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Friends. He doesn't protest against that label this time. Phascomon twiddles his thumbs for a long moment, then begins speaking.
<span class="mu-s">"I got picked up by Takuda a while ago. First meeting was me deleting his previous partner. A Palmon, all skinny-like, sparse data, like he wasn't eating right. Didn't say a word, just came at me and tried to tie me down with vines. And once I beat him, he just walked up and sent out a second Digimon."</span>
You glance at your Linker. It has two slots, just like the old model that you left with Doc.
<span class="mu-s">"A Betamon this time. Way tougher than the first. And right when I was thinking that it'd finish me off, he offered me a no-brainer deal. Replace the Palmon, or get deleted right then and there. I was a rare one, he said, and maybe worth a ton more than either of his partners. No, not even partners. They were just fodder."</span>
You can hardly imagine treating Digimon that way. They're alive. They're distinct and full of personality, it would take a rotten soul to use and consume them like .apps. How could anyone look one in the eye, then go on to march them to their doom?
"And that's why you didn't mention the backup."
He nods, hanging his head low.
<span class="mu-s">"When I hololized myself and saw that the chump was gone, that was the happiest I'd been in... well, forever. Thought it was too good to be true. But I couldn't get a bead on you, I wasn't sure what kind of person you even were."</span>
"How many? You must have been together for a while, right? And I remember you saying..."
<span class="mu-s">"Double digits, at least. That Betamon didn't last two months after beating me. Couldn't even train them right, because he'd insist on taking fights he couldn't win. He at least kept me fed, since I had my uses. But it was just a matter of time till he either did something stupid and got himself offed, lost interest in keeping me around, or traded me in for a rarer Digimon. I know Wind sure as hell had his eye on me."</span>
By some twist of fate, you ended up finding his Digivice mere moments after Wind was Podded. Maybe Phascomon would have been fine on the street if he escaped it. But if he had done that, your life would never have changed for the better. And he wouldn't have found someone who he belonged with. It was a blessing for the both of you, that you can't imagine trading away for anything right now.
"Right. That deal he made with Takuda, to use you for the mission."
<span class="mu-s">"No way that loser would have survived. He couldn't sneak around like you could, didn't have any stealth tech, didn't even have good aim. Just an ego, a gun, and a Digivice. And Wind knew that."</span>
"Then why would he agree to team up with him?"
<span class="mu-s">"Why do you think? Me. That guy gets taken out of the picture, where does it leave me? One chain traded for another. His favorite metaphor— until he's the one holding the end."</span>
