Notes: I wanted to rewrite the story because I really needed to change a few things. Plus I wanted to insert a better plot. Ixen still belongs to me. And anything that is directly owned by Ixen, like Cynomon and the D-Pack, belong to me.

~SORA~

I ran towards the tennis ball and managed to save it. It flew over the net and I was relieved. Coach passed by my court and I became nervous again. I made sure to try my best so I wouldn't mess up.

She walked away and I focused on making sure I could win. After a lot of rallies, my partner and I took a break. "Nice hit, Sora!"

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "I thought that I was going to miss with my backhand."

"It's a great thing you didn't."

Coach blew her whistle and our team captain stood near her. He marked a few things on his clipboard and turned to the rest of us. "A sprint straight to the locker rooms. That's the run. Those that don't sprint will be helping me clean with the team laundry. On your marks? Go!"

I used every last ounce of energy to run towards the girls' locker room. It was worth it because there were a lot of players on the team and no one liked getting stuck with laundry. Captain always did it, but he never minded it. It was his job to make sure everything was in order.

I quickly changed and a few of my friends were talking about how they were going to spend the rest of their Saturday.

"There's an all day sale at the mall. I think it's for the Christmas rush. It's only eight, but some stores should be open. How about you, Sora?"

I turned to face one of my team members. "I'm not sure. I think I might go see if Yamato is busy."

"You're so lucky to be dating him! I can't wait to see the school's winter concert. He really is performing?"

I nodded my head and grabbed my bag. "Yeah. I'll see you all later!"

I walked out of the locker rooms and turned the corner. Something near the trees caught my eye and I turned. An elementary school student was walking down the street towards the school gate.

I couldn't help but notice that it looked like he was marching. There was certainty in each step and it reminded me of Taichi before Agumon dark digivolved for the first time.

I managed to get to the school gates at the same time he passed. I managed to examine him a bit closer.

His white collared shirt was neatly ironed and tucked into his black work pants. His hands were in his pockets but his thumbs were left out. A glimpse told me that he was wearing black tipless work gloves. His grey tennis shoes never scraped along the floor as he walked with the same certainty I had seen earlier. I didn't dare look at his face because I didn't want to start a problem with him.

We passed each other quietly and he paused after a second.

"Takenouchi?" He turned slightly to face me. I looked at him carefully and saw him smirk before turning away. "Interesting. It's nice to see you again, Love. I guess I'll see you again later." He chuckled softly. "I mean if things go according to plan." He continued on his way down the street and left me trying to think about who he was.

He had called me by my Crest. I wanted to run after him, but I didn't know where he went off to. The best place for me to go would be home then the Digital World. Maybe Biyomon could remind me.

~MIMI~

Miyako and I left the store and looked around the mall. I smiled at my young friend as she looked over her list. "We already got something for Taichi, Sora, and Daisuke. What do you think we should get Ken for Christmas?"

"Miyako, I don't think I can help you with him. I think it's better for you to come up with a gift from yourself."

She blushed. "Really?"

I nodded and encouraged her. "You have to be sincere to yourself. You like him, don't you?" She nodded slightly. "Then trust in yourself! Sora and I will be there to help you!"

She smiled. "You're right! I'll figure it out." She went back over the list of Digidestined. "Koushiro said he wanted a new memory drive. Iori doesn't want much, but his grandfather told me he needed a new kendo helmet."

I thought about the others. "Jou could use with a new medical book. Yamato would probably be hard to shop for."

"Takeru told me he needed new guitar strings."

I smirked as I finished off our shopping list. "That means something for Takeru and Hikari. What should we get them?"

"One present for them both? I guess it would mean that Takeru would just let Hikari keep it."

"He's such a gentleman when it comes to her." The two of us laughed.

We went into a few more stores and managed to get almost everything. Miyako looked through the window displays. "What would fit them?"

"How about a set of matching necklaces? Like their Crests? That way they could both have one." I offered the thought and began to think about a design.

"That sounds great, but how would we get one?" She walked out of the mall and I checked to make sure the two bags I held were okay.

As I did so, I bumped into someone. "Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's alright. Might I make a suggestion to your dilemma though?" The boy I bumped into helped me to my feet and looked at the bags. He checked his pockets and snapped his fingers. "Here it is." He handed me a slip of paper and Miyako looked over my shoulder.

"That looks so beautiful! But it looks like the star from the Crest of Light rising over the mountain from the Crest of Hope." Her clueless tone made me think it was right for me to be on guard.

"Where did you get this?" I looked up at the person who handed it to me. I blinked when I realized he disappeared. "That was odd."

Miyako looked around but couldn't find him. "Who was he?"

I frowned. "Maybe we should go to the Digital World to find out."

Miyako nodded. "Let's drop these off at my apartment first. Hopefully Takeru and Iori won't notice anything if they see us."

I smiled. "We'll just say that these are clothes."

"We have a sports bag, Mimi."

"I'll think of something," I reassured her.

~JOU~

I sat in the café reading the newspaper. Shuu handed me my cup of hot chocolate and smiled. "Is there anything interesting in the news?"

I shook my head and handed the paper to him. "Not today. Are your studies going well?"

He smirked at me. "When are you interested in what I do? I should be the one asking you, Doctor Kido."

I felt my face burn as I put my drink down. "Don't call me that."

"It's nothing to be worried about. You want to be a doctor while I want to be a researcher. They're dreams that are possible only if we try."

I nodded solemnly. "I guess we should get back home." I picked up my cup and took a small sip.

"You need to relax more, little brother. A stressed doctor is not as reliable as a calm one." He winked at me. "You should know more about that though."

I smiled when I realized he was talking about my Crest. "Are you jealous?"

"Not really. I didn't have to carry such a large burden. I'm just jealous you got to have an adventure." He finished his drink and threw away his cup. "Before we leave, I'll just use the restroom. Why not visit the bookstore downstairs?"

I nodded in response. I hastily downed the now-warm hot chocolate. I climbed down the stairs and wandered around the shelves. There was a large selection to choose from and I decided to look for a medical fiction story.

I stared at the spines and fingered them carefully. The titles were all very interesting. I pulled one out and saw that someone else was in the aisle. I glanced at him and saw that he had a pair of black ski goggles dangling from his neck. There was a red baseball cap strapped to his brown leather belt.

Only one word came to my mind and I didn't realize that I said it aloud. "Ixen?"

He turned to look at me. He blinked his grey eyes at me. "Kido? I thought that was you sitting near the window." He smirked and pulled out a book to give to me. "Have a nice day. I expect you to go to the Digital World later."

I was still flabbergasted at seeing the young boy. "You're still alive?"

He was at the end of the aisle now. "Of course I am. I was gone for years, not dead." He waved back at me and I rolled my eyes.

I wanted to send a message to the rest of the Digidestined, but I decided against it. He would have a story to tell us later. If I said anything, I would ruin it. Then I would be the same old stick-in-the-mud I was back then.

"Jou! Are you ready?"

I turned to face Shuu. "Almost. Let me just buy this book." I glanced at the cover and realized it was a horror novel. I might as well read it to see if it's good.

~KOUSHIRO~

Iori and I lightly chuckled as Mr. Fujiyama snored from his desk. He was supposed to be monitoring the computer lab, but he had gotten bored of the two of us Digidestined after an hour.

Iori glanced at his screen again. "I don't really see anything wrong, Koushiro."

I nodded in agreement. "But something isn't right. There's still that possibility, Iori. There's been a lot of movement on File Island. Leomon managed to send me a message about everyone acting oddly."

"Do you think we should stop?"

I didn't answer because I heard footsteps outside the halls. They were steady and rhythmic. The door to the computer lab opened and I saw someone with messy reddish-black hair stick his head in. "Is anyone here? Izumi? Why is it that I keep seeing a Digidestined everywhere I think those two are supposed to be?"

Iori gave him a questioning glance. "How do you know about the Digidestined?"

I looked between the two and judged the stranger to be about Takeru and Hikari's age. "Can I help you?"

He blinked at me. "Can you tell me what school this is?"

"Odaiba Elementary. This is the computer lab," I replied. "Who are you looking for?"

"You'll see, Izumi. I'll see you two later." He sighed and turned around. "I keep getting lost," he muttered as he closed the door.

I sighed. "Can that really be him?" I asked myself.

"Who?" Iori turned back to look at his screen.

"You'll see soon enough, Iori. I'll be certain about my thoughts when we get to the Digital World."

"There's a timer saying the gate will open at noon."

"Let's spend the time trying to understand what is going on." I sat back in my chair and scrolled through the screenshots.

"Right."

~YAMATO~

I rubbed my eyes trying to figure out why I was still at the elementary school. It was almost ten and any normal Saturday would have found me still asleep.

"Ishida, is the sound working okay?"

I nodded for the fiftieth time. "I think that's that. The concert should run smoothly this week."

"I hope so. Your band attracted a lot of attention. A lot of people are intended to come."

I nodded again. "I'll see you later then."

The AV student smiled at me and left. I sighed in relief and decided to visit the cafeteria. I found a vending machine and bought some juice. I swallowed half of it in one gulp before returning to the auditorium. I paused when I had the door cracked slightly open.

Someone was playing the piano that was on stage. It was a soothing melody and I tried to remember where it was I heard it before. It was uplifting and composed as a minor. I felt some type of energy coming from the melody as I entered the room.

The pianist definitely knew what he was doing because each note rebounded off the walls of the room. I approached the stage carefully so I didn't disturb him.

He finished the main part of the song and continued on with a small segment that was to be his finale. He chuckled as he turned to face me. "Remember that melody, Ishida? Music has always been your strong point."

"I've forgotten where I heard it before. Sorry."

"It's alright. I can't believe you are also here. I don't think you know that Izumi is in the computer lab with Hida." He shook his head as he jumped off stage. "Well, I'm off to the park to see three more people. Then off to see the final two that I am most interested in. I wonder if he looks more like you though." He chuckled. "Maybe not. He doesn't care about that. Although from what Tachikawa said, I figure he's pretty much a mixture of you, Kamiya, Kido, and Izumi. It's to impress her after all." He was already halfway across the hall. He continued to speak to himself. "Then there's her to consider. I'm sure she couldn't have changed much. A bit less innocent, but then again, what else do I expect when everyone has aged so much? It's not like I didn't change."

I bolted after him. "Hey! Wait! What are you talking about?"

He turned around before closing the auditorium doors. "Like I said, Izumi is in the computer lab."

I finally reached the door, but I couldn't figure out which direction he went. There were three choices and I knew he couldn't have gone up. Down towards the cafeteria or to the courtyard? I decided to just go up to visit the computer lab. With any luck, Koushiro would still be there with Iori.

~TAICHI~

I scored as I kicked the ball into the goal. I jumped up in triumph. Daisuke cheered as he and Ken ran back towards the middle of the field. "Keep it up, Taichi!"

The three of us decided to sit out to catch our breaths. I took a sip of water before splashing some over my face. "Not bad for a Saturday morning, guys."

Ken agreed. "If we keep this up, we'll make the team in no time, Daisuke."

Daisuke smirked at his best friend. "Just don't think I'll let you get the spotlight." He put a hand on the goggles I gave him. "On these goggles, I'll try my best to give it my all!"

I laughed at him. "Don't let them go to your head. I gave them to you because your old pair broke and I had no use for them anymore. Besides, it's not the goggles that make you a leader. It's how you carry yourself."

"Like that boy over there?" Ken pointed towards a boy that was walking on the sidewalk slowly.

Daisuke and I turned our heads and saw that he was watching the game as he walked by. He had something dark covering his face as he came from the direction of the elementary school.

"Did he just move to Odaiba?" I asked. "He looks like he should be in your grade."

Daisuke shook his head. "I've never seen him before. He probably did just move in." He immediately stood up. "I'll go check!"

He jogged around the soccer field and the boy paused as he noticed the goggle-head approach him. He pointed towards Daisuke's goggles and it resulted with my clone laughing.

I turned my attention back towards the game. Ken kept an eye on Daisuke and I saw a player make a hard kick to the ball. My eyes went wide when I saw that it was headed towards the new kid and Daisuke.

What happened was completely the opposite of what I expected. The boy took a few steps forward and managed to complete a reverse roundhouse kick with his left leg. The ball flew to the other side of the field. Everyone on the field applauded the feat. Daisuke looked at him amazed, shocked, and thankful.

Ken and I immediately ran towards them to see if they were okay. "Daisuke! Are you alright?" I asked.

He numbly nodded his head. "How did you do that?"

The boy shrugged as he scratched his head in embarrassment. "It was purely out of instinct. I couldn't do a forward roundhouse kick because you were on my right. It wasn't really special since I was slightly off balance."

I had seen that kick before and that same explanation tweaked a nerve in my memory. "Do you play soccer?"

He smirked at me. "Come on, Taichi. Don't tell me you forgot my favorite sport. You can always ask Agumon if you've forgotten. Sora's going to ask Biyomon. Seriously, I think only Kido and Izumi recognized me. I know for certain that those two will know exactly who I am." I knew he wasn't referring to Daisuke and Ken, but of some others that were close to us. A beeping came from his pocket and he took out a small device that resembled a phone. "Time is ticking. That means that it's time to visit the last two most important players in this game." I think I saw a spark glow from behind the black ski goggles he had on. He put a red baseball cap on backwards and waved. "Heads up!"

The three of us turned just in time to see the ball land near us. I turned back around and called out for the boy. "Ixen!" I blinked when he disappeared.

Daisuke looked at me oddly after he threw the soccer ball back into the field. "Taichi, I never told you his name."

Ken blinked a few times. "What did he talk to you about, Daisuke?"

He smiled brightly. "He thought my goggles looked cool."

I laughed nervously. "Isn't that what Takeru said to you when you first met him?"

Daisuke thought back and nodded. "That's right. Then I found out that he was very close to Hikari. Is that boy close to you?"

Ken tried to figure out an explanation. "He knows about the digimon. We'll probably have to visit it later on today."

I agreed and tried my best to answer Daisuke. "He's a relative. It figures he said that to you. He likes to mess with peoples' heads. Especially those that tick him off or extremely close to him."

Daisuke became even more confused. "But I just met him. Why would he mess with my head?"

"We probably are close to him," Ken stated. "We just don't really know it."

~IXEN~

Well, my day could have started off better. Still, I'm at least glad that probably three people can sort of tell who I am. Even if I have been absent for so long. I travelled all over the Digital World just so I could become a better version of me. I come back and find that a lot has changed. Has it really been almost four years?

Things were definitely different. From the moment I entered the apartment building that the Kamiya's were living in, I knew I had to be prepared for big change. My aunt had recognized me when she saw my grey eyes and dark red hair. Of course she did; I was like another son to her.

Uncle laughed at how tall I had grown. I saw the more recent pictures of Hikari and told him that I was still only a bit taller than her in comparison. His excuse? "I see Hikari everyday so I don't notice the difference from when she was younger and now. You, on the other hand, haven't visited in years. Of course I have to point it out."

Fair enough point. I just didn't have enough time to spend here. Right now, I'm strictly here because I have to complete something. I gripped my beeping D-Pack and willed it to shut up.

I took it out of my pocket and pressed a few buttons on the stupid machine to stop the annoying beeps. I held it in my hand and marveled its structure. Building it from scratch was like defeating a grizzly bear with only a knife. It's difficult, but possible.

Each custom design was to help me with anything I did in the Digital World. Of course, which version of the world was key because there were just too many parallel worlds to follow. It was very important to me and losing it was not an option.

My digivice was styled like a flip-open cell phone. Once opened, there were more buttons to help me utilize whatever I needed. Mainly, the main functions of the D-3 were there to help me. All the power of the original digivice was embedded into my tiny machine. An extra component I added was a card and data scanner. The card scanner was located at the right of the D-Pack and used only if the machine was flipped closed. The data scanner was located at the top. These are extremely important, but I have no use for it here. At least, I don't think so.

I flipped the screen open and checked to see where I would go next. Two red dots were situated ahead of me and I decided to just appear before them plain. No games. Just a straightforward encounter that will test if I still meant anything to this place.

I slid down my goggles and took off my baseball cap. I secured my cap to my belt with a hook and looked around me. I slipped my gold and grey D-Pack into my pocket and moved around the lobby. I glanced at the wall clock and sighed. It was almost eleven and I was taking too many detours.

"Where is your D-Terminal, Miyako?"

"It's upstairs. Should we see if Takeru is home? He might be able to help us."

I froze and stood near the ficus that was near the corner. I was incredulous. It took them about two hours to get from the mall and back? They probably had a lot to do. Like shopping for Ichijouji? Oh well, I better get a move on.

I snuck towards the stairs and glanced at the elevator. They were taking it up and I knew what I had to do. Each floor I would pass would mean pressing the elevator call button.

I checked to make sure my shoe were securely on. I took a deep breath and sprinted up the flights of stairs. Please let my training pay off!

I managed to get to the sixth floor with no problem. They had gone off at the fifth floor. I was glad to finally be left alone to gather my thoughts. This was going to be nerve-wracking and painful. If they didn't know who I was, I'd have to leave.

Hikari will be glad to see you again, Ixen. Her mother told me. She's not here right now. She's spending the night at her friend's house. I'm not sure if you know her though. Her name is Miyako Inoue.

Of course I knew who she was. I've been studying the new Digidestined to see if they were as reliable as the older ones. How about Taichi? I asked.

He's spending the night with his soccer club. They're at the park right now. Uncle had answered cheerfully. And speaking of sports, I think you should try out for the elementary tennis team.

Sorry, but I've already enrolled myself into the middle school. I'll be in the third year.

Taichi is in that year, too. I'm sure he'll be fine with having you in the class. Although, you should be in Hikari's year. It's late, you should get some sleep. The guest room is yours for as long as you stay.

I shook my head to clear my mind. Focus! You have to be prepared to what lies behind this door. My D-Pack began to vibrate and I took it out.

I glanced at the cover's screen and sighed. I pressed a side button to confirm that I had read the message. Time was running out and I had to see them now.

I put my D-Pack away and opened the door. It wasn't locked and the two I was dying to see looked up at me. I gulped and waited for them to respond. I stared at them and realized that they hadn't changed much. I had expected a lot to be different.

Takeru stood from his seat. He stuttered. "I-In-Infinity?" He walked around me and checked to see if he was right. "It is you!"

Hikari wanted to make sure his confirmation was correct. "Are you sure, Takeru?"

I held up my hands. "Hope is right. It's me, Light."

"Ixen!" She hugged me tightly and Takeru laughed.

"It's great to see you again. What brings you back?"

I closed the front door and scratched the back of my head. "Just a few things I have to do. It'll take a while depending on how bad the damage is, but it's great to see you two."

I walked over the table and stared at their textbooks. Takeru went into the kitchen to get me a drink. "No soda, Ixen?"

"Don't tempt me," I replied. I wasn't allowed to have caffeinated soda and he knew that.

"He's just teasing you, Ixen."

Takeru handed me a can of chrysanthemum tea. "I still remember all of your funny quirks."

I opened the can and took a sip. "Thanks, Takeru. I knew you two wouldn't fail me. The others are a bit disappointing though." I smirked at them.

Hikari lightly punched my arm. "It's your own fault for never coming back."

I shrugged and recycled the can. I took out my D-Pack and checked the time. "Let's get going. I have to set up something for when they come to the Digital World. Want to come with me?" My head was down and I tried my best to glance up at them without them noticing.

Takeru was writing down an answer to a math problem. "What are you planning?"

"Gennai wants a barbecue. The digimon are already on it."

Hikari looked at Takeru. "Let's go, Takeru. We're pretty much done with our assignments."

He smiled as he turned on his computer. "I definitely want to see if you're any different, Ixen."

I smirked at them both. "I expect nothing less." I tightened the Velcro straps on my gloves. I unstrapped my cap and put it on. I checked my D-Terminal and sent a message to Gennai. "Ready?" I checked to see if they had their D-3's ready. I pulled out my D-Pack and Takeru raised his eyebrow at me.

The gold design captivated him. "Do you really have to combine gold with grey?"

I smirked at him. "Grey is my color. The gold is there because Gennai thought it would fit me better." I held up my digivice and activated the portal. "Digi-port, open!"

~TAKERU~

I safely landed on my feet and looked around. We were on a beach and I recognized it to lead to Gennai's underwater house. I laughed to myself because Gennai had a lot of houses to stay in.

"Hikari?" I looked around for her to check if she was okay.

I saw her and her cousin, looking around the beach. I ran towards them and Ixen waved at me. "Not what I was looking for, but you'll do." He climbed up a nearby tree and stood on a branch. "Gennai! Cynomon?" He turned his baseball cap backwards and put on his goggles. "No way!" He scrambled down and straightened up. "The digimon are coming!"

I turned around and felt Patamon tackle into me. I laughed as he turned around and followed the rest of the group as they tackled into Ixen. Hikari laughed with me as Ixen was trying to get untangled from the mess.

Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Wormmon caught up to them. Veemon scratched his head and laughed. "What's going on?"

Agumon and the rest backed away from the boy to give him some space. "The Digital World's greatest adventurer has returned!"

Ixen managed to stand up and was dusting himself off. "Not sure about the greatest. It's more like the boldest, Agumon."

Gatomon tackled into him again. "That's for what you did last time, Ixen."

Ixen chuckled and looked at our digimon. "Let's get started. At noon, everyone else is coming and we have lots do get done before then." He took charge and led them down towards the beach. "Agumon! You're in charge of making a fire. Gomamon, take Palmon with you to get fish. Patamon and Gatomon, take Hikari and Takeru to grab some fruit in the forest. Biyomon, I need you to go around and invite some more digimon here. Stay behind for a moment because I need to give you something to make it easier on you. Gabumon and Tentomon, grab firewood."

Hawkmon raised a wing to get his attention. "What about us?"

"I have something special for you four." He took off his backpack and stared at the site. "For now, let's get a few tables set up."

Hikari and I smiled at each other. I turned to him. "Don't do anything rash, Ixen."

He smirked at me and gave me a thumb up. "I'll try!"

We headed into the forest and Patamon climbed onto my head. "Takeru, this is great! Ixen finally returned from those other worlds."

Gatomon climbed up a tree and threw down some fruit for us to catch. "But he never appears unless something important is up. Hikari, don't you still message him from time to time?"

My friend took out her D-Terminal and I had to make sure the fruit weren't going to be bruised as they rained down on us. "Hikari, can you please step away from this area?" She walked away blindly and I guided her carefully.

She smiled kindly at me. "Thanks, Takeru." She went through her message boxes. "He never said anything about coming back. Taichi got a message last weekend from him and he told us how he was done with repairing his digivice."

I looked at her questioningly. "How did it break?"

"He was attacked while out on a training session. Too much energy overrode the systems and it fizzed out on him. That was the source of Koushiro's stress a few months ago."

I remember. Koushiro had spent all of his free time with Ken in the computer lab trying to analyze the workings of the digivices. He had used an x-ray camera on Ken's D-3 and his own digivice.

"I guess there's a problem here that might regard that," I mused.

Patamon and Gatomon finished with the trees in this area so they came down. Patamon happily smiled at us. "The others are starting to arrive!"

I carried a lot of the fruit we found. Hikari smiled at me as she carried her share. It was a lot less than what I was carrying. "Are you sure you don't need me to take some from you, Takeru?"

"I'm fine. Thanks though."

Ixen had come to look for us and he snickered at me. "Hey, Takeru, could you be anymore chivalrous?"

My face went red. Hikari smiled at me to show me that it was okay. I turned back to Ixen as he carried both our digimon. Patamon didn't mind, but Gatomon seemed uncertain. She looked up at him and frowned. "Where's Cynomon?"

Ixen smirked. "You'll see the rascal soon. He's just working on something with Gennai. I need him all set for what I have planned for those four."

~HIKARI~

Ixen had told us an outline of what he went through. He's been in different places for the past few years. Right now, he's trying to make sure that there was no damage done while his digivice was out of commission. "It's important because I think it lost some data when I finally got it running again. Plus, Cynomon has been restless and keeps telling me something is missing."

We got back to the beach and he was greeted by the rest of our friends. Taichi put him in a headlock and gave him an amused glare. "Why didn't you tell us that you were coming back?"

Yamato crossed his arms. "Taichi, let go of your cousin. Watching you do that to him makes me imagine him as Takeru."

Mimi laughed at Ixen's face when he heard that comment. "We know you and Takeru are complete opposites, but you two are the same sometimes."

"No we're not!" The blonde cried. "Ixen is too varied."

Ixen agreed. "Takeru is too optimistic, shy, quiet, kind, polite, brooding…" He began to list everything he found to be Takeru's biggest faults yet necessary to be him. "And most importantly, he's too much not like me that he is like me. I don't understand that at all!"

Sora ruffled his messy hair. "You're still the same critical little boy, Ixen."

Jou nodded his head. "But you're a bit different. More open, I guess."

Koushiro smiled at Ixen. "How's your D-Pack?"

Ixen snapped his fingers and took out the machine. "Thanks for the information, Koushiro. I managed to reroute the wires to get it to work normally."

The newer Digidestined came to stand by Takeru and me. Daisuke crossed his arms. "Hikari, he's your cousin?"

I nodded and that resulted in Miyako barraging the two of us veterans with questions. "Why have we never heard of him before? Is he a Digidestined? What's that D-Pack for?"

Ixen turned around to give us a smile. It was fake and Takeru and I knew it. It always had to get under our skin because we never knew what was going to happen next. My cousin had a lot of problems to hide if he smiled like that.

"I like to keep my matters to myself, Miyako. Plus, my cousins worry too much, so I don't tell them much. You'll see me using the D-Pack soon enough." That smug smile he was wearing began to fade when he smelled something burning. "Agumon! I told you to watch the flames!" He went back to the fire pit to help salvage the burning fish.

Iori stared at him. "That wasn't a smile, was it?"

Takeru looked at his partner. "You noticed, Iori? Don't think too much about it. Ixen doesn't like to act on his emotions. You'll never see him truly smile unless you're extremely lucky. Still, it'd be better if he didn't pretend to smile like that."

Ken smiled. "We might as well have fun for now. He seems nice."

Takeru and I laughed. I explained to the genius. "Don't say that to Ixen. He doesn't think so and will actually prove that he's not nice. He does nice things, but he says it's because he's meant to serve others. He gives a lot without realizing it."

Takeru nodded. "He'll even help his enemies if it means his own well-being is on the line."

Daisuke chuckled. "Like you, Takeru."

Yamato came over to take the fruit from his younger brother. "Takeru! Don't just stand there! Gennai just arrived with some hamburgers. We need the fruit too!"

Takeru stood up straight. "Right! I'll be there to help."

Ixen set up a large cooking rock and was scolding Agumon. He looked up at us and smiled. "Veemon! Grab the others! We'll eat then I'll go on with my special event."

I helped Sora with skewering the fruit. I smiled when Taichi put Ixen in a headlock again. Sora rolled her eyes as she heard Taichi reprimanding our younger cousin. "What is the matter with you? You could have given us a heads up!"

"I did when I told you about that soccer ball," Ixen joked. He managed to get out of his grip and saw the fruit. "Cynomon!" He crossed his arms and put on a stern face. "What are you doing in there?"

He immediately came over and picked up a baby mouse that I had overlooked. "Cyno!" The small mouse lifted its light blue head and tapped on Ixen's face. The Fresh digimon buried himself into Ixen's chest and sneezed. Fire erupted from his body and Ixen put the flames out.

"Where was he the whole time, Ixen?" I asked.

"He was with Gennai. Helping him in the real world when they were shopping for the food." He lifted his baby partner up and leveled their faces.

Cynomon sort of squealed and laughed at Ixen. "Cyno?"

"I'm fine. Just don't get into trouble." Ixen bent down and took the fruit kebab I was working on. "Thanks, Hikari." He gave a small piece to his partner. He put the tiny mouse onto his hat and winked at me. "Let's go check on the food, Cynomon."

We finally began to eat and Ixen was feeding his baby digimon. Takeru and I made fun of him for being so fatherly. Takeru chuckled lightly as he drank his soda. "You'd make a great dad, Ixen."

"You're one to talk. Didn't you feed Poyomon by hand when he was hatched?"

Takeru went red and the two of them laughed. They really were alike despite their friendly arguments. I smiled at them. "Little TK feeding Poyomon? That's cute."

Taichi smirked at the three of us. "It's great to see the three of you having fun." He gave Ixen a stern look. "They're all ready. Are you?"

Ixen smirked back at him. "Always. Cynomon, can you digivolve?"

His digimon ignored him and wandered down the table to find something else to eat. Ixen rolled his eyes and gave him some more fruit. Cynomon began to glow brightly and change into his In-Training form.

A small, red-orange chick stood where the tiny mouse was. Miyako came over to see what was taking Ixen so long. She began to coddle the small digimon. "Ixen, he's so adorable! Are you sure he's going to be strong enough to fight?"

Ixen raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't underestimate Torchmon. We've been through tougher situations."

Torchmon agreed and flapped his small wings. "I've got enough power to take down Gatomon."

Gatomon looked up from her fish. "Don't push it, Torchmon. I could take you on anytime."

Ixen smirked at her. "It just so happens that I want to test your power, too. Yours and Patamon's." He stood up and took out his D-Pack. "And if you want, I'll have Torchmon digivolve after this test."

Torchmon was perched on Ixen's head. He leaned forward to get his partner's attention. "Are you sure I can?"

"You have to be able to. If not, I'll tell them what's up," Ixen said. He glanced at Koushiro who had his laptop out and ready.

Ken, Miyako, Iori, and Daisuke stood across from Ixen. Their digimon were lined up and ready to attack. Ixen held his D-Pack in his left hand. His right hand was at his waist and I saw a case strapped to his belt. He opened it and I saw a deck of cards in it.

Ixen flexed his fingers and Torchmon jumped off his head. Ixen breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. "I'm not sure if these will work here, partner. If not, just fight until you reach your limit."

"Understood, Ixen." Torchmon's brown eyes burned with anticipation.

Ixen measured up the four Rookies. "Anything goes! Digivolve if you want, but Torchmon and I won't give up!"

Daisuke looked at him as if he were crazy. "What's the point of this?"

"It'll take a lot more than being friendly to prove that you four are fit to call yourselves Digidestined." Ixen held out his left hand and D-Pack. He intently looked at his partner. "Don't expect this to be an easy battle because there are four of you."