Today sucked. Big time. Every day sucks. But today sucked the worst.

As Cyrus Black, age 15, walked into the apartment he and his family moved into just a few weeks ago, he tossed his bag to the side. His brother was still out and his parents weren't even home from work. He sighed and moved to the kitchen only to stop at the dining table. Slowly he reached down and plucked a note from a small cardboard box that sat upon the wooden table.

Dear Cyrus,

Some old man brought this to the door before I left and said you dropped it on the way to school. Be sure to thank him when you get the chance.

♥Mom

Cyrus furrowed his brow and picked the box up, not recognizing it in the least. Slowly he opened it and found a small watch that was most navy blue but was dark rust red around the screen that was currently blank and void. "Hmm..."he murmured before putting it on and examining it. He smiled and made his way towards his room, deciding it looked good on him.

Opening the pale white door to his room he stepped inside only to find himself falling through the the the floor. He screamed hoarsely as everything when black for a moment before bursting into color around him. Data swirled through the vortex of fading colors going in undetermined directions and moving with a floating thrust.

Before the young man could get a good look, however, he was thrust into darkness once more and spat into a totally different world, face first. He felt soft, prickly grass against his cheek and heard the soft twitter of birds in the sky. Slowly he got to his hands and knees and groaned, his head aching. Sitting back he opened his blue eyes and peered upon an egg with soft spots blotting its shell the color of the sky.

Gazing upon the odd egg, Cyrus prodded it lightly only to find it crack. He yelped and jumped back as the shell began to break piece by piece to reveal a tiny creature with long white fur that covered up any feet it had and and long fox-like ears with red tips. Large back eyes stared up at him adorably and a smile suddenly creased the little creatures face. "Hi!"it squeeked shyly.

Cyrus stared in shock. "Wh-what are you?"he stuttered. "I'm a digimon,"the creature said, shuffling up to him and grinning happily,"A puffmon to more exact but you can call me something else." Cyrus relaxed slightly, seeing it wasn't going to hurt him and leaned forwards, lightly prodding the creature right were its stomach should be. It giggled. "That tickles!"it said.

Cyrus smiled a bit and nodded. "Can I call you... Hang? Its a chinese name that means moon,"he murmured. The digi-whatever nodded. "Hang it is!"it chirped,"What do I call you?" "Cyrus..." "Nice ta' meet ya'!"

Cyrus let out a huff as he climbed the stairs to his and Hang's floor, the dedigivolved Kyaromon still looking depressed and worn. Everytime Cyrus looked at her he felt his lips tighten and quirk to the side in a sad sort of frown. "You did your best, Hang,"he murmured consolingly. She looked up at him with sad blue eyes and it almost looked like she was going to cry. "I still lost though, didn't I?"she said bitterly,"What's worse, I lost to a fox..."

Cryus's lips tightened once more and lightly he stroked her head, patting her soft ears. "I'm proud of how much you tried though,"he murmured giving her a small smile. To his horror Hang seemed to only grow more depressed, giving off a slight sniffle and rubbing at her eyes with her big fluffy tail.

Opening his mouth once more, Cyrus stopped before the words had even formed. He stood there, his mouth becoming a perfect O as they came to their appartment. The door was thrown wide and upon peering inside, the room appeared to have had a mini Katrina rip through it. Hang also looked wide eyed, her defeat temporaliy forgotten as both tamer and partner took in the extent of the damage.

The cushions of the couch were thrown off and were scattered on the floor and in some cases ripped open. Cyrus could see where the food in the small fridge had been drug out and eaten, the packages left to attract dust. And as he moved forwards and shut the door cautiously, he could see with slight bitterness that the intruder had messed up his bed and thrown his two plushies into the floor.

Hang was silent as the damage came to her but her ears began to twitch. "Their still in here!"she hissed, hearing snuffling. Quickly she bounded from Cyrus's arms and began to dash down the hall, not caring if she wasn't up for another battle.

"HEY!"she sqeaked at a hunched and yellow form that was searching through Cy's waste basket,"Shippo Swing!" She suddenly slammed her tail down hard on the invader and a loud yelp was heard as the digimon shot back, basket stuck on his head. "Waaaaaah!"he yelled, trying to free himself from the basket. "SHIPPO SWING!"Hang yelled again and slammed her tail into the intruder's bottom sending him sprawling.

Thumping was heard as Cyrus rushed down the short hall and burst into the room. Hang was on top of the digimon and growling, beating her tail on the basket. The digimon, however, was noticeably trying to escape, still unable to see. "Hang!"the boy said,"Hang stop it!"

He reached down and pulled the Kyaromon away from the cowering digimon and looked down at him sadly but also with wary in his eyes. Tucking his in-training digimon under his arm, he reached down and plucked the basket from the head of the yellow digimon whom he noticed had a red curly tail.

The removing of the basket revealed a nervously smiling but all too adorable face of a dog like digimon. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"he said,"I was just curious. I didn't know anybody lived here! Honest!" Cy stared wide eyed at the cowering dog and slowly pulled his D-ban up to scan the digimon. "Labramon..."he murmured before looking back at the digimon,"You're a labramon."

Red eyes brightened and he nodded over exuberantly. "Yeah yeah!"he said standing up and rubbing the buck of his furry head with a clawed yellow paw,"I am! I call myself Rufus!" A blush spread upon his cheeks as he looked at Hang. "You sure fight mighty well for an in-training digimon, ma'am,"he said.

Hang just glared at him. "And you break and enter into people's homes pretty well for a rookie,"she spat. Rufus's face fell. "I told ya' already, I didn't know anybody lived here,"he said,"Honest!" Cy looked into the water red eyes of the Labramon and smiled. "I believe him, Hang,"he said.

Hang whirled her blue eyes on him before bounding out of his arms. "CY! He's a no good home wrecker!"she said,"Look what he did to the apartment." Rufus looked at his feet and held his hands.... er.... paws clasped in front of him. "I'll help clean it up..."he said,"Just to prove that I'm not a bad guy!"

Cyrus smiled and looked to Hang. "See? He'll help us clean up,"he said. Hang snorted and eyed him suspiciously, not liking him one bit. "Fine..."she grumbled, deciding that this just decided to be one of her bad days. Rufus brightened and instantly started to work hard, moving around the room and picking up things.

With a grin, Cyrus began to do the same. Hang was the only one unpreoccupied with the cleaning, still not trusting this Rufus character. After a few moments, however, she began to sweep trash up with her tail.

The cleaning only took an hour but afterwards everyone was exhausted. Rufus looked up at Cyrus and gave a sigh. "I suppose its time for me to make my leave,"he murmured but he looked reluctant to leave. Cy seemed reluctant to let him leave. "How about you stay here a couple of nights?"he said suddenly.

"WHAT?!"Hand squeaked.

Rufus and Cy didn't seem to notice and a grin spread on Rufus' maw. "I'd love to! I'll sleep on the couch!" Hang glared at him. "No! You'll get out!"she chirped angrily. "Hang,"Cyrus said suddenly, looking stern,"He can sleep on the couch." Rufus grinned at Hang but Hang only glared and stomped off to the bedroom.

Cyrus watched her go silently before looking to Rufus and smiling apologetically. "She's had a rough day..."he said weakly,"I'll get you some blankets." The dog digimon, held up his han-paws and shook his head, flopping his red ears around. "No, no!"he said,"Allow me." He moved off and came back holding a blanket with different baby digimon littering it from Botamon to Zurumon.

With a hop, the dog digimon was on the couch and laying down and with a bat of red eyes was out like a light. Cyrus smirked and rubbed his eyes before moving off down the hall for bed himself. Crawling into bed, he flopped down, noticing that Hang was giving him the cold shoulder. She'd be over it by morning most likely.

"Open the door, nimrod."

The whisper was hushed and harsh with a caustic edge. Shrillness was ingrained in it and a certain amount of annoyance mingled there as well. A four legged form shifted, careful not to jostle its precious cargo.

"I'm trying, Hang-chan, but its hard with paws."

The second voice was apologetic and deeper but still a silent murmur. It seemed slightly submissive to the haughtier and higher pitched speaker but it was actually bipedal for the most part. Clawed paws fumbled at the door, gripping as best they could to turn the slick, silver door knob. It was with a bit more scrabbling that the form finally managed to get the door open.

"Ha! See, Hang-chan? I'm not completely useless, right?"

While it couldn't necessarily be seen, the eye roll could be felt. The large creature gave a curt grunt for an answer before lifting a paw and pushing the smaller being inside. The bipedal hound stumbled before shuffling to make way for his companion.

It was a tight squeeze through the door but managed with a little shifting of a bladed tail that caught in the moonlight. It was the telling sign of the creature's species. The Leppamon stood in the apartment, masked face sleek and grayish colored mane providing a pillow for a teen aged boy. More specifically, it was her tuckered tamer.

Hang the Leppamon quickly padded through the living room and then down the hall. Taking a right she came upon the bedroom, simplistic in design and all together familiar. It was a comfort to see and a human saying came to mind. A sight for sore eyes?

Shoving the idea away, she moved towards the bed, pausing to listen to the shuffle of her other companion's feet on the carpet.

"Need some help...?" The bedroom light was turned on to reveal the other occupant as a Labramon, red colored headphones hanging around his neck and ruby ears perked towards Hang.

She looked back at him side ways with golden eyes and a frown formed on her maw. Getting help was all well and fine but not when it came from Rufus. It meant she’d owe him something in return and that just didn't settle well with her at all. Not in the least…

But what choice did she have? Even in rookie form she wouldn't’t be able to move their tamer to his bed.

With a grunt, she nodded slowly, allowing Rufus to approach. A bit of gentle nudging and shifting on the pair’s part and their conked out tamer was upon his bed and tucked in nice and neat. Rufus completed the picture of serenity with the addition of Cyrus’s Lighdramon plushie before faithfully crawling onto the end of the bed at Cyrus’s feet. Curling up and yawning, he watched Hang manage the light switch with her paw and then nothing.

”Cyrus has grown up a lot since he met us, hasn’t he…?”

Rufus eyed the spot he was sure Hang was and listened hard for the reply. He received nothing but soft breathing from the floor and with a bit of shifting and squinting, managed to make out his crush’s form. She was snuggled upon the soft carpet closest to the bed, her Leppamon form holding true.

A smile flitted Rufus’s mug. She must have been pretty tired out too…

He shifted a bit to better stare at her, his eyes gentle, caring, and full of love. She was the true apple of his life. He'd do anything for her, even climb the Digi Mountains to get her the rarest of the rare...

Yet she didn't want anything to do with him. At this thought, a frown came to his face. Why didn't she want him? Was he not good enough? Did he smell funny or was he not handsome enough?

... Was it possible he was not strong enough?

His digicore felt like it just cracked in half and he was now slowly turning in to data from the inside out. After all that couldn't be the case. He was plenty strong!! Powerful, manly, masculine!!

Right...?

Hang-chan is already at Champion level though and don't girls like it when you're able to protect them?

That was true, wasn't it? Women loved a guy that could stick up for her and protect her and love her. How could he do that when Hang was already stronger than he? What use did she have for a male that couldn't protect her? He could love her but that was all he had to offer the fine specimen-woman, woman-of elegance and beauty that was Hang.

None, that's what. She had no use for him...

With a grunt he laid his head down and continued to stare at her wistfully as an idea formed in his head. Starting tomorrow he would become the man that Hang could fall in love with. He'd be strong and powerful and masculine. He'd get to Champion level and maybe even Perfect...

Yeah... If he got to perfect before Hang, Rufus was sure that he'd forever be in Hang's heart.

A smile came to his muzzle before he finally drifted into the realm of welcomed sleep.

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“Sir Rufus! Sir Rufus!!”

An incessant voice was in his ear, sounding strangely familiar to that of Cyrus. Wait… Cyrus? Who was Cyrus again?

“Sir Rufus!! Wake up!!”

The voice was now desperate and the Labramon slowly opened his eyes, staring groggily into a pair of large, blue orbs surrounded by a green face. A few more blinks revealed that the green face had a purple, beak-like mouth and two wiggly, ribbon-like antennae. Realization dawned on him.

Cyrus. Yes. Cyrus was his most trusted friend and a very timid Wormmon.

He smiled and sat up from his satin pillow and rubbed his eyes, too bleary to really soak in his surroundings just yet. “What issit, Cy?”he mumbled, ”What’s the rush?” Blinking one more time he looked around the room. It was large and that's the first thing that came to the drowsy Labramon. It was huge and so was this bed which for some niggling feeling felt slightly emptier...

But oh so comfortable. The spacious bed had sheets made directly from Wormmon silk and a blanket made of the softest Sheepmon wool. The mattress underneath that was filled to the brim with the downiest Angewomon wing feathers possible and if the comfortableness of the bedding wasn't enough, the simple color was. Deep red and gold, similar to Rufus's own color scheme. The bed was absolutely perfect.

Upon closer inspection, the room was also at the same impeccability. Everything the Labramon had ever wanted or needed was there, right down to the tiniest minute detail. The pull toys made of fine twine, chew toys made of the greatest material; there was even bowl decorated ornately a top a mahogany table filled with his favorite digitreats. The beam showed every tooth and he quickly hopped from his bed to grab a gummy dog bone from the bowl, flopping back into a large, squishy bean bag chair to enjoy the delicious confection.

A thump followed his and he looked over, half the bone hanging from his maw to see Cyrus scuttling towards him. The anxiety on his buggy companion's face as a familiar one and with a quick slurp, the chewy candy was gone from sight. It was pushed back to be ground up by the rather sharp molars.

After a swallow, Rufus finally asked,"Wha's wrong, my com padre?" He shifted around so that he was on his stomach, propping himself up with some difficulty on the shifty chair. His curly, red tail gave a wiggling wag and he went back to showing off his pearly whites, red eyes full of contentment.

If only Cyrus shared in his happy feelings. The Wormmon would have frowned if it possible with his fleshy beak. Instead he shook his head and inched forwards, all of his legs working him towards his friend and Prince...

"Don't you remember, Sire?"

A shake of head, magenta ears flapping around comically.

Cyrus gave a long suffering sigh before answering,"Today is the day you meet Hang-hime to discuss the allying between your two nations."

Rufus's digicore skipped a pulse and he felt his head momentarily spin. He remembered Hang. God, how could he ever forget her? She was the most... the most everything. At least to him. And he was ever eager to prove his affections to her. Quickly he was up and moving towards the door, leaving Cy behind to stare after him.

He was pleasantly surprised by the door knob, not finding one of the generic, entrance kind but the passage, lever set type. It was by far easier and he quickly pushed the door open and made his way out into the hall. He would have gotten farther, had he not run into another new comer. Or rather, the new comer's floating book.

The collision had him giving an oof as the air was forced from him before he fell back, coming to stare at the cloaked and very tall figure of a Wisemon. The regal and rather haughty looking figure wobbled a bit and while only the blue(for they were not yellow) of his eyes peered out from under the yellow hood, the dog digimon could only guess there was a look of annoyance on the demon man's face.

"Lovely to see you, Sire..."

The voice was anything but respectful and if it had any specific description it would be this: sarcastic and sardonic. The tall being folded his arms across his rather broad chest, the long, purple, spider-like hands clutching his own biceps tightly. The Wisemon seemed tightly bunched, unwilling to allow anything to contaminate him. Particularly anything that was below him.

Rufus grunted and allowed a grimace of annoyance and mistrust come across his face. He looked up to stare into the hooded face, the eyes staring out at him not a Wisemon's usually yellow but an icy, pale blue. The bore into is own warmer eyes like daggers, digging through the cornea and straight down into the inky blackness of his pupils. From there the cool, level-headed gaze seem to force itself down the optic nerve and into his brain, briefly making him feel uncomfortable. It felt like the Wisemon was reading his very thoughts...

He mentally snorted and thought of every foul and vile insult possible, blatantly stating "read this, asshole."

The feeling of intrusion disappeared and Rufus finally answered the rude words, biting back the ones he truly wanted to say. "I share the same feeling, Mädchen,"he mumbled, pushing himself to his feet. The fact that the name just magically appeared in his head went unnoticed by the Labramon, too busy keeping the scowl off his face. It was an effort that took up a lot of brain power.

"I came to retrieve you for the meeting..."

The Wisemon drawled the words with barely contained contempt and the unspoken words ".. because I'm your babysitter" hung in the air, seemingly to thicken tension that had been there from the moment Rufus ran into this Mädchen guy. Or was it a girl? Rufus didn't waste the braincells to find out because it wouldn't change how he felt towards the snot rag.

"I could have gotten there myself,"the dog digimon answered cooly. It was, of course, a lie. Even after living here after so long, he still didn't have an digital clue where he was going but he wasn't about to take assistance from this pompous being, be it male or female.

Mädchen had the nerve, the gall, to smirk. He, she, it was standing there, SMIRKING!

...

Fine. The smirk wasn't visible through the murky shadows of Mädchen's hood but Rufus could feel it. He could. The bastard was gloating because the ever wise Wisemon knew Rufus's lie and smoothly was preparing to call the Labramon's bluff. And call he-it did, so much pleasure dripping from his-its voice that Rufe was sure the thing creamed his-its cloak.

"Very well then... You don't mind leading the way then, sire. Afterall, that's the way it should be. I am but your humble advisor."

Damn him-it.

Ruby red eyes narrowed and a bit of stubborn agression welled in his chest. Fine. He would lead the way and he'd get there without assistance. Ignorant of the gleam in Mädchen's eyes on him, he started to storm forwards. He was stopped though as Cyrus quickly rolled into his path, furled up like a roly-poly. Popping free of his ball like posture, he almost seemed to smile. It was hard to tell with that fleshy purple beak though.

Ever the peace keeper the Wormmon proposed a compromise. "How about I just lead both of you?" He closed his eyes and they curled up into half moons of happiness before her suddenly curled in on himself and set to rolling. The Labramon hurriedly followed after him, unnerved that Mädchen made no noise or indication that he was following along. The dog digimon had no intention of looking back though, also unnerved by those icy blue eyes that peirced his soul.

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Had he stopped to look back then the mammalian digimon would have seen that indeed Mädchen hadn't followed and instead just stood upon his levitating book, blue eyes crinkling as an evil grin formed under his hood. The fool was under his clawed purple hand. This land would be his and it would be almost painfully easy.

Slowly he disolved into inky blackness, the coal text of his book rising up to wrap around his form in clingy tendrils. They binded together tightly, jumble in a mass of words that all spelled and meant one thing; Evil. Immoral, sinful, wicked, wrong. They all bleeded together, even going as far as to include other languages.

Malvado, male, slecht, böse, paha...

The formed a loose confinement around the virus type digimon before, without warning, they constricted and the book slammed shut, disapating through the thin air...

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Impatience was thick in the air when the two rookie digimon finally arrived on the scene and carefully Cyrus unfurled to stare with wide nervous eyes, pupils slight dilated. The object of his attention was a slinky, white-furred mink. Golden markings blazed and even brighter golden eyes glared, her pink nose wrinkled in aggitation. Her tail flicked from side to side, ringing the little bronze bell at the end of it. It would have sounded melodious if it wasn't for the heavy tension in the air.

"You took long enough..."

A flush of embarassment spread Cyrus's green face, turning it a slightly brighter green. "Sorry, Hang-hime..."he said apologetically bowing his head,"We got caught up a bit... Took a wrong turn..." He glanced back at Rufus but the Labramon wasn't paying attention. His gaze was focused completely on the ferret-like Kudamon.

His digicore gave a pulse and he swooned if only for a second. "H-Hang-hime,"he stammered, moving forwards and bowing before the Kudamon,"I apologize profusely for my tardiness. I hope it will not reflect badly on my country or me." Soft, sweet cherry eyes met hard, harsh euros one in an exchange of devotion and distaste.

The Kudamon broke the string first as a newcomer hovered into the room and a smile finally broke her tense face. A flush followed it. "Mädchen, how good to see you again,"she said, happy to see the Wisemon,"It saddens me a bit to know you haven't trained the mutt of a prince here to have the same charisma as you."

Rufe felt indignation well in him but none of it directed towards the princess. More at the Wisemon who had entered the room. A grimace of annoyance curled his maw and a vague sense of wonderment came over him. How could this disgusting virus type manage to capture the good graces of a beautiful vaccine type like Hang? It had to be a trick. It just had to be...

"I'll just be leaving then..."

The Labramon glanced back in time to catch Cyrus inching his way out of the door. Now he was affectively alone with Hang. Alone except for, perhaps, the Wisemon that caused him such ire. Looking back towards the pair, Rufus slowly took his seat across from Hang.

Now that he'd stopped to examine the room, he found it sparsely decorated. A large circular table was set in the middle with a bowl of fresh fruits in the center. Wormmon silk pillows were piled up around the large table, stitched and sewn to be as comfortable as possible and colored to be lucious and bright. The walls were deep crimson and spaced at even intervals were knightmon armor, empty but still standing at attention.

Mädchen walked around and came to stand at Rufus's side with a certain amount of reluctance. A V-mon too his place at the Kudamon's side, red eyes looking over the polished table top critically. Then, without warning, the blue saurian shot forwards and out of the corner of his eye, Rufus saw Mädchen tense, whether it be from surprise or something else entirely.

In truth the dog digimon didn't blame him. The V-mon's sudden motion had startled him to a certain degree as well.

As the tension left the pair's shoulders, they realized that the other digimon was simply wiping at a smudge that marred the perfectly reflective wooden surface. It slowly leaned back and flushed, realizing it must have accidentally startled the other two occupants in the room.

"Gomen, es war ein smudge..."

The V-mon's voice was young and timid but spoke the words very clearly and easily. Words that Rufus didn't really understand. Apparently his face showed it because the baby dinosaur's scaley white face turned an even darker shade of crimson. Obviously he had expect too much of the Labramon prince.

"I said I was sorry, it was a smudge, Herr Rufus..."

There was another word he didn't know. This time the Labramon with held his questioning looks and simply smiled. "It's fine,"he said gently,"I guess one of the servants missed the spot... I'm guessing you're Hang-hime's..."

"Trusted guard and advisor... Sir Connor. He's new to the fleet but has proven he's highly useful, not just because of his combatant skills but because he is an excellent linguist."

Hang's voice was sharp and but praising, making Connor flush to a certain degree. From what the Labramon could tell, Connor was a very modest digimon, a trait that could be appreciated to a certain degree. At least he didn't have a fat head like Mädchen. If only Rufus was as lucky as Hang...

"To business then?"

Mädchen's voice seemed eager and that in itself made Rufus a bit suspicious. He nodded and the discussion began...

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It was late by the time the debate ended and the prince was ready to collapse as he trudged to bed. The hallways seemed longer and his feet heavier. He'd be lucky if he made it to his room...

Though he could always beg Hang-hime to allow him rest at the foot of her bed...

He shook the thought from his mind, reminding himself that it was very ungentleman like to sleep in bed with woman that he wasn't married to... Though he planned to one day marry that gorgeous and wonderful Kudamon...

So lost in his thoughts about the great Hang that he didn't notice the shadowy figure approaching him from behind. Blue scales flashed in the weak torch light of the hallway as the digimon dashed forwards, a hesitant, neatly manicured hand landing on the Labramon's shoulder. The reaction was priceless.

Rufus jumped, heart bounding into his throat, and quickly spun around to come face to white face with Connor, the V-mon from earlier. He looked anxious and even a little embarassed that he'd frightened the king. Surely that resutled in having your digicore crushed to pulp?

"Ano... Lo siento... I nie znaczy scare..."

Again with the words he didn't know. What was up with this guy and his obsession with confusing poor Rufus? Instead of bothering to ask, the Labramon just went on assumption, not wanting to stand around and wait for explanation. "Its fine,"he responded, voice a little strained,"Really it is."

He paused for a moment to calm his pounding heart before continuing.

"What is it you need...?"

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The castle was very very silent. Very still. Any burglar that dared to break into such a quiet place would fail miserably. Their failure would be quite laughable. The only way they wouldn't fail was if their feet didn't touch the ground...

Which was lucky for Mädchen because his simply never did.

The Wisemon drifted through the halls, his book taking him to the place he wished to be very quickly. The large book fit surprisingly well around the items and trinkets that lined the wall. It took him to the room he was searching for. It was discovered with two digimon stationed at either side of it, one a very stern eyed Gaomon and the other an alert Gabumon. Something told the Wisemon that both could digivolve if necessary which is why he most definantly needed Nirvana for this one.

Carefully her raised his spidery, purple hand and gave it a wave, quickly casting his spell. It worked rather well, the two of them momentarily looking dazed before seemingly deciding that they had better things to do. He watched them leave their posts before making his move.

The door was unlocked and the room was rather impersonal. It was to be expected, however; it was a guest room.

Laying upon the large bed was the small slumbering from of the Kudamon, her golden eyes hidden behind delicate eye lids. Her tiny chest rose and fell in complete serenity, the only time she was probably silent. The warm sheet was pulled up to her chin and her tiny body stayed hidden from the prying eyes of Mädchen.

Mädchen smiled underneath his hood before swooping forwards and placing his hand on her sleek head...

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"What?"

Rufus blinked, completely dumbstruck. Surely what Connor was telling him wasn't true. And even if it was, what the hell was he doing wandering around looking for him? Shouldn't he be at Hang's side, fighting off evil?

The V-mon seemed to see the thought in Rufus's face and frowned. "She sent me away from her side and wouldn't listen to me,"he said lamely,"Said that Mädchen would do no such thing... But I know what I heard..."

Rufus gave a shake of his head before sighing. "Tell me what you saw again.."

"I didn't see anything... I heard it! Mädchen was talking to... to someone. I don't know who...But he said he was going to get Hang-hime's land tonight..."

The anxious look on Connor's face was enough to make Rufus Believe him. Quickly he stood and moved toward the door. "We'll have to stop him!"he said matter of factly,"We have to! Com'on!" He didn't stop to see if Connor was following him and instead moved his wary body towards Hang's room, digicore pounding and bytes of adrenaline quickly filling him up.

A left, a right, another left and then straight. Rufus had memorized the way to Hang's room, finding it more important to know that route by heart than the one to the war room. He quickly veered down the hall and felt his digicore sink...

The guards were gone and the door was open. Rushing forwards he found Mädchen bent over Hang's prone form, hand resting on her slender cranium. The part of the scene that ripped his heart to bits though was the almost blank look that flashed in the mink like digimon's eyes before it turned to complete adoration... Directed to him.

It hurt so bad he thought he might vomit. The pain didn't linger long though. It was quickly turned to rage that was completely directed at the Wisemon. Said Wisemon seemed to be radiating smugness, blue eyes sparkling. They clearly said,"I won."

Lips suddenly curled in a vicious snarl. No! He had not won! He had cheated. Mädchen had cheated! He didn't work for it, didn't fawn over her everyday. Instead he hypnotized her, drug her down, down, down, deep under a spell that made her feel affection for him.

Rufus would not allow that.

The fur on his neck rose and his body tensed as a long, low growl ripped through his chest. Suddenly, his mouth opened a high pitched bark instantly escaped, the sound wave distorting the air and ripping towards Mädchen. If only it would hit.

No. It wouldn't. The cloaked digimon side stepped it easily, watching as the attack crashed into the opposite wall and crumbled it. He quickly began up his Pandora Dialogue, positively grinning under his mask.

"You lost, Rufus! You lost, to me! She'll announce to the world tomorrow that we will be getting married. That she'll pass full ownership of her land to me. And you'll be left to weep your pathetic life away!"

And it was there. In Rufus's mind. It was all there and he could see it, see Hang signing away her life to a mon that only wanted her for power. And she was happy, too far gone to realize that he was using her, tricking her, taking her away fromt he one mon that loved her. The picture changed and suddenly she was there, completely miserable, her vibrant fur turned murky grey and her golden markings rusted red. Her once bright yellow eyes were wilted, almos dead and she stared sadly at her decayed contry side...

He didn't realize he was crying until he fell to the floor. How... how could anyone do that to Hang? To his gorgeous Kudamon?

"Don't give up!"

Connor's voice broke through his moment of despair. "Come on, Herr Rufus!"he yelled again,"That future isn't set in stone. Nothing is ever set in stone! Get up! Fight!" The V-mon suddenly charged forwards, head down and powerful legs working to make him go faster and faster. The V-mon Head was aimed directly at the Wisemon but would never make contact.

The Wisemon, again, slipped to the side. Connor was unable to stop now, however, and met what was left of the wall. Stars popped into his eyes before warm blackness gripped him. He was out like a light, leaving on his words and the two vastly different power leveled digimon to do battle...

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Rufus stumbled to his hind legs, furry cheeks still wet and eyes still bloodshot. Connor was right... Things were not set in stone. He had to save Hang-hime at all costs...!

He growled, curling his lips back to show off sharp canines before firing off another Retrieve Bark and this time was rewarded with a hit. Mädchen grunted, the blow easily ignored. It wasn't a hard hitting attack and definantly nothing that he couldn't hand. He raised his hand once more, preparing to use Pandora's Dialogue once more.

Rufus snarled, fur bristling but their was a grin mixed in with all the aggressive posturing. Power and courage was rising in him instead of despair and sadness. Mädchen's attack wasn't going to work this time because he knew, knew that he would never let that future come to pass. Not ever! He'd always be there to protect Hang-hime and this bastard couldn't stop him...

And that was it.

Suddenly his whole body glowed with a bright light and a rush of feeling hit him, all of power, courage, and, most of all, confidence. He would not lose. Not to this digimon. The light completely swallowed him whole and he felt his data reshaping around his pulsating digicore. Everything suddenly settled and the light disperse, fluttering out like fireflies to every corner of the room.

Standing there, red eyed, and snarling, was a Dobermon. Bold as brass and ready to destroy what his instincts said was the enemy. Before Mädchen could really comprehend what had just happened, the large, powerful jaws of the now transformed Rufus opened wised and let lose an ear peircing roar. It echoed around the demolished room and seemed to put a shunt between the wisemon and his power. He couldn't get any of his attacks to work.

Which Rufus took full advantage of.

The sharp jaws clacked shut, sharp teeth clattering against each other. Purple light shined from between the tiny gaps in the fangs before the jaws opened again and let lose a deep black laser. It barreled at Mädchen and struck him hard in the chest, burrowing deeper and deeper.

The Demon Man wheezed, before coughed as it finally hit his digicore, effectively shattering it. Screaming as his body distintegrated into data particles, he secretly uttered a curse upon Rufus...

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Hang groaned as she came to, opening her golden eyes to stare into red ones. Instantly she jumped up and squeaked loudly. She was placated by a gentle blue hand on her shoulder, however, and looking over she saw Connor smiling.

"Hang-hime! You're ok!"

She stared at him before looking back at the red eyes to find that they belonged to a Dobermon. He stared sweetly at her, smile pulling at his lips and stubby tail wagging so hard that his whole body was shaking. Carefully he moved fowards and licked the Kudamon's cheek, making a high pitched chirpy noise.

The goofy antics were enough to tell her who it was. "Rufus... What happened?"she asked softly, bringing a paw up to her head and massaging it. She had a major headache coming on and upon glancing around the room she wondered how she got such a pain. Not only that but what had happened here. The room was completely trashed...

"Hang-hime! Herr Rufus saved you from Mädchen."

She glanced at Connor, not completely understanding at first. Then she remembered the V-mon's warning and comprehension dawned on her. A feeling of utter gratitude came upon her and she smiled, leaning forwards.

"Oh Rufus... You sweet, loveable hunk-"

"AH!!!!!!!!!!"

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Quite suddenly Rufus found himself on the floor and not sure how he got there in the first. place. His large red eyes blinked once and then twice before his still drowsy mind registered screaming. Cyrus's screaming to be exactly. Hurriedly he stumbled to stand up on his hind legs. That was a bust, however.

As soon as he was up on his haunches he was on his back, the wind knocked out of him by a sudden loss of balance. It was also then that he realized that his paws were not yellow but a rusty brown color and had very long, black claws on them. A moment of confusion then the solution presented itself in the form of memory.

The dream... he'd digivolved in the dream... Did that mean that he'd also digivolved in real life too?

Hurriedly he rolled over and came face to face with Hang's masked face, the fox mask seeming calm and placid but the snarls emerging from underneath it said otherwise. Oh shit.

"H-Hang-chan! Hold up, hold up! It's me! Rufus! Honest!!"

He stumbled over his words, hurriedly trying to avoid being seen as the enemy here. The newly digivolved Dobermon held up a clawed paw and swallowed thickly, trying to think of a way to prove that he truly was who he said he was. "H-Hang-chan! Yesterday! We met that Zack guy!"He yelped out,"And Cyrus turned into a Flawizarmon!"

The growling stopped and Hang stepped aside as Cyrus approached. Rufus's stubby tail instantly began wiggling and he shoved his nose forwards to lap at the boy'ss face. This seemed to prove it for his tamer smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the head.

"Sorry, Rufus, for shoving you off the bed... It just kinda surprised me..."

The Dobermon smiled again, lips stretching his muzzle as he stood up. "Its no problem, Cyrus,"he said, before grinning,"How about we go out and test this new form, huh?" The nod was all that was needed before the group was out the door.

((Tada? *shrugs* Its complete and if half way through it seems rushed its because I was sorta rushing to get it done... Any unrealisticness can be penned to the fact that yes. Most of it consisted of a dream sequence and dreams are allowed to be unrealistic.))

The trip back was spent in a tense quiet between the two groups. Rufus hadn’t been in much of a talking mood and Hang continued to sleep blissfully unaware in his arms. They’d gone by train since the Labramon had seemed averse to flying. Not only that but the sway of the trailmon on tracks was soothing for the tumultuous Digimon. The entire trip he spent leaned against the window, staring numbly out.

It was admittedly, better than the alternative; a sickening interrogation and mantra of what he could do now and what a moron he was. Perhaps that’s why he chose to simply stop thinking all together.

They arrived back in the Digital City amazingly about the time the sun was preparing to set, casting the city and its remaining wandering denizens into twilight. Rufus didn’t take much time to admire how the sun made the buildings turn inky black and the sky a vivacious smattering of orange and red. Instead, he moved quickly through the darkening city, wanting to get home as quickly as possible. He kept a slow enough pace for Zack and his motley crew to follow if he liked but for the most part he was intent on getting him.

If he got home soon enough, he could curl up in the blankets and sleep the day off; by the next morning, he and Hang would be prepared to go after the conniving bitch and that twitterhead to take back what was theirs. This was his plan at least.

The apartments were quiet and Rufus climbed the steps to their floor. He lead them down the corridor and came to a stop at the third door. He had to shift Hang slightly to have a free hand but he still struggled a moment with the knob. He and Cyrus had never gotten the chance to put in the easier handle…

His heart constricted painfully at the thought and he shunned it away, instead focusing on finally getting the damndable door open. “Help yourselves,”he said softly. “You’re welcome to stay; you’re welcome to leave.” He entered slowly, trying to ignore how chilly the apartment felt without Cyrus there with them.

Zack climbed up the stairs, noting that although it was the same building as his home unit, it was a higher floor. Aura was snoozing on his head, and Glacier was resting on Orion's shoulders. Dorugamon once again. If anything, he seemed to be shadowing Zack more closely than usual, perhaps determined to avoid a similar fate to the one Cyrus had suffered.

"Thanks," Zack said quietly to Rufus, following the Labramon inside. "We're here," he nudged the Tsukaimon's side lightly.

Still in a doze, Aura pawed lightly at Zack's hand before yawning and stretching her wings. Sitting up, she tousled the hair beneath her and looked around.

"So this is their apartment, huh?" she said softly. She too felt that the apartment was missing something, even though she hadn't been here before. "How's Hang doing, Rufus?"

Orion, carrying Glacier, was last inside, and to Zack's mild surprise, nudged the door shut with his tail. His nostrils puffed as he smelled the unfamiliar air of the place, and his orange eyes swept through the dimly-lit interior.

Zack looked around the apartment, but under the circumstances, he found himself at a loss of what to say to Cyrus. That... seemed more Aura's department.

Glacier rolled upright, stretching and yawning. Her body still felt heavy and sluggish, but the, no pun intended, catnap had helped re-energize her. "Man," she said, her tail undulating. "What is it with us today and Lilithmon..."

"We ran into another one before," Aura explained, for Rufus's benefit. "She poisoned Glacier to buy herself time to get away, that's why she's been sick."

"Hang is fine,"Rufus said softly, lowering the Kyaromon to the couch. He took great care in tucking her tail around her tiny form and gently stroking her soft ears before turning to the group. He listened to Aura's story about Glacier and nodded.

"Lilithmon just aren't very friendly Digimon, it seems,"he said, subconsciously clenching his fist. Anger burned at him at just the thought of the bitch that had taken away his tamer. He kept it all contained though; he'd exploded once today. Once was enough. The more the rage built up, the more he'd have to use against Lilithmon later, anyway.

"Are you guys hungry?"he asked, looking for a distraction. "We never really got to eat... There's probably some food in the kitchen. I'll go look." Quickly, the Labramon made his escape, wanting to be out of the stifling and awkward situation; getting refreshments for his guests took his mind off how abnormal the apartment was. If Cyrus was here, after all, Rufus would be bringing food and drinks out to the guests.

He stepped into the kitchen, his toe nails the only nose on the linoleum floor. His red eyes scanned the area before he moved toward the fridge, starting to pull out a variety of snacks and food.

On the couch, Hang slumbered but she was slowly beginning to stir, coming to full wakefulness. It was a sluggish process and she fought sleep every step of the way but soon blue eyes were cracking open muzzily to the sight of a tall human-like figure. Her heart jumped as she remembered the days events and she sat up quickly trying to bring the human into focus.

He had blonde hair but she found her voice wavering a soft,"Cyrus?" despite this. It was better than the other thoughts swirling in her head; if this person wasn't her tamer, then he was truly in that witch's clutches...

She blinked once, then twice, before everything swam into focus and she was assaulted not by the site of Cyrus's smiling, round face, but by Zack's sullen one. Her heart broke and she looked around quickly, noticing that they were indeed back home... but Cyrus was no where to be seen.

"Cyrus?"she tried again, feeling dizzy. "Where is he?" Her voice was a trembly whisper; she didn't have the strength to go above that volume level. Tears were filling her eyes.

The conflicted, awkward expression on Zack's face was enough to confirm Hang's worst fears. His face became almost masklike, for what could he say to a Digimon that had just lost her tamer? Though Cyrus was still alive last they'd seen him, that would be minuscule comfort. He knew what it was like to lose someone...

Aura took wing, and fluttered down on the armrest near Hang. "Hang," the Tsukaimon said softly. "Lilithmon took him. By the time," her voice shook. "By the time we fought off the others, she was gone... I'm sorry."

"We came here with Rufus," Zack added, leaning against the wall near the entryway. He didn't want to leave the two of them alone right now, but he felt like an intruder upon private grief... Not that it's entirely private... damn it. He's in real trouble, wherever he is.

"Lexi, Spyro, Tikal, and, what's his name," Aura went on, knowing her words would be small comfort, if any. "Riku made it out okay, and the other two demons are never going to hurt anyone again, but we don't know where the bitch got to." She sniffled and crawled down onto the sofa cushions, and pulled Hang into a hug. She knew, she knew how upset she'd be in Hang's shoes right now. All they could do right now was try to ease that pain.

The news hit Hang harder than any attack in battle ever had. It was amazing how simple words made her world suddenly seem skewed. She felt sick and she quickly pushed away from Aura, her hug the last thing she needed. She needed to get out of here; she needed to get Cyrus back.

"Which way did she go?"she asked sharply, trying to suck back her tears. "I have to go get him; I can't just leave him there! He needs me!" She quickly rushed to get away from them but a strong paw caught her tail and dragged her back. The voice that spoke startled her, the gruffness foreign to her ears.

"Hang, we can't do anything today,"Rufus said sharply. "We have to wait."

Hang was suddenly taunt and vibrating, her eyes now a well of sprung tears. "What do mean?"she hissed sharply, voice tattered around the edges. "We can't wait. We have to go get him... We have to!" Her voice cracked and she let out a soft cry, her fur matting from the tears.

Rufus winced and looked away, letting her go. He didn't know how to handle this; he was supposed to though. He was supposed to be stronger than Hang and be her backbone... but right now all he could do is recoil and feel his heart break because his own backbone was gone...

Cyrus was gone and sometimes it seemed like he was the only glue holding them together...

A light lit the room and Hang returned to her child form. Her tiny paws moved to her now thin, long white face and she wept, curling her tail around her haunches. She wanted to be anywhere but this apartment with Cyrus's things all around her and his smell in her face.

Rufus sighed and rubbed his neck, eyes cast away. He then looked toward Aura, a pleadingly look in his eyes. He couldn't deal with Hang's grief right now; he had too much of his own. Besides, he didn't deserve to tell her everything was going to be alright. Not after he'd let Lucemon weasel in under his defenses so easily and wreak havoc...

"I'll get use some drinks..."he said softly before going back in the kitchen, wanting to get away from Hang and her emotions. He didn't want to deal with any emotions right now.

As Zack settled himself in an armchair to the side, Orion continued to lurk close to him. The Dorugamon's nose stilled, and he seemed to decide the place was safe enough. Then he leaned against the chair Zack occupied, his tail curling around the other side. The soft, fuzzy white tip brushed across Zack's forearm, and despite himself, the tamer found a slight smile cracking onto his stony features.

Glacier leapt lightly down from Orion's shoulders, aiming for the armrest. The cat did indeed land on her feet, but promptly wavered and nearly went sliding off the armrest. Hunkering down, the Tailmon gave an irritated grunt and wondered what Rufus might be able to scrounge up for them.

Aura had nodded to Rufus, and fluttered down to land beside Hang. "Hang," she said softly. "I know it's hard. I know what it's like to lose someone close to you. To feel helpless and lost." She nibbled her lip, weighing her next words. She knew that if anyone here was going to help Hang, it would be her. Zack was too aloof, Glacier too crabby, Rufus grappling with the same pain himself, and Orion would have to start talking period first. "And wonder how you're supposed to go on. Cyrus is still out there, and he's going to need your help, but you're not in any shape to give it right now."

Rufus sucked in a deep breath and moved mechanically around the kitchen. He was more or less using this as a way to numb his mind to the thoughts that were raging inside him. He felt dizzy with illness, his heart feeling holey and his brain like mush. Too much had happened today and it had rubbed his nerves raw. Now he just wanted to shut down.

He went through the motions of making sandwiches with whatever lunch meat they had. He also worked to grab glasses of water. All of it was carefully balanced on a pair of the largest plates, along with a variety of condiments for the sandwiches. In the living room, he could still hear Hang sobbing and he clamped down on the rising emotions, steeling his heart and face into that of blankness.

He gathered up the things and carried them in, a plate each paw and one resting in the crook of his elbow. Each one was slid onto the coffee table and he stood awkwardly by said table, listening to Aura talk. She was right; they couldn't do anything for Cyrus today... they didn't even know where Cyrus was...

What kind of Digimon didn't know where their human was?

Hang shook her head and rubbed at her golden eyes with her tiny paws. She knew it was foolhardy of her to rush off now; she was still worn out from the battle and had yet to even pull herself together. But still... the longer they waited the more danger Cyrus would be in...

"What if he's not still out there?"she whispered softly and Rufus stiffened, maw tightening. "What if... what if she... Humans are so fragile..." She felt ill and couldn't get the rest of her words out. What would they do if Cyrus wasn't useful to Lilithmon's ploy? What if... what if she did dispose of him?

What would be the point of she and Rufus if he was gone? To wander the Digital World endlessly, clinging desperately to false hope until they were slowly driven mad? Or were they simply meant to grieve like parents who had lost a son? No, not even that... like a person who had lost part of their souls.

"We have to find him as quickly as possible,"she croaked, voice cracking.

"Humans are tougher than you might think," Aura said softly. "All the things I've seen Zackie bounce back from, physically and mentally. I believe you guys can do it, once you're back on your feet." She swallowed, expecting a negative even as she asked her next question. "Are you hungry? Looks like Rufus made sandwiches."

Glacier glanced at Zack. "Hey, you mind?" she asked quietly, pointing to the pile of sandwiches with a claw. "Please? None of us got the chance to eat, I think it'll help fire me back up."

Putting his long body back into motion, Zack retrieved a glass of water for himself, and a sandwich for Glacier. The Tailmon pawed briefly at the sandwich, as though expecting it to squirm like a little mouse. Instead, it flopped limply and left a few crumbs on the armrest. She dug in without further delay.

Though he still seemed emotionally subdued, Zack's mind was, as it often was, working in overdrive. He's probably alive. They went to an awful lot of trouble trying to catch us unharmed. That plan got spannered, but one demon lord got one tamer.

Hang was the furthest thing from hungry but as she opened her mouth to say so, Rufus chose that moment to interject, a smile smile on his face. "You should eat, Hang,"he said soothingly. "It won't hurt. Besides, you need to get fired up too." She gave him a sharp glare with swollen puffy eyes but he wasn't cowed.

They couldn't spend all their time wallowing in pity; Zack and his partners couldn't stay with them until they grew a new spine. They needed to get stronger on their own and they needed to get ready to save Cyrus on their own. They needed to move on.

"Com'on, Hang,"he continued. "We can't do anything on empty stomachs." He reached over and took a sandwich, taking a bite just to prove it to her. She continued to glare, but bitterly dragged a quarter of a sandwich to her. In a way, just seeing that there was a quarter cut sandwich softened how she felt about the whole situation and about Rufus.

He was grieving too but had taken the time to make a sandwich that was easy to eat just for her. Lightly Hang bit into it and tried to ignore how the food tasted like ash. "Which way did she take Cyrus?"she asked again, this time slightly calmer.

They'd have to go back to the swamp to search for clues... it wasn't a venture she was necessarily looking forward to...

Aura flashed Rufus a smile for his aid, and briefly fluttered off to grab a bite to eat herself. She nibbled lightly on it as she returned to Hang's side, her own normally perky demeanor somewhat suppressed by the gloom of the situation. But they have to believe it's still possible to rescue him.

Zack sipped his water and mulled over Hang's question. He stepped back into those memories, while trying to distance himself from the awful reality of what had happened. It was a time for objective analysis, to pick up some detail that could help the separated duo. A very casual look at him might have lead one to think he was ignoring the question, but his eyes moved about as though he saw something beyond his current surroundings, and his expression was one of concentration.

It was actually Glacier who piped up first. "I think she flew off," said the Tailmon, licking her whiskers of the stray bits of tuna from her sandwich. "And Lucemon went with her."

Zack took another sip of water, and then called up a map screen on his d-ban. His green eyes roved over the surrounding landscape, taking in landmarks and adding that data to his recollections. His finger traced a line, and he nodded. "Before she got out of range, she was heading northwest I think... that would've lead her deeper into the swamp, but beyond that, there's a corner of the forest, mountains, even a river that eventually flows out into the ocean."

"That's a lot of ground to cover..." Aura said softly, her wings wilting even as Zack didn't go on.

And that, he thought Isn't even the worst of it. She could have easily switched directions, or any number of other things to throw off pursuit. I can think of any number of tricks, were I in her shoes... He disliked his own pessimistic train of thought, and was certainly going to keep it to himself. He didn't want to have to burden the others, not when Aura was doing her best to cheer them all up.

"Maybe someone will have seen him," Aura said hopefully. "There can't be too many Lilithmon kidnapping tamers from the swamp..."

Hangs mouth thinned and she bit back bile. Lucemon being in on it made sense with crystal clarity. Her own epiphany struck with rich bitterness; they had been betrayed. She grimaced and turned hard eyes to the rest in the room.

"It is indeed a lot of ground but once we are able to, Rufus and I shall fan out,"she said with surety. "She will not be allowed to keep our tamer."

A ghost of a smile lit Rufus's muzzle and he nodded in agreement. "Indeed,"he said. "We'll stop at nothing to get him back." The smile turned into a grin, though it didn't meet his eyes. He was still feeling the affects of his guilt at having allowed Cyrus to be swept away. He wished he could hide it away as well as Hang had; all he could see in her expressing was cooled determination and boiling rage.

If he were to look closer, he would catch the sadness, the despair, and the deep seated remorse. Hang's mouth was a thin hard line and her tiny fists were curled tight at her sides. Perhaps if she was convincing enough, she could get them to leave. Shaking off Rufus would be easy; it was just getting rid of these others that would prove most distressing.

The longer we wait, the more ground that bitch covers. Even now, we don't know if she's half way around the Digital World.

"If you need to get home,"she said, trailing off. She didn't want to seem rude but she did want them gone.

"That's the spirit, guys," Aura said gently, taking another bite of sandwich. "You'll get him back, I know you will." She was still a bit worried about the pair doing something rash in the wake of such betrayal and loss, but the efforts of Zack's group seemed to be helping things.

"And kick Lilithmon's ass so hard she coughs up shit," Glacier added, displaying her usual coarse tongue and manner.

Aura coughed lightly into a tiny paw. "And once you do, how about we all meet up at the tavern here in town for some grub?"

"Maybe we'll actually get an uninterrupted meal this time," Glacier said dryly.

Zack wasn't pleased with going to such a crowded place, but his concerns were greater at the moment. He turned his gaze toward Hang, looking as though he was trying to pick something out, yet trying to avoid her catching him staring.

"Home for us is about two floors down in this same building," Zack commented casually.

Hang couldn't have looked more tightly around if she tried at this point, and she'd been hit hard in the last battle. Rufus was somewhat better off, but neither was yet in any shape to make the very understandable charge out the door to start the search.

Aura seemed to echo Zack's concern, particularly with the polite but nonetheless present attempt by Hang to get them out of the apartment. Though she could empathize with their loss, she still felt like an intruder upon private grief even if the pair needed someone to keep them from getting reckless. A pair of reformatted Digitamas arriving at Primary Village wouldn't do Cyrus any good. But they had just been betrayed... it would be understandable that they'd want to be alone, each with the one they could be sure would still have their back.

"They'll be okay, Zackie," Aura said softly. "And it's like you said... if they do need us, it's not far from here." Finishing her sandwich slice, she fluttered into the air. "We should go."

"Yes... We'll come get you if we need you,"Hang said softly. She looked away, toward the meager meal they'd provided them and felt a pang; Cyrus had been talking the day before about going grocery shopping. Perhaps he had been right... Once they were reunited, they'd have to make a big meal for everyone.

A thin smile curled her face, the expression fragile and brittle in the face of the on coming impossible situation that they'd fell into. What were they going to do?

Fight.

The word echoed in her mind and she felt her resolve bolster. As soon as they were gone and she could get away from Rufus, she was off. This couldn't wait for her to get stronger again. Cyrus's life was in danger and she was the only one who could do anything to help him. This was, partially, she and Rufus's fault anyway. They should have been more vigilant; they should have been stronger.

Rufus, oblivious to Hang's newly decided choice of action, only assisted her new plan. "I'll walk you down to your apartment if you like... I'll even bag up the food for you,"he offered. He moved toward the kitchen before reappearing with a plastic bag. Away went the left over sandwhiches. He then turned toward the group and smiled, though it didn't meet his eyes.

"Thank you for being here for us... and bringing us home,"he said. "If we ever need assistance, we know where we can turn to..."

Glacier watched Hang, noticing the despair and grim resolve in the battered Digimon's face. The Tailmon's own expression faltered somewhat as the realization hit her that she'd been there once... her eyes dropped to the floor. She'd been separated from Zack, knowing he was in danger, but alone, and feeling too weak to help, even as every fiber of her being screamed at her to do something.

Glacier's purple-tufted ears wilted, but she shook it off with a happier thought. It hadn't been in the way she'd imagined it, but she had eventually hooked up with him again. "I'm sure you'll find him," she said, more softly than usual. "I went through the same thing once. Goodbye."

Taking the direction of the conversation as a sign it was time to go, the Tailmon leapt lightly down and headed for the door.

"I understand you want to do this yourselves," Aura said. Though she'd never really known what it was like to be separated from Zack like that, she still knew what it was like to feel helpless. "Just... please be careful," She smiled broadly, warmly, the kind of smile it was hard not to return. The Tsukaimon drifted across the room, buzzing low around Rufus, playfully waiting for the canine to get moving.

Zack stood, glancing at his ever-unspeaking guardian that was Orion. He faintly wondered what the great Dorugamon's reaction would be were they ever separated like that, given his at times exclusive focus to protecting Zack.

Repressing a sigh, he decided it best not to think about things like that right now. He glanced at Hang, clearly wanting to say something, but unsure what, and so turned.

Their kind words were a vague comfort and Rufus did smile. He almost laughed as Aura buzzed low around him before moving toward the door. His eyes drifted back to Hang though as he reached the door. "When I get back, we'll get some rest... we can start searching tomorrow,"he said softly, trying to be soothing.

She didn't even look at him and instead clenched her tiny paws. He sighed and opened the door, leading the troop of fellow Digimon out. This left Hang standing awkwardly with Zack and his constant companion in total silence. She looked at him, watching his posture with some amount of curiosity and perhaps it was animal instinct; it felt like there was something else in his head.

"I've... I've never been away from Cyrus,"she said. "I was born and there he was... big blue eyes and sweet face... and he became my world..." More tears filled her eyes and she brought a paw up to her mouth to stifle any noise.

"I don't know what I'll do with out him,"she said hoarsely.

Hang's words... were ones Zack could have spoken. About One. The cyborg had been his constant companion, by Zack's side even through his amnesia, and so, so much more before that fateful day. After One had died, Zack had felt lost, even with Aura still with him. Things had looked bad then, and there hadn't even been the hope that One had survived. It was just a struggle to survive themselves, with bounty hunters and a certain ruthless dark tamer after his hide.

But the return of a partner he didn't know he had and a fierce guardian from the future had helped snap him back. "I know what it's like to lose someone," Zack said softly, still facing away for a moment. "And what it's like to feel helpless... I've been there."

He turned toward Hang. "Aura... wasn't my first partner. His name was One... a Commandramon. A very good friend of mine. Till her. She's something close to human, goes by the name Insomnia. She attempted to have me killed in cold blood several weeks ago. One died stopping that assassin, and I've had to watch my back ever since. It's been hard... on Aura, too. We've tangled with bounty hunters, and Insomnia has also recruited another tamer I knew for the sole purpose of hunting us down."

"Cyrus is still alive, somewhere. You still have a chance to save him," And that's more than I had. he thought to himself. Maybe Hang would get his point. He swallowed thickly, feeling the powerful stir of the emotions spawned by the events he relayed. Fear, despair, a thirst for revenge, determination. It was a heavy burden, and he was starting to think that even if it all ended today, he would carry it in some form for the rest of his life. Some scars lasted forever.

Hang's mouth thinned and she absorbed Zack's words slowly before nodding. "Yeah..."she said softly. "I know... Thank you." She brought a balled paw up to her eye and rubbed away the stray tears. Then she turned her gaze to Zack and sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry... about One,"she said softly. "And... well... for not trusting you."

She snuffled. "And I'm sorry... but I'd like you to leave,"she continued. "I'm very tired... Its been a very long day..." Despite her words, Hang gave him the first, weak, watery smile. It felt like the first one in years she'd had.

"I am grateful that you brought us home... and I know that if we need to, we can call on you for help again... we extend the same to you."

She slowly scurried forward and came to stand before Zack. Comparatively, she was tiny compared to the six foot tall, lanky male. But she was easily just as strong. She hesitated for just a moment before scrambling up his pants leg and up to his shoulder. Gripping the cloth of his shirt in her hind paws and one of her free front paws, she thrust the right paw down, aiming for a handshake.

"We're allies,"she said with a nod. "Also, climbing you takes a lot more out of me than climbing Cyrus..."

Hang crawling up Zack's pantleg was a novel sensation, almost ticklish but not quite unwelcome. He gently took her forepaw in two fingers and a thumb, and shook hands. He returned the smile, the gesture slight, but not as weighed with misery.

That Hang hadn't trusted him didn't entirely come as a surprise. He'd been trying to keep his distance from strangers lately, and it probably showed. Still, this ordeal had forged an alliance between them. Not everyone was out to get him, and not everyone was just going to let him down.

"Allies," he agreed. He chuckled at Hang's slight against his height. "I come from a family of bean poles." He carefully moved to pick up Hang and place her back down on the table.

"Yes, you need your rest," Zack knew the work that lay ahead. Rufus and Hang would have to pick up a trail somehow, and follow it to the witch's lair. "I should probably try to convince Glacier to do the same." He smirked dryly, knowing what an uphill battle that was going to be. "Goodbye," He waved, and then added quietly. "And... good luck."

Turning, he headed for the door, out to rejoin his team who was no doubt waiting for him, save for Orion. The great Dorugamon cast a final look at Hang and paused after he swung around. His tail dipped toward the side of Hang's face, aiming to graze the side of it with the white fur at the tip of his tail. It was one of the few patches on him that was soft rather than bristly. Then the dragon followed his charge, and was gone from the room.