"Hey, Akashiro, mind if I come in?" 

"What do you want?" I turned my body to face the wall, covering my face with the fluffy pillow the hotel had provided. "I don't want to talk to anyone... I doubt anyone wants to talk to me as well..."

"You know this COULD fuel Melancholy, right?"

"I looked it up. Melancholy is basically sadness. So I'm just channeling it and turning it into fear for Boko and Pump. Why the **** hadn't they stayed with Gatchmon?..."

"Because... they don't want you to be alone. Isn't that obvious?" I felt him sit on the foot of the bed, and I just curled up a bit more. 

"After I made them this way? I... I have to figure out how to save them, but this guilt is scary. The fear, the anxiety..." 

"I... get it. Hey, did my younger self ever mention that I was once close to losing Sai?"

"Mamo-nii..." Shin Kana spoke up.

"It was my fault, Nana. I was the one who fell for Elf Kaballa's lies. My desire to change the world was warped and... even now, sometimes I wonder if Sai and I were meant to be." 

I shifted a bit under the covers. Tamamo-san...

"But despite that, when I faced off against Ayumi in Aibou Academy, when I was being watched by everyone who had seen me literally cause Gao to be corrupted and turned into Broken World's puppet, when Sai was... so close to fading off..." his voice cracked. "I... I found joy right there." 

"H-Huh?!" THAT made me shoot up. "What the heck!? You were HAPPY about-"

"No, I wasn't... Of course, I was still hurt." Light pink eyes looked back at me, filled with tears as he continued while tugging at his navy blue ponytail slightly. "But I learnt to focus on the present. On the Buddyfight in front of me. That day began the sparks of Buddyfighting in my soul. The real reason I'm here today as a professional Buddyfighter who goes around to spread it around is because of that one day, when I learned... that the more you fear losing someone, the more you push them away, when really, you need to spend the most time with them. You're trying to minimise the emotional impact it may have on you... but Eos, the truth is that after they're gone... you're going to miss them more than anything. You're going to lament and blame yourself for not spending enough time with them. The guilt will tear you apart."

"Tamamo-san..." He was... right. I didn't want to lose Pump and Boko, but after all the losses in my life, after everything, from losing Pump, from the sorrow, from the sheer emotions involved in solving cases... I found that I was... numb to the pain. I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of this pain, even if it meant signing myself up for more guilt later on. A temporary solution that wouldn't work in the long run.

"I know it's tough, but... you shouldn't give up. It's scary, but isn't life like that?" He asked. "It's scary. You don't know where it might lead you. And honestly? Isn't it better to feel ****ty because you did feel something instead of melancholic?"

Shin Kana-san nodded. "Trust me, melancholy is not pleasant."

"Look, the pain you feel... hold onto it. Make it fuel to spend every moment you have with them."

"But... shouldn't we be looking for solutions to save them instead of giving up?"

"That's not your decision to make, Eos. That's Pumpmon and Bokomon's call. Whether they want to find the cure, or whether they want to die. It's not yours."

"But... Mei will be sad if they die... Neemon, Herissmon, Bakumon... And... I'll be gone next year anyway..."

"Then treasure every minute you have with them. Don't distance yourself. Because these raw feelings... They mean you cared for them, and that beats melancholy in the long run. I promise you that someday, you'll look back on these feelings, and... You'll be happy you had them, because the memories will carry on in here." He placed a hand on my chest. 

"The memories will carry on...?"

"You know that song, The Heart Will Go On? I recommend you listen to it. But otherwise, I can't force you out of here, Eos. That's your call." He got up. "Team Demigod is gonna be having a Game Night, by the way. A tradition of ours from the fight against Gemini, but we're inviting others to join us. Yuga is personally looking to beat Koutarou and Dia." 

I couldn't help but snort at the second name. "Diana Jenkins. He wants to beat Diana Jenkins." 

"Party game winner with her eyes closed," was Wynton's solemn statement as he leaned on the door. "We lost the rights to go after those we hate because of that one night." 

I couldn't help but snort. "Hiro would have a fit. I think he wants to finally beat someone in Super Smash Bros cause Mei keeps beating him." 

"Oh, a lot of people are coming! We're gonna be at the swimming pool area, so see you there, I hope!" Troxx piped up. 

I waved them off before closing my door, and as I looked at my reflection in the mirror, with the ragged panda eyes, the messy and tousled up hair, and even yesterday's clothes, a simple white tee and dark green camo jeans, just making me look like a mess, I realised he had a point. I shouldn't be forcing my opinion on others. I... should be asking Boko and Pump first and foremost how they feel about this.

And right there, it made sense now. What Philip-san had said. 

I had been oppressing Boko and Pump. Ever since the betrayal, no, ever since Pumpmon's revival, I had been too hesitant. Too scared. Too worried and terrified of losing them I had failed to take into account how they felt. Maybe they wanted to go out fighting. But in my misguided desire to protect them, I had instead made them more unhappy... 

I groaned. Man, was I an idiot! I was genuinely so new at understanding feelings at times, what with everything around me. Heck, Mei understood me more than I did because let's face it, I didn't even know who I was. 

But he was right. I had to face it. I had to respect their decisions. 

All this time, with Eosmon, with Boko, with Pump, I had been forcing my opinions too much. 

I decided right there that it had to end. I had to stop and make my decision NOT to do that. It was their choice, not mine. 

And maybe... Eh, maybe after everything. For now, I had to focus on working past all of these for my friends, who stood by me, and also... For my sake.

As I felt this new resolve practically become unstoppable, it almost seemed like there was a hand on my shoulder, but even if it was just a mental image, it helped. ...Okay, time to use this new strength to get through this crappy mess, then!

Still, with those thoughts and beliefs guiding me, I went for a shower and changed into a fresh pair of clothes; a pink shirt, a purple jacket with orange stripes on it, and blue jeans.

What was this weird feeling this certainty gave me? I felt peaceful... more okay than I ever had since the month bega-

... My hair was also a bit long, wasn't it? 

I got out a razor from my toiletries and powered it on. It was time for a little makeover. 

When I came down half an hour later, Ruri's scream attracted everyone by a mile. "OH MY GOSH MAKUA YOU LOOK SO COOL!"

I blushed a bit. Oh Kami, this kid! "This isn't much..."

"Makua, you look better than Hiro does. His hair looks like leaves curled up," Koutarou solemnly joked. 

"Kou!!" He blushed at that, and I rubbed the back of my neck. I had only trimmed it to the shortest possible, which wasn't much, actually. It was just the standard!

"Friend look awesome!" Pumpmon giggled while hopping over, and I hugged him while scooping Bokomon up as he walked over. "Thanks, Pump."

"You look a bit happier now, Eos," Bokomon said with a smile. 

"Shin Tamamo-san snapped me out of my funk. I am so sorry for being so selfish all this time."

"Eos..." 

"I promise I'll try to be more understanding from now on, so... Tell me, Boko, Pump, do you want... Us to find a way for you guys to live? Or... Are you content with how you are now?"

The two shared a glance, and Pump looked down. "I... Do wanna live but..."

"The chances of us finding a cure for this, with the deadline being at least on Christmas and at most January... Are pretty low. But... We do want to go out fighting, Eos."

"Boko..."

"You know, you know? Mister Miserea once said that Viking believe that if you die in battle, you can go to Valhalla!"

"A glorious death," He agreed. "I refuse to let the Codes win over me! I've assisted in Lucemon's defeat and protected Gammamon in my first death! Dying that way a second time surely won't hurt!"

I snorted. "Careful there, Boko. The TMs are here and you can never be too careful."

"HEY!!"

"I resent that!!"

"That's... Partially true but still!!"

Everyone just burst out laughing at that, but I said, "Alright. I can't change your minds. But... If there's any way that we could change the tide, if there is a glimmer of hope... Would you go for it?"

"Most probably yes. I have a family and a school to teach."

"Want to meet new people!" Pumpmon agreed.

"Then... Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst," I suggested. "So we can be optimistic and realistic at the same time."

Pumpmon giggled. "Like idea!"

"Sounds good to me as well," Bokomon said with a smile.

"Alright then." I patted their heads. "Let's have fun, you guys!"

They cheered at that, and Bakumon nudged me a bit as they ran off to gather others to join us. "Thanks, Eos."

"Bakumon... I'm so sorry for pushing you off to the side too. I promise I'll help you unlock all your Megas. And... After this month, please keep an eye on Hiro for me."

"I will, I promise."

I gave a relieved sigh as I got my phone out. A quick text to the people who let me adopt Hiro later and I was pretty sure that Hiro would be adopted by Ryubo-san once I left the team. That meant that Blues and Hiro could be siblings again, which was great. Emancipation wise, it didn't really matter I think.

Alright, preparing for the worst was done so... Maybe some relaxing was in order.

"Hey, guys, any recommendations for games?" I asked Yuga and Koutarou who were lugging stuff in.

"Oh, Wuliang got stuff shipped in as well, so it's gonna be an awesome night!!" Koutarou looked giddy. 

"Let's see... should we start with the classics, Koutarou-sempai?"

"Hmmm we could go with a classic. Maybe Super Smash B-"

"NO." Hiro had such a serious and dark look as he grabbed the disk. "NEVER. NOT HERE."

"Roro?" He blinked. 

I was barely holding in my laughter. "Koutarou? Don't tell me he didn't tell you."

"About?"

"How he sucks at games, especially Super Smash Bros. Mei has beaten him sooooo many times." Ruri giggled. 

"RURI!"

"Wait wait wait, how bad?" Dan asked with a smirk. 

"He lost even though Mei was using the weakest character," I answered. 

"WAIT WHAT?!" Tianheng burst out laughing like a maniac. "Oh my Kami, you have bad luck with GAMES, Hiro?"

"Oh so you're the only one who's bad at games among us TMs?" Dan joked. "I'm pretty okay with it."

"I was literally called the Ace of Games before I gave it to Koutarou. Where do you think I got my skills from?"

"I play card games with Touma."

"I can beat the Arihoshi siblings AND those weird kids from the future where they can turn into heroes." "HEY!" "I resent that!"

"I do meh on games, but losing it all the time? Hiro, you have it rough." SS Keita snorted.

"HA. HA. HA." Hiro glared. "Veryyyyy funny. That's why we're not playing Super Smash Bros. You will laugh at my demise."

+ SPIRITUAL DIGILEMMA +

"Why are we playing this of all things?"

"I mean, it's fun and everyone can play cause Wuliang's gaming uncle reprogrammed it to allow multiplayer games on a wide scale." SS Bloom smiled.

"I'm more concerned about the fact that apparently the team gave you five copies of the same game. What's that about?" Hanazono Eden asked while picking Zelda.

"Eh, you know, a team with more than a thousand members and more than a hundred TMs,” Winnie said with a laugh as she picked an Octoling.

"... Wait." THAT was new. "You have HOW many TMs?"

"More than a hundred? And Uncle Dan and Uncle Hiro weren't part of the original hundred."

"I'm sorry what."

"Uncle Keita, Aunt Inaho, Uncle Enma, Uncle Mao, and so many others were part of it!"

"WHAT."

"Oh and Uncle Keizou."

"WHAT?!"

Wuliang and Winnie shrugged. Onyx snorted. "This is normal."

"HOW. HOW IS THIS NORMAL?"

"It is what it is."

"Eh. But anyway, are we playing or not?" Shin Elven Archer, Oakly, asked while holding his controller with his Buddy, Shin Parker Bosch, looking serious.

"Sure! Battle royale mode!" Wuliang chose the mode while Koutarou whispered to me, "When battling, imagine the opponents as yourself."

"Huh?" I looked at him.

"Stress relief. I hear it works." He shrugged.

"I... Feel less like I want to smack someone but okay?" I blinked.

Kirby seemed ready too, so time to have fun!

"3... 2... 1... GO!!"

"TIME TO BRAWL!!!" The AB cheered.

It was downright intense. Fingers flew across the controllers, there was a lot of screaming. I think someone threw someone else onto the couch to destroy their concentration. I think HIRO threw someone onto the couch out of pure spite. (My guess was that it was Tianheng or Jang, judging by their angry shouts. Or it could be just them being destroyed by Amano.)

"WHAT THE- WHO THE **** CHOSE KIRBY?! I SWEAR TO THE LORD ALMIGHTY I WILL MURDER THEM!!" Ah, Shin Bernard looked ticked off after I stole Bowser Jr's power.

"NO CURSING THE LORD'S NAME!!"

But it was very fun, actually. And every time I was faced with an opponent, I remembered Koutarou's advice, but...

I found that I didn't want to hurt anyone, so instead I just shot around them.

Weird, normally I just brutally one-shot...  Maybe it was because of the entire murdering people in real life thing? Something told me, "Don't kill again..."

I just went with that. It was a fresh feeling and... For once, I wanted to trust the voice in my head telling me to be kind to others, so I did.

One could only guess who ended up being the last one standing.

"ALRIGHT!! YOU DID IT, KOU!!" Hiro grinned while hugging him.

"And you didn't get KOed right off." Gulus teased.

'That's true! Usually he's gone by Round 1!" Ruri giggled.

"OH MY GOD MAKE ME A RIVER OF ALL THE EMBARRASSMENT!!!"

I snorted, but soon the kids took over the Smash game, so I sat down on the couch when I felt Yuga tug me. "Yuga?"

"I have two games I think you'll like," He said. "But I'll need to download two games onto your laptop, if that's okay."

"Sure?" I nodded. I was curious what he had to recommend, really, so I gave him my laptop and watched him download...

"What's UNDERTALE and Omori?" I asked him.

"You'll see. I think that the way you are now, these two games will really help."

"Okay?" I was confused but let him be. If he thought it worked, so be it.

After a while, the apps finished downloading as he got up. "Try Undertale first. I'll go make sure Hiro-sempai doesn't murder someone."

I sighed and nodded before moving the laptop to the table nearby. Clicking onto the app, I was soon brought to the title screen of the 8-bit game.

Oh, if I thought this was a normal game, I was downright wrong. "WHY DO I HAVE TO GO BACK TO MY SAVING POINT?!"

"It's to unlock the True Pacifist Route. ... That being said, I'm not surprised you used Mercy all the way," Yuga spoke as he sat down on the couch.

"After fighting an insane Flowey who got all the Souls and getting into a situation that reminds me so much of Tartarusmon? That wasn't the Final Boss?!"

"That's Photoshop Flowey, and no," He answered. "You'll see once you get there."

"So I have to go all the way back to the CORE? Oh ****ing ****!"

"It's worth it. I promise you," He said. "Trust me, Eos-sempai."

I groaned a bit. Ugh, alright then. "Let's do this."

Okay, Flowey was right about me getting closer to Alphys, but the Asgore fight being different from the first time was surprising. Flowey turning out to be Asriel and his adoptive human sibling, Chara (according to Yuga at least), fused into one being via their SOUL caught me off guard. The fight was downright INSANE, though! If I thought our fight against Haavik was crazy, this was mind blowing! Frisk's Determination to save their friends was something I could relate to. And it made me cheer for Frisk as I persisted. "Come on, Frisk! Beat Asriel!!"

The final scene in the Underground just made me tear up, though. I just... "Oh my God, that is so awesome... They finally saved all the monsters from the Underground..."

One thing that stood out to me, though? How Asriel was stuck by the bed of flowers, where the game began. I wanted to save Asriel but he kept saying that he couldn't...

It immediately made me think of Eosmon. Was reviving her truly a good thing? Was it for her, or was it for me?...

I... Now that I thought of it, it was for me. It was in a misguided belief that it would wash the guilt off my hands.

My eyes then caught the butterfly DIM card nearby and I blinked. Someone probably brought it over, huh?

I took the DIM card into my hands, playing with it as I mulled over it. What... Should I do? I couldn't ask her, for sure...

The more I looked at it, the more I remembered the day she saved me. Her reuniting with my grandmother.

... I... Made my decision right there.

Throwing the DIM card to the ground, I lifted my leg, and...

Closed my eyes as I stomped on the DIM card, making sure to destroy it thoroughly.

A lone tear of relief fell.

Rest in peace, Eosmon... Morphomon... Whichever name you go by... Rest in peace. I hope no one bothers you again.

"That was a brave decision you made," A new voice made me look at Gargantua Dragon as he chuckled. "Not everyone would have been able to make that call."

"I think most people would have been able to. You're underestimating humans, Garga."

"Maybe you're underestimating yourself."

"I doubt it sincerely."

He chuckled before he climbed to sit on the couch beside me. "Yuga told me to tell you how to play Omori."

"How do you know how to play all these games, anyway? Didn't you come out of hibernation like, 2 years ago or so?"

"Apparently Yuga and Ranma reviewed games before Yuga got into Buddyfight. And he introduced me to video game playing after Ranma left. I helped him review some stuff here and there. Also, I beg to differ. I did not go into hibernation."

"Huh, that's new." I exited the new game. "But also, you're a hedgehog. They hibernate in the winter."

"HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THAT RANDOM FACT?"

I shrugged. "My mind palace is weird."

He snorted a bit. "We should leave it at that. Anyway, let's get started on the game."

"Alright!"

It was pretty simple at first. A cute world. Light music! And.... A knife?

It went downhill the more I played. The darkness, the backstories... ONE OF THEM BEING A BULLY IN THE REAL WORLD?! Just what in the world?...

I shuddered. It reminded me of the battle against Perfectio. How these so-called villains were just as fragmented as we were.

But as I played, as I powered through... I started to get why Yuga recommended this game. It was facing Omori, no, Sunny's fears. Of their mistakes. Of what they had done...

Garga had warned me to water Basil's plants, and I hadn't known why, but... The final montage was something that...

Basil and Sunny finally being free of the sorrow, of the guilt they had been feeling all this time...

I... Couldn't help but wonder if I could reach that point in my life someday... Maybe after jail...

"Here," Garga said as he handed me a tissue. "Your tears are falling down like a waterfall."

Huh? I felt my cheeks, and quickly dabbed the moisture away.

"Heh, I know someone who cries a lot. He was called a crybaby but..." Winnie sat down on my other side. "Takemichi is a kind person who tries his best."

"But isn't crying useless? Shouldn't it be avoided?"

"No. Sometimes, tears are a sign of strength. It allows you to let it all out. I mean, I heard that Leader cries a lot."

"You mean Wuliang's dad?" I did recall seeing them cry during the Buddyfight against Wuliang.

"Papa thought that crying was bad, but right now... Papa is slowly learning that it isn't bad. That crying is okay." Wuliang agreed while walking over with Dad. "Uncle Shotaro learnt that lesson as well."

"Kindness... It's not a weakness. It's a fire that ignites you. Kindness is a strength. And once you allow it in, it changes you, be it consciously and subconsciously." Garga chuckled. "I learnt that during the Gemini mess."

"So... We're all here for you if you need to cry. Don't hesitate," Dad finished, stepping forward to hug me. "Let it out."

Let it... All out?

Was it okay? Was it truly okay?

It... Was... I realised right there that it was okay to be not okay. That... I could fall but I had all these amazing people with me, so...

It was... Okay. I could let go.

So... I leaned into Dad's hug, and... Let the tears out as I screamed. Why did the good things in my life walk out on me? Why did Uju... Why had Uju... Why did they...

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE?! I... I WANT TO BE WITH YOU, TAK UJU! ****! WHY?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU... YOU WERE SO HURT?! HOW HAD I NOT SEEN THE SIGNS?! ****... I'M SO SORRY... I... PLEASE, UJU, PLEASE.... STOP ALL OF THIS!! PLEASE, PERFECTIO... PLEASE... NO MORE SUFFERING!! DO YOU... WAS IT NOT RECIPROCATED?"

That night, I let it all out and the hug became tighter as others joined in. The sorrow, the numbness, it all went away...

I felt... Relieved. As if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt like... I was finally getting back up, crawling up from the bottomless pit of despair.

I was... Prepared, I found. To save the rest of Perfectio. To stop all of this.

So... I wasn't surprised that when I got back to my room, a letter with the red Perfectio symbol was sitting on my desk.

Opening it, I found a jungle postcard with Uju's handwriting on the back.

"'Where we first met, on the 22nd.'"

My eyes widened. This was...!

"Friend?" Pumpmon asked as he climbed onto my bed. "You okay?"

"Pump, we got another challenge. It's from Uju this time."

"Are you going to tell the others?" Bokomon blinked.

"I... No, it's personal. They're calling me out personally. And even if it's a trap, I'm willing to fight to get them back. To stop them and RobinHoodmon."

The three shared a glance, before Bakumon nodded. "Alright. We'll respect your wishes."

"Thanks. We have something to cover beforehand, though." I took out another card from the envelope. "Looks like a case before the big battle. I'll take you on, then, Tak Uju. I'll see you on the 22nd, and I'll win that battle no matter what!"

No more running or cowering. No more melancholy or hubris! We are going to win this fight!!

venusaura owns Oakly, and Acid Siren/Sai.

@XenoSaiyan helped me write and edit some parts.