Chapter 2: Rain Down My Parade

Entering battle was always a rush of emotion. Adrenaline pumped through your veins, filling you with an almost fidgety sense of anxiousness. Worry and confidence danced in your stomach, both battling for supremacy like you soon would. A strange sense of anger would course through your body, a byproduct of the adrenaline. But it was a good anger, and almost excited on that kept pushing you towards the battle. The thrill was enough to make some people loose it and attack wildly, but Celena had learned to stay calm a long time ago.

The others were depending on her so even if this was just a simulation Celena could not afford to loose. Sanmaru was still trembling in fear, his face a sickly green. He looked so terrified that Celena wondered if he had realized he'd wet himself. Rose on the other hand simply looked stunned. She was stepped further back than Sanmaru and had her arms around herself. She refused to look at the battle before her, instead looking at the ground.

Flamon's tail was lashing with anger and excitement. His fists were clenched, his knees bent as he prepared to lunge. Gizmon was still, his eye glowing red with charged energy. His emotions were illegible, no face to show them with. And Cutemon had a smile on its face as always. Celena knew exactly what was running through the little pink rabbit's. A mischievous sense of excitement. There was no fear for Cutemon, because the bunny was far too powerful to feel it.

"Let's go!" Celena cried, waving her arm out. "Cutemon, you're the medic! Use your powers to clean these two up!"

"Kizunaol kyu~!" Cutemon cried as its tiny hands glowed pink. The glow became a large aura that surrounded the three digimon. Gizmon looked down in surprise, his wires somehow rebuilding themselves. Meanwhile, Flamon stared at his scratches and cuts as they too closed up. The two digimon were filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling like snuggling under a warm blanket after walking through the freezing snow.

"Alright!" Flamon cried, feeling better than he had when the battle began. "I'm all fired up now!" His hands and feet burst into flames, and his flame-like tail latterly burst into a crackling fire. "Let's go you over sized bumble bee!" He roared as he shot into the air. He appeared above Flymon, who shrieked as he delivered a powerful punch to its head. "Baby Salamander!" He howled as the flames exploded, sending the massive bug hurtling towards the ground.

"Now Gizmon!" Celena ordered.

"Understood!" Gizmon agrred, spreading his legs out wide. His eye narrowed as he made a red cursor appear on Flymon's chest. It locked into place as the words "Locked On" appeared in his eye. "Gizmo Laser!" he declared, firing the thin red beam just as Flymon hit the ground. Flymon shrieked in pain as the laser tore through its arm and struck its chest, exactly where Gizmon had aimed.

"Flame Tail!" Flamon roared as he flipped through the air. All of the fire collected on his tail, becoming a massive wave of fire. He flipped down, slamming the massive bug further into the ground and burning its front with the intense flames. Flymon let out one more roar before falling still, Flamon landing between Gizmon and Cutemon. "Victory!" he declared, giving the V-sign to Flymon's charred corpse.

"Unbelievable!" Rose declared, her calm façade broken to reveal a look of surprise. "I've never heard Gizmon obey anyone but me!"

'She led them so well.' Sanmaru thought, staring at the smoking insect. 'I completely shut down but she stayed calm the whole time. But more than that, she made a plan that fit each of the digimon's strengths. She knew Flamon would fly off the handle, so she let him. But she was already preparing the final blow.'

Sanmaru was pulled out of his awe and reverence by a strange noise. It was like a loud beeping noise. Celena looked around, obviously confused by it as well. She looked to Gizmon, but he gave a bizarre four-legged shrug. Flamon's ears were twitching with annoyance as the beep continued, and though Rose had reverted to her calm self she did have a single, perfectly waxed eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Is this normal?" Sanmaru wondered aloud.

"The look on your face says its not." Rose assessed.

Celena opened her mouth to answer before a voice echoed through the forest. "Attention denizens of room…" The voice paused, as if checking something. "D17. You've been chosen by yours truly to be my guinea pigs! Good for you! I'm going to have a little fun and up the difficulty level. Do me a favor and last more than a few seconds. Hacking into here was a pain in the ass, but I'm a super genius so obviously I could do it.

"Hack in!" Gizmon cried. "That's impossible; I already tried that and got kicked out by their security!"

"Well duh." The voice tauntingly remarked. "But that's because you're…well you're you. And I'm me. Of course I'd succeed where you would fail. It's a given. Now let me see here. You're fighting a Flymon huh? And on the lowest difficulty too, how boring! Well let me just alter these files here, a little click and dragging there and…"

Flymon was covered by a massive pillar of light. Everyone's eyes were glued to the scene Flymon's skin exploded to reveal the green mesh of lines containing the data within him. Flymon let out an unearthly shriek as the shards whirled around, combining with the pillar of light to form a large black ball. It descended, entering Flymon's body which went completely rigid. An inky black darkness formed over the bug's data "skeleton". Slowly the bug floated into the air, churning and twisting as its missing limb grew back. Its wings extended, forming six thin wings. Its claws shot out with a sickening crunch noise. Scissor like claws formed on the end of the wings as it landed on its four hind legs.

The massive beast let out a loud roar, shaking off the rest of the black goo. "Get ready!" Celena ordered. "We just have to wait it out until help arrives! It's a perfect level digimon called Okuwamon, there's no way we can win! Cutemon, standby for immediate healing! Gizmon, use your lasers to try blinding it!"

"How!" The purple robot cried, slowly backing away from the bug. "All it has is red markings on its face, I can't see any eyes!"

"Then hit the face!" Celena roared back angrily, her fists clenched. Things were bad. Flamon looked about ready to fly at the big again. He obviously didn't understand the power a Perfect level had. Gizmon was right to be afraid, but he was freaking out a little too much. Granted she couldn't really blame him. Things were falling apart. Flymon had been easy to take care of, he was about ready to collapse anyway. But a fresh Okuwamon was a very different story. "Dammit!" she cried angrily, stamping her boot in the ground.

That seemed to be Okuwamon's signal, as he lunged forward with his two scissor claws outstretched. Flamon launched himself at the bug, surrounding his body in fire as he tackled its chest. To his surprised horror, he never made it to Okuwamon's chest. The bug's claws shot out, grabbing him in midair. He gasped, feeling the claw immediately squeeze his chest. The air was squeezed out of his body as the big squeezed harder and harder. He weakly pounded against the claw with his fist, but Okuwamon made no sign of letting go.

"Gizmon hit its claw!" Celena ordered frantically, looking to the panicking machine. He and Rose were both huddled up against a tree, Gizmon blubbering and muttering to himself incoherently. Rose had her arms around him, her eyes shut tight with a calm look on her face. Sanmaru was rooted to where he was standing, too stunned to move at all. "Cutemon!" Celena cried, turning to her partner instead.

"Right!" the rabbit cheered. Its ears began glowing bright pink before declaring "Hypersonic Wave!" A massive pink shockwave blasted out from Cutemon's ears, striking the big bug's claw. Okuwamon dropped Flamon, turning to Cutemon instead. The move that had torn through Flymon's arm now served as a mere annoyance to Okuwamon. The monstrous insect let out an angry hissing noise, not unlike a cockroach.

"Kyu?" the little rabbit wondered aloud.

"Run!" Celena roared as Okluwamon dived for the rabbit. His large mandibles stretched out, the ends glowing as he made for the small rabbit snack. Cutemon's eyes widened before trying to run, but Okuwamon's wide pincers caught the little rabbit with ease. Bringing the trapped rabbit up, Okuwamon let out a loud bellowing laugh. Cutemon shrieked in pain as the mandibles squeezed him tight. Its ears glowed again, letting out a pink shockwave at the bug's face, but again he ignored it.

Flamon forced himself up before flinging himself at Okuwamon. He punched at its leg fiercely but Okuwamon merely kicked him aside. Celena fell to her knees, tears in her eyes as she watched Okuwamon torture her partner. "Leave him alone!" she begged, tears falling down her pale cheeks. "Please, leave him alone!" she sobbed desperately before breaking down completely.

"No tears LeBlanc. You're the leader, so you have to stand tall no matter what."

Celena looked up, seeing Averia stand beside her through her blurry, tear filled eyes. "When you give up hope, it means the enemy has won." She said sternly. "You can't let that happen, no matter what. Without hope a soldier can't fight on. So stand up LeBlanc!" Averia's hand shot out, fixing around Celena's arm and forcing her up. The two girls looked to Okuwamon as his massive mandibles were cut in two by a massive black blade.

DarkKnightmon appeared, holding his massive black scythe in his right hand and Cutemon in his left. He landed gently on the ground before the two girls, handing Cutemon to Celena. "First the Troopmon and now this? Not too bad though I guess since this is our first screw up in six years."

"Enough talk. Finish it." Averia ordered.

"Yes, my mistress." He answered, his scythe glowing. It formed a massive blood red lance which he pointed at Okuwamon. The beetle roared back, his claws glowing and letting loose several blades of energy. They sliced through the air, but were dispelled with a single wave of DarkKnightmon's hand. The knight flew into the air, nothing but a black blur. His lance glowed bright red, expanding to twice its size as he swung it down. "Descending Lost Star." He sighed calmly as the aura expanded to his body.

He was untraceable by a human's eyes. One second he was hovering in the air, the next he had torn through the center of the bug and had landed on the ground under him. Okuwamon turned pure black, red spider web like cracks forming over it. It exploded into a storm of black bits and red mist, which all swirled through the air and into DarkKnightmon's lance. "Nothing but a false shadow." He commented.

"Unbelievable." Celena whispered in awe, hugging Cutemon close.

"Not bad." Averia commented as she walked toward her partner.

"But of course." DarkKnightmon chuckled. "A knight who can't break through a reinforced door, save a pink bunny, and defeat a massive corrupted bug in one fell swoop isn't worth his salt." He turned to the teens and digimon, a look of worry flashing through his eyes. "Are you all alright? Averia, stay here to explain the situation to the headmistress. I'll escort Flamon, Cutemon, and Celena to the infirmary. The rest of you are free to go back to your rooms."

"Are you sure?" Sanmaru spoke up, his voice still shaky. "Is it okay to leave?"

DarkKnightmon stepped forward, his voice full of kindness as he said, "I'll escort you to your dorm personally, after we drop these three off if that will make you feel better. Okay?" Sanmaru nodded silently as everyone prepared to leave. Rose coaxed her frightened partner out of hiding while Celena helped Flamon to stand and limp out of the room. DarkKnightmon carried Cutemon in his hand, his scythe having returned to its dormant state. "Follow me." He said gently, guiding the children out of the room and building.

"I was pretty worried." DarkKnightmon admitted as he led everyone out of the building. "Averia, our assistants, and I hang out in a room full computer screens so we can monitor all of what's going on in the individual rooms. See the simulators work by recording battle data from other digimon, like Flymon. Then we create a virtual world and enemy for you to fight and train against. Doing so is very easy here, since we're in the digital world. It's almost like copying and pasting something into a new area."

"But someone hacked in." Celena commented quietly. Flamon pushed off of her, forcing himself to walk on his own. Celena tried to help him, but he weakly pushed her off and trudged forward.

"Well yes." DarkKnightmon agreed. "Same as those Troopmon earlier. Oh, and the student that was attacked is doing fine. Her arm was bandaged up, and it looks like she's got a partner now too. That's the way life works you know? From every bad event comes a great opportunity." He stopped and looked back at the students happily. Their sour and downtrodden looks instantly sapped the happy he was trying to send them. "Uh, right. Well uhm, anyway the same guy that hacked the Troopmon hacked the simulator you were in. He forced Flymon to evolve, ramped up his aggressiveness, and sent him out on you. He sealed you in from the outside and was able to hack the data of the doors themselves and reinforce them, which is why it took so long to bust in there."

"They can do that?" Sanmaru muttered, only half-caring.

"Well ultimately all things in this world are made of data." DarkKnightmon elaborated. "It usually takes a high level digimon to directly affect the world in such a way, but he managed to make a short cut by going through the simulator and then into the door. Its all pretty complicated stuff, I won't bore you with the details. I got in and saved you, that's what counts right?" He turned back to the kids, but again they were in no mood for his joy.

The group remained silent until they arrived at the infirmary. It was a lot like a regular school's infirmary. There was a separate room full of cots form ailing students to rest on, a large office where a nurse was sitting along with shelves of first aid supplies lining the wall, a small portion cut off to act like a waiting room, and a supply closet full extra materials. The tiles, ceiling, and walls were all a very boring shade of eggshell white.

"Seems a little ill-equipped." Sanmaru muttered, wondering what they would do if something serious were to happen.

"We keep all of the heavy duty stuff in the closet." The nurse answered. The nurse was a digimon with dark pink boots, gloves, and a mask. The rest was pure white, but with black eyes and a tiny black nose. He led Flamon and Cutemon into the back room, laying them both down on two cots. Celena followed, poking her head through the door. "Will they be okay?" she asked quietly.

"Oh they should be fine." Bucchiemon answered with his long pink ears each releasing a pink aura over his two patients. Flamon had a disgruntled look on his face, but Cutemon looked pretty relaxed. "There's some minor internal damage but nothing I can't take care of. My feeling powers work a lot like Cutemon's. We can absorb excess digital particles in the air and then use them to repair damage data on a digimon. By my abilities extend beyond that, being able to even affect internal injuries."

"They picked an excellent digimon to be the school nurse." DarkKnightmon agreed, looking in on everyone. "I'll be escorting Sanmaru back to his dorm room. I assume you'll want to wait for Cutemon to finish being treated before leaving?" Celena simply nodded. "Hey now," DarkKnightmon said comfortingly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "No need to look so down. I know how scared you must have been, but it's all over now. Moping over it won't change what happened."

"It's not that." Celena muttered, bringing her right arm up to grab her left arm awkwardly. "I just…" she trailed off, unable to voice her concern. What Averia had said really shook her up. She always prided herself on being smart. She always had a plan to take care of any obstacle in her and Cutemon's way. She didn't handle her plans falling apart too well. But even worse was that she wasn't the only one that time to watch her plan fall apart. Everyone else had put their trust in her, and she let them down. "I let them down." She muttered

Celena gasped in shock as DarkKnightmon pulled her into a hug. "Celena you can't blame yourself!" he cried, pulling her back into the lobby. He turned her around and made her look at the stunned faces of Sanmaru, Rose, and Gizmon. "You three. Tell her you don't blame her for what happened. Tell your leader that you know what happened was all an accident beyond her control and that she did her best."

"Of course." Rose answered quietly. "You had no control over what happened. And you did your best to help us. It's fine."

"Right." Sanmaru agreed lamely.

The two really weren't very convincing, but Celena forced a smile anyway and nodded. "Thanks you guys. Hopefully next time something like this won't happen. But if it does I'll try as hard as I can to keep everyone safe." She smiled at her team, trying as hard as she could to seem confident. Sanmaru nodded to her, while a small smile grew on Rose's face.

"Excellent!" DarkKnightmon chirped. "Well now that I think on it, escorting Rose and Gizmon to their dorm, and then returning for the two boys would be the easiest route."

"Wait." Sanmaru interrupted with a confused look on his face. "Isn't Gizmon a guy? Why would he be in the girl's dorm then?"

"Ah yes, the awkward question of opposite genders in a partnership." DarkKnightmon mused. "Bluntly put, we move in whomever would be the least likely to have some unscrupulous thoughts. In other words, whoever has the lowest chance of being or getting laid. Sometimes this falls on personality, other times maturity, and occasionally which ever is the ugliest."

"Don't objectify me." Gizmon snapped. "I, for the record, have no gender. I identify as male, but I lack your disgusting sex drive. Honestly the whole thing disgusts me. Sliding around on each other, all sweaty and shooting DNA at each other. You organ sacks disgust me."

"So I'm guessing he was put up with Rose because of how ugly he was and his off-putting personality?" Sanmaru commented dryly. He'd normally refrain from saying something like that, but after the day he had it felt good to lash out at something.

"Bite my genocidal purple ass." Gizmon snapped back angrily. DarkKnightmon quickly stepped between the two before Sanmaru could retort.

"Right then. Time to go." He decided, opening the door for Rose. She and Gizmon walked out, leaving Celena and Sanmaru alone. Celena and Sanmaru were left alone in the nurse's office while Bucchiemon continued his treatment of the two digimon.

"So how long have you and Cutemon been partners?" Sanmaru asked curiously. He had already seen a partnership form, but what about those that already existed before coming to the academy? Were some partnerships formed on purpose, or were they all an accident like what he had seen?

"There's really not much of a story to it." Celena said with a shrug. "I was riding home form school on my bike. It started raining a little bit, but nothing too bad. I sped up so I could get home before the weather got too bad. But then out of nowhere there was this huge burst of thunder. It wasn't near me or anything, but that sudden, loud noise broke the silence like glass. I jumped in my seat, the tire slid in the mud, and the next thing I know I was landing on my back in a ditch. I was fine if I stayed still, but trying to move sent this horrible pain up my back. The rain was beginning to intensify, and I was really starting to worry. But when I tried to get up again, I was totally fine. All that was left was this light tingly sensation on my back."

"Cutemon healed you." Sanmaru guessed, remembering the rabbit's pink aura.

"Exactly." Celena continued. "I looked up and saw Cutemon standing there, a little smile on its pink face. I offered to take Cutemon out of the rain in exchange for helping me. And the little bunny just sort of moved in after that." Sanmaru looked away awkwardly, making Celena raise an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, wondering what part of her story had garnered such a reaction.

"I can't help but notice you referring to Cutemon as "it"." Sanmaru answered carefully, as if treading on glass.

"Ah yes." Celena chuckled, looking at the wall where Cutemon lay on the other side. "Truth be told, I don't know Cutemon's gender either. Like most digimon all of those parts that could tell are covered up in fur, and whenever I ask all Cutemon does is start laughing insanely. It's really quite creepy actually." Celena added with an uncertain look on her face.

"He's an odd little rabbit." Sanmaru agreed thoughtfully. "And that Flamon guy's a real hothead."

"Yeah." Celena chuckled. "Earlier I figured giving him orders would be pointless, so I just let him fly off the handle. A guy like that is hard to control."

"I'd hate to be his partner." Sanmaru muttered. Flamon was an okay guy, but far too fired up for Sanmaru. No way would they be able to get along.

"Actually he probably doesn't have one." Celena answered, surprised by Sanmaru's comment. "Once a human and digimon are partnered up their schedules are changed so that they all have the same classes. That way they can work together." Celena frowned as she stared at the boy. He was nice, and maybe it was just what had happened in the simulation building, but he seemed rather dumb. No, dumb wasn't the right word. Maybe more like…oblivious? That sounded like a better word to describe him.

"You and Flamon are kind of alike." She said suddenly, cutting the teen off. He gave her a confused and somewhat angry look as she explained. "You both act before thinking. You asked about Flamon having a partner, but everywhere you've gone today you've seen humans and digimon together, and there's no doubt that you've been told how important the bond between humans and digimon is to the school. So just like how Flamon would attack without thinking, you ask questions without thinking. If you stopped before opening your mouth you could probably answer your own questions."

Sanmaru blinked in shock, his mouth still open a little bit. He had been completely blindsided by the redhead's evaluation. He wanted to be angry at her for making a fool of him, but in all honest she was right. He had been going about everything by asking others questions and for help. He hadn't really stopped and tried thinking anything out for himself. "That was mean." He finally said. "Even if it was true."

"Sorry." Celena answered, though she wasn't too sincere about it. There was no point in beating around the bush. If someone noticed a flaw of hers then she'd be angrier if they tried hiding it or sugar coating it than she would if they just outright told her. But unfortunately not everyone shared this sentiment, and because of her habit of pointing out the flaws of others she didn't have a whole lot of friends. Everyone always called her a bitch or a nerd, or something else. She didn't really care much though; people were entitled to their own opinions.

The two shared an awkward silence before DarkKnightmon returned. Around that time Bucchiemon finished healing the two digimon and allowed them to go. Celena took Cutemon in her arms and bid everyone else farewell, saying that they were fine going back to their dorm alone. She apologized again to Sanmaru, but told him she wouldn't take back what she said. "Just think of it as something to consider." She said before turning and moving down the hallway.

"I heard what you said." Cutemon chirped in Celena's arms. "These things aren't just for healing you know, kyu."

"I'm well aware." Celena answered, wondering where her partner was going with this. "I figured you'd hear me. What of it?"

"Kyu, kyu, kyu." Cutemon hummed thoughtfully. "Celena, are you maybe thinking Sanmaru and Flamon could be partners? It'd make things easier for us in the training rooms."

"I was thinking something along those lines, yeah." Celena answered with a playful smile. "They really are more alike then they might want to admit. What about you? Did you find out anything interesting about Flamon?"

"He's an idiot with daddy issues." Cutemon sighed, a disgruntled look on its face. "So, so, so boring, kyu. He wants to be some great hero so he can step out of his dad's shadow. I stopped listening after a while because it was a total snooze fest."

"Cutemon don't be mean." Celena scolded. "There's a difference between being honest and being plain old mean." She stepped out into the afternoon sun and walked through the courtyard, towards the girl's dorm. She stopped for a moment though and let out a sigh. "This is stupid." She decided before turning and heading back towards the main building. "There's no reason to stay in the dorm all day, especially when this is the first day of the new year. We've got more important things to do than laze around."

"Darn you and your work ethic." Cutemon grumbled, crossing its arms as Celena walked back into the main building. She already had her room number, class, and destination memorized. She had been sure to plan routes in order to get to her classes as quickly as possible, as they were all quite far away form each other. Plus it was just nice being prepared like that. She didn't like it when something unexpected happened, be it getting lost in the school or suddenly being attacked by a glitched out bug. While she was walking the bell sounded and everyone else poured out of their classes. Celena quickly moved forward, rushing up the stairs before the mob behind her got there. She took one more turn and opened the door to her next class.

Celena immediately shrieked as someone tackled into her. She, Cutemon, and whoever had knocked into her all went tumbling to the ground. Celena's bag skidded across the floor, hitting one of the smaller digimon that had been walking by. Celena forced herself up and turned on the one who had run into her. But before she knew it, they were lost amongst the crowd. Celena shook her head in disbelief before picking Cutemon up, but she was knocked over again as a large digimon blew past her. She looked up, seeing the large yellow teddy bear running through the crowd after his partner.

"The nerve of some people." Cutemon huffed angrily as Celena picked her bag up. The two walked into the computer lab, but Celena let out another cry when she saw her collapsed teacher. He was a large purple robot, a sphere with two horns and two long arms. He had brown work gloves on and rows of sharp teeth in his mouth. He was out like a light.

Celena turned to the boy standing over the machine and frowned as he turned to look back. His amber eyes bore into her like daggers. His pale face was set in a stony frown, adding a frightening sharp quietly to what would have otherwise been a smooth, handsome face. He wore the school uniform, but his jacket was draped over his shoulders rather than on his body. "What's going on?" Celena demanded, ignoring her fear of the boy.

"Nothing that concerns you." He answered his voice stunningly smooth. Celena had expected something gruff and angry, but his voice was light and quite calm.

"A teacher has been knocked out!" Celena snapped back. "Yes, I think it does concern me." She turned to see Cutemon already working his magic on the unconscious computer teacher. "What happened?" She asked again.

The boy stared at him for a moment before answering. "I don't know. I came in here and found Monzaemon and his partner standing over Giromon. They panicked and rushed out of the room, leaving me behind. That's when you came in."

"Stay here." Celena ordered before going to find another teacher. She found Agumon Hakase close by and brought him back to the room. By now the other students had gathered and had begun gossiping over what had happened. Celena explained the situation to the reptilian professor, who frowned as he assessed everything.

"Oh dear, most troubling." Agumon Hakase murmured. "Poor Giromon. Well first things first. We need to get Giromon to the infirmary, inform the headmistress, and track down Monzaemon to hear what happened." He enlisted the aid of a few of the stronger digimon in order to help the heavy machine to the infirmary before calling for the headmistress. He then directed the students to an empty classroom where he watched over them until his boss arrived. All the while Celena watched the snowy-haired boy, still suspicious of his involvement.

Before Celena could really confront the boy though, there was a loud bang on the door. Agumon Hakase motioned for her, Cutemon, and the boy to come with him. He lead them back to the room and opened the door for them. Standing inside were three people, the large yellow teddy bear named Monzaemon, his small and frail partner Chikamatsu, and the headmistress Yosuya.

Chikamatsu was a tiny boy, smaller than most of the kids his age. Though he was physically tiny and weak, he was a third year student and very smart form what Celena had heard. He had wispy blonde hair and light blue eyes. His skin had a sickly pale quality to it, and his school uniform hung on him loosely. He was standing beside Monzaemon, a horrified look on his face.

"Tell us what happened please." Agumon Hakase requested.

"We were packing put stuff up when class ended." Monzaemon said his voice as shaky as Chikamatsu's body. "Everyone else had left before us; we're always sort of poking behind. That's when Giromon went crazy!"

"He started laughing madly." Chikamtsu stuttered as he took over for his partner. "He pulled out this huge chainsaw and flew towards us. We had no choice! Monzaemon hit him back and knocked him out. Then this big scary guy walked in," He looked to the white haired boy fearfully who glared back. "And we panicked. We both ran out as fast as possible, and I accidentally rushed into this young girl." He looked to Celena and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry for that too, but I was so scared I wasn't thinking straight."

"Agumon, go make sure Giromon is properly restrained." Yosuya ordered, tapping her high-heeled boot impatiently. Agumon nodded before moving out of the room. Yosuya crossed her arms under her ample bosom, tightly restrained by a red business suit. She had a matching red skirt that went halfway to her knees, and waist long snow white hair. "Damn, not again! First the Troopmon, then the simulation, and now this. I need a freaking drink." She added with a sigh. She turned and left the room, leaving the teens and digimon alone. Chikamatsu and Monzaemon quickly left after that, leaving Celena and Cutemon with the strange boy.

"I should get back. Aniki is waiting." The boy grunted, getting up from the desk he had been sitting on and moving to leave.

"Hey." Celena interrupted, stopping the boy. He looked at her blankly as she continued. "Sorry for snapping earlier. Its been a long day for me." The boy remained silent for a moment before turning back to the door and leaving. Celena let out a disgruntled sigh before grabbing Cutemon and following the boy out.

"God damn, bitch, ass, cunt, fuck!" Yosuya cursed as she stormed into her office. The dragon sitting in the comfy red chair in front of her desk raised an eyebrow but remained silent. "The first day and already shit has hit the fan! We have a hacker!" She roared, unbuttoning her red jacket and tossing it aside. She undid the top button of her white blouse and moved to her bookshelf. She opened one of the cupboards under it and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. She opened it up and took a long swig from the bottle. She slammed the bottle on the desk, the dragon grabbing it with a green claw and drinking a bit as well.

"How's Delta holding up?" Yosuya asked her partner.

"Better than before." Dracomon answered with a shrug. "I talked to him just a bit ago. He was a little out of it, but he should be back to normal soon. Then with him we can figure out who's hacking us and where he's hiding." He took another swig form the bottle before handing it back to Yosuya. "Man oh man, what a first day." The dragon grunted. "I can't believe they got past Delta and into so much stuff. We managed to stop most of the Troopmon by shutting them down, but he still managed to get one of them. Then there was that simulator business, and he even managed to get Giromon."

"Though to be fair he's not exactly stable to begin with." Yosuya chuckled. She pulled a drawer on her desk open and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She pulled one out, lit it up, and took a long drag. "We gotta keep this all under wraps. If anyone outside of the school finds out then we'll loose a lot of credibility. Not to mention possible lawsuits for endangering the students. Shit! I can't believe all of this! Why oh why couldn't they wait until the second week? As if all of this paperwork wasn't bad enough…"

"Shouldn't you be a little bit more concerned about the students themselves?" Dracomon asked curiously.

"Of course, of course." Yosuya answered. "But so far there's only been two, relatively minor, injuries. So at the moment covering my own ass take precedence."

"It's that self-serving bitchiness that I admire." Dracomon chuckled, taking another drink form the bottle. "So what exactly is our plan then? I suggest we wait for Delta to wake up, then he can do a full systems check and find out where they were hacking in from. Then hopefully we can track them down."

"That's what I was thinking." Yosuya agreed before letting out a sigh. "Why, why, why did I agree to this job?"

"Because human world police have no jurisdiction here and thus they can't chase after you?" Dracomon suggested with a smile. "Or perhaps it's the free alcohol?" Yosuya stuck her tongue out at him, making the dragon laugh. "Well regardless, something keeps making us take the job year after year so we may as well do it right."

"Agreed." Yosuya decided before finishing her cigarette and putting it out in the ash tray on her desk. "Let's go check up on Delta. Then we can track down that hacking bastard and teach him, or her, a lesson."

Sanmaru had collapsed onto his bed after DarkKnightmon brought him back to the dorm. He had covered himself in the soft sheets and quickly fell asleep. He was just too tired to deal with anything else. If he stayed awake then surely his mind would drift back to the SIM building incident. He just wanted to forget the whole thing and be done with it.

Everything had started out horrible. Seeing that massive, horrific insect flying above them. The sharp claws, the poison dripping off of the stinger. But just when he was about to completely break down, Celena pulled him back up. He could rely on her to get them through everything, and she led everyone easily. She was like a pillar of strength that he could lean on, and for a moment there he actually felt like everything would be okay.

And then it all blew up again, and he came face to face with a terrifying monster. This one made Flymon look like a little puppy. There was something about Flymon, something that felt restrained. Like something was holding the massive hornet back. But whatever shackles were around its claws had snapped apart when it evolved. If DarkKnightmon had come when he did, Sanmaru would be dead.

Thankfully Sanmaru didn't dream, if he did he was sure they would be horrible nightmares. A few hours later he woke up. His clothes were all twisted around and clinging to him. Sanmaru forced himself up and looked out the window. The sun wasn't quite setting yet but it would be soon. He looked on the desk, seeing an empty bird cage. Masato and BluePiyomon had come back, classes were over, and Sanmaru was hungry.

Sanmaru refused to think about what had happened, at least until he got some food in his stomach. He walked into the kitchen and looked around. There was a pan by the sink with several lumpy, black, charred things in it. No doubt Flamon had tried cooking again, but whatever it was had been burned too thoroughly to tell what. The kitchen was open to all students, and the refrigerator was periodically restocked. Sanmaru poked his head inside and looked around.

It was filled with loaves of bread, all kinds of cheeses and meats, pitchers of juice and individual bottles of soda. There were several crisp, clean vegetables and fruits, dressing and spreads, a carton of eggs, small cups of yoghurt, and gallon milk which was half empty by now. Sanmaru turned to the freezer and opened it, the cool air hitting him lightly in the face like walking outside on a cold winter morning. There were many boxes full of microwaveable things like chicken nuggets, waffles, mozzarella sticks, and several frozen meats like hamburger patties, ground beef, ground turkey, chicken breasts, and many other pieces of meat.

Sanmaru settled for a sandwich. He pulled out some cheese, bread, ham, and ketchup. He pulled a plate down from the cupboard above the oven and set about making his dinner. He looked up when another boy walked in, the same one that Celena had confronted in the computer lab before. Granted Sanmaru had no knowledge of this, as he had been sleeping all day. He looked up at the white haired boy and gave him a polite nod of acknowledgement, but the boy didn't even look at him. He opened the fridge and pulled open one of the small drawers at the bottom. Rooting through the vegetable he pulled out a plate covered in tin foil. Closing the fridge, he set the plate down and undid the foil to reveal a plate full of delicious looking sushi rolls.

"Where'd you get that?" Sanmaru asked, his sandwich suddenly looking a bit more boring than it had before. The teen turned and looked at him, making Sanmaru flinch.

"I made it." He answered, blankly, Sanmaru surprised by his smooth voice.

"Oh." Sanmaru muttered. He blinked, a thought hitting him. Celena was right! Of course the boy made it, why else would he have hid it for later? But Sanmaru didn't bother thinking about that; he just blurted the question out carelessly. The boy stared at him for moment before turning and leaving. Sanmaru quietly went about finishing his sandwich, contemplating what he had just discovered. "She was right." He muttered to himself, putting the knife in the sink.

Sanmaru turned back to his plate and found Flamon standing before an open refrigerator. A thoroughly disgruntled look was on his face and, remembering the pan full of charred foodstuffs, Sanmaru had a feeling he knew why. Sanmaru tried slipping out, but Flamon stopped him. "Hey." He said, turning to look at the boy. "Can you cook?"

The answer to that was a resounding yes. Not only had Sanmaru learned to bake from his father, but his mother was a chef at a fancy restaurant. So Sanmaru had been learning how to cook since around the time he could walk. However, he did not want to tell Flamon this. Sanmaru had seen what Flamon did to those eggs, and he really didn't want to know what had been in that pan before he tried cooking it. But then Sanmaru remembered something. Flamon had protected him. Even when things went horribly wrong, Flamon still kept fighting in order to protect everyone. To lie and say no in this situation just seemed so…sleazy. "Yeah I can cook a bit." He answered nonchalantly, trying not to raise Flamon's expectations. He was opposed to lying, but that didn't mean he really wanted to teach Flamon.

"Can you teach me then?" Flamon asked, completely oblivious to how much Sanmaru had been hoping to not hear those words.

"I could try I guess." Sanmaru answered with a shrug. Flamon's face lit up before he pulled out a pan from the cupboard beside the oven.

"Sweet!" he cheered. "Let's get cooking then!"

"Right." Sanmaru muttered. "Do you at least know what you want to cook?"

Flamon was silent for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. He smiled widely as he snapped his fingers. "Tacos!" he declared. "We got shells in the pantry, I saw them earlier. And we should have some more ground beef in the freezer."

"Alright, alright. You preheat the pan while I grab the things." Sanmaru instructed before moving towards the freezer. He pulled out one of the trays of ground beef before turning back to Flamon. Sanmaru frowned when he saw Flamon staring at the pan curiously. "Something wrong?" Sanmaru wondered curiously, that sinking suspicion in his stomach worsening.

"What does preheat mean?" the digimon wondered.

Sanmaru blink before setting the pan on the oven and turning the appropriate switch. "Preheat means you heat it up while gathering stuff, so that the food starts cooking right when it hits the pan. It's a lot easier that way, since it takes out a lot of the waiting."

"Yeah I don't do that." Flamon scoffed. He tore the beef open and dropped the frozen hunk on the pan. "I do this." He said with a smile. Sanmaru leapt back as Flamon let out a thin burst of flames from his mouth. Sanmaru watched in awe as Flamon poured the flames on. Smoke soon began to billow out from the pan as the meat was burned and blackened. Sanmaru tried stopping Flamon, but he was too terrified to get any closer and Flamon seemed to be ignoring his cries. Flamon seemed to be completely focused on cooking. Sanmaru doubted anything could get him to stop.

He was wrong. Sanmaru let out a shrill cry as cold water covered his body. The smoke had triggered the water sprinklers, and the fire alarm was letting out a shrill beeping noise. Cold water rained down on everyone and everything. Flamon looked up, his eyes wide in awe. He looked at the ceiling, obviously confused as to what was happening. Sanmaru on the other hand, new exactly what was happening and had his glaring eyes firmly glued on Flamon.

Several cries of shock were hear din the surrounding rooms. Sanmaru moved to the closest door and opened it. The main room's sprinkler system had also been turned on and was soaking everyone inside of it. Sanmaru quickly shut the door before anyone could see him and Flamon at the oven. He looked towards the door across form him, several other cries of shock and anger sounding out from them.

"Oh crap." He stated, Flamon giving him a weak apologetic smile.

"God damn shit!" Yosuya roared in anger, watching the scene unfold. "First the Troopmon. Then the simulation! Then Giromon! And now this of all things! Argh!" All of the boys had been evacuated from the dorm. Yosuya and Dracomon had arrived shortly after to oversee the clean up. She had several water based digimon using their abilities to extract the water from the buildings and its contents. It was a long, irritating process but it was also the most cost effective. It beat buying replacements for everything, and at least only the first floor had been affected.

"How'd this even happen?" Dracomon wondered aloud. "I thought that each room was self contained by a different smoke detector and water sprayer system thingy. That way stuff didn't happen." Yosuya turned to him and he looked back blearily.

"You're still drunk?" Yosuya asked in shock. "It was only a bottle or two of Jack. Pansy. But regardless, you're right. They are kept that way. This was probably just a malfunction or something, but damn it just had to happen tonight didn't it?"

"Miss." Averia said calmly. Yosuya turned to her and Averia saluted, while DarkKnightmon gave a small wave. "We've evacuated everyone ma'am. Only the first floor ahs been effected. After closer inspection it seems that this was an isolated incident, a simple malfunction. Apparently two similar events happened earlier today, but at those times the sprinklers did not go off. We've got the repairman on standby. He'll come in the moment the clean up has finished."

"Thanks." Yosuya sighed. "I need a freaking drink."

"Ah, so that's why Dracomon has been chasing after his tail." DarkKnightmon assessed, staring at the rapidly spinning dragon.

"Come back!" he cried hurriedly. "I want more cotton candy!" Dracomon promptly spilled over and crashed on the grassy ground. Yosuya rolled her eyes before picking the dragon up and carting him off. "Averia, DarkKnightmon, please see to it that everyone is put in the main lobby and given cots. Things should be all cleaned up tomorrow and we'll move them back in after classes."

"Understood." Averia said, giving another salute.

"Sure thing." DarkKnightmon agreed as Yosuya dragged Dracomon away. DarkKnightmon took over the movement, assuring everyone that their belongings would be perfectly fine. None of the boys were too happy but allowed DarkKnightmon to guide them to the main room where several Troopmon were already setting out the cots. He also had the Troopmon dispense towels and extra uniforms to those that had been caught in the artificial downpour

Sanmaru found Masato and selected one of the cots neat to his. BluePiyomon let out an angry squak. "This is so stupid! Our room is on the second floor, why are we stuck in here?" His talons were clenching and unclenching, tearing through the outer fabric of one of the pillows. "When I find who did this I'm going to do such illegal things to them!"

"Hi guys!" Flamon chirped as he walked over to the three boys.

Sanmaru's eyes narrowed into a glare as Masato stepped forward. "Hello Flamon." He greeted. "If I may ask, what are you doing over here?" He didn't seem mad or upset in the least, despite his soggy uniforms till clinging to his small frame. Everyone was going in small groups to the bathrooms in order to get changed.

Flamon gave another weak smile. "Yeah, about that. Turns out my friends aren't willing to let me in. And even though we aren't actually in our rooms, they're pretty opposed to me being with them. So I was wondering if I could hang out with you guys, and then maybe hang out in your dorm for a few days until my friends calm down?"

"No." Sanmaru snapped.

"Oh come on Sanmaru, don't be like that." Masato scolded lightly. "We have a spare cot, and we have a spare bed in our dorm. So there's no reason to say no, so long as you clear it with one of the teachers."

"Sweet!" Flamon cheered. He hugged Masato closer, a wide smile on his face. "Thanks buddy!"

"Absolutely not!" Sanmaru declared angrily. Things had finally reached their boiling point. The worry and loneliness of a new school, combined with being attacked by a hideous monster in the simulation room, and then the sudden and unexpected shower had broken him. He wanted to lash out at someone, and Flamon was the closest and least likely to peck his eyes out or cry uncontrollably. "You're a jinx is what you are! The SIM building incident, the sprinkler fiasco! Its your fault!"

"Ow…" Flamon muttered, obviously hurt.

"Sanmaru calm down." Masato pleaded, trying to calm his friend down. "I understand that you're upset but you shouldn't take it out on Flamon. It's not right. Just take a deep breath and let's go to the café. Maybe we can get some ice cream or something. All four of us, as friends."

"No, no its fine." Flamon muttered, his ears drooping. "He's right; all of this is my fault. I wanted him to teach me to cook but I got too excited and wouldn't listen to him. I caused this mess."

BluePiyomon's head perked up, his feathers ruffling. "Y-you? You did this? You made my feathers like this? You got us stuck out here?"

"Yeah…" Flamon admitted, looking away sadly. Bad move. If he had been watching BluePiymon he would have seen the blue bird take flight. His talons stretched out and grab his hair. Flamon howled in pain as BluePiyomon ripped into his orange mane, yelling all sorts of horrible obscenities. DarkKnightmon quickly appeared and tried tearing the bird off, but his talons were locked like a vice. Every time DarkKnightmon pulled, the bird brought Flamon's hair with him and made the fire breather scream in pain.

"Let's go get ice cream." Sanmaru sighed. "I need someone to vent to." He turned and walked off, leaving Masato to stare at the three digimon wrestling. He turned back to Sanmaru.

"Wait up!" he cried as he ran off.