The small group watched Arcadimon fumble with his pizza. The pink spider had taken a piece from the leftovers, which was a bit impressive considering he had no hands, and was now in the living room trying to cut it up and eat it from it's plate. Ikuto stopped the plate from being flipped over, sighing to himself.
"I thought Ikuto was a messy eater." Chika muttered.
"Please be careful." Ikuto said, trying to be nice to the odd digimon. "I think that pizza will stain the carpet, whatever that means."
"At least he's trying." Falcomon said proudly.
"He won't understand you." Adam said calmly, the others looking at him. "Arcadimon only understands me and only I can understand him apparently."
"Really?" Piyomon asked curiously.
"Oh yeah. Apparently everyone else hears hissing and he hears hissing from me when I speak, which apparently he understands." Adam explained, tearing the pizza up into skewer-able pieces for Arcadimon. He gave his thanks before eating a piece with a wide, though creepy, grin. "I'm kind of glad though." Adam added, smiling back at Arcadimon. "It's like we have sort of a secret language."
"You guys seem like good friends." Chika said. "I'm still a little new to the whole digimon thing too all things considered. But still, I'm glad Piyomon's egg made it's way to me."
"I am too." The pink bird agreed with what Adam took for a smile on his beak.
"You're new to this too huh?" Adam asked. "Glad to know I'm not the only one. What about you Ikuto? How long have you known Falcomon?"
"I've been with digimon my whole life." The boy answered with a wide smile.
"Lucky!" Adam cried, feeling a little envious.
"Yeah, not as lucky as you'd think." Chika muttered to herself as she watched her friends.
"Well in any case I'm just glad to have been given Arcadimon by the Boss." Adam said, pulling his partner into a one armed hug. "He's my best digimon friend."
"Who's you're best human friend?" Falcomon asked curiously.
"Ian. Though everyone calls him Jasper." Adam answered. "He moved to Japan when he was a little boy, from Brazil."
"Where?" Ikuto asked curiously.
"Another country." Chika answered.
"How many are there!?" the boy cried in exasperation.
"Good question." Adam said thoughtfully. "Anyway, Jasper and I met when we both started school. We introduced Rai, his brother, to Celena and then Rai introduced her to Sakura, and Celena introduced all of them to LoaƱo and Kidd and years later we're all great friends."
"What's Jasper like?" Falcomon asked curiously, wanting to know more about other humans.
"Oh he's great!" Adam praised excitedly. "He's really kind and super smart. He's like a genius! He helps me all the time with my homework when I need it. And he looks so happy when he's thinking something over; you can see it in his emerald eyes. And he can speak three languages too! Japanese, Portuguese, and English!"
"Port what?" Ikuto asked, looking confused again.
"It's another language." Chika explained for him. "And before you ask, I don't know how many of those there are either." She turned back to Adam, smiling. "Well it sounds like he's a nice guy. Maybe you should ask if he can come over next time we all see each other."
"I will, definitely!" Adam answered excitedly. "I really like Jasper. He doesn't have a lot of friends, but he knows he can trust in me no matter what. I'll always be there for him." Adam was cut off suddenly as Kidd jumped into the room, a panic filled look on his face.
"I was never here." He barked before racing out the back door.
"What was that about?" Arcadimon asked.
"I think it's best not to ask." Adam answered.
"Haseo, would you please get that?" Celena's mother asked kindly.
"Of course." Haseo answered, appearing in the kitchen a few seconds later. He answered the phone, politely and clearly saying, "Kurosaki residence. Haseo speaking."
"Yo!"
"Boss?"
"Hey Haseo." His father answered in his usual happy voice. "How are you doing?"
Haseo thought over the events of the night and smiled. "I am doing quiet well, all things considered."
"Oh yeah?" Boss asked curiously. "Still a virgin I hope."
"Indeed." Haseo answered, quite used to the Boss' blunt way of speaking. "So why exactly have you called again?"
"Always getting down to business, so serious." The man muttered. "If I didn't know any better I'd say I wasn't the one who raised you." Haseo heard the Boss open something and slam it shut. "I was just sent a file by DATS, apparently a digimon broke in to the human world earlier today. Yoshino and Lalamon appeared at the scene but they couldn't find the target. I ran the data they collected against some of our own and came up with an interesting result."
"Interesting?" Haseo asked, the word meaning all kinds of things to the Boss.
"Yeah." The Boss answered, growing serious. "You remember why Gaiomon's castle is where it is right?"
"Indeed." Haseo answered. "The mountain it is hidden within houses many kinds of rare minerals, including almost all kinds of Digizoid metals and many other rare minerals. You stationed Gaiomon there to watch over the mining process."
"A+ for my boy." Boss said warmly. "Well just the other day, while the whole volcano incident was going on, someone broke in and stole several metals and ores."
"Goodness!" Haseo cried worriedly. "What all was stolen?"
"Primarily Green Chrome Digizoid." Boss answered seriously, Haseo frowning. "And stolen from the forest was Green Diamante."
"But that means,"
"Exactly." Boss answered. "So keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And keep an eye on Dracomon and Jasper."
"Right." Haseo agreed with a nod.
"We're back!" Celena cried as her small group entered the home. Haseo met her in the hallway and the two smiled at each other. Haseo noticed Falcomon and Ikuto standing behind Adam and Arcadimon, both looking a little nervous. "They're going to stay here for a few hours and maybe overnight." Celena explained, Haseo nodding in understanding.
"Well it is nice to see Adam making new friends." Haseo said kindly.
"Hey, I have plenty of friends!" Adam protested. "I have Jasper, and Lockheed, and Arcadimon. That's three right there. Not to mention all of you guys."
"Perhaps I should rephrase." Haseo said apologetically. "It is nice to see you making friends your own age."
"Why?" Adam asked, throwing Haseo off guard a bit. "Having older friends shows I'm mature and a really cool guy. Right?"
"Uhm, I guess." Ikuto said uncertainly.
"Right, you're the physical embodiment of maturity." Celena joked as she moved into the living room. A sleepy Lunamon floated behind her, Haseo following behind her and leaving the four boys alone.
"Come on, we'll show you our room." Adam said, pulling Ikuto upstairs before he could protest. Falcomon shrugged as he followed behind the other three. Adam opened the door and let the three in, smiling proudly as they entered his cluttered room.
"You sure have a lot of toys." Ikuto muttered to himself as he looked around. 'Is this normal?' he wondered to himself, looking at a particularly complicated looking plastic doll. "You have a lot of dolls." He said offhandedly.
"They're not dolls!" Adam cried, obviously offended, Ikuto wondering if he had said something wrong. "They're called action figures!"
"Yeah! Action figures!" Arcadimon agreed, though only did so since Adam seemed angry over something.
"Chika and Piyomon call these dolls." Falcomon said as he examined one in his wings.
"Yeah well, they're girls. They have dolls, and boys had action figures." Adam corrected.
"Piyomon is a boy." Falcomon corrected blankly.
Adam frowned as he processed this information. "But he's pink." He said, not fully comprehending.
"So am I." Arcadimon sulked.
"Wait, no I didn't mean that was a bad thing!" Adam cried as he tried to cheer his partner up.
"What's this thing?" Ikuto asked as he picked up a large, colorful gun. He aimed it at Falcomon and pulled the trigger. The large dart hit the back of Falcomon's head, making him turn around suddenly. He tripped and fell over, Ikuto helping him up quickly. Adam tried helping Falcomon up to, but Arcadimon was latched to his side in a friendship hug and the two fell over. They dragged Ikuto down, and knocked Falcomon back down onto the ground. They tumbled around, ending up in a big pile on the floor.
"Ow." Falcomon said quietly.
"Not our finest moment." Adam chuckled as he stood up. He offered Ikuto his hand, but the boy merely stared at it. Adam frowned worriedly, unable to understand the look on the other boy's. Ikuto hesitantly gave him his hand and Adam helped him up. Meanwhile Falcomon tried helping Arcadimon up but due to Arcadimon's pointed leg claws it was proving to be very difficult. The two boys laughed as they watched their partners fumble around clumsily before moving over and helping them.
"Hey Adam?" Ikuto asked suddenly. Adam helped balance Arcadimon before looking at Ikuto curiously. "You and Arcadimon fight with your sister right?"
Adam frowned for a moment. "As in fighting with her or fighting alongside her?"
"The second." Ikuto answered.
"Oh. Yeah, why?" Adam asked curiously.
Ikuto sat down on the bed, looking very serious as he tried to find the right words. "Why do you?" he asked, catching Adam a little off guard. "Why did you go to that volcano and help the digimon?"
Adam frowned at his new friend, caught off guard by the question. "Why?" he asked. "What do you mean why?" Adam looked to Arcadimon and smiled. "If people are being hurt or could get hurt and you have the power to stop it, then you should."
"Weren't you worried?" Falcomon asked. "You must have been scared. You hardly had Arcadimon at all and suddenly you were going off to fight digimon that could crush you between their fingers."
Adam smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, I was terrified half the time." He admitted. "But I refused to let that stop me. No matter how bad something seems, you have to stay confident." Adam pulled out his crest, showing it to Ikuto and Falcomon who seemed to recognize it instantly. "You just have to have hope, no matter what." Adam said with a wide smile. "With a little hope, anything is possible."
Ikuto smiled at Adam and nodded. "And friends too." He added with a wide smile.
"Adam!" Celen called up to him suddenly. "Jasper just called and he said you need to get over to his house right away! He said it's really important!"
Adam frowned as he headed for the door. "Something important?" he muttered worriedly. He turned to Ikuto and Falcomoon, motioning for them to follow him. "Looks like you guys get to meet Jas and Lockheed earlier than I thought." He said with a worried smile.
"Adam!" Jasper cried, throwing his arms around the other boy. Ikuto and Falcomon both pulled back, seemingly worried but Adam was too busy trying to calm down his friend. "Oh Adam! It's horrible, terrible!"
"I think you guys should come inside." Rai said, Adam noting Hawkmon, Masaru, and Agumon in the hallway. The group walked in, Jasper in tears the whole time. Adam put Jasper down in the living room, feeling off. It felt strange for some reason. There was something missing. Something loud, and obnoxious.
"Where's Lockheed?" Adam asked suddenly, the other boys and digimon covering their ears immediately as Jasper exploded into more tears.
"He's gone!" Jasper cried loudly. "We got into an argument last night and then this morning he was just gone! Adam we have to find him!"
"I called Masaru over while our parents calmed down Jasper." Rai explained to Ikuto and Falcomon, the two nodding in understanding.
"What was the fight about?" Adam asked, Jasper suddenly growing a little quiet.
"I stepped on his tail." Jasper squeaked shyly.
"You can't do that!" Ikuto snapped angrily. "You have to be careful around digimon! How would you like it if someone kicked your butt or something!? Humans are so mean to digimon, it make me sick! How could you be so heartless!? No wonder he run away, you probably not even apologize!" By now Ikuto was glaring down on Jasper who seemed extremely scared, then confused, and then angry.
"How dare you!" Jasper shouted at Ikuto, shocking the other ten year old. "I'll have you know that I apologized profusely to Lockheed! When he grew angry, I begged for his forgiveness, practically throwing myself to the ground! I have always taken care of my partner above myself, no matter what's happened to us! Lockheed is my very best friend, no matter what! And I do not want some grammatically challenged moron I don't even know coming into my home and insulting my friendship with my partner!"
Ikuto's face grew red for a moment, for a split second everyone thought he would punch the now standing and clearly angry Brazilian boy. Ikuto stared at him coldly, not even Falcomon was entirely sure of what he would do. But the second passed, and Ikuto smiled at Jasper. He put a hand on Jasper's shoulder, everyone sighing and Jasper frowning in confusion. "I was wrong." Ikuto said with a smile. "You're a good human. We'll help find Lockheed."
Jasper's confusion was replaced with a thankful smile and he nodded. "Thank you!" he cried with a few tears in his eyes.
"That was weird." Hawkmon muttered.
"I've seen something sort of similar happened between Aniki and Touma." Agumon said thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, those two and these two seem kind of alike." Adam nodded in agreement as he watched his two friends. "So where does Lockheed like going the most?" Adam asked.
Jasper thought about it for a moment before snapping his fingers. "The lake!"
"There's a lake?" Ikuto and Falcomon asked.
"Yeah, it's back in the park." Rai answered.
"It used to be quite popular but people lost there interest in it." Hawkmon explained. "Over the years bushes and such grew in the path and people sort of forgot about it. Lockheed was out exploring in the park one day and sniffed it out. It's his and Jasper's favorite place to be."
"Exactly!" Jasper cried. "I'll bet almost anything that he's there!"
Lockheed sat over the pond, his head aching in pain. His wings were drooping down sadly and his tail was motionless. Why did he snap at Jasper like that? It wasn't the boy's fault he stepped on his tail, he was bringing him a bunch of sheets for Lockheed to use and couldn't see where he was going. And it didn't even hurt that much.
Lockheed sat on the lakeside, feeling awful. His body ached, he had yelled at his best friend in two worlds, and he just felt so upset! It was like something was nagging at his heart, making him feel so anxious and frustrated! Lockheed roared suddenly, plunging his head into the cold water for a few seconds. He pulled out soon after, breathing heavily. The cold water felt good on his scales, but it did little to alleviate his awful feelings.
"My, my, is everything alright?" a sneering, familiar voice asked.
Lockheed stood, turning around and glaring at the man behind him. He wore a blue suit, with a gray overcoat over it with a red rim. He had a red scarf tied around his neck which blew around him dramatically and held in his left hand a massive machinegun. He had long gray hair and a strange mask that looked like a demonic teddy bear head. "You look awfully upset little Lockheed." Astamon sneered.
"You." Lockheed muttered as he stared at the man. "You smell like that bear that attacked us at the arcade." He growled. "You're Belphemon!"
"Not quite." The man laughed. "I am Astamon, the Perfect form of my aforementioned appearance. Now tell me, what is an innocent little dragon like you hiding out here for? Run away form home perhaps?"
"Shut up!" Lockheed snarled angrily.
"My, so angry today." Astamon chuckled. "Would it perhaps have something to do with this?" he asked as he dipped into his jacket and pulled forth a large green crystal. Lockheed's eyes widened as he stared at the crystal. Astamon laughed as he waved the crystal in his hand, Lockheed following. "That's right, I have a present for you." Astamon tossed the crystal to the ground, Lockheed running for it.
He stopped himself suddenly, pulling away. "No!" he cried a she tried making himself move away. "No, no! I won't let that control me!" he cried. He gasped as Astamon suddenly grabbed his neck.
"It seems you've deluded yourself into thinking you have a choice." Astamon laughed as he dragged Lockheed towards the large glowing crystal.
As the group ran to the lake, they were stopped by a sudden barrage of bullets. Arcadimon flew himself in front of Adam, his claws glowing. They erased the bullets from existence, leaving behind only a dark energy that flew into Arcadimon and disappeared. He let out a low hiss. A warning to whoever had fired on his partner.
"Pretty quick reflexes." The man said as he emerged.
"Beelzemon!" Masaru cried, recognizing the hellish biker immediately.
"That's right kid." Beelzemon said with a smirk, bringing his gun up and leaning it against his right shoulder.
"Where's Lockheed!?" Jasper yelled angrily.
"Lockheed?" Beelzemon asked, bringing his gun under his chin like one would put a hand when thinking something over. "Lockheed? Let me think. Small dragon? Green and tan scales? Red horns? Quirky attitude unless he pet his neck and he starts flying off the walls and shootin' 'is lazers?"
"Where is he!?" Jasper roared, his green digisoul flaring up a bit.
"Well, he just might be back at that lake over there." Beelzemon chuckle.d "Thing is, my hunting buddy Astamon asked me to only let the little kiddies pass. Something about revenge and an arcade or something."
"Astamon?" Falcomon asked in shock.
"Belphemon." Ikuto growled.
"That's right!" Beelzemon laughed, aiming his gun at the boy. Falcomon knocked him to the groun, the bullet narrowly missing the ten year old. "Get moving you three, otherwise I may have to kill you too!" he roared with delighted glee as he turned on Jasper and Adam. The two and Arcadimon rushed past Beelzemon as he reloaded his guns. "Normally my guns run on magic." Beelzemon sneered. "But I had Kurata make these for me, just for you Daimon."
"Kurata is still alive!?" Masaru cried in shock.
"No way! We say him burn up with out own eyes!" Agumon protested.
"Yeah well, you'll have to ask him hand Belphemon as to how they got out of that situation." Beelzemon sneered. "That is, if you can survive against me!"
The three ran towards the lake, but stopped dead when they got there. "Lockheed!" Jasper cried in horror as they came upon the large dragon. Lockheed had been forced to evolve, but rather than being sapphire blue he was a dark emerald green. He snarled at them as they appeared, Astamon giggling as he made his escape into a dark portal. "Lockheed it's me!" Jasper cried, walking towards the dragon calmly.
Lockheed stalked towards him, looking down on the small boy. Jasper gave him a pleading smile, tears in his eyes. Lockheed quieted, leaning down and sniffing Jasper quietly. "Jasper." He whispered quietly. Jasper's eyes lit up as Lockheed-
SLAM!
Lockheed had spun around, striking Jasper away with his thick tail. Adam gasped in horror as his friend fell to the ground, still and silent. Without even touching his digivice he forced Arcadimon to evolve to his Adult form, who proceeded to attack Lockheed with a loud, wailing hiss. Adam ran over to Lockheed, feeling the Brazilian boy over for any injuries. Although he was still breathing, it was ragged and he had a large bruise on his chest where Lockheed had struck him.
Meanwhile, Lockheed was busy beating Arcadimon. Arcadimon shrieked as his skin was burned by Lockheed's green flames. Arcadimon pushed the dragon off, pushing him back with his stretchable arms. He crawled away, his body slowly healing itself by absorbing the excess digital particles in the air.
He stood up, turning on Lockheed who roared at him. The dragon flew towards him, their claws locking together as they struggled against each other. 'I have to beat him.' Arcadimon thought. 'But it's Lockheed. Adam will be upset if I kill him.' Arcadimon was pulled out f his thoughts as Lockheed opened up another stomach full of flames that burned through his face. Arcadimon shrieked, unleashing a burst of energy from his body that knocked the dragon away. Arcadimon took his chance, sending both hands out, punching Lockheed's chest and knocking the breath out of him. Arcadimon retreated, slowly healing.
'Wow, I'm healing really well today!' he thought to himself as he felt his skin close up. 'I'm healing as well as the boss! But why?' Arcadimon looked around, finding the large crystal Astamon had left behind. He noticed the green glow, looked to the savage green Lockheed, and looked to the flowing green particles sealing up his wounds.
"Jackpot!" he cried.
Lockheed was surprised to see Arcqadimon take the offensive this time. "Prison Claw!" Arcadimon roared as his fingers extended and wrapped around him. He stopped, using all of his momentum and throwing Lockheed into the crystal. It shattered around Lockheed, the crystals covering his skin.
"Did it work?" Adam asked, praying the battle was over so they could get Jasper help.
Lockheed unleashed a horrible roar as his body was covered in green energy, taking on a new horrid shape.
"Nope." Arcadimon answered fearfully.
