Fond Friends

The next morning, the girls made pancakes for breakfast. There was also an assortment of chocolate chips, blueberries, cherries, and sliced apples and bananas and strawberries. While having breakfast, Emily mentioned to the Sailor Scouts that Duke was having a barbecue next weekend. Despite her effort not to touch the subject, she had let it slip. Téa backed her up by saying they would need Duke's approval and she also reminded their friends about his demeanor with girls. The Sailor Scouts did remember, but even so, they considered Duke a friend. They decided that they would explore town for a while and if they would meet up with Duke, they would ask for his permission to come.

Well, it was mostly Raye's suggestion since she decided to be the one to pick up Rini. Mina didn't mind staying in this world for a little while. She really wanted to see Joey after a while. Amy thought of stopping by the game shop to visit Yugi. Serena wanted to see the bakery Emily worked at and try some of the sweets there. Everyone laughed. If there's one thing Serena can't resist, it's desserts.

With that being settled, the girls helped clean Téa's house and get their things organized. Amara, Michelle, and Trista decided to return home to their world after so much excitement. But they promised to come back once it was all right to come to Duke's barbecue. Before taking Serena to the bakery, Emily decided to return to her house to drop off her supplies. Besides, she also needed to take care of her cat. And since she lived next door from the game shop, it would be a great opportunity to see Yugi and meet Patamon. Amy decided to go along with them.

Of course, when they got to the house, Serena was already rushing to the game shop, hoping Yugi was home. He saw the girls and came out the front door. "Serena, Amy, what a surprise, seeing you girls."

"Hi, Yugi," Amy greeted. "We thought we'd stop by and see you while we were here."

"We spent the night at Téa's and had a slumber party," said Serena. "Yugi, do you have a Digimon too? Emily and Téa showed us their Digimon and I was wondering if you had one too."

Yugi nodded and called Patamon. The flying Digimon came out the door and perched himself on Yugi's shoulder. After bringing Patamon home with him, Yugi introduced his partner to his grandfather. Solomon took a liking to the flying Digimon and welcomed him as part of the family. Patamon was also very helpful around the game shop on days when Yugi wasn't home.

Serena and Amy looked in amazement. "He's so cute!" Serena squealed.

"A real Patamon," gasped Amy.

Yugi introduced the girls. "Patamon, these are my friends Amy and Serena."

"Hi, Amy. Hi, Serena," Patamon said politely. Once more, the girls squealed, thinking he was adorable.

Emily laughed as she watched. Then she stepped inside her house and began putting her things away. While she was putting her dirty clothes in the laundry basket and putting her hygiene products in her bathroom, Gatomon went to the bedroom where she found Avalon curled up and sleeping on the bed. Gatomon smiled and gently petted the cat. But the cat sensed her housemate and woke up. She also heard the sound of food being deposited into her bowl. After yawning and stretching, Avalon got up from the bed and went to have her breakfast.

After finishing her chores, Emily walked back outside. "I'm going to show Serena the bakery I work at," she informed Yugi.

"Okay," he replied.

"I'm going to hang out here with Yugi for a while," Amy was saying. "After that, I'll go to the Secret Garden and return home."

"All right. See you later, Amy," Serena said and began following Emily.

By the time Raye came to the estate, Rini was already organized and ready to go. She and her friends already had their breakfast earlier. Kaiba had already left early to go to the company, much to her disappointment.

Mokuba apologized to Raye. "Sorry Seto's not here. I know how much you two love seeing each other."

Raye smiled sadly. "It's okay, Mokuba. I understand." Then her sadness disappeared as she asked, "Hey, are you guys thinking about going to Duke's barbecue next weekend? The girls and I are thinking about it."

Mokuba smiled and said, "We'll have to check our schedules." He looked at his friends and asked, "What about you guys?"

They all smiled at each other. Rini wanted to go because she hoped that the Digimon would be there too and she'd have her friends to play with. Rebecca and Leon saw it as an opportunity to introduce their Digimon as well. But like Mokuba, they'd have to check their schedules.

"We'll see what we can do," Mokuba finally said.

"Okay," Raye replied. "I'll see you around. Tell your brother I said 'hello.'"

Rini followed after her. "I'll see you guys later."

Rebecca and Leon decided it was time for them to go home too. They got their supplies and picked up their Digimon and left the estate.

Mina had visited Joey's house before when she first came to his world. In fact, she would always visit him whenever she came to this world. Although she agreed with Joey that they could just be friends, a part of her still loved him. She knew it wasn't to be because they were both from different worlds and had their own duties as heroes of their worlds, but even so, Mina couldn't help herself. It was somewhat of a weakness she had, like most young women.

She approached the front door and knocked on it. Joey opened the door and was surprised to see his friend. "Hey, Mina!"

"Hi!" she cheered, and they began hugging each other. "It's great to see you, Joey."

"Good to see you too," he returned. They released each other and Joey said, "Come on in. I got someone I want you to meet."

So Mina removed her shoes and stepped inside.

"Wait here," Joey said, and went to his room. Biyomon was on his bed brushing herself. "Hey, Bi, come out for a minute. I got a friend I want to introduce you to."

So Biyomon got off the bed and left the room with Joey. Mina gasped with delight as she saw the pink bird. "Joey, is this your Digimon?"

The blonde lad nodded. "Biyomon, this is Mina. She's a friend of mine. And get this, she's also a hero from another world."

Biyomon was amazed to hear that. She approached the blonde girl and held out her wing. "Hi, Mina," she greeted politely.

"Hi, Biyomon," Mina said, shaking her clawed hand. She turned her attention back to the blonde lad. "How's your sister doing, Joey?" Mina hadn't had a chance to meet Serenity yet, but she had heard a lot about her from Joey.

"She's doing good, thanks for asking," he replied. "Actually, Mina, Serenity has a Digimon too."

Mina was even more thrilled. "She does?"

He nodded and said, "Her partner is Lunamon." He took his digivice and used it to show Mina a picture of what his sister's partner looked like. The blonde girl squealed in delight. Joey changed the subject. "So, Mina, what brings you here?"

"Oh, the usual," she said bluntly. "I missed you and wanted to see you." That was her usual answer every time she came to visit Joey. "But last night, the girls and I spent the night at Téa's for a slumber party. Now we're all just seeing our best friends here."

"Did you all have a good time?" Joey asked.

"We had a lot of fun," the blonde girl answered. "We also heard that Duke is having a barbecue and we're thinking about coming to hang out with you guys then." She paused, then asked, "Are you thinking about going, Joey?"

"Oh, yeah," he answered. "Duke even said we could bring our Digimon."

"That's great," Mina said happily.

The blonde lad cleared his throat. "But you know how Duke is around girls."

Mina did know. "Yeah, I know. But he can still be a good friend. Besides, I think most of us are going to be paying more attention to the Digimon and talking to you and Yugi and the others to pay Duke much mind." And they both laughed.

The conversation continued for a while until Mina decided it was time for her to go. She bade Joey and Biyomon goodbye and left the house and headed to the Secret Garden.

It took some time, but Lita found her way to the game shop Duke owned. She walked through the front door and looked around.

"Can I help you?" A merchant asked.

"I'm looking for Duke Devlin," she answered.

"Of course," the merchant answered. "Come with me." So Lita followed him. They stopped at a door and the merchant knocked on it before inviting himself inside. "Pardon the interruption, sir, but someone is asking for you."

Duke turned his attention to the door. As he saw Lita, a smile crossed his face. He immediately invited her inside. "Hello, Lita," he said in a suave tone. "So nice of you to stop by."

Lita chuckled. "It's nice to see you, Duke."

He gestured for her to sit down. "What can I do for you?"

Lita decided to get to the point. "I heard you were having a barbecue next weekend. If it's not too much, would it be all right for me and my friends to come and attend?"

If there was one thing Duke couldn't resist, it was a request from a girl. He smiled and asked himself, "How can I possibly say 'no?' I'd be happy to invite you and your friends." Lita smiled widely, but Duke wasn't finished. "However, I do have one condition."

Lita stopped smiling. "What's that?"

"Tell me," Duke was saying, "have you heard of Digimon?"

The green-eyed brunette nodded. "Yeah, it's a popular game back in my world." Then she asked, "Duke, do you want me to meet your Digimon?"

Duke was stunned at that statement. "Why, Lita, how'd-?"

"Téa and Emily introduced me to their Digimon," she interrupted. "They also told the story of your guys' adventure in the Digital World."

Duke relaxed after tensing up. "Well, that explains it." He snaps his fingers and calls for his partner. Lita gasped in astonishment at the purple dragon. "Lita, this is Monodramon." He looks at his partner and says, "Monodramon, Lita and her friends are going to be joining us at our barbecue."

The purple dragon smiled. "That sounds like fun. But will we have enough for everyone?"

"I could bring some of my own goods," Lita offered. "I can ask the others to help out too."

"Sure, that'd be great," Duke answered.

Lita nodded. "But about your condition-,"

"My condition is this," Duke was saying. "The Digimon are going to be there too, so I want you and your friends to be prepared for whatever may go on. But if you guys already know about Digimon, I guess I don't have anything to worry about."

The brunette smiled. "Well, I'm sure we'll all get along."

"Great," Duke replied. "So I'll see you at my barbecue?"

"You bet," she answered. She got up and petted Monodramon on the head and walked out the door.

At the bakery, Serena's mouth watered at the sight of all the treats. Emily knew how much her friend loved sweets, but she had to remind Serena that the food wasn't for free. Unfortunately, Serena didn't have any money on hand. Even if she did, she wouldn't know what to choose from.

One of her bosses, Andrea, came in from the back. "Emily, you're not scheduled to be working here today."

"I know. I just wanted to show my friend what I do here."

"Oh, I see," Andrea said. "Well, since you're here, I was wondering if you had any new ideas for recipes?"

Emily did have one idea. "Well, I thought of making apple pie with blueberries."

Andrea was interested at the idea. "Huh, a blueberry apple pie. Sounds interesting. Well, let me and my brother know when you'll have it ready and maybe we can consider offering it to our customers."

"Sure thing, Andrea," Emily promised. This was one thing she loved about her job. Emily would come up with new ideas for recipes and present them to her bosses. Andrea and Andrew would try the treats and if they would like them, the twins would have them out as free samples for customers before actually selling them. Sometimes Emily would even bake treats shaped like Duel Monsters and Pokémon. And since her adventure in the Digital World, she's been making them shaped like Digimon.

When Andrea left to go to the kitchen, Serena asked Emily, "Hey, Emily, did you make all these yourself?"

"Most of them," she answered. "Some were made by my bosses." Then she got an idea. "Serena, why don't we go back to my house? I can make you something to take home to your family."

"Sure," she replied. And the girls left the bakery and returned to Emily's house.

At home, Emily was baking pecan pie. Serena was playing with Avalon and Gatomon. While doing so, Serena started thinking about Luna. She was glad not to hear the cat always reprimanding her, but Serena still loved Luna. Well, once the girls were back together, they would all be going home to their world.

When the pie was finished, Emily wrapped it up and placed it in a box. At the same time, the rest of the girls were getting together at the game shop. Serena thanked Emily for the pie and joined her friends. Together, the girls began walking off. They came to an alley and walked through, coming to the Secret Garden. One by one, they passed through the door to their world and found themselves back at their homes with their families.