"Attention passengers. East Meets West Airlines welcomes you to Tokyo. Again, we apologize for the pilots stepping out for popcorn during the in-flight movie." A plane landed and went up to the gate.
"It's so bright," said a lingering passenger, "I wonder what time it is." She looked up at the clock, "8:45 in the morning? I'm still on New York time!" The girl was a teenager and had short bright pink hair that was studded with stars. She dug a digivice out her pocket and changed the time, "There. Now I'm caught up." She took a few steps and yawned.
Demiveemon was climbing the rubble of Austin's room. Climbing to one of the higher points of the room, he looked around.
"Austin? Wake up!" He leapt on Austin's chest and began hopping up and down, "Austin! Austin!" Austin groaned, turning his face from the light, and then slowly opened his eyes to see Demiveemon smiling innocently at him a few inches from his face, "Good morning! Sleep well?"
"Yeah. Until I heard all that screaming'" Austin said, slowly sitting up, "The next time I tell you to wake me up, try to be a little quieter so I can get some sleep."
"I turn my back on him for one minute and he disappears." Dakota muttered as he pulled on his sleeve, "Oompamon! Where are you?" He looked out his bedroom door and saw Oompamon on the kitchen table, hidden underneath a basket. Oompamon turned around to look at Dakota.
"Dakota!" He squealed, leaping of the table and leaving the basket behind. Dakota bent down to pick him up.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to wander around the house?" Dakota asked, "Mom might think you're a rodent."
"Guess what? I think your mom is making us some candy over there!"
"Candy? That's not candy, its sushi." Dakota explained as he walked Oompamon back into the room.
"Does it taste like candy?"
"Not really. It's seaweed and raw fish."
"Yucky!"
"That was my first reaction, too."
Kari was loading things into her backpack as Gatomon stared on.
"I made you a nice little bed." said Kari.
"You think I'm getting in there?" Gatomon demanded, "Think again."
"Oh come on." Kari encouraged, "Be a sport. It'll be fun." She lifted a dejected Gatomon by the scruff of her neck and put her in the pink bag.
"Bethany, come on!" Tiffany shouted from the door way. She wasn't exactly in a good mood as she'd spent most of the morning keeping Woofmon and Nyamon from killing each other. Bethany hadn't been much help since she just thought it was funny and now they were nearly late, "Bethany!"
"Coming!" Bethany skipped down the stairs, her own backpack bulging with Woofmon. Nyamon wasn't hidden, as her cover was that she was a pillow.
"Great, get a move on."
"Why, so you can flirt with Tai?"
"No! Tai isn't even coming!"
"Bye Mom! We're headed to school!" TK said as his hand went over the metal gate.
"Um, TK...aren't you forgetting something?" Kitty asked. Sunmon's flame barely poked out the top of her book bag. Seeing this, she squished him in further.
"Oops, one more thing!" TK said, opening the door, "Patamon!" He walked in, stuffed Patamon into his green backpack and then walked back to where Kitty was waiting. The bag in his arms started move about violently.
"Can we hurry up?" Patamon asked from inside, "Your gym socks from yesterday are in here!"
"Sorry, I forgot." The twins rushed off to school.
"Okay, so if any body asks...?" Jeanna began, looking pointedly at Chibimon.
"I'm a doll!" Chibimon chirped.
"And?"
"And I don't talk!"
"Good." She put Chibimon carefully inside her backpack, shouldered it, and walked off.
"Okay mom, I think I'm packed. Besides the usual, I'm also taking potato salad, macaroni salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, fruit salad, and three bean salad."
"Actually, it's only 2-bean salad today." Megan's mom said, "I was out of the third bean. That's an awful lot of food for one girl to eat for lunch."
"I told you, I'm having a picnic with the computer club today, so I offered to bring salad for everyone."
"And who's paying for it?"
"Yeah...I need to talk to you about that...Talk to you later!"
"Megan, wait!" Megan rushed out the door without stopping.
"Megan!" Poromon cried from inside the gym bag at her waist, "Open up! It's an emergency!" Megan put the bag on the ground and unzipped it.
"What is it?"
"Sitting on this coleslaw is getting a little mooshy! And what has such a fowl smell?"
"Deviled Egg."
"Pee-yew!"
"Poromon's right, I can smell it all the way from over here!" TK said from where he, Dakota, Mimi, Jeanna, and Kitty were standing on a street corner.
"I guess the mayonnaise has gone bad."
"Aren't the others supposed to be here?" Austin asked as a plane flew over head.
"Yeah, they're late." Kari said.
"Maybe they got held up choosing salads?" Bethany offered.
"That was just Megan's job. And at any rate, how hard is it to choose a salad?" Tiffany said.
"Here they come now!" Austin called. The group stood up and ran to meet up with the other half, "Hey what took you guys so long?"
"I stopped at a drink fountain to give Poromon a bath," Megan explained, "It's a long story."
"Never mind." Austin said impatiently, "Let's go." The large group of nine kids traipsed off.
A line of heads popped up one by one from behind the hedge.
"All clear," Austin said as a bell rang in the distance, "Now remember my plan! Crouch! Keep crouching!" They slunk off, keeping carefully low to the ground.
"Listen, I know it's a Saturday and we aren't really supposed to be at school, but no body is within miles of this place. I refuse to crouch." Megan said, standing up straight with her nose in the air.
"Fine." Kitty commented, "You're tall enough that they'll see you first. You'll be a nice distraction."
"Actually Austin, I don't think it's really necessary for me to crouch." Dakota said. It was true. His head, as well as Mimi's, barely came up to where the older kids crouched.
"Sometimes being small gives you an advantage." Mimi laughed. Finally, they made it to the computer room. Austin turned to look at them all.
"Well, I got us here. Am I the best or what?"
"Yeah!" Bethany cheered.
"...Or what." Jeanna said with a smile. Austin gave her a mock-glare and Dakota, Mimi, and Megan groaned.
"Let's go!" Austin said, leading the way to the room, "I wonder if the Digital World is open on Saturdays."
"All right!" Megan said, pointing in the air from her seat at the computer, "I got us in! Am I the best or what?"
"...Or what." Tiffany said. But just as they were about to go inside, the door to the room slide open. Everyone stared.
"Huh?" Everyone asked together. A girl with bright pink hair looked into the doorway, looking just as confused as they were.
"...I'm sorry, but...are you supposed to be here?" The girl asked. Mimi, Bethany, Dakota, Megan, and Austin screamed while Tiffany, TK, Kitty, Jeanna, and Kari looked stunned.
"Momo?" They asked.
"Momo?" The new kids asked.
"Um..TK?" Momo asked, "Kari? Tiffany? Kitty? Jeanna?"
"Yup!"
"Austin, Megan, Dakota, Mimi, Bethany. I want you to meet someone." TK said, "This is our friend Momo. She's one of the original Digi-Destined. She moved to America." Momo walked into the room, looking more comfortable.
"Hi Momo," Megan began, "Sora told us all about you."
"I spoke to her," Momo said, "She told me about you guys, too."
"Hello, Momo," Austin butted in, "I'm Austin, but you can call me...Austin."
"Yeah, she definitely told me about you...Gatomon! Patamon! How have you guys been?"
"What, no hello for us?" Sunmon asked.
"Yeah, did you forget all about us, Momo?" Nyamon asked, gesturing to Chibimon as well.
"I'm sorry. How have all of you been?" Momo giggled.
"Pretty good, except for being stuffed in a knapsack like a wet towel." Gatomon said wryly.
"It's so good to see you!" Kari said, "When did you get back?"
"This morning," Momo answered, "I was passing by the school and just had to take a look for old time's sake. I just...walked in the front gate. Someone left it open!"
"That was us," Austin told her, "We had to sneak in because the school was closed." Momo looked startled, "That's right. We all decided to go on a nice Saturday picnic in the Digital World."
"Digital World?" Momo repeated.
"Speaking of, wouldn't it have been easier to go through the portal on Bethany's computer?" Jeanna asked.
"It was closed when I got home that night." Bethany said apologetically, "Besides, it wouldn't have been the same adventure."
"Darn right!" Austin agreed. Bethany smiled at him.
"Maybe Momo can come with us," Megan said with a smile.
"I'd love to! I haven't been there in so long...Do you think it will be okay?"
"Of course!"
"Great to have you back, Momo." Tiffany said, hugging her friend.
"Megan, we didn't bring enough sodas for an extra person!" Austin complained.
"Oh man." Megan said.
"That's okay. She can have my soda." said Dakota.
"Mine, too." TK said.
"And mine!"
"Not mine! I like soda!" Jeanna joked.
"Okay, let's go!" Megan said for a second time.
"That's great. Now the rest of us don't have anything to drink." Austin groaned.
"Digi-Port! Open!" Megan shouted. And they were off.
"Hey guys, good news!" Austin said upon arrival, "Look around! Do you see any Control Spires?"
"Nope!" They chorused cheerfully. Momo looked around for a minute and then took a few steps.
"How cool!" She gushed, "I'm back! The Digital World hasn't changed."
"Bethany!" Puppymon leapt at Bethany the moment she was released from the bag. Nekomon sweat dropped and walked off to talk to Gatomon. Rikumon stretched her wings by soaring in tight circles around a thrilled Mimi. After a few comfortable moments, they began to walk up a grassy hill. As they walked, they Tiffany and Kitty brought her up to date on the recent happenings.
"Digimon Emperor?" Momo asked.
"Yep," Austin confirmed, "He builds these Control Spires, tries to take over the Digital World, yadda yadda yadda."
"So if there's no Control Spires are we safe?"
"Yeah, that's why picked this spot to go on our picnic." Megan said.
"Gee, we never would have thought of having a picnic here in the old days because we'd be too worried about giant sized, Digital-Ants."
"Well, we also would have never thought about it because we couldn't have done that in the old days." Tiffany pointed out.
"Every time we come here, we have to destroy a Control Spire." said Megan, "But since its Saturday, we thought we'd just come here to have some fun."
"I've only been a Digi-Destined for two days," Bethany said, "And it's already exhausting."
"So how long have you had Puppymon?" Momo asked.
"A day."
"Wow. You two already get along great."
"Thanks."
"We should pick a spot around here to put the picnic blanket," Dakota said, "And then we can dish out the food."
"Hooray! I'm starving!" Mimi said.
"You're always starving." Jeanna laughed.
"Sounds like a great idea." TK chimed in.
"No it doesn't." Austin snapped, "Its way too early for lunch. Let's keep walking."
"I am a little hungry," Kari said, trailing off at the end. Austin stopped walking and smiled goofily.
"I'm starved. Let's eat."
"Why didn't I think of that?" TK asked, deadpanning.
"At least Kari can use Austin's infatuation for good and not for evil." Kitty said with a laugh.
"Infatuation?" Bethany asked.
"Yeah, Austin is head over heels for Kari," Jeanna said, "But so is TK. Our money's on TK to beat him out." Bethany paused to mull the fact over and then walked over to help the rest of them fold out an enormous orange blanket. Once the food and everything else was ready, the group sat down.
"I brought this from my family's convience store," Megan told Momo, holding out some food, "Want some?" Momo's eyes started to shine with tears.
"Is...Is that what I think it is? A chocolate covered rice ball? I haven't had one since I was a kid!" She took it.
"Better eat it quick. Mimi's already on her third helping." Jeanna warned. Everyone looked over and, sure enough, Mimi's was filling her plate up again, her cheeks still bulging with food.
"How do you stay so skinny?" Tiffany asked with a look of mix horror and amusement. Mimi shrugged, mouth too full to allow talking.
"What'll you have?" Megan asked Hawkmon, who was sitting beside her.
"I'll have what ever Armadillomon and Rikumon are having." He said. Megan looked over to where the pair of digimon were digging into their own lunch while Dakota watched on, Mimi still too engrossed in her own food to stop.
"They're eating sushi." Megan said.
"Excellent. I'll have one sushi, please!" Armadillomon grabbed from the box and bent his arm back.
"Coming right up!" Dakota gasped and tried to stop him, but it was too late.
"Never throw food!" He said sternly as the sushi rolled to a stop in the grass. Hawkmon went running off after it, Megan in hot pursuit.
"Hawkmon, wait! It's just a California Roll!"
"Yes, well it's rolling all the way back to California."
"Hey! I want that roll!" Canimon said, leaping up.
"Wait! He already called it! Canimon!" Jeanna raced off after them.
Momo looked worriedly after them and after a bit, got up and looked for them. Surrounded by trees in the forest, she cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Megan! Hawkmon! Jeanna! Canimon! Come ba-" Momo tripped and fell. Apparently the ground had in fact been only a canopy of trees from below. She tumbled through the air and hit the ground. It was night time when someone came to wake her up.
"Wake up." Megan said, shaking Momo's shoulder, "Momo! Wake up."
"I hope she's alright." Hawkmon said. Mimi moaned and opened her eyes.
"She has to be." Jeanna said, "Momo?"
"Are you okay?" Megan asked.
"The last thing I remember...I fell."
"Look at that." Megan said, looking away from Momo. Momo's own eyes followed the line Megan had pointed out. A Control Spire appeared on the horizon.
"What is it?"
"A Control Spire."
"This guy is EVERYWHERE!" Jeanna complained, "We're gonna teach him a lesson, right Canimon?"
"Right!"
"That means the Digimon Emperor controls this area." Hawkmon pointed out. Just then, squeaks and mumbles began in the dense foliage to their left. All three turned their attention that way and saw red eyes begin to materialize.
"I'm going to guess those aren't tail lights in a parking lot." Momo said.
"Princess Momo! Princess Momo! Princess Momo!" The eyes were those of a group of gecko-like digimon with tubas entwined around their body and blue polliwog like Digimon. All had a Dark Ring on them. Momo's worried expression faded away and she actually smiled.
"Relax. They're just geckomon and otoumon."
"How do you know that, Momo?" Megan asked.
"Because they're my friends."
"They don't look too friendly." Hawkmon warned.
"Not while they're wearing those Dark Rings." Canimon said.
"Geckomon are push over's anyway," Jeanna said, stepping forward, "Whether they're being controlled or not, it shouldn't be a tough battle."
"Huh?" Momo leaned forward to get a better look. The digimon marched and then began jumping in long lines at the Digi-Destined.
"RUN!" Jeanna shouted. They all turned around and started running off. Momo tripped again and went sailing forward. Megan and Jeanna skidded to a stop and could only watch as the group of possessed Digimon came even closer.
"Omigosh Momo!" Megan shouted, "If those are your friends, I'd hate to meet your enemies!"
"It's not they're fault." Momo moaned from the ground.
"She's right. They're being controlled." Jeanna said. They were sitting ducks.
"Poison Ivy!" Long purple, sticky roots shot out from the undergrowth and then wrapped around each girl and their digimon's head. With a quick tug, they were moving away from the stampede.
"Palmon?" Momo asked. At the very last second, they were pulled away. The Geckomon and Otoumon continued as if their prey was still right in front of them.
"I thought you needed a vine." A green digimon with a bright pink flower on her head turned to look at them.
"Palmon!" Momo sobbed, tears filling her eyes.
"Momo!" Palmon cried, her eyes shining with tears as well. The pair rushed forward and embraced. Hawkmon and Canimon stared on from the safety of their partners' arms.
"I missed you so much!" Momo cried.
"Me, too!"
"I've never been this happy in my whole life!"
"I never knew what happiness was until now!" They continued you crying.
"Please tell me this is not how I acted when we reunited..." Jeanna said, face-palming. Canimon laughed.
"You did! But don't worry! It was very special and emotional!"
"...Great."