The questions are in, and we thank you for them~
Question 1: With entering the Academy, is there a whole application process and only a few out of a pool are accepted, or can anyone just show up?
Headmaster: Usually, yes, there's an application process. But most are accepted. If the class happens to be a bit 'full', we usually suggest studying abroad in another branch, and many students do so. The only exceptions to the rule were Miura, for obvious reasons, and Kokawa, because he was just dropped off here. We agreed to take him in, however, because we knew he'd have nowhere else to go.
Dynasmon: Yes, to those of you who doubt it, we do have hearts.
Question 2: Beelzemon, what exactly did you read in that textbook that was a bunch of bologna?
Beelzemon: Just a bunch of lies.
Chiharu: Like?
Beelzemon: If you'll just wait some more episodes, you'll find out!
Chiharu: But that's going to be a lot later…
Beelzemon: JUST DROP IT!
Chiharu: Okay, okay, sheesh…

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I never did, and I never will. I do, however, own every human in this story, as well as the Academy itself and the plot.

The group had gotten into a basic routine now. They'd have their normal classes, and then just about every other day, before dinner, they'd practice battling as a team. Afterwards, Yuichi would usually hang out with his sister and her friend Reiko. Tsukiko would go to the gym and work out, and Hideaki would shut himself in his room, usually entertaining himself by talking with BlackAgumon. Satoru holed himself up in the library, and Chiharu would talk with her first friends at the Academy, and of course, every Digi-Destined's partner would come along with them.

Yuichi ran over to Kazue and Reiko, his Digimon following close behind. He was very happy that he had managed to Digivolve to his Rookie form: Candlemon. "Hey, guys!" he called happily, making the girls look up.

"Hi, Yuichi!" Kazue called, waving. She noticed that his Digimon had Digivolved very quickly, and felt the quickest tinge of jealousy for a second before realizing that she shouldn't be. She'd accepted that her brother was a Digi-Destined, so he'd probably get in more training than her, as well as advancing faster, so she didn't mind nearly as much as she initially did. "It's really cool that you're Digimon Digivolved," she told him once the boy and his partner reached them. "My DemiMeramon didn't, yet," she added, nodding toward her partner, who was currently floating next to her head.

"I'm just waiting for the right moment," the small fireball said.

"So how did you get him to Digivolve?" Reiko asked.

"Well," Yuichi said with a grin. "We were training some more, and…"

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Nakayama had asked Yuichi and Satoru to have another, special training session after dinner, since clearly, nothing they'd done to train so far was working. Their gym class battles never amounted to much after their initial fight that made Mokumon Digivolve to DemiMeramon. "We're going to put the two of you in the Team Battling room, but we're going to set it to a very low level," he told the boys, motioning to Ikeda, who was already at the panel.

"I'm thinking Level 2," Ikeda told him, and he nodded. She finished at the panel, and the both of them left, leaving the boys alone, as the room faded away to a dark cave. Yuichi shivered slightly. He was afraid of the dark. Terrified, actually, but he had to get a grip on himself. This was just a training session, there was nothing to really be afraid of.

"It's okay," Satoru told him calmly. He could tell the ten-year-old was afraid. "Remember, none of this is real."

"I know," the little boy said softly. He shook his head, almost like he was trying to clear his mind of any frightened thoughts. Then he smiled. "Let's do this."

No sooner than he said that, they saw four sets of glowing, yellow eyes open. Yuichi took an unconscious step back, but then realized what he was doing and stood his ground. "DemiMeramon," he started, but the flame got his message.

"Fireball!" he yelled, throwing fire at the owners of the eyes, temporarily lighting the cave up enough to see them.

Satoru looked down at the illuminated screen of his Digivice as the 3D image of the Digimon they'd glimpsed popped up. "DemiDevimon," he read, examining the image. They hadn't gotten a good look at their new opponents, but it had apparently been enough for the D-Agent to identify them. The Digimon were small and blue, with bright yellow eyes. They looked like little bowling balls with wings and two small legs that ended in red, bird-like talons. "Rookie Level. Attacks: Demi Dart, Bat Flutter, and Evil Whisper."

"Demi Dart!" they heard a voice yell from behind them, causing the boys and their Digimon to duck. The sharp needle of what looked like a large syringe skimmed Satoru's back.

Budmon frowned, angry about the attack. She noticed DemiMeramon throwing fireballs left and right, not letting up on his attack. "Poison Thorns!" she yelled, and the pink thorns on her body fired off, heading toward the one that had thrown the dart like missiles. It hit, and she was about to cheer as it fell, but was cut short as she heard both the humans cry out. She and DemiMeramon were by their sides in an instant, seeing the darts that had hit the boys, and were currently emptying their liquid contents. DemiMeramon quickly pulled the one out of Yuichi, and Budmon latched her mouth on the one in Satoru, pulling it out. "This isn't right," she said quietly. "This is just training, so they shouldn't get hurt!"

"Yeah," DemiMeramon agreed. They both turned to the DemiDevimon, which had lined up in front of them, preparing for another attack.

"We won't let you hurt them!" they yelled together.

"Budmon Digivolve to… Lalamon!"

"DemiMeramon Digivolve to… Candlemon!"

The humans groaned, rubbing their arms when they'd been hit. The darts hadn't contained any sort of poison, but more likely something along the lines of Novocain. The spot they'd been hit was numb. Yuichi grinned when he saw his Digivolved partner.

"Candlemon," he read excitedly from his tan and navy blue D-Agent. "Rookie Level. Attacks: Paraffin Paralyzer, and…" he snickered "Lava Loogie."

Satoru had to resist the urge to laugh at that and looked down at his own green and pink D-Agent. "Lalamon, Rookie Level. Attacks: Seed Blast, Sing a Song, and Lala Spiral." He smiled. "Now we're talking."

"Seed Blast!" Lalamon called out, targeting one of the DemiDevimon while Candlemon took out his own. Soon, the boys and their partners were done, and the classroom came back.

"Very good!" Nakayama strolled back in, clapping.

Ikeda nodded, smiling. "That went very well, I think. You're free to go, now."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"Cool!" both girls said in awe.

"Yep," he said with a bright smile. "Candlemon's great!"

The Digimon in question blushed. "I'm not that wonderful," he protested, making the group of kids, DemiMeramon, and Gazimon all laugh.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Chiharu, Asuka, Dai, and Hiroshi sat in the lounge of the main building, watching TV. BlackSeraphimon and Lotosmon were locked in a game of chess, Snimon was watching TV with them, and Beelzemon was taking a little power nap against the wall.

"So, how have things been going for you so far?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, especially those extra Team Battling sessions. How's that working for you?" Dai questioned.

"Hehe, not too well…" Chiharu answered. "Beelzemon's not good at working on a team. He likes to be more on his own, so… He's not really helping anyone else, and he won't let them help him. Tsukiko and Hideaki fight as a pretty good team, though."

"I wonder if he'll get better about that…" Snimon muttered.

"Maybe, maybe not," Hiroshi said, popping his gum. "Who knows?"

The group was quiet for a minute before Chiharu spoke up again. "What does the textbook say about the Demon Lords?" she asked, remembering her partner's reaction to what he read.

"Well, there's a lot of stuff," Lotosmon said, having finished her game with BlackSeraphimon. "But it starts with how the Demons Lords first banded together and overthrew Zhuqiaomon and Azulongmon a long time ago, and then how their reign of terror went. There were a bunch of rebellions, but each was brutally crushed."

Chiharu thought for a moment. Why would Beelzemon be angry about that when it was true? Why did it annoy him so much? She glanced back at her partner. They'd become a little close over the few weeks she'd been at the Academy, but as she thought, she realized something very important: she didn't really know anything about the Demon Lord.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Shinji watched the security screens. The last few days had been pretty dull, which was, in his opinion, a good thing. There were no fights that had broken out and no Gates had opened. All was peaceful, which was a big surprise considering that they now taught a student partnered with a Demon Lord.

"We should be getting a new student today," LadyDevimon informed him. "I think her name is Mayu Midorikawa."

"Hm," he replied. "Maybe she'll be that sixth Digi-Destined Nakayama keeps going on and on about coming soon."

"I hope so," LadyDevimon said. "Something's been feeling off for a while, even before Chiharu showed up. Something's wrong in the Digital World, and we need these kids to fix it."

Shinji saw something out of the corner of his eye and glanced back at the screen showing the front hall. A girl with light hair was walking in with a woman that the guard assumed was her mother. That had to be Mayu. "Looks like she's here now," he stated. He glanced back at his partner to see her staring at a screen, clearly unnerved. "What is it?"

"I think you'd better have a look at this," she said, voice shaking ever so slightly. She pointed to a screen that showed a very dark room that usually had no movement. There were six Eggs on a table, and they usually remained motionless, but right now, one of them was shaking ever so slightly. The longer time went on, though, the more it began to shake. He quickly pulled his phone out in a panic.

"Sir?" he said as soon as the Headmaster picked up. "We have a problem. A big problem. The new student we got today, Mayu Midorikawa? She made an Egg react, but…" He hesitated, hating to have to be the one to break the news. "It came from the Sealed Room. And…" he zoomed to camera in to see the small symbol on the Egg. "I think it's his Egg."

"Call Nakayama, and have him meet the girl in the lobby. And bring the Egg down," the Headmaster ordered.

"Yes, Sir," Shinji said, hanging up before dialing Nakayama's number. He thought he was nervous when it was Beelzemon's Egg that hatched… "Nakayama? Go to the lobby. I think we've just got our sixth Digi-Destined."

He could practically hear the smile in the teacher's voice when he said, "We've finally got a complete team!" If only he knew…

They disconnected the call, and Shinji went to retrieve the Egg, dreading the future to come.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Beelzemon's eyes snapped open. Something was going on, and he knew it. His fists clenched as he recognized a familiar presence, even though it was very faint. He'd know that presence anywhere.

He dashed out of the lounge and stood in the doorway to see that security guard that had brought his Egg out bringing a new Egg to a girl with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes. But he ignored the girl, his eyes were locked on the Egg. He stalked over, and Chiharu, who realized that it would be a good idea to follow him, was close behind.

The Egg in the girl's hands glowed as it cracked, making Beelzemon's eyes widen with pure anger. As soon as the Egg was fully hatched, Beelzemon drew one of the Berenjena and held it up to the small, white Digimon before him, a look of pure hatred on his face.

"Beelzemon!" Chiharu yelled, grabbing his arm and made a futile attempt to push it away from the Baby Digimon he was aiming at. "What the heck is wrong with you?!"

"He's a Demon Lord!" he yelled, grip tightening around his gun.

"News flash: So are you!" Chiharu yelled back, wondering why Beelzemon would be so completely enraged by that fact.

"This is the bastard that left me to die!"

As soon as Beelzemon uttered those words, time seemed to stop for Chiharu. It made so much more sense. Beelzemon had recognized the presence of his old leader, and got angry, so he came out to see if it was true. When he saw that it was, he wanted revenge. She looked back at the expression on her partner's face, briefly wondering if she should let him do it, but quickly shook the thought off. The teachers would turn him back into a Digi-Egg for sure if he did that. In fact, by the horrified looks on their faces, they looked like they were about to right now.

"Beelzemon, stop it right now!" she yelled, doing the only thing she could think of doing. She pushed the girl back far enough and planted herself between the two Digimon.

"What's your problem?!" the girl yelled. "That Digimon's a psychopath! Please tell me he's not actually someone's partner here!"

"He is," Shinji replied.

"And yer Digimon is just like me!" Beelzemon hissed angrily. "Ain't that right, Lucemon?"

But the Digimon just looked at him, terrified, making everyone there realize that he, unlike Beelzemon, did not remember his past. Right now, he was just an ordinary Digimon.

"Puttimon," Chiharu muttered. "Fresh Level. Attack: Angel Dust." She looked back at him. "He looks pretty harmless."

"Haven't ya learned that looks can be deceiving?!" Beelzemon yelled, making poor, defenseless Puttimon whimper.

The girl was taking a few steps back, obviously trying to escape the wrath of the enraged Demon Lord.

"Beelzemon, stop it! Whatever happened in the past, you're going to deal with it, because he's one of us now!" Chiharu yelled at him.

Dianamon was suddenly between the two, glaring at them both. "Stop it, both of you. One, you are supposed to be partners, not adversaries, and two, Chiharu is right. You have to accept that Lucemon is the partner to a Digi-Destined, just like you are."

Beelzemon grumbled angrily, but didn't object. It was now that he noticed the danger he'd put himself in by losing his temper. Chiharu smiled and turned to her teacher and his Digimon. "So, now we're all here, right? The six Digi-Destined you've been so excited about?"

Nakayama nodded with a bright smile. "Yes, and once Puttimon Digivolves enough to be able to fight properly, we can really prepare for what's probably to come."

Chiharu looked back at the girl, who was now watching Beelzemon warily. "I'm sorry, we got off on the wrong foot. Ignore Beelzemon, he's just got a bit of a temper. I'm his partner, Chiharu Miura."

"Mayu Midorikawa," the girl said, never taking her eyes off the Mega. "And keep him away from me and Puttimon."

"I'll do my best," Chiharu told her. "But no promises."

"That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it?" Mayu asked, and the brunette nodded apologetically. She looked back at Nakayama.

"I can take her to the dorm, if you want," she offered.

"If it's okay with Mayu, then I don't see why not," he replied. The girl looked apprehensive, though.

Beelzemon clenched his fist, still clearly infuriated. "Screw this," he muttered, pushing past them, heading down a random hallway. As soon as he was gone, both Mayu and Puttimon visibly relaxed.

"He's not all bad, really," Chiharu tried to reassure her new teammate. "He just… well… I'll tell you later."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"And here it is, Dorm E," Chiharu told the new girl, opening the door to their building. "Girls' rooms are in the left corridor of the second floor, and only two are taken right now. You can go ahead and pick one, and I'll go get your uniform and stuff."

"Thanks," Mayu said, actually sounding somewhat sincere. "But why are you being so nice to me when your Digimon looks like he hates my guts?"

"It's not you, really," Chiharu said. "It's your Digimon. After I come back, if you leave him in your room, I can tell you then."

"Okay," she nodded, and headed up the stairs, while Chiharu exited the dorm to head back to the main building to receive the things for Mayu.

Hiroshi met her halfway there. "Hey, what's up with Beelzemon? I saw him go by a few minutes ago, and he looked really ticked off. Did you guys get into a fight or something?"

"Not exactly," she informed him, still walking.

"Then what's got him so steamed?" Snimon asked curiously.

"Well…" the Digi-Destined bit her lip, not sure if she should say or not. After finally making a decision, she said, "We found our last Digi-Destined a little while ago. But that's not the main problem. The problem is her Digimon. Another Demon Lord's Egg reacted…" She trailed off.

Her friend and his Digimon looked at her for a few moments. "It was Lucemon, wasn't it?" Hiroshi finally asked, and his friend nodded. "So, we're screwed now, aren't we?"

"No, not yet," Chiharu answered. "Right now, he doesn't remember who he used to be, but… I've got this bad feeling that once he gets back to his original form, he'll remember everything, and we can only hope that he's gotten close enough to Mayu before then so he won't be a threat to us."

"Yep,' Snimon said. "We can only hope."

By then, they'd reached the lobby, where Hotaru handed Chiharu a bag with Mayu's stuff in it. The two humans and one Digimon headed back outside. Hiroshi and Snimon headed for Dorm C, while Chiharu headed back to Dorm E.

When she got inside, she saw Mayu waiting for her next to the stairs. "Took you long enough," the blonde said, taking the bag. Chiharu ignored what she said, getting ready to explain about Mayu's Digimon, now that he wasn't around.

"Do you know anything about the Seven Great Demon Lords?" Chiharu asked, and sighed when Mayu shook her head. "Basically, there used to be seven evil Digimon, each representing a Deadly Sin, that ruled over the Digital World. My Digimon, Beelzemon, was one, until he was turned into a Digi-Egg. So was Puttimon, back when he used to be their leader, Lucemon. Beelzemon's got a huge grudge against Lucemon because… the humans were coming to their lair, and Lucemon had had enough of Beelzemon, so he stuck him to a wall, so he couldn't escape. Lucemon and the others got away, but they left Beelzemon to die, and he hasn't forgotten that. He remembered who he was ever since he hatched, but it doesn't look like Lucemon—no, sorry, Puttimon, doesn't remember right now."

"So, you're saying that that cute, harmless little thing up there," Mayu started, pointing up the stairs, "used to be the ruler of all evil?"

Chiharu blinked. That was one way to put it. "Well, uh… yeah, I guess."

"But he's not anymore, so what's your Digimon getting all worked up about?" she continued rudely, going back up the stairs without another word. Chiharu decided then and there that she did not like that girl.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"That's the new girl?" Dai asked, his eyes locked on Mayu during dinner. He wore an expression of pure awe.

"Yeah, and she's a jerk," Chiharu muttered darkly. Beelzemon had finally calmed down enough to let himself be in the same room as Puttimon, but they were lucky that it was a big room, and they sat on pretty much opposite sides. Mayu hadn't even been to any classes yet, but her table was surrounded by boys desperate to make her notice them.

"She's not that pretty," Asuka said softly, sounding self-conscious as Dai drooled over the new blonde. Chiharu finally made the connection, not understanding why she hadn't noticed it sooner: Asuka had a crush on Dai.

"Hey, Asuka? Want to go to the bathroom?" the Digi-Destined asked, her tone clearly saying 'we need to talk'. Her friend nodded, and they both stood, heading for the bathroom. "Dai?" the brunette called over her shoulder. "Do me a favor, and make sure Beelzemon doesn't maul anyone."

He didn't answer, but neither girl expected him to, so they made their way to the bathroom. As soon as they got there, Asuka leaned against the wall and slid to a sitting position.

"What's wrong?" Chiharu asked, wanting to make sure she was right.

Asuka sighed. "Dai and I have been best friends for as long as we can remember. Last year, I started to like him. You know, like." Chiharu nodded. "But he never noticed me, not like that. And now he's got his eye on some girl he barely knows…"

"Don't worry," Chiharu said, trying to cheer her friend up. "Once he does know her better, he'll want as little to do with her as possible, trust me. She's a jerk." She briefly wondered what Hiroshi thought of Mayu, but quickly shook the thought off. Where had that come from? Then she realized it was a pointless thought anyway, because Hiroshi had skipped dinner, and had therefore not seen the blonde yet.

Asuka laughed a little. "I guess you're right," she replied.

"Aren't I always?" Chiharu joked, making her friend laugh more. Then she decided to be serious. "Why don't you just tell him how you feel, then?"

"I'm afraid of it ruining our friendship," she replied. "I've been waiting for any sort of sign that he might feel the same way."

"He'll have to be stupid not to," Chiharu said. "Now, come on, let's get back. I don't trust Beelzemon being left in a room too long with Lu—Puttimon."

"You're going to keep doing that, aren't you?" Asuka asked, standing up and dusting herself off.

She nodded. "Probably. I mean, it is Lucemon he's mad at, so to me, it only makes sense."

"Very true."

The girls returned to the cafeteria, and were very surprised to see everything still in one piece. Chiharu laughed a little at the sight at their table.

Dai was trying to get up and go over to Mayu, but Beelzemon had a death grip on his arm, keeping him in his seat. It was kind of funny to see him try to escape, while the Demon Lord's arm wasn't even being moved an inch. "Shut up 'n sit down," he growled, forcing Dai fully down into his seat again, actually causing the boy to hiss in pain.

"You didn't have to do it so hard…" he muttered, rubbing his arm as soon as Beelzemon let go and the girls sat down.

They knew Beelzemon had most likely not let Dai go because he didn't want any of Chiharu's friends near Puttimon, but Asuka still mouthed 'Thanks' anyway, even though Beelzemon had no clue why.

Chiharu glanced back at Mayu with narrowed eyes. That girl was a total jerk, and Beelzemon would never agree to work with Lucemon, even if the Demon Lord of Pride never got his memories back. She sighed. They were going to have a lot of trouble now, trying to work as a team.

Next time:
Hiroshi: There sure have been a lot of Gates opening lately…
Snimon: Speak of the Devil…
Beelzemon: I've been waitin' fer a fight!
Mayu: There is something seriously wrong with you!
Cupimon: He scares me…

This was, erm… interesting, to say the least. That scene where Lucemon or Puttimon as he is now, hatches has also been in my mind ever since I had the idea of putting Lucemon in here. I know things kind of seem a little… out of place near the end, but these are (I think) leading up to some pretty important plot points. Something that needs to be stressed: Mayu is that really annoying, really mean popular girl. Will she get better throughout the series? Who knows? And I have a few questions for you out there:
1) I had a vague idea of what voice actors I would use if this were an actual season. Would you like me to add the list to the end of one of the other chapters?
2) I've been wondering about having a specific cover for this story, but I can't draw very well. If you are interested in doing this for me (which I hope you are), please let me know, and tell me any and all characters you wish to put in it, so I can give you a good idea of what they look like, because I know I haven't given the best descriptions so far. The offer to give me one is open until further notice, it would just be necessary for you to have a fanfic account, so we can go back and forth (sorry Anonymous Reviewers). As a little 'prize', once the 'contest' is closed and I choose a winner, said winner will have the option of submitting their OC for a Season 2 that I plan to start as soon as this one is over. You'd just get 'second dibs' because I saved first for MitzvahRose, who gave me the idea for a Season 2 in the first place.
Well, until next time~