Disclaimer: I haven't been mistakenly caught yet, so I'm obviously doing all right.

A/N: I now present to you the most troubling and longest chapter I've ever done so far for this collection. Some advice had me rethinking how I wrote, so I worked sorta hard on this one. This is the last drabble in the Joined Them trilogy. Besides the title, bold indicates speaking in unison. And italics are noises and background dialogue. Enjoy!


When They Joined Them

Waking up completely disoriented is a sure sign of something gone amiss. Finding yourself in a dull, eerie hued place that was a dangerous parallel to the real world is a warning of something treacherous abound. Staring into the cold eyes of a red hooded figure as it aimed a sharp blade near your throat was a clear message that you have apparently been taken by a creature akin to the grim reaper. A younger, naïve Akari would have shrieked and wailed at the sight of the malicious Digimon, but she was older and more experienced now. She couldn't cower at the face of peril when she knew someone would come for her. Specifically, Taiki, but the steel that loomed over her had her hoping for anyone at the moment.

"Who are you?" she asked and cringed at the slight quaver in her voice.

"I'm a bit annoyed if that's what you're wondering," it sighed and lowered its weapon just a bit to shake its head, a motion which shifted the golden eye chain around its neck. "You stopped me from collecting the depression from a poor girl's heart. Now where am I supposed to get my power? It's obvious that you have no insecurities unlike that gloomy friend of yours."

"Megu-chan was only gloomy because of you!" Akari snapped. She wished so dearly that she was close enough to punch the evil being. "Who. Are. You?"

"Foolish human, I am…" the ghoul turned its head away from her, he heard something that she couldn't. A moment later, it chuckled sadistically and raised the scythe above its head. "Wanna bet?"

It brought the weapon down against the air with a swift woosh, a portal of data appeared and dumped out a familiar brunette and his equipment. One strangled oof! later, he recovered as quickly as he can to unwrap his sword to face his new adversary, "You shall now face the might of Zenjirou Tsurugi, you… grim reaper… sickle and chain wielding… red and gray cloaked… beast…? …Ah, Akari-kun, you're all right!"

"Took you long enough, Zenjirou," Akari groaned as she edged herself away from the Digimon. When she was sure that it was not planning on cutting her head off again just yet, she rushed to her friend's side and took a defensive pose. No longer were the days that she hid behind someone. She ignored her racing heartbeat and glared at the Digimon. "I'll ask you one more time. Who are you?"

"Do you two believe that you are in the position to ask me anything?" the reaper swung the weighted part of its chain and narrowed its cold blue eyes, it obviously had a grin hidden underneath the shadows of its hood. "I am Phantomon, harbinger of death! Reaper of souls! Collector of despair! Tsk, no signs of despair from you. A bit of fear, though. Shall I make it grow? Diabolic Star!"

The eyeball-like weight was suddenly immersed in a dark flame and thrown swiftly in their direction. Akari and Zenjirou jumped away from each other to dodge the attack. The large crater formed from the near hit had them shocked and breathless. With an opportunity presented, Zenjirou took a stance and brought his shinai in front of him. Before he could strike, Akari grasped him by the collar and dragged him away to the relative safety of an eroded piece of wall. The red head glared at her friend, "Are you stupid? You don't have the Rare Star Sword. That piece of wood isn't going to do anything against Phantomon!"

"I still have to try, don't I?" the kenshi argued as he tried to free his shirt from her iron grip as the reaper drew closer to their shelter.

"Of course not!" Akari hissed; she rubbed her forehead to diminish the growing headache. This guy had effect on her. If only Taiki were here, he would think of something brilliant. "There has to be another way. Do you think we could make a run for it? We could probably elude him until Taiki and the others arrive."

"Ignorant children, always with their hope and faith in others," Phantomon sneered, a trace of disgust in his tone. The two ducked their heads just in time to keep them from being lobed off by his scythe. "This Taiki, I'll have the pleasure of ending him and his friends after watching their expressions when they find you both dead."

"You'll do no such thing!"

Whaaapack!

"My helmet!"

"Shut up, idiot, and run!"

"The hunt is on I suppose," the reaper Digimon muttered, his voice laced with malice as he skewered the kendo helmet.

"Please tell me that you have reception in Digiquartz!" Zenjirou huffed as he rang alongside his friend after tossing her phone back.

"Nope, no bars. You?"

"No good here, either."

"Just great," Akari muttered as they turned into an alleyway. "Do you think there's a way for us to get to the real world?"

"Do you see a Xros Loader on me?" he snapped back. "I searched all over Shinonome for that old clock guy! Nothing, nada, zip, came out of it except for missing a bunch of club meetings."

"You just weren't looking in the right place."

"Wha?" the two came to a sudden stop, nearly falling over as they turned back to stare at the owner of the voice. An elderly man was hunched over, supported by a cane as he stroked his beard with an unreadable look on the visible parts of his face. The Clockmon by his side mirrored his expression.

"Ah, the clock shop owner!" Zenjirou pointed at the man wildly.

"Yes, yes," the man dismissed while he reached into the secret pocket inside his vest to produce two familiar items colored a pure white. "It has come to my attention that you two are looking to join the hunt. The game is always looking for new players."

"What? How can you call something trying to kill us a game?" Akari seethed, ready to relieve the itching fists.

"Oh, but every game has its ups and downs," the clock maker explained neutrally as he extended his arm out to them. "I suggest you take these now."

"Come on, Akari-kun!" Zenjirou shook his friend lightly. "We might not get another chance like this!"

"Okay, fine!"

Reluctantly, she reached for a device in sync with the kenshi. Fingers curling around the cold metal, a bright light shimmered from beneath her palm on contact and morphed the neutral white into cheery amber. Akari Hinomoto was now the proud owner of her very own Xros Loader. The deep ginger glanced at Zenjirou as he admired his own earthly brown one.

"Careful now, they will soon arrive."

"They?" But the elder had already disappeared. A moment later, a round of cackling echoed off through the air.

"Miss me?" Phantomon emerged from the shadow of a rundown building. His weapon of choice glinted dully from the soft light of the realm.

"Not in the slightest," Akari scoffed and gripped her new item with both hands.

"Yeah," Zenjirou held up his Xros Loader triumphantly and paused in thought. He lowered his volume and looked to Akari. "What do we do now? We don't have any Digimon to DigiXros or evolve."

"I noticed," she whispered back. She bit her lip nervously. "Should we try the same tactic as last time?"

"That men* cost me 4,600 yen! How do think I'd feel after losing more of my stuff?"

"Better after you live," Akari countered as she reached for his bag. Bamf! They cried out and dropped the bag as it burst into violet flames.

"My stuff!"

"Do you really believe I'd let you make a fool out of me again with the same trick?" Phantomon's dark aura grew larger as he cornered the teens. "It's about time I finish you off. WORDS OF DEA-"

"Spin Caliber!"

The reaper Digimon suddenly crashed into a nearby standing of brick that brought forth a cloud of dust and dirt. Purple-colored dragon Digimon yelled out his triumph along with his much smaller partner, "Good job, Arresterdramon!"

"That's Tagiru," Akari realized. "Which means Taiki and Yuu are..."

"Akari! Zenjirou!"

Enveloped in a warm, familiar hug, Akari blushed brightly at the sight of her childhood friend. She schooled her expression as best as she could and released his grip on hers. Her mouth formed into a disapproving pout at the goggle-head, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry about that," Yuu apologized as he came up from behind him with Shoutmon and Damemon in tow. "One pink-cheeked idiot took the wrong bus."

"Hey, I thought it was the number 6!"

"I told you we were taking the 9, dim-wit!"

Their spat was interrupted by Arresterdramon being thrown back by the force of Phantomon's scythe swipe. Akari and Zenjirou reacted quickly and nodded to one another before they brought forth their Xros Loaders, "Taiki let us borrow Cutemon and Ballistamon for a minute."

"Wha? How did you guys…?"

"There's no time for that, Taiki!" Akari interjected.

"Right, sending you Cutemon and Ballistamon now."

"I'm going to be working with Akari!" the pink, bunny-like Digimon cried with joy as he appeared on the girl's screen.

"I'll serve you faithfully, Zenjirou," the beetle-like machine promised as his transfer was completed.

"Time for some pay back," the kenshi grinned as Arresterdramon defense against Phantomon's swipes weakened.

"Cutemon!"

"Ballistamon!"

"Super evolve!"

"…Bucchiemon!" unlike those they had seen in Heaven Zone, the red fairy Digimon before them retained Cutemon's white headphone cap and red scarf.

"…Bolgmon*!" a massive tank Digimon dropped to the ground which caused a small tremor. The chest plate and other parts that knowledgeable Digimon would have identified as yellow were a crimson red. As one, they fired two shots at Phantomon to knock him away from their ally.

"It seems I've met my match," the ghost Digimon sighed resignedly as they prepared their next attacks.

"Love Laser!"

"Ultimate Thunder!"

Being the nearest, the younger goggle-boy gathered up the golden ring of data that surrounded Phantomon, "Capture complete!"

"We did it!" Akari cheered while she exchanged a high five with her fellow combatant.

"Hey, I thought you guys didn't want to be Hunters," Tagiru wondered as he placed his hands on his hips.

"I never said that," Zenjirou crossed his arms proudly. Having a Xros Loader was the best.

"Did you see me, Akari?" Cutemon leaped into his friend's arms after devolving.

"Yeah," she chuckled and patted his head gently. "You were great!"

"So, the old clock man let you join the hunt?" Yuu mused contemplatively. "Now, why would he do that? He's already mentioned that those with experience from the Digiworld are less than welcome."

"Oh, come off it, Yuu," Tagiru wrapped an arm around his polar opposite's shoulder. "Like I said before, the more the merrier!"

"Thanks for letting us borrow these guys, Taiki," Akari told the leader of Xros Heart. She and Zenjirou were ready to transfer them back to his Xros Loader, but the middle-schooler just shook his head and smiled in his usual way.

"Nah, keep them for now until you've captured more Digimon. With trouble happening as far as here, who knows where else it might sprout up? It will be good to have us spread out like this just in case… You did good, Akari… Oh, and you too, Zenjirou."

"Great!" Akari grinned and pointed finger at the space between his eyebrows. "Then as celebration, you can take me on a date!"

"Sure…" Taiki nodded. He paused, thinking. A moment later, half of his face was red. "Wait, what?"

"I heard about a new restaurant that opened up near my school," she continued. She imagined the cuisine fondly. "It's a little expensive, but I've been told that the food is definitely worth it."

"Er…"

"Come on! Let's get going!" Akari hooked her arm into his and Time Shifted them back to the real world before Taiki could protest again.

"Hoho, another romantic development," a Cheshire smile appeared on Tagiru's face. It was always fun seeing his idol flustered.

"Gah, why can't Meguchi-san do that with me?" Zenjirou whined. He pressed his palms against his forehead in frustration.

"Geez, Zenjirou, always with your new crushes. At least you stopped bothering my sister."

"Yeah, Nene-san is mine, now."

"… No, she's not. You haven't even met her yet!"

"Hey, nothing matters when it comes to love."

"Someone no good in love shouldn't be speaking."

"And what would you know white-poop mon?"

"…You did not just go there."

"I believe he just did, curly blonde!"

"She didn't even blush when our hands made contact!"

"No good children are no good!"

"Hah, is that all you can throw? I've heard better from Mami!"

"Ahah! So this is about Mami-san now!"

"What? No, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Well, I know I've only met her a few times, but she should have felt something by now!"

"Yeah, my partner here only has time for girls that are way out of his league!"

"Right… wait! No, Gumdramon, that's not helping!"

"It's not?"

"Even his Digimon realizes he's no good."

"You've got that right."

"Shut up you, you, you…!"

"Yes, I know my name. What do you think I have? Amnesia?"

"Maybe I should ask her out…"

"I know! You and that Airu gal. You totally made her fall for you on purpose!"

"…I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Airu lover~!"

"Quiet!"

"I'll ask her out today then… But no! I want to see how the team is doing after I left so suddenly!"

"Zenjirou!"

"Eh?"

"Tell this guy he's in love with Mami/Airu!"

"…Who?"

"Great way to help, Zenjino. We'll never get home at this rate."

"It's Zenjirou, hammertail!"


A/N: Okay, I'm stopping myself there before the conversation goes out of control. Guess who's who in the dialogue. It's actually quite easy. And see what I did there? I threw in two (three, maybe, four) pairing hints at you guys. Happy? I hope so.

First * I did some research on Kendo equipment and found the actual word for the helmet: men.

Second * Actually supposed to be MetalKabuterimon, but Bolgmon sounds cooler.

No plans for what next. Would you like a date scene, Akaiki fans?