Chapter 6: Two's Company.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Jack and Megan both said at the same time.

"Yeah, unfortunately, we've met once before," Jack grumbled.

'And I hoped it would be the last time,' he added mentally.

"It appears he and I have something in common," Megan put in.

"Oh really? Cool," Lisa remarked.

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Jack answered. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"You kidding? This girl's been one of my best friends since Elementary School," Lisa told him. "When did you meet her?"

"Earlier today. We both got kicked out of the arcade," Megan explained.

"What?" Lisa gasped, "What happened?"

"Long story," Jack sighed.

"Very long story," Megan added. "How do you get an invite anyway, Jack? I wouldn't think a loser like you would be so close to one of the most popular girls in school."

"For your information," Jack said, "My sister Julie is one of her friends too."

"You're Julie's sister? Nice to put a name with the face. I've heard stories about you."

"I'll just bet you have. Anyway, cool party you got going here Lisa, but where's the booze?"

"You're kidding, right?" Lisa asked.

"Of course I'm kidding. Yeesh, you two share the same lack of a sense of humor."

Just then, a loud noise came from the back of the apartment. It was the smoke alarm. The partygoers stood around in confused silence for a second.

"Don't worry!" Lisa reassured them. "It's just a false alarm."

"How can you be so sure? We probably should check it out," Jack said, making his way back to the sound of the alarm.

"No, no, it's my party, my apartment, and I'll take care of it myself," Lisa protested.

It was too late. Jack was already heading to the back rooms, fire extinguisher in hand, just in case. Megan followed closely behind. He noticed a very faint smoke trail coming from one of the closed doors. Lisa positioned herself in front of it.

"This is my bedroom. I'd thank you to stay out."

"I saw smoke coming from there," Jack replied, putting his hand on the knob. It wasn't hot, so he opened the door, and pushed past Lisa inside.

"Do you see what I see?" Megan asked.

"If what you see is a floating ball of smoke with eyes and a mouth, then yes," Jack answered.

"Mokumon!" Lisa reprimanded. "I told you to stay inside!"

"Sorry," the smoke ball replied, in a slow deep voice. "It just got stuffy in there."

"Mokumon?" Jack said. "No, wait, let me guess."

He reached for his belt and the cell phone. Flipping it open, he said into the mouthpiece.

"He's a digimon too?"

"You guessed it," Choromon told him.

Megan had done the same with her cell phone. Lisa was just standing there, flabbergasted.

"Why didn't you say you could come out of there?" she asked Zurumon.

"You didn't ask," her digimon replied. "That, and we still had to regain our energy."

"Well," Megan asked, "Do you have enough energy now?"

"Sure do," came the reply.

"What about you?" Jack said to Choromon.

"Yup," Choromon said. "Just point your phone's screen at a level surface, and I'll do the rest."

"Just hold up your phone, preferably in the direction of the bed," Zurumon told Megan.

They both did so, as Lisa stood nearby, her mouth open. Twin beams of light shot from the cell phones, coalescing into two smallish blobs. The one from Jack's phone went onto the dresser by Lisa's bed, and Megan's hovered above the bed, near Mokumon.

Soon, sitting on the dresser was what looked to Jack to be a remote- controlled mouse. Its body was a silver dome, no larger than the palm of his hand. It had two glowing red eyes, and what looked to be ears, which resembled silver lightning bolts. It had a thick wire tail, the end of which blinked periodically. Hovering above the bed was what looked like a large yellow blob of spittle, with two red eyes and a small mouth.

"Ahhh, it feels so good to be out of there," the blob of spittle that was Zurumon said.

"You got that right," Choromon, the mechanical mouse, replied.

"It's good to see you guys again!" Mokumon said, happily.

"Heck yeah, they won't get rid of us that easily." Zurumon answered.

Lisa stepped out of the room to assure everyone that it was indeed just a false alarm.

"Uhhh," she said when she returned. "So."

"Looks like all three of us have the same thing in common," Jack said.

"Now," he addressed the trio of digimon. "What do you mean 'they won't get rid of you that easily.

"I take it you haven't told them?" Mokumon asked.

"Not yet," Choromon said. "The time hasn't been right."

Jack's cell phone started to go off, and he answered it, silencing the others with his hand.

"Hello? Hey, Drew, what's up? Oh really? Mmm-hmm, really? Ouch. Yeah, thanks for telling me. Cool. Yeah, talk to you later."

Jack hung up his phone and replaced it on his belt.

"That was my friend, Drew. He had some very interesting things to tell me about the egg on my phone."

Digimon and human alike turned to face Jack, listening intently.

"Apparently, he did some research on the Internet about it. According to him, he found that the egg is a virus, and if I don't get rid of it by erasing the speed dial setting, it'll run up my phone bill big time."

"The Internet told him that, huh?" Zurumon asked. "Interesting."

"I don't know about you two, but I think the time's just about right," Mokumon said.

"What's going on, you guys?" Megan asked.

"I'm even more confused than I just was," Lisa put in.

The digimon seemed to ignore them, continuing talking amongst themselves.

"If they managed to get to his friend, then they must be getting desperate. They might move ahead of schedule," Choromon said to his companions.

"I agree," Zurumon said. "We must hurry."

To the others, he said "We need energy, and fast."

"What for?" Jack asked.

The digimon looked at each other and nodded as only two floating blobs and a mechanical mouse could.

"It's about time," Choromon said, "that we told you the truth."