The Kids Are All Right

At Leon's house, Xiaomon digivolved into Labramon, a canine-like Digimon with large claws. Leon was trying his best to keep his partner a secret from his family. Although SchroederCorp was a gaming company and his brother Zigfried enjoyed the many games that existed, Leon feared that his brother would go ballistic if he saw a Digimon in his home. Then again, Zigfried had seen the television reports about the Digimon battle that took place in Domino City. Leon thought that maybe his brother would understand if he talked to him.

After pacing around his room, the red-haired lad decided he was going to do it. He was going to introduce Labramon to his brother. He asked his partner to wait. After that, he left the room and went to find his brother. He found him having tea on the balcony.

Zigfried sensed his brother's presence. "Ah, Leon, good morning."

"Good morning, Zigfried," he returned. He approached the table, but did not sit down. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"My dear brother, you know you can ask me anything," he answered in a gentle tone.

Leon gulped. "Do you remember those reports about the Digimon being sighted in Domino City?"

Zigfried did remember. "That's where Herr Kaiba and his friends live. And you were especially worried about your Fraulein friend Emily." He looked at his brother. "Why do you ask?"

In answer, Leon reached into his pocket and presented his digivice.

Zigfried looked at the device and asked, "What is that?"

"It's a digivice," Leon answered. "I'm a tamer to a Digimon." And he began explaining his story of what happened, how he received an anonymous email and was given a digivice and transported to the Digital World to find his partner. After finding his Digi-Egg, Leon had been secretly taking care of it and hiding his partner.

It was a lot to take in, but Zigfried listened. Finally, he said, "Show me the Digimon."

Leon led his brother back to his room and opened the door. He stepped inside first and removed the blanket covering his partner. "Zigfried, this is my partner Labramon."

Zigfried looked at the canine-like Digimon in amazement. "Astonishing," he whispered. "A real Digimon."

Leon was amazed at how well his brother was taking this. Part of him expected the elder brother to have a fit or demand that the Digimon be gotten rid of. But he was happy to see his brother and partner getting along and becoming acquainted.

Finally, Leon spoke and pleaded, "Um, Zigfried, I want to keep this between us, if that's all right."

Zigfried understood what his brother was asking of him. It wouldn't be good if word got out to the wrong people that Zigfried von Schroeder and his family were keeping a digimon. "Don't worry. I can keep a secret. But what about your friends?"

"Oh, it's okay," he insisted. "They have their own Digimon too, so they understand." His friends really did understand. They confided in their families and they knew the seriousness of keeping the Digimon a secret from any outside parties.

"Have you considered introducing your partner to your friends?" Zigfried asked.

"Actually," Leon was saying, "I was thinking about it. If it's all right with you, I'd like to go see them so they can meet Labramon."

"Of course, little brother," Zigfried said approvingly. "You two run along now, and have fun."

Happy to hear that, Leon gets his supplies and he and Labramon hurry to the Secret Garden to meet their friends. Zigfried was happy that his little brother finally had friends his age to play with. He also figured that maybe having a Digimon would be good for him.

It was the same with Rebecca and her grandfather. After Tanemon digivolved into a green plant-type Digimon named Palmon, the blonde introduced her partner to her grandfather. Arthur was just as astounded that his granddaughter had a Digimon. Of course, he already heard from Rebecca that Mokuba had his own Digimon, but he certainly didn't expect his granddaughter to have one as well. Nonetheless, he was pleased to meet Palmon.

After the pleasantries were settled, Rebecca decided to take Palmon to meet the rest of the gang. She promised Mokuba and Leon that she would meet them at the pumpkin patch in the Secret Garden and she had to hurry.

They came to the pumpkin patch and saw their friends. Now they were ready to go to the world of Feudal Japan. One by one, they all jumped into the Bone-Eater's Well. Once again, their clothes had changed, astonishing the Digimon. Rebecca was dressed in her pink kimono, Mokuba was dressed in his gray tunic, and Leon was wearing a light brown tunic. The children started climbing out of the well with their Digimon climbing up after them.

Labramon and Palmon didn't think they had gone anywhere else. "It looks like we're still in the Secret Garden," Palmon said.

Labramon sniffed the area. "I don't know. The trees smell different. And there's a lot surrounding the well."

"Oh, we're in another world, all right," Guilmon told them. He had the same impression when Mokuba first brought him here. "There's a village not too far. That's where our friends live. Come on!"

And with that, the Digimon began following their companions.

When they reached the village, they saw Shippo sitting in a tree drawing pictures in his sketchbook. He was drawing a picture of himself playing with Guilmon. Just then, he heard Mokuba's voice calling him. He looked down and saw his friends and a few unfamiliar creatures. He came down from the tree and landed in Rebecca's arms. "Hey, you guys, who are your new friends?"

"We'll tell you later," she promised him. "Are Rin and Kohaku around?"

"Over here," a voice called. Everyone looked and saw Rin and Kohaku coming their way. The two of them looked at the new Digimon.

"Oh, look," Rin was saying. "A lifelike plant and a peculiar looking dog."

Rebecca giggled. "Guys, this is my new partner Palmon."

"And this is Labramon," Leon introduced.

"Hello, Palmon. Hello, Labramon," everyone said politely.

"Hi, everybody," Palmon returned. "Becca's told me so much about you. It's nice to meet you all."

"Leon's told me a lot about you as well," said Labramon.

"Their names end with 'mon,'" Rin observed. "Are they like Guilmon?"

Mokuba nodded. "Rini's already met them too."

"What about your other friend?" Kohaku asked.

Mokuba didn't need to ask who he was referring to. "No, not yet. We've been thinking about seeing him again. I mean, I know I want to see him again."

"Who wouldn't?" Rin asked. "I want to see him again. I had a lot of fun when he came to the Secret Garden to play with us. And I'm sure he'd love to meet Palmon and Labramon too."

Everyone looked and saw Shippo playing with the Digimon. Palmon was brushing his tail and Labramon was sniffing him.

"Besides," continued Rin, "he and Guilmon really like each other."

Leon and Rebecca looked at their Digimon. They wanted so badly to introduce their partners to the hunchback. Finally, the blonde said, "When the time is right, we'll visit him."

Kohaku liked the sound of that. "You know, Rin, we should go with them; get to know the hunchback a little more."

Shippo joined in. "I agree. He's pretty interesting. I mean that in a good way, of course."

Labramon and Palmon were confused. "Who are you guys talking about?" the plant Digimon asked.

"Oh, just a friend from another world," Rebecca bluntly answered.

Shippo got an idea and took out his sketchbook. He showed his friends pictures he drew of the whole gang playing with Quasimodo. "This guy, right here," the fox child said, pointing to the hunchback.

Neither Digimon were sure what to make of the image. "He seems… interesting enough," Palmon said, though there was no way she could say it with a straight face.

"He may not be much to look at," Shippo admitted, "but he's really not bad once you get to know him."

Mokuba agreed. "Quasi is a great friend. He's kind and caring and he's always thoughtful of others-,"

"He can be very understanding of others," Rebecca added, "and he's fun to be around."

"It's really his master you have to worry about," Leon said. Together, they all went to Kaede's house, where it was quiet. The priestess was gone for the moment, so the children had the house to themselves.

Leon, Mokuba, and Rebecca began telling the story to their friends, telling them more about who the hunchback was and how he came to live in the bell tower. They also warned them about the minister and how they had to be careful of him.

Based on what the children and the Digimon were hearing, the minister seemed like a scary man. What they didn't know was that 'scary' was an understatement. Even so, Rin, Shippo, and Kohaku wanted to see the hunchback again now that they had become friends with him. Even the Digimon felt the same way. Leon, Mokuba, Rebecca, and Leon promised them that the time would come soon. For now, it was time to get the Digimon home. But everyone promised to meet up again and play.