The rain slammed the ground hard. 

"Bloody goose chases," A tall being clad in thick silver armour muttered towards its companion, another being clad in the same armour, "We came all the way from the sodding capitol to satisfy some old coot's night terrors, haven't we?"

An irritated grunt from his companion confirmed he felt much the same; though it was rather hard to clue out over the barrage of noise from the rain impacting the ground around them. 
The two Knightmon were part of a regiment dispatched to the edge of the 'Wild Woods', as it was termed by those living in the capitol. Said regiment had been personally dispatched with full gravitas by Omegamon himself; whatever the reason for them being here, the Lord Captain of the Royal Knights evidently regarded it with the most utter caution and seriousness.

Not that this did anything to help inject any enthusiasm into many of the Knightmon who had been dragged from their comfortable period of respite to go patrol a rain-shellacked patch of land teetering on the edge between one of the most dangerous areas in this part of the Digital World and the rest of the Western Sector; not only had their leisure been disrupted by the mission, it was fairly evident from what they had been told and how he had chosen to accompany them that the mission was at Wisemon's behest.

Whilst seemingly respected within the ranks of the Royal Knights himself, the shadowy apparition was far less popular amongst those outside those ranks; not only was he irritatingly glib regarding official matters, he was also of enough esteem with the higher-ups that he could give orders to anyone who wasn't one of the thirteen sitting Royal Knights. 

As it stood, the only thing keeping the regiment content with their mission were the two other figures present with them; one of the Inner Circle themselves had been dispatched on this mission, the silver-and-crimson warrior who had been born and raised in these very parts. So long as decorum and unity was kept, anything that the Knightmon and other species in the regiment could not handle would be torn apart by the blade that had ended the life of one of the Four Holy Dragons themselves. As for the other figure, one of the recently-elected Outer Circle Knights had accompanied the other Knight; as far as the Knightmon were concerned, the Indigo Maelstrom was one of their own, having long served with them prior to finally achieving his evolution into his Ultimate form.
"Anyway, how much longer you reckon we have to stay out here for?" The first Knightmon began again towards his companion again, muttering something obscene under his breath as the rain intensified, "They can't keep us out here for much longer than a few days, right?"

"Dunno. That bastard obviously told Lord Captain something that spooked him good," The second Knightmon replied, finally answering his friend with more than just the low grunts he had been churning out for the past hour or so, "We could be out here a while." 

"Bollocks."

Meanwhile, roughly a kilometer away, the situation was rather different.

"I'll assume that your men haven't found anything of significance yet?" A cloaked figure roughly the size of an average human male intoned towards an indigo humanoid many times his size, in a tone that implied what he said was less a question and more a statement.

"Not yet, no," The indigo giant replied to the cloaked figure, "I assure you, though; we're working as hard as we can to find the traces of anything unusual or untowards."

"I'll take your word for it, then." The cloaked figure replied, cold sarcasm evident in his tone as he turned away from the indigo giant, who did his best to mask the intense feeling of irritation he was experiencing, before turning and marching back to a cluster of Knightmon in the distance. 

At the same time, the hooded figure shook his head and turned away himself, waving his hand jauntily to summon what appeared to be an extremely large book; even when closed, the object was bigger than the figure himself, and an unseen force around it seemed to deflect any of the rainwater from hitting it.
Muttering something about memory, the figure waved his hand again, and the book instantly decreased in size. Now roughly the size of a normal book, the grimoire's pages began to turn by themselves as the figure began to float upwards into the sky; and as he reached the altitude he wanted, he settled on the page he wanted.

He was certain that what he had felt had not been a mistake; he'd definitely sensed something the other night, something chillingly familiar. And it was not just him- he was more than aware that the majority of the regiment were unhappy that Omegamon had dispatched them at his behest, and on a better day, he would have simply found that amusing; but what they were unaware of was that Yggdrasil himself had implored Omegamon to authorise the mission, claiming to have had a similar experience to him. 

Unlike the regiment and the purple giant that commanded them, Wisemon remembered the first major war with the Olympians all those years ago; and if Yggdrasil found a matter serious enough to tear itself away from managing the Digital World and come talk to the Lord Captain, it would have to be a damned serious matter. 

As it was, the only two on the mission aware of Yggdrasil's involvement were Wisemon himself and the silver-and-crimson giant from the Inner Circle, who Wisemon observed had been within the perimeter of the 'Wild Woods' for quite a while now. 
Feeling a little curious about the progress of the Knight, Wisemon reached into his pockets and pulled out two small orbs; and letting go of them, they rose into the air as the grimoire before him suddenly erupted into motion, pages turning and turning as the stones ignited into radiant light alongside Wisemon's golden eyes.

He could see it clearly now; the Knight wasn't far from here, and he was drawing even closer as Wisemon spied on him from across the fabric of reality. 
In fact, he was drawing very, very close; even as Wisemon saw him draw close to the edge of the woods from his vision, he suddenly heard the Knight himself as he tore through the trees at breakneck speed, loudly enough to be heard some distance away.

Wisemon pondered; as... passionate as the Knight could be, he was almost as glib as Wisemon himself when it came to official matters. He had taken on the mission with a sense of casual boredom; perhaps as a chance to visit the lands he called home for a day or two, kill a few ferals like in the olden days. As difficult as the bastard could be at turns, Wisemon knew he was a being of simple pleasures; but to see him this seemingly worked up about something was disturbing, he had to admit.

So, as the thundering of his approach became ever-louder, Wisemon narrowed his eyes and scanned the image of the approaching warrior.
And then his eyes widened as he saw what was tucked beneath his arm.

"... It can't be."

The stones and book disappearing into the aether, Wisemon descended to the ground at high speed, and began to shoot towards the point where the approaching Knight would emerge from the forest. At the same time, the indigo giant and the rest of the regiment slowly turned and began to do the same as the thundering noise finally began to attract their attention over the torrential pounding of the rain.

With a crash, the silver-and-crimson Knight emerged from the forest, the impact of his mighty body upon the ground causing it to shake as he slammed both of his feet upon the earth beneath him.
"Is this what we were looking for?" Dukemon asked, placing what he had found before Wisemon when he looked up and noticed the cloaked figure. His deep voice carried an uncharacteristic tone of surprised solemnity that almost disturbed the Demon Man Digimon. 

"... No," He replied to Dukemon, as the air around them was filled with shouting and the sound of thundering footsteps as the others with them noticed what the silver-and-red Knight had found, and began to approach them at a much faster pace, practically stampeding towards them in disturbed curiosity.

"But things may be more serious than I believed they were," Wisemon said in a similarly solemn tone, as his eyes glanced towards the markings running down the humanoid figure's right arm.
__________________________________
[u][b]A Few Thousand Miles Away...[/u][/b]

The Digital World was split into two sectors; the Western Sector and the Eastern Sector. The split was cultural, with the Western Sector being the domain of the Olympians, and in recent centuries, the Royal Knights; but the split was also physical in the form of the Spine of Malice.

A gigantic mountain range several thousand kilometers long, running the majority of the Digital World's largest continent. To the west of the range lay the bulk of the territory of the Olympians, and to the east laid the domain of Goddramon of the Four Holy Dragons, and beyond that the territories of the other Holy Dragons. The Spine, as most called it, was considered to be one of the most dangerous areas in the Digital World; for much of its length, it was inhabited by a variety of tribes and groups that were said to combine the worst aspects of the inhabitants of both the Western and Eastern Sectors, with the sheer penchant for war and conflict of those living in the West, and the xenophobic hostility characteristic to many of the civilizations in the East. It was considered a massive 'achievement' to make it through the range alive, let alone mostly unharmed, and the Olympians acknowledged this.

The villages that spanned the breadth of the foot of the range were considered important resources by the Olympians for their positioning; those who came from the Eastern Sector over the Spine were likely to take refuge in the villages, take their rest there after their gruelling experience. The villages were well-protected by them for this reason; whilst it was uncommon for those who lived in the mountains to come down and attack, it happened, and the inhabitants of these villages were mostly those that would be unlikely to defend themselves well from this kind of attack. As such, the Olympians had formed a working relationship with these villages; they would protect the villages from harm and keep them stable, and in return, the villages would accept those who came across the borders with open arms and allow them to be recruited by the Olympians. 

Today, in one of these villages skirting the edge of the Spine, the atmosphere was wracked with tension.
A few days ago, something extremely unusual had happened; two refugees from the East had been pursued down the slopes of the closest mountain in the Spine, and the last of those pursuing them had been cut down only a few kilometers from the village. As fortune would have had it, none of the villagers had been harmed; a few of the Olympian soldiers stationed in the village had been wounded and even killed by those pursuing the refugees; but compared to the potential damage, the reality was miraculous by comparison.

But perhaps more miraculous was the nature of one of the refugees, and also what it meant for the power of the other; the number of those that had pursued them down the mountain was large, eclipsing the size of any raiding parties that had come to attack the villages in recent memory. Many more of the soldiers stationed at the village could have died in battle if not for her turning her powers on her pursuers; it was not weakness or fear that caused her to flee from the horde behind her, but fatigue and concern for the well-being of the other refugee.

The nature of said refugee was one of the causes of the tension in the air; these villages had heard the stories of her kind, but this was the first time that they had ever seen one in the flesh, and the level of protectiveness the other refugee exhibited for her helped to rack up that tension further.
The other cause was that one of the Olympus Twelve themselves had chosen to show up in person and see to recruiting the refugees.

"So, have you made a decision?"

Within the small house, two humanoids sat at a simple table. One of them was clad in blue and silver armour, and exuded an aura of grace and composure. The other was clad in black, with the upper half of her face covered by a mask as she did her best to remain indifferent.

"No. Give me some time," The latter of the two replied to the question of the former, as she looked over towards the bed in the corner where her companion laid. 
The girl had only been awake a handful of times in the past few days; the stress of the last few months had evidently gotten to her, undoubtedly triggered by the chaos of the events of a few days ago. 

"I assure you, she'll be perfectly safe in the capitol. Should you accept our offer, you'll be given high-ranking positions and the appropriate accomodations."

In response, the figure clad in black seemed to hiss slightly.

"So you say."

The silver-and-blue figure's response was to sigh.

"Look, it's ultimately your choice, but let me level with you. Other members of the Olympus Twelve wouldn't be giving you the luxury of a choice, and you'd be getting a far, far worse deal out of it."

"Whatever. Let -me- level with -you-; I need some time to decide. I don't exactly feel like possibly getting myself involved in a bloody war as a trade-off for what you're offering."

The figure in black was suddenly conscious of a shift in the atmosphere around the silver-and-blue figure.

"I somehow doubt that."

"... Pardon?"

"I heard from the men stationed here about how you put down all those savages from the Spine. Particularly, I heard about how you seemed to enjoy it."

If she was conscious of the shift in atmosphere before, it was practically stifling her now; the aura of grace and composure surrounding the silver-and-blue figure had been replaced with something wholly different. The aura of something wild and untamed, of something thirsting for blood and battle.
The black figure shivered a little bit. Not out of fear, but out of longing. Out of kinship with the animal that seemed to be hiding in the God Warrior before her.

"See? It's not the war that's breaking the deal for you, is it?" The silver figure asked, smirking beneath her helm as she practically stared into the soul of the figure in black, "Please don't feel like I'm forcing you, but whatever it actually is that's breaking the deal for you, get it sorted out and come and talk to me when you're ready. I'll leave the choice with you; just consider everything and make it well."

And with that, the figure got up from the table and headed for the door, leaving the black figure behind her-

"It's her."

"... Ah, yes."

The silver-and-blue figure turned, seemingly more understanding now that the black figure was being more honest.

"I'm not sure exactly how much your men have told you, but maybe they mentioned why I didn't just slaughter all those bastards chasing after me. I'm considering her as much as I'm considering myself. You're right, maybe I don't care about stepping into a bloody war. Maybe I'd fucking enjoy it, like some kind of psychopath. I'd even get to be in the top sodding brass for a change. But I have her to consider too, and I'm not even going to consider accepting your offer until I'm sure it's right for her."

In response, the silver-and-blue figure stared at her, taking in the outporing of brutal, honest emotion.

And the black figure was slightly taken aback as she offered a simple nod in return.

"I understand. My men told me a lot; take as much time as you need to make the decision, there are always men here to escort you and her to the capitol. We'll be happy to accomodate you here if you decide not to join us."

"... Thanks," The black figure replied, sounding genuine as the silver-and-blue figure graced her with another nod, and turned to leave for real.

And as one figure disappeared, another took the opportunity to step in.

"She must really be interested in recruiting you, if she's willing to put up with you getting shirty with her," A small figure with a face fully obscured by a jungle of white hair, clad in ragged garb and holding a staff ending in a cat's paw.

"Seems that way," The black figure replied, slumping down onto the table as the village elder approached her. Jijimon was blunt and somewhat sarcastic at turns, but something about the elderly Digimon was soothing to her. It seemed to be the case with the other Digimon in the village; he had quickly pacified them after the chaos of a few nights ago, and had seen to it that the dead were quietly given their due and the two refugees accepted.

"So, you actually planning on accepting her offer or not? Cut the standoffish crap; I just want an honest answer."

"It's like I said," The black figure replied, "I'll make the decision based on what's best for both of us."

"Che. Typical," Jijimon replied with a sigh, shaking his head and hobbling over to the bed in the corner.

"Look, I almost died getting through the Spine alive. I'm not throwing us into another potentially horrifyingly danger-"

The black figure was cut off by a young voice.

"I'm fine with whatever decision you make."

The black figure paused. Froze. 

"You've been awake a while now, haven't ya?" Jijimon asked the girl lying on the bed, as she rolled over from facing the wall to facing Jijimon and the black figure.

"Yeah, I have. I was listening."

"... Ru- Look, you make the decision. I don't really care about all this Olympian and Knight bullshit one way or the other, but it's not my decision to make if you don't want to."

"I don't mind, really, I don't!" The girl replied to the black figure, "You can make the decision, Lilithmon!"

"Well?" Jijimon intoned towards Lilithmon, as she stared at her partner, deep in thought.

"... I'll go find Dianamon," She responded to the girl, getting up from her chair and heading for the door, "Just get some sleep."

And with that, Lilithmon left and, nodding, the girl gave into the fatigue that still wracked her and fell asleep once more.