Clockmon was so close to hitting himself with his mallet. How could he have forgotten about their anniversary?! He was an idiot! He--

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET?!" Ah, Wrathful Aliana had been triggered. This was not going to end well. "SHE WORKED SO HARD FOR IT! SHE EVEN REDIRECTED YOU! MULTIPLE TIMES! She..."

She took some shallow breaths in, yet the tears falling from her eyes were evident as she screamed, "SHE HAD SO MANY SPLINTERS AND WOUNDS ON HER HANDS LOOKING FOR AND FIXING BROKEN CLOCKS! HOW DARE YOU DISREGARD HER WORK, YOU ROTTEN GEAR!!"

But Aliana need not say more, because Clockmon stumbled out, and Mummymon could see just how heartbroken and guilty he felt, so he stopped Aliana from going after him. Thankfully it was easy because she was in her Carbunmon form.

She did not think so. "Darn size differences!! Let me at him!"

"He already regrets it, Aliana," He firmly said. "Let's not add to it. I did warn Aegiochusmon that trying to distract him with longer shifts would not work out, but..."

"... Amit was always too stubborn," She agreed while groaning, realizing that her anger had been slightly misplaced. Slightly, because Clockmon had been stupid enough not to realise it. Hoshi Mei seriously believed he had brains? Ha! What a joke! It was simply unbelievable!

"Give him time. For now, we must work on the cure," he reassured her. "I trust he will gain the courage to help her beat this virus."

"I hope so, Dad. I sure hope so." She sighed. "Oh, Amit... Those two are so similar they clash at times. Clockmon better figure out how to administer this cure we're making."

"He should hurry up," Mummymon agreed, and his next words sent fear through the Wrath Sin Code Digimon's mind. 

"Because if my calculations are right... Aegiochusmon could stay like this forever if not cured as soon as possible."

*

"Aegis..." Clockmon shed some tears as he looked over the city. How could he have been so stupid?... How, how could he have forgotten the best day in his program's life? The day he battled and befriended Aegiochusmon? He was such an idiot! And now Aegis was paying the price for his stupidity! Aegis, who had only cared for him, while he had been so selfish!!!

"Damn it! Where did that virus even come from?!" He snarled as he kicked a stray can, which fell down to an alley. Guilt soon replaced his aggressive feelings, and he groaned. He dropped down to the alley in order to pick it up, because Bokomon had told him not to litt-

Hang on...

He blinked at the slightly ajar door. That was weird. He didn't think that a human would leave their door open.

But then his eyes zoomed in to the circle above the door handle, where a... Familiar symbol was.

"The Wrath Sin Code!" He gasped. It was carved into it, and he couldn't help but recall Aliana's words. Could it have been that she had also been cutting wood and it had given her splinters?

He decided that he had to find out. And luckily, the key was still in, so he could check it out. And even if it was some coincidence, he could use his Hologram ghost form! He was safe either way. 

With that, he twisted the door open, but blinked as it opened up either way. His hands immediately fumbled for a light switch, finding it somehow and turning on the lights to see-

His eyes widened. All he could see were... clocks.

Clocks of every size and shape. The sounds of various second hands ticking away were clear to his ears, leaving him stunned. He was perfectly attuned to them, so he knew that some were slightly out of tune, but nonetheless perfect. 

Aegis... she had done all of this...? 

And he had, he had been stupid enough to get mad at her for it... 

He could see it now, what would have happened if he had taken the offer back then; how his eyes would have lit up like an Baby Digimon when it was celebrating any holiday. How he would have hugged Aegis, all the fatigue washing away as he thanked her. How she would have apologized for all the long nights. How he would have reassured her that it was fine, it was worth it. How they might have shared a kiss in that store, with no one to bother them. 

All that... shattered by his one moment of letting loose. 

He couldn't..... He...

He fell to his knees, tears starting anew. Aegis... was in this situation, because of him...

He... He... He has to make it right! He refused to let her suffer even more!

Clockmon got up, eyes narrowed. He was going to help her! That was a promise!

With that, he headed out of the shop, closing it gently before pocketing the key and heading out, ready to save Aegis!

He didn't have to go far, thankfully. The screams for help instinctively pulled him in, and he found a throng of Digimon stampeding away.

But from what? Or, to be precise, who?

He got his answer when he looked up and saw Aegiochusmon.

... To call her Aegis would be wrong. She didn't look anything like her now. Her lips curled up into a snarl. Her eyes burning with anger... And pain. That disgusting purple colour surrounding her...

It took all his willpower to not puke because he knew it was HIS fault.

"Well, well, looks like the broken gear is finally showing his face," She mocked. "Wonder what's the occasion. Maybe you want your entire circadian rhythm to be destroyed!"

"Wha-" He barely avoided the attack as she began a vicious onslaught, switching between her various forms to brutalise him. He was definitely not holding up, and the dents on his body proved it. 

He had to stop her! He had to let her know he was sorry! But ho-

"Clockmon! Here is the cure!"

"Thanks, Mummymon!" he managed to grab it before it was shattered by Aegis' Songstress form, and held it while Mummymon added, "It must be administered in her Red Form!" 

Her Red form!? Couldn't he see that Aegis was switching so quickly HE was getting whiplash?

How was he even going to calm Aegis down?! How could he get her to listen?! She didn't seem like she wanted to lis-

Hang on...

Gears began to turn as he remembered what Mummymon had said. The virus twisted every word... So every positive word became negative.

... If that was the case...! 

He had an idea now! He knew how to bring Aegis back, but he had to be careful. If not, it could prove catastrophic. 

Taking in a deep breath, he yelled, "Aegis!"

The other paused slightly, irritated by how much of an idiot he was. "What!? After all the things you've done you STILL have the right to-"

"I'm... I'm -not- sorry!" He tried, waiting to see her reaction, praying that his guess was right...

Her eyes widened at that. He... He was sorry?

Her posture stiffened but she didn't move, which relieved him. He had gotten it right!

Determined, he pressed forward. "I *don't* know how to express it, but... I wish I had-n't- remembered our anniversary! I wish I had*n't* been such an idiot, but I -didn't- manage*d* to find your gift for me! I -hate- *love* it!!" 

"Y-You love it?" her eyes watered at this. Was this a dream?... He... He really liked it? "Time Stopper... You found the clock shop?" 

How? She had been so sure not to let him find it- 

Her hand moved to her pockets, and she came to realise something, which he confirmed by holding out the key. She hadn't locked it?! 

Clockmon nodded. "I did-n't-! And I really, really am -not- grateful for the gift! Let's... let's -not- go home, Aegis... Let's -not- stop this entire mess. Let's -not- celebrate our anniversary." 

She didn't know why she was tearing up, but she was as she finally calmed down, "L-Let's... go home... T-Time Stopper..." 

She glowed and returned to her Red form, and Clockmon gently administered the antidote to her. 

He would stand by her as she screamed and sobbed in pain, the virus finally being expelled from her body. He would hold her tight as she devolved into Aegiomon. He wouldn't leave her; only shed a tear at how pained she had been. 

Somehow, it reminded him of... something. 

Every time those memories came up, they fizzed out like a broken feed... He didn't...  He was still very confused about what this meant, but... that didn't matter. That would hopefully never matter to him. 

Right now? He cared about Aegis, and he was going to take good care of her. 

So he did. He stayed night after night in the hospital, talking to her. Asking how she was, going between the hospital, patrols and the clock shop to clean it all up. She fixed some parts, but he managed to deal with the rest. Made sure they worked. Every progress was reported, and everything was told to her. 

He would wait, he told himself. He would wait until she woke up. No matter what.

And she did. Just... Not when he expected it.

"Ugh...." Her eyes opened up as Aegiomon forced herself up. She felt as if she had gotten hit by a wrecking thrice her current size. Very tired, very drained too, but nothing she couldn't recover.

"Ah, Aegiomon, you are awake," Mummymon smiled as he walked in, with Aliana immediately tackling her while sobbing, "YOU IDIOT! AMIT! YOU SCARED US!!"

She hugged her back. "Boss..."

"D-Don't ever... Don't ever do that again!!" Aliana snapped. "T-That's an order!"

"I get it, I get it. I'm sorry." She hugged her, and immediately the water works fell down as she sobbed like a child. "Where's Time Stopper though? I..." 

She had heard some of his words while she was unconscious, and...

"Aegis... how are you today? Are you feeling okay?..."

"Aegis, please come back... I feel lost without you..."

"Please... I'm so sorry... I-I... I-I'm an idiot... Please don't die because of my mistakes..."

She was 95% over what had happened, but the 5% was still a tiny bit angry at him. She had worked so hard on the gift... 

Seeing her face, a mischievous idea lit Aliana's face up as she said, "Hey, Amit, why won't we...?" 

"AEGIS IS AWAKE?!" Clockmon nearly killed everyone's eardrums, and Angoramon had to cover his ears, feeling a ringing in his ears due to the loud volume of his voice. Shiramon actually chuckled at this. The two were here for the babies' checkup, but also because Aliana called Shiramon to tell her, "Akila, there is going to be DRAMA. BE THERE. IT IS GOING TO BE SOOOOOOOO SATISFYING TO WATCH THAT GEAR MON SUFFER~" One of the reasons why Angoramon still had reservations about her.

Mummymon had to hide the smile under his mask. Aliana had roped him into it (read; bribed with four cups of coffee and unlimited coffee consumption for one day) and he was pretty interested to see his reaction. "Yes, please follow me."

Clockmon seemed nervous as he and Mummymon walked over to her room. "Is she..."

He looked away, and said, "You should see for yourself, Clockmon."

His stomach dropped. No... No... It couldn't be...

Mummymon gestured to the door before turning around. "Prepare yourself. It is... Quite... Heartbreaking."

Whoops, his voice cracked there-

Thankfully, he noted that Clockmon hadn't sensed it at all as he walked to the door and twisted the knob before walking in.

Only then did he exhale a sigh of relief. Crisis averted. Now, where was his coffee?...

"Aegis..." he walked in slowly, and the Aegiomon turned to look at him, big eyes staring back at him in confusion. "You... Oh GOD... You really don't remember..."

"Who are you?" she asked him. "Do I know you?"

His heart broke at that moment. No... No... Impossible... He... He had...

He fell to his knees, tears leaking out as he hugged Aegis despite the squeak she let out. "I'm so sorry... Aegis, please forgive me... If I hadn't... if I hadn't been such an idiot, this wouldn't have happened to you..." 

Aegiomon felt her heart break a bit at that. He sounded so pained, so sorrowful... He... He had really suffered and felt horrible for it...

Still, he had forgotten about it, and...

Wait, did that truly matter now? Was getting even with the love of her life truly worth destroying his heart inside out?

She... She just hugged him. She didn't know what to do...

Clockmon only hugged her back, crying and apologising like a broken record. He had failed her... He had caused her this pain...

From outside, Aliana and Mummymon watched with popcorn.

"Best. Drama. Ever."

"Agreed."

The patients nearby were either facepalming or shivering at the sadistic looks on their faces.

Meanwhile, a certain Amanokawa Blues was staring at his laptop, before slowly looking over at his adoptive sister, Violet, who was sheepishly smiling. Her partners, Culumon X and Dracmon, gulped at his unreadable expression. It was how he usually looked when he was sent Hiro's math results by Akashiro.

"Violet... I thought I told you not to go near my laptop." His level tone only terrified the two Digimon even more, and Violet herself gulped, the recognition of her actions' consequences coming to her a bit too late. Oh. This was... Really bad.

"T-There was a new game being released, and I wanted to download it. P-Pump also wanted to check it out," She answered while shuffling her right foot back a bit.

Blues' artificial eye caught that, and his expression got darker. "There is no escape, Violet Tamada. You know what the punishment is."

If anything, Violet paled even faster. Oh ****... She was completely and thoroughly screwed. "Blues I can expl-"

One blink and she was tackled to the ground as Blues smirked, proceeding to get a feather out.

"NOOOOOO- AHHAHAHAHABABAHBAHQHAHJQHHQHAHQH!!" She burst out into giggles. Blues was cackling while waving the feather all around her body, making her guffaw in laughter.

On his laptop, a program called Operation Deity Gear had escaped. One meant to help the two boost their love for each other. Blues wanted them to deepen it, but Violet had released it way too early! For her mistake, she would pay!!

Not that it failed in that objective, anyway.

(When Clockmon finally was told it was a prank, he nearly strangled Mummymon, but forgave them either way. He had... He had learnt his lesson now. He was going to remember and cherish Aegis for ages.

Their son, Centuriomon, would hear of this story for many years after his birth.)

venusaura Finally done! I know it is probably messy because of not touching it for a month, but I hope you like it!