Here we are. First chapter of the final arc. Originally this idea was just going to be a multi chapter part of Cases and Quests, but the idea grew inside my head, and I decided to make this its own arc. Like most of the fourth arc, we're in uncharted territory here, so no telling how long this one's going to be. What's the subject? This will be a sort of tie-in for loose ends of a different Pokemon Game and a different Digimon game. More on that as we move on. (Though I guess it's no secret what the Pokemon game in question is given the title.) Shall we get started?

It was a sunny day in Tokyo. Ryota and Sakura were walking down the street. "So, summer vacations is finally here." Sakura said. "We should see if Takumi and Ami want to hang out."

"Well, they told me that they're both still going to study a bit while working with Kyoko."

"Why?"

"They're both determined to make it into the police academy when they start collage so they can get detective badges as soon as possible."

"Those two are always working themselves so hard. We should make sure they have some fun this summer!"

Ryota grinned. "Of course! That's what friends are for! Not that they'll make it easy for us, they're pretty stubborn."

"Yeah. Oh! I know! I'll tell Arata and Nokia! If anyone can get them to listen it'll be those two!"

"Huh? Well, I get Arata, he's Ami's boyfriend and all, but what makes you think Nokia will be able to?"

"Oh, right…Don't tell anyone I told you this, she's kinda keeping it a secret, but she told me that she and Takumi are…Huh? Who's that?" Sakura pointed over at the corner of the street.

Ryota looked where she was pointing. There was a tall man with long white hair, a short, pointed beard and green eyes. He wore white pants, grey shoes and a grey shirt under a white, long coat. He wore yellow gloves and a yellow scarf. "Huh. That's some flashy clothing the guy's got on. Looks hot to be wearing this time of year."

Sakura noticed the man was holding a map. "Is he lost? He looks confused."

The man narrowed his eyes as he looked. "Okay, that man I asked for directions said to… Wait is this even the right street? Oh, there it is-no wait that's something else. Which means I…" He growled in frustration and looked up from his map. "Where in this baffling world am I!?"

"Yup, I'd say he's lost." Ryota murmured. "Geez, the poor old guy looks like he isn't from around here."

Sakura walked towards him. "Excuse me sir?"

"Hmm? Can I help you child?"

"Actually…you look kind of lost. Is everything alight?"

The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's just say this "Tokyo" has proven to be more of a hassle to navigate through then I initially thought."

"Are you from another country or something?" Ryota asked.

"Something like that. I've been walking for the last three hours or so and still haven't the slightest clue where that agency is."

"Agency?"

"The Kuremi, Detective Agency. Would either of you by any chance know where it is?"

"Oh! You're looking for Kyoko Kuremi?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, the Cyber Sleuths. Do you know where I can find their base of operations?"

"It's close by actually." Sakura pointed to the left. "Cross the road there to the next street. Just at the end of that street turn right. Keep going down and you should find Nakano Broadway. It has a big sign, so it should be easy to spot."

"The detective agency is on the first floor." Ryota said. "Old, styled door with the agency's name on top, you can't miss it."

The man smiled. "Ah, good. You both have my gratitude." The man bowed before leaving.

Sakura watched him leave. "Does he have a case for them?"

"But he doesn't seem to be from Tokyo, so why would he need to come all the way here?" Ryota asked. "In fact, if he isn't from around here, how would he even know about the Kuremi Agency?"

"Well…I'm going to message Ami and give her a heads up."

Inside the Kuremi Agency, Takumi was cleaning up the cups they just had coffee with. "That blend turned out pretty good." Takumi said.

Kyoko smiled. "Yes, I concur. The mustard complements the grape jelly nicely. Still, I do miss the other ingredients we found in Oblivia."

"It's already been over a year since we first arrived there, huh?" Takumi said. "It feels weird…"

Ami's Digivice binged. "Hmm?" She put it on. "I got a message from Sakura."

"What's it say?"

"She says she and Ryota ran into some old guy who said he was looking for the Kuremi Agency."

"Oh? A new client perhaps?" Kyoko asked.

"I don't know. She says he seemed really confused. She doesn't think he's from Tokyo."

"A foreigner with a case for us?" Takumi asked. "I wonder what it's about."

"Well, we'll see soon enough." Kyoko said. "A pity we just finished the coffee, we could have offered him some. Oh well. Let's just finish cleaning up before he arrives."

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Kyoko said. The bell rang as the man Sakura and Ryota encountered entered. He eyed Kyoko and both her assistants before glancing around. He looked at the agency's moto hanging over the window. "Welcome to the Kuremi Detective Agency. Do you have a case that needs solving?"

"Straight to the point, eh?" The man chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I do have a what you would call a case…but it's not mine. It's a request from someone else."

"Please have a seat."

The man sat on the right-side couch while Kyoko and her assistants sat on the right. Ami had a notepad out. "You see…to begin with, I'm not from this "Tokyo". I came a long way to contact you."

"And you came all this way here to ask us for help?" Takumi asked.

"There is no other I can ask this of aside from your group. It took me a while to find this place, but I'm glad I did. The situation at hand is…complicated, and requires you and your Digimon. Which reminds me, I should congratulate you. From what I heard during my search for you, more Digimon are interacting peacefully with humans here through EDEN."

"What makes you think we have anything to do with that?" Ami asked.

The man chuckled and folded his arms. "So, you've been doing this without anyone knowing who's involved. How like you to be too modest to take credit for such achievements. You haven't changed a bit since our last encounter."

Takumi raised an eyebrow. "Our last encounter"? Have we meet before?"

The man opened his green eyes. "Yes. We have. But back to my case…I'm afraid I cannot tell you the details here. Not everyone I require is present, and this area…may not be ideal for showing you my little secret."

"Huh?"

"Do you know a location where we can guarantee nobody will overhear us? And one with enough room to fit everyone?"

"Who else are you looking for?" Kyoko asked.

"Arata Sanada. Nokia Shiramine. Yuuko Kamishiro. Yuugo Kamishiro. Fei Wong Tomoe Ignacio. Makiko Date. Goro Matayoshi. Keisuke Amasawa. Ryuji Mishima. Erika Mashima. Chitose Imai. Yu Nogi."

There was silence at the revelation. "Wait…that's everyone from the ARC Incident." Ami said.

"Hold on, how do you know about Erika?!" Takumi asked.

"Once we gather to a more secure location, you will see."

"Is that so?" Kyoko asked. "Very well. Surly we can whip up a server in EDEN to-

"Ah, yes, about that…I have no means of accessing the Cyber Space known as EDEN, I'm afraid. It will have to be a location in this physical plain."

"You sure aren't making this easy."

"Apologies, but I have my reasons."

Takumi snapped his fingers. "Wait! I know a place! Give me a second." He put on his Digivice. "I just need to give Yuuko a call."

As Takumi stepped away, Kyoko turned to Ami. "While he's doing that, why don't we message Arata and the others about this."

"Okay."

While Kyoko and Ami started texting the others Takumi got off his Digivice. "Okay, I explained the situation to Yuuko, and she thinks she can set up a meeting area."

"Where's that?" the man asked.

"It's an underground lab owned by Kamishiro."

"I couldn't help but notice you sounded reluctant to ask."

"Let's just say Yuuko went through some unpleasant things down there. I kinda felt bad asking her about it, but she said it's fine. Anyway, it hasn't been used for anything or a long time, so nobody will be there. There aren't any cameras or anything like that there either. And there's plenty of room."

"Excellent. When can we meet?"

Kyoko got off her Digivice. "Matayoshi's retired now, so I'm holding off on asking him if that's alright."

"Fair enough. What about the others?"

"Ryuji just told me, he and Hudie are free. Takumi, can you send him the location?"

"Sure. And Yuuko said she and her brother are on their way now."

"Arata, Nokia, Fei, and Makiko are good to go as well." Ami added. "I'll just tell them where it is."

"Once you do that, we should get going too." Kyoko said as she stood up. "We'll give you a ride sir."

The man stood up. "I appreciate this. Don't worry, I'll tell you everything once we assemble."

It took some time to get to the lab now that there was no longer any Digital Shift warping the distance of the tunnel. Fortunately, Yuuko gave them permission to another way to the lab that was roughly an hour drive. Once they were down there, they saw Yuuko and Yuugo waiting for them. "Hey guys!" Ami waved. "Thanks for letting us use this place."

"Not a problem." Yuugo replied. "Father was still debating on what to do with it, so nobody uses it anyway."

Yuuko glanced at the man. "So, this is your client?"

"It would be more accurate to say I am the client's messenger." The man replied.

The elevator door pinged and Hudie stepped out with Arata. "Hi guys, how's it going?" Chitose asked.

Ryuji looked at the man. "So, you're the one?"

The man nodded. "Is your sister going to join us?" Ryuji looked at the man uneasily before taking out his Digivice. A screen appeared showing Justimon and Hudiemon. "Good. It has been a while, Erika."

"How do you know about my human side?" Erika asked.

"You'll see soon enough."

Arata whispered to Ami. "I got a bad feeling about this. Can we trust this guy?"

"We'll know once we get his story. For now, all we can do is wait."

About twenty minutes later, Date arrived with Nokia and Fei. "Whoops, we're the last ones here aren't we?" Nokia asked.

"And you yell at us for being late." Ami replied.

"Yeah, well I'd have gotten us here faster, if a certain someone wasn't backseat driving!" Date glared at Fei.

"Because you drove us nearly five streets past the lab entrance!" Fei snapped back.

"Guys, let's calm down a minute." Keisuke said. "We're all here, that's the important thing, right?"

"Indeed." The man took a few steps standing in front of the group with his back to them.

"Now can you tell us why you want all of us?" Ami asked.

"And how you know about Erika?" Keisuke added.

"And most importantly…" Takumi said. "Just who are you?"

The man waited a moment before talking. "I was asked by your friends from my domain to gather you. I know Erika because I met her in my domain."

Kyoko's eyes narrowed. "Another domain…are you from the world of Pokemon?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise. "What?" Yuuko asked. "But how could-

"And as for who I am…" The man turned around. His green eyes were now red. The scarf unraveled from his neck and flowed behind him before forming a familiar gold ring behind him. He spread his arms and raised his head. "GYUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" He erupted with gold light, blinding everyone.

"What's happening?!" Fei grunted as they shielded themselves.

Once it started to die down, Takumi looked up. He gasped at what he saw. The man they spoke to had transformed into something else. Something familiar. One by one the others looked up. "No way…" Yu breathed.

The being's eyes glowed. "It has been a long time…Cyber Rangers."

Keisuke gapped as the voice spoke in each of their heads. "A…Arceus?!"

The legendary Pokemon stood before them calmly. "Indeed."

"But how…" Arata murmured.

"Did not see this coming…" Ami murmured. "I guess this is that little secret you didn't want to show us at the agency?"

"I know Pokemon do not exist in this world and did not wish to alarm it's residents, so I felt it was best to disguise myself in a human form until now. Forgive me."

"Yeah, I guess you'd be a little…what's the word…" Chitose muttered. "conspicuous" roaming the streets like that."

"That was one heck of a disguise." Yuugo added. "I never would have guessed."

"But…how did you even get here?" Date asked.

"You used Palkia's powers, didn't you?" Ryuji asked.

"Huh? Of the creation trio?" Fei asked.

"Yes. When we are at the Sky Fortress Yu got a scan of it. The Browser specifically said it can control the boundaries of space and transport itself to faraway places or even other dimensions."

"That is correct." Arceus replied. "I had Palkia use that power to open a gate to this world."

"But…why?" Nokia asked. "I mean, it's good to see you again, but I doubt you just wanted to hang out."

"Is something happening in Oblivia again?" Fei asked.

"Not in Oblivia. But something dreadful has indeed happened. If you recall, before Ravio left to his own timeline he left something for the Pokemon Ranger known as Summer Minami."

"Summer?" Keisuke asked. "What do you mean? He left Ben with that Weaver of Light but…"

It clicked to Kyoko. "The Azure Flute. The one you gave him to convince the lake guardians to help him. He gave that to Summer just in case."

"That is correct. To others it is but an ordinary instrument. I on the other hand am linked to it. I can hear it's tune no matter where I am or where the player is. I told Ravio this, but I gave it to a human I trusted in case humanity needed me."

"So, Summer used it to call for you?" Yuuko asked.

"No. It was another Pokemon Ranger who found it in Summer's room. I believe her name was Wendy."

"Why did she do that?" Hudiemon asked. "Did she even know what it was and what it does?"

"I imagine Professor Hastings or Rythmi told her. They said they needed to call for me."

"Why?" Takumi asked. "What happened?"

"About two weeks ago, Ben and Summer were both sent to the Kalos Region. But a few days later…only their Partner Pokemon returned. Both were in bad shape."

Everyone fell into shock. "What?! Ukulele Pichu and Staraptor?!" Ami gasped.

"Are they okay?!" Nokia asked.

"I was told both are currently unconscious but are expected to recover."

"What about Ben and Summer?" Arata asked. "What happened to them?"

"Nobody knows. In response to this, the Ranger Union has deployed Kellyn, Kate, Keith, Lunick, and Solana. However, they soon after they arrived to Kalos, the Professor lost contact with the search party."

"Kellyn and the others too?!" Keisuke asked. "What's going on here?!"

"It seems there's something dangerous in Kalos." Kyoko said. "I imagine that's why they asked you to get us?"

"This seems extreme." Ryuji said.

Ami turned to him in shock. "What are you saying? This is serious!"

"The disappearance for Ranger Union's finest Rangers is a big deal, but to call on a god to bring us from another world seems drastic. I'm surprised you complied."

Arceus closed its eyes. "Indeed. Normally I would not go such lengths to recruit people from other worlds to solve problems in mine. But right when I told the Professor this, he said something that changed my mind."

"What's that?" Date asked.

"The reason why Ben and Summer were sent to Oblivia in the first place. If you recall, Sabios created a Digital Shift that covers the entirety of my world, allowing Digimon to exist within it."

"Yes, that was part of his "One World Plan"." Kyoko replied.

"The Ranger Union has been monitoring that to this day. It would appear that doing so allowed them to detect the appearance of a Digimon in the Kalos region."

"A new Digimon has appeared in your world?!" Yu asked.

"It would seem so. That's why we agreed it would be best to send you rather than risk any more Rangers. The missing ones were already familiar with Digimon, so I imagine this is no ordinary one we are dealing with…"

Everyone's Digivice glowed and the partner Digimon appeared on screens. "No way!" Terriemron gasped. "Hey Alphamon, did you know about this?"

"I was not informed of any missing Digimon aside from those that decided to emigrate to EDEN."

"You have all done a lot for my world." Arceus told them through telepathy. "I know we have no right to ask you of this, but you are our best hope and I fear this may be the start of something terrible. Please, will you help us?"

Everyone looked at each other waiting for someone to speak up. "We have to help them!" Takumi said.

"If this involves a Digimon, we might be the only ones who can." Ami added.

"Yeah, and this is Ben and the others we're talking about!" Keisuke said. "We can't just ignore them!"

Arata chuckled. "Of course, you three would reply with that."

The three of them looked at the others uncomfortably. "I…well, I mean…" Keisuke muttered. "Not like we can speak for the whole group, but…"

"Maybe not the whole group, but in this case, you speak for me." Nokia said. "Ben and Summer could be in danger."

"And they're our friends too." Chitose said. "You're not the only ones who want to help them."

"I don't disagree." Arata replied. "I just wish you three would try not to jet straight into danger all the time."

"Preaching to the choir on that one." Ryuji replied.

"Sounds like a number of us are committed." Yuugo said.

"Ever since we were stranded in Oblivia there's no denying they did a lot to help us." Kyoko said. "I'm willing to call us helping them a return favor."

"And let's be honest." Yuuko said. "It was our involvement in the past that led to Sabios learning about Digimon and creating that Digital Shift. When you think about it that way, we might also be responsible for this situation…"

"Well, all the more reason to get in there and bust some heads." Fei grinned, cracking her knuckles.

"Ha. Not every day I agree with you, but you're speaking my language." Date replied.

"I'm in too." Yu said. "I'm worried about our friends."

"If the Digital Shift is still there, we can join you." Alphamon said. "So then, who's in?" All the Digimon raised a hand.

Kyoko smiled at Arceus. "There you have it. We'll take the case."

"You all have my gratitude."

"We should probably tell mom." Ami said to her brother. "I don't want to freak her out by disappearing on her again."

"I should tell my folks too." Nokia replied.

Arceus nodded. "Yes, I understand this is rather sudden for us to depart now. Let's return here tomorrow at noon. I will then call Palkia to open a rift to my world."

Alphamon nodded. "In the meantime, I'll contact my associates in the Digital World and see if we can narrow down the identity of this Digimon."

"Arceus, what will you do?" Keisuke asked.

The Pokemon glowed gold and returned to his human form. "I'm rather curious about this world of yours. I think I'll take this time to explore it myself."

"Oh! Keisuke and I can show you around!" Yu said. "We know a lot of cool places."

"I would appreciate a guide. Navigation has proven to be…difficult for me."

"Okay, so we all meet back here at noon." Ryuji said. "Everyone, make sure you're prepared by then."

"Oh, just one more thing I should point out." Arceus said. "It is my understanding that last time you were in my world, you used strange abilities using your unnatural state of being."

"You mean our Half-Cyber Bodies?" Takumi asked.

"Yes. But you should bear in mind, this time I'll be bringing your physical forms to my world, so you won't be able to use those powers."

"That means the Connect Jump is off the table." Ami replied.

"We'll have to use traditional means of programing and hacking to get around technical issues then." Arata replied. "fortunately, we've got plenty of qualified hackers in this group."

"Darn right!" Chitose replied.

"Okay then." Kyoko said. "Everyone, head home, make whatever preparations you need and advise your families. There's no telling how long this will take us. But no matter what, we're saving our friends."

They all nodded.

Back in Takumi and Ami's apartment, the twins were with their mother cleaning up after dinner. "Thanks for cooking you two." Yukina said.

"No trouble at all." Takumi replied.

"Yeah, it's not a problem." Ami added.

Yukina looked at them when she heard their troubled tone. "Is something bothering you two?"

They looked at each other before facing their mom. "I…We need to tell you something, mom."

"What's wrong?"

They sat at the table as Takumi and Ami explained what happened earlier that day and what they were planning. "I see…" Yukina said. "So, you're going back to that world of Pokemon."

"I'm sorry mom." Takumi said. "We don't want to leave you alone again but…Ben, Summer, everyone, who knows what's happening to them right now. They're our friends."

"And if a Digimon is involved we might be the only ones who can help." Ami replied. "We can't just ignore this."

Yukina smiled. "You both are becoming more like your father."

"Huh?"

Yukina stood up and walked over to the window. "He always wanted the best for others. Always. Whenever he saw someone in need of help, he never could look away. Especially a friend." Yukina looked at her children. "If you two are that determined to go help your friends, I won't stop you. You're old enough to make your own choices. Just…promise me you'll both come home safe."

Tarriermon spoke from Takumi's Digivice. "Don't worry Yukina! We'll watch their backs!"

"Yeah!" Palmon replied. "Don't you worry about a thing! When we're together nothing can stop us!"

Yukina smiled. "Thank you both."

"Evreything will be alright mom." Takumi replied. "I promise."

Ami smiled. "We'll take care of this and be back in no time."

Yukina hugged them. "You've both really grown on me. I'm so proud. I know you'll be able to rise to the challenge."

And there's the starting point. Next week we return to the world of Pokemon!