Hackmon and Dorumon teleported into their home, a rather spacious and Japanese styled cottage home within the digital world. Gasping the two fell to the ground, catching their breath while Hackmon clenched something tight in his claws. The two were covered in a thin layer of sand, and showed signs of serious wear from combat with Hackmon having dents and scuffs in his armor while Dorumon was ruffled and bleeding from his chest. He was panting rapidly, his eyes barely opened as he steadied himself to his feet, flinching in the process as he clasped at a wound on his chest. 
“Water.” He moaned. 
“Uh-huh.” Hackmon urgently agreed. Dorumon hoisted his brother to his feet and the two rushed off to the sink, taking turns gulping down as much water as they could before finally slinking onto their backs on the wooden floors. “These missions, are not getting any easier.” 
“Daemon almost had us beat this time. Bad enough he brought the pyramid down on us.” 
“These shards of Apocalymon.” Hackmon began to say, unclasping his claws to reveal the small spherical and jet black shard in his hand. “What he has been doing with them, must be stopped.” 
“Well we got eight before, and he’s got what, three now?” Dorumon countered, rolling onto his belly. 
“Yes, and when we return this to Gennai, we will have nine. Only three more remain.” Hackmon sighed. 
“Tai said that we need to be careful with him. If he gets too many more, the digimon he’ll corrupt will be too strong for us to handle. Maybe even stronger than Ordinemon. Remember that?” 
“The Meicoomon crisis. Back when we were on, not so friendly terms.” Hackmon smiled. 
“Glad that’s over.” Dorumon offered one right back. “Come on, let’s hit the shower. Wash out all this sand.” 
“Good idea, brother.” Hackmon approved. Walking past the living room and into a small hallway, they entered into a rather spacious bathroom. It was fitted with a walk in shower, hot-tub that was idle for the moment and all the other typical facilities. Hackmon unclipped his cloak and shrugged it off, letting it fall on the floor as he tapped on each of his shoulders. A small pressurized sound came, as his armor came unclasped and Hackmon eased himself out of it. His cream colored belly and black back unveiled while he took off the helmet, revealing a jet black draconian face and placed it among the pile of armor.
“Remember when you thought they misplaced your armor and Gabumon’s fur at the spa?” Dorumon grinned as he started up the shower. 
“Not another word.” Hackmon chuckled. 
“You guys were freaking out. The two of you are so shy about being naked.” Dorumon continued to tease. 
“Very funny, but remember how Mimi caught you-“ Hackmon cut himself off seeing Dorumon’s chest continue to trickle with blood. “Wait, let me look at that.” 
“Huh?” Dorumon was taken aback a little as Hackmon examined the wound on his chest. “It’s fine brother, don’t worry about. We can patch it up after the shower.” 
“Very well.” Hackmon sighed, patting his brother’s back and led him into the shower. “Let me know if it starts hurting. You tend to be a little stubborn in that regard.” 
“Yeah yeah.” Dorumon breezed off the concern as the water from the three shower heads sprayed down on them. “Normally I hate water, but after spending all day in that sun.” 
“Mmm.” Hackmon moaned, letting the water wash over him. Dorumon examined his brother’s demeanor for a moment and raised his brow. 
“Alright, where’d he get ya?” 
“Hmm?” Hackmon glanced back to Dorumon. 
“I know that look, you’re dulling your pain, was it that slap down on your back?” Dorumon began scouring his brother’s back with his paws and found a spot that made him flinch. “You talk about me being stubborn.” He chuckled, gently massaging the area for a moment. Turning up the hot water he took hold of the soap and started working it onto the injured area. Hackmon just smiled, even letting a quick tear escape as Dorumon took to lathering him up before rinsing him off. “Figured it’d probably be a pain for you to reach there if he gotcha good.” Hackmon turned around and pulled his brother in for a quick hug. 
“Thank you.” He smiled happily, rubbing Dorumon’s back. 
“No problem, here get me now.” Dorumon suggested, giving Hackmon his back. With no hesitation, Hackmon went to work affording his brother the same treatment. “You know, we need a little vacation.” 
“A vacation, now? Hardly the time for one.” Hackmon chuckled at the idea as he scrubbed away. 
“I can talk to Tai, see if him, Kai and Kenta would be interested in taking over a hunt for one of the shards for a day or two.” 
“Perhaps. Meiko has been very protective of them lately though, it may be a difficult proposition.” 
“Tai and Kari were the same age when they first came here. Besides, Kenta has been showing some unusually strong powers lately.” Dorumon reminded him. 
“Like his mother, his Meicoomon seems to possess the power of the Libra. Yet he seems lament to use it, save for the most dire of situations.” Hackmon stated.
“They gotta learn somehow. Can’t coddle them forever. We’re tough but we’re no digi-destined. We’re just trying to stay ahead of things to keep it easier on them.” 
“I’m well aware.” Hackmon agreed, satisfied with his job cleaning off his brother. 
“Which is harder to do if we’re all stressed out, am I right?” Dorumon grinned, looking back to him. 
“Often times with you, such a suggestion would come off as an avenue to slack off, however you do have a valid point. Even I find myself greatly fatigued; Daemon has never injured us before.” Hackmon stated, as Dorumon turned around. “We are growing weak and exhausted, and that is leaving us vulnerable.” He said, placing his claws over his brother’s wound. 
“Good, then it’s settled. You take the shard to Gennai, and I’ll talk with Tai. Tonight, we’re gonna get some much needed R&R.” Dorumon proudly stated. 
“You have something in mind?” 
“Come on, funs my middle name!” 
“You don’t have a middle name.” 
“Oh cram it, just trust me. I know a great place for us to unwind tonight that’ll be relieving in more than a few ways.”  

Teleporting outside the door to Tai and Meiko’s apartment, he leapt up and hit the doorbell. He took a moment to rub the wound on his chest, as it had begun to itch but his attention was snared away by the sound of the lock sliding open. Greeting him at the door stood Kai, the ten year old boy wore his hair just like his father, dressed in a blue and white striped shirt with a golden star on the shoulder along with his cargo pants and white socks he happily beamed at his uncles arrival. 
“Uncle Dorumon!” He exclaimed. 
“Kai, mah-man!” Dorumon chuckled sneaking in a quick hug from him. “How was school?” 
“Ugh, don’t ask. Whoever invented long division can take a longer walk off a short cliff.” He groaned. 
“Hey uncle Dorumon!” A young Agumon called out. Kai opened the door as he ran to steal a good long hug. “You here for a visit again?” 
“Something like that, I need to talk to you guys, but especially your mom and dad.” Dorumon explained, easing himself from Agumon. Though he was built a great deal like his father, the dead giveaway in difference was the faint helix pattern running along Agumon’s back, similar to the one on his mother’s tail. 
“Mom and Dad are in the shower, but they’ll be out any minute. They just got home from work. Kenta! You coming to say hi?” Kai called back into the living room. Peeking out from the bedroom was Kai’s eight year old brother. He had black and rather scruffy looking hair that just draped passed his ears and shared in his mother’s eye color and was still in his dress shirt and pants from school. Leaping up onto his shoulder was a golden furred Meicoomon, his coloring a fair bit lighter than his mother’s but aside from that, the two could barely be told apart. 
“Oh! Uncle Dorumon, hi!” He rushed over giggling with delight as both he and Meicoomon took him in for a hug. “I’m so glad you came over! Mikey’s been talking about some weird stuff lately.” 
“Huh? Meicoomon, what’s wrong?” 
“You mean you can’t feel it?” He asked. “All those shudders from some big battles in the digi-world. There’s a big darkness growing there. Mama feels it too.” 
“Trust me, I know.” Dorumon confirmed for him. “Hackmon and I just came from one.” He sighed bowing his head. Kenta stepped back and noticed that just a hint of blood had gotten on his shirt. Dorumon spotted it as well and rushed in to lick it off. “Oh darn it! I’m so sorry Kenta, here I’ll get that off.” 
“Dorumon what happened to you?” Kai interjected, examining the area. 
“It’s ok, just a scratch.” He tried to play. 
“Don’t be so dumb, if you’re hurt let us take care of you.” Kai insisted, rushing off to the kitchen and bringing down a small first aid kit. 
“Daemon is getting stronger, isn’t he?” Meicoomon asked. 
“Hey.” Dorumon clasped his paws along with Agumon’s and Kenta’s hand. “Don’t worry about it ok? That’s why I’m here to talk to you and your dad, we need a little help and a chance to rest up. Relax, whatever’s coming we’ll handle it.”
“Uncle Dorumon, whatever you need us to do, we’ll do it. After all, daddy’s training us to be an even better team than all our uncles and aunties.” Kenta happily smiled. 
“I’m glad.” Dorumon smiled as Kai came in and clasped a small stripe of gauze over the wound and bandaged him up with the help of Agumon. “Thanks you guys. Don’t worry, I won’t be in bandages for long. We digimon heal up fast, especially powerful guardians like me and Hackmon.” 
“Dorumon!” Tai called out with joy, wiping the side of his head with a towel. Though he was a fair bit older and his hair finally cut to a shorter and more mature length, there was no mistaking that big smile 
“Tai!” Dorumon happily leapt into his arms and stole a big hug. 
“Haha! How are ya buddy!? Great to see ya!” 
“Don’t forget me!” Agumon joined in, ready to pick him up as soon as Tai put Dorumon back down. Dorumon offered him a good long hug before noticing he still had the ring on his foot. 
“Hey, still wearing it huh?” 
“Nowadays for sure, yeah.” Agumon agreed. “My mate and son have been getting some bad feelings from the digi-world so I wanted to make sure I was ready at full strength anytime.” 
“Babe, Dorumon’s here!” Tai called back. Meiko was just slipping into her shirt when she rushed out with Meicoomon to greet him. 
“I’m sorry! I heard you come in I just had to get ready!” She apologized profusely.
“Don’t be sorry, I’m just glad to see ya guys.” Dorumon smiled as both Meiko and Meicoomon hugged him. “So anyway. Hate to rush right into business but I just wanted to ask a small favor.” 
“Oh, sure name it!” Tai agreed, leading everyone to the couches. After taking a seat, Dorumon carried on. 
“Hackmon and I have been tracking down the shards of Apocalymon that were scattered across the digital world after his defeat decades years ago.” 
“Right, Gennai told us about that.” Tai agreed. “How’s it been going?” 
“We’ve gotten nine so far, Hackmon’s bringing one we just recovered to Gennai right now. But we have hit a small, hiccup I guess.” 
“How so?” Meiko asked. 
“We’re thrashed. We’re sleeping four hours a night at best, the rest of the time we’re either hunting for clues as to a shards location, or having to destroy another digimon that Daemon corrupted with the few he has.”
“I’ve been feeling it too.” Meicoomon spoke up. “So has my son. Those dark feelings that made me sick before. I’ve been getting worried about it.” 
“So far they haven’t attacked the real world thanks to us.” Dorumon assured her. “Trust me Meicoomon, Agumon. I promised to protect the young ones, and I don’t intend to break that.” 
“Did you get hurt, Dorumon?” Agumon asked. “Is everything ok?” 
“It’s a minor injury, your kids patched me up when I got here.” Dorumon smiled. 
“Aww, that’s my boys!” Meicoomon smiled, hugging her sons.
“Joe’s first aid courses are payin off, huh?” Tai snickered, ruffling Kai’s head. 
“At least Uncle Joe didn’t make me kiss the CPR dummy.” Kai laughed.
“You’re a comedian, just like your old man.” Tai quipped back. 
“We need a break.” Dorumon stated. “I have a few ideas for some fun for me and Hackmon tonight, but we really need a chance to unwind.” 
“I hear ya.” Tai agreed. “To be honest, I’ve been itching to get back in there for a bit now. While working for the UN keeps me busy, the last little whiles been paperwork city and I could use a good workout.” 
“Baby, you know I can’t though.” Meiko interjected. “My dad’s retirement party? Remember?”
“Right, you’re doing all the planning with Mr. Yamada for that.” Tai conceded. “Hey! I bet T.K would be free! He just got back to town three days ago from his book tour. I’ll check in with Izzy too. Even if he’s not free, I’m sure Ethan and Emma could use some training.” 
“What about Auntie Kari?” Kenta asked. 
“Summer’s coming up, and she has to do the whole kindergarten graduation ceremony for her students. She hasn’t stopped texting me about it.” Tai chuckled. “She’s super excited. But if T.K goes, Max and DJ would come along too.” 
“Thanks Tai.”
“How long you need?” He asked. 
“Just a few days, but don’t hesitate to bring us back in if things get out of hand. This is kind of our job, I feel bad for dumping it on you.” Dorumon insisted. 
“Don’t be like that.” Tai half smiled. “We’re all family ok? If one of us is down for the count, we all step up. Part of what being a digi-destined is all about.”
“Thanks again!” Dorumon rushed over for another hug from Tai. 
“No sweat. So, what did you guys have planned for tonight?”
“Hehe, well.” Dorumon playfully swished his tail. 
“Oh. Oh! Hahaha! Oh man, I’d pay to be a fly on the wall when you take him there!” Tai laughed aloud.
“Take him where dad?” Kai asked. 
“I’ll explain when you’re older.”
“Oh no you won’t!” Meiko quickly chastised as Tai helplessly carried on snickering. 

Hackmon and Dorumon had arrived together in the digital world, landing on a generously wide trail that pathed along a massive cliff. Hackmon surveyed the area for a moment, curious as to why Dorumon had brought him to such a random location. 
“We’re still on Server continent, is your plan to hike this trail up to the cliff?” He proposed. 
“No, I wouldn’t say that.” Dorumon chuckled, heading toward the face of the cliff. Turning around, he smiled and said. “Remember, things aren’t always what they seem.” Falling back into the rocks he vanished. 
“An illusion?” Hackmon breathed, approaching the wall and stepping through. Inside they found themselves on a path that fed down toward a surprisingly large rectangular building nestled between the cliffs. The pink outline and purple wave design, plastered across the grey brick walls hosted a large neon sign; showcasing a Gazimon and Biyomon dancing along with the name, “The Digi-Tailfeather.”
 “Pretty cool huh? Haha, come on!” Dorumon insisted, leading the way toward the entrance. Approaching the front door, they were met with a Kiwimon who was standing guard. “Hey Kiwimon!” 
“Dorumon, good to see you again. Bringing a friend this time?” He greeted. 
“This is my brother, Hackmon.” He introduced. Hackmon stepped forward and extended a paw to greet him which Kiwimon answered by extending out his foot as he lacked in arms. 
“Pleasure to meet you.” 
“Likewise, Dorumon raves about you. I wondered when he’d bring you here.” He answered. 
“So, you frequent this place, brother?” Hackmon questioned. 
“Oh just a couple times.” He tried to play off. 
“A week.” Kiwimon snickered. 
“Stuff it.” Dorumon retorted, flattening out his gaze.
“Head on inside, Apemon will take your cover at the desk. Snowy’s working tonight, so she’ll be happy you’re here.” Kiwimon smiled. 
“Yes!” Dorumon fist pumped. “Come on bro-bro, let’s head in. My treat.” 
“Since when do you pay?” He asked, as the two crossed the threshold. 
“You put me in charge of the digi-dollars remember? Gennai’s been keeping our account topped up, so I brought lots with me tonight.” He explained while producing a few hundred digi-dollars. 
“Where were you hiding that?” Hackmon was swift to question.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell. Just enjoy.” He chuckled. Dorumon rushed to the counter and greeted the Apemon there with a smile. Hackmon surveyed the walls, seeing photos of digimon the likes of Biyomon, Gazimon, Palmon, Renamon, Falcomon and several others, mostly female in erotic positions. 
“Hmm.” He thought aloud, approaching the counter behind Dorumon. 
“Head on inside.” Apemon invited, buzzing the door for the two of them. Stepping through the last door, the music began to really blast out. Hackmon was suddenly greeted to a massive building with four different but fairly large stages with poles dotted around them. Several female digimon along with even a few males were dancing on the stages, pulling the attention of dozens of digimon around them. The club seemed reasonably crowded with a large variety of rookie level digimon around, even a few champions were sitting back and enjoying the shows. The stages were lit with a full spectrum of lights as the dancers performed, and servers were going around to the tables getting orders for the customers. Hackmon was forced to take a step back as well, as Renamon walked by gazing down at him with a smile as a small cluster of Gazimon began following her with digi-dollars in their paws.  
“I don’t know what to make of this.” Hackmon stated. 
“It’s a sexy club! Haha, I knew it’d knock ya for a loop.” Dorumon laughed, draping a paw over his brother. 
“I’m surprised a place like this exists in the digital world.” 
“Tai thought it up!” Dorumon countered. 
“I’m less surprised.” Hackmon flattened out his stare before returning his attention to his brother. 
“Well not just him really. This place is Digi-destined owned.” 
“What do you mean?” Hackmon inquired. “Who owns it?” 
“Hey!!” Willis called out, as Terriermon and Lopmon rushed over to the two of them. 
“Hackmon! Dorumon!” They eagerly greeted, bounding over to the two of them they offered up massive hugs while Willis made his way over. Like Tai, he had grown quite a lot, his hair starting to thin a little at the front, but he was dressed in a rather nice looking blue short sleeve dress shirt and grey slacks to match. 
“So ya finally cracked and decided to bring him, huh?” Willis laughed. 
“Yep!” 
“How did you come to do all, this!?” Hackmon exclaimed.
“How else, years of research and a love for all things digimon.” Willis chuckled, kneeling down beside Hackmon. “I was itching to make a recreational place here after Joe had so much success with the hospital. Tai hit me with the idea and so I did a little digging. Turns out the majority of digimon are not monogamous like us humans, a few groups do split off and form families or tribes but the rest well, they need a place to mix and match.” 
“Exactly.” Terriermon joined in. “Most of our friends back in Tokyo paired off, but most digimon don’t mate for life.” 
“Yep, we got big hearts.” Lopmon added in. “So what’s wrong with a little extra love in this world, right?” 
“Dorumon, you told him the rules yet?” Willis inquired. 
“Oh right right!” He agreed. “So, basically works like this. There’s three types of digimon that work here. Servers, performers and PH’s, short for pleasure hunters.” Dorumon rubbed his hands together as he explained. “The servers and performers you’re not allowed to touch or anything, but the performers will show ya all their good stuff, especially if you pay. The pleasure hunters will full on mate with ya, or do all kinds of fun stuff but, you gotta pay for their services.” 
“Seems a bit dangerous though isn’t it? How do you ensure the safety of these digimon?” Hackmon seemingly interrogated. “I’m familiar with a fair amount of digimon mating practices and some can be, rough.” 
“Glad you asked.” Willis raised his finger. “Go ahead and try to fire your pepper breath in here.” He offered. Puzzled by the request at first, Hackmon eventually submitted and shook his head. 
“Pepper breath!” He called out, but no attack fired out. “Huh? Curious.” He pondered. 
“That’s my handiwork” Willis touted. “Why we can let any digimon under Mega level in. The code that I used to hide this place, seals off digimon attacks. All except Terriermon and Lopmon’s of course.” 
“Not only is this a house of love!” Terriermon smiled. 
“It’s a sanctuary! All digimon welcome and all are safe!” Lopmon finished. 
“For the staff, I even made a quiet room upstairs.” Willis pointed to a stairwell near the back. “Like you said, sometimes it can get rough right? We get that, so while I manage the business and keep up the programming, Terriermon and Lopmon here manage the floor and take care of the staff. If they need a break, or just need a while to rest up, they head up to the quiet room. There’s comfy beds, couches, snacks, a good dozen computers for them to play on. You know, a good spot to kind of collect yourself before heading back out, or heading home. A few of our staff even live here too, most of them just till they find their own place but, we got a couple lifers.” 
“You’ve thought this through.” Hackmon smiled. “I’m quite impressed. Though I don’t know if this is a place I’d enjoy personally.” 
“Dorumon!!” a voice called out snaring away his brother’s attention. Rushing toward them was a Snowagumon, her pale white skin and blue eyes fixed on Dorumon as she scooped him up for a hug. “Oh no! What happened, you get roughed up out there?” She asked, passing her claws over the bandages. 
“Don’t worry, nothing serious just a scratch.” Dorumon assured her. 
“Oh, you poor thing.” She moaned, clasping his cheek. 
“Snowy, this is my brother, Hackmon.” Dorumon introduced her. 
“Oh!? Oh wow! Hackmon, I’ve heard so much about you! It’s so nice to meet you!” She giggled, clasping his paw and shaking it. 
“Thank you, Snowy?” He chuckled nervously. “A Snowagumon, rare in these parts.” 
“You bet your tail.” She giggled, covering her mouth. “Family life in the north was getting way too dull, I wanted some fun and adventures so I made my way here to Server. Found a few friends, landed a great job, and I get to ride this big boy tonight.” She grinned, licking Dorumon’s cheek. “At least, I hope I get to.” 
“You know I can’t resist that tongue of yours.” Dorumon giggled away. 
“Here, Hackmon. While your brother’s busy, why not head over to the calm wing over there?” Willis pointed out, placing a hand on his shoulder. Off to the far right, he could see a small partitioned portion of the club. Along with a sign with two wine glasses clinked together reading the calm wing hanging overhead. “Some of our guests just wanna come in for a drink and relax, maybe that’d be more your pace till you feel up to checking out more of the club. Here.” Willis offered, producing a small voucher. “Try the River’s turn Merlot. It’s a nice wine, I’m sure you’d like it.” 
“Thank you Willis, I think I’ll do just that. Dorumon are you sure you’re ok with splitting up for now?” 
“I’ll be over there by the stage right outside the calm wing with Snowy here. Don’t worry brother, if I go anywhere else, I’ll let you know.” Dorumon smiled. 
“Aww, aren’t you so good, looking after your brother like that.” Snowagumon cooed, leaning on Dorumon. “Come on Dorumon, G.G’s gonna be up soon, I told her I’d cheer her on.” 
“Right, let’s go!”