, stomping his foot down directly in front of Wormmon and pulling out his whip. "Unless you feel like dying."

Wormmon swallowed hard and whimpered as he stared up into the Emperor's eyes that were barely visible behind his glasses, eyes that had once looked on him with such unconditional love. He was powerless against those eyes.

"All right," he whispered. "One of them… told me a story."

And so he relayed everything he had learned from Kari that day. Just as he'd feared, by the time he was finished, Ken had drawn back in astonishment, clearly hearing this story for the first time himself. Then after a moment he turned away, thumbing his chin in deep thought as the cogs in his head began to turn like mad, and Wormmon had no doubt that he'd just doomed each and every one of his friends.

"Jogress digivolution…" the Emperor said to himself, another evil smile splitting his face. "Incredible."

––

"I don't understand, TK! What did Izzy say in his message?"

It was the next day, and the five Digidestined and their partners were being led by a frantic TK as they all raced through the Digital World. Kari was looking worriedly at her friend as they ran and waiting for his response.

"He just said Greymon and Garurumon have gone missing. And the Digimon Emperor has taken over the territory they were guarding," said TK, panting with the effort to run for so far and so long. "He's been trying to track them, and he thinks they ended up here…"

As he clung to Davis's shoulder, Wormmon could barely believe what he was hearing. Ken hadn't even waited a day to capitalize on his newfound knowledge. There was truly nothing he would sink to if it meant destroying Wormmon's friends.

Finally TK came to a stop and motioned for the others to do the same. They had arrived in the middle of a smoldering wasteland. The ground was covered in volcanic rock, the air shimmered with heat from a nearby caldera, and worst of all, a Control Spire was towering over them off in the distance.

"So glad you could join me today, Digidestined!" came a laugh from high above their heads, and they looked up to see the Digimon Emperor standing on the head of an Airdramon with at least a half dozen other ones circling around him. "Sorry to say, but I've toyed with you for long enough. Today is the day I win this game once and for all!"

Davis balled his fists and glared up at the Emperor. "Stop fooling around, Ken! What have you done this time?"

Ken spread his arms theatrically. "Why, see for yourself!"

A pair of lumbering footsteps came from either side of the children, and they all whipped their heads around and realized they'd been fenced in by two very familiar Champion level Digimon… at least they would have been familiar, were it not for the Dark Rings clamped around their necks and the deathly red glow in their eyes.

"Greymon… Garurumon!" Davis gasped. Agumon and Gabumon's Champion forms, two of their most powerful allies, were now glaring unfamiliarly at the Digidestined, looking ready to eviscerate them at the Emperor's command.

"Those are Tai and Matt's Digimon! How could you do this?" Cody shouted up at Ken, voicing what had gone unspoken by the others. Enslaving the wild Digimon was one thing… but Ken had never gone after the partners of the Digidestined before. He'd just done the unthinkable.

"You think that's impressive? Just watch and see what I have in store for you brats!" Ken sneered. "First, step one! Greymon! Garurumon!" He held his dark digivice aloft. "Digivolve to your most powerful forms! WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon!"

As the wicked purple light poured out of his digivice and his two captives began to glow, the other children's eyes widened and they all drew back in fear… but TK and Kari most of all. They were the only ones who understood what Ken had just said.

"WarGreymon… and MetalGarurumon?" Yolei repeated. "Who are they?"

"He's trying to control two Mega level Digimon?!" TK exclaimed. "He's out of his mind!"

"But why? What is he trying to accomplish?" Cody asked nervously.

Wormmon was the only one who knew the answer to that. He was lucky no one was paying attention to him, or they would have noticed the look of unbridled guilt and horror that washed over him.

He's trying to create Omnimon. His eyes darted over to Kari. Did she realize what was going on? Would she make the connection?

He only got to dwell on that for a moment before he was distracted by the sight in front of him. Greymon and Garurumon were consumed by the light of evolution, and both of them started to grow… and change.

Something was going wrong. Even Wormmon could tell. The children could obviously tell as well, as they all wordlessly huddled together and stared helplessly as their two friends transformed into something unrecognizable before their very eyes.

Greymon had turned into a monster. That was the only way to describe it – a towering, skeletal behemoth with glowing empty eye sockets, a massive gaping maw, and what looked like a missile strapped to its back. There was no recollection, no sign of the friendly little dinosaur left in its monstrous face.

Garurumon's new form was at least somewhat closer to his normal Ultimate level, but that wasn't comforting in the slightest. It was a bipedal wolf covered in thick black fur and cargo pants, standing in a slouch and slavering like a feral beast. Its eyes were glowing red, and it appraised the children before it with a mindless growl.

"…Guys? Wha… what are those things?" Davis stammered, starting to think this wasn't the result Ken had been going for.

"They've both dark digivolved…" Kari whispered, clutching her hands to her chest in fear. "SkullGreymon… and ShadowWereGarurumon…"

Ken obviously hadn't prepared for this.

"What in the – " His eyes flew to his digivice, then back to the scene below. "This isn't right! Those aren't even Mega levels… what's wrong with you two?! Obey my commands!"

The other children quickly realized what was wrong. The two corrupted Digimon weren't even listening to him.

ShadowWereGarurumon threw its head back and howled, causing everyone present to wince against the noise, and then turned on its heel and ran off in a random direction. One of Ken's Airdramon flew down to intercept it, only for the berserk Ultimate to grab it by the horns and start effortlessly spinning it around above its head. Wormmon watched in disbelief as it tossed the enormous flying Digimon around like a ragdoll, then slammed it into the ground with an earthshaking crash of finality.

SkullGreymon, who was a lot bigger, quickly proved to be a much more immediate threat. It went lumbering off across the sweltering landscape, causing tremors with every step, completely ignoring (or perhaps not understanding) the Emperor screaming down at it in impotent rage. Davis and the others quickly realized they were a matter of moments from being stepped on.

"They're totally outta control!" the gogglehead shouted. All five children panicked and scrambled to get out of the way.

"Davis!" Wormmon screamed, tackling him in the legs and sending both of them collapsing to the ground just as SkullGreymon's tail went flying right over their heads.

Davis glanced up at the enormous Ultimate, sweating at the close call, and then turned to Wormmon with a nervous smile. "Heh… thanks, Wormmon. Dunno what we'd do without you, buddy."

Wormmon visibly winced and turned away. Davis could hardly have picked a worse thing to say… if only he knew whose fault this really was…

Meanwhile, the five Armor Digimon quickly leapt into action, desperate to protect their partners from this sudden onslaught. Flamedramon, Digmon and Halsemon all went charging at SkullGreymon, but none of them even got an attack off before it swatted them all away, one after another, with its enormous skeletal hands. All three of them went skidding backwards across the rocky terrain and shrank back to their Rookie levels, dazed and barely conscious.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were circling over the head of ShadowWereGarurumon, firing off their ranged attacks, but they glanced harmlessly off its body and seemed to do nothing more than enrage it even further. Then as a last resort, they produced a Golden Noose together and bound its arms to its sides, but this held for a good two seconds before it flexed its enormous muscles and snapped its bonds, leaving its two opponents completely defenseless. It swiped at them both and bashed their heads into the ground, and within moments a dazed Patamon and Gatomon were all that was left.

"This is bad… our partners are all down for the count!" said TK.

"This was a failure," Ken swore to himself, holding aloft his digivice once more. "DarkTyrannomon! Intercept them!"

The ground began to shake once more as a herd of enslaved DarkTyrannomon appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and stampeded toward the two Ultimates, but they fared no better. SkullGreymon lifted one in its claws and hoisted it into the air, squeezing the life out of it before hurling it into the lava. Three of the dinosaurs piled on top of ShadowWereGarurumon at once, only for it to rear up to its full height and throw its arms wide open with a snarl, sending all three of them flying.

And then SkullGreymon launched its missile.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and froze. Kari screamed. The Emperor shouted in alarm, pulling at the reins of his Airdramon and barely escaping the missile's path.

It crashed into the nearby Control Spire with a blinding flash and a horrific boom that rattled the Digidestined to their very bones. Wormmon thought for sure the world was ending as the blast sent him flying backwards through the air, consumed by the light and the blazing fire.

What seemed like an eternity later, he'd regained his senses enough to realize he hadn't been killed, and he lifted his head off the ground to see the Control Spire had fallen. With nothing to power the Dark Rings, SkullGreymon and ShadowWereGarurumon had shrunk back to their most familiar forms, Agumon and Gabumon, and fallen unconscious.

Davis and the others had all been thrown to the ground by the explosion, but as they looked up and saw Tai and Matt's partners lying helplessly before them, they realized they had to act before it was too late, and they struggled to their feet.

"It's them…" TK said weakly. "Kari… we have to help them…"

"Grr… mark my words, Digidestined, this isn't over!" the Emperor shouted down at them, desperately trying to save face after this disaster. If he couldn't win, he could at least stop them from winning as well. "I won't let go of my prized possessions that easily!"

TK and Kari had been running toward the injured Agumon and Gabumon, but were cut off as two Airdramon suddenly came swooping down, each one snatching up one prisoner in its jaws before taking to the air again. The two of them could only watch as their older brothers' Digimon were carried away before their eyes.

"Gabumon!" TK screamed.

"Agumon!" Kari cried out. Both of them took off running after the Emperor, but it was no use. His Airdramon were far too high and too fast to catch, and before long they had vanished into the dark clouds, leaving the five children alone.

Alone, and defeated.

Gradually, everyone came to a stop. TK collapsed to his knees in exhausted disbelief, and Kari covered her mouth and began to sob. The other three children and their Digimon stood back fearfully, unsure of how to console them or what they could even do against this turn of events…

And Wormmon stood furthest back of all, forgotten by all of them, staring in silence after the Emperor and the madness he'd helped to create.

Chapter Text

Tai raced down the school hallway, clenching his fists, ignoring the confused looks he was getting from the other students as he flew by them. His heart was about to come bursting out of his chest.

He's got Agumon. He's got Agumon. He's got Agumon.

He didn't stop running until he reached the computer lab... and nearly crashed into Matt, who'd come running from the opposite direction.

"Woah! Sorry," he gasped, stepping back as the two of them quickly regained their balance. Then he gave Matt a serious look in the eyes. "You doing okay?"

"Not really," Matt confessed. "I haven't been able to concentrate in school all day."

"Neither have I," said Tai. He looked out the window, trying to fight back the terrible thoughts of his suffering partner. "I can't believe Ken went and captured them," he muttered. "Who knows what awful things he's doing to them?"

The worst part was, now that Ken never left the Digital World, he'd had an entire night to torture Agumon and Gabumon in whatever way he pleased. An entire night, while Tai could only lie in bed and stare at the ceiling, fighting back the urge to scream into a pillow.

"Hey guys! Sorry, we got here as fast as we could," came a voice. Tai snapped out of his thoughts, and he and Matt turned to see the five new Digidestined running up the hallway to meet them, their partners in tow. Davis was the one who had spoken, and he jerked to a stop in front of them. "Okay, we're ready! Let's go save Agumon and Gabumon!"

"I'll help too," said Izzy, coming up behind the others. "If Ken tries to get those two to digivolve again, it could be dangerous. I'll stay in the lab and send you guys any info I can find on them."

"Thanks, Izzy," Tai sighed, though even that didn't do much to make him feel better. The shorter boy didn't seem to notice his dour mood, instead folding his arms and turning away in deep thought.

"What I want to know is," he said, "what made him choose to go after Agumon and Gabumon specifically? And why only do it now?"

"Who knows what goes on in that guy's head? He's crazy," Matt said impatiently.

TK suddenly noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "…Hey, are you all right, Kari?"

Tai's sister suddenly had a distant look on her face. Hearing Izzy's questions seemed to have had some kind of effect on her. She was standing very still, gazing off and looking like she was reliving some memory.

"Uhh, hello? Earth to Kari?" said Davis, leaning over in front of her.

"I just… had a thought…" she said softly, then shook her head. "No. Never mind. It's not important."

Tai and Matt exchanged a look, ultimately deciding not to comment. "Right. Let's hurry, you guys," said Tai. "Our partners are out there waiting for us."

––

The Digimon Emperor hadn't slept at all the previous night. He'd spent the whole time running experiments on his two newest prisoners, each of whom was currently being detained in a different holding cell. The interiors of both cells were being displayed up on one of the screens lining the control room.

Unfortunately, for all his wasted time, the Emperor hadn't achieved the results he wanted.

"What is wrong with you two?!" he shouted at the screens. "Both of you, dark digivolve! Now!"

He first held his digivice in front of Agumon's screen, and as it shone with a purple light, the little dinosaur started to glow… and transformed into SkullGreymon. It instantly went berserk, launched its missile at the wall of the cell, then leapt up to the resulting hole and tried to claw its way out.

With a disgusted look on his face, the Emperor turned his attention to his second prisoner, hoping things would go differently. They didn't. As he held up his digivice, Gabumon evolved to ShadowWereGarurumon, started howling like mad, and tried to tear open its own cell with its terrible claws.

"It's no use," Ken muttered, turning away from the screens. He wasn't concerned about them breaking out. At that moment, both Digimon were given a violent electric shock from their cell walls and dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"So I was overzealous. From the looks of things, my Dark Rings can't even control Ultimate level Digimon successfully… maybe even hoping for a Mega evolution was expecting too much."

Wormmon was crouched loyally at his side, just as always. "What… what are you planning to do to them, Ken?"

"The way you described him, Omnimon must be at an even higher level than Mega," Ken mused without doing anything to actually acknowledge Wormmon's presence. "I'm not a fool. My Dark Rings have only been successful in controlling Champions. I'll need something else… something more powerful…"

He promptly fell silent, typing something on the keyboard in front of him and generating a series of images on one of the computer screens. Wormmon recognized the blank look on his face; he was lost in his own mind again. He'd probably forgotten Wormmon was even there.

Reluctantly, the little Rookie looked away from him and up to the display of the two prisoners. They'd shrunk back down to their own Rookie forms and were lying on the dirty floor, smoldering from their electrocutions. They weren't waking up anytime soon.

This was all his fault. He'd gotten Agumon and Gabumon into this mess. He had to get them out of it.

The Emperor didn't even notice as he went skittering out of the control room. He hurried down the halls of the fortress, trying to remember where the two adjacent cells were. Finally he arrived at the correct door and dashed into the room as it automatically slid open.

SkullGreymon had reverted back to Agumon, though he still had the Dark Ring clamped around his neck. That was no problem. Wormmon had spent enough time in the Emperor's employ by now that he knew how the Dark Rings worked. He poked it in just the right place, and it popped off and fell uselessly to the ground.

Wormmon crawled into the next cell over and found Gabumon in a similar condition. He did the same thing, freeing him of his Dark Ring as well.

Then he scurried out of the room before either of the prisoners could wake up. If anyone saw him here in the Emperor's fortress… that would be the end for him.

––

"Yes…" An excited grin had appeared on the Emperor's face as he gazed up at his latest creation. "This is perfect! With this, I can control even Mega level Digimon!"

He cleared the computer screen and focused his attention back on the camera feeds of the prison cells… only to find they were both empty.

"What?!" The grin immediately dropped off his face, and he leapt out of his chair. "Impossible! They escaped? Both of them?!"

Meanwhile, Wormmon had chosen that exact moment to crawl back into the room. They'd gotten away… that was good. "Oh… they're missing?" he said, trying to sound innocent. "I'm sorry, Ken. I know this was an important project for you…"

The Emperor spun around to glare at him. "Stop calling me that!" He snapped. "And don't act like you understand my brilliant plans! You don't know anything!"

Trying to ignore the insults, Wormmon gathered up the courage to tell Ken what was on his mind. He'd wanted to spare the other Digimon pain, but truth be told, he had another reason for setting those two free. A more selfish one.

"Listen, Ken. Since Agumon and Gabumon are gone, why don't you use me for your experiments?"

Ken's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I'm your partner, you know. It's my job to help you." And if I can digivolve, maybe you'll finally start hating me a little less…

Unfortunately, that was not to be. "Have you not been paying attention?" Ken hissed at him. "I'm trying to create a Jogress digivolution! How am I supposed to do that with just one Digimon? Let alone one as weak as you?"

"Er… well, I…" Wormmon slowly trailed off. He didn't have an answer to that. Ken was right… someone like him being part of a Jogress digivolution? That wasn't likely.

"Why is good help so hard to find around here?" Ken turned away from Wormmon with a look of disgust. "Forget it. I'll get those two back myself." He was about to leave the room, but then he thought better, turned around and jabbed a finger at Wormmon. "You! Get out of here!"

Wormmon winced at his anger as the Emperor went striding out of the control room. All this time, and he was still nothing like the kind boy he used to be… it was so frustrating. It felt like Wormmon wasn't making a difference at all.

But he didn't have time to feel sorry for himself.

He had to hurry and meet the Digidestined.

––

"Glad to see you, Wormmon," Matt said as their large group raced along. "You don't have any idea where we're going, do you?"

"I'm sorry, Matt," Wormmon said lamely, trying to keep up on his short little legs. "I've never been to this town before."

"Neither have we. Guess it's one of the places we missed on our first go-around," said Tai. "I wish Izzy could give us a bit more info – hey, wait a sec! We're here!"

The children and their Digimon had just crested a hill, and beneath them lay a deserted town filled with wooden buildings, railroad tracks and railcars.

"…There's nobody here," said Cody, stating the obvious.

"Well, Izzy's been tracking Agumon and Gabumon and said they're headed in this direction," said Tai, leading the group as they all walked into town. "If we just wait here a bit, we should run into them."

"They're headed this way? But that means – they escaped from the Digimon Emperor!" Yolei looked astonished. "But how did they manage that? They both had those Dark Rings on!"

Wormmon awkwardly glanced away. Thankfully, no one was looking at him. He was lucky to be so easily forgettable.

"Who knows? Maybe they got those rings off on their own. Because they're cool and strong, like their partners," Matt said with a boastful grin.

"We'll just have to ask them about it when they get here," Tai decided.

"Y'mean right now?" asked Davis.

Everyone looked where he was pointing and saw a small locomotive had just come out of a nearby tunnel, smoke pouring from its stack. And there were two very familiar Digimon riding on it.

The two older boys' faces lit up in joy.

"Agumon!"

"Gabumon!"

Everyone raced up to meet the train as it slowed to a stop, and Agumon and Gabumon leapt off of it and into the waiting arms of their partners.

"You came for us, Matt?" asked Gabumon, his eyes filling with tears.

"Of course we did, big guy! You had us so worried…" Matt choked out, burying his face into his partner's fur.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Agumon!" Tai laughed, squeezing the little dinosaur as tightly as he could. Then he drew back. "But wait a minute! How did you two escape from the Emperor?"

"We're not really sure," Agumon confessed. "Both of us just woke up and our Dark Rings were gone!"

"Maybe the Emperor let us go out of the goodness of his heart!" Gabumon said eagerly.

"…I think you're giving him too much credit," said Matt. "Well anyway, let's not waste any time here. We've gotta get you two somewhere safe."

Davis looked displeased at that. "What? You mean after everything Ken did to those two, you guys just wanna run away with your tails between your legs?"

"Hey! What's wrong with tails, huh?" Gatomon sniffed, flicking her own tail around.

"I'm just saying, he's gone too far this time! I say we hunt him down and give him a thrashing! Otherwise, what's stopping him from trying the same thing again?"

Wormmon stared up at Davis. He couldn't let his friends go after Ken! If that happened, and they got into a fight… he wasn't sure which side he'd be on.

"I think the others are right, Davis," he spoke up. "Trust me, I've done a lot of running in my life. I know when it's the best idea."

Davis looked down at him in surprise. "You really think so, Wormmon?"

Matt let out a chuckle. "He is a smart little guy, after all."

"Come on, Davis, we'll have another chance," said TK. "Let's worry about Ken when we're at full strength."

Patamon was suddenly staring up at the sky. "Uh oh…" he said uneasily. "Guys… I think we might be too late."

Everyone looked up.

A swarm of Airdramon was descending upon them, a very familiar figure in blue riding atop the one in front. Then suddenly the ground started to rumble, and the group realized they'd just been surrounded on all sides by a number of DarkTyrannomon.

"How does he keep doing this?" TK groaned.

"Why, thank you all for gathering in one place like this!" the Emperor laughed down at them. He gracefully leapt off the Airdramon and alighted on the roof of a nearby building. "I told you I wouldn't let go of those two that easily, and I meant it!"

"He's going after Agumon and Gabumon, guys! We gotta protect them!" Davis shouted, throwing up his Digiegg. The others followed suit, and their Armor Digimon began fighting back against the DarkTyrannomon.

Tai, Matt, and their Digimon were caught up in the eye of the storm. "This guy…" Matt clung to his partner as he seethed at Ken. "What gives you the right to kidnap Gabumon like that?!"

"I see how it is. You don't have a partner, so you try to steal ours instead. Isn't that it?" Tai snapped at him.

"Bingo!" the Emperor crowed at them. "And you know what they say… finders keepers."

Suddenly he reached inside his cape with both hands and drew out… what were those things? They looked like Dark Rings, but they were shaped differently… and somehow just from looking at them, it was easy to tell they were far more powerful.

Everyone, Wormmon included, looked at the Emperor's latest invention in shock.

A Dark Spiral? When had Ken come up with that? Wormmon's stomach sank as he realized it must have been while he was out freeing Agumon and Gabumon. He'd left at just the wrong time…

But even if he'd known about those things, was there anything he could do to stop them?

The Emperor threw both Spirals with perfect precision, and Tai and Matt fell backwards in shock as they latched onto Agumon's left arm and Gabumon's right.

"No!"

The two boys stared helplessly as their partners seemed to fall into a trance. Their eyes began glowing an all too familiar red, and they slowly turned around as sinister growls spread across their faces.

"Tai! Get outta the way!" Davis shouted as he threw himself at Tai, who slammed into Matt, and all three of them fell to the ground and just barely dodged Agumon's fireball attack.

"He brainwashed them again…" Davis muttered.

Tai lifted his head up, his eyes wide and desperate. "No! No! Not again!" He struggled to his feet. "Agumon! Agumon, it's me! You can't let him control you like this!"

Ken threw back his head and laughed. "That's so adorable, that you think you can save them!" Agumon and Gabumon had abandoned their partners and walked over to the building where Ken stood. "But I assure you, with my new and improved Dark Spirals, your partners are mine for good this time!"

Meanwhile, the Armor Digimon had successfully fended off the DarkTyrannomon, and everyone turned their attention onto the scene just in time to see Ken hold up his dark digivice once more.

"Now then… let's pick up where we left off last time!" Darkness began to pour out of the digivice. "Agumon! Gabumon! Jogress digivolve!"

TK and Kari's mouths fell open.

"What did he say? Jogress… digivolve?" Cody had the good sense to be worried. "What does that mean?"

Agumon and Gabumon both started to glow, growing larger and larger until they towered over everyone else present… and then their two glowing forms seemed to slowly combine together. Tai and Matt went very, very pale, slowly stepping backwards, unable to tear their eyes away from what was happening before them.

"Tai…?" Matt said weakly. "He's… he's not…"

"He is," said Tai, his voice low and quaking with rage.

When the light died away, a brand new Digimon was standing before them.

It looked almost like a human knight, covered from head to toe in pitch black armor with a long, billowing red cape. The only things to suggest its origins were its arms; its left arm was shaped like WarGreymon's head, and its right arm like MetalGarurumon's. And on each arm, a Dark Spiral was still visible.

All the veterans among the group recognized it instantly.

"Allow me to introduce my latest creation… Omnimon Zwart!" the Emperor cackled. "I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you?"

Yolei looked ready to faint. "Omnimon… Zwart?"

"That's the most powerful Digimon I've ever seen," Cody said softly, trying to tighten his trembling grip on his shinai. "How are we supposed to fight it…?"

No… Wormmon covered his head in agony. He'd tried so hard to stop this. And he'd failed again. And as Ken leapt off the building and onto Omnimon Zwart's waiting shoulder, somehow he knew.

Not all of them would make it out of this alive.

Chapter Text

Omnimon Zwart stood before the terrified children, its cape flapping regally in the breeze, dwarfing all of the buildings and structures of the surrounding town. No one made a move to attack it. It was clear how hopeless it was.

"How did he know?" Tai whispered, fighting back berserk tears. How did he know?"

"I'm ready to fight, Davis!" Veemon said as he clenched his fists, though the waver in his voice quickly gave away his lie.

Davis looked uneasy. "Uhhh… I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Oh, what fun this will be… like shooting Gizamon in a barrel!" the Emperor crowed as he stood on the shoulder of his dark creation. "Omnimon Zwart! Attack them all! Leave no survivors!"

Emotionlessly, without a hint of compassion toward its former friends, Omnimon Zwart lifted the enormous sword that extended from its left arm, swinging it at the children and their Digimon.

Everyone screamed and scattered.

Omnimon's sword crashed down, carving a massive hole into the ground and throwing a cloud of dust into the air. As it lifted its head up and saw everyone was running away, it switched tactics and prepared the cannon in its right arm. It fired a huge blast of energy that flew past the children and exploded into the ground, but as it passed by them, they all felt the air temperature around them plummet.

Davis started hugging himself. "Holy cow… that stuff is cold!"

"Don't let it hit you. You'll be frozen to death in an instant," TK said grimly.

"Give it up, you little brats!" Ken shouted at them. "Omnimon Zwart is the most powerful being in the Digital World! And it's mine!"

The Digidestined could only keep running as Omnimon Zwart stomped after them, attacking with both weapons at once. Its sword went crashing through several houses, causing them to explode into timber, and its freezing blasts left huge portions of the ground encased in ice.

"It's destroying the entire town!" Cody shouted.

"How are we supposed to fight this thing?" Yolei cried.

"We can't." TK shook his head, obviously speaking from experience. "There's no way. It's too powerful."

Davis looked at him. "So what, we just keep running?"

"It's been working pretty well so far!" said Gatomon.

But Tai and Matt weren't running. They were standing their ground, shouting up at the corrupted Digimon.

"Agumon! Agumon, it's me! I know you're in there, buddy!"

"You have to stop this, Gabumon! We don't want to fight!"

Ken let out an evil laugh. "You kids really have a death wish, don't you? Sorry, but your precious bonds of friendship won't save you this time!"

And just to prove his point, Omnimon Zwart suddenly leveled its cannon at the two boys, preparing to vaporize them… but it never got the chance.

It suddenly went completely still, like it had frozen up, and started twitching. Tai and Matt stared up as it began flickering in and out of existence, like a glitched-out computer image.

Ken obviously realized something was wrong. "What are you doing?" he shouted down at his slave. "Stop messing around! Hurry up and – "

And then something seemed to come over him as well. Letting out a loud gasp, he collapsed to his knees atop Omnimon Zwart's shoulder. He grabbed at his chest, breathing heavily and looking like he was struggling to stay conscious.

Wormmon had to stop himself from crying out his partner's name. What was happening to him? It looked like he was in terrible pain… but why?

"What the heck's wrong with Ken?" said Davis.

"I don't know, but I don't think we should stick around to find out," said Tai. Taking advantage of this brief lull in the battle, he grabbed Kari by the hand and scrambled out of the line of fire as fast as he could. Realizing this could be their only chance, the other children and their partners quickly followed after him.

Still clutching at his chest, the Emperor whipped his head up and realized his prey was escaping. "What the – come back here, you cowards!"

"Come on, Wormmon!" Davis shouted. Before Wormmon knew what was happening, the gogglehead had scooped him up and taken off after the others.

Even as she was running, Yolei was furiously typing something into her D-Terminal, which was obviously concerning to Hawkmon. "Yolei, my dear, is this really the time for that?"

"Izzy should still be waiting for us in the computer lab. I'm emailing him about this! I sent him an image of Omnimon."

"I don't know how Izzy can help us now…" said Matt.

"Guys! Look up ahead!" TK shouted, pointing off in front of them. They were running toward one of the railroad tracks that led into the town, and resting on top of it was a duo of railcars with a sail in front. There was just enough room for all of them in there.

"Everybody get in!" said Tai, and seven children and their Digimon all went diving into one of the two railcars. The jostling impact sent the contraption rolling down the track, away from the town and away from the Emperor.

Wormmon and the others worriedly lifted their heads up and looked behind them at what was left of the destroyed town, afraid Ken and Omnimon would be following after them any second. But the Emperor and his slave were still standing far behind, a monolithic presence in the middle of the wreckage, both of them suffering under some intense pain.

The Digidestined had gotten away… for now.

––

"We gotta figure out what we're gonna do, before Ken catches up to us."

Wormmon wasn't sure how much time they had passed riding in the railcars. The team's only goal had been to get as far away from Omnimon Zwart as possible… but that obviously wouldn't be an option forever. Now they were all trying to figure out what to do when they inevitably ran out of time.

After Tai spoke up, Davis looked up at him with an annoyed expression. "There's nothing we can do. We're not strong enough to beat Omnimon Zwart! Not by a long shot!"

"We don't need to beat it," said TK. "We just need to get rid of those Dark Spirals on its arms."

"Oh, well great. So how do we get close enough to do that before we get killed?"

TK glared at him. "Davis, at least I'm trying to think of a plan! That's more than you're doing!"

"You're not even thinking about Tai and Matt! You're talking about fighting their partners like it's nothing!"

In a flash, the two boys had grabbed each other by their shirts and looked a matter of seconds away from breaking into a fistfight.

"Stop fighting!" Wormmon cried, springing up between the two of them before they could come to blows. Both boys froze up and looked down at him.

"Both of you… stop fighting. You're friends, aren't you? Friends shouldn't fight each other."

Davis glowered down at him. "I know that, Wormmon," he said. "Try telling that to him. He's saying we should be attacking Omnimon!"

Cody was sitting back with his eyes closed, looking impatient. "Maybe we should ask Tai and Matt what they want to do before we start fighting each other? They're the ones being affected by this."

TK sighed and let go of Davis's shirt. "You're right, Cody," he said. "Matt… what do you think? Do we have any other choice?"

Matt and Tai were both sitting up in the front railcar. Both of them had been pretty quiet, and now as they exchanged a look with each other, it was clear they still didn't know what to say.

"Well… I…"

Matt didn't get to finish. At that moment, Yolei sat up in a flash as her D-Terminal started beeping. Cody and Hawkmon peered over her shoulder as she flipped it open.

"It's Izzy! He must have gotten my email," she said in relief. "Izzy! Hey! We're kind of in a bit of trouble right now."

"I'll say you are," Izzy's voice came from the D3. Everyone sitting around Yolei tried to get a look at the screen. "I can't believe Ken was able to create Omnimon again. How did he even know how to do it?"

"That's number two on our list of things to figure out," said TK. "Number one is, how do we get out of this without getting killed."

"Ken has just gotten more and more powerful since he moved to the Digital World… he's out of control," Izzy muttered. "Well… I have some bad news, everyone. Something's very wrong with Omnimon."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Gee, ya think?"

"Ken was somehow able to force it to that level," Izzy went on. "But I'm not sure how. I analyzed the images of those Dark Spirals, and in theory, they should only be strong enough to control Ultimate-level Digimon."

Cody blinked. "…You were able to figure that out just from a picture?"

"It's Izzy. We just roll with it," Matt sighed.

"What I'm trying to say is, this is an unnatural digivolution, and all of Omnimon Zwart's energy is being used up from being forcibly kept at that level. The way it started… malfunctioning in front of you all just confirms that. At this point, I'm afraid…" He trailed off.

"Of what?" There was a note of fear in Tai's voice. He sat up and grabbed the edge of the railcar. "Izzy? Afraid of what?"

It was clear the boy on the screen didn't want to finish his train of thought. But he did.

"I'm afraid the only thing holding it together are those Dark Spirals."

There was silence in the railcars. The only noise came from the rickety wheels as they rattled down the tracks.

"You mean…" Kari whispered. "If we destroy them, then…"

"We'd be killing Omnimon?" Davis finished for her.

Wormmon couldn't believe what he was hearing. He should have known something like this would happen when he told Ken about Omnimon, but… hearing it now, having it confirmed to him, made him feel like cold hard reality had just smacked him in the face.

His friends were going to die… or they would become killers. All because of him.

Luckily, the conversation was then derailed yet again, this time by Cody's D3 going off. He pulled it out and looked at it in confusion.

"Everyone… my D3 is detecting the presence of a Digiegg… straight ahead."

Everyone looked surprised. "Another Digiegg? I thought we found them all," said Kari.

"I don't know. But we have to pull the brakes now, or we'll pass by it."

Yolei gave a small nod. "We'll have to talk later, Izzy," she said, shutting her D-Terminal.

As the railcars slowed to a stop, everyone jumped out and followed Cody as he let his D3 lead them ahead. After barely a minute, they'd arrived at a tall stone wall with a large, very familiar carving set into it.

Everyone stared up at it. "This must be it. That looks just like… the Crest of Friendship," said TK.

Patamon flew off his shoulder. "Look down here, everyone!" he said, pointing at something just below the stone wall. There was a large crater in the ground, and as everyone gathered around it and looked down, they saw a black and blue Digiegg with a jagged horn sticking out of it, resting on the ground. The egg, too, bore the Crest of Friendship.

Tai looked over at his friend. "Matt. Go for it, man."

Nodding vaguely at nobody in particular, Matt knelt down next to the Digiegg and tried to pull it out of the ground… but from the way he immediately started straining, it was clear he wouldn't be successful. Finally he gave up, sat back and sighed.

"It's no good. It's not mine."

"But we all have our Digieggs already. Whose could it be?" asked Yolei.

"Who cares whose it is?" Davis snapped at her. "We're not actually gonna try and pick it up, are we?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. "Davis, what are you talking about?" asked Tai.

"This could be our only chance against Omnimon Zwart," said TK.

Davis pointed an accusing finger at him. "There you go again! Quit talking like we're gonna be fighting Omnimon! We can't do that!" he said. "Cause if we do… we'll be killing Tai and Matt's partners!"

TK's face briefly flashed with guilt. "We… we don't know that," he said quietly, looking away. "Maybe Izzy was wrong…"

"But Davis… what other choice do we have?" asked Veemon. "Omnimon Zwart won't stop until it's destroyed all of us…"

Davis looked at his partner in shock. "What, you're gonna take his side too?" he said. "What if it were you, Veemon? What if everyone was trying to kill you? Would you be okay with that?"

Veemon stared at him, unable to come up with an answer, and then stared at the ground. All the other Digidestined and their partners similarly found themselves unable to look Davis in the eye.

"I can't believe you guys. How can you even be thinking like this?" Davis went on. "Agumon and Gabumon are our friends!"

TK was standing with his arms folded. He still didn't have a response, and so he looked up at his brother.

"Matt? Don't you have something to say about this?"

Matt was standing next to Tai. Both of them had the same look on their faces. Pale. Empty. It took Matt a moment to even speak up.

"If we fight… then Gabumon dies?"

An earthshaking crash interrupted any further conversation.

Everyone spun around and found Omnimon Zwart suddenly towering over them, momentarily recovered from whatever had been afflicting it before.

The Emperor had found them. Their time was up.

"You know, I was never a fan of hide and seek," Ken said irritably. "Let's end this nonsense now, shall we?"

"We won't let you get away with this, Ken!" Tai shouted up at the younger boy. "You can't just go around doing whatever you like with other people's Digimon!"

Wormmon chose his words carefully. He couldn't give himself away. "Omnimon is too strong for you, Ken! Can't you see that? It's out of control!"

"That's enough talk from all of you," Ken snapped, even though everyone could see Wormmon was right. Omnimon Zwart was being held together with duct tape. Ken was messing with powers that were too much for even him to control. If he kept doing this… he was going to destroy the Digital World.

Maybe that was what he wanted.

He thrust a finger forward. "Omnimon Zwart! Obliterate them!"

The corrupted Digimon came surging toward the defenseless children. They all ran out of the way in time, but they still had to brace themselves as Omnimon crashed into the stone wall behind them. It didn't look injured at all from the impact, simply turning around and facing them again.

Tai was in no shape to give commands, so his sister stepped up. "We have to destroy those Dark Spirals! It's our only chance!"

"Why thank you for yelling your battle plans right in front of me! I think I just won't let you do that!" Ken sneered.

In a matter of seconds, four of the younger children had Armor Digivolved their partners, and now they were all flying and buzzing around the enormous Mega-level Digimon, firing off their attacks and trying to hit the Dark Spirals on its arms.

"We're going to get ourselves killed," muttered Nefertimon.

"It doesn't matter. I'll protect TK with my life!" said Pegasusmon.

Unfortunately, Omnimon Zwart was attacking them so quickly that they couldn't get a good lock on its arms. Quick as a flash, it opened its arm cannon and shot an enormous blast of freezing cold energy at its attackers, and they all just barely dodged it. The attack went flying and crashed into the stone wall behind them, sending large chunks of it falling to the ground.

"Get out of the way!" TK screamed, grabbing Cody and pulling him to safety just as a huge rock crashed to the ground where they had been standing.

Omnimon Zwart began swinging around its mighty sword, making it even harder for the Armor Digimon to get close. Halsemon and Digmon tried to blind it by firing their attacks into its face, but those attacks were so feeble against such a monster that they did practically nothing at all.

Then Omnimon Zwart spun around and blasted them both with a shot from its cannon. It only glazed them, but that was enough.

"Hawkmon!" Yolei screamed as both Digimon shrank back down to their Rookie forms and plummeted out of the sky. She and Cody both ran forward to catch them… directly toward Omnimon Zwart.

"Both of you, look out!" shouted Pegasusmon, flying down and shoving them out of the way just before they were all vaporized by a cannon shot.

Ken was laughing madly. "Yes! Yes! Destroy them all!"

Davis hadn't moved an inch since the battle began. He was staring in fright, paralyzed with indecision. The others were all fighting, even though there was no point. Even though it was a losing battle.

"Davis? Aren't we going to help them?" Veemon asked timidly.

The gogglehead looked down at his partner. "But… what can we do?" he asked hopelessly.

Wormmon had been standing back in silence, watching everything. As always, he was useless in this fight. He didn't stand a chance against Omnimon Zwart. He'd be killed in an instant. But he had to do something.

He didn't want Agumon and Gabumon to die. He didn't want Ken to be responsible for their deaths. But if Davis kept acting like this, then he'd be the one to die instead. He and the rest of the Digidestined.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he'd latched onto Davis's leg.

"Davis! You have to remember what Bearmon said!"

Davis seemingly broke out of his fugue and stared down at Wormmon. "What?"

"You've been trying to learn how to be a leader from him, right? Don't you remember what he said?" Wormmon went on. "He said that sometimes leaders have to make the hard decisions."

Davis clearly had no idea to respond to that. "Wormmon… he said that because he was gonna turn you over to the Emperor! Don't you remember that?"

"Yes, but… I don't blame him." How could he, when he'd done so much worse. "He was just doing what he had to. To protect his friends."

Davis was silent.

"Wormmon's right, Davis," Matt spoke up, causing both Davis and Wormmon to look up at him. Something had changed about him. He still looked pained and lost, but at the same time, it looked like he'd finally come to a decision.

"Gabumon and Agumon are our friends… but so are the others. If you don't do this, they'll all be in danger."

Davis looked at him hopelessly. "Isn't there another way…?"

Matt just closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's what true friendship is… it means doing right by your friends. Even when it hurts."

Hearing such things from Matt himself obviously gave Davis pause. He stood where he was for just a moment, Wormmon and Veemon watching him in anticipation. Then finally, his protests seemed to drain out of him, and he clenched his hands and lowered his head.

"True friendship… I get it now."

And then something behind him started to glow.

Everyone turned around in astonishment. The Digiegg of Friendship was shining a bright blue, and then it rose up from its spot on the ground and slowly floated over to them… or more accurately, over to Davis. Completely astonished, the gogglehead held out his hands as the Digiegg gently came to land inside of them.

"It was… mine all along?"

Veemon stared at it in awe. "Can we use that to digivolve, Davis?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out…" With a grim look on his face, Davis stood up, turned to face Omnimon Zwart and held out the Digiegg, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Digiarmor energize!"

Veemon was enveloped in a pale blue light and started growing and changing before their eyes. When the light died away, an entirely new Digimon was standing in his place.

Davis stood with his mouth open. "Veemon?"

"Not anymore," said the new Digimon, bearing his fangs in a lupine grin. "Call me Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

"Amazing!" Kari gasped. "Veemon has a second Armor digivolution!"

"Another one…?" Davis marveled at his partner's new form, but only for a moment. "Okay, Raidramon. We gotta destroy those Dark Spirals. And we gotta be fast about it."

"I think you'll find that fast is what I do best!" Raidramon declared as Davis hopped on his back. The two of them raced into the fray with renewed vigor, leaving Wormmon and the others to stand back and watch.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon had been doing all they could to distract Omnimon Zwart, but both of them looked relieved when Raidramon suddenly appeared next to them.

"Looks like the cavalry's finally here."

"We'll leave the rest to you, Raidramon!"

"Raidramon! Let's draw their fire away from the other guys!" Davis shouted at his partner.

"Now you're talking like a leader, Davis!" said Raidramon. And then they were off, quick as a bolt of lightning, circling around Omnimon Zwart's back.

"What the – " From his perch atop the massive Digimon, Ken looked down in astonishment. Who was this new Digimon, and how was it so fast?

Omnimon Zwart turned around, away from the other children, trying to track the smaller Digimon as it fired its cannon repeatedly. But as powerful as its attacks were, they weren't precise. Raidramon wove back and forth effortlessly between the cannon shots, with Davis clinging to his back and bracing himself against the ensuing explosions.

"Is Davis going to be okay out there?" Kari said worriedly.

Matt gave a slight nod. "He'll be fine," he said. "He's a tough kid… and he and Raidramon are true partners."

Raidramon ran in closer to Omnimon, baiting a close range attack, and it worked. Omnimon switched to its sword, swinging it in a massive arc and bringing it crashing down to the ground… and Raidramon dodged the attack before leaping onto its arm.

"Blue Lightning!" he shouted, frying the Dark Spiral on its arm with an electric blast.

The Dark Spiral shattered.

Just like that, Omnimon Zwart resumed the same ominous flickering and glitching that had consumed it before. More importantly, it was frozen. It couldn't move.

"What in the – not again!" Ken grabbed onto its shoulder, trying to maintain his balance. "What's going on?"

"Just one Dark Spiral left," said Raidramon. "You sure you wanna do this, Davis?"

Davis paused before nodding. "Yeah. Let's do it."

The two of them raced around to Omnimon's other side, and as much as Ken was screaming threats down at them, there wasn't a thing he could do to stop them. Raidramon prepared a second lightning attack, firing it at the second Dark Spiral on Omnimon's immobilized right arm.

It, too, shattered… and then so did the Digimon it was holding together.

Davis and Raidramon braced themselves, racing away to safety as the enormous Digimon started glitching more intensely, degenerating into a mess of color and static. The space around it seemed to warp and twist, and then, in a burst of dark energy, Omnimon came apart.

Countless bits of data scattered off into the wind, and then it was gone.

Ken was about to fall out of the sky, when a ringed Devidramon flew in from out of nowhere and carried him off to safety. Away from the battle, and away from the damage he had caused.

Leaving the others to deal with the fallout.

"AGUMON!" Tai screamed, his voice echoing in the wind as he came charging over to where Omnimon had been. But there was no one left, just the last few bits of data that floated about before winking out of existence.

"Agumon!" Tears were pouring down Tai's face, and his knees gave out from underneath him. "This can't… this can't be happening… you can't…"

Matt was in a similar state. He fell to his knees, numb with shock, and then it finally seemed to dawn on him that this was really happening.

"Gabumon…" He threw his head back and screamed. "Gabumon!"

Davis, Yolei and Cody were completely still. They couldn't process this. Partner Digimon… dying? It wasn't possible. And yet, it was. Their two strongest Digimon, two of the heroes that had saved the Digital World in the past… and they were gone. Just like that.

TK slowly knelt down next to his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He'll come back, Matt," he said quietly. "Remember. He'll come back."

Kari tried to do the same for her brother. "Please don't be sad, Tai," she whispered, gently wrapping her arms around his neck. "Agumon would never leave you forever… you know that, don't you?"

For a moment, Tai gave no indication that he'd heard her. Then he dug his fingers into the ground, and a dark fire lit up in his eyes.

"Ken is going to pay," he said hoarsely. "I'm going to make him pay."

"Davis!" came a voice. The gogglehead turned around to see Raidramon had shrunk back down to Veemon and was running over to him. Davis grabbed his partner and pulled him into a tight hug… and then the two of them turned to look at the two crying, broken boys.

"Veemon… did we do the right thing?"

Being a Digidestined was supposed to be an adventure. They were supposed be heroes who beat the bad guys.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

He slowly trudged over to Matt and TK. He didn't even know why… to apologize? To let them know he'd tried everything to save Gabumon, even if he'd failed?

"Matt…"

The older boy turned around and looked up at Davis, his face wet with tears. Davis expected him to be furious… but instead, he managed to put on a weak, pained smile.

"Davis…" he said. "Your new Digimon… looks a lot like Garurumon." He laughed, though it sounded more like a cough. "Guess it's good to know… even if he's gone… Raidramon will be there to pick up the slack."

Davis just stared at him. He didn't have a deep emotional range on the best of days, but anyone looking at him would have said he looked horrified.

Once again, Wormmon found himself glad that he had been forgotten. He stood apart from the others, quiet and unobtrusive, thinking about everything he'd just seen. Davis had saved them… that was good. But what a lesson he'd had to learn to make it happen.

Friendship – true friendship – wasn't all fun and games. Sometimes friends got lost, or made mistakes. But if you truly were a friend to them, you didn't stand by and let it happen. Even if it hurt them, or if they hated you. You had to do what you knew was right.

Just like me and Ken…

Everyone's heart was heavy. Hardly anyone even had the energy to acknowledge Wormmon as they departed the Digital World, but it didn't matter. He had other things on his mind.

I learned something today too.

––

That night inside the fortress, the Emperor was practically humming to himself as he strode down the dark hallways. Wormmon reluctantly followed after him, unsure whether he should be happy about his partner's good mood or not.

"What a rousing success," said the Emperor, clearly reliving the events of the day in his mind with relish. "Those bratty kids are as good as mine now."

That was a strange reaction to his defeat, Wormmon thought. "But… they destroyed Omnimon."

"Yes, indeed. They destroyed their own Digimon. What a genius tactical maneuver. I should have thought of it myself."

Wormmon paused. "It'll be hard to find another Digimon that powerful."

"Nonsense. If I can create Omnimon Zwart, then I can create others. This was nothing but a test."

They reached the control room, and Ken slumped down in his chair. That was when Wormmon noticed it. In spite of his good mood, something about Ken was looking… off. He looked paler and weaker than usual. Almost like the night he'd attacked Wormmon.

"Ken… you're not looking well. Maybe you should take a break from all the enslaving and conquering for a while."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is my moment of triumph. I can't afford to stop now." He looked like he was about to say something else, but then he briefly grew a dazed look on his face, almost like he was falling asleep in his chair. He drooped forward for a moment before lurching himself back awake.

Wormmon was alarmed. "Ken! This is serious! What's wrong with you?"

"Hmph. It's nothing." Ken looked irritated at Wormmon for even asking. "The Dark Spirals just weren't quite as powerful as I wanted them to be."

His partner just stared at him. "What… what does that mean?"

"In reality, I couldn't make them powerful enough to control a Mega-level Digimon. Let alone one as strong as Omnimon," said the Emperor. "They can only do so much to amplify the power of my digivice. So I just gave it some of my own power."

"What? You mean you…" Was that why Ken had looked to be straining himself so much during the battle? "You sacrificed your own life energy? But – but you're a human! Can humans even do that?"

He kept gazing up at Ken fearfully, even as his partner turned to glare at him once again. "It just doesn't sound safe…"

As he always did, the Emperor brushed away Wormmon's concerns. "Of course it's safe, you little invertebrate. It's not like I can die in this world."

And with that, he turned his attention fully to the computer screens in front of them, shutting Wormmon's presence out of his mind. "Today provided a wealth of information. It's time to put it to use."

Wormmon had been with Ken long enough now to know when a conversation was finished. His antennae drooping in defeat, he turned around and slowly crawled out of the room, unnoticed. The Emperor was left alone, grinning up at one of his screens, where an image of Omnimon Zwart still remained on display.

"This won't be my last experiment with Jogress evolution," he said. "Not by a long shot…"

Chapter Text

Everything changed after the defeat of Omnimon Zwart. Not even just Tai and Matt, though of course, they changed the most. Wormmon didn't see much of them, but based on what he heard from TK and Kari, the life had basically gone from them. They were just… empty. Like they couldn't feel happiness anymore. Tai was acting out more in school, and Matt had to take a leave of absence from his band. He didn't have it in him to play anymore.

Wormmon hadn't been familiar with the concept of partner Digimon for very long, and he had never even considered how much it would hurt a human to be without their partner. It was a selfish thing to think, but he wondered if Tai and Matt were now feeling the way he felt all the time.

He knew, of course, that death among Digimon wasn't permanent. Everyone knew that. The first thing their team did every day now was visit Primary Village, combing through the countless Digieggs lying in the grass, looking for the ones that would bring back Agumon and Gabumon. But they never appeared.

"I don't know why, but… I get the feeling they won't come back until Ken's gone," TK said one day. "It won't be safe for them until then. It's not safe for anyone."

Of course, now that it was clear that the Digimon Emperor would even go after the other children's partners, the Digidestined had immediately brought the survivors to the real world – Biyomon, Tentomon, Gomamon and Palmon. The latter had been a difficult case, since her partner apparently lived somewhere far away. "America" or something. But the Digidestined had been able to open a Digital Gate for her that sent her to the right place.

"Mimi knows about what happened, right?" TK asked as they were preparing to send Palmon away.

"Yes. I emailed her and told her everything," said Kari. "And I told her not to worry, that we'd take care of things over here. Otherwise she would hop the next plane and fly down here right this minute. I know she would."

Wormmon barely knew any of the four Digimon, and didn't really exchange words with them, so all he could do was reassure himself that they were all staying with their human partners, safe and sound. The Emperor couldn't reach them.

But none of that was any comfort to him.

Kari knew his secret now. She had to. Or at the very least, she had to suspect something. She was the one who had told him about Omnimon, and the very next day, Ken had gone about trying to create it again. There was no way she would dismiss that as a coincidence.

He was more on edge than ever. His time as a Digidestined was about to run out. It was only a matter of time before she came forth and accused him.

But it never happened. As it was, Kari quickly found herself involved in other things.

"Where's Kari today?" Yolei asked one day soon after. Everyone had traveled to the Digital World after school, just like they always did, and Wormmon had gone to meet them. But Kari wasn't there with them, and neither was Gatomon.

"Yeah, for real. She's been gone all day. She wasn't in class either," said Davis. "This isn't about yesterday, is it?"

"Kari's staying home today," said TK, and everyone turned to look at him. He always seemed to be the one who knew her the best. "Gatomon's there keeping an eye on her."

"Why? Did something happen to her?" Wormmon said worriedly. Once again, he seemed to be out of the loop. Everyone else cast knowing looks amongst each other.

"You could say that, yeah. Yesterday after school, Kari… disappeared," TK said solemnly. "I mean literally. She got teleported some place called the Dark Ocean."

Wormmon had no idea what to make of this. "The dark… what?" he said. "Where's that? Is it part of the Digital World?"

"I don't think so. I mean, there were Digimon, but… everything about that place was just wrong. There was no light anywhere… Patamon and Gatomon and I all followed after her and found her in time, but I don't know what would've happened if we hadn't."

"Was it really that serious?" asked Yolei, eyes filled with concern for her friend. "Why would something like that happen to Kari?"

"I've got no idea," TK sighed. "Maybe just being the Digidestined of Light makes her… vulnerable to darkness. Anyway, she's still shook up, so nobody talk to her about it."

"This is the Digimon Emperor's doing, isn't it," Cody said softly. He had gone stiff with rage. "First he targeted our Digimon partners, and now he's going after us."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We're not exactly in a position to ask him about it," said TK.

No one noticed it, but Wormmon looked horrified at Cody's words. Was it true? Had Ken done this to Kari? Was he trying to hurt the other human children?

He had to find out.

That evening, he was running down one of the many dark hallways of the Emperor's fortress. He wanted to catch Ken before he even made it to the computer room. This was important.

He rounded a corner just to find the Emperor about to turn it from the opposite direction, and they nearly crashed into each other. Wormmon panicked and skidded to a stop. He didn't need any reason for his partner to get angry at him.

The Emperor hissed and drew his cape back in disgust. "Watch where you're going, insect! Who gave you permission to be here? Get back to your cell!"

"Ken. I need to ask you something," Wormmon said firmly. "Have you ever heard of the Dark Ocean?"

Ken actually looked surprised at the question, but he quickly covered it up with his usual look of neutral contempt.

"Of course I've heard of it," he said shortly. It's just another part of the Digital World… one that houses an incredible dark power."

Wormmon looked skeptical. "Are… are you sure it's really part of the Digital World?"

"There are Digimon there. What else would it be?" The Emperor snapped at him. "I constructed a Control Spire there, and I enslaved the Digimon with my Dark Spirals. I told you, I won't rest until I've conquered every corner of this world."

He was about to go marching off to the computer room, but it was only then that he seemed to realize the obvious question. He turned back to Wormmon. "How has a useless thing like you ever heard of that place?"

"I… I just heard about it from the Digidestined today. Kari went there, somehow. And it sounds like she's not doing well." Wormmon fidgeted. "I'm just worried about her."

Once again, Ken looked surprised. "What are you saying?" he asked. "One of those kids was trapped there?"

Wormmon went very still. Oh, no… what had he done?

"Ken? You… you didn't know about this?"

But Ken wasn't listening anymore. He was in deep thought about something. So he hadn't been responsible… but Wormmon had just given him an idea. That couldn't be good.

"Ken? What are you planning now?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," Ken said dismissively. "Now get out of here, until you have something else useful to tell me."

And he stalked off down the hallway, leaving Wormmon alone once again.

––

Bearmon had been working a lot more closely with the Digidestined ever since they had lost their two most powerful Digimon. Everyone seemed to understood that they all had to work together if they wanted to stand a chance. If they tried to do things on their own, the Digimon Emperor would lay waste to all of them.

Today he was helping the Digidestined knock down a swathe of Control Spires that were all crowded close by other, while his rebels were off in the wilderness fighting the Emperor's slaves who were meant to be guarding the area.

"You guys shoulda called me over," he said as he was punching a Control Spire, trying to crack it. "I woulda beat up that Omnimon Zwart thing, no problem."

"No, Bearmon, you wouldn't have. Trust me," said TK.

Wormmon had been keeping a close eye on TK this whole time. He was worried about him… well, really he was worried about Matt, but TK had clearly been affected by the loss of Gabumon as well. He'd gotten more withdrawn, and more serious. He reacted even more negatively to Ken's name than he had before.

As Wormmon thought about this, he noticed that Patamon was lounging a little ways away, munching on some snacks from the human world. He'd knocked over a lot of Control Spires already today, and now he was resting.

Wormmon was too nervous to talk to TK about this. Hopefully his partner would be more approachable.

"Patamon… I wanted to ask you something," he said, crawling over, hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries. "When Omnimon… when we defeated Omnimon, I remember TK was talking to Matt, and…"

Patamon looked concerned at him as he trailed off. "Hmm? What is it, Wormmon?"

"Well, it's just… he was saying that Gabumon would come back one day. And it sounded like he knew. Like he was speaking from experience." He looked long and hard at the other Rookie, hoping that he would understand the question that was hanging in the air.

Patamon gave a weak little smile. "You're smarter than you look, Wormmon," he said. "But you're right. I died too, once before."

This was brand new information. Wormmon couldn't even look at Patamon the same way now. He was so cute and innocent… how could he have died? What could have happened to him?

"Oh, Patamon. I'm so sorry… I never knew."

"Don't be sorry." Patamon shook his head. "It happened years ago, just after TK and the old Digidestined came here. It's all in the past now."

"Can I ask… how it happened?"

"Well. There was this really evil Digimon named Devimon who was trying to take over File Island. He got huge. The other Digimon had all digivolved to Champion level, but even all of them together weren't strong enough to beat him. And then…" Patamon seemed to shrink a little bit, like he was wilting away at some bad memory. "He was going to kill TK. I had to protect him. I had to do something. If TK died, I would…"

He couldn't finish, but he didn't have to. Wormmon didn't want to think about what would happen if Ken died either. It was unconscionable.

"But that was when I digivolved for the first time. Into Angemon," Patamon went on. He puffed out his chest a little; he seemed to be proud of this part of the story, anyway. "I used up all my power to destroy Devimon once and for all, and I… well, I guess the humans would say that was when I was deleted."

"But you came back."

"Yep! I reformed as a Digiegg, and I hatched again. I couldn't leave TK forever! He still needed me."

Well, at the very least, Patamon seemed none the worse for wear after dying once. Maybe it would be the same for Agumon and Gabumon. Wormmon wanted to ask what it felt like, but… that seemed a little bit personal.

"Well… I'm glad you're still here, Patamon. You're a good friend. And a good partner."

"You don't need to worry about me. I worry more about TK. It was a long time ago, I don't know how long in human world years, but he was very little when it happened." His large ears drooped in sadness. "He has still has nightmares about it, actually. He doesn't like to talk about it, but I know. I think he blames himself."

Wormmon considered this. Actually… this explained a lot about TK, too. Wormmon had always been wary around him, but he'd never really known why. But it turned out TK had been through a lot. That experience must have hardened him.

"I'm sorry that happened to both of you," he finally said.

Patamon didn't look perturbed, though. "I'm not sorry. I'd do it again. I'd do anything for TK. That's what partners are for."

That was true, Wormmon thought. He'd die for Ken in a heartbeat, if given the chance… but the way things were, he didn't think that would be helpful at all.

With that, the conversation seemed to be over. Patamon looked more rested than he had before, so he flapped over to rejoin his partner beneath the Control Spire, and Wormmon crawled after him without really thinking about it.

"That dumb human brat," Bearmon was growling to himself. "And we were so close to bringin' back the Harmonious Ones. Now it'll probably never happen."

"We can't give up, Bearmon," Cody said sternly. "The Harmonious Ones are counting on us, aren't they? We're the only ones who can help them."

Wormmon tried to think of something useful to say. "That's right, Bearmon. Didn't you say they were imprisoned once before? By the Dark Masters? We can't lose hope."

"Yeah, the Dark Masters… that was a fun time," TK sighed as he leaned against the Control Spire, cracking open a can of lemonade. "But we defeated them back then, so I guess we've got no excuse now."

Bearmon scoffed at him. "Sheesh, you think you guys had it bad? Us Digimon were stuck here in the Digital World for their whole reign! You think that was fun?"

"I've never heard of these Dark Masters. Davis and Yolei and I weren't there for that," said Cody.

"Yeah, were they worse than the Emperor?" asked Davis, he and Yolei walking over at the sound of their names.

"Before, I would have said they were a lot worse," said TK. "But… I don't know. Ken's just not going down."

"Can you tell us about them?" asked Yolei.

TK and Bearmon glanced at each other, silently agreeing that they would be tag teaming this one. So the two of them started telling the other Digidestined about the four evil Digimon – Metalseadramon, Puppetmon, Machinedramon, and Piedmon – who had enslaved the Digital World years ago. It was only by sealing away the Harmonious Ones after a long battle that they were able to do so. But the eight original Digidestined had harnessed the power of their Crests to set the Harmonious Ones free, and after that the Digital World had been peaceful again… for a little while, anyway.

"Sheesh. Those guys sound like they were bad news," said Davis. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, listening to the story in rapt attention. "You guys had to beat four Mega-level Digimon? We couldn't even beat one!"

Wormmon suddenly blurted something out. "Do you think the Digimon Emperor knows about them?"

He regretted it as soon as the words had left his mouth. The last thing he needed was to draw more attention to himself. But no one seemed to find his question suspicious, and Bearmon just waved a paw dismissively.

"Who knows, and who cares," he said. "Those Dark Masters are dead and gone. We got other stuff to worry about now."

Now that storytime was over, everyone else went back to work, while Wormmon simply crawled off to a deserted part of the clearing to be alone. He thought about everything TK and Bearmon had told him, and what Patamon had told him too. He'd just learned so much… and he sorely wished he hadn't.

Ken would want to hear all of it.

I can't keep spilling all of their secrets like this, he thought. I just can't. I don't care if Ken hates me. I can't do it anymore.

Tears started to fill his eyes. As much as he wanted to believe that the boy he loved was in there somewhere… he just couldn't get through to Ken, no matter what he did. Staying by his side, helping him destroy the Digidestined, wasn't helping him. Wormmon was trying so hard, but he'd done nothing but hurt people.

I'm going to confess, he said to himself. I'm going to tell the Digidestined everything. And then… then I'll do everything I can to stop Ken.

That's the only thing left I can do.

––

That night, Wormmon was fast asleep in his cell, having another dream… another memory. He and Ken were walking along together, off on some adventure. They were chatting happily with each other, eager to get to… wherever it was they were going.

But they weren't alone.

There was another Digimon with them. A little blue Rookie with a pointed nose and a big smile on his face. He was bouncing along next to them, laughing and sharing in the adventure.

Wormmon startled himself awake.

Veemon!

Was that really him? The very same Digimon? Wormmon had never seen anyone else like him… but how could it be? How could he and Ken have known Veemon before? Veemon had never said anything to him…

He would have said something… right?

Unless he forgot too.

He suddenly remembered his first night with Davis and his partner. Demiveemon had said, so flippantly, that he had no memories before meeting Davis. And it hadn't bothered him at all.

Why did none of them remember? Was there someone out there who wanted them to forget?

He lay curled up in his cell for a long while after that, trying to make sense of this new information. Slowly, a new plan started to form in his mind. He would never have thought himself a schemer before, but maybe just being around the Emperor was bringing out his devious side.

Maybe it wasn't time to confess yet.

If he could force Ken to listen to him… if he could make him remember… maybe he could still save him. And then the Digidestined would never have to know what he'd done.

Later that night, the Goblimon escorted him into the Emperor's computer room for his nightly debriefing, and he had already rehearsed what he was about to say.

"I have some things to tell you, Ken. A lot of things, actually," he said. "I know they'll help you defeat the Digidestined."

If Wormmon sounded more eager than usual to be a villain, Ken took no notice of it at all. He just looked annoyed. "Well? Spill it, then."

"Wait. Before I can tell you, I need you to do something for me."

Ken snarled at him. "You're in no position to bargain, you little maggot."

"Then I just won't tell you anything," Wormmon said stubbornly. "What are you going to do then? Kill me?" He glared defiantly up at the Emperor. "The Digidestined were about to defeat you without me."

Just a week ago, Wormmon would have been shocked that he could be so mean to his partner. But things just kept getting worse, and he was getting desperate. He couldn't be soft like he used to be.

To his surprise, his words actually seemed to work. Ken, didn't hit him, or even yell at him. He just drew back in his chair, looking disgusted at Wormmon, but it seemed like he had acquiesced.

"Fine, then. What is it that's so important. This had better not be a waste of my time."

"There's something else from our past," said Wormmon. "I want you to hear about it. And I want you to believe me."

Ken's glower only got deeper. He obviously hated it when Wormmon tried to dredge up their past. But he didn't interrupt, and Wormmon seized his chance.

"Davis's partner. Veemon," he said. "You knew him too. He was your friend."

Ken looked stunned. At least he didn't lash out and hurt Wormmon like last time. He seemed to actually be considering his partner's words… and then a smug, triumphant grin appeared on his face.

Oh, Wormmon hated that look. It always meant Ken was about to do something awful.

"Is that so."

"Ken…? What is it?" Wormmon said timidly. "I told you, you have to believe me… please, Ken. I need you to remember. This is important."

"Oh, indeed it is," said the Emperor, though it looked more like he was ignoring Wormmon and formulating some other evil plan. Wormmon didn't know what this meant. He couldn't tell if Ken had actually remembered anything.

He had a feeling he wouldn't find out.

Then the Emperor glared back down at him, drawing his whip. "And now it's time for your end of the bargain."

Wormmon swallowed hard. Right. He had to tell Ken the truth. He was still banking on the hope that somehow… maybe… Ken would still remember. And then nothing bad would happen.

Nothing bad.

He took a deep breath, and spilled everything.

Chapter Text

It had been nearly two months since Ken Ichijouji, the boy genius of Tamachi, had gone missing. After all this time, the only lead the police had was the note he had left on his computer, implying he'd run away. There had been no sightings of him, and his fans were all fearing the worst.

A local TV station opted to interview his parents, not for the first time. They were both clinging to each other as they stood before the camera, visibly weary from weeks of fear and uncertainty.

"If anyone has seen our son… please, please tell us. Anything you know," said his father. "We're so worried. He's everything to us."

"Ken, sweetie… if you're watching this… please come home," said his mother. "We love you. And we miss you."

––

"Shouldn't we tell them?" said Yolei. "I mean… shouldn't we at least let them know he's alive?"

TK, Kari, Yolei and Cody were all sitting around in the computer lab, along with their Digimon. Yolei was sitting backwards in her chair, arms draped over the back, looking timidly at the others as she ventured to speak.

All of them had watched the interview on TV the previous night, and now they found themselves facing yet another moral dilemma. Ken's parents had done nothing to deserve this pain. Wasn't it the responsibility of the Digidestined to tell them where their son had run off to?

"I don't think there's a good answer to that," said TK. "We don't want them to worry, but… we can't just tell them he's all right without telling them where he's been all this time."

Yolei puffed out her cheeks. "Okay, so, let's just tell them then! Don't they have the right to know?"

"They would never believe us, Yolei." Cody was seated with his eyes closed and arms folded, quiet and composed. "They would say we're making things up. They might even accuse us of mocking them over their loss."

Yolei jumped out of her chair and balled her fists. "What?! Ken's the only one who would do something that rotten!"

The two of them likely would have gotten into yet another argument if Davis hadn't come running into the room at that very moment. "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late. I had to stay after class and clap erasers… I think every teacher in this school has it out for me."

"It's fine, Davis. Here, come have a look at this," said TK. He got out of his chair and let Davis sit down in his place. Davis looked at the computer screen and saw a new black square had just popped up on the map of the Digital World… far away from all of the other ones.

"Why did Ken… take over this spot?" he asked, leaning forward and squinting his eyes at the screen. "This is nowhere near the rest of the places he conquered."

"We were just discussing that. We're pretty sure he's up to something," said TK. "He's probably trying to lure us into a trap, like with the Dobermon."

Davis pushed out his chair. "Well, who cares? We can't just ignore this, can we?" he said. "There's Digimon in that town who need our help. We have to go save them!"

"We're not going to save anyone if we go marching headlong into a trap, Davis," Cody said impatiently.

"Oh, come on. You guys gotta toughen up! As long as Bearmon and his friends are with us, we'll be fine."

"We might as well go and look the place over," Kari said mildly. "If it looks like too much for us to handle, we'll back out."

Everyone glanced around at each other, and no one seemed to have any objections to this idea, because none of them spoke up.

Kari put on a smile. "There now. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Hmph. Maybe Kari should be our leader," said Yolei.

––

As the Digidestined arrived at their destination, they saw that it was a town situated on the shore of a large lake.

It certainly had the look of a port town. There were a lot of boats floating in the harbor – on a better day, Digimon would be sitting in them and pulling up nets full of fish. The streets were lined with warehouses, probably filled with more boats and nets and other fishing supplies. The scenery of the place was quite beautiful; there were green mountains in the background standing protectively over the town. The lake was large enough that they couldn't see to the opposite shore, and the water sparkled in the sunlight.

But the Control Spire looming in the distance sort of ruined the mood.

That, and also the hundreds of the Emperor's slaves who had seemingly taken over everything. Even from where they were standing high above the town and looking down on it, the Digidestined could clearly see them patrolling the streets, leading groups of captured townsfolk away.

It was a good thing Bearmon's group had joined them, because they would clearly need all the help they could get.

Wormmon was there too, standing at the front of their large group so he could actually see – it was difficult always being so low to the ground. He wasn't enjoying the view, though. He ached as he saw the horrors being inflicted by his partner on all these poor innocent Digimon.

Why couldn't Ken just be friends with the Digimon? Why did he have to cause them all so much pain?

"This is the place, huh?" TK said as they all looked down at the town. But he seemed unusually fixated on it. A few of the others noticed him staring out at the lake, as though wracking his brain for some memory.

"That's weird," he said, looking around slowly. "This place feels… familiar. I think I've been here before. But when…?"

The others did nothing but silently exchange looks with each other. Clearly nobody knew what he was talking about.

"…Well, if this is a trap just for us, Ken is certainly putting a lot of work into it," said Kari, deciding to change the subject.

"This ain't no trap. He's serious about conquering this town," Bearmon growled, folding his arms. "But why here? There's nothin' important for miles around here."

"As far as we know," Cody said softly. "He probably knows something that we don't."

Wormmon didn't dare speak up, but Cody was right. In fact, he knew exactly what Ken was looking for in this town. He'd told Wormmon himself the previous night.

He'd been at his computer, like usual. He appeared to be running some kind of search… a very big search, since he'd had a map of the entire Digital World on his screen.

"Ken? Are you… looking for something?" Wormmon had asked.

"Not something… someone," Ken had said without turning to look at him. "Those Dark Masters that those kids mentioned… they sound like quite powerful Digimon. Just powerful enough for me, in fact." He grinned in anticipation. "I think I'll take one of them for my own."

Wormmon had been confused, to say the least. "But Ken… the Dark Masters are dead. The others said so."

"And that's where they're wrong," Ken had replied, as though it were just that simple. "If any of them possessed my genius intellect, they would know that." He typed in a few more commands, then sat back in triumph. "I've run an exhaustive scan of the entire Digital World, looking for any data signatures that matched the ones those kids described. And lo and behold."

He had pushed his chair out, revealing the bright red dot that was blinking in the middle of the map. "A perfect match."

He hadn't seemed to notice, or care, that the dot was centered in the middle of a lake.

Wormmon had been worrying over that conversation all day. One of the Dark Masters was still alive? After all this time? But what was it doing at the bottom of a lake? And… why hadn't it left? Maybe it was trapped down there… and Ken wanted to retrieve it? Wormmon couldn't let that happen!

He really ought to warn the others… but there was no way he could do that without coming off as suspicious.

He was pulled back into the present by Davis. "Geez, guys, it's like I said. What does it matter what Ken's trying to pull? Let's just free all those prisoners and take down that Control Spire! Whatever his plan is, we'll stop it before it starts!"

"Davis, we can't just go charging into town and announcing ourselves like that. We need to have a plan," said Kari, hooking her arm under his elbow before he could take off running. "There are too many of the Emperor's slaves for us to fight them all off at once. We'll probably have to – "

She was cut off as a loud beeping noise suddenly came from inside Yolei's pocket. Yolei gave a start and began rummaging around before pulling out her D3. The others all watched her as she stared at the screen.

"Guys, my D3 is going crazy," she said. "I… I think it's telling us there's a Digiegg nearby."

"Not just one," said TK as he watched over her shoulder. "That's an even stronger signal than last time, when we found the Digiegg of Friendship. I…" He looked stunned at his own words. "I think it must be two."

"Two Digieggs? In one place?" Davis exclaimed. "Does Ken know about this?"

"That must be it! That's why Ken's taken over this town!" Cody looked furious. "He's trying to get those Digieggs before we do!"

No, that wasn't it, thought Wormmon. Ken hadn't said anything about Digieggs… his computer couldn't detect their presence, apparently. Still, how strange was it that they would appear in the same place as the data Ken was looking for. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

"Right. Well that tears it! Now we really don't have any time to lose!" Davis pounded his fist into his palm. "Let's get down there and save the town, and beat the stuffing out of anyone who gets in our way!"

He noticed Kari raising an eyebrow at him, and he grinned sheepishly. "Uh, I mean… let's hang back here and think of a plan?" he said, rubbing the back of his head.

TK gave a nod. "Right. We need to decide who's going where. We need to find those Digieggs… but we also need to knock down that Control Spire. The town's not going to be saved until that happens."

"Yolei, Cody… I have a feeling those Digieggs belong to you," said Kari, turning to face the two neophytes. "After all, your last Digieggs were together too. You should be the ones to go into town and look for them. Will you… be all right handling that by yourselves?"

"They certainly will! After all, I will be there to protect Yolei," Hawkmon declared, making a grand gesture with his arm.

"I don't care how many slaves the Emperor's got, they won't stop me from protecting Cody!" Armadillomon agreed.

Yolei found herself growing flustered. "Ah… well… if Hawkmon says it's fine, then it's fine," she said, blushing a little bit.

"I think we oughta go with you guys. You're gonna be seriously outnumbered if you gotta fight off all of those slaves," said Bearmon, and the rebels gathered around him all nodded in agreement. "We can cause a distraction while you go look for them Digiegg things."

"That's a great idea," said TK. "Then Davis and Kari and I can go take care of that Control Spire. Kari and I have the most experience, and Veemon has two digivolutions. We… should be able to handle whatever Ken has guarding the place."

Unless it's something like Omnimon, was the thought that went unsaid among the entire group, but nobody came out and said it.

"Right, then. That's everyone," Cody said with a nod.

"Mmm… no, not everyone." Kari looked down at their one teammate who hadn't spoken up yet. "Wormmon? What do you want to do?"

Wormmon flinched as he felt everyone's eyes fall on him. He hated being the center of attention… especially now, when his paranoia was at an all-time high. He still expected one of the children to come forward any day now, any minute now, and accuse him of working with the Emperor.

"I…" Did it really matter what he chose? It was obvious by now that Ken no longer cared what he did.

"…I'm no good at fighting," he finally said. "I should go with Yolei and Cody. If they need someone to sneak around without being seen… I could help them with that."

Bearmon gave a chuckle. "Yeah… little ol' Wormmon doesn't draw a lotta attention to himself, does he?"

"All right. We've got our plan!" said Davis, balling his fists in determination. "Now let's get out there and make the Emperor wish he never messed with us!"

The children's partner Digimon, and most of the rebels, all cheered in agreement. The five Digidestined gave each other curt nods, and then they set off in different directions, preparing to put their plan into action.

And then the ground exploded.

At least that was what it looked like. There was a tremendous roar as an enormous Digimon came bursting out from underground, sending up a shower of dirt, uprooting several trees and sending them crashing to the ground.

Everyone screamed.

"We've been ambushed!" TK shouted.

Wormmon, who had been at the front of the line, had to scramble with all his might to climb out of the giant hole in the ground that had just opened up, barely managing to avoid falling to his doom. Then he spun around and stared up at the Digimon that was now towering over them. Its head was an enormous purple flower with a jagged mouth, and its body was a mass of long thorny vines… one of which had a Dark Spiral wrapped around it.

"Wha-what is that?" cried Yolei, clinging to Hawkmon as hard as she could.

"That's Blossomon… an Ultimate-level Digimon," Kari said gravely. "Ken can control them now too."

Everyone stood in silent panic as the Blossomon stood over them, wondering whether they should run or fight. Even if everyone Armor digivolved, it probably wouldn't be enough… the power discrepancy was too great. This Digimon could destroy them all in a moment.

But it only had its eyes on one of them.

It shot out two of its vines like arms, wrapping them around Veemon and pulling him in.

"Davis!" Veemon cried as he was dragged backwards. He tried to dig his fingers into the ground to slow himself down, but it wasn't enough. "Davis! Help me!"

The Blossomon pulled Veemon inside its mouth, cutting off the little Rookie's cries as it snapped its jaws shut. Before anyone could do a thing, it then burrowed back underground where it had come from, vanishing without a trace.

It all happened too quickly for Davis to react.

"Vee… Veemon?" It took him a moment to finally snap out of it. "Veemon!" He scrambled up to where the Blossomon had disappeared, but there was nothing but a wide empty hole. "Veemon! Where are you?!"

He started running around in a panic, frantically calling his partner's name over and over. Everyone else was still frozen in horror… especially Wormmon.

Why did Ken want to hurt Veemon? When was this all going to end? More and more, Wormmon's friends were falling to the Emperor's wrath, and it was all his fault… and even if he wanted to fight back, to protect them, he was too small and weak to do a thing.

After a moment, Kari slowly came walking up next to Davis. "Davis," she said unsurely, putting a hand on his shoulder. "If he… if he was eaten by Blossomon, then… he might be…"

Davis whipped around and glared at her. "No! Don't say it!" He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Veemon! Veemon! Can you hear me? You just gotta be like Boba Fett and fight your way out!"

Yolei stared at him. "What? That never happened in the movie."

"It happened in the expanded universe! You're just not a real fan!"

"Both of you, shut up!" TK shouted at them. "Davis! Your D-Terminal is going off."

"What?" Davis fumbled with his D-Terminal before flipping it open… and was shocked at what he saw.

"Hello there, Digifools! Surprised to see me?"

Davis's jaw fell open as he saw the Digimon Emperor's smug face grinning at him from his own screen. "You… you!" He gripped the D-Terminal in rage. "How are you doing this? This thing is mine!"

"Digimon Emperor! What did you do with Veemon?" Cody shouted at him.

The Emperor gave a dismissive laugh. "Oh, don't worry. Despite what you may think, I'm not interested in making him my slave. He's just here to answer a few questions." He seemed to lean back in whatever chair he was sitting in. "In fact, I've been on such a winning streak lately, I actually feel sorry for all of you. So… I'm giving you twenty-four hours to come and rescue him. If you can't make it by then… well, you've got no one to blame but yourself."

And then the screen went dark and the connection was lost. But Davis's D3 chose that moment to start acting up as well, and as Davis pulled it out and looked at it, he saw a bright red dot flashing on the screen. It looked almost like a tracking signal.

"Is that… Veemon?" he said, his voice wavering. "The Emperor's showing me where to find him?"

"Davis, I know what you're about to say. But you can't go after Veemon. Not right now," TK said firmly. "Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to split us up!"

Davis shoved his D3 in his pocket and scowled at him. "Yeah, well, let him do it then! I'm not leaving Veemon!"

"Davis, you can't just think about yourself. You have to think about the entire group," said Cody. But Davis just glared at him too.

"I am thinking about the group! We can't even knock down the Control Spire without Veemon!" he shouted. "It's so easy for you guys to talk! Your partners aren't the ones in trouble! Well forget it! I'm going!"

"Davis, wait – " TK pulled a hand on his shoulder and tried to stop him from racing off – and then Davis spun around and threw it off, his eyes blazing.

"You think I'm gonna let the Emperor get his hands on Veemon for one second? After what he did to Agumon and Gabumon?"

TK immediately froze up.

Everyone else went silent as well. They had never seen Davis this serious before. He himself seemed to realize what a low blow his words had been, but he was too upset to care. Maybe Omnimon's death had hardened him as well.

TK finally squeezed his eyes shut and forced out a nod. "Okay. Fine… you're right. We have to save Veemon before the Emperor does anything. Just… be careful. And hurry up."

"I'll go with him. He's gonna need some backup," said Bearmon.

Gazimon did a double take. "What? But Bearmon! We need you! You're supposed to be leading us!"

Bearmon shook his head. "Ah, don't be silly. You guys'll be fine without me. You already know what to do. Just look after those human kids."

"Thanks, Bearmon. I really appreciate it," Davis said as the rebel leader walked over to him.

"Davis, please be careful," said Wormmon, eyes filled with anxiety. "Who knows what the Emperor is planning to do."

The truth was, even Wormmon didn't know this time. Though he suspected it had something to do with the memory he had shared with Ken. His stomach twisted up in guilt. But he wouldn't let it show on his face.

Davis gave a forced smile, then knelt down and patted Wormmon on the head. "Don't worry about a thing, Wormmon. I know Veemon's your friend. You'll see him again in no time."

Then he stood back up. "Okay… let's go." And he and Bearmon raced off.

"So what are the rest of us supposed to do?" Yolei demanded. "Just carry on like nothing happened?"

"We don't have a choice, Yolei. If we wait any longer, it might be too late to save those Digimon," said Kari.

"Right. Whatever Ken's planning, we have to put a stop to it while we still can…"

TK suddenly trailed off. He had been stealing glances down at the lake this whole time, like he couldn't take his eyes off it. And now, suddenly, his eyes went wide. He turned around fully, staring down at it.

"That's it. I remember now."

Patamon flapped over to him. "Umm, TK… are you feeling all right?"

"You remember too, don't you, Patamon?" he said, looking up at his partner. "We were here before. The seven of us." He didn't even notice everyone was staring at him now. "But we were on the other side of the lake. I never even knew there was a town here."

He furrowed his brow. "I don't think Ken cares about this town at all. I think he cares about what's underwater."

"…TK, what are you talking about?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, why would he care about what's underwater?" said Yolei.

TK turned to face the others. "Because that's where Gennai lives."

Chapter Text

The Digimon Emperor paced up and down the floor of the abandoned building where he was hiding out. It was so empty and so spacious that his footsteps echoed off the walls, creating the only sound in what was otherwise complete silence.

All he had to do was wait for his slave to deliver that Veemon to him, and then he could get started.

Of course, he was annoyed that he had to make this detour. He was on a tight schedule. He should be at Lake Town right now, where those kids were. Where his prize was waiting.

But after what Wormmon had said to him the other day, he was simply out of options.

He would never admit it to anyone. Not in a million years. But he couldn't take much more of Wormmon. That damnable insect, always trying to get close to him. Always insisting they were partners. Bringing up these things from the past that had never happened, because obviously he would remember if they had.

He had to prove to himself that Wormmon was wrong.

Then, finally, he could get those lies out of his head.

––

Dear Gennai,

It's TK. I'm sorry we haven't spoken in a while, but the others and I think you're in danger. The Digimon Emperor has taken over Lake Town right above your house, and we think he's interested in capturing you for something. Please reply.

"I really hope he gets this in time," TK said as he pressed the Send button on his D-Terminal.

"Are you sure about this, TK? What would Ken even want with Gennai?" asked Kari, Gatomon crouched tensely behind her. "He's not even a Digimon."

"Who knows. But it's like Bearmon said. There's nothing else important around this town. I don't think it's a coincidence that Ken chose to conquer this place instead of somewhere else."

Gatomon was looking around in agitation. "I don't like just waiting here and doing nothing, Kari. Shouldn't we be trying to knock down the Control Spire? I can't wait to use that thing as a scratching post!"

Kari scratched her partner behind the ears. "I know, Gatomon. But Davis isn't here. It'll be safer if we wait for him. As long as he doesn't take much longer…"

Her thoughts were interrupted as TK's D-Terminal suddenly started making noise. "Woah. Is that a reply already?" said TK, flipping it back open.

Dear TK,

Wonderful to hear from you again. I know all about the Digimon Emperor and suspected he'd come here sooner or later. Meet me at my house as soon as you're able, and I'll try to explain.

Gennai

"He knew…?" TK slowly drew his head away from the screen. "What's going on here?"

"He wants us to meet with him?" said Kari, reading the email over his shoulder. "But what about the Control Spire? And what about Yolei and Cody and Wormmon?"

"This is all one big mess," TK groaned, rubbing his eyes. "But we can't meet with him while the Emperor's slaves are all out there. We'd be leading them right to his doorstep."

"So what should we do, TK?" Patamon asked. "Whatever you decide, I'll stand by you."

"Right. I'm with Patamon," Kari agreed.

TK let out a sigh. It was nice to be trusted… if only he weren't so sure he was about to make the wrong decision.

"I don't know when Davis is getting back, but we can't wait any longer. We have to get rid of this Control Spire without him."

––

Wormmon gingerly stuck his head out from behind a building, looking up and down the street for a sign of the Digimon Emperor's slaves. But there were none to be seen.

"Okay… the coast is clear, everyone," he said, waving one of his arms back at the others. Yolei and Cody were in the front, along with Hawkmon and Armadillomon. The other rebel Digimon were crowded behind them, looking ready for a fight.

"We stick out like a sore thumb in this town… maybe we should split up," Cody muttered as their large group cautiously walked down the street.

"No way. If we do that, we'll be vulnerable," said Yolei. "The Emperor's got a ton of slaves all this town, so we all gotta stick together to beat them."

"I think Yolei is right. We won't be able to hide forever," Wormmon said glumly. "The Emperor must know we're here already. Whatever we're planning on doing, we should do it fast."

"We should focus on freeing all of the prisoners first, right? I saw them all getting herded into that huge fishing warehouse over that way," said Gazimon, pointing over at a large building several streets away. Everyone looked where she was pointing.

"I agree, getting over to that warehouse does seem like our most urgent course of action… but we seem to have a problem in our way," said Hawkmon.

Standing in the town square was a crowd of the Emperor's elite soldiers. They weren't like any Digimon Cody and Yolei had seen before; their bodies seemed to be made entirely of dark gray rubber suits, and they were wearing gas masks that obscured any faces they might have had.

"What… what are those things?" Yolei whispered. "Are they even Digimon?"

"They're called Troopmon," said Gazimon, with a weight to her voice that suggested she'd had a lot of negative encounters with them before. "They're not normal Digimon. They're made by stealing the energy from other Digimon and stuffing it inside those rubber suits."

"They're like zombies…" Cody had his eyes fixed on them. "I don't see any Dark Rings on them."

"The Emperor doesn't need Dark Rings to control their will. The Troopmon have no will of their own," said a Floramon in their group.

Wormmon didn't say anything. Better to pretend that he'd never seen the Troopmon before. But they were just one of the nightmarish things he'd been witness to in the Emperor's base. He'd watched as the Emperor had siphoned the energy out of hundreds of captive Digimon, watched as they'd struggled and screamed and finally burst apart into data, and then the army of undead soldiers had risen up from their remains.

"I guess there's no making friends with them then, huh?" Yolei said with a weak laugh.

"Yolei, I just might have an idea," said Hawkmon, pulling at her sleeve. "Perhaps if we could defeat some of those Troopmon, they would leave those rubber suits behind. They would make perfect disguises, don't you think?"

"Eew! We'd have to wear those things like costumes?" Yolei grabbed at herself in disgust. "There's gotta be a better way."

"Even if there is, we don't have time," said Cody. "The Digimon Emperor could come back at any time. We have to rescue all of the prisoners before then."

"Ugh, fine…" Yolei slouched over. "I guess you guys know best. But how are we gonna get those disguises? We can't beat all of those guys at once, can we?"

"Aw, just leave that to us," the Floramon said with an excited grin.

Everyone else crouched and hid behind the corner of the building as several Floramon cautiously went sneaking into the town square, approaching the crowd of Troopmon. Before they could be spotted, they all shot vines out of their hands that wrapped around two of the nearest Troopmon.

Wormmon watched in shock as the rebels pulled the captive Troopmon back behind the corner of the building, then proceeded to pummel them mercilessly. The Troopmon were Champion level Digimon, but they were immobilized by the Floramon's vines and unable to defend themselves. All they could do was struggle, until finally their entire bodies seemed to deflate beneath the rebels' attacks.

A thick shadow poured out of the Troopmon's bodies, floating off into the air and leaving nothing but a pair of empty rubber suits behind.

Yolei looked as shocked as Wormmon. "Hang on. Did you… just kill those guys?"

"The Troopmon aren't like regular Digimon. When they're weakened, their lifeforce just flies out and inhabits another rubber suit," Gazimon explained. "It's why the Emperor has been able to cause so much harm with them. They can't ever truly be defeated."

Yolei blinked slowly. "Oh. Well, that's okay then… I guess?"

"Right, then. Let's hurry up and get these things on," said Cody, holding up one of the empty suits.

It took a few minutes of struggling, but both he and Yolei finally managed to get inside the suits. Yolei was obviously not having a fun time of it.

"Ah geez, it smells awful in here," she complained, her voice muffled by the mask over her face. "Okay. How do I look, Wormmon? I know you'll be impartial."

"Err…" Wormmon tried to block out the horrible memories of the Troopmon from the Emperor's base. "Well… you look scary. But, the real Troopmon are scary too. So, I suppose that's a good thing?"

"Aw, I could never be scared of Cody. I know that's really you in there," said Armadillomon, nudging his partner in the leg.

"So, just to be clear. Our story is that the rest of you are prisoners, and Yolei and I have captured all of you. That way we won't arouse suspicion," Cody said authoritatively. "Now let's hurry over to the warehouse. But whatever you do, don't go near the other Troopmon."

So they all sneaked by the town square, looking for a roundabout way to the warehouse that wouldn't get them caught by any other guards. They turned several corners and walked up a number of deserted streets. There wasn't a single townsperson to be found; it seemed like everyone had been captured.

"Hold up! Where do you think you're going?"

Everyone froze and turned to face the new voice. A Woodmon slave was standing behind them, its eyes glowing as it glared at them suspiciously.

They could probably take on just the one, but if it decided to call for backup…

Yolei quickly cleared her throat. "Um. We just finished capturing all of these prisoners… sir?" She glanced over her shoulder. "Hurry up and look captured, you guys."

"We've scoured this town already. The prisoners are all being held in the warehouse," said the Woodmon. "What are those prisoners doing out here?"

Wormmon thought it was good that Yolei was wearing a mask, or else the panicked look on her face would be plain to see.

"Uhh… well, we're just… taking them out for a walk?" she said sheepishly. "You know, cause it's so crowded in there…"

Cody let out a loud sigh.

Clearly the Woodmon's suspicions had been confirmed. "You don't work for the Digimon Emperor at all, do you? You're trying to free them!" it said accusingly. "GUARDS! The prisoners are escaping! Don't let them – "

It was cut off as Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and a few rebels all dogpiled on top of it. It a matter of seconds they had knocked it unconscious, and then their entire group took off running down the street before they could draw any more attention.

Once they were catching their breath beneath the shadow of another building, it was clear that Yolei wasn't handling this little setback well.

"Arrrgh! Why do I always screw everything up?" She put her hands over her face. "I'm so useless. I'm no good at lying."

"Don't beat yourself up over this, Yolei. Lying isn't something to be proud of," said Cody.

Yolei didn't sound convinced. "Oh, really? Even if you have to lie to save someone's life?"

"I'm serious, Yolei. Honesty is a strength of its own. It means you tell people what they need to hear, even when they don't want to hear it."

"I think Cody's right, Yolei," Wormmon spoke up. "Look at the Digimon Emperor. He lies all the time, and it just hurts people. Maybe if he were more like you, things wouldn't be so bad."

He wasn't sure why he'd spoken ill of his partner like that. It was true, but it still made him feel guilty. He just wanted Yolei to stop feeling so bad about herself.

He couldn't exactly see her face, but it seemed to have worked.

"Huh… maybe you're right, Wormmon," she said. "Yeah. Like I'd want to have anything in common with that cape-wearing freak."

She immediately stood up straight. "Okay! Let's get going, everyone! Onward and forward! No more wasting time!"

And she marched off toward the warehouse by herself, leaving Wormmon and the others to stare after her.

"I think you did your job too well, Wormmon," Cody muttered.

––

Veemon was quite irritated to find himself captured by the Digimon Emperor… for the second time. He really thought they had moved on from this.

He was in the middle of some kind of abandoned factory. Most of the windows were broken, and all of the machinery inside had long since fallen into disrepair. He was currently chained by his wrists to a tall metal pole in the middle of the production floor, dangling uselessly above the ground.

He hadn't gotten a good look outside, since he'd been trapped in that Blossomon's mouth… gross. So he had no idea where this factory was, or who else was even around. If he screamed, he wondered if anyone would even hear him.

Davis… will you be able to find me in time?

"So sorry to keep you waiting."

Veemon flinched at the sound of that voice, and he turned to glare down at its owner as he came stepping out of the shadows.

"As you can see, we're the only people for miles around. So if you want to get out of this alive, I suggest you cooperate," said the Digimon Emperor, looking smugly up at his captive.

"I'll never become your slave, Emperor," Veemon said defiantly. "The others saved me before, and they'll save me this time too."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm no longer in the market for someone as weak as you," Ken sneered at him. He slowly withdrew his whip, pulling it taut in his hands.

At the sight of that weapon that had harmed so many Digimon, Veemon whimpered and withdrew into himself.

"What's the matter? I thought you would be happy to see an old friend again."

Veemon tore his gaze away from the whip and looked up at the Emperor in shock. "What? …What did you say?"

"You heard what I said. You and I were friends. We traveled the Digital World together, before you ever met that slack-jawed partner of yours." Ken's eyes flashed behind his glasses. "Don't you remember?"

Veemon just stared at him for a brief moment. Why would the Emperor spin such an outrageous lie like that? The two of them, friends? Was he just trying to confuse Veemon?

Well, it wasn't going to work.

"You're lying," he said. "Stop making things up! I'd never be friends with you! You're a monster!"

Ken narrowed his eyes at him. "You're sure about that?" he said. "You don't remember any of it?"

Veemon really didn't like the way Ken was suddenly glaring at him. Like he'd just asked a very important question, and Veemon's life would depend on how he answered.

But he didn't care. Now he was just getting angry. "Of course not! Cause it never happened!" he snapped. "You hurt Davis, you hurt Wormmon, and you hurt all the other Digimon! There's no one in the Digital World who would ever be your friend!"

To his shock, Ken looked pleased with this answer. He was grinning.

"That's right," he giggled. "It's all lies! We've never met before! I don't know you!" He put his hand over his face, letting out a deranged laugh. "Every word out of his mouth has been a lie!"

Veemon could only stare down at him and try to draw away. Why was the Emperor laughing like that? It was… scary. Almost scarier than anything else he'd ever done.

Before he could worry any more about that, the Emperor suddenly lashed his whip out without warning, striking Veemon in the side. He screamed in pain and flinched away.

"I should just kill you like the worthless scum you are! That will prove him wrong!"

"Digimon Emperor!" came a furious voice, and Ken and Veemon both gave a start as the front door of the factory slammed into the wall.

Davis had just burst through the door, Bearmon at his side.

"What do you think you're doing? Now you're just torturing Veemon for fun? I didn't think you could get any lower."

"There you go, pointing fingers. The two of us were just having a friendly conversation," Ken said languidly, all the laughter gone from his face.

"I'll get you outta there, Veemon!" Bearmon shouted as he raced over to the captive Digimon… and surprisingly, Ken stood back and let him do it. All of a sudden, he didn't seem concerned with keeping Veemon captured anymore.

"Anyway, I got what I wanted out of him, so, you're free to go. You're going back to Lake Town, right? Actually, I'm about to head over there myself." Ken put on a sly grin. "I suppose we'll see who gets there first."

Davis realized with a jolt that, since Bearmon was distracted with getting Veemon out of his chains, it was up to him to stall the Emperor. If he didn't, his friends would all be in danger, and he'd be powerless to help them.

"Not so fast," he snapped, stepping in front of Ken. "You're not going anywhere. I'll fight you myself if I have to."

Ken didn't look afraid at all. In fact, he looked ready to burst out laughing again. "Oh, you will? Did you forget you're talking to a black belt in judo? It really is hilarious how much you'll embarrass yourself to protect your little friends."

"Don't make fun of them. You don't know anything about friendship. You don't even have a partner! And I don't mean your stupid slaves, I mean a real partner!"

Ken fell still as his gaze turned icy. "No, I don't," he said in a level voice. "Not that it's any business of yours. And I don't need a partner to destroy the likes of you, in case you didn't notice."

Davis was wholly unfazed by the implied threat. "So you're not a Digidestined," he said triumphantly. "You shouldn't even be in the Digital World in the first place, except for that digivice." He glanced down at the object in question at Ken's side and shook his head. "I mean it's obviously not yours, so my only guess is that you stole it. That thing belonged to somebody else, and then you – "

Davis had never seen anyone move so fast.

Before he even had time to register it, he had been thrown back several feet, sprawled ungracefully on his back, his head twisted around and his cheek exploding with pain. He cried out in shock and held his hand up to it, then flipped over in time to see Ken towering over him, his hand still clenched in a fist. He had gone from icy calm to seething and burning like the flip of a switch. His eyes weren't frozen; they were blazing.

"Don't ever talk about things you don't understand!" he bellowed, suddenly stomping down on Davis's chest before the gogglehead could get away, sending him jerking up and gasping in pain. "This digivice is mine, do you understand me?! Mine and NO ONE ELSE'S!"

Davis could only scramble backwards, actually growing afraid of Ken for the very first time, as it finally occurred to him that the Emperor was completely and utterly insane.

What the hell did I say to set him off?!

"HEY! Don't you dare hurt Davis like that!" came a familiar voice, and suddenly Veemon had thrown himself on the Emperor's back, causing the human boy to flail around and lose his balance. Bearmon was right behind him, running up to Davis and helping him to sit up.

"You all right, Davis?"

"Yeah… I'll be fine," Davis said with a wince, rubbing at his chest where there was no doubt going to be a nasty bruise. "Thanks for getting Veemon out of there."

Meanwhile, the Emperor had managed to grab Veemon and hurl him to the floor. "I've wasted enough time with you idiots! I'm on a mission, and you'll never stop me!"

He gave a whistle, and one of the large windows suddenly shattered as his Airdramon flew right into the building, landing on the floor with a loud crash. Davis, Veemon and Bearmon all had to stumble backwards to get away from the large Digimon, not to mention all the flying shards of glass.

Seething with hatred, not even bothering with a parting shot at the others, Ken jumped on the Airdramon's head as it flew back out of the factory.

"Where's he goin' now? Back to Lake Town?" Bearmon asked, staring out the broken window.

"Yeah… he's gotta be after those Digieggs," said Davis, he and Veemon leaning on each other for support. "C'mon, you guys. We gotta beat him back there and warn the others."

"Leave that to me, Davis. There's no faster Digimon out there than Raidramon!" Veemon said as he balled his fists together.

"Yeah, you're right." Davis gave a nod and pulled out the Digiegg of Friendship. "All right, let's go!"

Moments later, a bright blue blur came racing out of the empty factory, throwing up a gust as it ran. Davis and Bearmon were both riding on Raidramon's back, and it wasn't long before they caught up with the Emperor's steed, flying high in the sky above them. Davis looked up and locked eyes with the Emperor for a brief moment before Raidramon pulled ahead, racing off into the distance.

––

"What kind of Digimon are those?" TK said softly.

He, Kari, Gatomon and Patamon were all crouched in the bushes near the Control Spire. Just as they'd feared, it was heavily guarded by more of the Emperor's slaves. They were more Troopmon, but these ones were armed with what looked like submachine guns.

"I don't know, but I don't like them one bit," Gatomon growled, digging her claws into Kari's shoulder. "They're not natural. Like those Digimon from the Dark Ocean."

"They've got no Dark Rings either. Are they choosing to work for Ken?" asked Patamon. "What kind of self-respecting Digimon would do that?"

"Then that means that even if we knock down the Control Spire, they'll still attack us," Kari realized. "TK, what do we do?"

TK looked up at their Digimon. "Patamon, Gatomon, it's up to you. "Do you think you can handle fighting these guys?"

"We've gotta try. The others are all counting on us," said Patamon. Gatomon nodded in agreement.

"All right then…" TK and Kari held up their Digieggs, and in a matter of moments, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon had taken to the air, flying over the heads of the Troopmon and approaching the Control Spire.

And then the Troopmon started to fire.

Kari let out a scream as the air was suddenly peppered with bullets. Their partners swerved off to the side so the bullets flew past them, but that wasn't going to be enough. They were vastly outnumbered by the Troopmon, and now every last one was firing up at them.

"We have to get to that Control Spire," Pegasusmon gasped, struggling to maneuver through the air and evade the hail of bullets.

"Pegasusmon! It's not safe trying to fly over those guys! You have to defeat them!" TK shouted.

"You too, Nefertimon!" said Kari.

"I don't like this one bit," Nefertimon muttered, but she did as Kari said and turned around in midair, divebombing the Troopmon shooting up at her. "Rosetta Stone!"

"Star Shower!"

The Troopmon didn't even move out of the way as the attacks struck them head on, throwing up a cloud of dust. Once their vision cleared, TK and Kari were shocked to see them all still standing, completely ignoring whatever injuries they had sustained.

"It's like they can't even feel pain…" Kari whispered.

"Keep fighting, you two! This is our only shot!" TK said desperately.

The two Armor Digimon started fighting close range, pinning individual Troopmon to the ground, but they couldn't keep that up for long with the others all shooting at them. On the other hand, the Troopmon didn't even seem to care when they shot each other. They had no sense of loyalty, nor self-preservation. Their suits were shredded by friendly fire, but they all ignored it.

Finally, two of the Troopmon had taken more damage than they could handle. They slouched over and collapsed to the ground, and for a brief moment, the two children watching the battle felt a sense of relief… but it was short lived.

A mass of shadow came pouring out of the Troopmon's masks and flowed into a set of empty suits that were waiting at the edge of the encampment. TK and Kari stared in horror as the Troopmon rose up again in new bodies, none the worse for wear.

"What's going on?" Kari said softly. "When we defeat them, they just rise up again…?"

TK knew a lost cause when he saw one. "Guys! Get out of there!" he shouted.

"That's starting to sound like a good idea," Nefertimon muttered. She and Pegasusmon turned tail and tried to fly back the way they had come, but the Troopmon wouldn't let them escape. They fired their weapons into the air, and the two Armor Digimon had to swerve wildly around to avoid being hit. But they couldn't dodge forever.

Nefertimon cried out in pain as a bullet struck her in her wing, and she shrank back to Gatomon and plummeted to the ground. A moment later, Patamon joined her.

"No! Gatomon!" Kari screamed, racing out of the bushes and over to her partner with no regard for her own safety. TK ran after her, and both of them skidded to a stop as they saw nearly a dozen Troopmon training their weapons on them. They scooped up their partners and dashed off to safety, narrowly avoiding being shot themselves.

Once they were far away from the Control Spire, and certain the Troopmon weren't chasing after them, TK and Kari slumped down against a tree to catch their breath, their partners still in their arms.

"We can't do this. We don't have enough manpower," said TK. "Dammit… if only Davis hadn't gone running off…"

"But what other choice do we have?" Kari asked hopelessly. "The others will be in danger if we can't destroy that Spire…"

"We're the ones in danger right now." TK shook his head. "We'll just have to pull out and meet up with the others. Hopefully we can knock that thing down once we're all together."

––

As Wormmon and the others stepped into the warehouse, they saw it was filled from top to bottom with fishing implements. There were nets, ropes, oars, even things like harpoons, as well as countless crates filled up with more of the same.

It was also filled with Digimon. They were all townsfolk who had been captured by the Emperor's slaves. They were sitting around and looking miserable, tied up in large groups and unable to free themselves. Most of them were aquatic Digimon like Gekomon, Otamamon and Betamon; not surprising, considering where they lived.

The Emperor's slaves were there watching over them as well; there were at least half a dozen Woodmon, like the one they had encountered outside.

"Ughhhh, not more of these guys," Yolei groaned as she saw them.

"It makes sense. Woodmon are weak against fire, and there's not going to be much of that in a fishing village," Cody whispered. "What should we do? Should we try and fight them all?"

"No way. What'll happen to all those innocent Digimon caught in the crossfire?" said Gazimon.

Wormmon realized this was another opportunity to be useful. "I'll run over there and untie the prisoners," he volunteered. "I'm small. Maybe those Woodmon won't even see me. Then you can fight them."

"Right. Go for it, Wormmon," said Yolei, balling her fists.

Wormmon skittered across the periphery of the large room, sticking to the shadows, hiding behind crates and piles of rope, praying the Woodmon wouldn't notice him. His luck seemed to hold out; he made it safely over to where a large group of prisoners was sitting on the floor, all of them tied up together.

Sneaking up from behind them, Wormmon started gnawing on the thick ropes that bound them. A Betamon suddenly noticed him and gasped.

"Don't worry. I'm here to save you," Wormmon said quietly. "Just hold still, and I'll untie you."

But he didn't get the chance. A large wooden arm suddenly came slamming to the floor just in front of his face, and he squeaked in fright and scrambled backwards.

"What's this? The Digimon Emperor's little plaything? Look at you, trying to play the hero!"

A Woodmon slave was towering over him, leering down with its glowing red eyes. Wormmon started backing away in fear. He wanted to call for help, but he couldn't give away his friends like that. He couldn't betray them.

Not when he'd betrayed them so much already.

"Ahaha… so you're not even fighting back?" the Woodmon laughed. "Why's the entire Digital World making such a fuss about you? You're nothing but a little weakling!"

It swung its arm at Wormmon, striking him in the face, sending him bouncing backwards and slamming into a wall.

"How pathetic. What a waste of data you are," the Woodmon sneered, slowly advancing on him. "You're no hero. You're a coward. And the Digimon Emperor doesn't like cowards."

Wormmon was curled up beneath the Woodmon, covering his head. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't fight back. Because the Woodmon was right, of course. He was a coward. He'd sold out all of his friends to the Emperor, and he didn't even have the courage to admit it. The Digital World was falling to ruin, and it was all his fault.

Whatever the Woodmon was about to do to him, he deserved it.

But Yolei had other ideas.

"That's IT!" she screamed, standing up and hurling off her costume. "How dare you? How dare you say those things about Wormmon?!"

Wormmon stared over at her. She had just given away their position, when he'd tried so hard not to! "Yolei…"

The Woodmon looked at her in shock. "Hey! You're not Digimon at all! You're those little human punks!"

"Yeah? Who cares? Nobody talks about my friends like that! I don't care if you are Digimon! I'll take you all on with my bare hands!" Yolei started swinging her fists around.

Wormmon had never expected this out of her. "Yolei… stop. Don't do this," he begged. "Don't put yourself in danger for me."

"Yeah, listen to the little bug, human. It's for your own good," chuckled the Woodmon. But Yolei just thrust her finger at him.

"You be quiet! You pick on him because he's too shy to stand up for himself! Only the worst bullies do that! I bet you learned that from your Emperor, didn't you?" She stomped toward the Woodmon. "When I hear jerks like you running your mouths off, I can't stay quiet! That's who I am! And I won't pretend to be any different!"

And then something amazing happened.

A large pile of rope in the corner of the warehouse started to glow a bluish-green. It was blinding, enough to light up the whole building. And then the source of the glow came rising up from within the pile of rope, hovering in the air. It was a Digiegg.

Everyone, even the Emperor's slaves, were left standing in awe as the Digiegg floated across the warehouse and came to a stop in front of Yolei.

"Is this… my Digiegg? The one we've been looking for?" she said in astonishment, gently putting her hands around it. "Hey… this is Mimi's Crest on it, isn't it? The Crest of Sincerity!" She looked down at Hawkmon. "Does this mean…"

Hawkmon gave her a determined nod. "I believe it's time to turn the tables on these louts, Yolei."

"Uh oh," said one slave.

Yolei sprouted a wicked grin and lifted the Digiegg over her head. "All right, let's do it! Digiarmor energize!"

Hawkmon was enveloped in light, transforming before everyone in the warehouse. When the light died away, he had become a bipedal Digimon covered in white robes, with a large shuriken on his back and four more clutched in each limb.

Yolei stared up at him. "H-Hawkmon?"

Despite the new Digimon only having two beady eyes in place of a face, Yolei thought he looked amused at her. "My name is Shurimon, the Samurai of Sincerity. At your service."

By now, Cody had taken his mask off too. "Wow… Yolei, your Digimon is amazing!" he gasped.

"I'm almost jealous," said Armadillomon.

"He looks more like a ninja to me… uh, whatever. I won't argue," said Gazimon.

Yolei gave a determined nod. "All right then, Shurimon! Let's make firewood out of these guys!"

It was a very quick match. The Woodmon all came charging at Shurimon at once, but he was far too nimble for them to even land a blow. He leapt and dodged around the room with an amazing grace, swinging at his opponents with the shuriken in his hands. One by one, he sliced through the Dark Rings that encircled their bodies, causing them all to slump to the floor and blink their eyes in confusion.

"I can't believe it… Shurimon took out all the guards just like that!" said Cody.

"Wow! That was totally awesome!" Yolei cheered as Shurimon gently came to land in the center of the room. "Shurimon, you are officially the coolest!"

Sensing the danger had passed, Wormmon came crawling out of hiding. "That was amazing, Shurimon… thank you for saving me."

"Don't thank me, Wormmon. Thank Yolei," the samurai (ninja?) said graciously. "I was able to digivolve because she understood the value of being true to her feelings."

Yolei blushed and rubbed her neck. "Aw, come on. It wasn't that big a deal…"

"Hey, that's great, but what about the rest of us?" said one of the Otamamon who was tied up in the middle of the room.

Shurimon just then seemed to remember the prisoners. "Ah, yes. Give me one moment." He swung his multiple shuriken around at lightning speed, his arms becoming a blur. He sliced through the ropes binding the captives with total ease, and the other Digimon all gaped in awe as their tattered remains dropped to the floor.

"Once again, I have cut a worthless object," Shurimon said solemnly.

––

"Everyone, you should get out of this town now before it's too late. Before the Emperor comes back. Don't worry, we'll take it from here."

Cody had just finished leading the prisoners out of the warehouse, and they all heeded his warning and ran out of town as quickly as they could. The Digidestined and their allies were left watching after them sadly. More Digimon, forced to flee their homes… when would this ever end?

"Guys! Is that you?"

Everyone turned around as they saw TK and Kari running down the docks over to them. They were holding tightly onto Patamon and Gatomon, who were looking badly injured.

"TK? Kari? What are you doing back here?" asked Cody. "What about the Control Spire?"

TK winced. "We… we couldn't knock it down," he admitted.

"Couldn't knock it down? What do you mean?" asked Yolei.

"And what happened to Patamon and Gatomon?" said Armadillomon.

"We'll explain later. There's something else we have to do right now," TK said hurriedly. "Everyone, Gennai got in contact with us. He wants us to meet with him at his house."

Yolei looked stunned. "At his house? But you said that's at the bottom of the lake! How do we get there?"

No sooner had she spoken than the water in the lake behind them began to churn. Everyone turned around and stared as the lake parted right before their eyes, seemingly like magic, revealing a stone staircase leading down and down.

"…Oh. Never mind."

"Hang on. What about Davis?" said Cody. "How is he going to know where to meet us?"

"We'll wait up here for him," said Gazimon, gesturing at the other rebels. "We've got to meet up with Bearmon again anyway. We'll explain everything."

"Thanks, guys," TK said with a nod. "We'll try not to be too long. Let's go, everybody."

And so the Digidestined set off down the staircase, trying to ignore the enormous walls of rising water on either side of them. Wormmon was the last of all, and he stole one last nervous look at the land above before he turned around and raced down to the bottom of the lake.

Chapter Text

They walked and walked, down and down the stairs. The sky gradually shrank above their heads as they went deeper. The walls of water rose up on either side of them, and it was even possible to see fish swimming around.

Wormmon lost track of how long they walked. How many stairs were there? How deep was the lake? He had no idea.

Eventually, their walk came to an end. They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Wormmon found himself staring at an old house, with a garden and a stone bridge on the outside. The water was surrounding it on all sides, but somehow, it was dry here.

There was human standing in front of the house, gazing at them expectantly.

"That guy's Gennai?" Yolei said in surprise as they all looked back at him. "But he's… old."

"Well. Nice to meet you too, young lady," said the old man as he slowly trudged over to them. "Glad to see you all made it. Things are a bit chaotic up there, as I understand."

"I had no idea there were other humans living in the Digital World… especially adults. I thought they weren't allowed in," said Cody.

"Gennai's not really a human. He's… kind of unique like that," said TK. "But it's good to see you again. I was afraid we wouldn't get here in time."

"Believe me, you weren't the only one," said Gennai, then turned to look at the others. "So then. I see we have some new faces with us."

"That's right. These are the new Digidestined, Yolei and Cody," said Kari, gesturing to both of them. "And this is our friend Wormmon."

Gennai regarded Wormmon curiously. "How interesting. A Digimon with no partner is on your team? You kids always made the most unusual friends."

Wormmon said nothing. He had no idea what to make of this man. He wasn't human, but he wasn't a Digimon either.

"We have another friend too. Davis. He's on his way here," said TK. "He's… our leader, technically."

"Hmm. So he's run off doing something foolish, has he? Sounds an awful lot like your brother, Kari."

"Hey! Who are you calling foolish?"

Everyone whipped around. Davis was suddenly standing right behind them, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He'd obviously just come running all the way down the stairs. Veemon was leaning against him, looking similarly wiped out.

"You guys both made it!" Patamon cheered. "But where's Bearmon?"

"He's up there with the other Digimon," said Davis, removing one hand from his knees to point a finger above their heads. "Guys… Ken's on his way here. Me and Veemon beat him over here, but I dunno by how much. He could be here any minute."

Everyone grew stiff in alarm. "Great… just what we need. Another fight," said Yolei.

"Gennai, we don't have much time. You said you wanted to talk to us… you know something about Ken, don't you?" said TK, turning to the old man.

"Well, I have my suspicions. You kids had better come inside, and I'll tell you everything I can."

"Hang on a minute! What about Ken?" Davis had balled his fists. "We're all sitting ducks if we just wait around inside!"

TK winced. "Yeah, Davis is right… somebody should probably stay outside and keep watch. If Ken's on his way here… or those slaves of his… we don't want them to surprise us."

Wormmon was about to open his mouth to volunteer. Ken was his responsibility, after all. He couldn't let any of his friends endanger themselves. But someone beat him to it.

"I'll do it," Cody immediately said.

Everyone turned to him. "Are you sure, Cody? It might be dangerous," said Kari.

Cody looked determined, though. "I won't forgive Ken for everything he's done. Somebody has to stand up to that bully." He turned to Gennai and gave him a deep bow. "Armadillomon and I will protect you, sir. I promise."

"Heck yeah! If Cody's up for it, then so am I. We're a team, after all," said Armadillomon.

Gennai looked a little amused, but he gave them a nod. "All right then. I'll be counting on you two to hold down the fort. The rest of you kids, come on inside."

And so everyone else filed after Gennai as he lumbered inside his house. Wormmon paused for a moment before casting a guilty glance back at Cody and his partner.

"Er… thank you, Cody."

Cody gave a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about me, Wormmon. I'll do anything to make sure the rest of you stay safe."

––

Wormmon had never been anywhere like Gennai's house. Everyone could still see the schools of fish swimming around just outside the windows… it felt like they were inside an aquarium. The children were looking around in interest as well, but they couldn't let themselves get distracted. They had far more important things to worry about.

Gennai stood before them, his hands folded behind his back. "So, then. You kids have been dealing with the Digimon Emperor for quite a while now."

TK gave a nod. "Yeah… you must have heard of everything he's done. When you replied to my email, you said… you expected him to come here?"

"So you've known about him all along?" Yolei puffed out her cheeks. "Why didn't you help us?"

"There's not a lot of help I can give, young lady. I'm not combat capable like your Digimon partners." He turned away from them. "But what I can do is give you some important information. I know why he's coming here."

"Why? What could he possibly want from you?" asked Kari.

"It's not me he wants. Not really… it's something I have with me." He looked a bit reluctant to continue. "It's a long story… it all started years ago, before any of you kids came to the Digital World. The rest of my allies and I were busy incubating the Digieggs of your partners… the partners of the eight original chosen ones." He paused. "But that was when our hideout was invaded. By Piedmon, the leader of the Dark Masters."

Davis's eyes got huge. "The Dark Masters? Those big scary Digimon TK and Bearmon were talking about?" he cried.

"Ah, so you've heard of them. Good, that will make it easier to follow along," said Gennai. "Well, long story short, the Dark Masters knew that the Digidestined were meant to defeat them, unless they intervened. And so Piedmon attacked us, intent on destroying those Digieggs." He gazed off at something. "We managed to rescue them all… but that's another story, of course."

"We've seen this before. I mean… me and the old team," said TK. "Something that called itself Homeostasis… it showed us the past."

Gennai gave him a look. "I see… so you must have seen what Piedmon did, then. Specifically, what he did to me."

Yolei whipped her head back and forth. "What? What did he do? Guys, I'm totally lost," she complained.

TK gave her an answer, though he was clearly not sure where this was going. "Piedmon had this weird… gray orb thing. He threw it at Gennai, and it embedded itself in his body. We never really figured out what it was."

"Yes, and it hurt quite a bit," the old man griped. "Well, I'll tell you right now. That gray orb you saw… it contains the data of a very powerful Digimon. His fellow Dark Master, Machinedramon."

The human children simply sat in confused silence. But Wormmon froze, careful not to let the sudden realization show on his face.

This was it. This was what Ken was after.

"Machinedramon?" said TK. "But… why? Why him?"

"I wish I could tell you that. But Piedmon certainly knew what he doing. He said he was 'holding onto it for a friend'," said Gennai. "But Machinedramon is dead now, of course. The Digidestined saw to that years ago."

"But somebody could revive it, couldn't they," said Davis, as he slowly started to piece things together. "If they had that data…"

"So that data is still inside of you right now?" said Kari, standing up in alarm. "That's why Ken is coming after you?"

TK said nothing. He had gone very quiet and very still. Something wasn't right about this. He and Bearmon had just told everyone the story of the Dark Masters. And Ken was only now trying to capture this data for himself.

This was no coincidence. He had found out somehow.

Who could have told him…?

––

Cody was sitting motionlessly on the ground a long distance away from Gennai's house, gazing up into the expanse of water that was hanging over their heads. Armadillomon was curled up next to him, watching his partner curiously. He loved Cody, but he couldn't deny that he was quite a bit different from most other kids.

"You sure are takin' this seriously, Cody," he spoke up after a while.

"I have to," Cody said without turning to look at him. "Our friends could be in danger. If we're able to protect them, that means we have the responsibility to do it."

Armadillomon was silent for a moment, cautiously choosing what to say next. "This is about your dad, isn't it?"

Cody hesitated, but then he nodded. "This is what he would want me to do. I know it is," he said. "I have to live up to his example. I have no excuse not to."

Armadillomon said nothing, but he let out a sigh. Cody was so hard on himself. He really ought to lighten up and have fun once in a while… Armadillomon had always tried to bring out that side of his partner. Cody was right, though; they were in a dangerous situation, and someone had to make sure their friends were safe.

So he'd stick by Cody, like partners were meant to do.

Just then, Cody seemed to notice something above their heads. He quickly got to his feet and stared up. "Oh no… Armadillomon, look!"

Armadillomon looked where his partner was pointing, and his stomach dropped. There were countless dark blurs moving through the water… Digimon. They had to be. There was no other way to explain the glowing red eyes peering out of the darkness.

"It's the Emperor's slaves! They found us!" Armadillomon shouted.

At least a dozen Digimon were swimming through the water above them, angled down and headed directly toward them. As they grew closer, their shapes started taking form. Coelamon, Seadramon, Gesomon… all of them aquatic Digimon. And all of them wearing Dark Spirals.

"No…" Cody whispered in horror. "Look at all those Digimon! We can't fight them off by ourselves!"

"What should we do, Cody?" asked Armadillomon.

Cody was shaking in fear, and for a moment, he actually looked his age. But then his resolve hardened and he tightened his fists.

"We hold them off for as long as we can," he said. "We can't back down now. We have to give the others a chance."

Armadillomon looked up at him in worry, but he nodded. "Right then. Just say the word!"

A series of loud splashes filled the air as the attacking Digimon all came busting through the barrier and crashed down onto the dry land. Even outside of the water, they were all dangerous… especially considering Cody and his partner had nowhere to run.

"Armadillomon, attack!" Cody pulled out the Digiegg of Knowledge, and in a flash his partner had transformed into Digmon. The Armor Digimon flew straight at the legion of slaves and started firing drills at them, aiming for the Dark Spirals. He scored a few lucky hits, but it quickly became clear that he was too badly outnumbered.

"Ugh… you fellas picked a real bad time, you know that?" Digmon grunted, flying around and trying to evade the blasts of water and squid ink being fired at him from all directions.

"Keep at it, Digmon!" Cody shouted up at him. "You have to drive them back! We can't let them get inside!"

Digmon was certainly putting in an effort. He kept to the air as much as he could, but there just wasn't enough space around Gennai's house for him to navigate… not with all these giant Digimon getting in the way. He kept firing off drills two at a time, but it wasn't doing much other than annoying his attackers.

It was only a matter of time before a Coelamon struck him directly in the chest with a blast of water, and he plummeted to the ground.

"Digmon!" Cody screamed as he raced over to his partner. The Emperor's slaves took this opportunity to surge past the two of them, making a beeline for Gennai's house.

Cody watched after them in horror. "Digmon, get up! We have to keep fighting!"

Digmon weakly lifted his head up and tried to stand up. "Ugh… Cody… I…"

"We made a promise, Digmon! We have to keep it!"

––

TK suddenly sat up straight and blinked. "Guys… do you hear that?"

"Hear what? Is something going on outside?" Yolei asked worriedly.

"Oh no…" Kari turned around and rushed over to the door. "Cody is out there! We have to help him!"

Everyone else quickly got up and followed after her, but as they all came running back outside and saw what was causing all the noise, they quickly froze.

The Emperor's slaves had surrounded the place. They outnumbered the children's Digimon by more than two to one, and of course there was nothing Wormmon could hope to do against them. Everyone crowded together at the sight of all the huge aquatic Digimon, realizing their escape was completely cut off.

"Oh man… oh man… I'm really not in the mood for seafood right now!" Davis shouted, flailing his arms over his head.

TK looked around in panic. "Cody! Where's Cody?!"

"Oh no… guys…" Kari pointed up above their heads. "This is about to get a lot worse."

Everyone looked up. There was still one more Digimon that was swimming down to meet them… a Mekanorimon. And somebody was inside, piloting it.

"He found us…" Veemon whimpered.

"Bearmon and the others… what could have happened to them?" said Davis.

The Mekanorimon came splashing down and landed on the ground in front of all of the slaves, towering over the human children. Its dome opened up, and a certain someone came leaping out and stood on top of the machine Digimon.

"Of course, you little brats are here already," Ken snarled down at them. "You just have to get in my way at every turn, don't you? But you're too late. I've worked too hard to back down now."

Gennai was standing together with the children, and to his credit, he didn't look afraid; just weary. "Ken Ichijouji, I presume. I had hoped we would meet under better circumstances."

"You will address me as the Digimon Emperor. I don't care who you are." Ken focused his attention on the old man and thrust a finger at him. "You have something I want. And when I want something, I get it."

The children's partners were having none of this. "Hey! What makes you think you can just barge in here and trash the place like some kind of stray?" Gatomon snarled, baring her claws.

"We've had quite enough of you and your slaves for one day. I suggest you leave if you know what's good for you," said Hawkmon.

The Emperor just threw his head back and laughed. "And who's going to make me? You? You really want to try fighting against my slaves right now?" He spread his arms, indicating the Digimon in question. "I hold all the cards here, if you couldn't tell. If any of you makes a move against me, I guarantee I will end this old man's life. I don't need him alive. I just need his data."

"So I was right," said Gennai, glaring defiantly up at the Emperor… for whatever good it did. "I knew this day would come. Piedmon hid that data inside me so that one day it could be retrieved by someone who would use it for evil. Someone like you."

"Bingo. You win the grand prize, old man." Ken whipped out his Dark Digivice. "Now just hold still, and this will hurt marginally less."

"You monster!" Patamon screamed, flying up in an attempt to attack him, but Ken sent him tumbling away with a crack of his whip.

"That was your first and only warning. Anyone try that again, and the old man is dead. You think I'm bluffing?"

TK held the injured Patamon in his arms, bristling in rage. "You… what are you going to do with that data? You think you can handle something like Machinedramon? You'll destroy this world!"

"Everyone… please… calm down," said Gennai, and the children turned and saw him slowly raise a hand to hold them back. "This is not the time for a fight. I think the best thing to do right now is to give this boy what he wants."

Everyone looked shocked. "What? How can you say that?" Davis shouted. "We can't let him win! Not like this!"

"Mister Gennai… what's going to happen to you?" Wormmon asked timidly, speaking up for the first time. Did Ken really have the power to kill him? There was no way Wormmon could watch his partner end a human's life before his eyes… or something that looked like a human.

"You kids don't need to worry about me. That data was never supposed to be a part of me anyway," said Gennai. He held his head high, refusing to look afraid. "If you try to put up a fight now, things are just going to get worse."

Kari looped her arm around his elbow, trying to hold him back. "Gennai… please. You've done so much for us. We can't ask you to do this too."

Gennai gently brushed her off. "Remember, kids, this is just one battle. You're still fighting the war. I have faith you'll all know what to do when the time is right." He slowly shuffled forward, coming to a stop underneath the Mekanorimon where Ken was still perched. "All right then. Do what you want, but promise me you'll leave these kids alone."

Ken just grinned. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not finished toying with them yet." He held out his digivice, pointing it down at Gennai. "Now… give me your data."

A black light began shining out of the digivice's screen. The children and their partners all watched, growing sick to their stomachs as they were unable to move, unable to do anything to help their friend. Wormmon shrank back and cowered away.

Gennai let out a gasp, and then a loud cry of pain as the black light enveloped him. He sank to his knees, wincing and hugging himself. He'd never looked vulnerable like this before.

Then there was a sound that almost seemed like the tearing of flesh, and Gennai screamed as something was ripped directly out of his chest. It was a small gray orb, just like TK had described. It floated up into the black light, vanishing inside Ken's digivice.

Gennai slumped to the ground.

Ken held up his digivice and looked at it. "Yes…" he said to himself, and there was something dark gathering behind his eyes. "It's mine… it's all mine."

TK and Kari immediately ran over to Gennai, but Davis kept glaring up at the Emperor. "Fine! You got what you wanted! Now get out of here and leave us alone!"

"Of course I will. I wouldn't be caught dead around this dump," said Ken, casually pocketing his digivice. "But I would suggest you all get out of here too, if you value your lives."

TK looked up from Gennai and stared up at Ken. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention it? My last parting gift to you all?" Ken said in mock innocence. "I have approximately three hundred Chikurimon stationed around Lake Town… including under the support beams that hold the town above water. They're all set to detonate at the same time… in exactly ten minutes."

Everyone looked at him in disbelief as he went on. "Oh yes… and once the town is destroyed, I'm fairly certain it'll cause this place to be flooded too. So sorry about that."

He turned around to face his slaves, who had been lying in wait this whole time. "Everyone! We're finished here. Move out!"

And he jumped back inside the Mekanorimon, following after his slaves as they all went lumbering toward the edge of the air bubble that held Gennai's house, then jumped back in the water. Nobody made a move to stop him. There was nothing they could even do.

Within a few moments, the Emperor and his slaves were gone.

And now, for the first time, they could see someone sitting on the ground far away from them.

"Oh my goodness – it's Cody! He's over there!" said Wormmon. He couldn't even begin to process what Ken had just done, but this, at least, was a distraction.

The children all looked where Wormmon was pointing and raced over to their teammate. Cody was sitting with his head hanging in defeat, gazing down at Armadillomon, who was looking too weak and injured to be of any help.

"Cody! What are you doing over here?" said TK as they all approached him. "Are you okay? Is Armadillomon okay?"

Cody didn't answer any of those questions. "I failed," was all he said. "I promised I would protect you all, and I failed."

Yolei looked a little exasperated. "This isn't the time to be feeling sorry for yourself, Cody! Didn't you hear the Emperor? We have ten minutes to get out of here, or we're toast!"

"You don't understand!" Cody shouted at Yolei, causing her to flinch. "My father would have kept his promise! How can I ever face him after I let all this happen?"

That got everyone's attention. "Your father?" Kari repeated. "You've never mentioned him before…"

"My father was a policeman. But a few years ago… he died." Tears were springing to Cody's eyes. "He was shot. While he was trying to protect innocent people."

TK and Kari were quietly astonished. They knew Cody lived with his mother and grandfather, but that was all they knew. They had never wanted to probe into his family situation.

"You… never told us that before, Cody," said TK. He turned to the young boy's partner. "Did he tell you, Armadillomon?"

Armadillomon gave a slight nod. "Cody's dad was a great fella… that's what he told me. And since then, Cody just wants to live up to his name."

"And I failed." Cody was crying freely by now, which never happened. "I let Ken get away with everything. My father would be so disappointed in me."

Nobody said anything for a moment. They couldn't relate to what he was going through. Cody was so young, and to lose a parent at that age… being a child of divorce was one thing. But suddenly the solemn way the boy carried himself was making a lot more sense.

TK was the one who broke the silence.

"Cody. Listen to me," he said, kneeling down next to the younger boy. "We've been through a lot of hard times lately. But you haven't once let us down. Not me, and not any of the others." He put a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Have you ever blamed your father for leaving you?"

Cody looked surprised at the idea. "Of course not. I…"

"And we don't blame you either," said Kari. "We've always been able to count on you to do your very best."

Wormmon thought he had better say something too. "Cody… Ken may be gone, but there's still something you can do. You can help save the rest of the Digimon… and Gennai. He needs our help."

Cody looked at him, still sniffling and wiping his tears away. "I… I suppose you're right about that."

"Yeah! Come on, Cody! You're always going on and on about doing the right thing. And this time is no different!" said Davis, looking like he was trying to share his energy with the younger boy. And it actually seemed to work.

Cody finally seemed to be coming out of his funk. He nodded. "Yes… you're right. All of you are right," he said. "When things are looking bad, that's when it's more important than ever to keep doing the right thing." He closed his eyes. "My father… I know he would agree with that."

And then the ground started to glow around them. Everyone looked on in astonishment as a small shape suddenly rose up from beneath the ground, hovering in the air before it gradually floated over to the group, filling the air with its light.

"Look at that…" Davis said in awe.

"Is this my Digiegg?" Cody whispered as it came to a stop in front of him. "It was here all along?"

"Look at that… it's got the Crest of Reliability on it," TK said with a smile. "That proves it, Cody. Not just anybody could inherit Joe's crest! Now what do you say we make use of that thing?"

Cody took the Digiegg in his hands, and then climbed to his feet. "Right. Let's hurry. We don't have much time." He held it up. "Digiarmor energize!"

Armadillomon started glowing in the light of evolution, growing several times his size. Then the light faded, and Cody found himself looking up at some kind of mechanical narwhal, with a cockpit on its back and a spiked harpoon in place of a horn.

"Armadillomon…"

"Heh heh. You like it, Cody?" said the new Digimon. "The name's Submarimon! The reliable guardian of the sea… or lake, in this case."

"Well, this is perfect. Submarimon is exactly what we need right now," said TK, looking around at the water that still surrounded them.

Cody had been looking at his partner in awe, but now he was all seriousness again. "Right. Submarimon, you get Gennai out of here. He's too weak to walk. The rest of us will meet you back at the surface."

"Aye-aye, captain. Climb aboard, old timer!" said Submarimon, opening up his cockpit. Kari was already walking over to them, her arm looped under Gennai's as she helped him move.

"Well… this wasn't on my list of things to do today," said Gennai. His voice sounded weak, but it didn't look like his life was in danger, at least.

After TK and Davis had given Gennai a boost and helped him up into the cockpit, Submarimon splashed into the water and swam up toward Lake Town. Once they were sure he was safe, the others made a mad dash for the stairs. Davis, as usual, was carrying Wormmon in his arms, certain the little caterpillar wouldn't run fast enough to make it.

"Come on! We have to warn Bearmon and the others!" TK shouted over his shoulder as they all raced up the stairs. "If Ken is telling the truth, then this whole town is going to blow!"

––

Ken had, in fact, been telling the truth.

Bearmon and the rebels were being overrun. The Troopmon had all converged on them while the human children had been underwater, and now they were locked in a desperate clash, trying to get out of town before it was too late.

And that wasn't the only problem. Scattered all around the town, stuck to the floors and walls, were small, ball-shaped metallic Digimon with spikes jutting from their bodies.

"Those are the Chikurimon. They're Mine Digimon," Gatomon hissed. "And if the Emperor has made it so they all go off at the same time…"

"But he's already gotten what he wanted," TK said quietly. "What does he even gain from this? This is…"

He couldn't finish, but he didn't have to. Everyone knew what he was thinking. This was evil. Senseless cruelty. There was no other way to describe it.

"Bearmon! We gotta get you guys outta here!" Davis shouted as he ran over to the rebel leader, shoving a bunch of Troopmon out of the way. "The Digimon Emperor's gonna blow up this whole town! We only have a few minutes!"

Bearmon looked up at him in fright. "What? Are you kiddin' me?" he cried. "How are we supposed to get out of here? We're surrounded!"

"Bearmon… there's too many of them," Gazimon said weakly. She was standing back-to-back with her leader, bashing away at any Troopmon that got too close, but she was running out of energy. All of the rebels were.

But the Troopmon were just as indomitable as ever. No matter how badly they were pummeled, they felt no pain. And whenever one fell, another rose to take its place.

"We can't win this fight. We just have to run," said TK.

"But what about Gennai?" shouted Cody. He was holding onto the old man and steadying him. "We have to bring him with us! And he's in no shape to run!"

"Leave this to us," said Bearmon, and Davis turned to see him gazing at the advancing horde with a grim look on his face. "We'll hold those guys off. You humans, get outta here."

"What?!" Davis took a step back. "Bearmon! You can't! If you guys don't get out of here, you'll – "

"There's no time to argue! You guys are the only ones who can stop the Emperor! If you try to help us, nobody's going to make it!"

Yolei looked horrified. "No! We won't leave you guys behind!" she shouted. "You've saved us so many times – we can't let anyone else die!"

"No… Bearmon is right," said a Floramon. "You're more important than we are. You're the heroes. The best thing we can do is give you guys a chance."

"That's right. We're with Bearmon to the very end," said a Mushroomon, and the other rebels all nodded as well, even as they realized what this meant. Even now, they would faithfully follow their leader.

Bearmon looked at the other rebels and seemed to get a lump in his throat. "Guys… thanks," he said quietly before turning to the Digidestined leader. "Hey, Davis. Looks like it's time for your last leader lesson. Sometimes, a leader has to know when to make the ultimate sacrifice… so everyone else can live."

Davis could only stare at him.

"Guys, there's no more time to argue. If we're leaving, we have to do it now!" TK said urgently.

"We're saving Gennai!" Cody shouted, and he and the other children held up their Digieggs. In a flash, Digmon, Halsemon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were taking to the sky, each one carrying their human partner. Pegasusmon was doing double duty and carrying Gennai as well.

Now Davis, Veemon and Wormmon were the only ones left. Davis pulled out his own Digiegg, but then he hesitated. "Bearmon…"

"Go on, get out of here! And you too, Wormmon!" Bearmon flashed him a meaningful look. "You've always been our hope. Those kids can't do this without you."

Wormmon didn't know what to say. He was too terrified to think straight. "Bearmon… I…"

"Come on, Wormmon, we're out of time. Let's go!" said Davis, holding up his Digiegg as Veemon digivolved to Raidramon. The Troopmon were about to swarm over them, but as Davis and Wormmon hopped on Raidramon's back, they chanced one last look back at Bearmon, who gave them a nod.

"Defeat the Digimon Emperor. And bring back the Harmonious Ones."

And that was it. Raidramon dashed down the street toward the exit of Lake Town, knocking several Troopmon out of the way, and vanished in an instant. The rebels watched them go, surrounded by enemy Digimon and unable to break free.

"So this… this is it, then," Gazimon said softly as the fighting went on around them. "Bearmon? Did we… did we do the right thing?"

Still standing with his back facing hers, Bearmon reached back and took her hand. "Maybe… one day… we'll find out."

All around them, the Chikurimon began beeping. And then they stopped.

There was light, and heat, and noise.

––

About half an hour later, when the smoke and dust had mostly cleared from the air, the Digidestined slowly and fearfully walked back into Lake Town, bringing Gennai along with them.

The town was completely destroyed. Most of it had sunk into the water, as the wooden planks and bridges that suspended it had all been blown up. Everything that remained above water was pitched forward at a deep slant as the ground threatened to go sliding right in. All that was left were the crumbling remains of buildings, along with the torn, deflated remains of countless Troopmon littering the streets and floating in the water.

There wasn't a living Digimon to be seen.

"They're… they're gone." Davis took one tentative step forward, then another. "Bearmon… everybody… they're all gone."

He sank to his knees. "This… this wasn't supposed to happen."

Yolei had started crying. "I hate this! I hate this!" She grabbed at her head. "I can't do this anymore! I want to go home!"

"This is a nightmare…" Cody squeezed his fists, screwed his face up and tried to stop the tears from falling. "What good is finding these Digieggs if we can't protect anyone?"

TK and Kari said nothing. They both had the same thing on their minds. They had the same pained expression on their faces as they tried unsuccessfully to fight off that memory of three years ago, of Mimi weeping over the graves of their fallen Digimon comrades… this was something they never wanted to go through again.

And Wormmon… he simply stared. Stared out at the destroyed town being submerged by the lake. There was nothing he could say. He had no partner he could comfort and help through their pain.

Bearmon… he'd been right all along. He should have turned Wormmon over to the Emperor. If only he had known. If only any of them had known how much more suffering Wormmon would cause them.

For a long while, no one spoke. They all just cried, or in Davis's case, hurled a wooden plank into the water and screamed in frustration. But eventually, they had to address the Elephantmon in the room.

Gennai was sitting on the ground a ways away from them, still wheezing in pain and exhaustion, hand on his chest. TK and Kari eventually wandered over to him and tried to help him stand… but TK saw something that made him pause.

It looked like Gennai's hair had started growing back in. His wrinkles had faded slightly, and he even looked a bit taller.

"Are you… getting younger?"

Gennai looked down at himself. "Well. I am made of data, after all. I don't suppose housing the data of that evil Digimon was good for my physiology," he sighed. "Now that it's gone, it's only matter of time before I'm back to my old self… young self, that is."

"Where will you go now, Gennai? Your home was destroyed," said Cody as the other children slowly walked over to him.

"Oh, you kids don't need to worry about me. I've lived in this world my entire life… actually, I've got a summer home that could use some attention." He winced in pain. "Listen, kids. I know things aren't looking good, but you can't give up. The Digimon Emperor is up to no good with that data."

"He's gonna bring back one of those Dark Masters?" said Davis, grimacing at the idea. "We can't fight one of those things. If he does that, we're toast. This whole world is toast."

"Now, now. Don't be so negative," said Gennai. "You've always found a way before… and you should always believe in miracles."

––

Back in his fortress, the Digimon Emperor felt like celebrating. He had done it. He had everything he needed. He didn't even need that damned bug anymore; he might as well kill it now. If it even bothered showing its face here again.

He strode down the dark hallway, gleefully thinking to himself about how much power he now had with Machinedramon's data in his possession. It was heavily encrypted, of course, but that was nothing a genius hacker like him couldn't handle. Reviving that Digimon would be his number one priority; his other project might as well go on the back burner now.

He hadn't told anyone about that project, not even the bug. That was a work in progress; he didn't have all the parts he needed yet, not if he wanted to create something that would truly terrorize the Digidestined.

It seemed like a waste of resources now. His Machinedramon would be the only Digimon he would ever need. Really, he ought to abandon that project…

Continue.

Ken stopped dead in his tracks. Someone… something… had just spoken to him. Something he hadn't invited in.

He looked around. "Who is that? Who are you?!"

Continue, the voice said again, except this time it sounded like two voices speaking in stereo, each one echoing in one of his ears, slightly out of sync with each other. Ken clutched at his neck as a sudden pain blossomed out of it, screwing his face up as his vision grew foggy.

Momentarily, he stopped struggling and grew still. His hand dropped from his neck and fell to his side, and he gazed vacantly ahead.

Yes… how foolish of him. He could not abandon any of his projects. He had to continue. By any means necessary.

As though he were in a trance, he walked down the dark hallway to his computer room.

He had work to do.

Chapter Text

Wormmon was crouched in the darkness of the computer room, silently watching the Digimon Emperor as he sat, furiously typing away at the keyboard in front of him. Whatever he was doing, he'd been at it for hours. As usual, he wasn't paying Wormmon any attention, but Wormmon couldn't tear his eyes away from his partner.

"Ken," he suddenly spoke up, "I wish you'd take off your glasses."

He wasn't even sure why he'd said it. But it was too late to take it back, as the Emperor looked down at him impatiently. "What?"

Unable to meet his gaze, Wormmon looked down at the floor. "It's just… you have such beautiful eyes," he said reluctantly. "I just… wanted to see them again. One more time."

He was expecting Ken to yell at him, or maybe hit him. But to his surprise, his partner actually seemed to be considering it.

"Hmph. Fine, then."

Wormmon watched as Ken turned back to his computer, reached up to his glasses…

…and pulled his face off.

A massive, yawning chasm was all that was left where it should have been. It was dark gray, the color of burnt ash, and similarly colored wisps and flecks came drifting out of it. Somewhere within the bottomless darkness emerged a pair of glowing red eyes, and then another…

Wormmon screamed as his eyes flew open.

He lay on his side, hyperventilating. It took him a long moment to remember where he was. Inside his prison cell, deep within the Emperor's fortress.

Once he realized he'd just had another nightmare, he slowly calmed himself down, and his breath came more easily. He looked around, seeing that Ken was nowhere to be found, and his stomach slowly sank.

It had been difficult to convince the Digidestined to let him stay here. Now that Bearmon and the other rebels were all gone, their camp was deserted. There was nobody to stay with in the Digital World at night. Or at least lie and say he was staying with them.

He'd had to make up yet another lie. He wanted to stay in this world, he'd told the others. This place was his home. He couldn't run from the Digimon Emperor all his life. Sooner or later, he'd have to face him.

Davis had been adamant on letting Wormmon move back in with him and Veemon, and as tempting as the offer was, Wormmon knew he couldn't accept it. His duty was here.

I might as well just tell them the truth, he thought miserably. I'm no good at lying. They're bound to find out, after all that's happened…

But even now, after all this time, he couldn't imagine what he would say. He couldn't bear to think of the anger on their faces. They were the only friends he had left.

He sighed and curled up on the cold metal floor, and with his cowardice weighing heavily on his heart, he went back to sleep.

––

At the very least, Wormmon still had excuses to visit the humans in the real world.

Today was August 1st, or as the children referred to it, Odaiba Memorial Day. It was the anniversary of the day three years ago when the original Digidestined had first traveled to the Digital World. Of course, it had been a lot longer in Digital World time, but it was still an important day to the children, and so of course Wormmon would be there to celebrate it with them.

Davis, Yolei, Cody, TK and Kari were all gathered together at a park, each one holding their Digimon tightly to them, and Wormmon was there as well. They were all waiting for the rest of their friends to get here; this couldn't be a real celebration with just the five of them.

"Look! They're here!" Kari said with a big smile, pointing off toward the entrance.

Everyone looked, and sure enough, standing there together were all of the original Digidestined, each one taking time out of their day for this important occasion. There was Tai and Matt, but also all the children Wormmon didn't know very well. Sora, Joe and Izzy… even Mimi was there. It must have been important if she'd come all the way from America.

Eleven children in total. Each one with their own stories, battles, and losses.

Their large group spent hours sitting in a big circle in the park, the older children sharing the stories of all their past adventures in the Digital World. Looking back, it was amazing how many evil Digimon they'd had to fight, and yet they'd all made it through and lived to tell about it. When they got to the story of how Myotismon invaded the human world, the younger kids started chiming in – they had been there for that part.

Wormmon hadn't been there for any of it. All he could do was listen.

It was nice for all of them to be able to share this day together, but the truth was, it wasn't as happy as it should have been. Nobody said it out loud, but there was a darkness hanging heavy over their hearts. Agumon and Gabumon were gone, and the Digimon Emperor was as powerful as ever, showing no signs of letting up. Hearing stories about the past almost seemed pointless when their future was so uncertain.

"Wow… you guys had some crazy adventures. And you couldn't even come home for dinner!" Yolei said after a long while.

"I feel so ashamed," Cody muttered. "You all defeated such powerful Digimon, and we can't even defeat one human…"

Davis pouted and folded his arms over his knees. "It's not fair. He's just one bratty little kid. How's he still causing us so much trouble?"

"You shouldn't blame yourselves, everyone," said Tai. "The fact that he's human means he has different weaknesses than the enemies we've faced before. We just have to figure out what they are."

"It's gotta be his fortress," said TK. "That's where he's holding all his prisoners captive, and it's probably where he makes all those Dark Spirals. If we could just take out his fortress, he wouldn't be a threat anymore."

Wormmon looked up in shock. Oh, no, if only TK hadn't said that… invading his fortress was exactly what the Emperor wanted them to do. He knew they'd be forced to do it eventually, and he'd prepared for it… very meticulously.

But Wormmon couldn't say how he knew that. He couldn't give himself away. Not now.

"Storming that fortress sounds dangerous. Are you sure you guys are up for it?" asked Matt.

"I think we're out of options at this point," TK said frankly. "We've tried everything, and he always beats us. If we don't do something fast, there won't be a Digital World left to save."

"Yeah! That Digimon Emperor's long overdue for a good butt-whooping." Davis clenched his fists. "If that's what we have to do, then let's do it."

"I agree. We owe it to all the Digimon we've lost. Agumon and Gabumon… and Bearmon," said Cody. "We can't let their sacrifices go to waste."

Yolei looked back and forth between the other three. "W-Well if you guys are all for it, then obviously I can't say no!" she exclaimed. "Ugh. Fine. I'll do it. But I swear, Davis, if I get killed because of you, I'm haunting you for the rest of your life."

From there the topic of conversation seemed to shift over to planning their attack. How they would locate the fortress, and then how they would get inside, and what they could even do once they got that far… it all sounded impossible. No one thought to consult Wormmon about anything.

He didn't dare open his mouth. No, no, no, this was all wrong… if they went inside that fortress, they were dooming themselves. What could he do? Was there anything he could say to talk them out of it?

He couldn't think of a thing. He stayed quiet.

"Boy, it's late," Tai said after a while, standing up and stretching. "We didn't even get to tell the whole story yet either."

"If we're serious about this plan to attack the Emperor's fortress, then we're definitely not finished here yet. We should meet up again tomorrow," said Izzy.

"And Saturday too. Gatomon and I have somewhere we want to go that day," Kari chimed in.

So they all split up and went home… and Wormmon, with nowhere else to go, went back to the Digital World and returned to the very fortress his friends were now planning to invade.

They had no idea what was waiting for them there.

––

The next day, once school was out for the human children, they ended up breaking off into smaller groups and went off doing different things. Wormmon would probably have felt more comfortable sticking close to Davis, but the gogglehead got swept up in some plan Izzy had with Tai and Kari, and the little Rookie ended up wandering after Matt and TK.

To his surprise, they ended up getting on a train and traveling to some other part of Tokyo.

"I've never been here before," Wormmon said once they'd all left the train station. "Why are we so far away from your home?"

"This place holds some memories for us," Matt explained. "Myotismon's henchmon ended up in Shibuya too. Although… they turned out to be not so bad."

Both he and TK went quiet after that, and so Wormmon didn't say anything else.

Shibuya certainly was a big and exciting place, anyway. It was fun to sightsee, Wormmon supposed, although Matt and TK spent most of the time chatting between themselves over their memories of three years ago. Patamon sometimes joined in from where he was perched on TK's head.

Matt didn't have his partner with him, obviously. But he still stubbornly tried to keep in good spirits for the others' sakes.

Then as they were walking by the train station again on their way back, they passed something that made Wormmon stop and stare.

It was a statue of… something. He didn't really know what it was. But it seemed out of place around here.

"Who's that?" he asked. "Is that a Digimon?"

Matt and TK saw what he was looking at and walked back over to him. "Oh, no. That's a dog, Wormmon," said TK. "His name's Hachiko."

"Oh." Wormmon couldn't really wrap his brain around something that wasn't a human or a Digimon, so he didn't press the matter. "Why does he have a statue?"

"He's a very famous dog," said TK. "He lived here in Shibuya, and his owner was a professor who rode the train to and from work every day. And Hachiko would always come to the station to meet him when he came home."

He gave a brief pause, apparently not liking this part of the story. "But then one day his owner died while he was at work. So he never came home."

Wormmon looked horrified, and suddenly the brothers weren't looking very happy either. "He died? So then… what did Hachiko do?"

"He kept coming to the station every day. Even though his owner was gone, he still waited for him to come back." said Matt. "He did that for the rest of his life."

Wormmon immediately decided he didn't like this story at all. "So he died too… and he never saw his owner again?" he asked. "That's so sad…"

"It is sad," Matt agreed. "But people built this statue of him so everyone would remember what a loyal dog he was."

As soon as he heard his own words, he winced, and then he tried to force a smile on his face. "Loyal dog… just like Gabumon, huh."

Once again, it fell to TK to comfort his big brother. "Hey. We'll see him again. Just as soon as we get rid of the Digimon Emperor, right?"

At that point, the two of them seemed to forget all about the statue and set off walking again. But Wormmon was frozen in place. He kept staring up at the statue, at the dog who had spent his whole life waiting uselessly for someone who was long gone.

He was suddenly overwhelmed by sorrow and dread.

Maybe Matt was thinking about Gabumon, but Wormmon could only think of himself.

Was he just like that dog? What if Ken was as good as dead, and the Emperor was all that was left of him?

Was Wormmon going to die alone, waiting for someone who would never come back?

"Hey! Wormmon!" came TK's voice. "Come on, it's time to go home."

Wormmon suddenly remembered where he was. "Oh, right… sorry."

He almost didn't manage it, but finally he tore his gaze away from Hachiko and reluctantly followed after the others.

––

On August 3rd, the entire group of Digidestined past and present met up outside of the Fuji TV station. Kari had a large bouquet of flowers in her hands, and no one had to ask what it was for. They were here to pay respects to someone else they had lost in their last adventure.

At least that was the plan, but things quickly went off the rails.

Before they could even enter the building, a whole bunch of people came running out of it. They all looked to be employees of the TV station, and they were all screaming and panicking about something as they pushed each other aside in their attempts to get away.

"A ghost! It's a ghost!" screamed one woman.

"Oh, great," Matt groaned as people kept running past their large group. "Our dad was talking about this. Everyone at his work has been saying the station is haunted… don't tell me this is more of that?"

"That's not all we've got to worry about. Check out the weather," said Tai, pointing up at the sky. Enormous gray thunderclouds had swallowed up the sun, and lightning had started to flash between them.

"…Maybe we should come back here some other time?" Yolei said nervously.

Throughout all the chaos, nobody noticed Gatomon. She had suddenly gone very quiet, staring inside the building even as everyone else was running out. Suddenly she leapt off of Kari's shoulder, standing at the front of the group.

"It wants me," she said softly. "It's calling for me." And then she ran inside.

"Gatomon?" Kari cried after her. "Gatomon! Where are you going?" She ran after her partner, and without much of a choice, everyone else ran after her in turn. Wormmon, as usual, brought up the rear.

What was going on? Was this Ken's doing too?

Their entire group raced through the station, and if any employees thought it was strange that there was a bunch of schoolkids in the building running in the opposite direction as everyone else, nobody said anything. Nobody even commented on Gatomon as she ran on ahead of the others.

"What's gotten into her?" Tai asked frantically.

Finally they entered the big dome near the very top of the building, and Gatomon came to a stop. Everyone else stared at what looked like a large shadow flitting across the walls, circling over their heads faster and faster. The air was filled with a strange murmuring noise, almost as though the shadow were whispering… or calling out to someone.

"Could it be? Has the Digimon Emperor sent that thing here to attack us?" asked Upamon from within Cody's arms.

"We have to protect Gatomon!" shouted Poromon.

"No!" Gatomon spun around to face them and held out her arms. "Don't hurt him!"

Everyone looked surprised. "'Him'?" Davis repeated. "Is he really a ghost after all?"

Gatomon turned back around and stared at the shadow. By now it had stopped flying around and come to rest on the floor right in front of her.

"It's you," she said, and there was no mistaking the sudden anguish in her voice. "Wizardmon!"

Everyone gasped. And just like that, the shadow transformed into the specter of a Digimon that rose up out of the floor.

Everyone here knew who it was they were looking at, even Wormmon. The older kids had already shared the story of how Wizardmon had given up his life to save Gatomon. And yet here he was, standing before her again, spectral and transparent.

"Gatomon," he said, and it was shocking how soft and gentle his voice sounded. "Thank you for coming here. I'm glad I got to see you again."

"Wizardmon." Gatomon was already choking up. "I'm so sorry for everything… I'm so sorry…"

"There's no time for that, Gatomon. There's something I need to tell you. It concerns the battle you're all fighting, against your great enemy."

Gatomon looked surprised. "Our enemy… you mean the Digimon Emperor?"

"Your enemy is a darkness far greater than the Digimon Emperor," said Wizardmon. "You cannot defeat the darkness alone. Your fate lies with one person, the one wrapped in darkness."

Everyone was standing back and listening, looking confused at his words. "Who… who does he mean?" asked Yolei.

Wizardmon didn't answer, just kept talking. "The one who has waited for him must seek out the source of his power. They must listen to what it has to tell them."

"Waited? Waited for who?" Gatomon had tears in her eyes. "Please, Wizardmon. I don't understand – "

"I'm sorry." Wizardmon lowered his head in guilt. "I can't stay here any longer. Please, Gatomon. Remember what I've told you."

"Wait!" Gatomon shouted, reaching out and trying to grab his hand as he began to drift away. But he was incorporeal, and her hand passed right through his.

"Wizardmon!" Gatomon ran after him as he floated away, holding his hand futilely out to her as he did. Finally he phased through the window at the far end of the room, and then he was gone.

Gatomon put both paws up to the window and gazed out. "Wizardmon…" she said quietly, and then she broke down crying.

Kari was immediately at her side, crouching down next to her and putting an arm around her. Everyone else had the good sense to give them some space while they tried to figure out what had just happened.

"Poor Gatomon," Davis muttered, showing a little tact for once. "She lost a really good friend."

"I wonder what he meant," said Cody. "The one wrapped in darkness? The one who has waited for him? Why does he have to speak in riddles at a time like this?"

Wormmon kept staring at the window where Wizardmon had vanished. "He came all the way here to tell us something important…" he said softly. "He must have truly cared about Gatomon."

TK was standing next to him, and he gave a nod. "He wasn't partnered to any of us, but he was a good friend all the same. Just like you, Wormmon."

Wormmon squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head. He couldn't bear to look any of them in the eye. The truth was… he had figured out the answer to Wizardmon's riddle. Something else he didn't dare share with anyone else.

Even if he hadn't known it himself, Wizardmon had been talking about him.

––

That night, long after most Digimon within the Emperor's fortress were sound asleep, Wormmon quietly crept through the dark halls all by himself. Wizardmon's last words to them were still ringing in his head. The source of his power… he had to find the source of Ken's power. He was pretty sure he knew exactly where that was.

He rarely ever came down here to the lower floors of the fortress. There was nothing down here for him. But now he found himself walking down a long metal walkway that stretched across an enormous, round expanse of a room, stretching up and down multiple floors. If he happened to fall off, it would be a very long drop.

It seemed like he should have been locked in his cell right now, but the Goblimon had never come for him. Maybe Ken hadn't even sent them. It was seeming more and more like Ken had forgotten all about him.

Reaching the end of the walkway, Wormmon crawled into what was officially the engine room. It seemed like an odd name for it, though, because it didn't even have an engine. Just a round table in the very center of the room, and on top of it, a strange, pitch black box.

Wormmon slowly crawled up to the display, cautiously staring up at the box. He had no idea what it was, only that Ken was using it to power the entire base. Just being in the same room, Wormmon could feel the power coming off it in waves.

Listen to what it has to say.

He came to a stop.

"Is it… you?" he asked softly. "Are you the one I'm supposed to listen to?" His voice echoed across the empty room. He was all alone, and all too aware of it.

"Please…" he went on. "I've tried so hard to save Ken, but everything I do just causes more people to get hurt…" His throat tightened. "And now my friends are in danger, and there's nothing I can do to protect them…" He lowered his head in anguish. "If only I knew what happened. Why did we forget? Why did Ken and I lose our memories of each other…?"

His voice trailed off. He sat there, feeling the energy roiling off of the black box. He wasn't expecting an answer, but after just a moment, it came.

The answer behind your memories lies with my creator.

Wormmon's head shot back up. "Your creator?" he repeated. "Who? Who created you?"

He stared at the box expectantly, and after a few seconds, he heard the voice again.

Azulongmon.