Just a bunch of random stuff idk

In a futile attempt to ignore the vestiges of the dream, Matt shook his head and sat up. He turned to look over at Gabumon who was still fast asleep. The two had been wandering aimlessly for a while now, having quickly lost track of the days since they had set out on their own. It had given him plenty of time to think, but time, it seemed, wasn't enough, his head only filling with more questions and doubts the longer they traveled alone.

Roughly pushing those thoughts aside, he turned his gaze back to the surrounding terrain and surveyed the area. It was noticeable in an instant that something was different. He looked in the direction of Spiral Mountain; yet another section of the grotesquely twisted peak had disappeared while he slept.

"They defeated Machinedramon, huh?" he mused softly. That left only one mega level digimon to deal with. Piedmon, the last of the Dark Masters, would be waiting atop that mountain for the final battle, a battle he knew Tai and the others would already be gearing up for, TK right alongside them.

A battle he knew he should help fight. He'd been chosen, after all.

Matt's bitter thoughts wandered back to what the digital being had told them while borrowing Kari's body. He should have been happy. The one who had called them all to the Digital World had explained everything they could. But it was what they couldn't explain that bothered him.

Pulling on the cord at his neck, Matt stared down at the Crest of Friendship now resting in his palm, something he'd developed a habit of doing whenever Gabumon's keen eyes were closed.

He continued to sit in silence as the morning sun fought to break through thick clouds until his partner began to stir at his side. Quickly tucking his crest back under his shirt, he watched as Gabumon rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"You're awake already?" he said with a yawn.

Matt didn't respond as Gabumon glanced around them vacantly before sharply turning his gaze to Spiral Mountain. Squinting, he blinked a few times before his face lit up, turning to Matt with a wide grin.

"Look, Matt! Tai and the others must have defeated Machinedramon!"

Unable to reciprocate his partner's enthusiasm, Matt simply nodded, stifling the guilt that settled in his stomach as Gabumon's face fell upon seeing his lukewarm reaction. As Gabumon looked toward the mountain and back to him anxiously, Matt quickly rose to his feet. He already knew what was coming next.

"That—that only leaves Piedmon, right?" he said hesitantly. "And he's the strongest, so—"

"We should get going."

Firmly cutting Gabumon off, he pretended not to hear his partner's soft sigh of disappointment. Deliberately turning away from the mountain looming in the distance, Matt began walking across the rocky ground, Gabumon dutifully following along behind him. ________________________________________

They were getting close—Tai could feel it. There was a charged kind of energy in the air that sent a strange tingling from the base of his neck all the way down to the tips of his toes. The last Dark Master was waiting for them at the top of the very mountain they were currently climbing and that thought couldn't have made him any more uneasy.

As much as he wanted to finally take down the sole remaining threat to both the Digital World and his own, Tai couldn't help but be worried. Some of their friends were still absent, and every one of them would be needed for the upcoming battle. This was it, the culmination of why they had been chosen in the first place, so if the others didn't make it, if they weren't all together—

With a huff he shook his head. He couldn't think like that. The others would come, he just had to have faith in his friends. Matt and MetalGarurumon had taken down Puppetmon when the rest of them were backed into a corner; they wouldn't allow Piedmon, the strongest of the Dark Masters, to have the upper hand. And he was sure Joe would be the patient rock that Mimi needed, supporting her until she regained the will to do what only the eight of them could.

Tai glanced back at Izzy and the others. He felt guilty over how he had allowed his emotions to get the better of him when Kari fell ill. The five of them had come out on top in the end, but they couldn't afford any more lapses in his judgment. It wasn't just that they needed all eight Digidestined in the same place—they had to be united and able to work as a team.

That started with him. They were trusting him with the role of leader, and he refused to let any of them down again.

Needing something, anything to keep his thoughts from spiraling, Tai looked over at Izzy who was typing one-handed on his laptop, eyes staring intently at the screen.

"Hey Izzy, whatcha working on?"

At the sound of his voice, he noticed Sora, TK, and Kari perk up. Apparently he wasn't the only one that could use a distraction.

Face still buried in his computer, Izzy replied, "I am trying to figure out the exact distance to Spiral Mountain's peak. If it's too much farther, it may be advantageous to rest first so we can gather our strength before taking on the last Dark Master."

Tai nodded as he looked down at Koromon resting in his arms. "Yeah, good idea."

"So how much longer is it?" asked TK, Patamon perched atop his head.

"Well, according to my calculations, if we continue on at our current pace, we are approximately two hours and twenty-four minutes away," he answered matter-of-factly.

Walking up beside Izzy, Sora leaned over and peeked at his computer screen. "About two and a half hours, huh?"

Tai didn't miss the stiffness in Sora's shoulders nor the forced casual tone in her voice. Andromon was as impossible to read as ever, and Izzy was currently preoccupied with his computer, but a glance at TK and Kari confirmed that they too seemed to sense the ever rising tension.

He willed a smile onto his face and confidence into his voice.

"Alright then, let's take five, everybody," he said as he slowed to a stop. "We'll sit and have a bite to eat so we'll be ready for whatever's waiting for us up there."

Everyone nodded in agreement, an excited cry for food from Koromon even managing to garner a few amused giggles. As they all sat, passing out what Tai hoped would be their last rationed meal, he did his best to keep spirits up without letting his guard down. And with everyone resting their feet and enjoying their small—or not-so-small in Koromon's case—snack, the weight of the world's pressure seemed to ease up ever so slightly.

Feeling a warm hand gently clasp his own, Tai looked down at Kari who was smiling softly beside him.

"Don't worry, Tai," she said, "we can do it."

He blinked in surprise. But after a moment's pause, he returned the smile, giving her small hand a light squeeze as he nodded.

"Of course we can," he said.

Kari's belief was practically blinding. The Crest of Light couldn't have been given to a more suitable candidate. Soon it would be time for Tai to live up to his own, and he had to believe that was something he was capable of—something they all were. ________________________________________

Fix it? How? And even if I could, what's the point? It's too late. If I can't even trust you, Tsunomon, then— ________________________________________

"Matt, are you sure you're alright?"

Ignoring Gabumon's worried voice and anxious glances, Matt continued to trudge across the rocky terrain. His partner had forced him to rest only a short while ago, likely noticing his labored breathing and stumbling steps, but he'd woken with a jolt as Tsunomon's name rang clear in his head.

The dreams were becoming more vivid.

"Matt?"

"I'm fine, Gabumon," he said with a sigh, "I just haven't been sleeping well."

He could feel Gabumon's eyes on him, trying to catch his gaze, but Matt couldn't bring himself to look back. After a moment's pause, Gabumon tried again.

"I can tell something's bothering you. I think it might help if—"

"I said I was fine, alright?" he said forcefully, fists clenched at his sides as he finally met his partner's gaze. The hurt he saw there made him instantly regret his outburst.

Pausing his mindless trek, Matt turned to him, face softening.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just—" He looked away, any excuse for snapping sounding lame. But Gabumon simply watched him, waiting patiently for him to continue without a trace of judgment. That gentle patience finally wore through Matt's tired defenses. He sank to the ground, allowing his shoulders to slump.

"I've been having these... dreams, I guess. Every time I try to sleep, there's this voice." He gripped the sides of his head in frustration. "I can't even remember what it's saying when I wake up! All I can remember are a few words and these—these feelings."

Gabumon cocked his head. "Feelings?"

Matt lowered his arms and nodded. "It started out as this intense sadness, but there's also been confusion, frustration, and..."

...can't even trust you, Tsunomon...

Glancing up at his partner, Matt looked into his warm eyes and instantly felt ashamed, gaze darting back down just as quickly. He swallowed.

"...and betrayal."

A brief pause hung in the air as Gabumon watched him thoughtfully.

"Are you having these dreams because you feel those things?"

"I don't know," said Matt truthfully. "I definitely feel confused and frustrated, I guess. But I'm the one who betrayed everyone else, so they're the ones who should feel betrayed, not me." His mouth broke into a grim, crooked smile. "They sure made a lousy choice for the Crest of Friendship, huh?"

Gabumon reached out and put a comforting hand on his leg. "Matt, you're not—"

But Matt shook his head. "Yes, I am. I attacked Tai, I pushed TK away, and then I left. And what has it gotten me—weird, cryptic dreams that wake me up at night while we walk around in circles all day."

"You're trying to find your own answers, right?" said Gabumon as he nudged his leg reassuringly. "Perhaps these dreams are trying to help you find them. Maybe talking about them more would help."

Matt wasn't sure what to think. He could never remember if the voices in the dreams were familiar or not, let alone his own, and the few words and phrases he did remember were too sparse and jumbled to make much sense.

All but one, anyway.

Looking down at the hand reached out to him in comfort made Matt's insides twist in knots. In his heart he knew that Gabumon was patient and kind towards him in a way he'd never experienced before falling into the Digital World. His destined partner had stood by him even when it was obvious to everyone else that Matt was making the wrong choice. And yet his mind was filled with a sadness and betrayal that was somehow connected to Tsunomon.

No—a Tsunomon. It didn't mean it was his Tsunomon. Dreams could be confusing like that, or so he willed himself to believe.

Either way, he refused to acknowledge it out loud. Not to Gabumon. Matt knew he was only trying to help, but he wouldn't hurt him like that. He'd already hurt enough people he cared about.

Pushing himself up from the rocky ground, Matt tried to look anywhere but at the disappointment he knew would be on Gabumon's face.

"We should keep moving."

Picking a random direction, he began to walk, continuing their seemingly unending cycle. Eyes focused ahead, his ears still registered the pause before Gabumon's footsteps were heard running to catch up. Upon falling into step beside him, Matt could feel his partner's eyes studying him, sense the words that wanted to leave his tongue. But he pretended not to notice, forcing one foot in front of the other, even as the mouth of a foreboding cave appeared on the horizon.

Matt headed directly for it. ________________________________________

"What's that?" cried Sora as she pointed toward the darkening sky.

Heartbeat quickening, Tai snatched his mini telescope from his pocket and focused on the tiny figure flying in the distance. It was a humanoid digimon clad in black with sharp, red claws and a wicked grin. A shiver went down his spine, memories of their terrifying ordeal with Devimon flashing through his mind as the unknown digimon raced in their direction, long, silver hair whipping in the wind.

Putting his telescope away, he stood firm and held out a protective hand in front of TK and Kari. "Everyone get ready. Looks like Piedmon's got a special welcoming committee."

He could feel Koromon tensing with anticipation in his grip. But they didn't have to wait long before the digimon was hovering before them, lips splitting into a cruel grin that showed off her fangs as she looked down her nose at them.

"Why, hello, children," she said in a smooth, low voice that dripped with false sweetness. "Lord Piedmon has been expecting you." At this she licked her lips.

"That's LadyDevimon," said Andromon as he readied himself for the fight which would surely follow. "Everyone, you must be careful."

"That's right," said Izzy grimly as he pulled up her file on his computer. "It says here that she's the general of Piedmon's Nightmare Soldiers—his last line of defense."

Seemingly unable to hold himself back further, Koromon jumped out of Tai's grasp as the whine of digivices filled the air. Soon, Agumon, Birdramon, Kabuterimon, Angemon, and Angewomon all appeared in a bright flash of light, and as it faded, the battle began in earnest with Andromon taking the lead. He was quickly swatted away by one of her large, clawed hands, even as she deftly dodged a barrage of fire and lightning.

"Darkness Wave!" she screamed as dark energy shot out toward her attackers, the blast instantly throwing them backwards.

"Celestial Arrow!"

Tai watched as Angewomon's attack managed to graze LadyDevimon, gaining her undivided attention. The two flung themselves at each other, Angewomon refusing to give ground as Kari cheered her on from below. They seemed a fairly even match.

"Alright, my turn!" cried Agumon. But before he could race into battle, Tai held him back.

"Wait," he said, his hands tightening into fists, "not yet."

While it was true that WarGreymon would easily tip the scales in their favor, LadyDevimon wasn't their ultimate enemy, and before his partner could protest, Tai turned to the others.

"Sora, I want you and TK to go with Birdramon and Angemon to find Matt and the others," he said firmly.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You want us to leave? Right in the middle of a battle?"

"We're not here to fight Piedmon's general," he said, putting as much conviction into his words as he could, "we're here to fight Piedmon. And we won't be able to do that unless all eight of us are together."

Tai turned to Izzy whose face seemed torn between conflicting emotions. "You said LadyDevimon was his last line of defense, which means Piedmon can't be far behind. Angewomon, Kabuterimon, and Andromon will take care of her."

He watched closely as Izzy's eyes glanced toward Agumon before again meeting his, a look of determination finally settling on his face as he nodded in understanding. That small acknowledgment was enough, quieting the anxious thundering in Tai's gut to a low rumble.

"Agumon"—he faced his partner who was practically shivering with anticipation—"you'll probably have to hold off Piedmon until Matt and the others can make it. You're the only one who can digivolve to Mega right now, so we need you to save your strength for when it's needed most."

Eyes lighting up in understanding, Agumon grinned. "Don't worry, Tai. I'll be ready whenever that clown shows up. He won't know what hit him!"

"Alright," said Tai with a grateful smile. The enthusiasm was infectious—Agumon always did have a knack for saying just what he needed to hear. Standing tall, he looked around their small group. "Let's do this."

Sora and TK nodded as they called up to their partners and began heading back down Spiral Mountain. Kari continued to encourage Angewomon while Izzy waited anxiously, digivice at the ready when Kabuterimon's support proved to not be enough. And as MegaKabuterimon joined the fight, Tai stood still and watched, forcing himself to hold back and believe in his friends' strength. ________________________________________

"Matt, maybe we should turn around. I think we're lost."

The dark cave walls seemed to press in on them from all sides. It was almost suffocating, but Matt's pace never faltered. Something was nagging at him, tugging at the back of his mind to keep going, just a little further, don't stop.

He barely felt the tug on his arm.

"Matt, please listen. I really think we should leave. There's something wrong with this place, can't you feel it?"

"Yeah..." The response was mechanical, his brain recognizing Gabumon's need for acknowledgment despite his pleas not fully registering. Matt could simply stare ahead, vision slightly blurry as the darkness grew thicker, heavier, as if walking through mud.

"Matt, stop!"

The arms suddenly wrapped around his waist nearly caused Matt to topple over. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head as his hands came to rest on a warm body, fur tickling his arms. Finally looking down, he saw Gabumon staring back at him, eyes wide with concern.

"...Matt?"

"Gabumon—what—"

Throat suddenly going dry, Matt realized he was gasping for air. Gabumon steadied him as his knees buckled out from under him, guiding him to sit on the cold ground. A warm hand remained firm on his back as Matt shuddered against the pressing darkness.

"It's going to be okay. I'm right here."

"What—" Matt gulped down a breath and forced his mouth to work, "—what am I doing?"

It was as if someone had thrown a weighted blanket over his shoulders. His hands reached out to keep himself from falling fully prone against the rocky ground, arms shaking from the exertion. The darkness was growing thicker, obscuring his vision to the point where he could barely make out Gabumon directly in front of him. He could tell his partner's mouth was moving, but the sounds it made were muffled, drowned out by whispers tickling his ear as his heart suddenly grew heavy with grief and frustration.

The Digital World was falling apart, and you did nothing!

Matt inhaled sharply. Images of vicious digimon attacking the weak for fun, unchecked, flashed before his eyes, mingling with scenes of Piximon sacrificing himself, Whamon taking a killing blow, Puppetmon leaving him bound and helpless while TK ran off with him alone...

His hands balled into fists. "TK... everyone..."

I needed you. I needed you, and you left!

Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes as he shut them tightly against the dueling voices swirling around him. Scenes of a lonely Tsunomon staring at the sky were intermixed with thoughts of his brother with his mom, with Patamon. With Tai.

"He doesn't..." he murmured, "TK doesn't need me anymore... he never..."

I don't need something that's useless.

Matt could still see TK's cheerful face upon foiling Puppetmon's plans, feel the force of his punch connecting with Tai's cheek, watch as a Wizardmon fell helplessly to the ground, hear Gabumon's concern when he was unable to digivolve.

"Tai will take care of him... they all will... like they always did... he doesn't need... doesn't want..."

Something was nudging his shoulder incessantly, a panicked sound ringing in his ear, but the voices drowned it out. Words and emotions and images began invading his thoughts faster and faster, causing him to cry out. He crumpled to the ground, grabbing his head, gasping for breath.

I just wanted us to be together.

A cacophony of laughter from a Tsunomon enjoying a perfect day with the two humans he loved most mixed together with thoughts of a not yet broken home. Memories of his family whole allowed Matt's tears to finally escape past his tightly closed eyelids.

"...they don't..." He could feel his voice crack. "...they don't want me... they never wanted... why don't they want me...?"

The only one who made me an "us" is gone.

The images faded somewhat as Matt suddenly felt himself enveloped in a fierce hug, warm fur brushing against his cheek. Something sniffling and grumbling sounded near his ear, sneaking past the deafening voices.

"...do, Matt. I want..."

Forcing his eyes open, Matt could barely make out the striped fur down his partner's back in the near pitch blackness that surrounded him.

"...Gabumon..."

The hug tightened.

"...Matt. I'm right... ...won't ever leave... ...promise..."

"Gabumon... I.."

There has to be some way to stop it.

As if cranking up a radio, the voices again grew in volume. His eyes snapped shut once more, a vain attempt to shield his mind.

"Stop..." he said through gritted teeth.

At some point Matt must have given up the death grip on his scalp as his fingers now dug deep into Gabumon's fur. His body shook as images of digimon wreaking havoc across what looked like File Island continued to force themselves into his memory. On a mountaintop, a Devimon laughed as black gears embedded themselves into helpless digimon. And in the heat of battle, the first Mega digimon was born.

"Make it stop!"

At his outburst, everything went quiet. A high pitched ringing was left behind in place of the noise, his ragged breathing now echoing throughout the cave. Next to him, Gabumon was muttering his name surrounded by apologies over and over. Matt wanted to reassure his partner, to be able to tell him that the nightmares had ended, that he didn't have to worry about him anymore.

But while the voices had stopped, the mood had changed.

Where confusion and sadness had plagued him every time he closed his eyes, now there was pride, cunning, and vindication.

I'll get them to do it.

A singular voice spoke calmly and clearly as scenes of a Greymon and Parrotmon fighting in Highton View Terrace danced in front of his eyes. His body froze, breath catching in his throat.

Gabumon must have noticed the change.

"Matt?"

It'll take some time. I can't risk them ruining everything.

Someone was shuffling papers covered in hand-sketched symbols. A list of words were scattered across them, some circled while others like "purity" and "kindness" were crossed out.

Feeling the other disentangle from their fierce hug, two hands instead came to grip Matt's shoulders.

"Matt, breathe!"

For this to work, I'll need to appear as someone they can trust.

With a sharp gasp, Matt's eyes flew open, leaning away from his partner who once again appeared clearly and fully before him. He blinked, rubbing at his tear-stained cheeks as the darkness of the cave melted away, leaving them on a dry patch of dirt under a cloudy sky. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Matt, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Finally meeting Gabumon's worried gaze, Matt gave a jerky nod and opened his mouth to speak, but coherent thoughts failed him. As the voice had spoken its final words, one last scene had played out before his eyes. That final vision had him recontextualizing everything he thought he knew, about the other Digidestined and himself. But as he sat there, rattled and hollow, one thought managed to grab his attention and focus it to where it needed to go.

With a shaky breath, Matt stood to his feet and looked down at Gabumon, resignation on his face.

"We have to find Piedmon." ________________________________________

A/N: I always loved the concept behind this fic, so hopefully older me is managing to pull it off in a way younger me wasn't. As always, critics and grammar police appreciated!

WarGreymon didn't respond, slashing at him with his claws, but Piedmon jumped away with ease and released a Clown Trick attack that hit him square in the chest, pushing him backwards with a pained cry.

"We can't wait any longer!" cried Izzy, fiercely gripping his digivice. "Tentomon!"

Tai thrust an arm out in front of them.

"No, we have to stick to the plan!" he shouted. He knew better than anyone that WarGreymon wouldn't last much longer, but he couldn't risk them being down two digimon. "Matt will be here soon, along with everyone else. We have to have faith in them!"

It would work. His plan would work. It had to.

Izzy looked furious.

"WarGreymon needs help! We have to finish this before it's too late! If something happens to him now—"

Izzy's words died in his throat as an agonized roar rippled over the battlefield. Blood running cold, Tai watched as WarGreymon crumpled to the ground, having taken one too many direct hits. He held his breath as his partner tried to push himself back up once more, but it became a strangled whimper as WarGreymon's knees buckled beneath him.

"WarGreymon!"

All rational thought left him as he took off running.

"Tai, no!" shouted Kari, Gatomon swiftly jumping out of her arms.

"Watch out!"

But Izzy's warning was too late as Piedmon aimed his next attack at the vulnerable Digidestined instead of his digimon partner.

"Clown Trick!"

A massive ball of energy filled Tai's field of vision, barely giving his brain time to even process what was about to happen, when suddenly a large figure jumped in between, silhouetted against the blinding attack. A crack of metal rang in the air. Tai reached out, eyes wide with horror.

"WarGreymon!"

With a loud thud, his partner's body fell to the ground, head falling to the side limply.

Time seemed to stand still, the air sucked from Tai's lungs as he stared at WarGreymon, his body battered and armor broken. The pounding of his heart was like heavy drums in his ears, so loud it drowned out the cries coming from Izzy and Kari.

A blast of wind carrying sharp rocks suddenly hit his body, sending him flying backwards. His breath was knocked out of him as he hit the hard ground, sending him into a coughing fit as the dust settled around him. Gritting his teeth, Tai turned his head toward his fallen partner, trying to reach a hand out to him.

WarGreymon was down. Izzy was yelling at Tentomon to digivolve. And Piedmon was wearing a cruel grin.

"Your world is falling apart, and that's the best you can do? My, aren't we useless."

Just... just a little longer...

If he could have held on just a little longer, he was sure...

"Tai!"

Unfathomable joy filled his chest as Tai heard the call on the wind. Matt was here. Sora and TK had done it. Soon all eight of them would be back together. Their worlds were as good as saved.

His tired gaze fell upon the quickly approaching Garurumon, Matt looking tense on his back. He was surprised to see them alone, but before he could think on it further, Matt was dismounting and running toward him.

"Tai! Hang on!"

There was a scraping of rubber soles against rock as Matt skidded to a halt beside Tai, reaching down to gently lift his head and prop him up against his leg. Tai couldn't help but smile in spite of himself.

"I knew you'd make it," he said simply. "Never doubted you for a second."

Tears welled up in Matt's eyes, his body lightly trembling. His eyebrows were pinched in anguish, mouth tight as he seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. I didn't want—" He stopped, closing his eyes before opening them with a new urgency. "You're my friend, Tai, and I care about you and TK and everyone else. No matter what happens, I hope you'll believe that."

"I—"

Tai was cut off as a bright glow began emanating from under Matt's shirt. He shut his eyes at the sudden intensity. It was warm like the sun on a spring day and seemed to pour over every inch of his body, soothing his pain. A sigh of relief escaped him as the light died down, reopening his eyes to see his skin unblemished. Off to the side, he could hear WarGreymon stirring as well, offering thanks to Garurumon.

He sat up with a smile. "The power of friendship, huh?" he said, turning to thank Matt. But his face fell as he noticed Matt was staring daggers at the crest now resting in his palm, his body shaking.

"Matt?"

"Matt!"

TK's familiar voice rang out across the mountain peak, causing everyone to turn to see him grinning from ear to ear and waving wildly from Angemon's arms. Right behind them was Birdramon carrying Sora and Joe. Tai shot up from the ground to greet them excitedly, but a wave of dizziness hit him before he managed even a step. Firm arms reached out to steady him before he wound up collapsing back to the ground.

"Take it easy," said Matt softly, hoisting Tai's arm around his shoulders for support.

"Thanks," mumbled Tai. He shot a glance at Matt. He was acting strangely, but he swallowed his questions as rapid footsteps approached.

"You're ok!" cried TK as he threw his arms around his brother's waist. "Sora and I found Joe, and when he said that he saw you and Garurumon heading for Spiral Mountain, I knew we'd find you here! You'd been gone for so long—I was so worried about you!"

Tai didn't miss the pained look that Matt tried to hide with a smile as he patted TK's head.

"I've missed you too, TK," he said quietly.

Joe was fidgeting nervously. "Happy reunions are great and all, but maybe we should take cover first?"

As Joe looked around for a rocky outcropping, Tai glanced over to the final Dark Master. He was just standing there, watching them with a smile. He almost seemed pleased. As if feeling eyes on him, Piedmon's gaze shifted slightly to meet his own, and Tai couldn't help shuddering under the weight of it.

"I don't get it," he said. "Why isn't he attacking?"

Beside him, Tai felt Matt stiffen, but it was Izzy who spoke.

"It can't be anything good," he said. "We have to attack before he has a chance to—"

"We made it! I hope we're not too late!"

Mimi's voice rang out, cutting through the apprehension like a sharp knife.

"Mimi!"

Cheers of welcome sounded as the final Digidestined made her fashionably late appearance, and she wasn't alone. Riding atop a Unimon, Mimi smiled and waved, Lillymon close behind with Ogremon, Frigimon, and a whole host of other digimon right alongside.

Pride swelled in Tai's chest, unable to keep the delight and awe from his face. "Everyone made it. We're all here."

A cry from Izzy broke through the revelry. "Now's our chance, Tai!"

With an emphatic nod, Tai grinned.

"Right!" he shouted as he removed his arm from Matt's shoulders. Standing firm, he turned and locked eyes with Matt, seeing a hesitation behind them that he couldn't understand. Tai didn't know what was going on with him, but they couldn't wait any longer. The time to act was now. Reaching a hand out towards him in earnest, Tai steeled his gaze. "You with me?"

Matt looked at the hand as if it belonged to the devil himself. He closed his eyes, and for a beat that felt like an eternity, Tai waited, refusing to let doubt sink in. But after a deep breath, Matt opened his eyes once more and called out to his partner, MetalGarurumon appearing before them as the light of evolution faded. Tai grinned.

"Time to teach this clown a lesson!" he shouted as he turned back to Piedmon. "Now, everybody—"

A hand grabbing his arm and a decisive tone of voice stopped him short.

"Wait."

Everyone watched as Matt let go of Tai and walked towards MetalGarurumon who had placed himself between WarGreymon and the last of the Dark Masters.

"MetalGarurumon, what are you doing?" asked WarGreymon, disbelief dripping from his words.

"Matt! Where're you going?"

Tai put a hand on TK's shoulder before he could take off running after his big brother. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the others growing nervous.

Izzy was the first to speak up. "We don't have time for this! Piedmon could be planning a trap of some kind—we have to act now!"

At that, Matt stopped, turning to shoot a glare at Izzy. "Maybe he is. But I need to ask him some questions first."

MetalGarurumon crouched as if readying an attack. "I suggest you allow him to do so," he said gently.

Confusion and anxiety hung heavy in the air. Everyone was glancing around nervously, wary of the smug satisfaction emanating from Piedmon. But Tai's focus never left Matt. Outwardly he appeared calm, but Tai had seen him up close, heard his words, felt him shake. He was scared—not of Piedmon, but something else.

He stood stalwart and called out. "Matt."

Now next to MetalGarurumon, his hand on his partner's back, Matt looked over his shoulder. Tai willed his lips into a smile, determination in his eyes.

"I don't know what's going on, but I trust you."

Even standing halfway across the rocky battlefield Tai didn't miss how Matt's eyes widened before he turned back towards Piedmon. MetalGarurumon looked over at Matt, saying something too softly for Tai to hear, his partner simply nodding in response as he raised a hand to quickly wipe at his face.

It seemed as if Piedmon took the proceedings as a signal, jumping down from the perch he'd been watching them all from to land only a few feet in front of Matt. MetalGarurumon quickly interposed himself between them, and WarGreymon readied himself to intervene should it come to that. Tai could hear Izzy, Kari, and Mimi running to join him and the rest of the group, their digimon allies at their side.

With an air of calm arrogance, Piedmon finally spoke. "Pleasant dreams?" he said, the corners of his mouth turned up in the facsimile of a smile as he looked down at the boy in front of him.

"So those were your doing," Matt said simply, his the sole face not scrunched up in confusion.

Piedmon gave an elaborate bow. "I would so love to keep all the credit, but surely you realize that it's not all mine to take."

"What's he talking about, Matt?" TK called out to his brother, Tai's firm hand on his shoulder. "Did he do something to you?"

It was Piedmon who answered, voice dripping with smug self-satisfaction. "Why, I merely gave the boy a history lesson. Your human schools seem to be quite lacking when it comes to their Digital World education."

Matt's hands clenched into fists at his sides as MetalGarurumon let out a low growl. "And why should I believe any of it?" he asked. "You'd be the only one benefitting from showing me all of that, so why should I trust that it's the truth?"

"I am the only one who would benefit, you say?" Piedmon sneered, his tone mocking. "Well, I suppose that only further proves how cold and heartless you really are, not caring about all of the poor, innocent digimon that would perish if the Digital World came to an end."

"Wait, 'came to an end', what's he talking about? Did I miss something?"

The confusion and concern in Mimi's voice mirrored Tai's own thoughts. He watched nervously as Piedmon turned his attention to her, eyes twinkling with a malicious glee.

"Perhaps you would like to hear a story, my dear," he said, stretching his hand towards her dramatically, "that of the true enemy of this world and what he has planned for it."

"We already know who the true enemy is," said Izzy, drawing Piedmon's gaze as his red eyes narrowed dangerously. "The digital being we met showed us how you attacked Gennai and tried to steal our digieggs." He aggressively pointed to the ground beneath him. "This very mountain is proof that your goal is to control the Digital World, and what you and the other Dark Masters did to Piximon and the others shows exactly how much you really care about 'poor, innocent digimon'."

Izzy's impassioned response seemed to reverberate through each of the Digidestined, the tension in the air easing ever so slightly in the face of his logic. But as Tai glanced back and forth between Izzy and Piedmon, Matt again drew his gaze. There was an unease in his blue eyes that were now looking at Izzy, his whole body stiff like that of an animal being backed into a corner, weighing his options.

Tai's words earlier hadn't been for show—whatever was going on with Matt, he did trust him. Matt had said that he just wanted to ask some questions, and despite his own apprehension, Tai was going to make sure he was able to do so.

"You're right, Izzy," he said over his right shoulder, doing his best to ignore the dismay in Matt's eyes as they darted in his direction, "but those dreams or whatever that he showed Matt were convincing enough that he can't just ignore them. And if there's even the smallest chance that the entire Digital World is at stake, I don't think the rest of us should either." Finally turning to meet Matt's gaze with a smile, Tai saw the tension releasing its grip on his body, the ghost of a smile reflected back at him.

"How truly touching."

Tai glared at Piedmon who was wiping a fake tear from his eye, but it was Matt who spoke.

"Tell us everything you know," he said simply, focus back on the Dark Master standing before him.

"As you wish," replied Piedmon with another theatrical bow. As he straightened, he opened his mouth to speak, the playful cadence morphing into a more serious tone that had the hairs on the back of Tai's neck standing on edge.

"Once upon a time, out of a vast sea of digital data, a small, diverse island with a mountain at its center was created. This, the origin of the Digital World, was soon filled with small, harmless creatures known as digimon. All of these things were brought into existence by a single human—The Caretaker."

"The entire Digital World and everything in it was created by one person?" Tai heard Joe whisper, incredulous, but Piedmon continued on unfazed.

"The Caretaker would often visit the island, tending to it while making sure its inhabitants were living safely and happily. One day, he brought another human, a young child, with him, and it was upon this visit that the first digivolution took place, the Baby digimon's contact with the child birthing the first In-Training digimon—a Tsunomon."

Piedmon paused for dramatic effect. All eyes curiously drew toward Matt and MetalGarurumon, but Tai could see no noticeable change in either of their demeanors.

"From that day forward, the child and the Tsunomon were inseparable. They would play as The Caretaker performed his duties to the island, the Tsunomon making sure no harm would come to them. But the visits grew shorter and farther between until weeks, months, and then years passed without a trace of either of them."

The air around them seemed to grow colder, Piedmon's voice taking on a sinister tone. "With The Caretaker gone, the island fell into chaos. A virus took hold in some of the inhabitants, warping the very core of their Data into what is now known as the Virus attribute, turning them unruly and violent. Foolishly believing The Caretaker would one day return to restore order, the Tsunomon tried to stop the Virus type digimon, but even evolving to the Rookie level was not enough—the Digital World was expanding at an exceptional rate, and many were leaving the small island to conquer the newly born continents surrounding it."

"So you're saying this virus made the digimon sick and that's why some are evil like Devimon and Myotismon?" asked TK. "Does that mean when the digimon come back they'll all be ok again?"

As Piedmon's cold gaze drifted toward TK, Angemon took a protective stance in front of him.

"It would be quite difficult to 'come back' with Primary Village in ruins, young one," he said in a cutting, sarcastic tone.

Next to him, Tai felt TK grab his left hand and cling to it. The fate of the village wasn't surprising, but still the news hit like a gut-punch. Tai drew TK closer to him, giving the boy's hand a light squeeze, the only comfort he was currently able offer.

From behind him, Joe shouted angrily, "It's only in ruins because you and the other Dark Masters destroyed it!"

"The existence of Primary Village is what allows a digimon to be reborn. It is our second chance and beyond—destroying it only stands to cut a digimon's life short." Piedmon's words were dripping with annoyance and impatience. "I assure you, it was no digimon that razed it to the ground."

"But, wait, if it wasn't the Dark Masters that destroyed it, then who did?" asked Mimi.

"Must be that 'true enemy' he was talking about," said Sora, unable to keep the unease out of her voice.

Tai couldn't blame her. The more Piedmon spoke, the more doubt entered his mind. Gennai had never mentioned anything about a caretaker or virus. And it didn't help that he was always so vague when it came to giving any answers about the Digital World at all. It was entirely possible that Piedmon's words were complete lies, but he was starting to at least understand why Matt had wanted to talk to him.

He only worried that these doubts were exactly what Piedmon wanted.

"Hurry up and get to the point," Tai said, hoping he didn't sound as anxious as he felt.

"Well, I can certainly see why 'patience' wasn't chosen as your crest," said Piedmon with a mocking grin.

"Just get on with it."

Anger laced Matt's words, a low growl coming from MetalGarurumon at his side.

Piedmon looked down at him, seemingly pleased by the heated reaction.

"Of course, noble Bearer of the Crest of Friendship," he said, the title spilling from his tongue full of taunting and disrespect. But his face grew serious once more as he again addressed them all.

"Years, decades, more than half a century passed before at last The Caretaker reappeared—alone. The Tsunomon had long since evolved to the Champion level, but he still recognized the human and believed the Digital World would at last be saved."

Piedmon's face wrinkled in disgust. "He was a fool," he spat. "The Caretaker looked upon what had become of his creation and felt only revulsion. He blamed the Tsunomon for what had happened and vowed to destroy the entirety of the Digital World and all who lived there.

"Betrayed and tossed aside, the Tsunomon welcomed the virus into his body, embracing it in a way that none yet had—he became the first Ultimate level digimon. Seeking revenge, he too left the island, killing everyone in his path in a quest for greater power. Many slaughter-filled centuries passed, but at last he gained the power he so craved, a power beyond all others and acquired by few since"—his smile grew wide with unrestrained glee—"the Mega level was born."

The grip TK had on his hand was now like a vise, and Tai could see WarGreymon trembling with fury ahead of them.

Throwing his arms out wide, Piedmon tilted his head back, looking to the cloud-covered sky, voice growing louder as he spoke. "With absolute power surging through him, he set himself a new goal. He gathered allies and reshaped the Digital World to his will, setting himself up as its supreme ruler, residing above all others at the world's peak."

His arms dropped to his sides. "And there he would wait," he said, the manic tone vanishing, "for The Caretaker would surely someday return to make good on his threats of destruction. And he, Piedmon"—his head dropped sharply, eyes again piercing into human and digimon alike—"would have his revenge."

A cold wind blew over the ground as if the entire mountain were shuddering at the conclusion to Piedmon's tale. Tai held back a shiver, trying to keep up his show of confidence as he felt the unease ripple through Digidestined and digimon alike. He wasn't sure what to think of everything they'd been told, but one thing was for sure: his fear of Piedmon himself hadn't lessened in the slightest.

Tai looked at Matt, trying to gauge his reaction. It was obvious he was on edge like the rest of them, but there was something else. His hand rested on MetalGarurumon as if holding his partner back. As if he were still waiting for something.

Focusing back on Piedmon, Tai intended to break the uncomfortable silence, but light footsteps approaching from behind him gave him pause. He turned to his right to see Izzy with Tentomon in tow coming up beside him, face full of defiance.

"You can't seriously think we're going to fall for your story about some mysterious caretaker trying to destroy everything," he said, voice full of unwavering conviction. "You admitted yourself that you've killed hundreds if not thousands of digimon—there's no way we could possibly trust anything you tell us."

His declaration seemed to shake everyone else out of the malaise of uncertainty.

"That's right!" Joe clenched his fists and took a step forward. "And even if it was true, that's still no reason why we shouldn't just take you down right now."

Howls of approval rose from their gathered digimon allies, but Piedmon stood tall, undisturbed by the calls for his demise, his narrowed eyes fixed on Izzy.

"You may, of course, try if you so wish," he said calmly, looking down at them as if they were nothing more than annoying house pests, "but before you do, tell me—every time you've defeated one of my fellow Dark Masters, the area they presided over disappeared, did it not?" Piedmon seemed to deliberately seek out the gaze of every Digidestined. "What do you think has happened to those areas? Or perhaps a better way of putting it—what has happened to the poor, innocent digimon that lived there?"

TK squeezed the hand he'd been holding, but before Tai could offer up reassurances, TK suddenly shook his head. Letting go, his small hands curled into defiant fists at his sides, his blue eyes locking with Piedmon's.

"You're just trying to scare us!" he shouted. "All we have to do is defeat you, and then the land and water and all the digimon will finally get put back to the way they were before!"

The look in Piedmon's gaze sent a shiver down Tai's spine.

"Is that what you have been told?"

Piedmon took a menacing step towards them. MetalGarurumon tensed while Matt took a step backward.

"You humans are such fools, always so eager to believe if the outcome is to your liking."

Piedmon took another step, eyes never leaving TK.

"The Crest of Hope—I suppose you could sway anyone to your side if you possess that. A wise choice, giving it to the youngest. It's so easy to manipulate them when they are young and naive, isn't it? Though some of the others seem to have caused you a bit of trouble, haven't they?"

Tai glanced around him in confusion. It seemed the same question was on everyone's mind.

"Who's he talking to?" whispered Sora.

A third step.

Matt fearlessly stood his ground. "Don't come any closer," he warned, both MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon taking up defensive positions around him.

Piedmon did stop, but his mocking gaze shifted downward to the boy standing mere feet in front of him. He sneered.

"'Friendship'—what a pitiful attempt to keep this one in check."

Tai saw Matt's shoulders stiffen at Piedmon's words.

"Unfortunately for you that very crest is what made him so useful to me. You placed that seed of doubt in him the moment he found it, allowing me time to show him the truth. And now that he knows, it is only a matter of time before the rest also understand that the one truly posing the greatest threat to this world is you..."

Hate-filled eyes snapped up. Tai's heart was pounding in his chest, but Piedmon wasn't looking at him.

He was looking at Izzy.

"...Koushiro Izumi." ________________________________________ A/N: My very first reviewer from 20 years ago reviewed again on FFN just last night, and I am FLOORED, you guys. As always, critics and grammar police appreciated!

"I don't know what to believe," he said truthfully. "He showed me a lot of things, and I don't know if they're real or not. But, if they are..." He trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "The last thing he showed me was some older guy at a computer. He was saying that he'd need to 'appear as someone we could trust' while working on some kind of image or program that looked exactly like Izzy."

Standing at Tai's shoulder, Matt couldn't help catching the slight widening of Izzy's eyes, but he was too ashamed to look at him directly.

"Well what's that supposed to mean?" said Mimi with a huff. Left hand on her hip, she used her right to motion emphatically toward Izzy. "Does he expect us to believe that Izzy's not real, I mean he's standing right here."

A derisive grunt drew everyone's attention back to Piedmon.

"Foolish child. This is the Digital World," he said, gesturing grandly to their surroundings. "Everything you see before you is made up of data—the land, the sea, the digimon, even you, Digidestined. If someone was capable of creating all of this, is it truly so hard to believe that your friend here might also be someone's creation?"

"If I were just some computer program, why would I have parents in the real world?" Izzy's fists were clenched, his face screwed up in frustration beyond anything Matt had seen from him thus far, and suddenly Izzy's sharp gaze was turned pointedly at him. "Matt, you've met them! They heard the prophecy about WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon! They were right there when we beat VenomMyotismon!"

He wanted to believe him. He wanted so badly to forget everything he'd been shown and confidently believe his friend's words. But he couldn't simply shove aside his doubts and fears, some he'd had far longer than any of the others would have guessed. And after meeting Gennai—a digital being with no attributes that appeared human in all but name—and seeing the digimon wandering throughout Tokyo same as those made of flesh and blood, blind trust wasn't something he could give so easily, not when the entirety of the Digital World and its inhabitants were potentially at stake.

Even so, Matt found his reservations dying in his throat. Aside from the millstone hung from a cord around his neck, it wasn't as if there was any more proof behind his worries than Izzy's impassioned pleas.

His silence, however, said enough, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sora step up behind TK.

"Matt, do you really believe a Dark Master over Izzy?" she asked. Her gentle tone pained him more than if she'd yelled at him.

"There's no way!" cried TK. "Izzy's our friend! Piedmon has to be lying!"

"And what about everything Gennai told us? Or that whatever-it-was that spoke through Kari?" said Joe, unwittingly sending a ripple of irritation down Matt's spine. "Why would you believe a super evil digimon that admits to killing hundreds over any of them?"

Matt's eyes narrowed, unsure what showed more plainly on his face, the anger or the shame, as his thoughts spilled out, clipped and harsh.

"And what did they tell us, exactly? That they scanned us four years ago and somehow knew we were special? Just because we'd seen a digimon? They couldn't even tell us why!" Matt felt his heart suddenly racing in his chest as his voice grew in intensity. "All they did was spirit us away to explain how our crests worked before the one with the Crest of Friendship could tear everyone apart!" he shouted, the guilt at last clawing its way out of his twisted gut.

What he'd done had never been a secret, and yet he had still tried to play it off like he was some confused kid who'd simply made a mistake. He'd coerced his too-loyal partner into attacking Tai, and he'd never even so much as apologized.

All the arguments. Throwing blame at others. Yelling at people for no good reason, and clinging to jealousy over a brother he selfishly refused to let go. He was his parents' child—every ugly facet he witnessed from them had been in him from the start. It wouldn't have mattered if they scanned him four years or four minutes ago; the results would have reflected the same.

"You don't think you deserve it."

Tai's words dug into him like the blade of a knife, letting the quiet part out loud as blood from a wound. Their eyes locked together, Matt's breath stuck in his throat.

"That's it, isn't it," said Tai without a hint of doubt. "Piedmon was talking as if someone just randomly assigned meaning to our crests to control us. You believe him because you don't believe you really deserve a crest that represents friendship."

Matt scoffed in defiance, balling his hands into fists to keep them from trembling. "Don't act like you think I do, Tai."

"I'm not acting like anything," he said with a huff, "of course you deserve it."

It was said so bluntly that Matt's only response was to blink in surprise. Before his brain had a chance to fully process what it had heard, Tai began walking toward him, confidently putting one foot in front of the other.

"Maybe we haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything, but a friend isn't someone that's just going to agree with me all the time," said Tai, his eyes never leaving Matt's, "it's someone that's not afraid to call me out when I'm being a jerk. Someone that'll make sure I don't forget the people around me when I put too much focus on the enemy."

"Someone that will stay and help no matter how many dishes I break!"

Joe neglected to bring up how he had accused him of doing it on purpose.

"Or will do anything to protect the people he cares about."

Sora was smiling as if he hadn't run off on his own.

"Even if they'd just met."

Kari must have forgotten that Wizardmon was dead because he couldn't protect her.

Matt didn't even realize he'd taken a step back until he bumped into something solid. Quickly glancing over he saw MetalGarurumon watching him, eyes gentle as he nodded encouragingly at Tai who was now only feet away.

"I know you're only doing this because you care about what's at stake if we make the wrong choice," Tai said, coming to a stop directly in front of him. "You're not trying to tear us apart, you're trying to save everyone you can."

Matt had lost the will to look him in the eye. "I've tried to tear you apart, like, five times," he muttered.

"I thought it was six, but who's counting?" said Tai, his amused grin lacing every word.

Two hands landed firmly on Matt's shoulders, and he found himself once more drawn into Tai's fierce gaze, his brown eyes filled with a determination that always seemed to shake his carefully built walls at their foundation.

"No one deserves that crest more than you, Matt," he said, face serious, "so if that's what you're hung up about, then you're not going to convince me that Piedmon isn't just messing with us." Matt could feel his walls beginning to crack as the grip of Tai's hands tightened, giving him a light shake. "We have to believe in each other. If the eight of us are all together, there isn't anything we can't—"

It happened in the blink of an eye. Everyone's focus had been drawn to the intervention taking place. No one was watching when Piedmon at last made his move.

In a blur, the final Dark Master rushed toward the larger group of Digidestined, knocking Angemon out of the way as he grabbed Izzy by the shirt and held him in front of him like a shield, a small knife at his throat.

Matt felt his blood run cold.

"Izzy!"

Tentomon cried out for his partner as gasps and screams of surprise rose into the air. The light of evolution engulfed his body as Piedmon put some distance between them, finally perching on a nearby cliff.

"Come, my Nightmare Soldiers!"

Piedmon's voice boomed around them, followed by terrible screeches and the flapping of wings. Small, flying digimon with gaping mouths seemed to spring from the ground itself, quickly managing to surround them as MegaKabuterimon fully materialized.

"It would seem that I underestimated just how gullible human children can be," said Piedmon with a sneer as Izzy struggled in his grasp. "Assign meaning to a piece of metal and they can twist even a shared history with their words."

"We're not twisting anything!" yelled Tai, failing to hide his desperation.

Beside Matt, Tai was shaking, eyes wide and teeth clenched as WarGreymon fought ferociously in an attempt to engage Piedmon directly, but the flying digimon kept swarming, cutting off his path. From a short distance away, the cry of digivices rang in the air, mingling with shouts of panic and hideous laughter.

It was his fault. Everything was Matt's own fault. He couldn't even bring himself to trust his friends, and now they were all—

"Let go of me!"

The panic in Izzy's voice sent a jolt through Matt's body. His head snapped toward his partner. With barely a glance between them, MetalGarurumon hurled himself forward, sending out a Metal Wolf Claw attack to try and clear a path for WarGreymon.

Piedmon watched the chaos dispassionately. "I was so hoping we could finish this in a civilized manner, Koushiro," he said, projecting outward as if performing on stage. "Why, had you given yourself up, I may have even allowed your little child soldiers to return home in one piece."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" shouted Izzy as he futilely attempted to crane his neck away from the blade pressed against it.

The waves of lesser digimon began to thin under the onslaught two Megas, and to his right, Matt saw MegaKabuterimon taking to the air as a Horn Buster attack left a gap in the enemies' defenses. Hands clenched into tight fists, Matt watched, barely able to breathe.

A firm weight suddenly landed on his shoulder. Glancing over, he saw Tai's hand gripping him fiercely.

"We'll make it," he said, the words falling from his lips like a prayer, eyes never leaving Izzy.

But Piedmon seemed all too aware of his own thinning ranks.

"I grow tired of these theatrics," he said, removing the knife from Izzy's neck and instead holding him out over the cliff face as his mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "I look forward to savoring the utter despair on your Digidestined's faces as I kill each of you one by one."

The hand on Matt's shoulder clenched in fear as Piedmon released his hold on Izzy's shirt, sending him hurtling towards the rocky ground below. Matt's eyes widened in terror.

"No!"

"Izzy!"

"Hurry WarGrey—!"

"Trump Sword!"

It was as if everything happened in slow motion. WarGreymon and MegaKabuterimon raced toward Izzy as he fell, reaching out, readying to snatch him out of the sky when Piedmon's voice echoed against the cliffs. The four swords on his back were drawn and promptly launched through the air. Their target, however, was not the oncoming digimon.

Their target was one small boy.

The strangled cries, the desperate arms outstretched, Matt's own heartbeat—all seemed to stop as the four swords struck Izzy's defenseless body. A raw screech of pain caught in his throat, tears barely having a chance to fall as his form began to glitch before shattering into thousands of bits of data, his body never even hitting the ground.

"Horn Bust—!"

Matt continued to stare in disbelief at the data that had once been Izzy disappearing into the ether, barely registering MegaKabuterimon's final attack before shrinking down to a tiny form that Lillymon caught midair. The grip on his shoulder loosened, Tai's hand falling back to his side limply. Black spots danced through his field of vision, and Matt suddenly took a shuddering gasp of air, his instincts finally reminding him to breathe. The last of his strength fading, Matt's legs gave out. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, his eyes never leaving the now empty cliffside.

The cries of battle sounded around him, but none of them reached his ears. The only thing he could hear was his own mind screaming at him, repeating the same mantra over and over again.

Your fault. Izzy's dead, and it's all your fault.

A single, taunting laugh broke through his trance.

"Perhaps I shall start with the youngest. Best to snuff out all hope, don't you think?"

Matt's gaze drifted to the voice's owner who was firing off an attack not far from where he sat hunched on the ground. With a cruel smirk, the Dark Master turned and looked him straight in the eye.

"Don't worry," he said, "as thanks for your help, I'll save you for the encore, oh Keeper of Friendship."

MetalGarurumon landed heavily between them, snarling as he let out his own attack, but Matt hardly noticed as his body began to shake.

YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR—

Two hands were heavy on his shoulders, a figure just out of focus suddenly taking up his field of vision, yelling in his face.

"You can't listen to him!"

With only a vague awareness, Matt simply stared as Tai turned away, saying something to WarGreymon, TK's name the only word fully reaching his ears, before he quickly turned back to face Matt again. His eyes were red and puffy, shining with tears that it seemed to take everything in him to stop, a sharp contrast to Matt's own, blown wide and bone dry.

There was a wet sniff as Tai opened his mouth to speak. "Matt, listen to me. Piedmon's not gonna stop until none of us are left. We can't let him take anyone else." His voice was cracking in a way that Matt had never wanted to hear, from him most of all. The hands on his shoulders tightened. "MetalGarurumon needs you—him and WarGreymon are the only two that stand a chance against Piedmon, but he can't do it without your help."

The mere mention of his partner's name awoke something inside of him, MetalGarurumon's presence around them as he tried to keep the flying digimon at bay suddenly unmistakable. He was panting, movements sluggish, his gentle eyes never losing sight of Matt, filled with concern and compassion.

"We have to finish this,"—Tai's words again drew Matt's focus—"not just for Izzy, but TK and Kari and everyone else, both here and back on Earth." Tai took a shuddering breath, his small back hunched under the weight of two worlds. "There are mistakes that neither one of us can fix, but we have to keep fighting."

Matt blinked, feeling a wetness running down his cheeks, the shock finally wearing off. In front of him, Tai got to his feet and reached a hand out towards him, waiting. Matt closed his eyes and breathed in, scrubbing away the tears as much as possible before looking back to Tai's hand and taking it, allowing himself to be pulled back to his feet.

A familiar cry from where the others were fighting had both of their heads snapping to attention, the sounds of battle roaring back to life.

"TK..." Matt's mouth went dry, but he didn't have time to dwell as MetalGarurumon ran up beside him.

"Get on, hurry!"

Without a second thought, Matt leapt onto his partner's back, holding a hand out to help Tai up behind him. As soon as the two were settled, MetalGarurumon took off, bolting towards the swarm of chaos with renewed energy. It seemed that Piedmon had been content to ignore them, reserving the large majority of his remaining forces for the rest of the Digidestined and their allies while Piedmon himself was making good on his threat of going after the youngest, WarGreymon and Angemon struggling to fend him off.

"I'll get to TK and WarGreymon," Tai called over his shoulder, "you and MetalGarurumon distract him so we can regroup."

Matt nodded—he wasn't sure he could bear to face TK right now anyway. Silently urging MetalGarurumon closer, they weaved through the battlefield at top speed, only slowing their pace once they were close enough to TK for Tai to jump down. As soon as his feet hit the ground, the two were off again, focus solely on the final Dark Master.

Tai was right. Whether or not everything he'd seen had been the truth or an elaborate trap didn't matter anymore. There were still people he cared about right in front of him, and Piedmon had made his intentions clear.

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

Piedmon easily dodged the attack, but MetalGarurumon didn't let up, charging in with an angry growl to make sure they had his full attention.

"So nice of you to finally join us," mocked Piedmon as he deftly sidestepped out of the way, flipping backwards as MetalGarurumon snapped at him with his jaws. "You were so kind as to let me destroy Koushiro that I thought perhaps you were giving me permission to go after the others as well."

Missiles flew through the air, raining down around Piedmon and covering everything they touched with ice, forcing him back.

"His name was Izzy." The name passed Matt's lips with a reverence that still didn't feel enough. Fixed on Piedmon, his eyes were windows to all of the pain, guilt, and anger swirling within him as he jumped off his partner's back. "And if you want permission, you can come after me."

Piedmon smirked. "Sacrificing yourself in order to prove that you deserve that crest—how gallant. Don't worry, I will very much enjoy helping you with that!"

MetalGarurumon lunged with a snarl, and Matt had to brace himself from the sheer force of the two clashing head on. While his partner was armed to the teeth with heavy artillery, his metal body remained quick and agile. The chances of defeating Piedmon in close combat were slim, but it was the best way to keep his focus from drifting toward any of the others.

Hands clenched into tight fists, Matt could merely watch as MetalGarurumon took swipes at Piedmon with his claws, bobbing out of the way as sword strikes were aimed at his neck. He lashed out with sharp teeth, shooting two missiles from point blank range from his shoulder launchers, forcing Piedmon to hop backwards toward the looming cliff face to avoid them.

"You tell me that I can go after you, but then you cower behind your rabid dog." Piedmon's voice carried over the flying dust and clang of metal. "I suppose the lives of your human friends weigh more than that of any mere digimon, hm?"

"My power comes from Matt." MetalGarurumon's response was sharp and immediate. "I couldn't defeat you without him. I will fight when my friend can't—not because I have to, but because I want to."

Matt's chest swelled with both guilt from the kernel of truth in Piedmon's words and affection for the partner that refused to leave his side despite his countless mistakes. But both were quickly wiped away as Piedmon leapt into the air and over MetalGarurumon, swords aimed instead at him. His eyes went wide.

"Then I guess I will simply have to cut off your power source," Piedmon said with cruel delight.

MetalGarurumon quickly turned and shot off a Metal Wolf Claw attack right as Piedmon's cry of "Trump Sword!" filled the air.

Fear gripped Matt as the swords flew straight for him, but before they had a chance to reach him, another voice rang out.

"Hand of Fate!"

Matt had to shield his eyes as the brilliant beam of light from Angemon's attack struck the swords, disintegrating them mere feet from where he stood.

"I won't let you hurt my brother, Piedmon!"

Opening his eyes, Matt turned to see TK and Tai running toward him, Angemon and WarGreymon flying overhead.

"You won't be hurting anyone else," Tai added fiercely.

Without slowing down, TK crashed into Matt, throwing his arms around his legs in a tight hug, nearly causing them both to topple over. Matt's hand instinctively went to embrace TK's small body but paused, hovering hesitantly, before TK finally looked up at him. His big, blue eyes were rimmed with red and glistening with tears. Matt's hand dropped to his side.

Piedmon's mocking voice filled the air before either of them could speak.

"Your little pets barely qualified as a rehearsal." Matt looked over to see the Dark Master pushing himself up from where he knelt on the ground, frost covering his coat tails and pants. "Do you really think adding one more will bring you any closer to rewriting the finale?"

"Then how about five more!"

Matt's head snapped around. Joe was standing behind a rocky outcropping along with Sora, Mimi, and Kari, the cries of their partners' attacks already surrounding them.

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

Piedmon was quick, dodging each as they came, but the barrage of attacks was enough to finally turn his confident smirk into a frown. Doing his best to evade the onslaught from now seven opponents left him little time to return fire, and with clear annoyance, he cried out.

"Vilemon, to me!"

Reaching down to wrap a protective arm around TK, Matt quickly scanned the area for the small, flying digimon that had covered the battlefield, but not one answered Piedmon's call.

"Don't worry about the rest of these small fry—we'll handle'em!"

Ogremon was waving his club above his head, a struggling Vilemon pinned beneath his foot. Looking around, Frigimon, Meramon, and the rest of their allies were corralling the remaining Nightmare Soldiers far away from their lord's side, ensuring there would be no further distractions.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Matt turned. Tai was looking at him with determination in his eyes.

"Come on," he said, "we should take cover with the others."

With a nod, Matt hurried after Tai, TK close at his side as the battle raged on ahead of them, now fiercer than ever. The wind and dust from the myriad of attacks buffeted against them, making progress slow, but eventually they reached the jutting rocks the others were huddled behind. Matt could feel several sets of eyes glance in their direction as they settled in, but he couldn't bring himself to meet them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Mimi was holding something tightly to her chest. His curiosity revealed it to be a digiegg covered in purple stars. Matt quickly turned his focus back to the battlefield, swallowing the nausea crawling up his throat.

Piedmon was still putting up a terrible fight, swiftly dodging every which way as he threw out attack after attack, but the tide had definitely turned. Out of trickery and allies, he kept his full concentration on the assault directly before him, the air for once free of his taunts. His clothes were torn and singed, and his movement lacked its former grace. And with a held breath, Matt watched as the final Dark Master fell to a knee.

"Now, WarGreymon!"

The call from Tai rang out, quickly followed by cheers of encouragement from Sora, Joe, and TK. Kari's small hand enveloped Tai's while Mimi clutched Tentomon's digiegg even tighter.

MetalGarurumon's eyes locked with Matt's. He nodded back, heart pounding as a Metal Wolf Claw attack quickly joined the rest in their final assault.

The explosion from the dense concentration of energy and missiles had them all ducking low behind the rocks, the heat and winds swirling around them as they clung to one another. Matt could feel an arm on his back as he used his body to anchor TK. After a few moments, the air grew still once more, dust now hanging in thick clouds as everyone slowly opened their eyes and peeked out from their hiding place.

Matt's breath caught in his throat. In the thinning dust leaning up against the cliff lay Piedmon. His mask was cracked, body battered and broken, and as Matt looked closer, he was just able to make out the particles of data slowing rising to the overcast sky.

Piedmon's face wore a tired, wry expression as he looked toward the rocky outcropping.

"It would seem," he began, his voice dry and cracked, speech slurred, "that you were only able to play your parts to their fullest once your strings were cut. How poetic." He let out a harsh cough as his lips slowly curled upwards. "Do enjoy your victory—for as long as your pathetic, human consciences will allow it."

Laughter like broken glass rang out as Piedmon's body disintegrated in front of them until at last he was gone, leaving only a chilling echo behind.

Time seemed to stand still, Matt's heart racing in his chest. His eyes darted every which way, taking in the whole of the scene anxiously until finally connecting with MetalGarurumon's, his partner facing him with reassurance in his gaze. Cheers from Ogremon and the rest of their digimon allies soon reached his ears, mixing with hopeful murmurings from those beside him.

His tightened muscles were begging for relief, but before he could grant it, a low rumble sounded from the mountain, quickly getting louder as the ground beneath them began to shake.

"What's happening?" cried Mimi in alarm.

"It's just like when we defeated the others," said Tai as he braced himself against the rocks and tried to stand, "the mountain's gotta disappear too if everything's gonna get reconfigured, right?"

Dread settled in the pit of Matt's stomach, however, as shrieks of fear rose from behind him. The air now full of digital data, he quickly turned, gasping as it became evident that not all of it was from the mountain. Andromon and Ogremon... Frigimon, Meramon, and all the rest were quickly vanishing into tiny particles, their eyes wide with horror.

Panicked, Matt snapped his head back towards MetalGarurumon, but before he could find him, he suddenly felt the ground give way beneath him. In an instant, he and the rest of the Digidestined were falling, cries filled with confusion and alarm being ripped from them as all that lay beneath them was an endless black abyss. ________________________________________

On that note, Yamato's interactions with Taichi specifically are also important to understanding him as a character. The two are often butting heads and disagreeing on the right course of action, with Taichi seeking the straightforward and sometimes reckless route while Yamato usually prefers the more thoughtful and sometimes overly cautious approach. While Taichi does become the natural leader of the group, Yamato's input is still taken seriously, to the point where when he has split off from the group, Taichi actively tries to think about how Yamato would handle the given situation if he were there. Yamato, for his part, largely comes to acknowledge and defer to Taichi's leadership, always offering his opinion when he feels it is necessary.

The last character I need to touch on is Gabumon whose biggest impact on Yamato is through his loyalty. Gabumon is often shown simply enjoying being in Yamato's presence, a quiet but firm rock for him to lean on, but will also actively put Yamato's needs and desires above his own. While trying to be a voice of reason, he will still go along with whatever Yamato wants to do so long as Yamato himself feels it's the right thing to be doing, even if Gabumon himself disagrees.

This is important to Yamato since he has trouble viewing himself as someone worthy of such loyalty due to the issues with his family touched on earlier. While everyone is changing around him in a way that makes Yamato unsure of himself, Gabumon remains a constant. The only character Yamato really talks about his issues with is Gabumon, hiding them from Takeru, Taichi, and the rest of the group. And when he cuts himself off from everyone else, it's Gabumon who finally convinces him that his view of himself is skewed as he refuses to see his own positive qualities.

All of these interactions (and more) shape who Yamato grows into by the end of Adventure. Gabumon's loyalty gets Yamato to be more open with his feelings—at least to Gabumon himself—helping him work through his issues with his family and Taichi. He comes to accept that just because Takeru doesn't need him to protect him all the time doesn't mean that he's a bad or useless brother and that Takeru loves him for who he is, not what he is capable of.

As for Taichi, Yamato turns his jealousy into respect. While initially feeling threatened by Taichi's growing maturity, Taichi is, in a way, a bit of an ideal for Yamato by the end—he's decisive, friendly, caring, and strong-willed while always desiring to do what's right, qualities Yamato wishes to possess himself.

The series ends with him embodying all of these things as well. He is shown to be supportive of Takeru, have utmost faith in Gabumon, and work in perfect sync with Taichi.

These all carry over into 02. While he doesn't appear often, we can still see his growth in what is shown to us. He is more open and friendly, both to the original Digidestined and the new, though he will still snap if he thinks the situation calls for it or he is pushed too far. And when he is around, he leads by example, being the first willing to do what's needed. His relationship with Takeru is on more equal terms, he and Taichi are friends that can both support and mess with each other, and he is clearly always happy to see Gabumon when he is able, the two still shown to have complete faith in each other.

To Me, You're Someone Irreplaceable

By Tri, though, things have shifted ever so slightly. While Yamato is more open than he used to be, we see that the only one he genuinely talks about his worries to is Gabumon. He and Takeru still have a close relationship, but it almost feels like Yamato purposefully doesn't want to tell him things about himself that might upset him—perhaps his new way to "protect" Takeru without smothering him. And as for Taichi…

By the end of Adventure, Taichi and Yamato had managed to become similar in a way, each taking on traits of the other that they had come to admire. Taichi grew to be more conscientious of those around him while Yamato learned to be more decisive. We see them in sync come 02, the two of them barely even needing words to understand each other. But this, too, has shifted, though in this case it's more than slightly.

By the start of Tri, Yamato and Taichi almost feel like the inverse of how they started. I mentioned that Taichi at the end of Adventure felt like a bit of an ideal for Yamato, someone with traits he aspired to have. Over the years, Yamato worked to change himself, to fashion how he handled tough situations after his ideal: Taichi as he was in Adventure. But meanwhile, Taichi was also changing, taking to heart the lessons he learned from Yamato and paying more attention to the people around him.

So when Yamato sees Taichi struggling against the Kuwagamon, he instantly knows something is wrong.

It takes a little while, but eventually he realizes that the ideal Taichi he's been admiring isn't the current Taichi. It leaves him at a loss for how to handle the situation, trying initially to confront Taichi head on before he realizes that way just isn't working anymore. Taichi isn't reacting the same way he used to. Yamato has to relearn how to approach his best friend, the person he thought he'd been in sync with for years now, in a completely new way.

This one difference is the catalyst for Yamato to finally stop idealizing the Taichi of the past and come to terms with how he truly wants to live his life.

We see Yamato take a gentler approach with Taichi, offering him relief instead of applying pressure. We see him taking active steps to look further into the situation with the 02 Digidestined, seeking answers from Nishijima and Himekawa in an attempt to ease the group's worries. He is stepping up and out of the shadow he had inadvertently been walking in, doing what he can without relying on Taichi.

We also see him actively approaching Takeru when he can tell something is wrong, but their encounter solidifies that it's not just Yamato who doesn't want to open up—Takeru is also no longer confiding in Yamato. The two are still close, but there's something keeping them both from truly trusting each other. And Yamato knows he's hiding something—Takeru, like Taichi, is changing.

And who does he talk to about all of this? Gabumon, his one remaining constant.

In the first three Tri movies, we see Yamato open up to Gabumon on several occasions, sometimes on his own and sometimes with merely a single question. But it's clear that their bond has grown over the years—Yamato trusts Gabumon more than anyone else, enough to talk about things he'd never admit otherwise. He shares about his struggles with Taichi, he admits that he's afraid of things changing, worrying that even his fond memories might change over time. And Gabumon listens, saying exactly what Yamato needs to hear if he can.

But then Yamato loses that too.

I think it's important to note that of all the kids, Yamato is the only one never shown by himself after the reboot. Right after it happens, he goes to Takeru and holds him while letting him cry. We later see him visit Taichi and riding on his moped with Takeru, and when they are all coming together at last, he's shown arriving with Sora.

These are the people that mean the most to him. All of them are changing, and that's clearly been hard on him, but they—unlike Gabumon who won't even recognize him even if they meet—are still here. Making sure to show him spending time with each of them instead of alone feels very deliberate, a clear indication that Yamato is both seeking and giving comfort.

It's at this point we see a few things start to shift again. Yamato seems to take notice of Taichi sliding back into the role of taking charge and finds relief in it. Upon meeting Tsunomon/Gabumon, the easiness they had is clearly gone. And now he finds Sora as the latest person around him that's suffering.

We have seen Yamato deal with trying to help people in two ways: 1.) getting aggressive as a means to force a solution into existence and 2.) quietly being there for them and hoping they open up to him. He chooses the latter with Sora, though trying to tackle the issue with Taichi winds up landing it somewhere in between the two instead, and it fails pretty spectacularly. It does at least show that he cares and wants to help.

The changes in Taichi, however, actually have an effect on Yamato. Taichi has taken his time to think, and when confronted with a hard choice, he chooses to kill Meicoomon on their own terms. This is different from anything they've dealt with in the past. In 02, when MetalGreymon was under the Digimon Emperor's control, they vowed to fight as hard as would be necessary, but the intent was to free him. And back in Reunion, Taichi was wavering because of potential deaths the collateral damage could cause. This is directly attacking a friend with the intent to kill.

And finally things with Yamato come to a head. He, too, has been growing and changing, taking charge when he felt he needed to, but this was not an answer he had ever come to, or one, I think, he ever expected Taichi to come to.

But he did. Yamato gave him room to figure out whatever was going on in his head, and this is the answer he came up with.

Now Yamato is the one left wavering. For all his growth, the one thing that has stayed the same is his desire to protect and help the people he cares about most. This decision feels like the antithesis of that. And yet Taichi, the person he most looked up to, the person he was at one point most in sync with, the person Yamato knows does feel the same way as him about the ones he cares about, has decided it's the best course of action.

He defaults back to aggression in retaliation, but ultimately he trusts Taichi. He hates it, he doesn't want to, but he trusts that Taichi isn't making this decision on a whim, and he can't do it without Omegamon—without Yamato.

But the battle abruptly ends, and Taichi disappears.

Yamato's development throughout Tri has been leading to this point—what is he capable of when the one he so often compares himself to isn't there as a guidepost?

Luckily, he does not have to answer that question alone.

Yamato does initially take charge, trying to keep everyone from falling apart under the loss, putting off dealing with his own feelings until they are in a safe space to think and rest. But even then he attempts to deal with them on his own, because the one that used to help him has been erased.

Accept, he hasn't—not exactly. Throughout all of Loss and Coexistence, Yamato's relationship with Gabumon felt far more surface level than it had in a very long time. I mentioned that Yamato has two ways of trying to help people, and with Gabumon he clearly decided that he would give him space to come to terms with a partnership he can't remember. This means that while Yamato still genuinely seemed to enjoy his company and cared about him deeply, he was choosing to not go to Gabumon with his worries like he used to.

So Gabumon comes to him.

While everyone around him was changing—while Yamato himself was changing—the core of who Gabumon was remained the same. It didn't matter that he didn't have his memories; he still wanted to be that listening ear he'd always been.

We can see Yamato hesitating to go along with it at first, simply giving Gabumon the friendly smile he'd been directing at him the past two movies when Gabumon tells him that he should rely on his digimon partner for advice. But Gabumon doesn't give up until Yamato is finally able to recognize that his friend is still in there. He may not remember everything that happened between them, but Yamato can recognize that despite it all Gabumon is still Gabumon.

This is what Yamato needed in this moment. He is not only allowed to process his emotions, but he is given the confidence he needs to do what he knows he has to.

Admittedly, though, Future doesn't actually give him a lot to do—Huckmon and Koushiro largely coordinate things. He does do his best to keep them together and focused and lead the attack charge, which are still important, but soon enough Taichi comes back, and the role of leader goes back to him, this time with Yamato backing him up completely, holding his ground despite how awful the situation is.

The last piece of insight we get into Yamato is him hearing that Taichi has finally decided to really aim for his future, and this inspires Yamato, claiming that maybe he'll aim even higher.

Virtual Reality Resistance

By the time Kizuna rolls around, Yamato is working hard in college, though feeling like he's in a bit of a rut, uncertain about his future. Instead, though, he gets pulled into a digimon related plot, one that includes a timer indicating that when it's up, Gabumon will vanish.

Yamato is shown working tirelessly trying to save the comatose people, the leadership traits he gained in Tri on full display as he investigates on his own as well as seeking the help of the 02 kids. He even goes so far as to purchase burner phones for Taichi and Koushiro, fearing they're being tracked. And when he and Taichi are confronted with Menoa's plan to "save" all of the Digidestined by trapping them in happy memories with their digimon from their childhood, everything finally comes to a head.

Yamato can have more time with Gabumon before he disappears, or he can put his all into the fight to save everyone and reduce the amount of time they have left.

There's a lot to note about all of this. For starters, Kizuna begins with them fighting off a digimon. But as soon as it's over, Yamato leaves Gabumon behind. Based on the reactions from Takeru, Gabumon, and everyone else left behind, this is not unusual. We later see Yamato and Taichi at a restaurant drinking beer, and when they talk about Gabumon and Agumon, they mention that they never change, making a joke about being unable to bring them with them to class. Taichi practically flat out says he's too busy for him, and Yamato doesn't dispute this. Later we learn that Agumon has never even been to Taichi's apartment, and Taichi freaks out when he sees stuff that's "only for adults".

Kizuna seems to be telling us that their digimon are holding them back from moving forward, that as long as they're around, Yamato will always have his attention divided.

This is where the timer comes in. They have, apparently, been neglecting their digimon long enough that it is somehow decided that it's time for their role as a Digidestined to come to an end. This would allow them to move forward with their lives without clinging to the past, the idea that maybe, someday they can reunite if they have "limitless potential".

Whether Yamato and Taichi realize all of this or not, they make the choice to save everyone, vastly reducing the time they have left together with their digimon.

In the end, Yamato has to let Gabumon go. But in doing so he finds a renewed purpose, running toward his future with the hopes of seeing him again someday.

If You Don't Believe I've been Here All Along Just Turn Around

As stated at the beginning, I have a lot of thoughts on all of this, some good, some not so good. As my biggest issues come at the end, we might as well start with Kizuna.

The big elephant in the room is the idea that Yamato has grown beyond Gabumon. I can see what the writers were trying to do with this, but I admit it doesn't work for me for many reasons, the first being Gabumon himself. While I understand the idea is that everyone has changed except the digimon, the Adventure-verse as a whole doesn't fully support that.

In my analysis of Tri, I mentioned that even after the reboot, Gabumon was still the same, but I only said it that way because it's how Tri wanted you to view the scene. In truth, however, Gabumon post-reboot is the same as Gabumon from earlier in Tri, but not the same as Gabumon from Adventure/02. The Gabumon from Tri feels older, as if he's been around Yamato long enough that he's taken on some of his traits and mannerisms, like his sarcasm and side-eyes. In a similar vein, the Gabumon in Kizuna has a moment where he feels younger than the other versions—in the restaurant when he and Agumon both get shushed by the waitress for being too loud. The Tri version of Gabumon would have been annoyed at Agumon causing a ruckus, while Adventure/02 likely would have just sat there quietly. So as much as Tri/Kizuna want you to believe Gabumon hasn't changed, the writing is so inconsistent that it feels like he has, with Gabumon being written in a way to support each different story.

But even if you ignore that, Gabumon is shown to be one of the more mature digimon even back in Adventure, and not only that, for a long time he was Yamato's only true confidant. This is not just a childish toy or game—this was his closest ally and friend. Am I really being expected to believe that Yamato, the one given the Crest of Friendship, was ignoring not just one of his best friends but the one who had always been there for him in his darkest, most vulnerable moments? The only one he felt he could tell anything to? All because, what, Gabumon wasn't "adult" enough?

So, to summarize, Kizuna is about the Bearer of the Crest of Friendship actively ignoring one of his closest friends because he was now too immature and that being the catalyst for Gabumon's death in all but name. If someone has a better take, I would love to hear it, but this is how Kizuna read to me, and I am honestly SO not ok with it.

Which is a darned shame as if you completely ignore this incredibly unignorable aspect of the movie, I actually like it quite a lot and think Yamato is handled pretty well. How he acts for most of the movie builds really well on the potential we saw from him in Tri.

Which is nice as Tri itself kinda failed a bit in that regard.

I unabashedly adore Yamato in almost the entirety of Tri. Even the parts I'm less fond of, it is largely in a "it's still ok" kind of way rather than an outright "oh, no, that doesn't work" kind of way. I think there are only two exceptions. One is when he and Taichi are trying to get Sora to talk to them and he (and Taichi) says, "What a pain." The whole scene just feels mildly off (though amusing), but this line specifically feels pretty out of left field for Yamato.

Which is a real shame as Yamato only really has important scenes with three characters—Taichi, Takeru, and Gabumon—and it would have been nice to add Sora—the only other character we know he's supposed to have a close connection with—to that group. It really feels like Sora's conversation with Meiko should have been had with Yamato (and maybe Taichi). A more awkward version, sure, but it would have helped their chemistry which was pretty lacking.

The only other part I don't really like is a bit more subjective, though. In Future, when Sora says she wonders what Taichi would say if he were there, Yamato states that Taichi would "go with the option that causes the least damage". The line is not what I have a problem with—it's the implication behind it. This is one I admit I can't say for sure what the intention was, but to me, the scene reads like Yamato is implying that allowing Homeostasis to reboot the real world would cause the least damage, which is honestly an insane take.

Perhaps I'm reading the scene the wrong way (I did watch the same scene dubbed and it leans far closer to the "we don't know what side that is exactly, but it can't be the reboot, right?" which feels like a fair take), but the way everyone just kind of starts listening to Huckmon, the way Koushiro gets angry and runs off with Yamato yelling after him… it really feels like the implication is supposed to be to allow the reboot to happen. I would love to be wrong on this one, though, because I can't believe that Yamato (and the others, frankly) wouldn't be able to grasp just how badly that would effect the world as a whole.

Other than these two very small details, I do think the way Yamato is handled in Tri not only works really well but builds off of his development in Adventure/02. He still feels like the same character despite the fact that everything from the art style to his voice is different.

The biggest letdown is that the payoff is kind of weak. If the scene I mentioned in the paragraph above had been tweaked just a tad, having Yamato actually make a definitive, hard decision instead of adding his two cents and letting Koushiro and Huckmon handle it, it could have really felt like a proper payoff to all the build up of Yamato learning to handle things his own way. Instead it feels a bit like he really is just holding onto the goggles until Taichi gets back. Thankfully Kizuna does give us the proper payoff to this, but it not being in Tri itself feels like a missed opportunity.

Overall I think Yamato's development is handled shockingly well considering it's spread out over two decades with different writers at the helm. There are characters written by just one guy in a much shorter span of time that don't have the kind of consistency that Yamato has. And each iteration really does build on the last, even if I don't personally agree with all the choices made. I may have other issues with various iterations of the Adventure-verse, but going back through everything has made me realize just how lucky I am to have a favorite character that I've been able to actively enjoy new material for for so long.

You will note I did not link to my own fic - this is due to currently being in the midst of rewriting the entire thing and not wanting to promote a 20 year old poorly written story that is soon to be updated. XD Not to mention the exact scene depicted doesn't even appear in the original version, so there's that. But I am indeed putting my faves through it again, as always. lol