I didn't have the energy to get out of bed, but my stomach was growling and demanding food, much to my utter chagrin. I really didn't feel like seeing the others just yet... Not after yesterday...

Still, the stomach ache was too much, so I had to trudge out of the room and head downstairs. I was mentally praying I wouldn't bump into any of the adult Buddyfighters OR anyone who I knew personally. That would be very difficult to deal with.

Unfortunately, when I stepped into the main room at 6.49 a.m., I could feel every eye in the room turn towards me. I felt Bokomon and Bakumon staring at me in distrust, and looked over to see them comforting a sobbing Pump, which made me flinch. Pump had been struggling too, but the real issue had been me at the time. I knew that.

It was finally Diana Jenkins, more commonly known as Dia, who spoke up, breaking the silence, "Did you... Did you really... Murder all those Digimon for... Money?"

The amount of emotional turmoil induced made me instantly regret leaving the room. I wanted nothing more than to just run and lock myself in again. Heck, Kagami and another friend, Arima Reiji, were also there, looking very mistrustful.

Wait, was everyone here? When I did a quick skim I mentally cursed upon noticing their eyebags. Dang stupid TMs for telling them right away! I had locked myself up in my room due to the overwhelming feelings, and they just spilled it out?!

... Still, it wasn't like Akira had been lying... Even if I didn't know how he had found and revived them all...

I took in a deep breath, and met their eyes as I said, "Yeah. I did kill for money. You guys act as if it's surprising."

"Lu-" Dad seemed to stop himself upon seeing the orange shirt I was wearing. "I mean, Taiyou..."

"Dad I know what I did was wrong," I said. "I know that I can't change it. But... The real question is HOW they're back. As much as I would have liked it, it feels off..."

"Maybe they were revived due to Shiramon's wish?" Jellymon pointed out. "Technically speaking, the wish wanted to save everyone who had died due to the Sin Code mess. And Pumpmon only met you because of Shiramon killing his friends."

Shiramon herself flinched, but I shook my head. "I know for sure it doesn't work like that. Even if it did.... Why wait this long? It's been years since the Sin Code Arcs. If anything they could have struck ANY time. It's just weird..."

"Team Perfectio is the real issue here," Shin Gao frowned. "I don't know about you all, but I was too shocked by the sheer accusation and I definitely acted out too much."

Shin Tasuku nodded. "I agree. Looking back, though, it feels weird that they managed to show up right on time. Was it a trap for us?"

I touched the silver bells I had found yesterday which were now in my pocket. Should I... Should I tell them? But would they believe me? After everything?...

I frowned slightly. I had to. If Team Perfectio was trouble, then miscommunication could **** us over again. And I refused to let that happen. "Hey gu-"

The door suddenly slammed open, and once again every eye turned to see an out of breath but frantic Tamada Ryubo, Hiro's aunt and Blues' adoptive mother. "Guys, open the TV NOW!!"

"Huh? But wh-" Koutarou began.

"NOW! THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD!!!" She answered.

With no time to spare, Amano Natsume sprinted for the TV remote and switched it on-

"Greetings, fellow multiverse denizens. I am Daiki Akira and this is my partner Sistermon Ciel. We apologize for the early morning intrusion, but we would like to let you know the shocking truth about a certain someone."

"What the?!" Kagami gasped while Reiji snarled, but I felt my fists tighten. Was this what he meant by a reveal video?

"DURI, WE NEED TO-"

"ON IT!" Cha Duri wasted no time at all opening up his laptop as he began searching while Kwon Semo, my dad's mentor, got his phone out to call.

In the chaos all around me, I was frozen. No no no no no...!!

"It's all over the multiverse!" Ruri gasped as she looked up from her phone. "Mahiru-san and Oswin just texted me saying that it's happening all over the place!"

"What?! How did they hijack it so easily?! The worlds just became open source recently!" Kazami Shun gasped.

"Perhaps... It was a remnant from Haavik?" Benton Dusk then spoke up, which made Ichita, Dan and Dia flinch.

It did make sense but that wasn't my main focus now. My eyes were glued to the screen, frozen, unable to move...

"I believe some of you know Akashiro Luno, Taiyou, or Eos. Depends on which one you've met him as. You may think that he's a competent detective who cares for his friends, but little did you know the real truth. Don't worry though! We of Team Perfectio are here to save you from his delusions!" He spoke up. "We shall help you realise just how much of a 'detective' he is."

No... No nonononononono!!!!!

"CLOSE THE-"

"Oh and by the way, even if you wanted to close the TV, it'll give you an electric shock. Trust me, though. You will not regret this."

"What the heck?! That's insane!" Nakajima Jane shuddered as Shin Omori Baku hugged his adoptive daughter.

"Ahh, where should I begin, though? There are so many atrocities he's committed. Oh wait, maybe I should start with how he murdered innocent Digimon! He even used his own partner, Pumpmon to gain so much money! The child only wished to get revenge for his fallen comrades, not murder people for money! Sadly, Akashiro did all that and made Pumpmon play along with his whims. Truly an evil puppet master isn't he? His delusions even led him to stab an innocent bystander! The person who would come to be his friend, although I will never get why Hoshi Mei forgave him for that."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Yuga turned to me, eyes wide.

I rubbed my shoulder, feeling the wound where she had stabbed me during the Envy arc. "It was... A long while back."

"But that's not all! No no no, he is also VERY MUCH CORRUPT!!" Akira seemed to be enjoying himself as he walked around the stage, as if the world was his oyster. "He has taken bribes, he has KILLED detectives to silence them! All for what, you may ask? Well, for money of course! For this man, nothing mattered more than money!"

I felt everyone staring at me again, and shuddered but nodded slowly.

"Oh... Oh ****..." Kagami looked sick.

"That was LONG before he met Pumpmon, so don't worry. His partner may not be clear of blood but he has the most blood, even more than Shiramon! What's the body count, again?"

Ciel smirked as she finally came into view. "Oh, the number of souls? Easy."

Her next words made me pale so hard I couldn't feel.

"Four hundred fifty nine souls were lost to this madman. Both Digimon and human alike."

.... How...? How could they be so accura-

"459?!" Ajit gasped as Calloway Storm and Wagner both turned green.

"Ah, but you may be wondering, how do I know this? Surely this madman would have killed me by now to silence me?" Akira asked. "Well, simple. I have people who managed to survive the killings!"

"T-That's impossible... I saw them turn into digibits..." I stammered.

"Would you like to take the reins here, Liollmon?" He called out, and a Liollmon nodded. "Meow! It was so scary! He had his partner go to Mega and kill me! It was so scary meow! He even chased me when I tried to escape!"

And soon out came some Digimon. A Hagurumon X Antibody, a Sethmon, a Clear Agumon and a Jazamon... They had... I had killed them all...

I knew because of the pumpkin mark on various parts of their body. They had been my victims. It was most probably a mark...

One by one, they testified. One by one, I felt the mistrust thicken the atmosphere, until Reiji stormed over and punched me without warning. "WHAT THE ABSOLUTE ****, TAIYOU?! WHAT THE **** WERE YOU THINKING?!"

I fell to the ground, holding my cheek as I said, "Reiji, I..."

"I WAS A ****ING IDIOT TO HAVE LEFT YOU ALONE!!" They screamed, tears falling down as they sobbed. "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO LET YOU GO ON ALONE!!"

And that genuinely broke my heart. "No, Reiji, I-"

"Quit it! I just... I just need some time," They said as their shoulders slumped, and Kagami gently patted them on the back.

But then, I saw someone standing there, eyes burning even angrier than expected.

".... That... THAT ABSOLUTE *****!!!"

Ruri and Aoi nearly fell out of their seats as Violet gasped, "M-Mika?!"

Her partner, OnakaZetsuboumon, had even darker eyes. "I am going to absolutely murder that ************!!! Mika!"

"I know!" She growled as she stormed out, with Ruri and Aoi going after her.

"Hold on, Mika!!" Ryubo-san, Blues and Violet went after her, and I quickly followed, Pumpmon bounding after me despite Bokomon's protests as the others followed us out too, judging by the huge din behind me.

"Mika, calm down!!" I heard Ruri plead to her girlfriend as she was trying to press down on the button that allowed easy access to the various worlds.

"Calm down?! WHAT THE **** DO YOU MEAN, calm down?!" She snarled.

"Onaka, you too. This isn't normal from you!" Kirahoshiimon said.

OnakaZetsuboumon hissed. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT INSANE ******* DID! So stay the **** out of this!"

"What do you mean?!" Angoramon asked.

But... His next words...

"THUNDERBALLMON... MY UNDERLING, HE... I HAD TO TURN HIM INTO AN UNDERLING TO SAVE HIM FROM WHAT SISTERMON CIEL HAD DONE!!" OnakaZetsuboumon screamed. "MIKA AND I MET HIM WHEN HE WAS DYING BECAUSE OF METALFANTOMON'S MARK! HE WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT!!!"

"WHAT?! But... But that Gate... I'm sure that was a Gate!!" Angoramon gasped. "We saw them run through a Gate! I thought it was... Just... A coincidence that he..."

"WELL IF THE ****ER HAD GONE THROUGH A GATE, WOULD SHE BE HERE NOW?! NOT TO MENTION... After the... Wrath arc... Thunderballmon was still affected... He... He died three months ago, and... He didn't even... Have a Digitama... Left behind..." OnakaZetsuboumon fell to all ten of his knees, tears leaking out as the former Gluttony Digimon sobbed.

"That's why we need to make that piece of **** pay," Mika said, eyes steeled over. "IF SHE HADN'T... IF SHE HADN'T BEEN SUCH A SELFISH ***! SO MANY DIGIMON WOULDN'T HAVE DIED!!"

"Wait, Mika-" Ruri reached out.

But she had opened the portal, gently scooping the caterpillar Digimon up before she rushed through.

Pumpmon and I shared a glance and nodded at each other. We had to help her out!

With that, the two of us rushed in as well and came out to Hazakura's multipurpose hall, where we saw Mika already digivolving her partner to Yokubarimon, his pig-like Mega evolution.

"Need a hand?!" I called out to her, making her turn over in shock. "Taiyou-san?!"

Her body was stiff. She was still a bit wary...

"You may not trust me but I also have a score to settle, so I'll help you out," I said. "Plus, you're Ruri's girlfriend and I haven't had the chance to drill you yet, so letting you die is out of the question."

The mistrust in her eyes faded off as she nodded, a snort escaping her lips, "Father hen. Anyway, let's go."

I quickly digivolved Pump to another of his Mega forms (a thing with our Digivices is that we can unlock multiple forms, but weirdly it's just for the five of us.), Duftmon, and the two of us headed off as I tried to narrow down where they could be. It felt like a TV station, but it was way too natural...

Maybe a park? Which park, then? That wasn't Kitamachi for sure!

Then I remembered where Lily had begun hearing the bells. Maybe... Just maybe...

"Koen Park! I think they're there!" I yelled to her.

"You heard him, Yokubarimon! Let's go teach her a lesson!" Mika looked determined.

"Yeah!!" He roared.

Thankfully the flight wasn't too long, so I could avoid bad thoughts as we flew above the park. I spotted a podium set up in the middle of it, which I brought to their attention. "I think I found them!"

Sure enough, when we landed I saw the group there. The Digimon immediately got in front of their partners, snarling at me while Akira laughed. "Well well, look who it-"

"YOKUBARIMON, GET RID OF CIEL!" Mika screamed.

"Ohh? Fighting already huh? I doubt you can, though," Akira said as he held up some sort of Digivice. It looked different from the one we have, but it glowed and-

Sistermon Ciel Evolve into...!

"Cho•Hakkaimon!"

What the ****?! What WAS that Digivice?!

"Don't even get me started." He smirked as it glowed again. Hold on wh-

Cho•Hakkaimon Evolve to...!

****!! She could reach Mega already?!

"Beel Starmon X Antibody!" She smirked as she loomed over us. "Well? How are you feeling about your chances now?"

"What the heck?! I don't think I've seen that Digivice before...!" I gasped.

It was a dark grey phone that was shaped like a star, with red and black highlights colouring the sides and various buttons on each end of the star.

"Oh, it's called the DigiLemma Digivice. The inventors of our group made it," Akira smirked. "Don't think Amanokawa Blues is the only one who can make Digivices. And to make it even better, this Digivice is stronger than even the VR Redemption Digivice!"

Dad's Digivice was made from 3 different Digivices, though! The D-Arc from his birth father, Mitsuo Yamaki, the Xros Loader from one of his adoptive dads, Akashi Tagiru, and the Appli Drive from Shinkai Haru, his other dad, and even Blues admitted it was one of the things he was proud of to date! If he's claiming that it's way stronger...

That meant that we could be ****ed... Daiki Akira only boasted of things he was sure of.

Still, I had to try! "Mika, let's go!"

"Got it!" She nodded.

"Fly Bullet: Segundo!!"

We barely dodged that as I grabbed out my taser, but my hand brushed against my gun and I shuddered. No. Not again. I couldn't-

"Taiyou!!"

Hu-

The next thing I knew, I felt hands grab my hair as the Jazamon dragged me off to the podium. I struggled to pull free, dropping the taser in the process, but he had a tight grip so I was genuinely helpless here.

Akira laughed once I was brought onto the stage. "Nice to see you again, my dearest brother."

My muscles tensed over. This was bad. This was really bad... Why couldn't I mo-

A punch to the face sent me sprawling to the floor, and I could see BeelStarmon X giving the two Digimon a hard time right before I was kicked over and over again.

"Looks like their perfect Sacrifice was pretty much a defect after all! Ha!" Akira gloated, grabbing me and throwing my body into a tree. I groaned as I got up, barely sliding into a fighting stance before I was punched again. My head was then grabbed as Akira smashed it into the tree multiple times.

Pain pain pain. It hurt so badly!!!

It didn't let up as he kicked my head, stomping on it over and over again. Through blurry vision, I saw Pumpmon and OnakaZetsuboumon on the ground as well, but Pump...

Wait, was that...?

"TAIYOU!!! LET GO OF MY FRIEND YOU UTTER *******!! " Pump ROARED, and it-

I felt my Digivice power down so quickly it became an iceberg on my wrist the exact same time Pumpmon glowed.

Pumpmon Evolve to!!

"Kekekkekeee~ Jokermon is in the house~"

What the...? A new evolution?.... And it wasn't Boltmon...

"So please, pretty please, like please, DIE! Lunatic Slash!!"

"Double Claw!" Akira commanded. My vision was slowly becoming clearer, but...

"Gaia Magicar!!" A magic circle appeared underneath her.

However, Beel Starmon X dodged it and smirked.

"What?!"

"You're finished now!!"

Suddenly, she was so close to him. Wait, NO!!!!

"DISTANCIA CERO!!"

"PUMPMON!!" I screamed as the attack sent him back flying, data bits seeping out. No no no!!! I couldn't, I... I COULDN'T LOSE MY PARTNER AGAIN-

"SHAKING PULSE!"

"PYRAMID POWER!!"

"CHAOS CRUSHER!!!"

Wait...!

"Guys!!" Mika looked surprised as well as the others arrived on Drago's back.

"Glad we made it on time," Hiro said while Chaosdramon landed with Anubimon and Plesiomon. "That was one close call-"

"We're leaving." Akira suddenly announced as he got onto BeelStarmon X, with the others joining him while somehow remaining unknown and the cameras turning off before he smiled. "We got what we wanted and more anyway."

Huh?... What did he-

"Ke... Kekkekekkekekkekekekekekkek..... HAHHAJAJJAJAJAJJAJAJJAJAHAHHA!!!" I felt shivers go down my spine as Jokermon got back up from the rubble, eyes glowing evilly. "Oh, what fun! I'm going to enjoy murdering you all!"

Why... did he sound like Haavik...?

"Chaosdramon! Hyper Mugen Cannon!" Hiro commanded quickly.

"Ah!!!" He roared and charged up his cannons.

"Ramses Blasters!" Ruri added.

"You got it!" Anubimon got his blasters out.

"P-Plesiomon Tail!"

"Understood, Darling!" Plesiomon got ready as well.

"Endless Void!" Mika commanded as OnakaZetsuboumon summoned a whirlpool to go after Perfectio. "I won't let you go!"

"ClearAgumon, Dream Missile!" one of the figures commanded.

"Ah!" the Digimon became a missile as another cloaked figure grabbed him and shot star attacks at the whirlpool.

"Then Wonder Illumina!" the first figure added.

"Understood!" The Digimon created a wall of shiny blocks and sent it crashing onto the whirlpool, destroying it in the process.

"What the!?" Mika gasped, but then both of them had to dodge a stray Lunatic Slash.

"Jokermon, please stop!" I pleaded as I struggled to get up. My injuries made me hiss in pain, but then I was supported by Himeno Ayame while Wuliang gently touched my wounds a bit and healed them.

"Thanks..." I remembered this trick had come in handy during the battle, but once he and Ichita, not to mention Winnie and Onyx, were taken out, it was easy to make us fall.

"It's okay," he said. "We need to help each other out."

Yeah, but helping me might get you killed, I thought to myself, but decided to focus. "I need to get Pumpmon back, but how...? Do you know how to undo this kind of thing, Wuliang?"

He shook his head. "Most probably someone on the SRS, but I'm clueless."

"We need to figure this out quickly if we want to get Pumpmon back," Dad agreed, holding his VR Redemption Digivice. "Remdepiamon?"

"Of course!"

"Lumosmon, Gulus, you good to go?" Hiro called out while Chaosdramon backed off to devolve to Gammamon, allowing Morpheusmon and Koutarou to join the fight.

"No doubt!" Gulus grinned.

"Can you distract him long enough for us to cleanse his heart of darkness?" Lumosmon asked.

"We could try," Dan said while grabbing a BakuCore, his clothes shifting to his Genesis form at the same time Drago did. "But Jokermon looks to be pretty strong. Where did he get this strength, even!?"

"I... I wish I knew..." I could guess that it had to do with emotion, but why would he want to protect me of all people? Why would he... see me as a friend? Even after everything?

"Let's not think of the what-ifs," Shin Tamamo said while grabbing out his Earth Armour card. "We're taking him down, if that's okay, Taiyou."

"I-It's fine. Please... s-save Pump," I pleaded quietly. I really, I really didn't want to lose my partner again...

They all shared a glance before Hiro said, "Don't sweat it, Dad. You should rest up and try to use your Digivice to help him calm down. That should help."

"Like with Ryudamon?" Ruri asked. "The Digivice was able to help us devolve him back then, right?"

"If we can do that for partners, then we wouldn't have to hurt him too badly," Hiro explained.

"How do I do that? Wasn't Ryudamon a Prototype Digimon?" I asked.

Hiro froze up at that. "You have a point there...."

"Then the good old-fashioned beatdown, huh?" Shiramon said. "Alright, Taiyou, let's do this."

I gulped a bit, but sighed. With Mei not around, Shiramon would need a Digivice to evolve, huh? I guess I could try... "Let's do this."

We gave each other a high-five and the Digivice glowed a bit; a new modification from Blues allowed syncing up this way instead of the usual punching (not FUN, as Mei claimed during the Lust arc.). Time to go all out!

The meter filled three times, and-

Shiramon Mega Evolve to!!!

"Viseramon!" Yet another of the six was here, and the four shared a glance before they all got ready to fight.

"Let's do this!" Gulus roared.

"OH!!!"

I... I couldn't help but shed a tear every time he was hit and brutalised with all those attacks until he finally devolved, weak and unconscious as the darkness left his heart.

+ SPIRITUAL DIGILEMMA +

"Hey, you good?"

"Is that a joke? Cause I'm not amused." I kept my eyes trained on the sea ahead of me as I sat on the beach. "My partner nearly died because of my mistakes. Because I had dumbly been so arrogant about everything I ended up making my loved ones suffer."

"Is there a specific cause there? I had a feeling you knew something when Akira mentioned that you were supposed to be some sort of Sacrifice and you didn't seem shocked," Shin David Bernard Jelavic, a former member of the Buddy Police Youth Division in the Present timeline and now a counselor, asked while sitting beside me.

To say I wasn't surprised would be a lie. He was a trained professional. No doubt he would have realised the symptoms.

Still, to come clean about that would open up a whole new can of worms... "My adoptive parents before Dad were just that ****ty."

He frowned slightly, but recited out of nowhere, "'Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.'"

"Huh?" I looked over at him. It seemed vaguely familiar...

"First Peter 5 verse 7, English Standard Version of the Bible," he chuckled.

I groaned at that. NO. "Okay, look, I don't know why you think that reciting that to me will help. I am not a Christian."

"I am aware. In fact, only 3-4 people in this entire group alone are, but-"

"I don't want to hear about this ****," I snapped. "Stuff like that is stupid anyway!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"I don't care, Bernard-san. What is UP with you people and pushing your beliefs onto others!?"

"We are having a conversation, and I don't recall saying that you had to follow my perspective," he pointed out, keeping calm despite how much I must have hurt him with my words alone.

It was stated so bluntly I groaned as I looked away. "Sorry... I'm just very... tired."

I had seen the looks everyone was giving me. Ranging from pity, fear, and... disgust, the reactions I had predicted would show if this ever came out were coming true. I had seen how they all reacted to Dad when he told us about his origins... I had feared that I would be hated...

"I understand. And you must be very conflicted by now," he offered.

"... Yeah," I nodded. "I'm just... I feel lost now. And... I..."

After we saved Pump, I had gotten a call from the superintendent herself to come into her office, and...

"You do realise what your actions mean, right, Taiyou?" Manami Hiryuu asked as she turned back to face me from the window.

I looked down. "Yeah... I'll probably get arrested-"

"Not quite," she said, surprising me enough to look up. "Your case was special, remember? You were accepted as a junior detective, not quite as an official detective. As a result, different rules were implemented. We were hoping that after your break you could become a full-on detective, but... now that this has been revealed... We must let you go."

A knot of fear formed. "Wait... a-are you saying that..."

She nodded. "Akashiro Taiyou, Luno, Eos, whichever name you use..."

No no no... I...

"You are hereby fired as a member of our police station. Please pack your things as soon as you can and leave. We will be questioning you in January about who bribed you, but until then, you are not to step into the station."

"I... I got kicked out of the only job I ever knew for years..." I admitted heavily, tears leaking out of my eyes as I hugged my knees. "I thought that... it would be fine but... now that all of this happened... I... I..."

He gently hugged me, letting me sob out about this stupid holiday month, this stupid holiday, about how evil fate was to do all of this before he let me go and suggested, "Perhaps you need to earn their trust again."

"B-But how?" I hiccuped. "And w-why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I care, and I want to help. It's my choice so don't even think about feeling bad," he firmly answered. "And as for your first question, why don't you take on another case?"

"H-Huh? B-But-"

"I meant on Lirurun," he said. "You could take it on like how you had yesterday with the TMs."

"T-The good that did me," I chuckled bitterly.

"I do believe that it will be worthwhile, though. God told me that this case would help you out a lot."

Eh? "But I don't hear anything?"

And he gave an enigmatic smile as he said, "God speaks in different ways. You just have to open your heart, Taiyou. Maybe He will reveal himself to you someday, but until then... All of us will support you. Well I will, and Pumpmon certainly will. It simply takes time to rebuild trust."

"I... guess you have a point," I muttered. Despite the entire mumbo jumbo about God, it did make sense. "Alright, I guess that this means that I know what I'm going to do tomorrow. Hopefully I can find a good case..."

"You can do it. I'm sure you can."

"T-Thanks," I smiled a bit. Even if he had said stuff I didn't really get nor wanted to get, it still felt nice to get that off my chest a bit.

He smiled back, and a part of me couldn't help but wonder if there was some otherworldly being smiling as well when I began to feel... warm again. The air felt bright, weirdly enough. Light, even. Like there was someone there, smiling at me.

Weird... But that was an issue for another time. I had more pressing matters now. I would solve that case for sure!

(Little did I know how much that case would change me, as Shin Bernard-san's God predicted.)

venusaura owns Diana Jenkins, Violet, Viseramon, and Onyx Jenkins.