Chapter 23: Izzy Izumi's Interesting Intel

The Elemental Four and their Digimon arrived in the computer lab Izzy was in. This time, there were 15 chairs all lined up and some of the desks had been moved back. The lab had one massive computer at the back wall and lots of smaller computers sitting on desks throughout the room. This room was underground, underneath World For Us All's base. Taylor and Sharkmon were the first to arrive, Martin and Naturemon were second, and Drusilla and Emmett and their Digimon arrived third, at the same time. Izzy was typing away on the massive computer towards the back wall. He didn't even realize the children and their Digimon had entered the room. He was muttering to himself. Tentomon noticed though. He waved to them all. "Hello, Elemental Four." Tentomon said. Martin waved. "It's good to see you again, Tentomon." Martin said. Tentomon flew over to one of the desks that had a large plate of hot dogs on it. He picked it up and flew it over to Sharkmon. "A little birdie told me that you were chomping at the bits to eat some hot dogs. That little birdie was Dovemon, by the way." Tentomon said. Sharkmon gave a huge smile and his eyes started sparkling. Sharkmon began to viciously chow down on the plate of hot dogs, which had about 30 hot dogs when Tentomon first set it down. "Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! This is so good! Thank you, Tentomon! I am forever in your debt!" Sharkmon said in a happy tone.

"So, what did you want to tell us?" Naturemon asked. Izzy continued typing away on his computer, muttering to himself. Drusilla rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "Yo, nerd. You know it's rude to ignore people, right?" Drusilla said in a monotonous tone. Izzy was still continuing to type and mutter to himself. Tentomon looked over to the 8 and shrugged. "I'm sorry about him. He always gets a bit absorbed when he's working on a new computer program." Tentomon said. Taylor walked over to the computer and stood right next to Izzy. Taylor leaned down, placing a hand on the desk to support her weight as she leaned in close. She looked at the program Izzy was writing. To a regular person, all of it would appear to be gobbledygook. "This looks like….ah yes." Taylor muttered to herself before pushing Izzy's chair off to the side and kneeling down in front of the computer. "H-Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Izzy exclaimed. Taylor began typing on the keyboard. "A little of this….a 1 here….a 0 there….oh gosh, these three zeroes do NOT need to be in a row like this." Taylor muttered to herself. Izzy got up and ran over to her. "Hey! What are you doing!? That's a complex program I've been working on coding for days! You'll screw it up!" Izzy said. Taylor shot him a glare "Excuse you! I'm fixing it. You're the one who screwed it up." Taylor said before continuing to type. "Hmm…ok, these parameters need to be altered badly. And…..done!" Taylor said. Taylor moved the mouse a bit and clicked "Ok" on the menu.

Izzy looked at what Taylor had done. He looked astonished, shocked. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!?" Izzy exclaimed. Taylor smiled at him with her eyes closed. "Sometimes you just need a set of fresh eyes." She said before giggling. Everyone else was watching this unfold in confusion. "Where did you learn to code like this?" Izzy asked. He was impressed. Taylor clearly solved whatever puzzle Izzy was wracking his brain over. Taylor smiled and giggled. She stood up and folded her arms behind her back. "I'm mostly self taught. I'm going to be a Digimon Researcher some day. Digimon are made of data. You can't be a Digimon Researcher without knowing code anymore than you can be a physicist without knowing math." Taylor said. Izzy was still looking impressed. The others looked impressed too. They knew Taylor was smart and a bit of a nerd, but they didn't know she was this smart.

Naturemon sat down in one of the chairs. "What program were you working on anyway?" She asked. Dovemon also took a seat. "Perhaps it's a program that gets us to our Mega forms." Dovemon speculated. Taylor put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Actually, this program that I perfected will allow us to instantly transport ourselves back to this base using our digivices. If I'm allowed to make an inference, I would infer that Izzy worked on the program right after I got separated from you guys. If anything like that happens again to one of us, we'll just use our digivices to teleport ourselves back." Taylor explained in a happy tone before letting out a big giggle. This giggle was a bit prolonged, showing that she was especially pleased with herself. Izzy rolled his computer chair back up to his desk. "That's 100% correct." Izzy confirmed.

Dovemon smiled. "That's wonderful!" She said. Drusilla smiled and folded her arms. Coalmon asked, "How do we get the program?" Izzy extended his hands outward in their direction. "It's a simple download. I'll need your D-Ecos for a moment. I'll plug them into the central computer here and it will download. It will appear on your D-Eco's screen like a smartphone app." Izzy explained. All four children reached into their pockets and gave Izzy their digivices. He extended a USB jack from all of them and inserted them into the central computer (i.e the giant computer at the back of the room, the one he was sitting at). Taylor walked over and took a seat. The other three children took seats also.

Izzy turned his computer chair around to face them. "So…you're probably wondering why I call your digivices D-Ecos." Izzy began. Naturemon was tapping her belly button from her exposed midriff, causing a popping sound to occur every time her finger made contact. It was a habit she got into whenever she was bored. "Bop! Bop! Bop!" Naturemon said before giggling. "Yeah, we were, actually." Martin answered.

"The D in D-Eco stands for digital. The Eco in D-Eco stands for ecosystem. This is because all four parts of Harmonymon that the multiverse's Yggdrasils have created represent the four elements of nature. Of course, we all know there are many more elements than just four. However, the natural philosopher Aristotle identified four of them; earth, wind, fire, and water. As Kari Takaishi has likely informed you of, I created a program designed to cause Harmonymon to split apart into four distinct consciousnesses in the event that the lab in which she was being created was ever attacked by All For One World. If All For One World Attacked before Harmonymon was fully developed, she'd be in big trouble. Or more precisely, I caused Harmonymon's one single DigiCore to split into four DigiCores. I specifically designed the codes for Sharkmon, Naturemon, Coalmon, and Dovemon. I hoped that that program would never need to be used, but as we all know, it was. I knew that it would take a long time for these four Rookie level Digimon to naturally digivolve all the way back to their Ultra or Super Mega form, so I created four digivices and four crests." Izzy explained.

The children and Digimon had surprised looks on their faces. "You…created our digivices?" Emmett asked.

Izzy smiled. "Yep. And your crests too." He replied.

"So are you the one who chose us then?" Drusilla asked.

"No. I only designed the program that split Harmonymon into four Digimon, and the digivices and crests. I left the task of choosing Digidestined to Homeostasis. She has a good track record of picking children suitable for the job." Izzy replied.

Sharkmon, who had finished eating the hot dogs Tentomon had set before him long ago, hopped up into Taylor's lap. He looked over to Izzy and said, "I forgot. Who is Homeostasis again?" Izzy scratched his chin, thinking of the simplest way to explain it. "Well, the word normally refers to the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes. But in this context, it refers to some sort of digital being." Taylor interrupted.

"That's correct. Homeostasis is a digital being who, unlike the Digimon, cannot acquire a physical form. When I and the 7 other children from my own universe went to our own version of the Digital World the first time, Homeostasis revealed why it chose us and what we were supposed to do. Many years later, our interests clashed when it wanted to destroy a Digimon called Meicoomon whose very existence threatened the digital and human worlds. Homeostasis ultimately ended up being right and getting what it wanted. There was no other way to stop Meiko's corrupt partner, but that's a story for another day. Homeostasis could be described as a god like being. Its desire is to maintain peace and harmony between the worlds." Izzy explained.

Naturemon was still bopping her belly button with her finger. Martin looked over to her and gently grabbed her hand. "Naturemon, stop that." Martin said. Naturemon puckered her lips and furrowed her eyebrows in a sad expression. "But it makes such a cool noise and I'm bored." Naturemon said. Martin sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" He complained. Naturemon smiled brightly and closed her eyes. "Cuddle me! That's what you can do!" She said happily as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around her partner, starting to nuzzle him.

"Now, onto the issue of Owarimon. Kari sent me the intel earlier. It seems as though Owarimon has already been created, but she's not powerful enough yet to be a threat to the multiverse. And thanks to the field reports by Takato and Yoshino, we now know what their motive is. They think that all life will end in a cataclysmic interdimensional war unless all universes but one remain. Of course, having met Owarimon and having been there when Morty Shin went on his monologue, you already know that much." Izzy explained.

"So why don't you explain what they don't already know? Such as precisely how Owarimon came to be?" Tentomon suggested.

Izzy was silent for a moment. He squinted and clenched his fists. This was going to be hard for him to say, but he knew he had to tell the Elemental Four the truth about Owarimon. The Elemental Four sat there eagerly awaiting Izzy's response. "Well, what's the 4-1-1 on the crazy snake lady?" Dovemon asked. Izzy continued to be silent. "Can she…..be stopped?" Drusilla asked anxiously. Izzy looked down, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Owarimon…was made from a living human child." At this, all 8 of them gasped in unison. "A human child!? How!?" Taylor asked. Izzy was silent again before answering. "Our undercover agent, Ryo, who's been gathering intel for us, managed to hack into the data logs. He learned that Morty Shin kidnapped a 10 year old girl from Japan in one of the universes that waged war against him. The girl was the only daughter of that universe's top commanding general. The girl's name is Haruka Abe. Evidently, she was injected with a serum very similar to the ones who have been creating these human/Gizumon hybrids. The report also said that Morty used a drug to wipe Haruka's memory clean so she would never even remember that she's human. Morty has convinced Owarimon that she's an artificially created Digimon whose only purpose is to destroy. Finally, the report said that Morty used Haruka's own Digimon partner in the experiment."

The whole room was silent for a good minute. The children and their Digimon were taking this in. Naturemon had stopped cuddling with Martin and was sitting up straight in her chair. Her hands were in her lap, or perhaps it should be said that her fists were clenched in her lap, with tear drops beginning to fall down on them. Naturemon was crying. "That poor child. How could someone be so evil as to use an innocent child as a weapon of destruction?" Naturemon asked through her tears. Martin looked at Naturemon sympathetically. He knew his Digimon had an extremely compassionate heart. Hearing about a sin this heinous was surely hard for her to take. Sharkmon was growling in Taylor's lap. He was angry. "That dirty rotten no good….the next time I see him, I'll rip him to shreds with every tooth in my mouth!" Sharkmon angrily yelled. Dovemon sat in her chair covering her face with her wings. "How terrible!" She exclaimed.

Drusilla looked down and closed her eyes. She could empathize with his Haruka girl. She too was almost used by an evil man for his own evil and selfish purposes; her grandfather, Dracula. Dracula wanted Drusilla to drink the blood of 100 humans the day she had grown horns and a forked tail, for if she did that, she would retain the incredible abilities she gained. And if Dracula drank Drusilla's blood, he would prolong his life. Dracula planned on keeping Drusilla chained up to be a constant source of renewal so that he would be immortal. He had planned on doing this with her mother Zai decades ago. Haruka was just like Drusilla, except Drusilla managed to escape being used thanks to her Digimon partner. "She's just like me." Drusilla muttered in a sad tone.

Thirty more seconds of silence passed before someone verbally expressed the question they were all thinking. "How can we kill Owarimon if she's actually an innocent human child?" It was Taylor who asked the question. "Maybe we can persuade her to not destroy universes?" Sharkmon suggested. "If only it were that easy." Taylor responded. "But like Izzy said, Morty has her brain washed. She believes she's a Digimon, and not just a Digimon, but an artificial Digimon."

Naturemon was still crying. "I can't. I can't hurt innocent people or innocent Digimon." She said. Dovemon came over and wrapped her wings around her. Dovemon didn't say anything. What could she say? This was a huge moral dilemma. Would they kill Owarimon and save septillions upon septillions of other lives or let Owarimon live and let everyone else be destroyed? It would be so much easier if she were just an artificially created Digimon.

"I don't like it anymore than you do. But Owarimon must be stopped. Naturemon, you'll have to fuse with the others to become Harmonymon if Owarimon makes it all the way to the Mega level." Izzy said.

Taylor looked at Izzy. "Speaking of Harmonymon, there's something that's been bothering me. Harmonymon wasn't initially a jogress Digimon. Rather, they were one single Digimon with a single DigiCore and only when Kari put in your program did they split into multiple DigiCores. What's going to happen if they become Harmonymon again? Will the individual consciousnesses of Naturemon, Sharkmon, Coalmon, and Dovemon simply fade away? Will they be more like a normal DNA Digivolved Digimon such as my Mom and Dad's Omnimon or Flora's and Zai's Mastemon, with one DigiCore for each Digimon that went into the fusion?" Taylor asked. Naturemon looked over at Taylor with a surprised look on her face, for these were the very same concerns that she had been harboring deep within her heart. She didn't talk about them to anyone, not even Martin. One reason she never mentioned it is because she didn't want to cause anyone else to worry, but another reason was that she was afraid someone would have the answer, and the answer would be one she didn't want to hear.

Izzy was silent for a moment. He twiddled his thumbs. "Well…I don't really know. You're right in saying that Harmonymon wasn't initially a jogress. She had one DigiCore, one consciousness, one mind. There's no telling if these four Rookies will maintain their individual consciousnesses when they become one again or not. Based on the coding of the program though, the original consciousness of Harmonymon should be one of the four, and if the other three do lose their individuality, that one will not." Izzy explained.

The children looked worried. Taylor gripped Sharkmon tightly. "So….you're saying there is a chance I could lose Sharkmon?" She reiterated. "Not necessarily. If I could have had more time to work on the program, I would have ensured that after the jogress, the Digimon could de-digivolve back to their Rookie forms. After all, I know how much losing your partner would hurt." Izzy then looked down and frowned. He remembered the time immediately after he got in M.A in computer engineering, a single bar of light faded on his Digivice, Tentomon vanished, and his digivice turned to stone. It was what happened to all digidestined kids in his universe when they grew up and the potential to become different kinds of people on different kinds of life paths dwindled to zero. It happened to Sora first, and then Tai and Matt second. Izzy later dubbed it "The Kizuna Effect" after the digivolved forms their Agumon and Gabumon took right before they themselves vanished. Years later, they found a way to get their Digimon back, but Izzy still remembers the feeling of his soul being ripped apart as Tentomon faded away. Yes, he did know what it was like, and if there was anything he could do about it, he would ensure that Harmonymon wasn't the end of the other three.

Naturemon stood up. "I think…I'm…the predominant personality." Naturemon said sheepishly. "Based on what Kari's told me about you and Harmonymon, I think that's the case too." Martin looked to Taylor. He placed his hand over hers and smiled. "Don't worry about it." He said in an attempt to comfort her. Taylor just glared at him. "That's so easy for you to say. You're the one with the Digimon whose consciousness was primarily Harmonymon's to begin with. You'll be fine. It'll be like Naturemon never even left." Taylor said, getting emotional. Martin retracted his hand. He frowned and closed his eyes, his cat ears noticeably drooping. "I…I'm sorry." He said. Emmett scowled at Taylor. "Hey, back off. Martin was only trying to comfort you." He said. Taylor's eyes were starting to "water". "You back off!" She barked.

Izzy could sense the emotion in the room getting tense. He motioned his hands forward. "Everybody, calm down! I promise I'll find a way to keep that worst case scenario from happening!" He said. Izzy then stood up and walked over to Taylor. He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes with a gentle smile. "You know, my friends and I have had to say goodbye to our Digimon partners on more than one occasion. And once…when we were in our mid-20s, our Digimon literally vanished and our digivices petrified. We thought it was goodbye for good that time. And yet look, Tentomon is here with us. I can tell you from my decades of experience as a digidestined that the bond with a Digimon partner cannot be broken so easily. Even if you do have to say goodbye to Sharkmon for a time, he will find his way back to you." Izzy then wiped a couple of tears that were beginning to stream down Taylor's cheeks. Taylor nodded to indicate she understood. "Ok." She replied.

Izzy knew how to comfort a crying little girl. After all, he has one of his own, and she had a Motimon that recently digivolved into Fanbeemon. Sharkmon smiled and nuzzled up to Taylor like a cat. "Well, that's good! Because Taylor's my bestest friend in the whole wide world! In all the whole wide worlds! I'd be sad if I couldn't be with her anymore." He said.

Dovemon flew over and landed in Emmett's lap. "I feel the same way." She said before embracing the blonde kid with her wings. Coalmon hopped into Drusilla's lap and looked up at her. "Not being friends with you anymore would be so not cool." Coalmon said. Drusilla chuckled slightly and gave a slight smirk. "Hey, that's my line." Drusilla said.

"Speaking of programs," Izzy said, turning around and walking back over to his computer chair. "Since Taylor finished the program that would teleport you all back to this base, I'm going to try and work on a program that should turn Owarimon back into Haruka Abe." Izzy said.

Everyone was pleased to hear this. "Finally, there's one more thing I need to tell you. I think we have a mole here at World For Us All." Izzy said. Their happy demeanor turned dour again. "A mole? Well, an exterminator should take care of that." Sharkmon said. "Get an exterminator in here? Have you seen our driveway?" Tentomon responded. "Not that kind of mole, Sharkmon. He's obviously talking about dermatology." Dovemon said. "I don't think a dermatologist would have an easier time making it to this base." Tentomon said.

"I mean that we have a spy in our midst." Izzy corrected.

"What makes you think that?" Dovemon asked.

"Well, the multiverse is vast. And yet, All For One World attacked you and our field agents twice in a row. They knew exactly where to find us. We can count three total encounters if we include the one where a Gizumon/Human hybrid absorbed Gulfmon's data. My guess is that someone in this agency isn't who they claim to be. They've been feeding intel to the enemy. So, be careful who you talk to." Izzy explained.

"And how we can know you're trustworthy?" Coalmon asked.

"You can't. Not yet." Izzy replied. Izzy walked over to a small box with electrodes attached to it. It was something Taylor recognized; an Aqualian Lie Detector. "This is an Aqualian Lie Detector. It is the most accurate lie detector test ever invented." Izzy said. "Queen Anastasia used one on me in Universe 319. That's perfect!" Taylor said. "So do we just need to have everyone in the base take this lie detector test to weed them out?" Sharkmon asked. "No, I want to keep this quiet for a while. If I make a fuss, the spy might escape before he or she can take the test. For now, I just want to prove to you that I am trustworthy." Izzy explained.

Izzy had Taylor come over and hold the device while electrodes were hooked up to his brain. Taylor asked Izzy several questions, including the point blank "Are you an imposter?" and he passed every single one with flying colors. After the test, Izzy dismissed everyone, and they all went back to their base apartments. Of course, not before returning the D-Ecos to the children.

Taylor sat on her bed in the bedroom of her World For Us All base apartment. She lied back and stared up at the ceiling. Sharkmon hopped up onto the bed with her. "Boy, what a day. I'm pooped. What time is it anyway?" Sharkmon asked. Taylor looked over at a clock on the bedside table. "It's only 3:00 in the afternoon." She said. Martin had explained to Taylor how they kept track of time here at World For Us All. It had been explained to him when he came here the first time before they set out to search for her. 3:00 in the base meant it was 3:00 back in her own universe. Specifically, the Japan in her universe. She was still mad at him though. Taylor's mind was so full of worry. She had always wanted to become a Digidestined ever since she was little, when her father would tell her stories of his adventures with Mom in the Digital World back in the mid 2000s. She wanted to go on an adventure of her own. She now realized that this was no game. While she was glad to have met Sharkmon, she wished the fate of all worlds didn't rest on her shoulders. On top of this, she was now worried about whether saving the world would mean losing Sharkmon. After all, if he becomes Harmonymon, he might be consumed in the digivolutionary process. And finally, she wanted Martin to tell her that he was in love with her, but the boy just couldn't seem to muster up the courage. Initially, Taylor didn't like him in that way, but as they spent more time together, she found herself becoming more and more fond of him. He seems to have such a gentle and caring spirit about him. Perhaps it was when he made her stop being ashamed of her human eyes and see them in a new light that she fell for him. She couldn't place the exact time she fell for him. In fact, maybe there was no point in time when it happened. Perhaps it was a slow and gradual process that culminated in realization. "Want to play?" Sharkmon asked, interrupting her thoughts. Sharkmon was lying at the foot of the bed in front of Taylor. "I don't really feel like it, Sharkmon." Taylor replied.

Sharkmon crawled up the bed until he was sitting beside Taylor's head. "Hey, are you worried about me being eaten by Harmonymon or whatever it was?" Sharkmon asked. "That's one thing, but there are others." Taylor said. Sharkmon frowned. He hated seeing his partner upset. "You know, worrying doesn't really make sense. There's only so much you can control. If you can't control it, then it will either happen or it won't happen. Like when I woke up in your world. I was alone, and I was scared it would stay that way. But then I met you and we had so much fun together!" Sharkmon said. Taylor rolled over and embraced the little gray Digimon beside her. "That's right. And you helped me find my dad's goggles." Taylor said. "You mean YOUR goggles." Sharkmon said. "Right. MY goggles." Taylor said. "And if I do get eaten by Harmonymon…I'll make sure to fight my way out! Not that I know how I can get eaten by myself if I am Harmonymon." Sharkmon said, obviously not completely grasping what it meant for his consciousness to be consumed. Taylor was smiling now. She pulled Sharkmon in and just started to cuddle him like a teddy bear. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. We'll play later, but…could we stay like this for a little while?" Taylor asked. Sharkmon was silent for a moment before responding. "Sure."

In Martin's apartment, Martin came out of the bathroom, having just taken a shower. Naturemon was lying on the couch. Naturemon was wearing the hoodie and blue jeans Martin had bought her. "It's kind of cold in here. Glad I got my hoodie." She said in a cheerful tone. Martin walked over to Naturemon. Naturemon sat up and allowed a spot for Martin to sit down. Martin sat down and looked at Naturemon. "Earlier…when you said Taylor was mad at me because she knows I'm keeping something from her. Does she….know what it is?" Martin asked. "Marty Hearty, EVERYBODY knows what you're trying to hide. You wear your heart on your sleeve." Naturemon said, pulling the hood on her head shut until you could only see her nose and mouth. Martin blushed and looked mortified. "Oh…I see." He said. But then Naturemon threw her arms around him and started nuzzling up to him. "But that's one of the many things I like about you, Marty Hearty! When WE first met, you told me you liked me. If you like Taylor, tell her. It's easy." Naturemon said. Martin frowned. "Naturemon….the way I like you and…the way I like Taylor….aren't the same." He said. Naturemon sat up and removed the hood from her head. She looked Martin in the eyes and smiled. "Well, it doesn't matter what way you like her. If you like someone, you have to tell them. Think about where we'd be if I never told you I liked you that day." She said. "Yeah, I'd have more room in bed and get less awkward stares in public." Martin said in a teasing tone. Naturemon frowned. "Hey, that's mean." She said in a sad tone. Martin smiled. "I'm only joking around." He said. He then hugged Naturemon. "Thank you, Naturemon."

Martin walked across the hall to Taylor's apartment. He knocked on the door. Taylor answered the door. Upon seeing Martin, Taylor's face fell dour. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Taylor asked, agitated. Martin was silent for a moment. "What? You want a glass of sugar? You want to borrow some ketchup or something?" Taylor asked, continuing to speak in an agitated tone. Martin continued to be silent. "I…..I…..I….." Martin said nervously, his heart was pounding in his chest. Taylor grit her teeth and growled. "You…..you….you…you want to waste my time?" Asked Taylor. Martin was clenching his fists. He just couldn't make the words come out. "I….I….I…." Martin continued. "You…you….you…should probably go." Taylor said. "Will you shut up!? It's not easy to tell a girl you're in love with her, alright!?" Martin said. A look of shock came across his face. He said it! Taylor and Martin both just stared at each other in silence for several seconds. "You….love me?" Taylor said, more surprised that he said it than that it was true. Martin was trembling. "Umm….yeah. I…do." He replied. Taylor burst out with a big grin on her face. She reached out and hugged Martin, giggling out of sheer joy. "Finally! You said it!" Martin looked confused. "Yes, I knew the whole time. I was just waiting for you to say it, and let me just alleviate your concern by saying that I reciprocate your affection." Taylor said. "You do what to my what?" Martin said, confused. "It means that I too am interested in pursuing a romantic relationship." Taylor said. Martin grinned and hugged Taylor. "Awesome! Thank you! I mean, wait, am I supposed to say thank you in this situation? I don't know. I'm just so happy!" Martin exclaimed. He was purring again and and his tail was swaying back and forth. Taylor giggled some more in Martin's embrace.

"Ah, young love." They heard a voice. Startled, they stopped embracing each other and turned to see Takato Matsuki, his Guilmon, and a brunette woman they had never seen before. They were standing several feet away from Taylor's front door on the other side of the hallway. "Mr. Matsuki!" Taylor exclaimed in surprise. Martin scowled. "Evesdropping on other peoples' conversations isn't nice you know." Martin said in a mildly irritated voice while blushing. Takato grinned nervously and rubbed the back of head. "Oh! No! I wasn't eavesdropping! It's just that you guys were being so loud and….hey, the door to my apartment is right behind me anyway. And I came home from grocery shopping and I saw you too were having a moment and I didn't want to interrupt it and-" Takato was beginning to ramble out of nervousness. He would have kept going if it weren't for the brunette woman putting his hand over his mouth. She gave them a gentle smile. "We're sorry we overheard. And forgive my husband's ramblings." Taylor put her finger over her mouth, going deep into thought. She was trying to see if she had seen this woman before or not. She couldn't remember her face. "And who might you be?" Taylor asked. "Oh! That's right! We've never been introduced. I'm Takato's wife. My name is Jeri." Said the brunette woman before removing her hand from Takato's mouth.

"Nice to meet you Jeri, I'm Taylor. Oh! Of course, you already know that."

"Seeing you and Martin like that made me happy. It reminded me of when Takato and I were your age." Jeri said.

"If you're here at World For Us All, you must be Digidestined? Do you have a Digimon partner? Where is he or she." Martin asked. Jeri went quiet for a moment and frowned. "Well….I did have one….a long time ago. His name was Leomon. He was….killed and his data was absorbed by a Beelzemon." Jeri explained. Sadness filled her voice. Even after all these years, it still affected her, though she had moved on enough to live a happy life with her childhood sweetheart. Jeri took out a yellow D-Power, the screen of which was filled with nothing but static to this day. Taylor and Martin frowned. "I'm so sorry." He said. Taylor remembered what Izzy had told her earlier; "I can tell you from my decades of experience as a digidestined that the bond with a Digimon partner cannot be broken so easily. Even if you do have to say goodbye to Sharkmon for a time, he will find his way back to you." If that was true, then where was Jeri's Leomon? Jeri's frown turned into a smile. "But don't feel sad for me. That was a long time ago. Besides, I still carry his memory in my heart." Jeri said in a more cheerful tone.

Sharkmon was listening from behind the other side of the door. "That poor woman." Sharkmon said softly in a sad tone. Jeri and Takato were carrying some small plastic bags. "We just came back from our universe. Tonight, Takato, Guilmon, and I are having orange chicken over vegetable rice. You're welcome to join us if you want." Jeri offered. Taylor didn't want to impose, so she was going to respectfully decline, but Sharkmon ran out from behind the door, hitting Taylor in the back of the legs and causing her to fall over. Sharkmon enthusiastically accepted their offer saying "Oh heck yeah! That sounds delicious!" Martin helped Taylor up and said, "Well, I guess that settles that. Let me go get Naturemon." He said, looking over in the Matsukis' direction.

Martin got Naturemon, and they all went into the Matsukis' apartment, where Jeri prepared the meal for them. They sat at the table and ate. "A little while ago, Jeri brought up the time her partner was killed." Takato said. "Yeah….that's so….sad. Why wasn't he reborn as a DigiEgg?" Taylor asked. "In my universe, Digimon have the ability to directly load the data of the ones they defeat, not unlike the Gizumon. That's just how that version of The Digital World works. Digimon can be reborn as DigiEggs if they're not absorbed, but since absorbing data makes a Digimon stronger, most victors don't let their fallen opponent's data escape. Beelzemon absorbed Leomon's data to become stronger." Takato said.

"Jeri was devastated. She sunk so low into depression that she inadvertently allowed herself to become a vessel for the D-Reaper." Guilmon added.

"As if losing Leomon weren't enough, all that stuff she went through with the D-Reaper traumatized her even more." Takato said.

"Maybe we should move onto a happier subject." Taylor suggested.

"I agree. I just want to warn you about something. In the midst of my rage towards Beelzemon, I caused WarGrowlmon to dark digivolve into Megidramon. In doing so, the Digital Hazard symbol on his body started to radiate and the fate of both worlds became endangered because of it. I just want you to know to keep your emotions in check." Takato said. Takato looked down and started poking around at his chicken with one of his chop sticks. "Mirei told me about Owarimon being a human child called Haruka. I don't want any of these childrens' anger at the injustice of it all to initiate a dark digivolution. Especially with the kind of Digimon they have. Imagine if some dark, evil version of Harmonymon were to appear. That would be disastrous!" Takato thought.

Elsewhere in the multiverse…

A group of 6 children lie on their stomachs on the ground in the midst of a city that lies in ruins. All around these 6 children were the rubble of destroyed buildings, and what buildings weren't reduced to rubble were on fire. The sounds of crying and screaming Digimon surrounded them. Near the 6 children, 3 Rookie level Digimon lay on the ground unconscious. Their bodies were badly beaten, battered, and bruised. The human children had dirt, scrapes, and cut marks all over their bodies. One of the unconscious Rookies was a Coronamon, another was a ToyAgumon, and another was a Gotsumon. The Coronamon, ToyAgumon, and Gotsumon were all badly beaten, battered, and bruised. A few feet in front of the scuffed up children and Rookie level Digimon were 7 evil looking Mega level Digimon. The 7 Mega Level Digimon are Lillithmon, Beelzemon, Leviamon, Barbamon, Daemon, Belphemon, and Lucemon. In front of these 7 were 2 mega level Digimon that were engaging them in battle; Dianamon and Examon. One of the children lying on the ground was a young boy with brown hair and a pair of goggles on his head. In his hand, he was clutching a digivice. "Examon! Don't give up! We have to beat these guys and save the Digital World!" He exclaimed. Beside him was a girl with brown hair who looked extremely similar to the goggle headed boy. She placed her hand over his and said. "Don't worry, my brother. Our Dracomons have never let us down before…and they won't this time either." She said. Lillithmon let out an evil laugh. "Well, isn't that sweet? Twin siblings with twin Digimon. The bonds between you may have allowed your Slayerdramon and Breakdramon to DNA Digivolve into Examon, but you still don't have a chance against us!" Lillithmon taunted.

Examon was a massive red dragon Digimon the size of several sky scrapers. In his arm, he wielded a massive blade almost as big as his body. Examon looked at Lillithmon and growled. "That's right. Carl and Carly have an extremely powerful bond as brother and sister. And it's that bond which will be the end of you!" Examon said. Two distinct voices could be heard speaking, one belonging to Slayerdramon, the other belonging to Breakdramon. Slayerdramon was Carl's Digimon (Carl is the goggle head of this group). Breakdramon was Carly's Digimon. Although at their default Rookie stage, both Digimon are Dracomons who hatched from the same DigiEgg, their Digivolution paths were different. Examon flew up high into the air, all the way into the exosphere. "It's time for me to unleash my most powerful attack!" Examon exclaimed. Examon then dove back down towards the ground. His body was surrounded by flames. "Dragonic Impact!" Examon yelled as he dove towards the demon lords. Lucemon (Chaos Mode) smirked arrogantly as he watched the massive dragon coming their way. He raised his hands in Examon's direction and called out his attack name; "Ultimate Sacrifice!" He produced a three dimensional magic circle as a glowing orb of evilness and holiness and confined Examon within before his attack had a chance to land. Carl's and Carly's eyes widened with shock. "I-Impossible!" Carly exclaimed. "No way!" Carl exclaimed. Lucemon was holding his palm out, but when he closed his hand into a fist, black energy shot Examon from all sides like black streaks of lightning. Carl and Carly gasped. "Examon! No!" They exclaimed in unison. Examon cried out in pain as he took the fallen angel Digimon's attack. Lucemon was grinning as the gruff roars of pain filled his ears. Dianamon lunged at Lucemon. "Let him go!" Dianamon yelled as she swung her blades at Lucemon Chaos Mode. But before she could make contact, she was blasted away by a stream of fire that shot out of Leviamon's mouth! Dianamon screamed in pain as the blast of fire sent her back several feet and caused her to de-digivolve to Lunamon! Several minutes passed, and Examon kept getting struck with the black energy bolts. Then…Examon was deleted! The sphere Lucemon created vanished and in its place were two identical DigiEggs that fell to the ground!

Carl and Carly had tears streaming down their cheeks. "Examon! EXAMOON!!!" Carly screamed. Carl slammed his fist onto the ground. "Damn it! This can't be happening!" He exclaimed. Lucemon started walking towards them. "Oh, but it is. You should have never allowed all 7 of the demon lords to be revived, young digidestined. You might have beaten any one of us individually - albeit with great difficulty - but with the 7 of us united, you didn't stand a chance." Lucemon Chaos Mode replied. When Lucemon Chaos Mode got close enough to Carl, he picked him up by the throat and choked him until he disintegrated into digital particles. Carly screamed bloody murder as her twin brother was reduced to data particles. Lucemon laughed maniacally.

Sometime later, the Seven Demon Lords were sitting on pieces of rubble, marveling at the destruction they caused. Around their feet were 7 DigiEggs. These were the Digimon partners of the children who fought against them. The children themselves were nowhere to be found. Lucemon chuckled. "Those children were fools to think they could stop us." He said. "The Digital World is ours now, and nothing will stop us from reigning." Lillithmon added. Leviamon didn't say anything, but just let out a few growls. Barbamon patted Leviamon on the snout. "Yes, yes. I know. You're hungry. We shall eat soon. A feast to celebrate our victory!" Barbamon said.

They then heard clapping. The Seven Demon Lords turned to see Morty Shin; the head of All For One World! Morty was giving them a slow applause. "Well done! Well done! I suppose in a sea of infinite universes, there's bound to be one where the Digidestined lose." Morty said. "You dare approach The Seven Demon Lords so casually!? Who do you think you are, human!?" Barbamon asked indignantly. "Easy! Easy! I come to offer you a proposition." Morty said.