This chapter contains graphic mentions of gender dysphoria. It's nowhere near as heavy as the previous chapter, but I believe it's still something to be aware of. Stay safe, everyone. 

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Takuya's head was spinning when he first woke up next. The first thing he noticed was that he was down on some soft surface, though he couldn't quite identify it yet. His eyes felt heavy, as if someone had placed weights on both of them, but he still forced himself to try and look around. His mind felt as if it was filled with cotton, thick and suffocating all sense of regular thought. 

There was a distant voice that he could have sworn said his name, but Takuya didn't recognize who it was talking to him until a familiar streak of blonde appeared over him. It had to have been Izumi. He blinked away the fuzziness that filled his vision as Izumi continued to speak. "Takuya? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" she questioned. Takuya was vaguely aware of a ceiling above her head. 

Takuya stared at her for a moment before a small groan escaped his lips. Pushing up further didn't seem to be possible for him in that moment, but he still made an attempt. Unsurprisingly, he was unable to push himself up more than a few inches before slamming indelicately back on the sheets of the bed beneath him. "Yeah," he managed to say, but the word came out thickly and heavily. 

Takuya took in a slow, measured breath as the faces of Tomoki and Junpei appeared beside Izumi. Bokomon and Neemon were nearby, both whispering about Takuya, but he couldn't quite make out their words just yet. Koji was nowhere to be seen, but Takuya had no doubt that he was nearby in some way or another. Koji might have been prickly, but he didn't seem to be the type to simply abandon any member of the team while they were suffering this way. 

"What happened to you?" came the sharp voice of the Warrior of Light himself. Takuya attempted once again to sit up, but he wasn't able to actually accomplish it until after Junpei came to his aid, easing him into a position halfway between vertical and horizontal. Takuya realized how soft the blankets below him were, and he got a proper look at the rest of the room. It appeared to be a hotel space of some kind, but it wasn't anything like the city they had stayed in the night before. Kazemon must have carried him to another town while he was unconscious. 

Takuya took a moment to register Koji's words, mulling them over as he blinked a few times. Everything was hazy from before he had fallen unconscious, and he wasn't even sure if he truly understood what the question Koji was asking meant. 

His expression of confusion must have caught Koji's attention, because the dark-haired boy spoke up once again. "When you touched your Beast Spirit, you changed. You said that you thought you were going to have it all under control, but you didn't, and you started attacking yourself violently. What happened to you?" Koji explained, echoing his question once more. Takuya could see how strong and intense his gaze was, and he couldn't help but flinch against Koji's interrogative eyes. 

As soon as he registered what Koji had said, it all came flooding back. He remembered each part of the battle that had surrounded the discovery of his Beast Spirit, though the details regarding the rest of his team were blurred and faraway. He had been too focused on his own breakdown to fully realize what was happening to them at the time, and he didn't even remember it after being given time to recover. 

On the other hand, remembered his fallout very well. It was a larger downward spiral than he had endured in a long time, and his stomach twisted at the reminder of its occurrence. Takuya had completely collapsed emotionally as soon as he grabbed his Beast Spirit. He had been so sure that he would be free from issue since he didn't have the same traumas as Tomoki, but that had been far from the case. 

"Are you alright?" Izumi questioned, shooting Koji a brief glare for his lack of sensitivity. She reached out one hand to cover Takuya's own, her eyes the epitome of worn-down concern. She looked exhausted, but Takuya couldn't imagine that he looked any better than she did. 

Takuya couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze, swallowing dryly. He didn't want to explain it to them. This was information that very few in his life were privy to, and he wasn't sure if explaining it to the rest of his team would be for the best. Who could say how they were going to react? If they didn't like what he said, what would happen then? They were meant to be working together, so maybe it would just be easy for him to sweep it under the rug and try to take care of it on his own. 

Tomoki realized that Takuya was holding back and spoke up slowly. "I know that when I was suffering, talking about it made me feel a lot better," he offered. "No matter what you have to say, we'll be here to listen. You were all here for me, and I bet that same treatment extends to you."

As kind as Tomoki's words were, Takuya couldn't help but worry about if they would apply to him. His situation was different from Tomoki's in a variety of ways, and who could say what they would think of him afterwards? Takuya couldn't bring himself to be open with his identity like others in his shoes could, and he was starting to feel the burden of such the longer he felt the eyes of his friends on him. 

His friends. 

That's what they were, right? If they truly did care about Takuya, they wouldn't let something like this get in the way of their friendship. They had gone through so much in such a short span of time, and casting Takuya aside over something like this didn't seem to be in character for them. 

When Takuya forced his eyes up, he was met with the concerned eyes of Izumi and Tomoki. Bokomon and Neemon were both worried as well, frowns marring their features notably. Even Koji seemed to have a worried shadow over his expression, and Junpei was watching him cautiously, not wanting to poke too hard and hurt him by accident in the process. Those weren't things that strangers did. These were his friends, and he could trust them. 

Still, that didn't make talking about it much easier. He swallowed once again, the lump in his throat large and threatening. When had it even appeared? Did it even matter? Takuya shook his head to dispel the thought before spitting out the words. "I know exactly what happened," he admitted. 

"What was it then?" Izumi questioned kindly, her fingers wrapping around Takuya's hand further. She squeezed comfortingly against his palm, and the gesture grounded him against the panic rushing through his mind. 

"It was... It was dysphoria," Takuya admitted. He looked down at the place where his hand met hers, and he worked his bottom lip between his teeth as a distraction against the words he had just released into the air. 

"Dysphoria?" Bokomon echoed in confusion, tilting his head to one side. Rather than being spiteful towards Takuya, he seemed to be genuinely curious, and the innocence of the Digimon's wide eyes made the next part at least a fraction easier. 

"Yeah," Takuya confirmed, unable to find the words. His tongue felt too large for his skull, and his mind threatened to explode if he thought too hard about what he was saying. "It's... Well... It's a feeling of disconnect between your body and mind... To be more specific, it's about gender."

The room was silent, and Takuya knew that they were waiting for a further explanation. "I'm... I'm transgender. I got top surgery a few years ago, and I've been passing really well ever since. I haven't had any major breakdowns like that in a while, and I thought I had moved past it, but... I guess not," he confessed. He still couldn't bring himself to look up at the rest of the group. 

Izumi's fingers grasped tighter at his hand again, and he felt her nails digging into the skin slightly, but he oddly enough didn't mind it. "Thank you for trusting us with this," Izumi told him, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "This doesn't change the way we think about you at all, Takuya. We still care just as much as we did before."

"Yeah," Tomoki agreed a moment later. "You're still the same Takuya that you always have been, and we like you a lot, so... Why would this bother us?"

Even if Junpei and Koji were silent, Takuya could sense their passive support as tears began to well up in his eyes. In such a short span of time, he had managed to work himself up so much over this, but knowing that the rest of the group still cared for him regardless of his origin was enough to release the tension that had been building firmly in his chest. 

Izumi reached up with her other hand to tilt Takuya's face up so that their gazes locked. She thumbed at his tears carefully. "It's alright," she reassured him. "We're here for you."

Somehow, those emerald eyes were enough to break any other barriers that Takuya might have put up unknowingly. He took in another heavy breath, surprised to realize that he was shaking along the way. "I... I haven't gone through that in ages. I thought I was over it... That feeling of just wanting to get out of your own skin since it doesn't feel right. It's impossible to escape your own body though, and... I lost sight of everything just wanting to run away," he said softly. "I had this vision of someone referring to me as... Something that isn't me. It's never been me regardless of what others might think. After that, I felt terrible, like I couldn't breathe."

"Panic attack," Junpei murmured with a notable sadness in his voice. There was an unexpected note of sympathy to his words as well. Takuya was able to guess that this was far from being his first experience with the terrible sensation. 

"Yeah," Takuya confirmed with a slow, somber nod. "I thought everything was coming down. My head was spinning, and I just wanted it to stop... But I guess I went a bit far in wanting that, huh?"

"Cybelemon was feeling it too," Koji chimed in. "Surely the rest of you must have saw it... As soon as you two touched, it was as if they were falling apart in the same way. I don't know if it was because of the same thing, but... Something happened for them to snap too."

Takuya's breath caught for a moment as he remembered the feeling of blood along his body. That hadn't been his memory. The hair he was able to catch sight of in the vision was far too dark to be his own. For but a moment, he and Cybelemon had pulled off an exchange of emotions strong enough to show him their memories, and his stomach churned suddenly. 

"It was the same thing," Takuya said firmly. He wasn't sure what the Warrior of Earth had gone through, but everything had only gotten worse after Cybelemon was locked in his grasp. They had shared emotions for a second, and it made the fire of fear and terror inside him scream with a need for escape. "Cybelemon is like me somehow."

"I see," Junpei murmured. "I'm sorry about that." He didn't seem to know what else to say on the subject, but there was a knot in his shoulders that Takuya couldn't quite decipher. Much like Koji had been with Tomoki, Junpei seemed oddly protective for a reason that was impossible to figure out without further evidence. Takuya made no attempts to dig deeper in his emotionally destroyed state. 

"Are you feeling any better now that you've talked about it with us?" Izumi questioned, meeting his gaze once again. The kindness in her eyes was enough to overwhelm him immediately, and the gentle serenity of her expression made him feel like he was going to start crying all over again. Had he ever stopped? Tears were still streaking relentlessly down his cheeks? He felt Izumi push one away with her finger again. 

Takuya nodded. "Yeah... I didn't think it would be a problem anymore," he muttered under his breath. No matter how many times he said that, he was blindsided all over again by the recollection of what had happened. He was still struggling with it whether he chose to accept it or not. His Beast Spirit had taken every emotion that he wasn't communicating to the rest of the world and shoved it down his throat as forcefully as possible. 

"Still, you don't need to deal with it alone anymore," Tomoki insisted. "We're all here to help you in case anything else like that happens again. You were a huge help when I was struggling before, and I want to do what I can to reach out to you in the future too. It's the least I can do. I'm sure everyone else agrees with me."

Takuya scanned the six faces around him, and he was met with nothing but agreement from all of them. "Thanks," he whispered, looking down once again at his hand, which was still locked carefully between Izumi's fingers. 

"You look exhausted," Izumi said next, eyeing him with a cautious smile. "I think that you should try and get some quality rest now. We can wake you up if anything else happens. How does that sound?"

As much as he wanted to resist, Takuya had to admit that he was tired. His moment of emotional vulnerability had only made the issue more noticeable, and he rubbed at his eyes with his free hand. "Yeah... Alright," he replied, noticing belatedly how his syllables rushed together in a string that seemed hard to pick apart. 

Junpei came to his aid as soon as he expressed interest to rest once again, and the Warrior of Thunder eased Takuya back onto the bed properly. Takuya's eyes grew heavy with the promise of slumber as soon as the back of his head hit the pillow once again, and he let out a sigh of relief. His body still felt like it weighed a ton, but he somehow felt lighter despite this. Getting the weight of his previous panic attack off his chest had done more than he could have ever anticipated. 

Takuya slipped his eyes shut without worry. He felt safe and happy against his suffocating exhaustion, and he was relieved above all else. His friends didn't care about his past. They were happy to just be around him. Takuya. It wasn't something he had expected to worry about in the Digital World, and yet, he was happy to know that it wouldn't be a problem in the slightest. When he fell asleep, it was with an odd warmth in his chest that he knew was love of the purest variety. 

~~~~~

Mayumi and Haroi had been walking for what felt like ages. Their supplies from Abraxas had offered them with more than enough to go for long distances without stopping, but it was still much more than either one of them was used to. Mayumi let out a sigh as she leaned up against a nearby set of trees. "I don't know where we're supposed to be going from here," she admitted. 

Haroi nodded his agreement. The two hadn't encountered any towns or villages since leaving Abraxas, and they both could have mistaken the Digital World for being empty with how little they had seen along the way. They were hoping to find something or someone that would point them in the proper direction of Rose Morning Star, but such was far easier said than done as they walked aimlessly through the Digital World. 

Mayumi pulled her D-Tector from its regular place at her hip and looked at the screen. "Hey, Haroi... Check your device thing. There's a set of signals on here," she remarked. The radar hologram showed up a few seconds later, and a cluster of five signals could be seen off on the horizon, barely within the range of the D-Tector's sensor. 

Haroi did the same, looking down to his D-Tector with a light gasp. "Hey, you're right..." he murmured. That set of signals most certainly had not been there the last time they checked their D-Tectors, so they had to be getting closer to something. 

"I bet that those signals are for others like us," Mayumi grinned. "We should follow them! If we can get to be closer with the rest of them, maybe they can help us towards Rose Morning Star!"

Haroi hesitated before nodding. He wasn't sure about if following the signals was going to be the best idea, but it wasn't as if there was anything else for them to do. The path ahead was notably unclear, and if they wanted to make any progress, they would have to try as hard as possible to push ahead. It appeared to be their only option, so despite his reservations, Haroi took a step towards the signals on the horizon. 

Mayumi pushed herself away from the tree, stretching one arm above her head as she did so. "Alright... Sounds like a plan," she told him. She started walking in the direction of the five signals, gesturing for Haroi to trail after her. He took a few moments to inhale deeply before following her. 

Both of them continued to look down at their D-Tectors, slowly growing closer to the signals. They appeared to be stagnant, not moving any closer or further away, and Haroi was willing to take that as a blessing. He didn't know if they would be able to chase after the signals if they were moving on top of everything else. He and Mayumi barely knew what they were doing, and that would only add an unnecessary level of difficulty to everything. 

The trees were starting to all look the same around them, but it mattered little in the grand scheme of things as far as Haroi could tell. Even if it was hard to tell what was going on around them, they had a destination, and that was more than Haroi could ask for in that moment. He was tired of wandering aimlessly, and he prayed that those signals would be able to aid in his and Mayumi's journal towards Rose Morning Star. He didn't know what they would do if that wasn't the case. 

~~~~~

Cybelemon didn't know how long they had been running before their energy completely left them. They transformed back into Aeoelmon not of their own wishes, but simply because they ran out of fuel. They collapsed into the dirt as a series of strong coughs wracked their body. Aeoelmon couldn't even remain upright for long, falling sideways into the grass as they continued to cough. Their Beast Spirit hadn't exhausted them this much the first time, and the sudden wave of sleepiness was certainly unsettling. 

Whatever Vritramon had done during the fight had to be the cause of their exhaustion. Aeoelmon wasn't sure how the transfer of emotions and memories had taken place, but it was more than enough to overwhelm them completely. Aeoelmon felt sick when thinking back on it because of how agonizingly familiar everything felt. It was as if they had seen a few of those events before, experienced those same emotions from an outsider's perspective, but how was that possible?

Aeoelmon looked up numbly, watching the clouds slowly roll across the sky and disappear on the horizon. They closed their eyes slowly, trying to keep from giving into sleep completely despite how tempting the thought was. They had to know what was going on with Vritramon. There was something so familiar about everything that had happened, and it was impossible for Aeoelmon to describe. 

The sharing of emotions had been one thing, and Aeoelmon couldn't stifle the wave of nausea that hit them at the recollection of wanting so terribly to escape their own body. That was a familiar feeling to them for completely different reasons than Vritramon as far as they could tell. Still, there was an odd sensation surrounding the entire exchange of events that seemed weirdly uncomfortable to Aeoelmon. Just what had happened back then that made them feel so strange all of a sudden? It hadn't happened before then, so why were things different out of the blue?

Aeoelmon let out a hiss of pain as they concentrated on the face of Vritramon. In human form, he seemed like someone Aeoelmon had once known. Simply remembering such was enough to make them groan in agony as one hand flew to their temple. Where had that headache come from? Was it thinking about Vritramon that had them feeling so disgusting? What about him crossed an invisible line that Aeoelmon hadn't even been aware existed until that moment? 

They didn't know what came over them when they rose to their feet, but Cybelemon took hold as soon as Aeoelmon was fully upright. There were too many unanswered questions, and they needed to resolve at least a few of them before the day was done. If Vritramon had an explanation, then they were just going to have to find them. 

The typical lack of control hit Cybelemon hard, but they tried to focus in on the idea of catching Vritramon at long last. They had to figure out what was happening as soon as possible. What direction had the group gone off in? Was it towards the city that could barely be seen in the distance when they squinted? That had to be it, right?

Cybelemon was moving against their own will, but they didn't fight back. They were too exhausted to ignore the whims of their instincts, and their need for answers burned strong and passionate inside their stomach. They were going to find Vritramon and figure everything out. It was the least they could do for themselves. They weren't going to be finding any answers as long as they were standing around, so they allowed the wind to slam against their body as they ran. Vritramon couldn't escape their grasp forever. 

~~~~~

"I have a question."

Junpei looked up when Bokomon's voice pierced the silence of the small hotel room. Aside from Takuya, the group was sitting on the floor since the area lacked a suitable table. Koji had returned with food a short few moments prior, and it hadn't taken long for everyone to dig into the haul he had brought back. Junpei took a bite out of a pear, unsurprised when it didn't exactly taste like a pear from Earth. He was used to weirdness like that by this point, and he wasn't about to ask questions. After all, it was food, and what more could he ask for with all the horrible things that had happened already?

"What is it?" Izumi questioned. She seemed much more tired than before all of a sudden, eating her share of lunch while not directly looking at the food. Perhaps her worry over Takuya was pushing her over the edge. Somehow, though, Junpei doubted that was all there was to it. He had come to understand her rather well since their conversation after the group was separated, and he got the feeling something else was bothering her. If anybody else had taken note of such, they chose to not bring it up. 

"Takuya's issues seemed to be based off the idea of gender. Is that different on Earth?" Bokomon questioned. His voice held no malice, instead being filled with genuine curiosity. He took a bite out of an apple, and Bokomon wondered distantly if the apple was larger than Bokomon's head. It certainly wouldn't have surprised him. 

"On Earth, people are assigned a gender at birth, but that's not always what they think is best for them," Izumi explained. "Some of us were born assigned as something and decide to stick with it. Takuya wasn't happy with what he was assigned as and decided to change it. There's an entire spectrum to think about too. Think about Aeoelmon for example. They're not on the side of being masculine or feminine, instead resting somewhere in the middle."

"That's weird," Neemon said, though he didn't seem to be upset about it either. "We don't have that thing here." Neemon bit into a banana, and it seemed far too large for him to be able to handle. Junpei cringed at the realization that the fruit was larger than Neemon's arm. He still wasn't used to the strange proportions of Digimon, it seemed. 

"Huh?" Tomoki questioned, tilting his head to one side. He took a drink from a cup of water that had been filled in the sink before setting it back down. 

"Digimon don't have assignments," Bokomon explained. "People are never assigned anything, instead merely choosing for themselves as soon as they're aware of it. That's always how it's been, and I supposed I assumed that would be the case on Earth."

Koji let out a small snort, and Junpei watched him carefully. "I wish," Koji grumbled. It was his first time saying anything since arriving back from his trip on the town. He noticed that Junpei was staring and looked up at him, prompting the Warrior of Thunder to avert his gaze. 

Junpei had heard Koji openly speaking on the matter when Takuya was talking about his issues with his Beast Spirit, so he had almost feared that the Warrior of Light would have problems with Takuya's admission. Still, Junpei was starting to think that wasn't the case and that Koji had instead remained quiet because it was in his nature to observe rather than speak up. Besides, if Koji did have problems, he would have expressed them while Takuya was asleep. 

"I'm glad we sorted that out," Bokomon said with a wide grin. He concentrated his full attention back to eating, and the room fell silent once again. Unspoken exhaustion was thick in the air, and Junpei could have sworn that it was trying to strangle him. 

The Warrior of Thunder looked over to where Takuya was sitting on the bed, still asleep even after Koji's lengthy trip into the nearby village. Junpei let out a sigh, worry filling his mind. He understood that the experience of facing his Beast Spirit was intense, but Junpei was still starting to grow concerned that the battle would have longterm effects. The expressions on Takuya and Tomoki's faces from when they finally snapped out of their Beast Spirit breakdowns would haunt him forever. 

Phrasing the events as breakdowns felt odd to Junpei, but at the same time, he knew that was the only word to describe them. He had silently judged Cybelemon for being unable to keep their Beast Spirit under control, but after seeing how seamlessly the Spirits had destroyed two of his companions, all he could do was admit his quiet wrongdoing. Cybelemon had likely snapped at some point along the way as well, simply doing it out of the view of the rest of the Warriors. 

Junpei thought back to the first encounter against Cybelemon, a frown settling heavy on his features. Cybelemon had been insistent on not wanting to be touched, and it was that same idea of contact with another creature that drove them over the edge after Vritramon's discovery. He felt as if all the pieces were there, but he didn't know how to put them together. 

Understanding Cybelemon would be the first step to defeating them. If the group could figure out what made them tick, then turning them away from Cherubimon would hopefully grow much easier. Junpei felt as if he had every piece that he needed to solve the puzzle, but they were too scrambled for him to even know where to start. He stared blankly at the floor, finally managing to tear his gaze away from Takuya. 

It had to do with fearing being touched and a similar dysphoria to what Takuya had experienced. Perhaps they had been harmed in the past through physical contact due to their struggles with dysphoria. If that was the case, then Junpei could try to reassure them that they wouldn't be hurt over something like that. As for if Cybelemon would actually listen, he wasn't sure, but he highly doubted it. 

Junpei let out a sigh of frustration, briefly earning him the attention of both Tomoki and Neemon, but he didn't respond to either one of their piercing gazes. He was no good with this emotional crap. Junpei excelled in situations of logic where a strategy could be applied to unraveling a fight. He was great at inventing things, but he couldn't figure out the emotional weight of the problems of others. 

It was probably because he couldn't even determine how he felt half the time. 

There was always a silent sense of rage that stirred beneath the surface within Junpei. He was loyal to himself out of bitterness against the rest of the world, undying in his personal sense of faith since he knew nobody else would do such. Having others behind him was unfamiliar, and being forced to figure out the emotional state of someone he had only fought a few times didn't settle well with him. 

He never spoke out about his hatred to the universe until it was bubbling over and either harming himself or others. Determining the origin of Cybelemon's similar enmity to the rest of existence was a trial he simply wasn't capable of overcoming. Junpei hardly had enough empathy for his own problems, always pushing himself to a breaking point without a trace of disturbance, so how the hell could he figure out Cybelemon? 

Junpei didn't have the chance to properly explain his frustrations with Cybelemon's emotional state. His thoughts were, luckily for him, interrupted when Takuya stirred from his place on the nearby bet. Junpei turned his head over his shoulder to see Takuya slowly sitting up. 

He was clearly doing much better than before, shown in how he was able to move without needing the assistance of another member of the group. Takuya rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "Morning," he murmured, the syllables slurring together in his moment of exhaustion. He let out a yawn before looking to the rest of the group with a small sigh. "Do I get some?" 

Junpei didn't realize he was referring to the food until after Koji was already tossing Takuya an apple. The Warrior of Fire caught it without issue before taking a bite out of it. Junpei turned his attention back to his own meal. "How are you doing?" he questioned. 

"Better than before," Takuya answered. The dark circles that had been so visible beneath his eyes before had started to fade away, albeit only barely. It would take him much longer to fully bounce back from a fight that brutal, but he was already making progress. "What did I miss?"

"Not much," Izumi replied with a shrug. "We were just talking about the Digital World. It's nothing of import to you." Junpei noted her intentional phrasing, not mentioning Bokomon's questions at all. Takuya had enough to worry about without factoring in the different customs of the Digital World on top of everything else. 

Takuya nodded as he took another bite of his apple. "Cool," he muttered after swallowing the chunk. "What's our plan now? We're going to head out there and deal with the Fallen Warriors, right?"

"You sure are eager to get out there," Koji commented, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. "I would have expected you to want to sleep for hours after that last fight. You certainly looked tired enough for it."

Takuya shrugged. "I'm feeling a lot better now," he insisted. "Besides, we've got a lot to take care of. I want to know what happened to Cybelemon after that last fight. We should keep moving towards Rose Morning Star when we get the chance to."

"We can head out after finishing our food," Koji suggested, figuring out that it was pointless to argue with the determined Takuya nearby. "We're in a smaller town that's supposedly a short distance away from a beachside city. We can stop there for the night, and it would let us move a bit closer to Rose Morning Star."

"I was thinking that staying here would be a better idea, but... If you're really feeling up to it, then... Alright," Izumi said hesitantly. She shifted uncomfortably, not looking away from the floor despite the numerous curious eyes that were locked on her. 

"We're going to be fine," Takuya chimed in, causing Izumi to look up at him. "I told you that I'm feeling better, and I mean it. If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it. We can walk for a few more hours before calling it good today."

"I just hope we don't run into Cybelemon while we're out there," Neemon frowned. "They could cause a lot of problems for us."

"They've already caused a lot of problems," Bokomon corrected with a shake of his head. "Still, I suppose that making a bit more progress wouldn't hurt in the long run. We can always afford to push on a bit more."

"Just tell us if you start feeling sick or nauseous in the slightest, got it?" Izumi told Takuya, her voice oddly sharp. Her gaze was scrutinizing, and Junpei was surprised Takuya didn't squirm under it. 

"Alright," Takuya replied. "I get it. Let's focus on finishing up our business here for now though. I'd rather not stick around here any longer than we have to."

There were no objections to that sentiment, and Junpei started looking around for anything that he could start to clean up. A frown was on his face, and he was thankful nobody asked about it. He didn't understand Takuya's ability to bounce back so quickly after an event that had traumatized him so much. He was already prepared to jump back into the fray and get ready for the next fight. Junpei would have spent days sulking over it before finally dragging himself up out of necessity, and even then, he wouldn't have liked it. Takuya's optimism was baffling to him in that respect. 

Junpei couldn't help but be jealous of Takuya, not that he would ever openly admit it. Junpei had struggled for years to find some sort of comfort in himself, and even though his behavior was out of self-loyalty, it wasn't as pure or shameless as Takuya's was. Takuya was naturally charismatic and optimistic where Junpei was neither. Junpei could barely hold himself together on his worst days, and Takuya was handling everything with a smile while pulling the group together in his own special way. It wasn't something Junpei would have seen coming, but he still envied it. 

As Junpei started to clean the room, he glanced over to Takuya, noticing that Izumi had approached him while Junpei wasn't looking. "You say that you're feeling much better, but I'm still worried about you," Izumi admitted. 

Takuya shrugged in response. "Facing my Beast Spirit sounds terrible, to be honest, but... I think I can handle it," Takuya told her. "I know that's what I said last time too, but I mean it here. I've got all of you to rely on now, and you've been so supportive. I didn't realize that I was worried about talking over what happened until the conversation started, and it's a huge weight off my shoulders now. I'm glad to have you all."

Junpei was surprised at that remark, and he was glad to be facing away from the group so that nobody would be able to see it. Takuya was glad to have the rest of the team by his side? Including Junpei? He hadn't expected to hear anyone say that. Izumi saying it was shocking enough, but this was an entire new level. Having multiple people explain such made it seem more realistic than before, and Junpei didn't know how to handle it. Reaching out to others was still foreign to him no matter how familiar he tried to seem with the subject. 

"We're here for you," Izumi reassured him, and Junpei could hear the smile in her voice. "We're your friends, and that's what companions like us do. If you need anything, we're happy to help you out."

There were general sounds of agreement throughout the room, and Junpei followed suit, though his was muffled. It still felt strange to him. Friendship didn't seem like a term that could be slapped onto him no matter how many people said it, and he shifted between his feet, unable to contain his awkwardness toward the phrase. 

"Thanks," Takuya grinned. "If anything happens, I'll be sure to tell you all about it. I... I don't want to let my dysphoria control me next time. There wasn't a way for me to be ready for it last time, but I know what I'm up against now. It won't stand a chance, and that's a promise. I'm going to get control over Vritramon, and everything is going to be fine. Don't worry about me."

"I'm glad you're so confident," Izumi commented. "We're all here for each other though, so don't feel like you need to take this on all by yourself. That applies to all of you. I know you're all listening."

Junpei frowned and continued looking down at the trashcan he had been standing over for the past few moments. Where had sharing his emotional weight gotten him in the past? It only pushed him closer to the edge when betrayal awaited him around the corner. Junpei didn't think the group was capable of stabbing him in the back, but that irritating sense of paranoia never seemed to leave him no matter how much time passed. It was uncomfortable and impossible for him to get away from, the embodiment of the monster that lived under his bed. 

"Thanks," Takuya told Izumi. Junpei knew that the silence that followed meant they were hugging, and he clamped down on his bottom lip hard. Takuya and Tomoki's vulnerability was strange to him, and he didn't know how they could be comfortable with it. If he couldn't even understand his own team, how was he meant to comprehend Cybelemon? 

In the end, it all came back to his issues with reaching out to others combined with his lack of emotional intelligence. It was starting to get frustrating, and Junpei felt his chest grow hot with familiar rage at his own incompetence. Of all the things Spirits could have been controlled by, why the fuck did it have to be feelings?

~~~~~

A few hours later, Takuya and the rest of the group were getting closer to the beachside city that had been mentioned before. Takuya himself felt oddly alive, proud of his achievements but not saying it. The way he held himself screamed determination, and he wasn't about to allow the world to get him down. 

His feelings towards Vritramon were still complicated, but he was so much more confident than he had been before. Opening up to the rest of the group about what was bothering him had already taken an enormous burden off his shoulders, and Takuya felt as if it was only a matter of time before Vritramon was bowing to his every whim the exact same way Agunimon had been from the start. 

Takuya wouldn't be able to deal with his dysphoria on his own, and he was fully aware of such. He didn't have Shinya or Chihiro to lean on the way that he did back on Earth, but the rest of the group was more than ready to support him. He knew how to handle the emotional wave better after having experienced it the first time, and while he was still a bit nervous about it, he wasn't going to let his dysphoria get the better of him. He deserved better than that, and he was going to make sure that he received such joy. 

In fact, the only thing that kept bothering Takuya was Cybelemon. They had fled from the scene of the fight in such a hurry, and it was almost worrying to him. He hadn't seen Cybelemon disappear, but he still wondered what could have happened to them. The more he tried to grasp onto their memories, the less he understood. He had seen more of Cybelemon in those short few moments than ever before, but he couldn't make sense of any of it. The only way he was going to get answers was by facing off against Cybelemon again directly, but who could say when that was going to happen?

The ground began to shake, and Takuya heard Koji swear from somewhere behind him. The encounter was going to be far sooner than he had expected. 

When Cybelemon came into view, Takuya couldn't help but hiss under his breath. This was happening far sooner than he had been hoping, and he could only hope that the rest of the group had enough energy after the cave-in to deal with the inevitable battle. Kazemon had undoubtedly done a lot trying to keep the group from being crushed, and he could only pray that none of his other teammates had pushed themselves too hard while he wasn't looking. 

"Cybelemon," Koji snarled, his eyes narrowing as soon as he caught sight of the Warrior of Earth. "What are you doing here?"

"Answers," Cybelemon answered simply. There was a heaviness to their body that Takuya had never seen before, and it bothered him a lot more than he thought it should have. "I need to hear the truth."

"We don't know what you're talking about," Bokomon told them, taking a step back to hide behind Junpei's leg. Neemon did the same from beside him. 

Cybelemon growled in response before turning their attention towards Takuya. Pain flashed through their eyes, and they stumbled backwards seemingly out of nowhere. "You... What the hell is with you?!" they cried out, their voice steadily rising in volume. A pulse of energy could be felt through the air, and a chill immediately ran up Takuya's spine. 

"Let's go on and fight," Koji declared. He had already grabbed his D-Tector and created a ring of Fractal Code around his fingers. He was the first to transform, and the rest of the group followed suit a few seconds later. 

Takuya hesitated when he was given the option to choose between Agunimon and Vritramon. He was going to have to stand up to Vritramon at some point, to show that he was in control, but he didn't know if it would be necessary against Cybelemon. After all, they could use Blizzarmon safely since there was more than enough room for him to appear. In the end, Takuya settled on Agunimon, scanning a single ring of data before transforming. 

Cybelemon struck quickly once the transformations were complete, shooting into the air to tackle Kazemon. They raked their claws across her stomach, and Kazemon immediately cried out in pain. She attempted to kick back at Cybelemon, but the Warrior of Earth reacted too quickly, grabbing her foot and slamming her into the nearby ground. Kazemon let out a cry of sharp pain upon making contact with the grass below. 

"Don't touch me!" Cybelemon screamed, pure fury appearing in their eyes at Kazemon's bold act. They landed a few feet away from the Warrior of Wind before launching themselves towards her once again. 

However, Blizzarmon intercepted the attack, sending out an axe to hit Cybelemon from afar. The axe swung through the air before the hilt hit them in the stomach, disturbing their course enough for them to hit the ground nearby. Blizzarmon caught the axe again when it returned before letting out a mighty roar. 

The edges of Blizzarmon's sharp arrowheads transformed into icicles, and they flew towards Cybelemon in a furious barrage. Cybelemon was unable to dodge all of the hits, receiving more than a few blows in the moments that followed. Their screams echoed in Agunimon's mind, and he couldn't help but cringe. There was more to those cries than just pain, but how was he supposed to figure out what was really going on?

Lobomon ran around to the back of Cybelemon, ready to slash at them while they were distracted. Cybelemon whirled around right in time, grabbing Lobomon's sword with one hand and clamping down firmly on his lower arm with the other. They sent Lobomon flying into Blitzmon, knocking the latter out of the air. Lobomon and Blitzmon slammed into the dirt hard, groaning at the pain that suddenly surged through their bodies from the impact. 

Agunimon couldn't help but snarl under his breath at Cybelemon. As much as he hated to admit it, Blizzarmon was not going to be enough to fend off the Warrior of Earth this time. The previous encounter had only worked out because they were too upset to truly grasp what was going on around them, but there was something different about Cybelemon all of a sudden. Their drive for answers, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean, was pressing them on despite all the hardships their control issues brought, and there was going to need to be a bit more punch behind the Risen Warriors' attacks if they were going to succeed. 

Agunimon closed his eyes and concentrated on becoming Vritramon. "Slide Evolution!" he cried out without even realizing what he was doing. Fractal Code surrounded him, and when it faded, Vritramon was waiting where Agunimon had been a short few seconds beforehand. 

Just as he should have expected, Vritramon was hit with a wave of sudden emotional instability as soon as the shift was completed. Still, he shook his head against it and focused on Cybelemon. He could handle this. He was capable of taking on this sort of weight. He wasn't on his own. Others were going to be able to help him carry the burden of his dysphoria if he asked for it, and he was going to be alright. 

As soon as these thoughts had circulated sufficiently through his head, Vritramon flew directly at Cybelemon. While he had been distracted with fully asserting his control, Cybelemon had gone after Blizzarmon, managing to send one of the Warrior of Ice's axes flying more than ten yards away. They were too focused on Blizzarmon to realize that Vritramon was charging them until it was too late. 

As soon as Vritramon made contact with Cybelemon, the two went down. Vritramon's teeth gritted instinctively, and he could tell that there was something unhinged about Cybelemon. If he wasn't capable to remain in control over his emotions, Cybelemon's own memories were going to find a way to slip in under his skin, and who could say for sure if he would be able to drag himself back after something like that? It had caused him to fall apart before. Experience most certainly helped the situation, but avoiding such disaster completely would be the best outcome. 

Vritramon and Cybelemon rolled uncontrollably across the grass for a while before finally coming to a stop. Cybelemon was on top, their eyes flashing wildly. They let one of their arms rear back, claws glinting threateningly in the midday sun, but the attack never made contact with Vritramon as they had been hoping. 

The Warrior of Fire let out a powerful roar as flames enveloped his body. The sheer force of the fire was enough to send Cybelemon flying backwards, and as Vritramon got to his feet, a tornado of flames formed around him. As soon as the twister was complete, he thrust one arm forward, and the tornado flew away from his body and towards Cybelemon. 

The Warrior of Earth wasn't able to get out of the way in time, and the full force of the flames slammed into them hard. A cry of strangled pain echoed throughout the area, and Cybelemon attempted to lunge at Vritramon once again. He kicked off the ground at the last second, taking flight and causing Cybelemon to crash unceremoniously against the grass. Dirt was kicked up in every direction, obscuring Cybelemon's vision for a few crucial seconds. Among the brown dust, they looked like a caged animal in every sense between the wild eyes, peculiar posture, and unrestrained anger. 

Blizzarmon sent an icy blast out towards Cybelemon with hopes of keeping them in place, but the attack failed when the latter slammed their foot into the ground. A sudden column of rock grew from nowhere, blocking the blow and sending icicles flying through the air. The jagged pieces fell downwards like raindrops, and Kazemon created a shield of wind to defend herself from being hit by the sharp debris. 

Vritramon threw up his arms to block the full force of the attacks as well, forming another barrier of fire around himself to keep from being hit. The ice disappeared before it had the chance to hit Vritramon fully, and he couldn't help but smile at his small victory. The chance had finally come for the entire group to lash out as one. Cybelemon had most certainly opened themselves up to attack after lashing out at Blizzarmon. 

Even so, Cybelemon didn't give the rest of the Warriors the chance to counterattack. Blitzmon was still on the ground, pinned by Lobomon from their earlier collision, and the sudden barrage of ice had forced Kazemon into the dirt as well. With all of the Warriors but Vritramon on the ground, Cybelemon jumped into the air before landing once again, creating a strong shockwave that traveled outwards, hitting each of the Warriors and forcing them into the sky. Bokomon and Neemon were caught up in the mess as well. 

As the four Warriors flew through the air, they began to glow with the familiar glimmer of Fractal Code. All of them were forced back into their human forms, landing on the grass with smudges of dirt scattered about. Tomoki let out a cough as Bokomon slowly rose onto his knees. The rest of the group couldn't even manage that, and pained groans filled the air.  

Vritramon let out a sudden gasp upon seeing Cybelemon take care of the rest of the group so swiftly. He growled under his breath before looking back to the Warrior of Earth. If the others in his party were unable to fight back, that left this battle up to him, and he wasn't about to fail. There was too much riding on his victory for him to back down. 

Vritramon flew down to Cybelemon and punched at their shoulder. They stumbled backwards but quickly recovered their balance after making rocks grow around their ankles, holding them in place. Vritramon let out a kick to follow the attack, but it still wasn't enough to make Cybelemon stumble. 

Vritramon glared at them, knowing that he was going to have to figure something out if he wanted to win the fight. There had to be some weakness to exploit regarding Cybelemon that he could utilize while still keeping the rest of his team from putting themselves at risk. They wouldn't be able to join the fight again, so he would be forced to defend them while attacking. There had to be an easy way to end the battle faster though... 

Cybelemon suddenly kicked away from the ground and tried to launch themselves towards Vritramon. He flew upwards, avoiding the attack at the last possible second, and Cybelemon fell towards the ground, landing with little to no grace. They still managed to get to their feet once again, eyes full fo fire, before preparing to lash out once again at Vritramon. 

Vritramon's eyes went wide, and he realized what he had to do. Cybelemon's skills were in remaining on the ground. They were fast, but they weren't able to maneuver in the air the same way that he, Kazemon, or Blitzmon could. With his wings, he had an added advantage while not on the ground, and if he could force Cybelemon off the ground, he would be able to hopefully defeat them while keeping them away from the rest of the group. 

When Cybelemon next lunged for Vritramon, he was ready for it. He created a shield of fire and used it to deflect Cybelemon's claws, causing them to fly backwards aimlessly. A scream tore free from their lips, and Vritramon created another barrier of flame before sending it flying towards Cybelemon. 

To be specific, the shield created a surface in between the Warrior of Earth and the ground, and it was able to force Cybelemon back into the air when Vritramon commanded the barrier to bend at the proper time. It acted as a trampoline of sorts, and it gave him more than enough time to close the distance between himself and Cybelemon. As soon as he was close enough, he hooked his arms around Cybelemon's torso before covering himself in flames. 

The attack burned Cybelemon due to the closeness of it, and the Warrior of Earth continued to plummet towards the grass as soon as Vritramon let go. He summoned the barrier of flames back towards himself before making it disappear. He waited for Cybelemon to come towards him once again, something that would inevitably happen, and fell into a defensive stance. 

Sure enough, Cybelemon sprang forward just as Vritramon had predicted, and he lashed out with a pair of punches before summoning another twister of fire. It caught Cybelemon off guard and threw them into the air. Vritramon flew after them before allowing his tail to lash out. It slammed into Cybelemon's stomach, and breath was forced from their lungs immediately. 

Cybelemon hit the ground a few moments later, and the sound echoed eerily throughout the field. Vritramon saw the way their body trembled as they attempted to steady themselves, and he lashed out with a wide variety of fiery darts that flew forth from every part of his body. There were too many of them for Cybelemon to avoid in their weakened state, and he was sure that as soon as they hit, the fight was as good as over. 

Just as Vritramon had expected, Cybelemon couldn't get out of the way in time. The countless hits forced them backwards, and their legs threatened to give out from beneath them. Despite Cybelemon's attempts to create a shield out of the ground, they were unable to focus under the relentless onslaught of Vritramon's attacks. They were forced onto their back, staring up at the cloudless sky, against their will, and heavy breaths wracked their vulnerable frame. 

Vritramon swooped down ready to lash out at Cybelemon once again, but they caught him by surprise by hitting one weakened hand against the ground. A pillar of stone sprouted from nowhere beneath Cybelemon, sending them high into the sky. They took this chance to slowly rise to their feet in a temporary display of recovery, though it was clear that despite their attempts to appear fine, they didn't have much stamina remaining. Cybelemon let out a cough, and their eyes went wide. 

"T... Takuya..." Cybelemon muttered in between heavy, breathless exhales. They looked up as Vritramon got closer, his arms raised in a gesture they knew was bound to end the battle. Still, they couldn't do much to fight back, and they didn't bother to mount a defense either. A bittersweet smile appeared on their face, and they closed their eyes. 

Vritramon, meanwhile, allowed a large sphere of flames to appear above his head. He held it there for a moment before permitting it to fly towards Cybelemon, hitting them harder than he had expected. The column of stone crumbled from the force, and Cybelemon was left plummeting downwards. Vritramon watched from overhead, his wings beating powerfully against the sky. 

There was enough dust to reach the rest of the group multiple yards away, and time seemed to stretch on endlessly as the rocky debris settled. Vritramon slowly made his way towards the ground, and when he did, he saw a ring of Fractal Code surrounding Cybelemon's torso. They had been reduced to a dark silhouette, a sign of their defeat. They weren't moving aside from the hollow rise and fall of their chest. 

Vritramon closed his eyes for a moment before holding up his right hand. The Fractal Code from around Cybelemon began to shift away from them, pressing itself into Vritramon's palm. Cybelemon themselves started to glow, though it was nothing like the previous times that such had happened. 

Vritramon watched as the rest of the data flowed into his hand, clenching his fingers into a fist as soon as the Fractal Code had disappeared. He was sure of what this meant without a shadow of a doubt. He had defeated the Warrior of Earth. 

He had toppled a Legendary Warrior.

Vritramon's wings folded in around him, and Fractal Code bathed him in a flash of excruciatingly bright light. When it faded, Takuya was left standing where Vritramon had been a few seconds prior, and he was breathing heavily. Smudges and scratches littered his body, but he didn't seem to mind, instead continuing to stare down at the palm of his head. The gravity of what he had just done hadn't quite settled in, and turning the words over in his head repeatedly didn't make them seem any more real than they had been in the beginning.

Takuya had won against Cybelemon. 

Upon remembering that Cybelemon had been defeated, Takuya looked up. The rest of his group managed to rise to their feet to gather around him. Izumi was prepared to offer a cry of congratulations, but she was cut off when she looked at what Takuya was concentrated on. 

His gaze was locked solely on the pile of rubble left behind by Cybelemon's defeat. There hadn't been an egg when the Fractal Code disappeared. He surely would have seen it. In fact, there appeared to be someone resting at the heart of the seemingly endless stone when he looked closer. 

Takuya was the first to move, and the field remained silent as he stepped towards the remnants of the column. He didn't realize how shaky he felt until he was standing over the rocks, his mouth agape. The closer he got, the more he was sure that there was someone inside the debris of Cybelemon's final attack. 

He looked into the stone and saw that a person, a human, was draped across the rock. They were conscious and looking blankly up at the sky, chest rising and falling with a sense of weight Takuya hadn't expected. A few segments of the rock pile were stained in crimson, and Takuya realized that the fight had been intense enough to leave them covered in small cuts, bruises, and scrapes. 

However, Takuya couldn't bring himself to focus on that. His eyes were locked solely on the face of the person who had once been Cybelemon. He knew that face far better than he could have ever anticipated. Takuya had been anticipating strangers to be the faces behind the Fallen Warriors. They were humans just like the rest of his team, but of all the people he could have expected, this was the one of last ones he would have thought of. He had to blink a few times, albeit slowly and sluggishly, to persuade himself that what he was seeing was real. 

Takuya reached out his hand towards the fallen form of the Legendary Warrior of Earth, a surprised yet relieved smile appearing on his face. "Hey there, Chihiro."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plot twist! Aren't I just the worst? 

If you remember from the fight, Cybelemon came to their senses at the last minute before Vritramon's final attack. This may or may not have been their true identity remembering who Vritramon truly was (spoiler alert: it definitely was). That's definitely an interesting way to make a first impression, huh?

I'm going to be covering more regarding the ramifications of Chihiro entering the party next chapter, but for now, I want to talk about a few other things regarding this chapter. First off, I loved writing from Junpei's perspective. He's unlike most other characters I tend to write, something you've probably already noticed when comparing him to the rest of the cast, but I found him a joy to talk about. This certainly won't be the last we see of his point of view, to say the least. 

Next up, there's the matter of Takuya coming out. I've been really looking forward to this chapter ever since I started planning this story, and I really love the supportive attitude of the rest of the group. I personally believe that all of the characters in this story are queer on some level, so it's only natural that they would be accepting of Takuya. As a genderqueer person myself, this is the kind of friend group that I can definitely appreciate. 

Takuya has been post-transition for a few years as of the time this story starts. He has already undergone top surgery, so he doesn't wear a binder, and he's on testosterone too. He's been pretty comfortable with passing for a while, so he didn't expect his dysphoria to blindside him the way it did. Of course, Beast Spirits tend to bring out the deepest emotions of people, so it was inevitable that it came back to haunt him. 

Takuya has more ease with controlling his Beast Spirit compared to Tomoki because of how forward-thinking and optimistic he is. Even though it was a terrible experience and something he knows is going to hurt him for a while, he wants to look to the future, and he knows the rest of the group is there for him. He's used to having a support system, making it much easier for him to open up than Tomoki, so he didn't struggle as much with moving past his first incident with Vritramon. 

Bokomon and Neemon's curiosity on the matter is a reference to something mentioned in Tamers (I believe Renamon brought it up). Digimon don't inherently have gender and choose to identify however they wish. Bringing it up helps to expand the universe in my opinion, so that's why I dropped that small tidbit in. 

I think that covers everything in this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you next time when we properly introduce ourselves to Chihiro!

-Digital