With Takumi and Ami back in action the battle against One World continued. The Cyber Sleuths took Ben, Summer and Keisuke and went on ahead after Zapdos. Keisuke was caught in a strange trap and left behind while the first four of the Cyber Rangers went after Zapdos to soothe it's rage and claim the third piece of Golden Armor.
Ben, Summer Takumi and Ami hurried outside with Pichu, Staraptor, BanchoLeomon and Magnadramon. "Just coming here takes me back." Ami said.
"Yeah." Summer nodded. "I remember when we fought Purple Eyes and VenomMyotismon here. This is where we first saw Nokia's Digimon reach Mega Level."
Takumi looked at the top of the mountain. Sure enough, Zapdos was hovering over one of the Golden Gauntlets. "Just as I thought! It's Zapdos! And it's got a piece of the Golden Armor!" They ran over to it.
"Skraaaww!" Blue lighting flashed around Zapdos as it screeched.
Ben's Voice Nav. spoke up. "Zapdos is extremely agitated. Please use caution."
"This is it." BanchoLeomon said.
Zapdos charged towards them. BanchoLeomon stopped it by catching it by the beak, but Zapdos spun swiftly and rammed him with a Drill Peck, knocking him down.
"Shining Laser!" Magnadramon roared as shining lights came down, but Zapdos flew around them before rising up and glaring down at them. Multiple sparks flew from it's beak in different directions.
"Get down!" Ben and Summer tackled Takumi and Ami to the ground as the sparks flew. Pichu also ducked in cover while BanchoLeomon blocked the attack with his sword. Staraptor and Magnadramon were knocked out of the air.
"Flashy Boss Punch!" As soon as the attack ended BanchoLeomon leapt into the air and punched the bird in the head.
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon shot a golden blast at it and it dropped to the ground with a crash.
"You got it!" Ben cheered. But Zapdos slowly looked up and snarled. "Or you just made it angrier."
"Well that's where you two come in!" Takumi said.
"Right!" Summer replied as she and Ben got up.
"Capture on!" They shot their Stylers forward and they started spinning around Zapdos. It's movements started to slacken until it spread it's wings and electricity erupted around it, damaging the Stylers.
"Ouch!" Ben checked his Styler's energy. It went down by fifth. "We gotta be carful."
Suddenly a bolt of lighting came from the side. Then another behind them. They lingered there, boxing them in. Zapdos then charged again. BanchoLeomon swiped his sword at it, but Zapdos swerved to the side before ramming its beak into him again. Magnadramon charged but A large spark started to orbit around Zapdos that zapped her and knocked her against the ground.
"Got anything Mega Forms faster then that?" Ben asked.
Takumi put on his googles. "Funny you should ask."
Ami did the same. "We got a new trick during a little adventure back at the Oblivia Ruins." Aura glowed around both of them.
"BanchoLeomon!"
"Magnadramon!"
"Slide Evolution!"
"MirageGaogamon!"
"Sakuyamon!"
"Alright!" Takumi grinned. "Let's give this a shot!"
As MirageGaogamon charged towards Zapdos, the bird flew towards him, spinning for another Drill Peck. "Wind Claw!" MirageGaogamon blazed through at greater speed and struck Zapdos so hard it spun upward. Then Staraptor rammed into it from above, knocking it back down.
Zapdos slowly got up as MirageGaogamon landed next to Sakuyamon in front of it. It screeched and shot bolts everywhere again. Sakuyamon spun her staff, whirling it around and knocking the attacks aside. MirageGaogamon blocked them with his gauntlets. "Send the attack right back at it!" Takumi commanded.
"Mirror Reflection!" His Digimon reflected the bolts and Zapdoswas zapped out of its rampage.
Sakuyamon then ran up and swung her staff upward, knocking it into the air. "Holy Light!" As she held her staff up, a blinding light engulfed Zapdos, before it recovered. Then Zapdos shot a golden bolt from it's mouth that knocked over MirageGaogamon. Then the bird charged at Sakuyamon. Before she could react, her arms were trapped into the large bird's talons, and she was slammed to the ground and dragged across it before coming to a halt, pinning her down. Ami shouted. MirageGaogamon sprung back to his feet and charged towards Zapdos, only for the bird to let lose a Discharge that zapped him and the Digimon trapped under its feet.
"Sakuyamon!" Ami yelled.
Takumi's Digimon dropped to the ground paralyzed. "MirageGaogamon! Darn it!" Takumi growled. "Ben, Summer we need backup!"
"Right!" Ben nodded. He was about to summon Latios when another idea came to mind. "Wait…I got just the thing!" Ben grinned and jumped into the air before drawing a new symbol. "Go, Guardian Sign! Moltress, come forth!" A pillar of fire rose from the sign. As Moltres emerged it spread its wing and screeched.
"Moltres?! You got a Guardian Sign for it now?!" Takumi asked in shock.
Ben grinned. "Heh, heh! I figured that the best way to fight a legendary bird is with a legendary bird!"
Summer smiled as she leapt into the air next. "Not a bad idea!" she then drew a sign of her own. "Go, Guardian Sigh! Articuno, come forth!" A whirl wind of snow rose from the sign and Articuno rose from it.
"Articuno too?!" Ami gasped.
"You two aren't the only ones with new tricks!" Ben grinned.
Both Moltres and Articuno rammed into Zapdos, knocking it off Sakuyamon who leapt to her feet and hurried to the still paralyzed MirageGaogamon. "Restore!" She held up her staff and a green light glowed around the blue Digimon before he could get up again.
"Thanks." A loud noise directed everyone's attention to the sky. Zapdos clashed with its two counterparts. Thunder, fire and ice flashed in the sky. "So, this is what a fight between the legendary birds looks like. Good thing it's two on one in our favor."
"But as an Electric Type doesn't Zapdos have an advantage over them?" Sakuyamon asked.
"Articuno also has an advantage over Zapdos as a Ice Type." Ben said.
Three bolts of lighting came sideways from different directions. Moltres and Articuno were hit and lost altitude. "We better go help." MirageGaogamon said before flying after them.
"Of course." Sakuyamon replied before following. They soared into the sky just as Zapdos was about to attack again. It noticed the Digimon and averted it's attention to them. Zapdos shot three thunderbolts from its mouth. They dodged the attack and kept going. MirageGaogamon delivered uppercut that knocked it out of the air and Sakuyamon kicked it into the back, plumbing it to the ground. Zapdos tried to get up, but the other two birds were onto it.
"Moltres, Flamethrower!"
"Articuno, Ice Beam!" Moltres attacked it from the right. Articuno from the left. Both of Zapdos's wings were struck and it howled in pain.
Sakuyamon landed in front of it and slammed her staff into the ground. "Amethyst Mandala!" And explosion of light launched Zapdos back into the air.
"Full Moon Blaster!" From above, MirageGaogamon, slammed it back to the ground with a golden beam as Ben and Summer charged their Stylers.
"Now!" Ben started looping around Zapdos. Summer did the same as Pichu played his ukulele. After a few seconds Zapdos' eyes started to soften.
"Did that do the trick?" Takumi asked as his Digimon landed behind him.
Zapdos slowly got back into the air. As it did Summer saw something. "A Guardian Sign. I guess this one's mine."
As she recorded it into her Styler, Voice Nav. spoke again. "Zapdos has calmed down. Zapdos is no longer a dangerous presence."
"Just like what happened with Moltres." Ben said.
"Articuno too." Summer added. "The reason for this must have been because pieces of the Golden Armor were in all three places."
"I wonder…" Takumi said. "It's too much of a coincidence that three pieces of the armor were in these precis locations. Do you think Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno brought them here?"
"Maybe that's why they left Oblivia. To find the scattered Golden Armor." Ami said. "Thinking about it, they were the seal for the Sky Fortress and were controlled back when they fought the Hero of Oblivia. Maybe they wanted to make sure nothing like the Evil Ruler or the Societea happens again."
Summer looked at Zapdos. "Don't worry, Zapdos. We Rangers will take responsibility for the disposal of this Golden Armor."
Zapdos nodded before ascending with Moltres and Articuno. The legendary trio looked at the young heroes one more time before they departed together. "It looks like that made all three of them serene once again." Ben said.
"Picchuu!" Pichu jumped for joy and strung his Ukulele.
"The Pokemon are returning to the sky." Voice Nav. said.
"That was fast." Takumi chuckled. "Now they can be at peace without having to worry about the legendary birds ramming into them."
Ben looked at the Golden Gauntlet Zapdos left behind. "Ice and Lavana left the mountain. Let's grab this thing and bail before they can return." He hurried over to the Golden Armor piece.
"Ben, look out!"
The Ranger looked up to see a black skeleton monster with wings and a staff with a golden orb. Ben jumped away just before its weapon was slammed into him. "What the- Another one rushed in out of nowhere and slammed its rod into Ben's stomach, flinging him into Summer, knocking them both to the ground. Ben coughed as he and Summer sat up to see four of them guarding the gauntlet. "More Digimon?! Now?!"
Takumi did the scan. "SkullSatamon! Ultimate Level Virus Digimon! A Digimon that fell to the Dark Area in pursuit of strength! Its wickedness was refined to make its dark powers unfathomable!"
"Ice and Lavana returned already?!" Summer asked, getting herself and Ben back on their feet.
"Hands off my property." They looked past the Digimon to see a man in a black coat with a hood that was red on the inside. He wore brown, baggy pants, gloves that were black on the back of the hand and red on the other side. Finally, he wore black boots and a white mask that had two black circles around one of the eyes.
"Who is that?!" Sakuyamon asked.
The man looked down at the Golden Gauntlet at his feet. "Hey!" MirageGaogamon rushed at him, but two of the SkullSatamon rushed at him and he was forced to stop as he blocked their weapons with his own. Sakuyamon then tried to stop the man, but the other two grabbed her by the arms, holding her back.
The man laughed as he picked up the part. "This makes three. Only one more." He said in a voice that seemed to be altered by his mask. He then looked at the Pokemon Rangers. "Ben, Summer. I must thank you for chasing Zapdos off. You simply have no idea how frustrating it was to have a piece of the armor right here and not be able to do anything about it."
"How do you know Ben and Summer?" Takumi asked.
"I know all of you. Takumi and Ami, yes?"
"Who are you?!" Ben asked. "Are you that third commander of Team One World Ice and Lavana mentioned?!"
"Good guess. But no. I am much more then a simple commander. I…am the leader of Team One World."
"What?" Summer gasped. "The leader?"
"That's right. I was the one who sent Ice and Lavana to Faldera Volcano and Mt. Sorbet to collect the other armor parts."
"What do you plan to do with the armor parts you've been stealing?!" Takumi glared.
"Steal? How rude. Like I said, this is my property." The man said, slinging the gauntlet over her shoulder. "I'm only taking back what belongs to me."
"It can't be…Ed "The Thinker!?" Ben asked.
"Pi…!" his partner glared at the man.
"Another good guess I suppose." The man said. "But I am no pawn pretending to be a king like him. Though if it interests you, I was the one who lead Ed and his "Societea" to the Golden Armor."
"You did?!" Ami asked. "Why?!"
"No. Now is not the time for you to know everything. Besides, I got what I came for." The man turned his back to them and snapped his fingers. "SkullSatamon. They're all yours." He then jumped off the cliff, taking the Golden Gauntlet with him.
"Hey!" Ben was about to run after him, but the two SkullSatamon that held Sakuyamon threw her into the ground right in front of him. Then the two that were grappling with MirageGaogamon kicked him to the ground next to her. "Nail Bone!" They raised their staffs and fired golden beams that zapped them.
"This is bad. MirageGaogamon and Sakuyamon are still beat from fighting Zapdos!" Takumi muttered.
Two of the Digimon rushed at the humans. "Look out!" Ben pulled Takumi behind him. Summer did the same for Ami.
Then it happened. Something small and blue, coated in water rammed into the head of the SkullSatamon that was about to hit Ben, knocking it to the ground. And just as the other swung its rod at Ami, a cloaked man came in and held a staff with wings behind his head, blocking it. Summer looked at him in shock. "W-what now?"
The hooded man spun, slamming his foot into SkullSatamon's tripping it. As it fell, he did a full rotation and swung his staff upward into it's face, knocking it into the air. As it came down, he lifted his knee into it's head, flinging it a good distance. His Piplup spewed a Bubblebeam at the SkullSatamon he stood on. The Digimon got angry and swiped at him, but Piplup jumped away.
"Are you alright?" The man asked.
"Who are you?!" Ben asked. He then looked at the man's staff. "A staff with rainbow wings…could it be…?"
The four SkullSatamon growled at the man as he twirled his staff in his hands. He held it up and the wings started to glow as he drew a symbol. "Come forth! Feraligatr!" A burst of water came up and a fully evolved water type appeared.
"Was that a Guardian Sign?!" Sakuyamon gasped.
The man drew another. "Ivysaur!" Then turned around and drew a third. "Garchomp! Come forth!" In two bright flashes, two more Pokemon appeared.
"He can summon so many at once!" Summer gasped.
The man spun around and faced the opposing Digimon Piplup came to his side. "You guys did good. Now it's my turn." He and Piplup ran towards one of the Digimon. His other Pokemon broke off and took the other three.
Garchomp blocked a SkullStatamon's attack with its claws. After a small struggle it pushed it off and swung its tail into the Digimon knocking it down. While it was on the ground Garchomp leapt into the air and dove at the SkullSatatmon, but the Digimon rolled away. When Garchomp hit the ground, it burrowed it's way through the stone and rose up into SkullSatamon from underneath with Dig.
Ivysaur rolled away from another SkullSatamon's staff, then Vine Whipped it in the head. While in clutched it's face wincing, the Pokemon wrapped vines around one of it's ankles and threw it upward. Ivysaur jumped up and spun the leaves on its back, slashing the SkullSatamon before the bulb on its back burst our strange powder that flung it up higher. And then as Ivysaur landed it shot a Bullet Seed barrage upward, pelleting SkullSatamon and keeping it airborne, before charging up and letting out an even bigger puff of powder as it came down.
As that was going on, Feraligatr wrestled the staff out of the hands of another SkullSatamon before shoving it to the ground. The big blue Pokemon then bit it in half and threw the pieces in his hand to the ground before spiting out the bits in its mouth. Then it punched it in the face.
Finally, the fourth was against the hooded man and his Piplup. He blocked a swing of its staff with his own and ducked with a spin under a horizontal swing. The Piplup on his shoulder shot another Bubblebeam at its eyes, blinding it. The man ran up and gave the Digimon a jumping kick.
"Who is this guy?!" Takumi asked.
Garchomp jumped at its SkullSatatmon again. The Digimon tried to block with its weapon, but Garchomp slashed right through it, and struck down the Digimon, shattering it into shards. Ivysaur then unleashed a Solar Beam that pierced through the SkullSatamon it was fighting. Feraligatr fired a Hydro Cannon, enveloping it's opponent in a torrent of water. Piplup then spun into the last SkullSatamon with Drill Peck. It then jumped back and fired off a Hydro Pump at it, finishing the fight.
The man slung his staff over his shoulder. "That's the end of that. Good job boys!" He then turned to Takumi and Ami and pointed at the floating shard of the defeated Digimon. "Sorry but can you deal with that? I don't have any of those fancy gadgets you're packing."
"Uh, right…" Takumi held up his gloved hand. Ami did the same and the data of the SkullSatamon went to their Digivices.
"Thanks for the help." Ben said.
"Ah don't thank me. Even if I didn't step in you would have had this handled. I just wanted to test my abilities against Digimon." He then looked over where the masked man previously stood. "Though my main objective was to stop that man. And it looks like I'm too late. Now he has three parts of the Golden Armor."
"How do you know about that?" Summer asked.
"Heh, heh! I know a lot of things. Still…Ben, Summer, Takumi, Ami…even if I can't stop that future from coming, I'll still fight what it brings by your side. Remember that. Never lose hope." He slowly took something from his pocket and stepped backwards.
"Wait!" Ben stepped towards him. "Who are-
"See ya!" The cloaked man threw a Smoke Ball to the ground and it exploded, enveloping him and his Pokemon in puffs of grey. Ben and his friends stepped away from the smoke. When it vanished the man and his Pokemon were gone without a trace.
"What in the world…?"
"Hey!" They turned to the slab blocking the entrance and heard a banging and Keisuke's voice. "What's going on out there, are you guys alright?!"
Ben shot his Styler and drew Raikou's sign. The slab disappeared and Keisuke ran over to them, followed by the rest of the team. "Team One World?" Ami asked.
"They all retreated." Matayoshi replied. "We ran after you and found Keisuke in that trap. After Ryuji, Chitose and Sanada freed him and we came over."
"What about Zapdos and the armor?" Yuuko asked.
Ben sighed. "We claimed Zapdos down but…"
"Don't tell me." Keith groaned. "The armor was stolen again? Who was it? Ice? Lavana?"
"Neither." Ami replied. "It was a masked man calling himself the Leader of Team One World."
Everyone gasped. "The team's leader?!" Arata asked. "Here?!"
"Now it makes sense." Kellyn said. "Ice and Lavana were decoys so he could slip in unnoticed. Where is he now?"
"He sent Digimon at us and got away." Summer replied. "Then we saw that guy you were mentioning earlier. The one that can use Guardian Signs."
"You saw that guy before?" Takumi asked.
"He showed up right after you left Mt. Sorbet to chase Ice." Keisuke explained. "What was he doing here?"
"He said he wanted to test his abilities against Digimon." Ben replied.
"I don't like the sound of that." Ryuji muttered.
"Well he said he was here to help us."
"And you're willing to believe him just like that?"
"You're too untrusting Ryuji." Yu sighed. "You said that about "X" and "Zero" over here."
"Three of the Golden Armor parts are in that man's hands…" Arata growled. "We can't let him get the fourth."
"But we have no idea where the last piece is." Nokia said. "Where do we even start?"
"It might not even be in Oblivia." Yuuko added. "Did you and Ami learn anything while undercover Takumi?" She got no reply at first. "Takumi?"
"Huh? Uh, no nothing."
"What's wrong with you?" Ben asked looking at his friend. "You seem out of it."
"Nothing, I'm fine!"
"You clearly aren't." MirageGaogamon said. "And you and Ami know why!"
"Shhh!"
"Wait, what's going on?" Nokia asked. "Is something happening to Takumi and Ami? Don't tell me…are your bodies becoming unstable? Like before?"
"No, nothing like that!" Ami replied.
"Don't try to fake being okay again!"
"No, I believe them." Yuuko replied. "Don't forget we're all in the same state. If that were the case, we'd be felling negative effects by now too."
"She has a point." Arata replied before glaring at Takumi and Ami. "But clearly you're not well. What's going-
He stopped talking when everyone heard a grumbling sound from both Takumi and Ami. "What was that?" Chitose asked.
"Nothing." Ami replied as she and her brother blushed a bit.
"Don't tell me…" Matayoshi muttered. "Takumi. Ami. I need to ask you something important and I want you to answer honestly."
"Okay…"
The detective gave them a serious look. "When was the last time either of you slept and ate?"
"Uhhh…"
"You haven't been sleeping or eating?!" Nokia asked.
"I got some sleep!" Takumi protested.
"No, you didn't, you closed your eyes for a couple minutes while Sakuyamon and I were flying you two around!" MirageGaogamon replied. "Otherwise you were telling us to rest inside the Digivices while you two were running around!"
"And whenever we got any food, you'd give nearly all of it to us." Sakuyamon added. "You barely had anything to eat yourselves. Whenever we tried to make you take more, you'd threaten to throw it away if we didn't take it."
Arata sighed in exasperation. "Why am I not surprised?"
Yuuko brought a hand over her forehead. "Honestly you two…How could you let yourselves starve like that?"
"You know, it's possible to be a little too dedicated to your work." Kellyn said.
Kate snickered. "And coming from him, that's saying a heck of a lot!"
"We didn't have time!" Takumi replied. "Any time we wasted was more time Team One World had to-
"Okay, okay, we get it." Ryuji said. "I'll admit, what you're doing was important. But if you two collapsed from exhaustion, then who do you think it would help?"
"Honestly, I should have seen this coming." Matayoshi said. "Well we have no plan of action at the moment so let's head back to Rand's place for now and tell Kyo-Kyo what happened. After words the two of you are getting a proper meal and at least nine and a half hours of sleep. That's an order. Or I'm handing you over to Date."
"And trust me, I have no problem with tying you two to chairs and shoving food down your mouths and then knocking you out to get you to sleep." Date added, cracking her knuckles.
Takumi and Ami shuddered. "Alright, alright." Takumi sighed. "You win."
"Glad to hear." MirageGaogamon nodded. "I don't know how much longer you two were going to last at this rate."
"Okay then, let's get off of this creepy mountain." Nokia said. Everyone nodded.
Nema was at her computer with Kyoko, Tokomon and Calumon watching her. "Still no luck?"
Nema shook her head. "Thanks to Papa's special permissions I'm able to access the criminal database, but I don't see anyone on the list who's both capable of leading a group this big and isn't already in jail."
And just then, the team returned. "We're back." Ben said.
"Hey guys!" Nema waved before noticing familiar faces. "Takumi! Ami! You're alright!"
"Why wouldn't we be?" Ami asked.
"We haven't seen you in like a week!" Calumon replied. "We were worried about you? And where have you been, we need your help with this Team One World you know!"
"Hey, we've been helping!" Takumi said defensively. "Just from the shadows. Detective work, ya know."
"How so?" Tokomon asked.
"Well…remember X and Zero?" Ben asked.
"Those Digimon tamers you told us about?" Nema asked. "Did Takumi and Ami catch them?"
"Not exactly."
Kyoko smiled. "X and Zero are my little assistants here."
"Wait, seriously?!"
"You knew?" Keith asked.
"Of course. Having them disguise themselves was my idea."
"You could have said something when we brought them up." Kate muttered.
Kyoko laughed. "Sorry. My assistants looked like they were having fun. I didn't want to ruin it."
"Sure, if you call starving and not sleeping for a week fun." Arata muttered.
Kyoko glanced at the two Aibas. "I thought you two said you would get the rest you needed."
"I guess we just couldn't help ourselves." Ami replied.
The detective sighed. "Still impatient as ever. As Matayoshi says, haste makes waste. I'd like to hear what happened, but first, let's get you two feed."
"I'll do the cooking!" Kate smiled, raising her hand. "I practice with my mom all the time! Oh, uh, Nokia? Arata? Can I talk to you real quick first?"
"Sure." Nokia nodded as she and Arata followed her into the kitchen.
"Well then, how did it go?" Kyoko asked.
Ben sighed. "Well the good news is Zapdos is back to normal so the Pokemon in the sky have nothing to fear but…"
By the time Kate finished making the stew the others had finished their report. She had a bunch of bowls ready to serve with and pulled two over. "Now for a small finishing touch." She took out a small bottle from her pocked with something green inside. "Nokia, Arata, you two ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be." Arata replied holding a pillow.
Nokia held one as well and grinned. "Same here! Operation Sleepy Sleuths is underway!"
"Gallantmon and UlforceVeedramon are going around the sky to make sure there are no more problems regarding the legendary birds." Matayoshi explained. "After that they said they'll start searching for the last Golden Armor part while keeping an eye out for One World activity."
"So, there is one more commander of Team One World and a masked man calling himself their leader." Kyoko said. "This Guardian Sign user clearly wants to stop them as well. But why is he working alone?"
"What do we do now?" Yu asked.
"Unfortunately, all we can do is keep looking for clues."
"So, what's the worse that can happen if this masked guy gets all the parts?" Monodramon asked.
"He'll have immortality and the ability to control any Pokemon. Even legendries." Ben replied.
"He'll also be able to control the Sky Fortress." Yuuko added. "A horrible weapon with the power to destroy a whole island in a single shot."
"Is it really that powerful?!" Patamon gaped.
"Yeah." Terriemron nodded. "It already wiped out Pichu's home island. Thankfully everyone was evacuated."
"Then we can't let this guy get it!" Tentomon said. "We have to find that last part before they do no matter what!"
"Agreed." Kyoko nodded. "Everyone, rest tonight. You all earned it. But tomorrow we've got some work to do."
"Mama and Papa should be home sometime the day after tomorrow." Nema said. "They'll be able to help us."
"Good." Kellyn nodded. "I'm going to send a report to the professor as well and see what he thinks. We need his input now more than ever."
"This isn't just a Ranger job you know." Chitose grinned. "Hudie is always on the side of justice. Right boss?"
Ryuji nodded. "Of course. We can't let these guys do at they please."
Kate then came in holding two very full bowls full of stew. "Here we are. First let's feed our hungry ones." She walked over to Takumi and Ami.
"We're not that hu- Takumi was about to object when his and Ami's stomachs growled. Everyone laughed as their faces went red again.
"Yeah right." Kate forced the bowls into their hands. "And no giving this to anyone else, I mean it! There's plenty to go around."
"Alright, alright." Ami sighed. They started eating as Kate finished serving everyone. Including the Pokemon and Digimon. They ate together in silence. Nokia was keeping a close eye as she was eating. Arata kept his gaze on Ami.
"That was really good." Keisuke said with a satisfied sigh. "You sure know how to cook Kate."
"Thanks! I learned from the best: my mom!"
"I was unsure about eating human food, but this was amazing!" Otamamon said.
"I guess food is different in the Digital World?" Yu asked.
"We eat mostly Digimeat." Lopmon said.
Everyone looked at them uneasily. "Uh…where does meat come from in your world?" Ben asked.
"We grow it out of the ground." Tentomon replied. "Where else would you get meat from?"
All the humans in the party looked deeply confused. Takumi and Ami finished eating and put their bowls down. "Ah! I feel so much better." Takumi smiled. "Thanks Kate."
"No problem."
Takumi and Ami went to go put their bowls away as Kellyn started a conversation. "So…what's your world like?"
"Kinda like this one I guess." Yu replied. "Minus the Pokemon and Digimon and a lot more technology and buildings around."
"Takumi told me a lot of people use this EDEN thing." Ben said. "Said it was like an online network you send your consciousness around in."
"It was made by our father. To set the mind free." Yuuko explained. "But there was a time when it caused a great deal of suffering…"
Ryuji glanced at her. "I never heard anything about that."
Terriermon lifted his face out of his bowl when he saw Takumi and Ami hobbling back towards them. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Huh…? Uh…yeah…" Takumi muttered. "Just a little light headed…"
Arata and Nokia immediately stood up. "Ami, are you okay?" Palmon asked.
"Yeah…just need to…" Ami slowly started to fall backwards. Takumi tipped forward.
Arata and Nokia ran over to them and slid with pillows held out. The back of Ami's head landed on the Pillow Arata had out. Takumi landed face first on the one Nokia was holding. "Got em!" Nokia grinned.
The others got up and ran over to them. "What happened?!" Keisuke asked.
"Are they alright?!" Nema asked.
"Yeah, they're fine." Arata replied as he stood up. Then they heard light snoring from Takumi and Ami.
"Are they…asleep?" Summer asked. "I guess they really did overwork themselves."
"Well…it's partly that." Kate grinned. "And partly an extra ingredient I slipped into their food."
Kellyn squinted at her. "You didn't…"
"What secret ingredient?" Guilmon asked.
"About three spoons full of Sleep Powder."
Keith broke into a fit of laughter as Kellyn sighed in exasperation. Ben put his hands in his pockets as Nokia rolled Takumi on his back. "They look so peaceful. Things must have been hard on poor Tak and Ami-Whammy while Summer and I were gone."
Chitose snickered. "Tak and Ami-Whammy? Oh, that's just pure gold!"
"Sleeping Powder though?" Summer asked, glancing at Kate. "A little drastic, don't you think?"
"Probably for the best." Kyoko replied. "You know how hard it is for Takumi and Ami to sit still."
"Reminds me of when your old man told me about how he'd carry you to your room when you worked yourself to sleep." Matayoshi smiled. "Guess they picked up on your habits."
"Ha! Like assistants like teacher huh?" Date laughed.
"I got plenty of practice using that trick." Kate smirked. "My little sister and I had to do this to Kellyn here to make sure he didn't spend all night studying."
"And I'm pretty sure you promised me you wouldn't do that to anyone else!" Kellyn replied. Kate held up her crossed fingers and Kellyn slapped his forehead.
Pichu played a gentle tune with his ukulele. A small smile came to Takumi and Ami's sleeping faces. "Let's get these two to the guest rooms." Matayoshi said. "They deserve a rest."
Nokia held the two ends of the pillow Takumi's head was on. "Yuugo, carry his legs, will you?"
"Right." Yuugo walked over and helped Nokia lift Takumi off the floor and started carrying him away.
Yuuko walked over to Ami and grabbed her ankles. "Ready?"
"Yup. One, two, three." Arata lifted the pillow Ami's head laid on and they carried her off as well.
Ryuji smiled. "Takumi and Ami have some good friends."
"Yeah…" Keisuke nodded.
Ben watched them leave. "Get some rest now you two. I have a felling you're going to need it."
As Yuugo left the room, Nokia pulled the bed covers over Takumi. She stood there for a bit looking at his sleeping face. It reminded her of seeing him like that in the hospital when he had EDEN Syndrome. "Takumi…Don't scare me like this…"
"Aww! You're worried about him?"
Nokia yelped as she turned around to see Kate with a grin. "YAAAAAAAAGH! When did you get here?!"
"Just now. I guess even cyber detectives have their fangirls!"
Nokia blushed a deep red and waved her hands. "Wh-It-it's not what you think!"
"Oh, suuuuuuuure it isn't!" Kate teased. "Too bad, because I'd say you make a cute couple!"
"C-couple?! Me and Takumi!? That's crazy?!"
"Your red face says you like the idea."
"Cut it out!" Nokia groaned. "First Ami now her?" Then she had an idea. "You know, who's a really cute couple and is fun to tease?"
"Who?"
"If I tell you, you can't say a word about me and Takumi to anyone. Especially not Takumi!"
"Okay, okay."
Red Eyes lowered his Z.Z. Flyer to the ground. "The birds were circling around here for some reason and then flew off somewhere. I wonder why…"
Next to him was a small rock creature who spotted something in a bush. "Hey Red Eyes! Check this out!" it brushed them aside and pulled out something.
Red Eyes turned around and looked at what his companion was holding. "Well what do we have here?" It was a golden helmet.
So, as for our masked leader of Team One World, he has a slightly different look from what players of Hacker's Memory would remembers so I hope I described him well enough for those people to recognize him even though I didn't want him to say his name to the heroes just yet. But in case I wasn't clear enough about it imagine that scene with him while listening to Masked Necromancer from Hacker's Memory. In any case, we're down with the legendary birds. Only one thing from the original game to tackle before we head into new territory for this story. See ya then!