Disclaimer- I have never owned Digimon or a digimon.

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Part 7: One (Night) for…Six?

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He wasn't sure when to break it to her. Takuya sat on his bed, watching Izumi look out the window, a burger in one hand and a drink in the other.

"You think they'll show up by tomorrow?" Izumi asked. She sighed and returned to her bed, not looking too happy. "I mean…it's a large world, but is Kouichi really that unreasonable?"

"Who knows? Kouichi has his crazy moments." Takuya shrugged. "Maybe we should call them again?"

Izumi shook her head. "First thing in the morning."

"All right." Takuya took a seat on his bed and stared at the wall in front of him. The paint was soft and white, but the lights glared off the wall with incredible intensity. Takuya shut his eyes and fell back onto his bed.

"Takuya…"

"Hm?" The boy sat up again, turned to face Izumi, but she kept silent and instead shook her head. "Something wrong?"

"No…it just…feels like they're doing this on purpose."

Takuya let out a laugh. "Why would they do that?" he asked, sending her a carefree grin. "Don't worry about it. Just go to sleep. I'm sure they'll be here tomorrow!" They better not come tomorrow

A sigh escaped Izumi, and she stretched her hands into the air. "You're right…the twins aren't that stupid. Good night, Takuya."

"Good night…"

The light switched off, and he laid back and shut his eyes.

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Petaldramon departed early in the morning.

"I've fueled up on enough of the Burgermon burgers. I'll be back again one day, and hopefully then they'll know that I mean it. I don't want to hurt them anymore. I just want their burgers," he said. Takuya thought he looked like a movie star. All he needed was some spotlight and an extra large pair of sunglasses, and he'd look cooler than any movie star that ever lived.

They watched Petaldramon's split tails thrash from side to side as he ambled off into the forest, and then Takuya turned to Izumi.

I should tell her, he thought. His hands were sweating, so he wiped them on his shorts.

"What now?" she asked.

But if he told her, wouldn't it be too obvious? He swallowed and gathered his resolve.

"Why don't we take a walk?" the goggle boy tried to suggest as casually as possible. It wouldn't do any good if she picked up on his nervousness. "I mean, they did say they were around the area. Maybe if we look, we'll find them. Or at the very least, we can kill time until they decide to show their faces."

"Not a bad plan," Izumi said with a teasing smile. She looked like she wanted to say more, but she held it in. "I wonder if we'll see Papa Burgermon…! It'd be nice to meet our friends again."

They hadn't realized under the cover of night and darkness, but the street on which they had met Petaldramon was a market street filled with shops selling knickknacks, and stalls that sold piping hot street food. Once news got out that Petaldramon was gone, the Burgermon returned to their posts, and the street was once again thriving with life.

What Takuya had thought would be a ten minute walk ended up taking hours. A group of TorikaraBallmon, chaperoned by some of the younger Burgermon, were selling popcorn. At another store, Izumi became fascinated with the jewelry selections.

"Pure digi-chrome," a Burgermon said, proudly showing off his wares. "This one's even got digi-ruby in it! Have you ever seen a shinier stone, miss?"

Takuya certainly hadn't. And he hadn't seen anything like their games, either. He wanted to stick around and learn a bit more, but Izumi, who suddenly caught sight of a hat shop across the street, dragged him there. They spent at least an hour trying on hats.

"I think this one fits me best, don't you?" Izumi said, finally setting on what looked like a purple version of the Burgermon's cap.

Takuya nodded. "But…you're forgetting something."

"What's that?"

"Have you got any money?"

Izumi removed the cap and examined the price.

"WHAT!" she shouted, outraged. "Takuya, look at this, it's ridiculous!" As she continued to rant and rave and threaten to sue for outrageous prices, Takuya led her out with a sigh.

"You could have tried bartering," he muttered.

"Say, come to think of it, how did you get the burgers from yesterday?" Izumi asked. Her rage had subsided, but she still looked back longingly at the stall.

Takuya grinned sheepishly, and took out his D-tector. "I…may have pulled a few strings?"

"Smooth." Izumi didn't look impressed.

"Well, did you wanna starve?"

"I didn't say anything, I just said smooth," Izumi returned. Takuya fell behind a step or two and stuck his tongue out. Childish, he knew, but it made him feel better.

Until he saw Papa Burgermon's restaurant.

Suddenly, he felt as if something had knocked the wind right out of him. It was worse than getting hit in the stomach with a soccer ball. He staggered a bit, this way and that, until he realized he could use his nausea to his advantage.

"I-Izumi," Takuya mumbled, leaning against the restaurant door. "I'm…not feeling too good. D'you mind if we take a rest?"

Izumi turned her head and examined the restaurant. "Perfect timing. I'm a bit famished myself. And there's a restaurant right here."

Score! thought Takuya. His heart was beating painfully in anticipation. The door swung open, and he very nearly stopped breathing.

"Izumi! Takuya!" Papa Burgermon welcomed them with a large smile.

"Papa Burgermon!" Izumi returned the greeting with enthusiasm. She seized the digimon's hands, and shook them excitedly. "It's so great to see you again!"

"Likewise!" returned the Burgermon, sending Takuya a sly wink. "Please, please, be seated!"

"Oh, but, Papa B, we haven't got any money on us."

"Please, after all you did for me? It's on the house!"

As they took their seats at a table by the window (there was no spectacular view, but Izumi liked watching the digimon outside, and Takuya didn't mind it either), they fell into silence. Takuya felt at ease again, but only slightly. Would Papa Burgermon's meals look over the top? Would it be too obvious what he had planned? Or worse, would Izumi not notice at all?

There was still sunlight outside, and the lighting of the restaurant was good enough that they didn't need any sort of romantic lighting. Candles were just too obvious. When one of Papa Burgermon's children came out with dishes in their hand, Takuya sat straight up.

"Papa's special bread!" piped up the young Burgermon. "Fresh from the oven! And some butter, too!" It set down the plate, gave a small bow, and dashed off, squealing, back towards the kitchen.

Takuya gave a small laugh, and broke open one of the rolls. Steam rose, and his mouth watered.

"Let's dig in already," Izumi said with a smile.

"You bet!"

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Papa Burgermon followed up the course with a digi-fruit salad, some digi-clam chowder, and the fanciest burger either of them had seen. Then he finished it with a digi-pear sorbet. Izumi ate a spoonful of the sorbet, and her face melted into a smile.

"Papa Burgermon, you've outdone yourself!" she declared when the digichef came out to see how their meal was.

"Aw, you mean it?" he replied, bashfully reaching for the back of his neck. "Gosh, Izumi, you really can flatter a man!"

"I always mean what I say," she replied. "At least, that's how I want to live," Izumi added, giving Takuya a strange look.

He smiled, and broke into laughter. "She's right though," he told Papa Burgermon. "It was a fantastic meal, Papa B! Better than my mom's cooking!"

"Just don't go telling your mom that, or she'll cry!"

They had a good laugh. The food and company had filled their bellies and warmed their hearts. And then Izumi realized what was missing.

"Say, Papa Burgermon, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to Kouji and the others, would you?" she asked.

Papa Burgermon's brows furrowed in contemplation. "Kouji? The others? You know, I haven't seen them since you were all last here."

"That can't be," Takuya said. "Kouji said they were in Hamburger Village for lunch…"

The digimon gave a throaty grumble in thought. "Why don't I ask around? Stay here a moment."

As he vanished again, Takuya turned to Izumi. "You don't think they've really been…"

"I mean, I thought so, but only as a possibility, and even then…"

"For them to have been yanking our chain…"

"…I don't want to really believe it," Izumi admitted. Then she gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh!"

"Oh?"

"N-no, nothing." She bit her lip.

Takuya's shoulders slumped and he glared. "Izumi, what happened to wanting to always mean what you say? I didn't find that the least bit convincing."

"I…I don't think this is what it is…but it could be…but…" Izumi squirmed with discomfort. "I did ask them for help before all of this."

"Help?"

"You know…to…uh…" And she trailed off, a blush painting her cheeks scarlet. Takuya stared dumbfounded.

"You know, it's the funniest thing!" Papa Burgermon said aloud as he walked up to their table. "Not a one of my restaurant friends has seen any humans in town! You sure they didn't make it to the moon?"

Takuya played it off with a grin. "You know, they just might have! Thanks, Papa Burgermon. We'll give them a call."

"You two take your time here. Let me know before you leave though, there's something I want to give you…"

They promised, and Papa Burgermon disappeared into the kitchen again.

"It's strange though. Papa Burgermon is so popular, but no one's in the restaurant," Izumi suddenly observed.

"Now's not the time to worry about that, Izumi!" Takuya declared, whipping out his D-Tector. "Now's the time to figure out what the heck is going on!" Before he could even call anyone, a voice broke through static:

"H-heeeelp! Izumi! Takuya! HE-eyagh!"

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"Can we digivolve now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Gosh, I know I said that you weren't letting us digivolve, but you don't have to actually play the part!" Kouji snapped at his brother. "I mean, if we got there a bit early, we could spy on them at least."

"We could," Kouichi countered. "But you and Junpei would probably give us away." He stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder. "Say, Tomoki, the fire terminal is closer than Hamburger Village, isn't it?"

Tomoki nodded. "Should we just go there and have that be the final stop?"

"Yeah. I know Lucemon is gone and all, but I still have reservations about walking through dark and creepy places." Kouichi shuddered a bit. "I saw some tracks ahead though. We should be able to take a trailmon back."

"Good plan," Junpei piped up. "My feet are starting to hurt."

"I think I wore mine out," Tomoki agreed.

"Mine, mine have worn away…to –" Kouji appeared ahead of the three boys, on his knees. His feet were nowhere in sight, and he looked even more terrifying with only the glowmoss to illuminate him. While Junpei and Tomoki screamed, Kouichi lifted his brother to his feet.

"Why've you gotta ruin the fun?"

"Isn't it what older brothers do?"

The twins laughed. Tomoki and Junpei grinned at each other.

"But seriously, this place doesn't look like good news. Where are those tracks you said you saw?"

"Up ahead. They - …oh." Kouichi quickened his pace and sighed in disappointment. "Graves," he called back to his friends.

"GRAVES?" Junpei shouted. He came to a halt, startling Tomoki, who had been keeping pace with him. "NO. NU-UH. NOT ME."

Kouji was puzzled. "What's wrong, Junpei? We've been through plenty worse."

"There isn't anything worse than a grave, except more than one of them! I'm not going anywhere near the things."

"So you're saying we backtrack our way around?" Junpei gave Kouji a look like it was the most obvious thing to do, but the bandana boy scowled. "No way! We'll lose time on foot!"

"We can digivolve then," the older boy reasoned. "But I'm not going through a graveyard."

Kouji marched up to examine the graves. The headstones were crumbling away, the inscriptions barely legible. He gave one a good pat with the palm of his hand, even rested his weight on it. "There's nothing wrong with graves, Junpei."

Even Tomoki wandered over, though he looked scared out of his wits. "I…I…I can do it, Junpei! If I can do it," the young boy declared, tears springing to his eyes, "then you can too!"

"Tomoki, you don't look the least bit convincing!" Junpei wailed.

"YOU CAN DO IT!" cried Tomoki in reply. Kouichi put a hand on his shoulder.

"BUT I CAAAAAAaaaaaaa—hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Junpei squealed suddenly, and dropped to the ground, arms covering his neck. A low grumbling sounded, and the earth shook ever so slightly. Even Kouji, went pale and immobile, his hand gripping the gravestone with such a force.

"Who…iiiiiiis maaaakiiiiing all that noooooise?" something grumbled, deep and clear.

Kouichi swallowed. "Stay calm," he murmured.

"I'll cuuuuuuurse youuuuu!" A bakemon rose from the grave Kouji stood next to. Its face was terrifyingly close to the bandana boy. "Who…are youuuuu?"

"I…I…uh…" Kouji staggered back, and fell.

"Kouji!" Kouichi gaped in surprise as his brother fainted. "What –"

Tomoki swallowed and tugged on Kouichi's sleeve. "I don't think…we're looking at the full picture Kouichi."

The older twin looked up and gasped. An army of bakemon now floated ahead of them, all looking very cross.

"Gotta digivol – hey!" Kouichi snarled in protest as the bakemon swarmed him, rendering him unable to reach his D-Tector. Tomoki met a similar fate. The bakemon swarmed him, lifting him in the air briefly, until they settled to carrying him by his arms.

"JUNPEI!" Kouichi hollered. The bakemon had seized his hands and legs. "JUNPEI! CALL TAKUYA AND IZUMI!" He couldn't see, but he didn't need to. He could hear Junpei's frantic calls for help.

"H-heeeelp! Izumi! Takuya! HE-eyagh!"

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A/N- The most important news first: Digimon is getting a new season!

It has been YEARS since I've updated any of my stories, and during that time the website has undergone a LOT of changes. The hyphen breaks I used to use no longer show (if they ever did). I've gone back and replaced Misconception's previous chapters with documents featuring the M line break, so you can tell when the scenes have switched.

I'll get around to the older stories one day. Maybe.

I've also made my peace with Misconception's imperfections. Honestly, I should have just kept writing to the end of this chapter, because I wrote the title before I went on hiatus, clearly had an image of what I wanted to happen, but when I came back to it today, I had no idea what it was I was planning.

Again, it has been years, but thanks to: Sugarette, MoD366, Grumblemon235, dogluv101, 7DCD, jerseygrl90, lynn annXia, EarthBorn0, Vanui, I Am the 1st Anonymous, kmartmfc

Please Review or Flame.