Welcome Back

[Dante]

Dante was expecting to hear a lengthy speech composed of nonsense and translated by the cat in his lap. Imagine his surprise when Asuramon spoke in perfect sentences. For that reason, if no other, he was paying rapt attention when the big palooka described why they had all been called there. Perhaps the second group had been called when the first disappeared. If that was so, had another group been called when they had gone in after them?

Dante had no time for reverie, for the larger digimon was not yet done speaking. He went on to call the strange dishes a test, and described their source and the lesson they were supposed to learn. So it was true, then. They had been called to fight a war and save a world not their own, possibly doing horrible things along the way. The powers that protected the light in this world had summoned children to do what even a god could not. As Dante looked down at his now totally alert partner, he wondered about what exactly there was about the two of them that made them more formidable than a Hindu deity. Never mind that, however. The large one still wasn't done.

The food had been a test. Dante ignored some of the remainder of what was said as he pondered this. If it had been a test, who had passed? Should they or shouldn't they have eaten the Specials? Of course he had been unclear on that. He was otherwise fixated, what with filling young minds with delusions of grandeur. Save the world, huh? More like Fight A War I Can't Fight Because You're All We Have. Desperation wasn't really Dante's tonic.

If that's really why we're here, he thought to himself, resisting the urge to speak his mind, maybe I had the right idea. Forget the back. This big lug is trying to stab us all in the front. I say hang him and his stupid war. If this world really needs to be saved by children, then I'll save it my way. I don't need these losers...

As he thought that last, he was noting pointedly the exchange between the small one and his piece of crap partner.

I definitely do not need such a person if a war is really the only option...

Meanwhile, Salamon was speechless. All her questions had been answered, and it all added up to one horrific prophecy. She didn't even hear most of Asuramon's words over the message written in unspoken words: You are our angel.

No. It can't be, she thought, transfixed in horror, You're making a horrible mistake. I can't be your angel. I won't. You can't make me. Please don't make me be your angel...

[Inori]

Inori's eyes narrowed as Asuramon's speech finished, barley masking a look of utter disgust. She heard the sound of leather gloves creaking, glancing briefly towards it to see Wizardmon's hand tightening into a fist. His expression was similar to hers...only the disgust was much more plainly written on his face. In a low, unsettling calm tone, Wizardmon muttered to Inori.

"I would never allow you to sacrifice your morals for the sake of others. War may put strain on them, but to ask children to do such a thing? I cannot believe the Sovereigns would condone this. They would not have sent you to us, allowed you to become close friends with us...just so we can watch you spiral down the same path that lead our own kind fall to darkness I cannot believe...." His words trailed off, a hint of something she could only categorize as despair.

Hesitantly, Inori put a hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. She wanted to say something...anything to return him to his usual state of being...but no words came. For the moment it was enough to at least help. His expression lightened a bit, and determination flickered across his face. Clearly, he was not going to allow this to happen.

Alchemon on the other hand, very much liked where this was going. Throwing morals away was the sort of thing that lead him to be the digimon he was today! More people doing that was brilliant! Silently he thanked the Sovereigns for making his life easier and trying to force the very thing he was after onto the very people...or person he was after.

[shivdeeviant]

Yang sat in rapt attention to Asuramon's story. He giggled at odd moments when what Asuramon said reminded him of a funny memory. This war thing sounded interesting! Like a giant adventure, full of intrigue and fun! Yang couldn't wait to tell Shiv and Yin! He jumped to his... feet?... and dashed for the door without looking where he was going, and so didn't notice Wizardmon's staff. His feet stopped, but Yang's momentum carried him flying though the air.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Cried Yang as he careened into Dante's lap, unseating Salomon.

He looked up at Dante, shocked and dismayed. Seizing a brief flash of genius, the pink blob desperately tried to fool the strong boy by beginning to purr and curling into a ball.

[Atlas Jiruga]

Atlas listened as Asuramon explained the purpose of them being there. "A war endangering both worlds." Atlas said staring at the floor. Renal looked at him and wasn't sure how he would react.

"Atlas." Renal said. "I don't know what i could do about it." Atlas said looking at Renal. "I can't say it will be easy but i know we could save our worlds!" Renal said with a smile. "How am i useful? I am not a digimon. Nothing but a human. And if more digimon like Devimon are out there. There's no hope." Atlas said.

"Atlas i don't mean to put you down in the dumps more but there are more where Devimon came from. In fact there are a lot more digimon stronger then Devimon was. Even with the added power he had. Listen to what Asuramon said. We can make each other stronger. Stronger then even those powerful digimon. Also we aren't alone. Your strong already. You've proven to be a good master. Don't get discouraged and let yourself get weaker." Renal said looking at atlas.

"Your right Renal." Atlas said picking his head up. "I will try my hardest to save our worlds." Atlas said. Atlas looked at Renal and Renal was smiling. "Now that's what i want to hear!" Renal said. "We should probably get a good rest and prepare." Atlas said. Renal just nodded.

[Usachan]

Usa listened as Asuramon spoke with surprising clarity. At the point where he said he had eaten his companions, she turned slightly pale. After he had finished, she turned to Vee and Kulumon, though the latter was sleeping. "So this is what your world has been going through. Thats so sad..."

Vee had also been listening intently and he looked to Usa. "I never ventured down Yami's and my Hatching Ground until you and Teo showed up, and it was pretty isolated there, so this is the first I've heard of this. But I'm sure whatever is out there, we can face it and overcome it, just like before." He smiled at her, and she couldnt help but smile back.

She stood up, holding onto the still sleeping Kulumon. "Well, dust off your converse, time to save the world." She murmured to herself, looking at the slightly dirty high tops she wore.

[Dante]

Fortunately, Salamon wasn't so distracted that she didn't see Yang coming. She was rather distracted, but that sound was enough to jar anyone out of their reverie. She jumped out of Dante's lap just before Yang landed in it, sitting down next to her partner, but far enough away that if he took a swipe at the blob, she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

Sure enough, Dante wasn't fooled for a second. He actually allowed the thing to start purring, even if only because he hadn't decided which direction to throw him in yet. Making his decision at long last, his hand darted down, impacting the little blob hard if he wasn't as quick on the draw as Salamon had been, then Dante picked him up and hurled the blob with all his might in the direction of the door.

"Wrong human, idiot," he said, a slightly bitter tinge to his voice.

That done, he settled back in and ruminated further, stewing in the bitter brew that was the hand fate had dealt them.

Salamon crept slowly back into his lap, sensing his need for a calming influence, slightly unsure as to whether she'd receive the same treatment, even though her heart told her Dante would never do such a thing.

Dante noticed Salamon making herself comfortable and began petting her absently as he pondered the predicament they found themselves in. Salamon's purr, even coming from a body looking rather more like a puppy than a cat, was calming. Particularly given that he'd just launched a pink blob in a fit of rage across the room, a purring cat was a good thing to have happen. Just like that, he was back into his little world, deciding how best to approach this problem of impending war.

Salamon may have been purring, but content she was not. She, too, had returned to her troubles. The fact that the digital world seemed to want her as its angel wasn't about to go away simply because one little blob careened in their direction. Dante wanted to be there for her, but he didn't understand. He couldn't. He wouldn't until he needed her. The most agonizing part of the whole situation was that they had been set on a path along which her transformation into an angel was only a matter of time.

I'm not your angel, she thought bitterly to no one in particular, I'm not.

[Inori]

"Is anyone else unsettled by this or is it just me?" Inori finally stated aloud, glancing between everyone in the room, settling her gaze on Dante at the end. "I don't mean saving the world...that's unsettling in a different way. More of what we're being asked to give up..."

Wizardmon crossed his arms, looking horribly irate for a creature with half his face hidden.
"We're being offered only one solution to the problem. We can come up with others I am certain."

[shivdeeviant]

Yang flew threw the air, careening with wild abandon. For the briefest of moments, he held out his arms and flew. That moments seemed to last forever, he found his gaze drifting about the room as he passed. He payed particular attention to the girls of the group, his cheeks blushing as he saw their contours against their shirts. This was pure joy, he decided, and wished that it would never end.

And then it did.

Abruptly and painfully.

Against a wall.

Yang made a kind of squeaky toy noise as he made contact with the doorjamb and forcibly rebounded into the room like a rubber ball. Having no control over his trajectory, Yang arced high through the air, hit the ceiling with another squeak, and neatly displaced the sleeping Kulumon in Usa's arms.

And for a while, it was good.

[Atlas Jiruga]

Atlas and Renal watched as Yang flew everywhere. "A troublemaker I see." Atlas said looking at Yang. "That looks like fun." Renal said smiling. Atlas looked at Inori. "There is nothing we can do now. We might as well pick our heads up and focus on getting stronger. If we sit here and worry and fear of what the future brings, how are we going to be able to handle it?"

At this point Atlas was pretty much talking to everyone. "It's not going to be easy but if we play our cards right, no one has to get hurt. So if you want to, sit here and mope, but me on the other hand am going to get some rest." Atlas said walking away from the group. "Renal, you can hang around if you want but not to long." Atlas said. "OK." Renal said watching Atlas walk away.

[Usachan]

Kulumon woke up with a start as he was ejected out of his seat. He got tears in his eyes. "Thats my seat, kulu......" He started crying, waterfalls coming from his eyes.

Vee went over and tried to comfort him.

Usa, on the other hand, was reaching for anything sharp she could find. Finding a fork, she held it over the blobs head, a demonic aura seeming to build around her. "You have five seconds to get out of my sight." She said lowly. "1....2...."

[Teo Sage]

Yami crossed his little arms while watching the events of the room unfold he cracked a grin when the small Motimon flew by him ultimately landing in Usa's lap. Yami listened to the girls concern in the process then looked up at her.

"The only thing that matters to me is my brother, Usa and Teo's safety everything else falls second. I'll do what needs to be done to accomplish that task. I made that decision when I started this trip." Yami turned around and looked up at Teo.

Teo was happy about Yami's concern but he wished he'd open up a bit more to the other people here. Since it was no longer their original group.

"You know Yami we are all friends here we should strive to protect each other."

Yami looked around the room until his eyes fell on the bastard who had struck him looking him into the eyes he remained silent for moment before responding to Teo.

"You use the word "friend" too loosely Teo." Yami clearly had a thought or two running through his mind but kept them right where they birthed as to not start something. Not that he didn't want to because he did...its just he was afraid of Asuramon and mainly because he was still Chibimon.

Teo frowned at his partners response Yami being as secluded as he is trying to get him to trust the others may be an impossibility. Teo figured now the only way they'd get along is if he made the first move.

Teo looked at the others and tried to muster up the courage to talk but he couldn't so he remained silent.

Yami scoffed and looked away as he began to make his way towards the hall.

Meanwhile in Asuramon's chambers was a meeting between the host of the cathedral and Mikemon, his assistant.

Asuramon had just finished sending a message to another digimon when he turned to face Mikemon as his face turned blue.

"Mikemon, it is time you left the cathedral. As an ally to the chosen and as my vassal. Ever since I saved you and watched you grow I've grown attached much like a parent would I assume." He said; his face turned yellow.

"Alas the time for thee to become a sage is nigh! Like Apemon before thee thou whilst go forth and full fill thine divine calling! Aid the chosen and save our home." Asuramon turned away and reached into a sac and pulled out a holy ring.

He handed it to Mikemon "Taketh this ring. It shall't aid thee so long as you wear this; the pow'r' of the Sovereigns shall't be with thee always. It will also enable me too find thee where ever thou dost go. Take heed, surrounded by the virus I canst find you. Now that Mikemon and Tailmon possess a ring you grow in strength."

Asuramon paused his face turned to blue as he held back tears "You leave on the 'morrow. Go now and join them." Asuramon said as he turned away.

[Dante]

Dante looked directly back into Inori's eyes as she asked her question. He didn't much care about the blob he'd just tossed, so she was pretty much the only thing in the room that held his attention at all.

"I don't know about everyone else," he said finally, "But I'm not doing anything at all on Tiny's say-so. If he seriously wants me to fight his war, he's got another thing coming. If it's really so bad as he's saying, I'm taking care of it my way."

He stood, picking up Salamon as he did so.

"We two are not the angels of this world. If it needs us so badly, we'll be around."

With that, he headed for the door and walked through, shutting it behind him before noticing Shiv and Yin just on the other side. He took a second to take in their proximity before turning to the little stick-in-the-mud.

"Your brother's about to get stabbed, by the way," he said before walking past them both down the hall.

For Salamon's part, she agreed with her partner's words. They were most definitely not this world's angels. If he meant to save the digital world his own way, without becoming its angel, she was behind him all the way. To be fair, she'd be with him to the fullest extent either way, but particularly seeing as he seemed to, in his own way, understand what was bothering her.

Once they were both out of earshot and out of visual range, Dante stopped.

"I don't know what this path is that I'm taking us on, Salamon, but I know something's bothering you, and I don't want to make you dive headfirst into something you don't want."

She smiled and shook her head. The big dope. He was just making it up as he went along.

"Don't worry about it, Dante. There's no way you can understand, so just let it go. Focus on the big picture, because sovereigns know it could use the attention."

Dante nodded. Clearly they'd be revisiting this with some frequency, but he let it drop for the time being.

"Okay, then. First order of business is to find our way out of this stupid building."

[Inori]

To Atlas, she raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He started to walk away before she could contemplate a response.

Inori offered a half-hearted smile to Yami when he spoke to her. "That is fine and good, but...I would hope you wouldn't sacrifice what makes you who you are to protect them."

Wizardmon shifted his weight slightly, leaning towards his partner. As he was about to comment, a low chuckled escaped from the nearby shadows.

"Sometimes, the sacrifice is more then worth it." Alchemon mused from his hiding place. "Ask your partner. I am certain he would be more then willing to throw everything away if it meant you would be safe."

The girl and her partner exchanged glances...the latter of the two greatly relieved she couldn't tell how flustered he was from Alchemon's words. While the wizard digimon hated to admit anything the alchemist digimon might say could be correct...there was some truth to his words.

"I doubt he would go that far." Inori responded quickly then shrugged. "Irregardless...please excuse me."

With a quick wave, she made her way towards the door, likely to follow Dante. Wizardmon was quick to follow, nodding politely in farewell.

Alchemon remained hidden in the shadows, observing the others for the time being.

[shivdeeviant]

Yang gave Usa the biggest, most cutest face he could muster. Little globules of light puddled in the edges of his eyes. And then... he began to cry. Great founts of tears gushed from his face as he bawled against Usa.

"But... but Usa-nii!" He sobbed, "I thought you, of all people would be one of the niice ooones??!"

After this he redoubled his crying, burying his sobs into Usa's shirt front.

Shiv watched Dante leave, and looked into the room. Yang seemed to be up to his usual antics, though he had never seen him cry before. The others were in varying states of preparation for departure, for which he was thankful. He looked at Dante's back receding down the hall. He might have been imagining things, but it seemed as though Dante was slouching a bit. Like he carried a great weight on his shoulders and he didn't even know what the weight was. Shiv resolved to keep an eye on his large... friend? Was Dante a friend? Shiv puzzled to himself briefly. Dante had proven himself a bully and a jerk, but he had also counted on Shiv when they were in a pinch. They had fought side by side in the last couple of battles. Did that truly make them friends? Was Shiv getting soft? Was Yang beginning to rub off on him? Either way, Shiv needed to be more careful of himself in the future lest he get too close to someone and lose his objectivity. He had his record to maintain.

He smiled as warmly as he could when Inori walked out, pushing his thoughts of perfection out of his mind.

"So Dante was as conversational as always," he stated warmly, "What happened in there?"

Yin was watching Yang, he was deeply moved by his brother's plea for kindness. It broke his heart to see his brother reaching out the hand of friendship and having it rejected so thoroughly. He glared at Usa, daring her with his eyes to accept Yang's proposal of friendship.

[Atlas Jiruga]

Renal was there alone while Atlas was gone. Everyone was leaving. Then something caught Renal's attention. "*sniff sniff* I smell virus boy." Renal said with a frown looking in Alchemon's direction. "Huh? He's gone." Renal said as Alchemon went back into the shadows. "Hmm. Where does he go?" Renal said wondering. "I should probably leave him alone. Atlas wouldn't be happy if i did something stupid." Renal said getting Alchemon off of his mind.

His attention was now to Yang. "Wow i guess play time is over for him." Renal said standing there to see how things would play out. "I doubt she'll go through with it. Considering the other one is near by." Renal said talking about Yin.