"Good day to you, lords and ladies, and those of unspecified gender. It's your good pal, the artist formerly known as Drago3511, now known as DragoHeart57! Here with the long-anticipated part 2 of Louise's Gift: The Sword! You're in for what will hopefully be a real treat, considering everything in this particular chapter is all done by yours truly without referring to the canon! I needed something to bridge the gap between Derf being obtained and Count Mott, so here it is!"

Sean: "And I get to go back to being slaughtered by Knightmon... yay."

Derf: "Don't be such a downer! We've got this!"

Sean: "You're like a rusty toothpick compared to his sword!"

Derf: "So now we're comparing sizes?! Maybe you would have been better off with that gold sword then!"

"This might take a while for them to stop... so let's get on with the disclaimer. I do NOT own The Familiar of Zero/Zero no Tsukaima or Digimon. All I own are any original characters, Digimon, DigiXrosses, and anything else that I come up with. And with that said, let's get going with Chapter 5!"

(Previously, on The Xros Heart Familiar...)

From a beam of light materialized the Ultimate/Armor rank Digimon, standing tall in his armor suit-like body with his cape flowing behind him. His tall stature was a little intimidating at first glance, though. Since this is the first time I've seen him in person.

"Good day, General. You wish to engage in some sparring, yes?" Now that I'm not hearing it in Japanese, his voice is as regal and proper as I imagined it.

"That's right," I nodded, then looked at the back of my hand. "I can't rely on the rush I get from the runes, and my knowledge of swordplay, in general, is limited. I'd like you to teach me, Knightmon." I bowed to him slightly, but not enough so that Derf would fall out of his sheath.

"I see..." He rested a finger across what I'm assuming to be his chin on the helmet. "Very well, I shall accept you as my pupil. But be warned, you may be our General, but that does not mean I will make your training easier for you. Are you prepared to put your blood, sweat, and tears into this?"

"I am. If there are more Digimon out there like Togemogumon, there's an equal chance of some not-so-friendly Digimon out there too. I'm not just going to sit back and give orders, I'm going to fight alongside my friends." My resolve was firm, and I drew Derf from his sheath.

"In that case... let us begin."

Knightmon drew his double-edged blade and stood ready. The air was thick, a gentle breeze blew by. And without warning, Knightmon charged at me.

This is just the beginning, and I feel this day has more in store.

It's been an hour.

A very long... painful... hand-chafing hour. Knightmon is a good teacher but he certainly doesn't pull his punches, er, slashes. Thankfully he hasn't used any of his special attacks like Berserk Sword or Grand Smash but that doesn't change the fact that he's an Ultimate-level Digimon and I'm a human. If he DID use any attacks I'm five-hundred percent sure that I would be dead! The clanging of swords against each other vibrating in my hands was probably one of the worst parts... I should ask Louise for gloves next time we go to town...

"Are you alright darling?!" Kirche called out to me. Sprawled on my back on the grass, panting heavily, with Derf still in my right hand, I shakily lifted myself off of the ground.

"Just... peachy. Could use something to drink though..." I managed to get out. Knightmon stabbed his sword into the ground and placed his hands on top of the pommel.

"I believe we should call it a day, rest now General. You are still very unused to combat. But over time I am sure your form and stamina will improve and we can spar for extended periods."

"Thanks, Knightmon..." I was still trying to catch my breath, but then I felt a cold towel on my head, catching me off guard. Reaching up with my left hand, I grabbed the cloth and looked up, seeing Siesta there with a glass of water. "Siesta... how long have you been there?"

"Only the last ten minutes I believe. Miss Tabitha told me what was happening and I asked Marteau if it was alright for me to leave. He said if it was for 'Our Sword' then it was okay to step out for a little bit." She explained, handing me the glass, which I took after putting Derf back in his sheath. I looked past her to the rest of the group, Tabitha was sitting next to Kirche like she was earlier but I guess since she's so quiet nobody noticed she left. Giving her a subtle nod, which she returned just as subtly, I looked back to Siesta with a smile.

"This is just what I needed, I appreciate it Siesta." Tipping the glass to my lips, the cold liquid soothed my throat more than I thought it would, I really did need this.

"That Knightmon guy packs a real wallop, ey partner? I haven't felt this excited for a sparring match in forever!" Derf clanged from his resting place.

"For your condition, you held up well, Derflinger," Knightmon noted. "With some well-needed maintenance, I am sure we shall see you shine anew and regain your sharpened edge."

"If you got any tools for that I'm all for it, my large metal friend."

Finishing the glass of water, I passed it back to Siesta and wiped my mouth. "That reminds me, Knightmon, how DO you and the Pawnchessmons do maintenance? I mean, at least with you, your armor and weapons are made of Chrome Digizoid."

"Chrome Digizoid? What's that?" Louise asked, speaking for the first time since we started our training.

"Chrome Digizoid, Miss Valliere, is a rare and durable metal found in the Digital World. As our General said, my very armor is made of this metal. Though while this does mean that it can be mined and created into other armors or weapons, we Digimon go through a process of evolution from one stage to the next, as Wisemon told you before. Many Digimon when they evolve, like myself, gain Digizoid naturally." Knightmon said, pulling his sword back out of the ground and sheathing it.

"So it's an ore that you can mine, but it also grows with you?" Guiche pondered, taking particular interest in the topic of metals from another world.

"That is correct. Even if a Digimon does not possess Digizoid in any of their prior forms when they evolve they may gain it."

"You Digimon never cease to amaze with your surprises," Louise said, looking Knightmon up and down for a moment, then thinking back on all the Digimon she had seen up to this point. While they had not been many in number, their variety was something else to take note of. From strange creatures like Starmon and the Pickmons, to living armors like Knightmon and the PawnChessmons, to... whatever Ballistamon and Sparrowmon were supposed to be, to animals like Dorulumon and Cutemon, to a little dragon man like Shoutmon. Though she has never seen Wisemon as more than a pair of yellow eyes, she could only assume what he truly looked like.

Speaking of Wisemon, his eyes appeared on the screen of the X Loader mere moments later. "I have an update for you, General."

"Oh, Wisemon." Sean took his X Loader in hand, looking at the screen. "How's Togemogumon doing?"

"That's what I wished to inform you of. Togemogumon is awake, and stable as well." This made Sean's eyes go wide and brought a smile to his face. "He would like to speak with you outside."

"Of course!" Sean got back up to his feet as if he hadn't just gone through a grueling hour of training at all and pointed the device in front of him. "Reload, Togemogumon!" The green beam of light shot from the screen and landed a few feet away, taking form and materializing into a now solid Togemogumon, who was standing on all four legs. He took note of his surroundings for a brief moment before his eyes fell upon Sean, staring down at him before he knelt to greet him. Louise and the others gathered around as well, Louise in the front next to Sean while the others stayed back a bit as to not overwhelm him.

"This is the one whose 'melody' you heard, is that right?" The pinkette asked, to which Sean nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Sean asked. Togemogumon lowered his head a bit, almost as if he was shying away before looking back at his savior.

"I'm... much better now. Thanks to you." Sean hadn't heard his voice in full clarity and unpained before, but he had the voice of a young boy, probably the equivalent of a 10-year-old. Siesta also walked forward and knelt down, reaching her hand out to him. Togemogumon was hesitant at first but allowed her to pet his head.

"You're so firm but warm. But I can feel the cold coming from your spikes, it's very strange." She said in wonder.

"That shouldn't be too surprising. Togemogumon's spikes are made of super-low temperature ice." Sean spoke up, showing off his Digimon knowledge to his friends. "Trust me when I say that this little guy's defense is his greatest offense. And those markings on its front legs are the Crest of Friendship."

"Crest?" Tabitha spoke up this time. Her own interest seemed piqued now, which was good coming from her.

"The crests are a symbol of a certain aspect of humanity, you could say. There are technically eleven, but nine of them pertain to these positive traits. There's Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Purity, Sincerity, Hope, Light, and Kindness."

"You said there were eleven, what about the other two, darling?" Kirche asked. Sean sighed at the end, she just couldn't give up calling him that.

"The last two Crests are the Crest of Miracles and the Crest of Destiny. Those two are very special cases that only appear in certain situations."

"Well, if these are supposed to be a sign of friendship, then I hope we become very good friends Togemogumon," Siesta said with a smile. The hedgehog Digimon nodded, still leaning his head into her touch.

"Y-yeah, I'd like that. Miss... uh..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. My name is Siesta."

"Miss Siesta." Togemogumon laughed and smiled with his eyes. "And everyone here, I want to be friends with you all too. Is that okay, General?" Sean chuckled and nodded his head in agreement.

"Of course it is. You're a part of Xros Heart now, and we're all friends here. But you don't have to call me 'General' all the time, my name's Sean. And this is Louise, Guiche, Tabitha, and Kirche." He gestured to everyone, making the round of introductions. Knightmon walked over as well and looked to Togemogumon, who looked back at him.

"It is good to meet another Crest-bearing Digimon, young one." He said.

"Another? You bear one of these Crests as well, Knightmon?" Guiche asked.

"Indeed, my shield bears the Crest of Hope emblazoned upon it." He turned around and showed them all in detail. Togemogumon's eyes shined like the sun glinting off of Knightmon's Chrome Digizoid armor.

"Wow... I've never met another Digimon with a Crest before..."

"That reminds me," Sean said, bringing everyone's attention to him. "How did you end up here, Togemogumon? Do you remember what you were doing before I found you?" The Digimon shook his head and Siesta retracted her hand. He looked up past Knightmon to the sky wistfully, almost as if the answer was up there somewhere.

"I don't really know... All I remember is one moment I'm playing in the snow with some other Digimon, then the sky went black... and the next thing I know, I was here on the brink of being deleted."

"The snow?" Louise raised her eyebrow. "There hasn't been a single flake of snow yet this year. Are you sure about that?"

"I'm positive! I really was playing in the snow before I came here!" He retorted, seemingly hurt that she didn't believe him.

"Easy, buddy. I believe you." Sean reassured him. "I think you might have come here from the Digital World... but how is the big question. Aside from when Louise summoned me and the rest of Xros Heart here, I don't think there was any form of portals or gates... so how did a stray Digimon end up here? Especially when a place like this shouldn't have any connection to it..."

"Something bugging you, partner?" The sound of clanging metal could be heard as Derf spoke from his place on Sean's back. "I can see the smoke coming out of your ears." A sigh escaped his lips and Sean couldn't help but shake his head. This whole situation from the melody, to discovering other Digimon are apparently here in this world who knows where doing who knows what, it was just all hitting him like a truck. Not to mention that these supposed other Digimon could have been sent here by something... or someone. Or that they could be a lot less friendly than their new friend.

It was decided that the group would reconvene later after dinner, Togemogumon wanting to stretch his legs after being in the X Loader for so long, which Louise didn't seem to mind too much so long as he didn't accidentally freeze anything by bumping into something with his quills. Other students, who weren't part of the Xros Heart inner circle eyed him strangely seeing him walking along with Sean and Louise but didn't think too hard about it and chalked it up to being another creature that was in Sean's red 'wand'. Some of the female students even had similar reactions that Siesta did, and the familiars of the other students seemed intrigued on an instinctual level. Everything was so new to the porcupine-like Digimon and he was enjoying every moment of it much to Sean's content.

After dinner, Siesta even snuck all the Digimon out extra servings for everyone that would have otherwise gone to waste. Togemogumon's first taste of food since coming to this world was made even better getting to share the meal with all his new friends. It was also a chance for the rest of the Xros Heart Digimon that didn't get introduced yet to make their rounds. Louise seemed the least impressed with Jijimon and Dondokomon but took note that Beelzebumon looked very powerful all on his own. His weapons, as well as Revolmon being the most interesting, were intriguing to everyone present... having to explain what a gun was took a bit of time, but they were able to dumb it down as a type of cannon. That answer seemed to help a lot.

Chibikamemon, Monimon, and the Chibickmons were especially doted on along with Cutemon once more by Siesta and Kirche, though the further explanation of what a "monitor" was took even more explaining than the guns... it was a long night. It also didn't help that Louise glared at Bastemon for some reason. Kirche glared too, but not just at Bastemon but also Lillymon... something about her 'darling' having 'other women in his life'. Wisemon even came out, surprising everyone that his blank void of a face was exactly that, as well as that he looked like a mage similar to Professor Colbert. Everyone thought the same thing Sean did the other day, those two would definitely get along.

"Have you figured out what's going on yet, Sean?" Shoutmon and his general were leaning against the wall surrounding the academy watching everyone else interact and get to know each other. Sean just shook his head like he did earlier in the day.

"I can't say that I have. The X Loader and all of you are one thing, I just chalked it up to Louise's summoning doing something to trigger the change. But Togemogumon's a different case altogether. He came here from the Digital World, that much I'm certain about. There's no way a Digimon would show up here on the verge of deletion out of thin air..." He trailed off, arms crossed. "And I still have no idea where all the DigiMemories vanished to either... did they get scattered when we came here? Did they manifest into Digimon as well? There are just so many questions that we don't have answers to."

"Well if you want my opinion..." Derf clanged again, this time leaning against the wall propped up on the ground so his partner wasn't leaning on him. "There's not much you can really do about it."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Shoutmon... well, shouted.

"I'm just saying there's no point worrying about something you got no control over, yeah? So you don't know where these Memory things are. And you don't know how the spikey kid got here. But you'll figure it out as you go along." Shoutmon's initial anger simmered after hearing the sword's reasoning and he sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Sorry."

"No worries, Shoutmon," Sean said on behalf of Derf, picking him up and resheathing him on his back. "Halkeginia is a big place, and if what I've learned is accurate, Tristain is just a small part of a much larger whole. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to try and find those missing DigiMemories. And whatever problem comes our way, whether it be mage or Digimon, we'll face it together. Because we're the Xros Heart Army."

"Heh, looks like my new User is the stubborn type with grand ambitions. But you've got a motley crew with you to back you up." Derf noted. "I think things are gonna get pretty interesting around you." Sean and Shoutmon both nodded before walking back over to everyone else. They all stayed out a little longer, treating the social gathering as a greeting party/welcome party.

Little did the teens and Digimon know, a pair of eyes were watching them with intrigue glinting sinisterly from the shadows...

"And that's a wrap on chapter 5! A bit on the shorter side, I know. But I wanted to get this done before April 1st so no one would think it's some kind of joke update..."

"That being said, I hope it was a nice little filler chapter, we'll get more into the main story and some more supplementary chapters in the future. Admittedly I do have to rewatch Zero no Tsukaima to get my bearings going forward, and that includes the Count Mott content for the next chapter. But it'll be worth it."

"Yes, this two-parter did end up being more about Togemogumon than Derflinger but I didn't want to leave that to drag out for too long... sorry. But hey, now the little guy will just play a bigger part in the future for those who know exactly what the next chapter is gonna be about! So I hope you all look forward to seeing Togemogumon shine!"

"2020 was a pretty bleak year for... anything, really. Writing or otherwise. But after a year in worldwide pandemic mode, I figured now was a time to make a change since there's never a 'good time' to do things. You either do them or you don't, and I can't procrastinate forever. Going forward I'll be posting more often, for this story and for others. I can't promise that I won't still start new stories without finishing others because... that's one habit that I can't kick with a steeled resolve a month in the making. Bear with me on that, sorry in advance. But 2021 will be the year of many chapters! Mark my words!"

"I think that covers just about everything, so until next time, this is the renamed DragoHeart57 signing off for now. Ja ne!"