Alice had appeared the same time Leomon did and the fact that she was here stunned Takato, Ruki and Jenrya. They had been told by their parents that she had died in an accident relating to the Digital World. But here she was, alive and flesh and blood and interacting with them.
They glanced at each other. How was this possible, they wondered, for a girl who was said to have died to be walking among us?
Alice seemed to guess their thoughts and explained that there had been no accident, that that was just a cover up for her grandfather's computer playing up.
The trio looked at each other again and didn't know whether to feel relief that their friend was alright or confusion that they'd been misled.
"So... it's really you, Alice?" asked Takato, still looking rather bewildered.
"It's me, alright!" she replied. "In the flesh. Feel for yourself!" she added, sticking her arm out.
"But be gentle about it," said Dobermon protectively.
"I'll take your word for it," said Takato.
"So can I come with you?" asked Alice. "I've really missed you folks!"
"We missed you too, but I should warn you; this isn't exactly a picnic," warned Jenrya. "Danger is practically lying around every corner..."
"C'mon, I'm your friend!" she pleaded. "I'd follow you to the ends of the world if I needed to!"
"Alright, I guess..." replied Takato. "But you'd better watch yourself. Like Jenrya said, these are dangerous times."
"As long as I'm living, I'll do everything in my power to keep Alice and her friends' safe," Dobermon declared solemnly.
"Well, we do need all the help we can get," said Takato, smiling. "Let's go!"
Alice and Dobermon walked on their right, the Adult level canine keeping an eye on their surroundings at all times. He was grateful the two of them had been able to meet Alice's friends; Dobermon thought they were a nice bunch of kids.
"Alice?" He questioned his partner. "Are you sure this was wise? With us being here earlier than what we should be, it might bring it out. They aren't ready for its power yet."
The gothic blonde shook her head, saying that it was alright. "They needed the reassurance, Dobermon. Who was I to deny them that?"
"Very well," replied Dobermon, giving a sigh of resignation. "But if something goes wrong, don't say I didn't try to warn you..."
"Nothing will go wrong," said Alice, smiling at her partner.
The Tamers discussed their plan to rescue Culumon, which raised questions of how were they going to get to the Digital World, find Culumon and get back to Shinjuku. Alice noticed the team had three sub-groups within it: the brainiacs like Ruki and Jenrya, the average 'joes' like Takato and the downright absurd – Dobermon's words, not hers: Hirokazu and Kenta.
"My father and Yamaki might know how to make something that'll get us there," Jenrya put forward.
Alice watched Ruki think for a moment, before she nodded. Renamon's Tamer agreed that Janyuu and the leader of Hypnos were their best options at the present.
Noticing the team starting to drift apart to work on their new goal, Alice hailed Takato. "Can I come with you for the walk home? My grandfather knows I'll be sleeping over at your place tonight."
Takato blinked. "Uh, sure. We missed you, you know, Alice?"
"I missed you too," replied Alice. "It was hard being away from you all… especially knowing that you thought I'd gotten killed."
"Yeah… it's surreal seeing you back from the dead," said Takato. "Well, not really 'dead', but you know what I mean..." he added.
"But I'm back for good now. Promise!" said the girl cheerfully.
"That's good to know," replied Takato, returning her smile.
Alice hugged Takato, whom she considered her close friend. He returned the gesture, still unable to believe she had come back to them, to him. With her and Dobermon by their side, the mission to rescue Culumon would be easily completed.