Stry the Veemon sat behind a desk filled with various paperwork. Each paper held notes or blueprints regarding the castle’s reconstruction, price tags, and payment plans. Stry winced at each one handed to him by planners, wondering if it was worth it. At least until a collapsing ceiling or pillar squished Alephmon flat. Whenever that happened, which was often, Stry swallowed and accepted, even adding extra payment on top.

All over the cliffside castle stood scaffoldings next to its walls. Various, shorter ones lay within hallways and rooms, each holding barrels full of equipment for repairs. It made traveling through their home awkward, but the repairs significantly improved it already. Alephmon only got flattened twice a day instead of up to six, more rooms became accessible, and Stry no longer needed to sleep with three blankets for the night.

Still, the final price tag would be heavy, enough that Stry wondered if it were possible to pay it off. All of the others, Alephmon, Nekozikimon, Stormymon, Castmon, and Toximon, worked overtime in getting and completing missions. Even then, Stry suspected it would take years to climb out of the red. He felt tempted to join their missions, but freelancing rules dictated that at least one in their group must say in the home base if they get a call. Besides, Stry felt that it might as well be him who organized and supervised their base reconstruction.

“OK. The workers patched up the west wing, so no more rain leaks. They also replaced the mossy floor and even stained it so it matched.” Stry flipped through the documents. “They handed a list of Digimon painters who could redo some paint jobs, particularly on the statues since they held leftover paint. I don’t know if it’s worth it.” He turned to the reader. “What do you think?”

“Maf? Who are you talking to?”

Stry flinched while turning to the door. Alephmon, the flof Digimon, stood there, shifting his bright yellow eyes at every shadow. His fur, pale blue outside his white chest and belly and a gray with a pale blue tip tail, puffed out somewhat. He wiggled his long triangular ears at every sound within the room. When he stepped over to Stry, his tail tucked slightly between his legs.

“Eh, nobody!” Stry rubbed the back of his head, feeling a slight sweat drop on it. Alephmon nodded, though he winced at a squeak. Stry sighed and shook his head. “The shadows aren’t after you, you know.”

“You-you can’t be sure about that, maf,” Alephmon said. He rubbed the side of the desk with his hand-paws, which wore black fingerless gloves. “E-ever since I returned a couple of days ago, I keep seeing something behind me. Something black and scary, maf!”

“Sigh. That’s your shadow, silly.” Stry rolled his red eyes. “Look, I know we’re slow on setting up electricity in the rest of our home, but give it time. I’ll be sure to get a night light for you.”

Alephmon shivered, glancing at his shadow. “B-but this isn’t a normal sh-shadow. It-it’s completely back, and I swear I saw red eyes!”

“Again, buddy, that’s your fear talking.” Stry rubbed his forehead where a yellow V-shape marking lay. “Look, the darkness ain’t all bad. Well, not counting certain Dark Digimon, but the shadows are just that: shadows. Heck, how long have we lived here?”

“Maf? Hmm.” Alephmon rubbed his chin. “I forgot.”

“You see? It would’ve found us long ago if something were evil here!” Stry rubbed his red bandana. Alephmon also wore one around his neck. “I know you’re scared of the dark, but trust me. It’s not that bad.”

“I-I know that, maf. But—”

“I know what I’m talking about.” Stry sighed and flipped through the papers. “Look, how about this? If you need to, I don’t know, go to the bathroom or get a drink when it’s night, you can use my lantern. How about that?”

“Maf?” Alephmon blinked and took a step back. “A-are you sure?”

“Of course! Anything for my buddy!”

“Yay! Maf, thank you!” Alephmon reached up to hug Stry.

Stry chuckled while patting Alephmon’s head. “There, there, buddy. Just don’t damage it, OK?”

“I won’t! Promise!”

“Good.”

Alephmon slid down, his mood lifted. One of his hand-paws, however, knocked down one of the papers. It fluttered down before sliding under the desk where Alephmon’s shadow lay. He bent down and slid his fingers underneath, feeling for that paper. A couple of seconds later, he touched it and pulled it out. He stood up and handed it back to Stry.

“Maf! Thank you very much again!” Alephmon waved at Stry while leaving.

“Anytime, buddy!” Stry waved back.

Before Alephmon left, his shadow grinned with its lips and eyes glowing red. Three glowing red diamonds also appeared on the chest. It waved at Stry with a wide grid. Stry waved at the shadow until he blinked and flinched. The glowing parts of the shadow disappeared and followed Alephmon’s motions. Stry stood up and rubbed his eyes for a few moments. His ear-like appendages flopped back in disbelief and confusion.

“Eh? Must be my imagination.” Stry sat back on the chair with an exhausted sigh. He checked the paper Alephmon handed back and skimmed through it. “Huh. Blacksmith forge near the castle, at least thirty feet away. Power hammers, anvils, sanders, the entire work. Cool, though it’s strange.” He scratched his cheek where a small, yellow, upside-down triangle lay. “I don’t recall commissioning for a forge. Maybe I’m working too hard. Maybe I should take a break.”

Stry stood up and walked to the corner of the room, where a water bottle case lay. He pulled one of the bottles out and drank through it in ten seconds. He kicked it to the trash can, where it landed without bouncing out. Once done, he strolled back to the desk and sat before it.

“Break time over! Back to work.”

Nighttime crawled over the land, with the sun going down and the lone moon taking its place in the sky. Countless stars shimmered over the sky in various shades of white, yellow, blue, and red. Chirping sounds came all around, despite the lack of bug Digimon. Hooting echoed through the darkness. The wind whistled through the grass and the leaves.

In short, a peaceful night in the Digital World.

Despite that, Alephmon shivered on his bed despite how warm it felt. He held his blanket close to him. Though he felt tired, he refused to sleep; every time he closed his eyes, he thought he felt dark tendrils coming to pull him under. He shifted at every corner of the room, even under the spot where Stry snored, for any danger.

“M-maf. There’s no-nothing to be scared of. Th-there’s no-no-NOTHING to be sc-sc-SCARED of.” Alephmon pressed his head against the soft pillow. He breathed in and out fast. His ears folded back in terror. “Th-there’s nothing to—”

A creaking sound came from the side. Alephmon jumped up and off the bed, landing a couple of feet away. He turned to the window where the sound came from. One of the scaffoldings outside wiggled in the breeze, creaking in response.

Alephmon sighed without relaxing. “G-g-good!”

Alephmon shivered in the dark with his tail tucked between his legs. The shadows seemed to blacken to blindness outside the nearby beds. Stry’s snoring broke the silence, with him blissful in his sleep rather than paranoiac like Alephmon. He shifted his eyes all around, trying to calm himself. When that failed, he pulled himself back onto his feet-paws.

“I-I need something to calm myself,” Alephmon said to himself. He grasped the darkness until he grabbed Stry’s lantern. He twisted the knob on it until it returned a slight, soft glow. It illuminated enough to show his pale body, almost white from fear. “I-I need something to drink.”

With that said, he stepped over to the closet. While doing so, he rubbed his belt across his hip and shoulder while carrying his scabbard and sword; since it began, he refused to sleep without his sword near him. Once he reached the closet, he opened it slowly and shone the light within,

Inside, along with an odd assortment of clothes, hung his khaki shorts with them hanging by their black stirrup straps.

He set down his lamp and slipped his shorts on quickly. As usual, he let the straps lay against the leggings and tightened the waist belt. He also reached for a shelf, where a series of red bandanas lay. He grabbed one and wrapped it around his neck. Already, he felt a tiny bit of security from it.

Once done, he picked up the lantern and inched toward the door. Before he opened it, he turned back to his shadow and stared at it for a few seconds.

“M-maf. N-no funny business. O-OK?”

He stared at his shadow for a few seconds, waiting for any movement. When it did not move, he returned to the door and opened it.

Meanwhile, his shadow gave him a quick OK hand signal.

Alephmon twisted back to his shadow, but it followed his body movements. He twitched his folded-back ears.

“I-I mean it! Maf.”

Alephmon slipped through the door and shut it so fast that his tail almost flattened from being squished between them. He glanced around the hallway before brightening up the lantern’s light. Its glow shone throughout, with various construction equipment like ladders and barrels littered throughout the darkness. He stepped through, avoiding them without going under ladders.

His shadow grinned, with red lights glowing where the eyes and mouth would be. It also glistened on the chest, with three points shaped like a digital diamond. It followed Alephmon’s motions, waiting for the right time.

Alephmon stepped downstairs and through the hallways, reaching for the kitchen. He entered it and turned on the room’s lights. Despite the castle’s ancient exterior, the kitchen and dining room held modern touches with fridges, microwaves, and even a couple of ovens. An antique hearth, the only original part of the room when Alephmon and Stry founded the castle, lay at the other side of the kitchen.

He turned off the lantern and set it on the counter. He grabbed an empty cup and hurried to the fridge, where a water dispenser lay. He activated it, with it pouring filtered water into his cup. Once done, he drank through the entire mug.

“OK, maf. That felt better.” He turned to his shadow on his right. “And you didn’t do anything funny. Good!” He turned to his shadow on his left. “You too!”

Alephmon turned to the fridge again before he paused. His tail puffed up out of fear. His eyes widened until they became the size of bowling balls.

“Wait. ‘You too’?”

Alephmon glanced at his left shadow, which glowed red on its eyes, mouth, and chest. It waved to Alephmon, who responded by dropping his cup. The shadow extended its arm, lifting from the ground and shifting its shape. It split away from Alephmon, standing around his height. Some of its colors lightened from the pure black while the eyes and mouth stopped glowing, instead showing fully formed mouth and eyes.

This wolf-like Digimon smiled at Alephmon, his bright red eyes shining in the light. Gray chains crossed over his chest and back in an X shape, just above the three glowing digital diamonds. Below the diamonds extended red bright lines that went around and up to his neck and under his eyes. His hair-fur lay as far down as his eyes, so black that no light reflected on it. He wore blue jeans with ripping at the bottom of each legging and chains hanging on the sides. His tails and ear tuffs emitted shadowy bubbles floating near them.

“Hey there, Alephmon!” He waved. “It’s nice to meet you at last!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Alephmon almost leapt out from his fur. “IT’S REAL!!!!”

Alephmon ran as fast as possible, only to slam his face against the door with such force that the hinges groaned. He recovered and grabbed the door handle, twisting it and slamming it wide open. The hinges cracked in response. He sprinted out into the hallway, forgetting the lantern in the kitchen.

The shadowy Digimon, who extended an opened hand-paw, blinked at the fleeing Alephmon. He blushed and flustered, squirming in place.

“O-oh. Did I overdo it?” He blushed brighter. A crashing sound came from the hallway; the shadowy Digimon winced in place. “He-he could get hurt.” He ran out, following Alephmon. “Don’t worry! I’m coming!”

Alephmon, for his part, crashed into walls or scaffoldings. Once, when slamming against a structure, his limbs and head flung forward while his chest and belly remained in place. The scaffolding wiggled but remained in place. He flopped onto the floor, winded out to the point he wondered if he could run anymore. At least, until he saw the shadowy Digimon coming after him; the red glow on his body gave him away. He jumped up and ran away, his legs becoming a cloudy spiral.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! IT’S COMING FOR ME!!!!”

“Alephmon, wait! I’m not going to hurt you!”

Alephmon ran some more, heading toward the stairs going down. Along the way, he bumped against a scaffolding with such force that the barrel on it fell on its side. He reached the stairs, but he ran on thin air over it as though he still ran on the floor. He crashed against the downward-sloping wall, stopping his sprint. He fell and, when he collided on the stairs, he rolled down.

“Ow! Gee! Ah! Maf!”

The shadowy Digimon rushed down the stairs, careful not to fall. He folded his ears back and sucked his lips, concern written all over his body. Alephmon reached the bottom, flat on his back, and spirals formed in his eyes. The shadowy Digimon stopped at the bottom, standing six feet from Alephmon. He stepped forward but paused when Alephmon came and scootched back.

“Maf! Stay away! Don’t hurt me!”

Thudding sounds came from above.

“I-I wasn’t.”

The thudding sounds came closer.

“No! Back, you shadowy beast!”

“I-I—”

The thudding sounds came with steel rubbing or crashing against each down. Both Digimon blinked, with the shadowy one turning around. He cried out in horror, spreading his arms out as though protecting Alephmon.

The barrel, knocked down by Alephmon and came tumbling down, crashed against the shadowy Digimon. It rolled over him with such speed that Alephmon thought he disappeared. It continued rolling, zooming toward Alephmon. He swallowed and pulled a white flag out of nowhere.

“Maf.”

It rolled on top of him, flattening him in the process. Alephmon yelped, squashed flat like dough under a roller except paper thin. The barrel kept moving until it crashed against a wall. It stopped and spun a bit, not having a single dent, and silence crawled throughout the hallway.

Alephmon’s eyes spun in spirals again, dizzy from being flattened. The white flag disappeared; its purpose fulfilled. He shook his eyes until they returned to normal and glanced around. He peeled his head off from the ground, and then his chest and arms.

“Maaaaaaf.”

The shadowy Digimon rolled up, just as flat as Alephmon. Despite that, he moved with ease. He glided over to Alephmon, who winced and swallowed. The shadowy Digimon smiled and pulled him back onto his feet-paws.

He then hugged Alephmon close.

Alephmon blinked. “Maf?”

“Sorry about the scare,” the shadowy Digimon said. “I-I didn’t realize how intense your fear of the dark was. I-I just wanted to make it a surprise.”

“Maf?” Alephmon wiggled. “A surprise?”

“Yeah.” The shadowy Digimon blushed, with it viewable despite the darkness. “My-my name is Kuromon. I’m a Digimon who loves being in the dark. N-not the evil kind or anything like that. Just the darkness.”

“Oh?” Alephmon widened his eyes. “H-how can you love the dark? It’s so scary!”

“It’s not that bad.” Kuromon released Alephmon from his hug to swing his flat arm around the hallway. “I mean, it’s like another world. So much different and peaceful than being in the daylight. And the moon and stars are lovely, one of the few lights shows I enjoy.”

“Maf? Lovely?”

“Yes. And it’s not just those natural lights that held beauty.” Kuromon raised both flat arms above his head. “Imagine this: a building in the dark, with a red glow leaking out not just because of fire but because of glowing hot Digizoid. Hammering it will cause such amazing sparks to fly off. It may look cool in the day, but its true beauty shows in the night like this.”

Alephmon listened, trying to imagine what Kuromon described. He turned around the hallway, which remained dark but not as dark as before. Various layers of grays and blacks covered different stuff, like a blanket on a sleeping Digimon. In a way, it felt soothing and even peaceful.

“Wooooah!” Alephmon wagged his flat tail. He reached over to Kuromon and hugged him close, who blushed in response. “That sounds amazing. Although,” Alephmon shivered somewhat, “I-I’m still uncomfortable in the dark.”

“Ah, it’s no worries.” Kuromon hugged back while patting him on the back. “I-I didn’t expect you to suddenly love it dark like now. Maybe in the future,” Kuromon winked, “but not now.”

Alephmon shivered some more. He tensed up, and he stopped hugging Kuromon. “I-I guess.” He swallowed and smiled, “Sorry for running away. I-I didn’t realize how nice you are.”

“Again, it’s no worries.” Kuromon stuck a tongue out at him. “It’s my fault that I scared you, after all.”

“O-OK.” Alephmon. “In any case, my name is—”

“Alephmon.”

“Hey! You took my line, maf!”

“Kekehehe.” Kuromon rubbed Alephmon’s flat head. “I have known it for some time. After all, I’ve been sleeping in your shadow for the last few nights.”

“Wait.” Alephmon rubbed his flat chin. “I came back from completing a mission during that time, maf. Since then, I noticed my shadow didn’t always follow my motions and even moved on its own. Was that all you, then?”

“What do you think?” Kuromon grinned wider. “I saw you being a hero out there and how you never gave up, no matter how tough it got or how flat you became. I couldn’t help but follow you. I admit that, well, I enjoy teasing fellow Digimon with shadow tricks. Though if I realized it sooner, I would’ve known that your darkness fears would overwhelm any joke I meant.”

“Maf. It’s all forgiven.” Alephmon swung his flat arm against Kuromon’s back. “Especially since I made a new friend!”

“A-a friend?” Kuromon blushed brightly.

“Yeah!”

“C-cool.’

The two fast friends chatted with the hours passing by. The night sky changed with the moon’s orbit going from one end of the horizon to another. The sun crawled, shining its golden light on the cliffside castle. Any nocturnal creatures scurried back to their burrows or caves to hide and sleep. Few clouds hung over this beautiful morning.

Alephmon and Kuromon laughed with each other, telling tales throughout the night.

“Wooooooooah! It’s amazing that you managed to prank an Agumon like that!” Alephmon wagged his tail.

“W-well, it was easy.” Kuromon nodded while blushing. “Much like what I did with you and Stry.”

“Ahehe. Yeah.” Alephmon nodded. He glanced over his body and blinked. “Maf? We’re not flat anymore!”

“Huh?” Kuromon flipped over his arms and tail. “H-huh. I-I guess we chatted so much that we didn’t realize it happened. Kekehehe.”

“Ahehe. Yeah.” Alephmon rubbed the back of his head. “What time is it, maf? Because I swear that it didn’t feel too long—”

“Aleph? Are you down there?” A voice, Stry, said from above the stairs. “Did you freak out during the night again? I better not see you curled up in a ball.”

Alephmon and Kuromon turned to each other and winked.

A minute later, Stry reached the bottom of the stairs and sighed. Alephmon, the only one there, curled up in the ball with every bit of his fur puffed up. He wiggled back and forth, sucking his thumb. Stry rolled his eyes and patted Alephmon’s head.

“I swear I can’t leave you alone for a minute.” Stry lowered his eyelids halfway. “I even allowed you to use my lantern, and you still panicked.” He sighed before spotting the barrel that rolled down the stairs. “And the workers will be here any minute. They like their stuff to be where they left them.”

Stry walked over to the barrel while tightening his red bandana. Meanwhile, his shadow grinned with its eyes, mouth, and chest glowing red. Stry grunted, pushing the barrel toward the stairs.

“Look. You stay there, Aleph. I’ll put this back where it belongs. OK?”

Alephmon nodded. Unknown to Stry, he smiled and stopped sucking his thumb. He smoothed out his fur and watched.

Stry groaned, pushing the barrel up the stairs one step at a time. Kuromon extended an arm from Stry’s shadow, pushing the barrel up. Stry grunted and pushed more, though he sensed, to his confusion, that it went up faster than before. Once the barrel reached the top, Stry leaned against it and wiped his brow.

“Whew. That’s heavy work there.” Stry stretched his arms. Kuromon poked Stry’s a couple of times. Stry blinked and turned to the arm sticking up from his shadow, with the palm open as though asking for a handshake. Stry grabbed it and shook it. “Did you help me? Why, thank you.”

Stry released his grip and went to push the barrel toward one of the scaffoldings. Just as he pressed his palms against it, he paused and glanced at his hand.

“Wait.”

He turned back to the disembody hand-paw coming from his shadow. It gave him a thumbs-up. Stry yelped and stumbled back.

“GAH!!!”

His foot-paw slipped on the staircase, falling back. Alephmon, rushing up to the stairs, caught him before he fell. The shadow stretched up from the ground, Kuromon popping out from it. Stry blinked in disbelief, twisting all around.

“Wait? What? Who? How?”

Both Alephmon and Kuromon laughed.

“So, you’re telling me that this Kuromon lurked in your shadow for the last two days,” Stry said. He sipped on his coffee. “And he finally showed up last night. Is that right?”

“Maf. Yeah.” Alephmon nodded.

The three Digimon sat around a table in the dining room. Three plates filled with either pancakes or waffles lay before each of them. Alephmon drank through his milk while Kuromon glanced at his orange juice. Stry tipped some cream into his coffee.

“OK. OK. I guess I was wrong about it being nothing.” Stry chomped on a waffle. “Sorry for doubting you, Alephmon.”

“Maf. It’s no worries.” Alephmon rubbed the back of his head. “At least it all ended well, right?”

“Right.” Stry turned to Kuromon, who chewed on his pancakes. “So, are you going to stay here for a while?”

“Actually, about that,” Kuromon said. He drank his orange juice before he continued. “I was thinking of joining your Digimon Freelancing group.”

“OK. That sounds perfectly fi— Wait. What?” Stry widened his eyes. “You want to join us?”

“Of course! Why not?” Kuromon grinned. He lightly punched Alephmon’s shoulder. “I rather like the energy displayed here, especially with Alephmon getting flattened a lot. I think it happened five—”

“—six.”

“—six times since I snuck in through his shadow. And plenty of more times when he did that mission. Kekehehe.” Kuromon ate the last of the pancake. “Plus, it’ll be a good change of pace. I’ve wandered everywhere, never staying in one area for too long. After all, being a shadow makes it awkward to get friends after all.”

Stry nodded before he tilted his head. “You’ve been wandering around? For how long?”

Kuromon almost reached for more orange juice when Stry asked that question. He sighed and held back. “For as long as I remember. I don’t even remember where I was from.”

“I see.” Stry lowered his head. “I’m sorry if it was a sensitive subject.”

“Ah, it’s no worries!” Kuromon flashed a grin at Stry. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out someday!”

Stry nodded again. “Still, what can you bring to the table? Figurative speaking, I mean.”

Kuromon’s eyes glimmered. He raised his right arm, fingers splayed. At once, three glowing digital diamonds formed on his shoulders and spread like a series of lines to his arm. They reached his black claws, which glowed red.

“With this, I can integrate myself into any technology,” Kuromon answered. “Not only that, I can forge Digizoid easier like this.”

“Wait. Digizoid?!” Stry stood from his chair. “Some of the toughest materials out there?!”

The very one!” Kuromon grinned wider. “With that, I can make, repair, or even strengthen any weapons you have. For example, your sword, Alephmon.”

“Wooooooooah!” Alephmon’s eyes sparkled like stars. “That’s so awesome!”

Stry nodded. “Yes. That’s very useful. That will give us an edge once we build a blacksmith forge. It’s a good thing we. Have. One planned.” Stry felt his brain clicking into place. He turned to Kuromon, who blushed bright red. “I THOUGHT that blueprint and plan looked out of place!”

“H-hey!” Kuromon squirmed in his chair. “I-if I’m going to be working he-here, I need the best po-possible place to do it. Besides, it’ll be out of the way.”

Stry sighed and rolled his eyes. “At least it isn’t the basement.”

“And hey, when it’s nighttime, I can do extra repairs here at no charge.” Kuromon winked at Stry. “That way, you can save enough money to build it.”

Stry thought about it for a few seconds. Part of him wondered if he should trust this Digimon and accept his offer. After all, he knew little of Kuromon, and even that shadowy Digimon did not know much about himself. While they vetted the others, he only had Kuromon’s word.

On the other hand, if Kuromon does repair work, it would save them money.

“Very well. Welcome to the team.”

“Yay!” Kuromon leaped off his chair, high into the air with fist raised high. “I won’t let you down!”

“Maf! New partner!” Alephmon reached over and hugged Kuromon close.

“Thank you, thank you. But, for now.” Kuromon yawned. “I need to sleep.”

Kuromon sank into Alephmon’s shadow before anyone could say something, fusing with it. Alephmon stared at it with a grin. He turned to his cup of milk and grabbed it, drinking it.

“Maf, today is a good day!” He set his cup down. He pressed his hand-paws on his hips and posed. “We expanded our freelance group with a brand-new friend! Maf, I feel like celeb—”

Alephmon slammed his face against the ground, enough to flatten only it. Stry blinked and rushed around the table, bending down to him. He flipped Alephmon over with his flat face facing him.

Alephmon snored and fell asleep.

Stry sighed. “You’ve been up all night, haven’t you?” He shook his head and carried Alephmon up and out. “I’ll get you to bed. At least you’ll be out of the way while repair work is being done.”

Kuromon extended his hand-paw from Alephmon’s shadow, giving Stry a thumbs-up.