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Recovery One

Ronin frowned as he saw the army down below the drone. "Copy that Foxtrot One, I see them. Look for comms equipment, or anything you think might be important. We want to cut these bastards off," he said.

A few miles away, Tom rolled his eyes. "Actual, I'm still doing my sweep." Tom looked back through his scope and searched for anything that said communications. He caught glimpses of it just as a Wraith, a few Locusts, and a massive suit of armor went by. "I think I found it. Sending coordinates."

Ronin looked at the coordinates Tom sent him. Yep, it was their tech being used against him, Ronin would recognize a functional D.RIFT.R Relay anywhere. "Foxtrot One, that is our target. We hit it, and those bastards are stranded here just like us." Ronin looked at Tom's position. "Foxtrot One, be advised, you have tangos coming in on your seven, advise moving." Already, Tom could see ways to penetrate the defenses. It sure as well wasn't going to be easy.

Tom looked back and saw the enemy patrol moving towards him. Getting up, he moved quietly around them and vanished back into the forest. "Actual, this place crawls. There's no chance I can stay here without detection. Besides, after we blow the comms, we still have to worry about that army. I'm coming back, I think we can make a plan after this."

Ronin nodded. "Understood. Foxtrot One, come on back,- wait, something's coming in through that relay,...holy SHIT! Foxtrot One, get the hell out of there now!" Ronin yelled in fear as a Wrath class SIN came through their relay, the Scarab sized walker stumbling on badly damaged legs.

Tom saw the SIN, and he didn't bother staying around. Slinging his rifle behind him, Tom started running away from the camp. "What the hell is that thing?" Tom asked, panting as he run at full speed.

"Wrath class SIN. That alone is going to be worse than the army," Ronin explained hurriedly, taking the drone out of the area. "I'm picking up increased activity in the camp and I'm seeing heavy infantry patrols. Wait a minute, I've got him!"

"Got who?" Tom asked jumping over a log.

"The el-tee see! He's still alive! And Varak's with him too! They're five klicks north-west of your position!"

Tom shook his head. "No time. This op was a bust, I'm coming back to you." Tom didn't hear Ronin for a few minutes, and then heard a mech start up over the comm.

"Tom, the moment you come back, prepare the place for an assault, and turn my room into triage," Ronin ordered.

"Yes sir," Tom panted as he broke out of the forest and saw the manor ahead of him. He also saw Ronin in the mech, putting the drone on his back and picking up what looked like some sort of giant SMG. Upon seeing Tom, the mech's "head" nodded, and sprinted off to the forest. Tom ran up to Rena who looked at him in worry.

"Rena, we need to get ready for wounded," Tom said breathlessly. Rena nodded and dragged Tom inside to deliver the orders to Hakuramon and Darkamon.

Ronin lumbered the forest, eyes scanning everything in his path. Minutes later, Ronin found them. He didn't particularly care that his CO was in a cave, guarded only by what was left of their Hog, but he was concerned the small group in the cave. Looking at him were Rahne, Varak, who looked tired as hell, Sora, and laying propped on a rock was Coyote, his armor scratched, burned, dented, and torn well beyond repair.

Ronin gingerly picked Coyote up, and with the others in the Hog, he led them to the manor. Hakuramon was standing by the door waiting for the wounded. Ronin walked up to her and gently placed his commander on her back. Nodding, Hakuramon dashed quickly back into the manor. Varak parked the beat up ol' Hog and dismounted with the others and very quickly dashed after Hakuramon.

Ronin got out of the mech and dashed inside, followed by Rahne and Sora. Unfortunately for him, both Hakuramon AND Varak told him, in no uncertain terms, that he, or anybody else for that matter, could NOT be in the room with Coyote while they worked.

Three hours later, everyone sans Hakuramon, Varak, and Darkamon were still waiting outside of Ronin's former room. Rahne and Ronin paced in the halls, their synchronization almost comical if not for the circumstances. Tom noted Rahne's gloves, and turned to Rena. "Rena, who is she?" he asked softly.

Rena looked back at him and whispered back to him in awe. "That's Rahne of the Faint Smile. I never thought I'd ever meet the mother of the Sun-Burst Clan, much less see her." Upon seeing Tom's blank look of non-understanding, Rena continued. "Rahne is said to have defeated a LadyDevimon by herself, and still in Champion Form. Oh, how I'd have loved to see her like that...and there are other stories about here and her clan, and most of those about the clan are not exactly what you would call polite."

Rahne heard Rena speak her name and looked over to her. Seeing her gloves, the older vixen stopped and walked over to her. "So," Rahne said, "What brings a Moon Fighter here? Last I heard, you all still had a stick up your ass about some prophesy. And who's he?" she asked, nodding towards Tom.

Rena sighed. "My Tamer here was injured and was staying here for recuperation. And this stupid emblem here," she pointed to the crest on top her glove, "Is because I was born on the eclipse, though I'm not far from home..." Rena trailed off gloomily.

Rahne looked over Tom. Looking back at Rena, she said, "He's a keeper."

Tom's face heated up, and Rena shook her head. "B-But we're not mates!" Though I wish we could be.

The door opened, and Varak walked out, his blood-shot eyes looking over all assembled. Seeing Tom, and recognizing a Spartan when he saw one, the dragon beckoned him over, something still cradled in his other hand. Tom walked over to the medic and asked, "Yes?"

Varak held out what Tom recognized as an old armor permutation for MJOLNIR Mk. V Powered Assault Armor. "Can you fix this?" Varak asked crabbily, his eyes twitching.

Tom looked at the old armor permutation. "I'm no tech, but I'll see what I can do," he said, taking the device from Varak. "No promises though."

"Well, do it fast," Varak snapped back. "Seven broken ribs, two contusions, a shattered femur, and internal bleeding from a pulse cannon are what's killing the CO!" Varak rushed back into the room, helping Hakuramon with who knew what.

Tom almost snorted. "Yeah, I'll do it fast. What does he expect, me to pull parts out of my ass and fix this?!" Tom looked at the device in his hand. It was old as hell, and caked in several layers of dirt, grime, blood, and cleaning fluid, and from Tom's lessons from the Battle of Reach, it was one of the earliest known Drop Shields that the UNSC used. Although, this seemed to be a bit more...careful in its construction.

Ronin was shocked. Varak never let anybody, Coyote included, touch his gear without several written forms and a court order for maintenance. Unless....

"Tom, MOVE!!" Tom barely got out of the way as a shimmering bolt of indigo energy splashed across the Drop Shield. Before Tom's surprised eyes, the Drop Shield seemed to fix itself, the mixture of dirt and blood falling off like it was rain. "Give it a go now," Ronin ordered, looking at the door to his room.

Tom nodded dumbly and put the Drop Shield onto his armor and activated it. The shield burst into life, Tom's chest wound healing faster than it ever could naturally. Seconds later, the shield shut off. Tom took the device off and tossed it to Ronin, opened the door and yelled, "VARAK!" before tossing the device in.

About thirty seconds later, Varak came out, with Hakuramon and Darkamon following him. "He'll live," he stated simply before unceremoniously falling flat on his face asleep. Everyone turned to look at Ronin. The sniper sighed as he checked the dragon's vitals.

"Don't worry, he's just asleep," he said, lifting the medic up. "Rena, you're on watch duty. If my CO so much as twitches an eyelid, you tell either me or Hakuramon," he ordered, his role as Sergeant Major coming back full force. "Rahne, Tom, General Darkamon, and Ari, you're all on perimeter defense. Set up weapon stash points, and make sure you listen to Tom. Kit," he said gently. "You can go sleep in the next room if you want to, okay?" Sora nodded as Darkamon paled underneath his fur looking out the window.

"I must attend to something," Darkamon said hurriedly before vanishing. Ronin mentally shrugged.

"All those still present same orders. And Hakuramon-sama, I believe a good meal is in place," Ronin said, bowing his head to the much older vixen. The vixen nodded and went off to the kitchen. Ronin looked at everyone still standing there. "Let's move people, tails and elbows, we've got company!" In three seconds, everyone was gone. Ronin dragged Varak to a closet, opened it, and shoved the medic inside. "Sorry mate," he said as he closed the door on Varak's surprisingly heavy form.

With Tom, Rahne, and Ari...

The two acquaintances and legend busied themselves setting up little stockpiles of guns, ammunition, and bombs, with Tom's guidance of course. Ari, being the curious kid he was, was looking at Rahne oddly. "So," he said, "What's a Sun-burst doing so far away from home?"

Rahne sighed as she handed Tom a Toshigan assault rifle. "Ari, my home is with my mate," she said with a pained look on her face.

"Mate? Where is he?"

Rahne snorted. "He's the one in Ronin's room recovering from providing cover from a retreating village."

Ari looked at Rahne in disbelief. "Wait, you're mates with a human?!"

Rahne looked at Ari as if he was an idiot. "Yes. Your point?" she asked, her crystal blue eyes burrowing into Ari's.

Ari gulped. "Look, I don't have anything against humans, it's just that, well, a Digimon mating with a human is just, well, wrong!" he said quickly noticing Rahne's blank face. He watched in fear as Rahne lifted her paw. Closing his eyes, he expected to be punched through the wall. Instead, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, Ari saw that Rahne was looking at him sadly.

"One day," she said quietly, "You'll understand." Taking her hand, the vixen turned and left. Tom looked at Ari.

"Well, back in my dimension, inter-species relations do happen," Tom said as he placed the one Toshigan Assault Gun by the window.

Ari shook his head. "Tom, DNA and data don't mix. I mean, look at the Sun-burst Clan for crying out loud!" he burst out. "They have orange fur most of the time, their eye color is random, they don't even have some of the same abilities as a normal Renamon, and to top it all off, they have a reduced lifespan!"

Tom sighed. "I suppose," he said, looking out the window. But what if your heart doesn't know or care?

"Hey!"

Tom and Ari looked down and saw Sora standing there. Smiling, Tom kneeled down next to the Viximon. "Hey there, you remember me, don't you?"

Sora nodded. "You're the human Mommy made friends with before she left." Sora jumped onto Tom, snuggling up next to him, sniffling. "But you're nice like Kat and Uncle Gabe."

Tom hugged Sora. "Shh, it's okay, I know what it's like, I've lost my mom too," Tom said. Sora turned up to look at him.

"S-So did Kat. She said that the monsters killed her parents, but then she took one of their eyes out with this spork thing!" Sora said, almost bouncing off of Tom. "And when the monsters came back, she beat the living crap out of the same monster when they came to the village!"

Tom chuckled. "She must have been pretty cool to watch her!" Ari watched the Spartan with an odd look on his face. For the entire time that Ari knew Tom, the Spartan was fairly silent, usually emotionless, and kept looking at Ronin like he an enemy agent. Although in retrospect, Ronin wasn't any better. Hell, Tom smiled more than Ronin did, and Ronin was older by a few years at least.

Sora's ears drooped. "I-I didn't watch. Daddy, ...he, he died, saving me..."

Tom's heart nearly broke hearing the little fox begin crying again. "Your daddy was very brave to do that," he said, holding the Viximon close to him. Dammit, if only he had stayed a little longer....

"Sora! _CoughCough_Where are you, ya little ball of fluff?" All of them looked up to see a moderately bandaged human walking the hall, using an MA37 with a scope on it as a crutch. Sora saw the human and smiled.

"UNCLE GABE!" Sora yelled, jumping off of Tom and heading towards the human. Tom slowly rose and shifted back to his normal, cold exterior. The human turned to see Sora barreling down at him.

"Sora, no, I'm not supposed to be up yet!" he cried out, waving a hand to dissuade the charging Viximon. Sora skidded to a stop, and Tom had his first real look at Ronin's commander. He was about five foot six, maybe five foot seven at most. Brown hair was cropped close to his head, and the beginnings of a beard was highly visible on his face. Square framed glasses were perched in front of a pair of woody, hazel eyes that had a sheen of intelligence. He was lean, and in a lot of pain, as the smile he gave for Sora was obviously forced. He looked up and saw Tom standing there next to Ari. Hopping over to him, he had no problem seeing eye to eye with Tom. "Sierra 707?" he asked.

Tom growled. "That's what ONI called me. It's just Tom."

"Tom then," the human answered, extending his hand. "Lieutenant Colonel Monnot, First D.RIFT.R Battalion, Second Company XCO, service number 72119-94001-GM. I have a question."

Tom looked at Monnot's hand and took it. "Yes?"

Monnot, better known as Coyote, looked Tom dead in the eye and asked, "Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?"

Tom wasn't amused at the comment. "I make due," he said tensely. Coyote chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but it was too much to resist. Plus, whatever these herbs are, are making me see pink, yellow polka dotted elephants dancing around. Man, I do not like painkillers," Coyote said as he weaved back in forth, clutching his head. "So, how's Ronin been treating you?"

Tom shrugged. "Well, Fox is interesting to say the least. Helped me out of a tight situation."

Coyote nodded. "Yeah, he does that a lot. But otherwise, quiet guy," Coyote stated, walking back to his room, waving for Tom to follow. "So, judging by the fact that you're not running away from me and that Ronin is still alive, I can assume you're at least considering joining us?"

Tom nodded. "Yeah, well, I signed the datapad, so I guess I am one. At this point, I figured what the hell, I have nothing to really lose. Besides, asylum from ONI was too good of an offer," Tom replied.

"Great. But as of now, I am also your CO, understood?" Tom nodded. Coyote hissed as he grabbed his side in pain. "Don't," he said as Tom reached to help him. "I may not be a Spartan, but I sure as hell ain't no greenhorn either. Now, what happened after you took the Mongoose? And just because I can see the question on your face, the reason I know it was you was because you're the only one who needed fast transport at the time, and Ronin told me you had a partner with you."

Tom cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, after we took the Mongoose, I drove it west until for about half an hour when it ran out of gas. Rena and I hiked until it got dark and made camp. The next day, Rena suggested that we come here, and we were getting ready to sleep when Ronin apparently set off a flashbang. I made contact with Ronin, and after receiving a visual on an incoming enemy force, Rena and I sprinted here. We were halfway there when a sniper aimed for Rena. I-I jumped in front of her and took the round." Tom rubbed the spot on his chest where the round hit.

"At this time, Ronin came along, and ordered Rena to take me into the house while he provided cover. I blacked out then, but from Rena told me, there was a mortar strike that Ronin barely managed to avoid. He was then surrounded by what Ronin referred to as Toshigan Slaughtermasters and Lupine Moxelus Assassins. Ronin was taken and about to be executed when he just, Rena didn't know, snapped. From what Rena says, that out of the almost four hundred units out there, Ronin killed at least half of them, many with their own weapons. After he and Rena repelled the assault, Ronin patched up my wound, and spent the rest of the night policing weapons and ammo. The next morning, he went to switch out my bandages with some fresh herbs, and intercepted some assassins. That was when we met Ari, and I regained consciousness. Up until today, we've been mostly waiting for me to get better. And just a few hours ago, Ronin had me do a recon on the enemy base. I personally don't see how we can get in," Tom said, just as Ronin came sprinting in, barely stopping himself from crashing himself into Coyote.

"Sir, we have a problem!" Ronin said breathlessly, his face set in panic. That got both Coyote's and Tom's attention.

"Shit, the assault?" Tom asked. Ari popped his head out from a hallway.

"Worse Tom! It's Doamon!" he cried out. The look on both Coyote's and Tom's faces was the same. Who the hell is Doamon?

Tom, Coyote, and Ronin rushed to the nearest window and looked out. Coming down the road were a pair of Renamon, and they didn't look friendly. The first one was a Taomon wearing a purple robe; the other was a Renamon with black and grey fur, a pair of crimson gauntlets, and wore gold and dark purple robes. They both had the same I-am-better-than-you-and-you-had-better-remember-it look. And even from where they stood, the three could hear the old Renamon general _pleading_with the Taomon.

"Brother, you are being hasty!" Darkamon said as he walked next to his brother. "The girl is not a kit anymore, she can make her own decisions!"

Darkamon's brother looked at him coldly. "She is my daughter Darkamon, and I know what is best for her. So take me to her NOW!!"

"Shit, the possessive father," Coyote muttered, clicking the safety off his 'crutch.' "And it looks like he brought a dickhead with him."

Tom looked at Coyote oddly. "With all due respect sir, I'd prefer if we didn't kill anybody. There's already been enough bloodshed here."

Ronin spoke to Tom. "True, but I don't think that guy cares much. Worse comes to worse, we'll get Rena out of here first."

Tom swallowed, afraid that his emotions would show from that one bit of kindness from Ronin. "Sirs, Rena is my partner; if anything, I have to fight for her." The three soldiers walked over into the living room, where Rena, Rahne, Hakuramon, and Ari were. Seconds later, Darkamon, Doamon, and the other Renamon came in. Doamon instantly turned to his daughter.

"Luna, after so long, it is good to see you. We were worried. What has gotten into you, running away? You have responsibilities back home, you cannot be off gallivanting about! Your mate was-"

Rena interrupted her father sharply, her arms crossed and defiant. " He is not my mate, Father."

Doamon looked at Rena stunned. "What, are you talking about?!? You have been arranged to be mated to Gravismon here! He was worried sick!"

Rena growled. "Worried? He was worried about his breeding sack! I will not take him as my mate, and no one is going to make me!"

Doamon growled at his offspring before he heard a voice speak up behind him, along with a cold metallic slide and click. "Hey, the girl said no. And trust me, we'll make sure that her request is carried out." The Renamon turned to look at Coyote who was now sitting on a window sill, gun casually tucked under his arm, and ready to fire, Tom standing next to him.

Doamon huffed arrogantly. "Humans," he said, spitting out the word almost as if it were a curse. "I thought I smelled something foul."

Tom growled as he walked up to Doamon. "I'm the reason she doesn't want to go with you," he boldly said to the much larger Taomon.

Doamon literally stared down at Tom. "Watch your tongue human. And what do you mean, 'I'm the reason?'"

Tom lifted up his Digivice as Rena came by his side. "Because I'm her Tamer." And possibly more...I haven't figured that part out yet.

Doamon looked as if he was going to spontaneously combust in rage. "A Tamer?!" Turning his attention back to Rena, he roared, "Daughter, this is unacceptable!!"

Rena stood by Tom defiantly. "I will not mate with Gravismon. I do not love him, and I have other obligations with Tom at my side," she huffed angrily.

For the first time since he had come here, Gravismon spoke. "Phfft, he's weak," the dark furred Renamon said, looking at Tom as if he was just a bug. "As if he could protect her. Lord Doamon, I inquire that you let me fight this human for Luna."

Doamon smiled. Coyote and Tom decided at the same time that this guy, even if he was Rena's father, he needed to Foxtrot Oscar, was the worst kind of HMFIC, and that he needed to wipe that lecherous smile of his face. "That is not a bad idea," Doamon said. "Luna, if your Tamer can defeat Gravismon in a duel, then you can stay with...him. Otherwise, you will come home with Gravismon as your mate."

Rena looked at her father in shock. "What?! Father, that's not fair!"

Tom touched Rena on the shoulder. "Alright, I'll fight him." Everyone who wasn't already shocked looked at Tom in, well, shock. Tom turned to Rena and said softly to her, "I won't let that asshole have you. If I have to die to make that happen, then it was worth it." Turning to Gravismon, Tom stated, "I'll fight you, and if I win, you leave her alone."

Gravismon smirked, chuckling darkly. "Very well, human. It will be an early demise for you, but the wager is...acceptable." He eyed Rena greedily and shifted his stance, ready to fight.

Doamon smiled darkly as he looked at Rena. "We will make an example of you human. Now, let the fight..."

"That is enough Doamon! At least give the boy a night to prepare himself!" Everyone turned to see a Kyuubimon standing in the doorway. Doamon snarled and beckoned for Gravismon to follow him. The two of them left without another word as Rena rushed over to the Kyuubimon happily.

"Mother!" she cried out, hugging the giant fox around the neck. The Kyuubimon did her best to nuzzle her daughter.

"My Luna, I've missed you so much," she said. Rena nodded her head.

"I'm sorry, but I had to get away from him." She didn't need to say who it was she needed to get away from.

Looking up from her daughter, the Kyuubimon introduced herself. "I am Yima of the Moon-fighters Clan. I hope that my mate wasn't that much of an idiot."

Rahne picked that moment to speak. "Not so much an idiot as he was an ass. Why does he hate humans anyway?"

Yima shook her head. "It is his pride. While he isn't normally so bitter, the power he now has has blinded him to the fact that others do not share his views...myself included. Although, may I ask as to who you are?"

Rahne shrugged. "I am Rahne of the Sunburst Clan. I asked about your mate, as I am concerned of the safety of mine."

"He won't harm them, not directly in any case. My mate...he thinks that humans are weak, both in terms of strength of body and spirit." Yima looked at Tom. "What you did, standing up for my daughter, was a very brave thing indeed. But Gravismon will do his best to humiliate you before he defeats you, you know that?"

Tom looked at Yima evenly. "I know ma'am. But leaving Rena with that guy is worse than dying at this point. She's the only friend I have at this point."

Yima bowed her head in respect to Tom. "I understand. Please, if you would all like to join me at my home; I'd like to make up for my mate's rudeness." Seeing the look of alarm on Coyote and Tom's faces, she added, "My mate will be out helping Gravismon prepare for tomorrow."

Ronin took that moment to throw his two cents in. "That would be fabulous ma'am," he said politely. "Let me retrieve my team's medical professional, and I'll go procure us transport." Ronin went off to get Varak, humming to himself. Coyote looked at his sergeant in shock. Ronin was humming? This had to be a sign of the apocalypse.

Yima shook her head at the Voxin. "There is no need for a transport; my home is not that far," she said, watching as Ronin got Varak out of the closet. Tom looked at his new sergeant oddly, but then decided not to speak; considering the almost absurd way that he had seen the Dimensional RIFT Recon just toss ONI's mission away like trash, he really should have seen this coming.

Tom felt something warm grab his arm and stay there. Looking over, he saw Rena looking at him with her shining emerald eyes. And Tom could see in those eyes that she didn't want to let go. Normally, Tom would have some (attempted) witty remark, but for once, he didn't know what to say. This kind of behavior from Rena was, unusual, to say the least.

After Ronin grabbed the still sleeping medic, Yima led them out of the manor and off to her home. Coyote was stubbornly walking on his own, claiming that "I can't let the Spartan be the only bad-ass!" Rahne held Sora, Ronin was dragging Varak along, a spare Toshigan SMG in his hand just in case. Yima led them to her home, an even larger Japanese style manor than the one that Darkamon had. Entering the manor, Tom looked around in amazement. "Rena," he said breathelessly, "Your home is beautiful." And indeed it was, with a rock garden, small grove of cherry trees, and a tranquil atmosphere. Rena blushed lightly under her fur.

"Thank you Tom, but I still prefer the forest," she said, smiling.

Coyote shrugged with his other arm. "Just give me bedroll with Rahne and I'm happy," he said, earning a look of amazement from Yima.

"You two are mates?" she asked with a slight smile.

Coyote nodded as Rahne answered. "Yes, he gave me my first child and a clan I can be proud of," she said, gazing sideways at Coyote who was currently looking at the small shrine in the garden.

Yima smiled as Rena came upon the door. "I see. You look happy to be with each other."

Coyote grimaced. "Yeah, well, four Real World years and roughly a thousand years here tends to make reunions rather teary," he said bitterly, looking to the sky this time.

The matriarch of the Moon Fighters looked at the two sadly. "I am sorry to hear that," she said, just as Rena opened the door.

As soon as the young vixen stepped into the living room, she was jumped by what Tom first thought to be a pair of grey and yellow cotton balls. Only, cotton balls didn't have faces, and they weren't capable of making Rena smile like that. "Big sister, you're home!" they cried out.

As the rest of the group walked in, Ronin turned to Coyote. "Now that sir," he said, dumping Varak unceremoniously onto the ground, "Is cute."

Coyote looked at the sniper. "Ronin, when did you start taking drugs?" he asked.

Ronin shrugged. "I don't sir."

Coyote looked doubtful. "Are you sure? Because the Ronin I know would never say that anything is cute, let alone smile," Coyote said.

Ronin shrugged as he put the SMG by the door, along with his blades, and his TMD. "People change sir," he replied simply.

A few feet away, Tom chuckled as he saw the two Viximon going all over Rena. "Looks like they missed you Rena," he said, a faint hint of a smile on his face.

Rena laughed as she got up, holding up her siblings. "Yeah, I missed them too," she said. Lifting up one ball of fluff, Rena said "This is Ruckus, and this adorable little one," Rena went one nuzzling the other, "Is Hope."

The Twins' attention shifted over to Tom. "Wow," whispered Ruckus, "Are you a human?"

Tom nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm a human. Since I'm Rena's friend, can I be your friends too?"

The Twins looked up at Tom starry eyed as Rena said to them, "He's also my Tamer you two."

Coyote shrugged in pain as he left his MA37 by the door and sat down next to Rahne. Sora was still in Rahne's arms, and Yima was certainly curious about the little kit. Walking over to them, Yima crouched down to Sora's level. "And what is your name little one?" she asked softly.

"I'm Sora," replied the kit shyly, his blue eyes looking back at Yima.

Yima smiled kindly. "Sora; that's a very nice name."

"Thank you ma'am."

Yima nodded and looked up to Rahne sadly. "He's not your kit by blood, is he?"

Rahne shook her head as Coyote answered. "She was killed shortly before Rahne was awakened. I...I was there." Coyote grimaced at the memory. "It wasn't a good day. Next day was even worse."

Meanwhile, Rena said to her siblings, "Hey, why don't you say hi to Tom as well?" The two Viximon perked and damn near flew into Tom, sending him toppling over, laughing. Hearing a groan, they all turned to look at Varak, who was just now regaining consciousness. Apparently, the cries of the kits had woken him up, and as the dragon woke up, he was slightly confused. He went to sleep on one floor and woke up on another. Looking around, he saw Coyote sitting by his mate, and he went nuts.

"SIR, WHAT IN BAHAMUT'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled, standing ramrod straight in an instant. All present looked at Varak as he continued ranting. "You are in serious condition, and I-"

"Varakäs'aüldan, calm down," Coyote said. Varak shut up instantly. "You were tired, alright? The Drop Shield did wonders, and don't worry, a few more treatments will do wonders. We're gonna have dinner here soon, so try to relax?" Coyote looked over to Yima. "Yima-sama, may I inquire as where the dining room is? I don't want to be lost trying to find the food," he asked jokingly.

Yima smiled. "Of course," she said. She looked over at Rahne, who nodded. Yima then proceeded to grab Coyote by the back of his armor and took his to the dining room, and plopped him down on one of the many pillows surrounding the table. "Here we are," she said, the laughter that she didn't want coming out clear in her voice. Coyote was not amused for about two seconds. Then he started laughing, then crying as the laughing began hurting his lungs.

Tom looked up and saw Sora sitting in Rahne's arms. Looking to Ruckus and Hope, he asked, "Hey guys, I think I know someone who might want to play with you."

The twins looked at him with glee. "Who?" they both asked.

Tom pointed to Sora. "His name is Sora," he said, and the moment the words left his mouth, the two of them rushed over to Sora.

"Hey Sora," Ruckus said, looking up at Sora. Hope continued by asking, "Do you want to play?"

Sora's ears perked up. "S-Sure," he said, jumping out of Rahne's arms and in seconds, was playing tag with the twins. Rena then helped Tom get up from the floor, smiling.

"You know Tom, you're really good with kids," she said.

Tom looked at her in surprise. "Really?" he asked. Rena nodded, as did Ronin.

"Yeah, much better than the el-tee see was with his first two siblings," Ronin added as he watched the Viximon play with the others. Rena sighed.

"One day, I wish to have kits of my own," she said quietly. Her mind wandered over to Tom, who was still watching Sora, Ruckus, and Hope play around the house. He'd make a great father...but would it be right?

Ronin walked over to Rena while admiring the various artifacts in the house. "Well," he said, "Considering the case of my commander and his mate, I'm pretty sure that's a possibility for you two."

Rena then thought of the fight Tom would have tomorrow, and that sank her heart like a metaphorical battleship. She didn't want to lose him...not after that close call the other day.

"Something wrong Rena?" Ronin asked as he looked at her, head tilted.

Rena sighed and looked at Ronin. "I'm about Tom, that's all," she said.

"And more I reckon, if your face is anything to go by," replied the sniper as he crossed his arms.

"I don't know," Rena admitted, "It's just that, I don't know, I've been having these really weird feelings about Tom lately, and I don't know what they are."

Ronin chuckled and nodded. "You feel as though your soul isn't complete without him?"

Rena nodded. "And I feel a connection with him, and not just as partner and Tamer, but I don't-" Rena was shut up by Ronin putting an arm around her shoulders, the sniper trying to resist laughing.

"Rena, you are in effin' love with possibly the best person in this universe right now," Ronin explained. "And waiting to tell him is going to be the worst regret of your life."

Rena looked at Ronin in fear. "But what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Ronin looked at Rena dead in the eye. "Rena, I have a minor in psychology; Tom will do anything short of selling his soul to ONI because he loves you," Ronin said with a faint smile.

Rena shrugged hesitantly. "But the fight tomorrow...Gravismon's too strong."

Ronin snorted in derision. "Rena, Tom will take the pole out of Gravis' ass and beat him to death with it. And Tom is fighting for you as a person Rena; that alone makes him win," he said softly, taking the photo he always carried out of his pocket and looking at it.

Rena had a quick glimpse of a little Voxin girl before she looked over at Tom. She had to do it tonight...

"Do it now, before it's too late."

Rena nodded and went towards Tom. Reaching him, she turned his head towards her and said, "Tom, I need to tell you something."