[My inspiration went, "YES." The moment I looked at the above picture-]

A world where the Appli Drivers as kids face off against creatures formed from mystical data in their daycare, AppliYama Daycare, which is located in an abandoned mall that was only recently refurbished. The kids, naming themselves the Drivers, use their toys to fight off against these monsters, named Woes, and seal them away by completing a jigsaw puzzle pertaining to the creature and framing it together. While no one believes the kids, they still fight for what's good, even if the Woes taunt them that they'll never be believed.

Sadly, this adorable world is the eleventh world to be attacked by the Anomalice. These anomalous beings have much mystery shrouding them, and not even the Dimension Keepers, Anomalice themselves, know the truth of their formation. However, their main opponent, Mona Artemision AKA Aesopia, is heavily devoted to her mission of upturning the rules of reality... Not knowing that the rules themselves have been upturned at this point...

"You're telling me that RIGHT after he was defeated, he HATCHED and retained his memories?" Wuliang's mouth had gone open.

"I'm not kidding, Liang," Winnie said while rubbing her neck. "I wish I was joking. I myself can't believe it and I was there."

"I know that you wouldn't lie to us, Winnie-senpai. I believe you. It's just that I find it too much of a coincidence that right after Onyx-senpai defeated LostValkyrimon..." Tsuchiyume's eyes strayed to the two Rookie Digimon looking back at them.

Guilmon X had so many questions coursing through her mind right now. "J-Jaltermon?! Miasmamon!?"

"Hey hey!" The Ludomon waved happily while bounding over (well, as much as a small mon with small feet could) to Guilmon X. "I can't believe I got reborn! And this base is SOOOOOOO BIG! I love it!"

"Perhaps a TIME-out is necessary," the Coronamon joked, and Shiift immediately paled. "NO!!! NOT THE JOKESTER!!!! ANYONE BUT HIM!!!!"

"LostValkyri got saved too as well, right!? Where is he!?" Ludomon asked innocently to the ever-lost Onyx, who admitted, "Erm, well, he decided to stay in the world he was in beforehand. Said that he needed time before meeting his 'beloved' again."

"He was VERY expressive about his love for you. I thought I was watching the cringiest show in the world. That's not something I would put even the Diggorys through," Winnie said darkly to Guilmon X, who facepalmed. "I apologise for him. LostValkryi is blunt and he says whatever comes to mind."

"I understand the need to express your love to the world. I truly do. I have seen way too many idiots *cough, read: Jinpei and Sandayuu, cough*. But dear Kami, he takes even those two and eradicates any competition for openly expressing their love. He used so many words to describe it I thought I was in a Shakespeare AU," Emeruda said with a serious face.

"That's LostValkyri for ya. He could create songs and that still wouldn't be enough to express fully what he feels about Acheel!" Coronamon said with a laugh.

"You're telling me you see this everyday?"

"Erm, even when we were part of... Her..." He went quiet a bit, and Ludomon's eyes narrowed. "Every time the two were in the same room, they would express how they feel about each other like it was a contest."

"I... I am suddenly very glad that he is not here," Belos said quietly, and Félix nodded along.

The two promptly got a tail smack from their partner. "OW!!!"

Xrosmon snorted at the interaction as Gangsan laughed. "Oh my God, this is HILARIOUS!"

Wuliang actually paused a bit, reddish blue eyes looking at the other. That... sounded like something Yuga-senpai would say.

He knew that they were twins, of course he did, but it was still astounding to him how the two could be so similar even though they had grown up in such different environments.

He smiled a bit. He was really happy that Gangsan at least was similar to Yuga, even if Yuga didn't have the burden of knowing he had a twin but could never truly interact with him...

That being said... He had always wondered. How had no one known that Yuga had a twin? Kuguru-san had to have known; she had been the one carrying Yuga and Gangsan before their birth! While Yuga's disappearance from the hospital no thanks to the former Shoulder Demons had been found out, he still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that not a single mention had been made of a Mikado Arata.

He shook his head. He would have to look into it later. For now... "How did you two hatch, though?"

"Me?" Ludomon tilted his head.

"Us," Coronamon corrected. "And as for that, we don't actually know."

"Curiously, after they hatched, the only things left behind were these," Touma spoke up, the scientist showing the Keepers two blackened pieces of paper. "Akinori said they're too sturdy to be seals, so I can't tell you what they are, much less how they helped them hatch."

"It's okay, Uncle," Ranto said while shaking his head. "We can figure that out ourselves. Right now, the real question is, can we actually be a step ahead of them this time? We can't keep getting caught off guard by their tactics!"

Félix himself frowned, but Belos took out his notebook and began writing stuff down on it. "Sandayuu, did you not mention that there was a pattern to their hopping?"

"Huh? Y-Yeah." He nodded, surprised by the question. "They seem to start from worlds very close to the main world cluster and then spread out to adjacent worlds."

"I realised the same thing," Areum said. "But I wasn't sure how we could use this to track down the Miraculous, especially since Aesopia's group seem to be... following the Miraculous somehow..."

"But how would they?" Gangsan caught onto what Areum was saying. "The Miraculous would not be that easy to catch if the Creators created them, right?"

Here, Connex went quiet, and Shiift flinched. Phoonix floated quietly above Onyx's head. Tiggan rubbed their neck.

"A-About that..." Connex finally spoke up. "T-That is the case. W-We are able to teleport if we're in danger but..."

"That... that's only as an emergency. The Creators only accounted for if the threat couldn't teleport, and they set it so that every time we hopped, we would subconsciously be pulled towards a world based on our main world," Tiggan admitted. "Also, we don't have as much energy as most Kwamis. Sure, our powers are strong but..."

"You're more likely to be drained if you're not careful," Phoonix finished. "So... Truth be told, your kind is the one with the most advantages against us."

The surprise all of them shared on their faces was hard to miss.

"I- I do not even know how to TELEPORT," Félix stammered.

"Neither do I, Félix. It is a mystery to us both," Philip said solemnly.

Xrosmon facepalmed from Félix's shoulder. (Then again, Philip had always been overdramatic when they were younger. Even if this wasn't HIS Philip, even if HIS Philip was...)

He shook his head. No. She couldn't afford to think about that. It was all in the past. His Philip had turned into a monster because of...

"Hey, Xrosmon, you good?" Guilmon X asked him, looking concerned.

This led to the two new Digimon noticing him, and Ludomon's eyes practically sparkled. "You're soooooo cool! What's that scar on your eye?"

"I find it quite PUN-tastic," Coronamon added suavely.

Poor Shiift was now hitting her head on Areum's shoulder. "Kill me now. Please. Anyone. I can't take this torture anymore."

"It's not as bad as you're making it sound," Ranto joked.

"Anyone who can survive Jinpei for ages will be able to handle this," Tsuchiyume added with a smile.

Then the two realised they were looking at each other, coughed and looked away promptly.

"... And you say Jinpei's the unsubtle one," Winnie mumbled under her breath.

Kusamimi Kayushi died of laughter right there. "OH MAN I LOVE THIS CHAOS!"

"I gotta agree there. This is just the best thing ever," Glasssweeper said while munching on his cabbage. "Man, I missed this chaos. It's a sad thing that we can't visit the BF world until this entire thing is over. Yuga supplied the chaos without even trying."

"He always did," Touma remarked with a chuckle.

Solarmon smiled a bit wider at that.

"Back to business, though, do you really not remember how you were awoken?" Tyrannus asked the two.

They shared a glance before shaking their heads in unison. They only heard the faint voice of someone neither of them recognised, begging for help. Nothing about how they managed to hatch.

"Hey, Daun, you okay?" Jinpei then spoke up, looking at the brawler who jumped at the sudden attention he was given. "M-Me? I'm fine!"

"You look pretty skitterish, though," Guilmon X pointed out.

"I-I am?"

Areum tilted her head. "Acheelmon- I mean, Guilmon X has a point."

He looked away. "I-It's nothing! I'm just... Thinking."

(That conversation with Areum reminds him of when he met A-Leonidas. A Bakugan so weighed down by his past mistake that he saw himself as a liability... When they had connected.

Yet... Could he truly connect, after all they had learnt?)

The others shared a glance, but then Onyx snapped her fingers. "I do have a question for you three though. You're all from Forbidden Verses right?"

The three stiffened.

"What... About it?" Coronamon asked warily.

"No, no, it's nothing bad! I just wanted to know what kind of world you came from! The Konju of the world LostValkyrimon is staying in right now mentioned that LostValkyrimon was some sort of monster called Janne from a world where Moo and Phoenix caused an apocalypse. But he was also able to use a move I think is connected to Bakugan, specifically the V Virus," She hastily explained. "It was called V-ruelian, or something."

"V... Oh ****, that's ShatteredHopemon's signature move...." Ludomon paled. All playfulness was gone from his tone now...

Coronamon shuddered. "Of all the things...! I can't believe that SHE would..."

"Hang on, you guys are acting as if Pascatmon is still conscious in that egg. I thought Akira-sshi would care for her and Sistermon Ciel," Gangsan cut in, looking confused.

That was-

Before they could speak up, though, a Beep could be heard from the monitor. Another of Daun's partners, a Darkus Batrix called Dracus, flew over to it with his Lupitheon friend of the same faction, Lycan. "What's going on here?!"

"Another interference, huh?" Gangsan frowned while Daun immediately began sorting out the information. That was pretty bad. "I wonder who Aesopia sent our way this time."

"Regardless, we have to move fast," Jinpei said. "What's the place and time of interference?"

The data itself made Areum pale. "We... May have a problem. It's DUAM-0617..."

"Wait but that's a kids AU!!" Tsuchiyume looked downright horrified.

"Regardless, the time of interference is early on. October 31, 2017... When the kids are introduced to Hana, Duri and Semo."

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

~~ October 31, 2017 ~~

"Okay, kids! We have some very special friends coming in today!"

Shinkai Haru looked up from the book he was reading, blue eyes brimming with curiosity. Beside him, Nico Tulips and Oozora Yuujin tilted their heads in unison, stopping their colouring. Asuka Torajirou and Karan Eri blinked as they both paused their singing practice, which made Katsura Hajime pout as Katsura Rei gave him a subtle pat on the head.

Shinkai Minerva gave a chuckle. "It's going to be quite fun! Their fathers are busy these days so they decided to have their kids enroll here to get them to socialise better. They have difficulty making new friends, so I hope all of us can give them a warm welcome!"

Shinkai Leviathan nodded. He wasn't really the type to speak. He usually left the talking to his older sister, cause she always summarised it pretty neatly.

"W-We'll try, Sensei! I-I'll give em an expwosive punch of frenship!" Eri said as confidently as she could.

"We can always try," Torajirou agreed.

"New friends!" Nico giggled. "Yay!"

Rei tch-ed, but even he was a bit excited for the new kids. He just hoped that they would be able to keep up in the fight against the Woes. If not, well, they could always teach em! That sounded fun!

"Come on in, kids," Minerva said while gesturing towards the door.

From the doorway, three kids stepped into the room. One of them hid behind the other two while poking his fingers together. "O-Ohayou!"

"Duri, it's okie! Don't be too scared of the Hyungs and Noonas!" one of them, a caramel-haired child, said gently.

The other person nodded, turning to look at them as he bowed, "Annyeonghaseyo. I Kwon Semo and they Cha Hana, Cha Duri."

Leviathan nodded simply before walking out to get some of the new storybooks he had found in a recent thrift sale. Minerva joined him after ensuring they would be fine, but still keeping an eye on them.

"Hi! I'm Oozora Yuujin!" Yuujin said while walking over to them. "Where you from?"

"We're from Hanguk," Hana answered, a smile on his face. "Or Korea, as you call it here."

"N-Nice to meet you!" Haru said shyly from behind Yuujin. "I'm S-Shinkai Haru!"

"Y-You share surname as M-Minerva-seongsaengnim and L-Leviathan-seongsaengnim," Duri suddenly spoke up, tilting his head as he looked at Haru.

"They my aunt and uncle!" Haru seemed to gain a bit of confidence, smiling as he began ranting about how nice the two were, even if Leviathan was standoffish and kinda scary some days.

Duri listened in with fascination, and Hana giggled at the adorable look his younger twin had.

(In another world, that innocence would be lost to arrogance and delusions...)

"Hello. I am Asuka Torajirou," the blonde spoke to the other two softly.

Semo smiled. "Hi! Nice to meet you, Torajirou-hyung!"

"Hiiii! I'm Nico Tulips!" Nico chirped in.

Eri smiled, a bit nervous, but nonetheless trying her best. "I-I'm Karan Eri!"

"I'm Katsura Hajime!" Hajime looked excited to have people closer to his age range here. It was getting boring with just him!

"And I'm Katsura Rei, his brother," Rei said with a smile.

"I'm Cha Hana! This is my younger twin, Cha Duri!" Hana said happily. "And that's our close friend, Kwon Semo! He's our baby bwother at this point!"

"I-I am only a month younger!" Semo puffed his cheeks up. "J-Just because of that!"

Everyone just burst out into giggles, and soon the atmosphere became cozy as they decided to show them around their daycare.

The most notable attraction was the HUGE playground that had been created. It was almost like a labyrinth made for kids; stimulating but easy to get out of.

"Wow! Dekai!" Hana's eyes sparkled at the structure before them. There were tunnels, slides, and even kiddy mountain ranges. He was soooo excited for his time here!

"It is!" Haru agreed with a giggle. "But we also know it's dangewous!"

"Dangewous?" The three paused.

Duri poked his fingers together. "W-Why dangewous?"

"Because of Woes! They wanna control world, so they try to escape building!" Nico explained. "They stuck here cause power in building hold them back! But we stop them from leaving with puzzwes!"

"Puzzwes?" Hana's eyes lit up. "I wove puzzles!"

"Weawwy?" Duri looked intrigued as well. "How?"

They gave shrugs. They didn't get the details of the situation either.

"Have to ask spirits first." Yuujin gestured to the hat he was wearing. "They live in them, so if need help, they come out and explain things."

"Yuujin's right!" a new voice cut in, making the three jump as a ghostly visage of a yellow-eyed cat with white fur appeared behind Haru. "Yo! I'm Gatchi!"

"I'm Dokadoka, dewassu!" a blue kangaroo baby waved from Eri's side.

"I'm the musical one of the bunch, Myushi!" a yellow rabbit grinned as he sat above Torajirou's head.

"Hackwack," a purple wolf said from Rei's side.

"I-I'm Wolff, and t-this is Memoria," a purple dog shyly spoke, both him and a green-furred dog poking out from behind Yuujin.

"I'm Onyo and this is Antii," the yellow dog finished up as the pink cat waved. "And we welcome you to the daycare. While it would have been better to not include you until absolutely necessary, we feel that allowing you to be aware is very important as you will be involved one way or another."

Duri gulped. "S-Sounds scawy."

"Well, don't worry. There are kind spirits in the building too," Gatchi reassured them. "The Woes don't actually cause that much damage either since they're spirits. It's just that they tend to possess toys and use them to wreak havoc."

"But why?" Hana tilted his head.

"Cause by wreaking havoc, there will be an opening to leave the door of the daycare. And if even one of them makes it out... well, the Woes will be let out. The door DID use to be the main entrance of the mall," Hackwack answered. "That's where the original seal was put. It kept all of us sleeping until this Daycare was set up."

"Oh... But why not let them go out? They no feel sad?" Semo asked with a frown.

"Well... If we let them out they'll go after the people who..." Onyo shook his head. "Never mind. It's better for you not to know."

[The mall's shutdown had its own dark story to it, but they never wanted the kids to know that story. Not now, at least.]

Hana pouted, but conceded as he said, "I wanna help!"

"M-Me too!" Duri nodded firmly, even as he looked worried.

Semo smiled a bit. "W-Wanna help too, if it okay."

"Of course! We work together to keep people safe!" Haru said with a smile. "You now Playhomers with us!"

"Yay!!" everyone cheered, and genuine smiles formed on their faces as the three new members were invited to play with the older kids, unaware of the spirits that had chosen to bond with them through their outfits; a green sleeping hat for Duri, a clock pendant for Hana and black headphones for Semo.

Watching the kids interact, Leviathan quietly sighed, playing with his serpentine choker. "Hey, Minerva-nee..."

"Hm?" Minerva looked over at him with a confused look, pausing her writing. "What's wrong?"

He paused, but shook his head. "Nothing. I'll be outside."

She blinked at his sudden change in attitude, but shrugged as she continued writing. She trusted Leviathan to know when to tell her stuff.

[She still didn't know so much about the brother who had run away when they were 12. They had only managed to reconnect through this daycare...]

She shook her head. No, her brother was going to be fine. He knew better than to get in trouble.

Once he was outside, Leviathan held his head, his grip on the choker tightening.

He wished he could do more for the kids, but they didn't have to know about this. They didn't have to know that he... he had-

"Hey, I don't think you should do that, Lev-"

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

The door that had become the entrance to their daycare, this entire building which had become a place for kids to have fun...

It had once been the place where he had unleashed unknown horrors....

The Woes, they were his making. If he hadn't, if he hadn't opened the door that day, Charis, Aphrodite, Lyarry, and Doc wouldn't have died. So many had died because of his reckless actions.

He wished... He wished he could turn back time and change that mistake.

He wished he had never been born, even....

"I-I hear your wish, Leviathan, my... brother..."

His head shot up in shock as his choker glowed. Resonating with the soul of someone who too felt the guilt and regret of his actions.

In front of him, a golden warrior stared into his soul, looking almost sorrowful. The dragon asked quietly, "D-Do you really hate yourself that much, L-Leviathan...?"

"W-Who are you?" He backed away, alarm and surprise racing through his mind. Where had he come from!?

Ragnarökmon looked at him, almost shyly. "I-I an Ragnarökmon. I-I am here to find the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous. H-Have you seen a cheetah ladybug hybrid n-named Irratio?"

"Irratio?..." he didn't know what a Miraculous was, but... "I don't think I've seen... this person before..."

"They're real tiny," the dragon said, still not meeting his eyes. "I-I have to get them to save... to save my master and her host... T-They're suffering really bad because of Pascatmon..."

Pascatmon...

Somehow, that name... it was familiar to him. And this thing, Ragnarökmon had called him his BROTHER... "Are you... not from around here? From... a different world perhaps?"

"I-I'm from a different world," he confirmed. "I-In my world, you were also hit by the... by the effects of being an Anomalice..."

"A-Anomalice?..."

"Those who are not meant to be born. Those who, despite having counterparts, are still glitches to the system..." Ragnarökmon quietly answered. "You... you were not meant to be born. You were part of an AI called Minerva, and you... you rebelled. You ended up... dying... B-But you awoke again to kill the people who caused your death, e-even if you never wanted to... A-A-And then you were forced into someone's soul and s-sacrificed yourself to keep them safe..."

His eyes widened.

The implications hit him hard.

He still messed up in other worlds... He still... Hurt others...

No matter what he did... He was always going to be a burden to others.

He fell to his knees. "I-I was never meant to be a good person, was I? I keep on messing up and I... I keep on making others suffer for my mistakes... I'm a mess, I'm pathetic, I deserve to die-"

"T-That's not it!" Ragnarökmon suddenly yelled, making him look up in shock. "You still tried to help others after you were revived. You tried to hibernate b-but Amanokawa Hokuto woke you up and forced you to be integrated into Pumpmon's Fractal Code! You still gave your life for someone, even if you knew you didn't have any hope of being saved, and that... that's something you're amazing for..."

"Me? Amazing?" He gave a bitter laugh. "You haven't met me, Ragnarökmon. I was such a coward. I'm an evil being who should have never been..."

"Been born?... I can relate to that," The dragon Digimon said quietly.

"Don't lie. You-"

"I'm an Anomalice like you, Leviathan... What do you think that means? I..." He looked down.

(Dead bodies all around him. His hands stained by blood. The dragon Miraculous far away from him.

A Guardian, his own brother, standing over his hunched body. Sorrow barely hidden.

His, no, Su-Han's last words, uttered in regret.

"I'm sorry."

He had... In his anger towards the world he had....)

"I've done unforgivable things too. I understand your feelings... I think at times I shouldn't have been born. If I hadn't existed, maybe... Maybe my world wouldn't have died," The golden dragon spoke. "I-It's why I..."

Tears fell down his cheeks. "I-I don't want Mona to suffer for my mistakes..."

Kind, sweet, Mona, who only wanted the best for others. Tricked by Pascatmon to the point of taking on the Codes that made her an Anomalice...

"I-I messed up. I-I wasn't supposed to come out during the Digilemma issue b-but Azami... S-She forced me to!" he sobbed out. "I-I hurt people all because of my existence and..."

It hurt too much. The flash backs. The memories. He knew that he wasn't supposed to tell someone, to tell someone who wasn't even involved but-

He missed his brother. He missed his brother, who had always been kind. (They shared a world but not an origin. Yet Leviathan loved him and cared for him regardless. The last thing he had seen from Leviathan that day as he plunged the sword into his chest were tears, apologising for failing him while Minerva cried.)

(In his world, Leviathan and Minerva had been his siblings, and he had forced them to kill him when he went rouge...)

"I... I messed up," he quietly said. "S-So now even if I feel disgusted by the thought of doing what I have to do... I have to do it. My hands are already stained as they are. I have to fix things or... or I'll hurt more people."

Leviathan's eyes widened, but his fists tightened. He... He knew the feeling of messing up so badly it made you wonder if you truly deserved what you have right now. He knew that it was a horrible feeling that ate away at you. His guilt had been eating away at him for 5 years, after all...

He closed his eyes, but then looked up at the Digimon. "I'll help you."

Ragnarökmon paused.

"E-Eh?" he looked completely stupefied.

"I'll help you," he repeated as if he wasn't just telling someone that he was turning to the dark side. "You need to find a cheetah ladybug right? I should be able to help you with that."

"N-No! I can't! I can't involve you in this! I-If I do, you'll become just like me!" Horror had seeped into his tone. Just what had he DONE? He shouldn't have stayed around to chat!

But when those yellow eyes looked at him, that short pink hair swaying so much like his brother's, he felt struck by their similarities.

"I won't let someone make a wrong turn again," he said firmly. "If this means being a full villain, I'm willing to do it. I will stand by you and fight."

"P-Pangran..." he quietly said. (Pangran, meaning mammoth in Chinese, yet his nickname was Leviathan. Fit his brother who ended up using the Snake Miraculous.)

"Huh? Who's that?" Leviathan looked lost.

Ragnarökmon couldn't stop the tears that fell down his face. "M-My brother... I-I know that you... you aren't him, b-but..."

"My Japanese name is Shinkai Seirei, even if I prefer Leviathan a bit more, so I'm guessing my and Minerva-nee's alternate selves were your siblings," he guessed. "If I was your brother as a digital monster, which I assume is usually followed by a '-mon' at the end, then my name would not sound Chinese out of nowhere."

That reasoning was... so similar, so much like his.

Ragnarökmon cried. He couldn't, he missed his brother so so much.

(They burned. The world was nothing but empty digital bits.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.")

Leviathan could only pat his leg quietly. Even with the incredible height difference, he could feel the sorrow emanating off him...

[The apple forms on his right palm. A mark of how he doomed himself out of a sense of guilt.]

From afar, a small cheetah ladybug watched the scene.

"Gimmi, what would you have done?" Irratio asked themselves quietly. Their lover, what would they have...?

"They would have asked him for something to sacrifice," the Kwami mused, answering their own question. "And he would have... sacrificed themselves for that desire."

They didn't know what to think about the Anomalice. They were treated like glitches, but they too had feelings.

"What should I do? What is the right path to protect this multiverse from falling apart?"

(Aesopia gaining the Codes and destabilising the worlds with those soundwaves, if they could even be called that, started a countdown of doom. If they couldn't... they couldn't stop the source of all this madness soon...

The world would be facing another Keketmon issue, all because the Creators killed them off...)

They knew that the Creators would take this as a sign that mortals had tainted every world. (But if they recreated the worlds, it would be the same issue. Each world would eventually be tainted. And with each reset, each status quo rewritten, the glitches would grow and grow until the purest of heart would become those glitches. Until the "perfect" people became nothing but chaos agents. The cycle would never stop.)

They closed their eyes. "Just... what should I do?"

The sudden change in the air told them of the new arrival. "Hello. Who may you be?"

"Hello, I am Aesopia."

"So, you have regained your strength." That was a statement and the Anomalice knew it. She knew that Irratio was connected to those who represented their world. The ancient texts she had read back in the day told her enough.

"I think you know why I'm here," she said. "I need your Miraculous."

(She knew that Rag was too soft-hearted. Even in his youth, he had been a kind soul. Perhaps that was what set him apart from most Su-Hans. Perhaps that was what made Ragnarökmon his own person. Someone not like those who upheld the rules. That was what Aesopia loved about him, too; his kindness and soft gentleness even in the darkest times.

She did not need to manifest via desires like the rest of them, so it was high time she took action on her own.)

Her words were very out of sync with her mouth, Irratio noticed. "The Codes are...."

"While I still can, I want to change this world. I don't care what the worlds say, I don't care what the Creators say. Even if it kills me..."

"What about your current host?" they asked. "Will this not kill them? After all, they are not a natural Anomalice like the rest of them."

"That's the exact reason I chose them. Like me, they are not like the others. Someone who should not exist... It's a wonder how no one but some have suspected a thing, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I..." She closed her eyes. "I've come too far for that."

"Unfortunately, the Miraculous cannot be destroyed. The ones from the Mystic Travels Box, at the very least," they said back. "They were fortified for circumstances such as these."

"But the Creators did not consider that those forgotten by the multiverse themselves would become the Achilles' heel to the protection. I am aware that we are the only ones most suited to deal with Kwamis from your box. Your attempt at bluffing was not missed, Irratio."

They mentally cursed. Darn it. "Do you truly want to do this, though? Will this really save the souls of those killed in the mayhem?"

"Maybe they should have considered all that before they went and killed millions. Easily could have saved the people, created a new world for them and then let them live there. It's not HARD," she snapped. "Nothing is impossible for Creators. They're the ****ing gods for a reason. It's because of their foresight that all of this is happening. I will never get how those so-called heroes can bask in the sun while we twitch in the darkness."

"It does not have to remain that way. We can-"

"We can what? CHANGE it?" She let out a harsh laugh. "Don't even bother defending them. You and I both know what happened to me after Pascatmon tricked me into becoming her servant."

"I am not! We can fix this! There are other way-"

"WHAT OTHER WAYS!? I'VE SEARCHED FOR SO LONG, SO ****ING LONG THROUGH EVERY ARCHIVE I COULD FIND! I FOUND NOTHING! MY OWN KINDNESS WAS USED AGAINST ME! AND YOU... YOU ALL EVEN BELIEVED THE LIES OF THAT *****! YOU LET KEKETMON AND PROXIMAMON KILL US WHILE PASCATMON GOT OFF SCOT-FREE! EXPLAIN HOW THAT IS FAIR! I DARE YOU!" She roared back, silencing Irratio's words as their eyes went wide.

Aesopia then exhaled as she reached forward. "Do not try to resist. It's better for you if you don't."

Irratio backed away, fear in their eyes. Even if they ran, they would... They would find no shelter. These Anomalice could sense them out.

They had to stand their ground here. No matter what, even if they wanted to help Mona Artemision, they could not. She herself had sealed the deal. Her mistakes caused all this!

Yet even as they tried to reason with themselves that this was her fault alone, Mona's words remained true. She wasn't wrong on some points. Irratio sometimes worried THEY would be erased when the Creators were in a bad mood. To them, even Kwamis meant NOTHING. They could be destroyed and repurposed at any time...

They just couldn't... Understand. Who were they? Who was Irratio? What was their worth in the eyes of others? Would they never find their peace?

Their fists tightened as they shook their head, barely dodging Mona's outstretched hand as the Kwami flew away, teleporting away as fast as they could. They needed time to plan.

Mona snarled as she was about to give chase, but paused. The body, no, her current vessel was asking her to stop.

"I can't. The Forbidden Verses give themselves a curse. A void of emptiness that is a waste of space," She snapped. "You would not understand. You grew up as who you were. You had the choice to reject the Codes and you took it!"

The vessel protested. It was still wrong to hurt others.

"Like you have any right to say that? Have you considered the repercussions of your actions, that day when you met Pascatmon?"

The vessel went quiet. They know they ****ed up and that was fine. What was important now was to stop all of this madness.

Mona was about to protest, but then paused. Loathe as she was to admit this, this was a perfect opportunity to show them something important.

She couldn't believe she was resorting to this tactic, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

(The voice goaded her on. This was bound to show them the truth.)

She closed her eyes. "While I do not enjoy sharing this with you in this manner... You have to see this memory of mine. Only judge me after you see it all."

The vessel went quiet, so she projected that specific moment to them.

The strangled gasp she heard in reply made her heart clench all the more, especially hearing their words as they broke down.

Their realisation broke her more than she expected.

Aesopia shook her head, looking down from the cliff to see Leviathan and Ragnarökmon fight against the Dimension Keepers. This time it was Benji Elisedd, Mikado Arata and Areum Rudi. Interesting trio indeed.

She conjured up a card and sighed, noting the graphs on it.

"Looks like we have a new ally," She remarked. She didn't mind. Leviathan too had been a victim of Pascatmon's madness. Plus...

Her eyes moved to look at an inverted copy of the Redemption Digivice owned by Akashiro Ismaya, now connected to Leviathan. Ironic, really, but...

She turned back. "I would like to make a deal with you, if that is alright."

The vessel seemed curious despite the emotional turmoil they were feeling, so she took that as a sign to continue. "You want your significant other to be released, do you not? If I offer you their and their partner's release, would you..."

Was she really asking her vessel what they wanted? No, she knew it. She knew they knew it too. They both knew that as things were, they would all fall apart. This person could help them turn the tides for the worlds if things played out well enough, so they accepted, knowing they were nothing but a mistake.

The vessel had a few more things they wanted her to do, but she could do those. These *******s had their payback long overdue anyway. She would be glad to assist her vessel in any way. She wasn't that far gone yet.

She could do the releasing and distracting their friends with a few cases. That was easy with the forums going crazy already after her resurfacing. The others were not hard too.

There was only one request she could have difficulty finding out about though, and that was--

She snapped out of her trance with a sigh, watching Leviathan and Rag retreat from the fight. Those two worked well together from what she had seen but she knew Rag's full power was yet to be unleashed, so she trusted him to get the job done. After all, Irratio had just teleported. Easy pickings for Ragnarökmon.

So she walked away, teleporting back to their base. She had a deal to fulfill, after all.

[The others felt it. Some sort of resonant cry for help. A voice vaguely familiar. But where?....]