Sitting at a table, two shady figures eyed each other in the darkness. One lean and tall, in colorful attire. The other, short and fidgeting constantly, as though he was uncomfortable with the concept of sitting still.

"Alright, how do you know about these parts you obviously weren't there for?"

"… Look, I am the Wizarmon who did it. Alright? For every time you've heard a Mon ask a question of some outrageous claim, only to be told that 'A Wizard Did It', assume it was me."

In time, the taller of the two spoke.

"Pinocchimon, you know a battle is coming."

The shorter figure did not respond, his gaze drifting towards a small curtained window.

"The world is changing, little one…"

"Yeah yeah…" The wooden child's gaze clicked back to the Piemon, his fingers twitching with a small mechanical grinding noise. A small clicking noise filled the air as the puppet thought quietly to himself. The concept was just on the glimpse of his mind's eye, but the more he tried the less it seemed to make sense. Things seemed so much simpler when Juriemon was there to explain…

"Well? You've lorded over the forests of the Digital World for years. You know that the Chosen will come, and you know that they'll likely destroy anyone who holds such a claim of-"

The puppet's eyes flashed, a low growl escaping his wooden throat, his arm moving in one smooth motion, bringing his mallet down with a literal bang. Piemon didn't move, sitting to watch over the ruins of the table while the puppet began muttering under his breath.

"The forests are mine. The Mon in the forests are mine. They come to me to hide from you and all the other Stupid- " He faltered a moment, searching quickly for an insult to suit the broiling sea of emotions before settling with, "Stupid-Heads." It was not his best material, but at the moment he didn't care. "It's not fair! It's not fair that you idiots are going out of your way to make the Digi-Brat stupid thing come true, and it's not fair I am going to be punished for your messes!"

Piemon watched, his ever-present grin fading slightly as the little puppet panted in the aftermath of his outburst, pausing a moment before he spoke quietly. "None of us are fighting back because it's fair, Pinocchimon. We have all fought to rule and protect our zones. True, we may have gotten a bit careless and overconfident in ourselves, but we organize now to correct this wrong."

Pinocchimon shut his eyes, trying again to remember what it was that Juriemon had said…

Strength in friends…?

"This is going to be the last time I ask, Pinocchimon." The clown said softly, holding out his hand. "Will you join the Dark Masters, if for no other reason than to defend what is yours?"

Author's note: Five dollars says that none of you are original readers.

HELLO IF YOU ARE.

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