D3 : Digital Diaries Dimensions

Variations 1.11 : The Withertoos and the Whyfors

written by Shaun Garin

Disclaimer : Digimon is owned by their respective companies. All rights and reservations considered. Strict useage of japanese names. Eric and the humans of the Canadian team belong to me. Lord Archive wrote the Diaries series. Yu-Gi-Oh is created by Kazuki Takahashi and all original names are created by me.

"I want my own bed," remarked Eric as he sat up and massaged a crick in his neck. "These futons are rock hard."

"It can't be helped you know," said Lopmon as he uncurled himself from his imitation of a brown throw pillow and stretched, emitting small popping sounds. "We're lucky we can sleep in a house instead of a park for the umpteenth time."

"Dork," said Eric as he got up and groped in the darkness of the room for his pants. "I'll bet Ken got a better sleep than I did."

"Maybe," said Lopmon as Eric found his pants. "C'mon, lets get some breakfast."

Eric yawned and pushed the door open, blinking in the sudden light of the living room from the storage room that he slept in. "Morning," he said, rubbing his eyes.

Ken waved from the breakfast table while pouring over the newspaper. Eric looked at the paper, grunted "Chicken Scratch" and sat down. A cup of tea was set down next to him and Eric looked up at Jiro who said in his soft voice, "Good morning, Eric-san."

"Good morning," said Eric, avoiding Jiro's name in order to avoid any awkwardness. The thing he hated about talking to Japanese people was the politeness level and the honorific. Things like san and dono and chan helped him only in anime. "Gabumon and Agumon are still asleep?" he ventured.

"Yes they are," said Jiro as he returned to the kitchen.

Ken looked up and quirked an eyebrow. 'Can't think of a proper honorific there, huh Eric?' said Ken in the seemingly garbled L33T Speak.

'Not my fault,' grumbled Eric in the same language. 'You Japanese people have so many honorifics, it's difficult to use one that's polite enough. Not to mention the whole first personal name thing.'

Wormmon chuckled from his perch on the table as Ken sniggered and hid himself behind the paper. 'Hey, at least we're all on a first name basis. We don't need to smack you one for calling us Wormmon and Ken without any honorifics.'

'That's for sure,' said Lopmon as he sipped at his mug of tea. 'I'm sure we'd have to go crazy if we had to memorize Japanese Customs as well as every other custom that we seem to have come across.'

"What kind of language are you speaking?" asked Hiro as he walked out of his room as he stole a glance at Jiro who was looking very confused. "It sounds like English but it's all garbled."

"It's called L33T Speak," said Ken as he lowered the paper. "Although we're sort of ill-equipped to teach it to anyone."

"How can an Internet language be used in day to day conversation?" wondered Jiro as he set down a container of rice and several plates of pickles, fish and other assorted foods.

"It's a long story," said Lopmon. The bunny then grinned and posed. 'Fear my mad naked skills!'

Two hands and a mandible bonked or prodded Lopmon with a chorus of 'Put pants on fool.'

Jiro and Hiro exchanged bewildered looks before beginning breakfast.

"Good morning," said Sora as she walked into the Nonaka kitchen.

A brown haired woman looked up and smiled. "Heya," she greeted as she flipped a cutting knife up and down in her hand before attacking the cabbage that sat on a chopping board. "Misa and Palmon are in the living room watching TV. There's cereal over there if you want breakfast."

Sora blinked but then recalled that Misa and her family were anything but traditional Japanese. They seemed more like Americans.

She had met the Nonakas the evening when the girls were deciding on who should let the travelers stay for the night. Hikaru was immediately voted out because not a single inch of her house was packed with collectibles and other things, minimizing space. Kairi took Shuichon and Jen with her, the two girls being of similar ages and interests leaving Misa with Sora.

Misa set up Sora in the guest bedroom which was apparently used by Misa's elder brother who stopped in from time to time while traveling with a local J-Rock band. It seemed that music was in the blood of the Nonakas as the house was filled with instruments of all types and several records, tapes and CDs lovingly kept and well used.

Sora poured herself a bowl of cereal, absently noting it was of the sugar laden type and carried it into the living room where Misa sat. The girl was already dressed in a rather interesting outfit. Black leather bangles and buckles were at her wrists and throat and ankles with a open blue overshirt and her traditional T-shirt under it. Completing the design was a pair of thong sandals and a denim skirt that was split down both sides with little stars on the hem. Palmon sat next to her, her roots stuck into a basin with mineral water poured into it. The plant digimon hummed to herself as Misa ate.

"Mornin'," grunted Misa through the spoon stuck into her mouth. She already looked awake and ready to start the morning with several studs in both ears and a large dangling hoop on the other. "Ready to take off this morning? We're meeting the squad in the middle of downtown where the Battle City Finals are being held at ten."

"Yeah, I suppose so," said Sora as she sat down and ate a spoonful of the sugary food as she stared at the TV screen. It showed a familiar scene, at least to her memory, of an early time in the original's adventures.

"I remember this," said Sora softly as she ate. "This was when Piyomon evolved."

"Heh," said Misa as she nibbled on her food. "Hikaru was so nervous back then. She fumbled over this scene more times than I can count. I got so frustrated at her, I tossed my boot at her head."

"That's not very nice," said Sora, feeling defensive for the girl who wore her face in this world.

Misa laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "Aw, it's okay. She didn't take it too hard. It actually helped her focus under the threat of being Booted."

Sora giggled at the thought and pun before digging into her bowl. "What time is it now?"

"Eight fifteen," said Misa as she drank the milk from the bottom of her bowl and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "We have plenty of time to get you showered and changed."

"Huh?" asked Sora. Misa wrinkled her nose.

"No offense, but you smell like charred hair." pointed out Misa.

Sora blushed as she grabbed the back of her long ponytail and checked it. True enough, there was a singed end on it. "Must have been that disruptor blast," she said as she checked the frayed and blackened ends.

"Hell," grumbled Misa as she set down her bowl. "Mom!" Mrs. Nonaka looked out and Misa looked over the back of the chair she sat in. "Where's the hair scissors?"

Sora blinked and Misa grinned. "Don't worry, we'll get'cha cleaned up and ready to go in no time."

Sora looked at Misa's outfit and wild hairstyle and would have sweatdropped if she was in a world that defied most physics.

"Things are so different here in this world," remarked Tailmon as she looked over the horizon of the city where the sun was beginning it's accent to flood the world in light. "And then..."

"You still can't really accept it, because it has been a part of you for so long." finished Jen as he sat on the windowsill of the two story house next to Tailmon.

Tailmon glanced behind herself and looked at the two girls who were sleeping in, despite the fact that they were going to be late for the Battle City Finals in Domino Square. "I still remember things, Jen," said Tailmon solemnly as she removed one of her gloves. "The torment of being under Vamdemon, Wizardmon... everything seems real to me. And yet, it's all fake."

The cat Digimon punched the wall, merely denting it with the force of her blow. "Damnit, I can't accept this! I can't accept that my life was nothing but a pre-programmed lie! That I'm merely carrying an emotional scar that was GIVEN to me by some lunatic storyteller!"

"The truth hurts," said Jen as he folded his small arms. "Like any other truth. But there is still one truth that is still apparent."

"And what's that?" asked Tailmon, eyes flashing angrily. "That I was ripped from everything I know? That the girl there is not Hikari but someone else?"

"No... that the girl there, is your partner. She is your everything. You feel it don't you? The sting of rejection, the pain of loneliness, and the undeniable sensation of being whole when you stare into those eyes?" Jen's dark eyes met Tailmon's angry blue glare that was slowly starting to water. "You can feel it. She is your everything and you would even die for her. I would for my Shuichon. As much as she would love to dress me up and play Princess Pretty-pants with me, I would attend to her for the rest of my life. I feel whole."

"I..." Tailmon sniffed as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry when Wizardmon died. And damnit Jen, you're making me cry!"

"It's all right to cry," said Jen as he stood up, his small frame illuminated by the sun. "The strength of the heart, is determined by the size of the actions. I have fought, and proclaimed her my partner. My own companions would have me dead, if they were not already. For this, I thank whoever is watching us that Shuichon is my partner."

Tailmon cried softly as Shuichon and Kairi slept peacefully underneath them. Kairi turned over and mumbled, "Tailmon..." before she turned over once more.

"Life isn't fair," said Lopmon softly as he lent his shoulder for the cat to cry on. "Then again, life in itself is unpredictable."

The sun rose, and a new day dawned.

"Welcome to the Battle City Finals!" crowed the man in the middle of the town square. The square was packed with stands for the finals with security watching each part of the square with a hawks eye. "Three days have passed since the beginning of Battle City 2 and the competition has heated up to a battle of epic proportions! Only two duelists have made it thus far to the end of Battle City, and the crowd is waiting for the duel to begin!"

Eric fidgeted in his chair as he leaned forward to get a better look. "Aw man, are these the best seats we can get?"

"Don't knock the seats," replied Hiro as he let Agumon sit in his lap. Lopmon had perched on top of Eric's head to get a better view while Wormmon did the same to Ken. Shuichon and Kairi sat with their digimon in their laps while Hikaru nibbled at her nails in anxiety with Piyomon sitting on her own lap. Misa and Sora sat side by side with Palmon sitting in Misa's own lap. Jiro sat next to Hiro and he held Gabumon. Daisuke was conspicuously absent as he claimed that Battle City wasn't his thing. Aino Sora attended to his own digimon while trying to keep the hyperactive Shugo and Patamon from fidgeting in their seats.

Being celebrities in their own right as Digimon Adventures was a popular TV series, Mina Hart was able to swing them passes to the finals before the tournament was all sold out. Being sponsored by Kaiba Corporation also helped with getting the passes.

"This is going to be so freaking awesome," said Eric, nearly bouncing with expectation.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The sponsor for the Battle City Finals is here!" cried the announcer as the sound of a chopper could be heard overhead. "Introducing the president of Kaiba Corp, KAIBA SETO!"

The helicopter flew into view and hanging on a rope ladder was Kaiba Seto. The helicopter lowered to the ground and about twenty feet up, Seto let go and landed amidst wild applause.

Eric stared. Ken stared. And Sora stared. And then Wormmon and Lopmon chorused their thoughts. "That ain't Kaiba Seto that's Ishida Yamato!"

True enough, the familiar features of Kaiba Seto were more displayed towards the Chosen of Friendship, Ishida Yamato. The same windswept gelled hair, the same green eyes and smirk, and his clothing consisted of a fashionable green shirt, blue pants and oddly enough a white trenchcoat that was on automatic billow effect. The buckles and bracers were there as well, but there were definitely some hallmarks in Seto's style of Yamato.

"Wait, if that's Ishida Yamato, then what the heck is going on here?" asked Eric. "We have actors who LOOK like them and then we have the genuine article."

"It's confusing but maybe someone at Kaiba Corp is sponsoring the series," said Ken.

"Of course someone is sponsoring it," said Aino with a know-it-all smug smile. "Kaiba Takeru is the one who sponsors it. Digimon is his pet project. After all, he designed the series and everyone in it, including us."

"That kid wanted everyone to look like his best friends," said Kairi. "So we all took courses in designing our actions around certian friends. Others like Hiro and Jiro had to emulate Kaiba and Mutou to the extent that they're hard to pick out."

"That makes sense," remarked Shuichon.

Sora nodded. "It's not completely crazy and we've seen weirder honestly." The four nodded along with the three digimon.

"Welcome to the Battle City Finals," said Seto as he took the microphone from his announcer and his image appeared on the huge TVs distributed all over Domino City. "This year proved to be a monumental occasion as it marked the Second Annual Battle City Tournament! This year proved to be a challenge to all comers. And now, let the Duel begin!"

Wild cheering erupted from the fans as Seto handed back the microphone to the announcer. Eric blinked and leaned over to Hikaru who was making googly eyes at Seto. "Hey, isn't he participating in the tournament?"

"Not this year," said Hikaru in a low voice. "He has so much work to do this time around."

"Damnit, and I wanted to see him duel," griped Eric.

"Introducing our two finalists! From the forests of Germany, the one, the only, Katrina Von Schraider!"

A young girl walked out into the open area of the plaza as she waved to the audience and placed her Duel Disk on her arm. Eric peered at her and remarked, "Doesn't she look similar to Katrina of Germany's team?"

"She does at that," said Ken with a nod. "Definately."

"Though the name, Von Schraider," said Eric, tapping his lip. "Where does that come from?"

"She's a duelist who participated in KC Grand Prix over in America," said Shugo, thoroughly confused with the direction of the pair's conversation. "She's only a few of years older than I am and the sister of Tobais Von Schraider."

Eric exchanged glances with Ken who shrugged. "Anime hasn't reached that point yet I think," said Ken who looked at Wormmon for confirmation. Wormmon shook his head in the negative and the boys sighed.

"And her opponent! From right here in Domino City, Japan! Please welcome, Jounouchi Daisuke!"

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Eric amidst the roar of the crowd. "I thought Yugi is participating in this duel And what the hell is with Jounouchi Daisuke?!"

Ken shrugged. "Obviously what happened to Kaiba Seto happened to Jounouchi Daisuke."

Jounouchi had appeared from the depths of the crowds and waved to the fans. The teenager was still tall and dressed casually in a blue shirt and jeans. Although his features leaned towards Daisuke with the wild brown hair and the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Players shuffle each others decks!" said the man as the pair exchanged decks.

"I won't go easy on ya," said Jounouchi with a warm grin as he shuffled Katrina's deck.

"I won't either," Katrina replied. "Taichi made me promise to make you work for this victory."

"That's the spirit," said Jounouchi with a wide grin as he handed Katrina her deck. Katrina handed Jounouchi's back to him and the pair separated to move to their starting positions. With a hum and a whir, the devices locked into place and lights flashed on. High above them, their faces were shown on the screen as they slid their decks into place. "Duel!" the pair chorused as their life points racked up to 4000.

And then, the crowd went wild.

"Draw!" Katrina drew her opening card with a flourish and added it to her hand. Then taking two cards, she slid one into the Magic/Trap Zone and placed one face up on the field vertically. "I set one card face down and summon Landlady of the Wood in Attack Position!"

A large wolf dressed in an old lady's frilly pink apron, a white hairnet hat and small spectacles appeared on the field and it howled before scratching one ear with it's paw. "Landlady's effect is when it is destroyed, it resummons the monster it destroyed previously back to the field. Turn end!"

"All right, time to kick butt!" exclaimed Jounouchi as he drew. "Draw!"

Sora rolled her eyes as she looked at the silly grin that Jounouchi had on his face. "Oh boy, he's got the worst poker face in the history of mankind."

"There's one worse than Eric?" asked Lopmon who got a noogie for his trouble.

"I activate the Magic Card Jar of Greed which allows me to draw two new cards from my deck." Jounouchi drew and held up another card. "Now I play Foolish Burial! This Magic Card allows me to search my deck for a monster and send it directly to the Graveyard. And I choose to send my Android Psycho Shocker to the Grave!"

"Nice opening move," remarked Hikaru as Eric nodded in agreement.

"Mind filling us in on what he's about to do?" asked Aino from beside Shugo. "Some of us aren't completely Duel Monsters Literate."

Aino Sora's question was quickly answered as Jounouchi held up another green card from his hand. "I now activate Raise Dead which revives any monster from both graveyards in either face up attack or defense! And I choose my Psycho Shocker!"

A large golden Anhk appeared on the field and dissolved in a flurry of sparkles as the tall and menacing android appeared, arms crossed. Jounouchi's grin of early triumph widened. "And my Psycho Shocker negates the activation of all trap cards! Say goodbye to your trap there Katrina!"

Katrina smirked. "Guess again."

"Nyaaaaaah!" exclaimed Jounouchi as he recoiled in shock.

"Uncover Card! Book of the Moon!" Katrina smiled disarmingly as the cards effect took place. "This Instant Magic card allows me to turn one monster face down in defense position."

Jounouchi grimaced but flipped the card face down horizontally. "This bites for an opening move."

"Did Taichi recommend that move?" asked Katrina as Jounouchi ended his turn.

"Naw, I used that move in Battle City One but that was before they edited the card text." said Jounouchi as he folded his arms. "Your move half-pint."

Katrina drew and checked the card for a long moment before placing it into her hand. "I play Cinderella, sign of attack!"

An elegant woman dressed in fine silks of a dazzling white and rich blue color appeared on the field. "Cinderella's effect allows me to special summon Horse Carriage of Pumpkin from the deck in defense position."

After searching through her deck, Katrina placed a card horizontally and a horse-drawn carriage with a huge orange pumpkin appeared. The horses snorted and knickered as Katrina selected two more cards card and slid it into the Magic/Trap zone. "I now play the Equipment Magic Card Glass Slippers which increases Cinderella's attack strength by 1000, boosting it to 1300."

Katrina pointed at the face down Psycho Shocker and called out her attack. The Landlady of the Wood lunged and gobbled up the Psycho Shocker in one gulp.

"Eeew, warn me next time would ya?" exclaimed Jounouchi as his Psycho Shocker was destroyed.

Katrina smiled. "Sorry, I will next time. Cinderella, Direct Attack on the player!"

"NYAAAAAH!" exclaimed Jounouchi as he was struck in the face when Cinderella kicked her slippers into his head.

"Seems painful, a duel," remarked Tailmon as she watched the battle unfold.

"Not really, it's more simulated than anything," said Kairi. "It's all right Tailmon, no one is getting really hurt."

"Not at the moment anyways," uttered Jen under his breath. Shuichon squeezed Jen a bit just to let him know that he was being a bit fatalistic.

"Go Jounouchi go!" cried Shugo and Patamon added his own with "Pata Pata" at the end of each cry. Aino looked embarrassed as well since Gomamon had joined the cheering squad for Jounouchi with Eric and Lopmon yelling in his ear. Ken looked amused and Hiro and Jiro were cheering for Katrina.

"A Fairytale deck," breathed Eric, almost in awe. "Oh my lord, I WANT those cards...."

"Sorry," said Hikaru, getting the goggled boy's attention. "Those are one of a kind cards made by Pegasus J Crawford for Katrina. One of his rarer pieces before he retired."

As Eric drooped, Wormmon looked up and said, "Maybe in another world they'll have them."

"God I hope so," said Eric.

"Okay kiddo, lets do this once more from the top!" exclaimed Jounouchi as he regained his balance and dusted himself off from the spill he took. "Draw! Now I summon the Panther Warrior, in attack position!"

A large feline warrior carrying a sword appeared and brandished it's weapon. "Panther Warrior requires a sacrifice to be able to attack, so I activate the magic card Scapegoat!"

Four small goats appeared on the field next to the Panther Warrior. Jounouchi thumbed his nose and grinned. "I offer one of my Scapegoats to allow Panther Warrior to attack! Feel the power of it's 2000 attack points! Go, Panther Warrior! Wipe out his Cinderella!"

The woman recoiled in horror as the Panther Warrior lunged at her and shrieked as she was cut in half before vanishing into pixels. Jounouchi laughed as Katrina's Life Points dropped to 3300. Jounouchi smirked. "It's not nearly enough of what you did to me in that initial attack there Katrina, but it sure was satisfying."

"I see you're enjoying this duel," Katrina said with a smile as Jounouchi set a card and ended his turn. "But I'm taking home the Battle City Victory today. Draw! And I summon Hunter of Forest!"

A man dressed similarly to the old tales of Robin Hood appeared with a longbow strapped to his back and a full quiver of arrows. "Hunter of Forest's effect allows him to destroy an Animal or Animal-Warrior type Monster on the field and remove it from the game when he is successfully summoned!"

"Aw crap," remarked Jounouchi as the Hunter loaded his bow and fired an arrow into the chest of the Panther Warrior. It twitched and exploded into pixels.

Katrina smiled. "Jounouchi-san, I am really enjoying this duel."

"So am I actually," said Jounouchi with a smile. "Lets keep going."

Katrina nodded and commanded her Horse Carriage, Landlady and Hunter to destroy the remaining three Scapegoats Jounouchi had on the field. When the dust settled, Jounouchi smiled and nodded. "End turn," said Katrina.

Jounouchi drew his card and looked at it for a long moment. Then, he held it up. "I play the Magic Card Treasure of Destiny!"

The card appeared on the field bearing a picture of a dark knight and an angel with a die between them. "A die is rolled and I get to draw the number of cards equal to the number that is rolled. I then discard that amount of cards from my deck."

Two hands came out of the card and threw up a black and white die. It arced high and bounced three times before landing on a six. Jounouchi pumped the air before drawing six cards from his deck and discarding six. "Just what I needed," he said with a wide silly grin. He then tapped a button that opened up his face down magic card. "I play the Magic Card Gathering of the Landstars! It allows me to summon all of the Landstar monster cards in my hand to the field!"

Playing three monsters in attack mode, Gunman of Landstar, Knight of Landstar and Freedom Fighter of Landstar, Jounouchi held up a card in his hand. "Now, I offer all three of my monsters in order to summon Gilford the Lightning!"

Thunder crashed as the three monsters vanished. A bolt of lightning struck the ground and a man dressed in silver armor appeared out of the storm. Jounouchi grinned. "When Gilford is offered three monsters instead of two, he immediately destroys all monsters on the opponents field! Say bye-bye!"

The warrior drew his sword and lightning exploded across Katrina's field. The crowd went wild as Katrina shielded her eyes from the brilliant flash of light. And in the haze of the flash, Jounouchi cried out, "Gilford, Direct Attack on the Player!"

Katrina cried out as the sword passed through her, registering a hit as her life dropped 2800 points from the direct assault, leaving her with 500 left.

Katrina heaved and coughed before getting to her feet. "A good attack," she said, coughing once. "But that will not save you or this duel."

"Yak yak yak," said Jounouchi. "C'mon Katrina, you can do better than that."

"And better I WILL!" Katrina drew, and Sora could swear she saw a streak of light spin from her deck to the card. "Now I activate the Magic Card, Infinite Dimensions!"

Jounouchi blinked in confusion as the card appeared, changing the landscape around him to a spinning grid of lines. "What the? Is that another card your brother gave you there Katrina?"

Katrina nodded. "Don't worry. Tobias wouldn't endanger me."

Jounouchi scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. I got a bad feeling about this."

"I use the power of Infinite Dimensions to resummon up to four monsters from my graveyard! And now, the second effect is that I sacrifice all four monsters, in order to summon the Imperial Dragon, in Attack Position!"

As one, the Digimon stiffened as Katrina's card touched the field. In an instant, a beam of chaotic blue light arced up into the sky as it took form. A huge winged dragon appeared out of the sky and roared it's challenge. "Holy smokes," breathed Jounouchi. "It's as big as the God of Obelisk!"

"That's Imperial Dramon!" exclaimed Ken as the huge monster looked down on the people who were cheering wildly.

"Imperial Dragon has 3500 Attack Points, Jounouchi! Prepare to loose your Gilford! Imperial Dragon, attack now!"

There was silence, save the wingbeat of the dragon. And then, it rumbled. "I do not think so."

There was a hideous whine and a burst of energy. And then the shockwave of an explosion rocked the city.

"And cue the screaming and running," remarked Eric as the stands began to empty when the Dragon started to shoot up the city.

"We need to get people out of this area," said Ken as he herded the crowds towards the exit in a different direction than the shooting dragon. "I hate mob mentality."

"You and me both," remarked Eric as he shoved a screaming guy past him. "Wish they wouldn't scream so much."

"That totally goes against 'screaming mob' mentality," remarked Aino with a smirk as he and Gomamon pushed a group back.

"This isn't getting anyone anywhere," remarked Shugo as he held up his prop Digivice. It burned with intense light and there was a cry of "Patamon evolve! Angemon!"

"What did you evolve Patamon for?" asked Misa.

"Watch," said Kairi with a smirk as Tailmon evolved to Perfection. "Go for it!"

"All right people!" boomed Angemon as he leveled his staff. "Follow in a straight line here folks! C'mon, double time!"

When no one moved for a moment, clearly confused, Angewomon bonked a man who was staring at her on the head and shouted, "That means you soldier!"

"YESSIR!" exclaimed the crowd as one and resumed running down the road. Soon, the area was cleared of all people save for a few teenagers in the stands.

"Aw man, I thought we left this crazy stuff back in Egypt where it belongs," griped a voice beside the group of actors and travelers. Looking down, a dark haired teenager in a brown trenchcoat grumbled and sighed. He also wore small glasses on his face and had dark eyes.

"It can't be helped Jyou-kun," remarked a small teenager next to him. He had wild brown hair and a non-descript uniform on his small frame. "I suppose things never really do change around here."

"Guys, would this be a good time to NOT have this discussion around here?" asked a girl who stood beside them. She was dressed in a yellow top and skirt. Her hair was reddish-brown and she had the same color eyes as Sora did. "This could be a BAD thing you know."

"Mazaki's right," said Jyou as he folded his arms. "Lets grab Jounouchi and get the hell out of this place before it goes nuts."

"I don't think there's a safe place here anyhow," said Mazaki worriedly.

Lopmon squirmed in Eric's arms. "Eric, stop gawking at the Chosen-in-wrong-bodies and help us out here!"

Eric snapped out his daze as another energy blast screamed overhead. "Oh, yeah, right. Lets go!"

"Wormmon Evolve!" A pillar of light exploded around Wormmon and a humanoid insect stood in it's place. "Stingmon!"

"Lopmon Evolve!" An egg-shaped energy sphere appeared and it exploded out, revealing the humanoid ape-like creature. "Wendigomon! Wendigomon super-evolve!" Light burst upwards as he evolved another step into a white bunny. "Antiramon!"

"Lopmon Evolve! Antiramon!" Jen flared with pink light and when it receeded, Antiramon stood there.

"On the count of jump. JUMP!" The trio of Digimon launched themselves at Imperial Dramon who was casually firing on the city.

"Real monsters again?" exclaimed Jyou as he whirled on the Travelers. "Why am I not surprised."

"What IS that thing?" demanded Taichi, folding his arms.

Eric stared. Before he could say anything stupid, Sora Mazaki pointed at the actors. "Hey, aren't you the kids from Digimon Adventure?"

"Yeah, that's us," said Hiro. "Hey Agumon stop squirming!"

"Hiro, those three are going to get pummeled out there!" exclaimed Agumon, jumping out of Hiro's arms. Gabumon his friend on the ground and nodded empathetically.

"That's right!" exclaimed Gabumon. "They're our friends out there! Lets get that dragon!"

"Well..." Jiro looked at the pair and grinned. "All right."

"But we don't have our props," remarked Hiro. "No Digivice, no Crest and Tag."

"Who needs those?" said Misa, startling the quartet. "I'm sure you can evolve them without the items."

"But..." said Hiro, looking at Ken. "Is it possible?"

"Not impossible, but only have been tried by a few people," said Ken as he shook his head. "Especially considering who's standing next to you guys." He gestured towards Taichi and Yamato who was coming up the stairs. "That, and people we know have evolved their digimon without Digivices."

"Nothing tried, nothing gained," said Jiro.

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "When did you grow a spine little brother?"

Jiro laughed. "About the same time you grew a conscience. C'mon, I feel so ALIVE. Lets take them!"

Eric looked up and nodded. "Those guys are gonna need your help in a bit. Get moving."

"We'll stay back here," said Aino as he pushed his own glasses up on his nose. Gomamon nodded in his arms.

"Perfection level Digimon aren't good against something like that," said Gomamon. "We'd be in the way."

"All right! Showcase time!" exclaimed Hiro as he pumped a hand into the air.

"Be careful," said Kairi as Angewomon scooped her up in her arms.

"Mind explaining what's going on?" asked Taichi as he looked at the small monsters. "And why do they look like us?"

"Give them a moment," said Shugo. "It's so cool to see!"

The pair cleared the hurdles and scampered past a startled Kaiba who looked at them and remarked, "So THAT'S what Takeru's pet project was."

"What was that Kaiba?" asked Jounouchi.

Kaiba smirked. "Takeru. He said he wanted to base a tv show off of us and I suppose these kids are the result. I recognise a lot of his designs of the monsters."

Aino spun on Kaiba. "You're Kaiba Seto, brother of Kaiba Takeru?"

Kaiba smirked. "That I am."

"No wonder my charecter looks like you," remarked Jiro from the side as the Digimon made it down to the bottom of the stands.

Kaiba was about to remark on that when the digimon yelled out and Hiro and Jiro's hands glowed with blue and orange light.

"Agumon Warp Evolve!" exclaimed Agumon and a huge pillar of orange light exploded outwards. He formed briefly into Greymon and Metal Greymon before turning into a bipedal dinosaur man in silver armor. "War Greymon!"

"Gabumon Warp Evolve!" yelled Gabumon and ice blue light erupted around him. Forming into Garurumon and then Were Garurumon for a moment, he solidified into a quadruped metal wolf who snarled. "Metal Garurumon!"

"Have no fear, the calvary is here!" exclaimed War Greymon as he shoved his dramon destroyers into Imperial Dramon's face. "Hey, ain't he supposed to die right when I do that?"

"I'm tougher than that," remarked Imperial Dramon, amused. He then blew sharply and War Greymon went tumbling backwards with a yelp.

"That was foolish," remarked Metal Garurumon with a smirk as he zoomed towards the giant dragon, both Antiramon hanging off his legs with an axe in hands. "You guys ready?"

"Bombardier one, to bombardier two, lock and load, bogey in sight," remarked Eric's Antiramon. Jen smirked as he leapt off and Antiramon followed. The pair landed on Imperial Dramon's massive back and ran to each side of the weapon, hacking at the dramon's back with their axes as they went.

Stingmon dodged around as Imperial Dramon fired lazily at him. Poking a hole into Imperial Dramon's nose, he remarked, "We're papercutting you to death, huh?"

"About par for the course," Imperial Dramon said with a smirk. "Boo." With a snort, he blew Stingmon backwards who spiraled out of control.

"Hey buddy, you have bad breath!" exclaimed War Greymon as he charged up a huge ball of energy. "Gaia Force!"

The attack exploded on Imperial Dramon's side as the dragon lurched to the side, spilling the two Antiramon onto the nearby rooftop. When the dust cloud cleared, Imperial Dramon looked at the crater-sized hole in his side and said, "Ooooh, if I had pain receptors, that would hurt."

With a hiss and a dark glow of shadows, the wound closed.

"Now that is just not fair," remarked Hiro, folding his arms as they watched from the ground. "He can HEAL himself!"

Taichi gasped as he watched the wound close on the side of Imperial Dramon. "That's shadow realm magic!"

"You sure?" asked Kaiba as Taichi nodded. The older teenager growled and set down his briefcase. Snapping it open he removed the Duel Disk that sat in the cover and placed it on his arm. Then taking a deck of cards from the inside of his white trenchcoat he placed it into the Duel Disk as it locked into place. "Lets give this a go."

A swift dealing of five cards yielded a monster which Kaiba slapped onto the field. "X-Head Cannon! Sign of attack!"

The large X-Head Cannon monster appeared in front of him with a burst of sparkles. Then, reaching up to his collar, Kaiba tapped the communicator built into the small KC logo. "Takeru, remove all safeties from the Duel Disks in the immediate area and set the power levels to maximum. Also, disengage any sacrifice requirements."

"But brother, that'll endanger anyone having a Duel," said Takeru from his place in the Kaiba Corporation Building.

"Don't worry, the only ones who're going to be using their Disks are myself, Taichi and the mutt. Shut down systems for all disks besides our own."

"Roger. Safeties disengaging." A pause. "Brother, there's a fourth disk running. Looks like it's registered to Katrina-san."

"Disengage her's as well," said Kaiba. "It may shut down this monster. Get everyone evacuated from the building as well and head to the remote station in the Duel Dome."

"Roger," said Takeru.

High above in the sky, the Imperial Dramon flickered for a brief moment. Kaiba's eyes narrowed as Takeru reported. "Her Disk is shut off but I can still see that Dragon from here."

"Don't worry about it. Just get out of the building. Seto out."

As Kaiba disengaged his communications, he looked over at Jounouchi, Katrina and Taichi who stood to the side. "You three keep back. This might be dangerous." He then turned to the Actor kids and called out, "You kids get under some shelter." Ken nodded and hurried the other kids down out of the stands and into the street.

"When has that stopped us?" retorted Jounouchi with a smirk as he armed his own Duel Disk and refreshed his hand.

Kaiba only smirked as he pointed at the dragon. "X-Head Cannon attack the Imperial Dragon!"

With a whine and a burst of energy, the X-Head Cannon fired it's twin cannons on Imperial Dramon. Imperial Dramon grunted and a small wound appeared where he was shot. "Tickles," he grumbled as he turned to deal with War Greymon.

"Looks like that isn't enough," said Kaiba as he slapped two more monsters onto the field. A winged red mechanical dragon appeared and a squat yellow tank appeared before him. "Y-Dragon Head! Z-Metal Tank! What are you waiting for Mutou?!"

Taichi blinked for a moment before reaching into his own backpack and placing his Disk on his arm. "Skilled Black Magician! Magic Warrior - Breaker!"

Two monsters appeared on the field, one of them garbed in black robes and carrying a staff while a warrior in red and gold armor appeared with a sword-staff in his hands. "Attack the Imperial Dragon!"

"X, Y, Z! Attack!" commanded Kaiba.

The much smaller monsters flew up at the Imperial Dramon and began to blast away at the dragon. It grumbled and swatted at the monsters who scattered.

"Gilford the Lightning!" Yelled Jounouchi as his own Gilford that was still in play attacked, carving deep trenches in Imperial Dramon.

"This is support fire, calling stupid," quipped Antiramon as he unleashed his own attacks in unison with Jen and Stingmon.

"Gaia Force!"

"Garuru Tomahawk!"

The pair of Ultimate-level attacks impacted with a thunderous detonation as Imperial Dramon flew backwards out of the dust cloud. "That hurt!" he roared as shadows covered him and his wounds healed over.

"No fair," grumbled Stingmon as he dodged the laser. "He can heal himself!"

"And I'm sure we've established that fact," remarked War Greymon dryly as they scattered, dodging the searing blast of the Positon Laser.

"Think of something fast Mutou," remarked Kaiba as he combined his X, Y and Z into the XYZ-Dragon Cannon and unleashed it's full might on Imperial Dramon. The Dragon merely healed himself and resumed fighting off the other monsters.

"I am, I am!" exclaimed Taichi as he drew his own cards to refresh his hand as his Breaker and Skilled Black exploded into pixels. "Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl! Buster Blader!"

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave them there?" asked Eric, Ken and Shuichon ran back to the battlefield, Hiro and Jiro right behind them keeping pace easily.

"Look at it this way, Eric. Hiro and Jiro have Digimon of comparable levels to Imperial Dramon," said Ken as he turned the corner. "The others while strong, don't have the evolutions necessary to deal with the problem. Sora's watching them so it's all fine."

"I still have a bad feeling about this though," said Eric as they came into view of the square.

Shuichon peered at the fighting high in the sky and her eyes narrowed. "This might be a bad thing then. Looks like he's just busting through the Duel Monsters and the rest are papercutting him."

"Then there's no time to loose," said Hiro as he clambered up into the stands where the Duelists were standing.

Hiroto Jyou turned to them and scowled. "What are you guys doing back here? It's dangerous!"

"If you haven't noticed those are our Digimon out there," retorted Hiro. "Now unless you have something to contribute to the fight, I'd suggest you get out of the way as well."

Jyou scowled but turned to Mazaki. "Lets get out of here Sora. We'll meet up with Taichi back at the Kame Game Shop."

"Right. TAICHI!" Taichi looked up at the shout and Mazaki waved. "We're falling back to the Kame Game Shop!"

"Right! You two be careful!" called out Taichi.

Jiro looked up to the sky where Metal Garurumon was blasting away without doing much damage. "This is getting us nowhere," he said.

"What worries me though is the Shadows that keep healing him," said Eric.

"You're right," said Ken as he folded his arms. "He's accessing magic to heal himself."

"Damnit, I'm out of cards," cried Jounouchi as he slapped down a multitude of Landstar monsters who proceeded to get vaporized in a single shot. "Kaiba, Taichi, I hope you two have something new and fresh here!"

Kaiba grimaced as he summoned all three of his Blue Eyes White Dragons and sicced them on Imperial Dramon. "Once Mutou comes up with something, maybe then we can deal with it."

"I think I have it," said Taichi as he summoned his Chaos Soldier. "Kaiba, fuse your Blue Eyes!"

Kaiba searched his deck for a Fusion Magic card and activated it. In a burst of light, the three Dragons fused into a huge three headed monster known as the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "I see your plan," he remarked.

"Fusion!" exclaimed Taichi as he fused his Chaos Soldier with the Ultimate Dragon. With a tremendous bellow, the monster took to the skies. "ATTACK!"

Energies collected and blasted out. Imperial Dramon was driven back several meters by the force of the blast, leaving a huge blast crater in his side. "You insects!" growled Imperial Dramon as the blast crater healed itself. "I was perfectly happy to leave you alone but now you got me mad! Positon Laser!"

"KATRINA!" Shouted Taichi as the blast rocketed downwards at Katrina who stood in the path. Without thinking, he tackled the girl out of the way. The heat of the blast was intense as it melted the stands around where Katrina was standing, and Taichi screamed as his Duel Disk half melted on his arm and fried all of his cards. The heat blistered his skin and burned his jacket.

Bouncing twice while smoldering and burnt, Taichi rolled to a stop as Katrina looked up from her prone position. "Taichi-san!"

"Taichi!" exclaimed Jounouchi as he ran over to the smaller teenager. Cradling him in his arms, he turned Taichi over and hissed. "Taichi! Taichi! Are you all right buddy?"

"Did...." Taichi's eyes flickered open as he winced. "Is Katrina-san all right?"

"She's fine," said Jounouchi. "Lets get you to a doctor."

"No..." said Taichi as he struggled to sit up. "I need to help."

"You're in no condition to do so, Mutou," snapped Kaiba who had strode over after calling a Kaiba Corp Helicopter. "Medical assistance is on the way."

"No.... no doctors," said Taichi as he struggled to get up. "I.... I..... I will be strong.... I will not give up!"

"That's insane Mutou!" exclaimed Kaiba. "You're half burned alive and your disk, not to mention your deck is fried!"

Eric turned to Ken. "Call Stingmon. Get Taichi out of here."

"Right. Stingmon!"

The humanoid insect flew down to his position and knelt down. "You did your best Taichi-san," said Stingmon. "I will take you to the hospital."

"I....." tears welled up in Taichi's eyes. "No... I will be strong! To combat this menace! And to save this city. I cannot allow it to continue!"

Suddenly without warning, the Black Magician card that sat half burned on his disk exploded into golden light and everyone flinched at the brilliance of the light.

From the piles of ashes scattered everywhere, cards began to reassemble itself and they floated upwards and began to encircle the small group. Restored and shined to perfection like they had been newly printed that way, they glowed the same golden light.

"What is this light?" wondered Kaiba as the light continued to shine.

"I think.... I don't know what TO think," said Jounouchi, awed as the metal on Taichi's arm started to shift form. It became more sleek and streamlined and shone a cool blue color. Two gemstones were imbedded into the disk, one on the top of the disk and the other connecting the pair of metallic wings that held the new play area. And on the top was embossed a curious sun crest.

One by one, the cards flew into the newly repaired disk until the deck was replaced in it's entirety and the Black Magician card sprang to life, the monster appearing in a flash and floating down to stand next to Taichi. Reaching down, the monster helped up Taichi and intoned, "My Pharoah, I, your servant Mahaado will help you."

"Mahaado..." said Taichi as Mahaado cast a spell to recover the most dangerous of wounds. A smile split Taichi's face as he turned to face Imperial Dramon. "Lets go."

"Hai, my Pharoah." With that, Black Magician took to the skies.

Eric blinked. Ken blinked. Shuichon blinked. Hiro blinked and Jiro said, "Ooo-kay, what just happened here?"

"I think, Taichi awoke the soul within him," said Ken but he looked as confused as everyone else. "Stingmon, go support the others!"

"Yes Ken-chan!" said Stingmon as he flew up next to Black Magician.

Antiramon and Jen launched themselves off of Imperial Dramon's back while War Greymon and Metal Garurumon kept the dragon busy. "What's the plan?" asked Antiramon as he caught hold of Stingmon's hand and Jen grabbed onto Black Magician's. "This is getting old real quick."

"We hit it with everything that we have," said Black Magician, getting a look from Antiramon.

"In case you haven't noticed, we've tried that before," said Jen in a rare bout of sarcasm.

"Trust in the Pharoah," said Black Magician.

"If you haven't noticed, that isn't the Pharoah at this point in time," pointed out Antiramon but his arguement was lost to the wind.

Down below, Taichi drew the top card and placed it into the Magic/Trap Zone. "Black Magic!"

Black Magician leveled his staff and a huge ball of dark light coalesced at the end of the staff. "BLACK MAGIC!" exclaimed Black Magician as the huge energy ball was hurled.

It impacted hard against Imperial Dramon's body. For a brief instant, a red shield shattered around him and then the attack hit. Imperial Dramon bellowed as he stumbled backwards in the air, a large hole in his side. "Insects!" he yelled before beginning the healing process but found he could not. "What is this?"

"Black Magic's effect is to destroy all Magic and Trap cards on the opponents field!" exclaimed Taichi. "In real life, it would destroy the support you have from the shadows!"

"Cursed child!" exclaimed Imperial Dramon as he aimed his weapons at the group again. "This time I'll make sure to aim at you! Positron Laser!"

The giant beam of light lanced down and Taichi smirked as he drew and held up the next card. "Holy Barrier - Mirror Force!"

Imperial Dramon screamed in pain as the attack bounced back and destroyed his cannon.

"Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!" exclaimed Eric. "Antiramon!"

"Stingmon!" shouted Ken.

"Antiramon!" shouted Shuichon.

"Charge!" shouted the trio, followed close behind by Black Magician, Jen, War Greymon and Metal Garurumon.

Imperial Dramon tried to bat the monsters out of the skies but the new turn of events seemed to give them new strength. The Antiramon pair's axes tore through his hide like butter while Black Magician and Metal Garurumon fired from afar. War Greymon and Stingmon, the more mobile of the pair cut deep trenches with their arm weapons.

The monstrous dragon faltered and groaned as he swiped at a fast moving Stingmon. "You pests!" he growled. "This is only a mere setback if you defeat me!"

"Then we'd best deal with him now," said Jiro and Hiro nodded. "Metal Garurumon!"

"War Greymon! Attack together!"

"Garuru Tomahawk!"

"Gaia Force!"

The pair of attacks exploded with tremendous force against the dragon and he yelled in pain. When the dust settled, Imperial Dramon was missing quite a bit of his body but still floated in the air out of sheer stubbornness. "You...." he growled but then Black Magician was in his face.

"Black Magic!" he shouted, thrusting out a palm.

The colors of the world inverted for a brief moment as Imperial Dramon was hit by the energy blast. With a cry, he deleted.

Silence. Then, a thud as Taichi slumped to the ground. "Taichi-san!"

"Taichi? Taichi, can you hear me?"

Taichi's eyes flickered open as he saw a young face looking down at him. The girl smiled. "Welcome back big brother."

"Hikari," said Taichi as he held up his hand to touch her face. She grasped it and smiled brilliantly. "How long was I out?"

"Half a day," said the deep voice from beside him. Taichi looked over and saw the form of the Black Magician standing next to the window, his hood pushed back to reveal long blonde hair framing a pale face with Kohl-rimmed eyes. He looked over and nodded. "My Pharaoh."

Taichi chuckled. "Zero isn't here anymore, Mahaado. You can rest now."

"No, I cannot," said Mahaado as he stared out the window. "You have a unique soul, young Pharoah. One of light. One of darkness. And... one so unique, that it permiates both light and dark. That is the soul that gives you the resemblance to the young teenager sitting in the waiting room."

"I got the story out of the travellers, big brother," said Hikari as she held Taichi's hand. "We carry the souls of their friends of this world. They come from a world where Digital Life is made flesh and blood. Much like Mahaado is now."

Hikari reached over and picked up the disk that sat next to him. It was compated at the moment, the last three slots bare but it was slid into the machine. Hikari held it, and it thrummed to life as she fastened it onto Taichi's arm. The deck gleamed up at him as she held his hands. "The heart of the cards. The souls of the ka beat directly with your heart in this one deck. They are of light and darkness. You are the King of Games, no matter who says otherwise."

"Hikari," said Taichi and for an instant, he could see that his sisters eyes became old and wise.

"You have a gift. And it is time, that gift is awakened." Hikari kissed her brother and then stood. "I will tell everyone that you are awake."

She then turned to Mahaado who bowed. With that, Mutou Hikari left.

"He'll be okay," said Mutou Hikari as she exited from the room to the group of worried Duelists, Actors and Travelers. "He just needs to rest."

Kaiba nodded as he looked over at the group who sat with Digimon in their hands. "So now that we know your side of the story," he said, indicating the travelers and Actors, "And we know theirs. What are we going to do now? Are we to expect invasions from this Digital World?"

"I don't think so," said Ken, shaking his head. "I tried to port into the Digital World from a terminal here in the hospital. But I got an access denied."

"We saw a picture of the digital world from the monitor," said Shuichon, taking up the narrative as she was there to watch Ken try. "It's slowly leeching off into a dark void."

"We can only assume it's the Shadow Realm," said Eric.

"And that the digital information is beginning to configure itself there, giving living Ka a new physical form," said Sora, finishing up the train of thought.

Aino pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "There may be more emergencies like this later in the future," he said to the Actors and the Duelists. "And more people will gain the power of the D-Disk and awaken the soul within them."

"So what you're saying is that each of us have a soul of someone you know but it's sleeping now?" asked Mazaki. "That's too weird. Thinking that we could have lived in Ancient Egypt AND housing a soul of someone you know."

"It only makes sense," said Sora. "You look too much like me, although older and wearing your hair differently."

"And I carry the physical template," said Hikaru from across the room. Piyomon nodded in agreement.

"This shouldn't interfere with much, unless it's a tough situation and requires an old soul to be awakened," said Ken, folding his arms. "But you may want to monitor the systems a bit more closely, Kaiba-san. With more emergencies, you may want to send someone to inform them that their monster is now a living breathing being."

Kaiba made a noise which sounded like a short lived chuckle. "So if I get into a big problem later on and summon my Blue Eyes, then I could have a real live dragon living in my back yard?"

"That sums it up pretty much," said Eric, folding his arms behind his head. "Everyone has a copy of the Chosen CD now. Since this has turned into a full fledged Digital Shadow Immersion, it could turn into something much more."

"Man, reborn souls, people who look like us, and travelers from another world and to top it all off, monsters from a kids show becoming real." Hiroto Jyou shook his head.

"When you deal with someone like Taichi, this is par for the course," remarked Jounouchi Daisuke, only to earn a smack upside the head from his friend.

"Yeah, but it seems like we're dealing with freaky magic all the time," groaned Mazaki.

"It could be worse," remarked Misa dryly and Shugo nodded.

"You could be stuck in a Digital World with no way of getting home!" Shugo said brightly.

"That brings back memories," remarked Shuichon as she looked at the Travelers who snickered.

The door to Taichi's room opened once again and out stepped Mahaado who closed the door silently with a click. "He just fell asleep," said Mahaado as he leaned against the door.

"Thank you for looking after him, Mahaado-san," said Hikari. "It means a lot for you to watch over my big brother."

A smile appeared on Mahaado's face. "I do what I can. Thank you, Mutou-san."

A cellphone rang and Hiro answered it. "Hello? Yeah, we're all together. Really? That's great news! Okay, we'll be there as soon as possible." Hanging up, he grinned. "The generators are back up and we're needed at the sound stage. Daisuke is already there."

"All right!" exclaimed Misa standing up and pumping a hand into the air. "Lets get this show on the road!"

The kids hurried out and Kairi turned to look at the young woman who shared her face. "Please take care," she said. Then, bowing to everyone else, she hurried out.

"That takes care of things here," said Eric as he stood up and stretched. "I wonder when we'll be ported out?"

"Wait just a moment," said Kaiba as he stood and reached behind him. Pulling out his wallet, he withdrew nearly half a million yen and a few thousand American dollars. "For your troubles."

"Um, thanks," said Ken as he accepted the money.

This time, Kaiba did allow himself to smile. "Tell your Ishida Yamato that life can be better than what he wants. But if he wants to earn my respect, work towards his goals."

"We will," said Sora as she turned to everyone and bowed. "Thank you all."

"Take care," said Mazaki and Jounouchi and Jyou waved. Hikari nodded and Mahaado smiled from the door.

The group got up and headed down the hall. Then, there was a sliding noise and a blue light filled the corridor. Then, they were gone.

"So where are we now?" asked Ken as he looked around the forest that they were deposited in.

"Not totally sure," said Sora, folding her arms.

"It's a forest," offered Lopmon and got noogied for it.

"It's big," offered Wormmon.

"Are animals supposed to be that big? Because I have never seen a Frog that size." said Jen.

Everyone turned to see a large Frog or Toad towering over them and facing them was a Tanuki made out of sand.

And up above the head of the Frog, a teenager was yelling insults at a rapid pace. He looked remarkably similar to Pedro of Brazil, if not for the orange jumpsuit while a teenager who looked like David of Argentina stood half imbedded in the Tanuki's head, obviously sleeping for some odd reason. David was dressed in browns and sand-stained whites but he was snoozing away.

Ken exhaled sharply. "And here I was hoping for a NORMAL world."

"Live and learn buddy," said Eric, patting him on the shoulder. "Live and learn."

For the L33T Non-Impared

Ken looked up and quirked an eyebrow. 'c4N'T h1NK 0ph 4 prOpEr H0noRif1c hErE, huH eR1C?' said Ken in the seemingly garbled L33T Speak.

'n0 my f4uL,' grumbled Eric in the same language. 'J00 JapAN35e P30PL3 H4V3 sO MaNy HOn0riph1C$, 1'5 D1fF1cuL O U53 0n3 tH4'$ POLI3 eN0uGH. n0T T0 Men10N THE wh0Le fIR5T P3R50n4l nAme H1Ng .'

Wormmon chuckled from his perch on the table as Ken sniggered and hid himself behind the paper. 'hEy, 4T l345 w3'rE 4ll 0n 4 FIr$ NM3 845i$. wE D0N' NeEd O $M4cK J00 0NE Ph0R CLlIn9 U5 W0rMmON 4Nd k3n w1thOUT Any h0nor1f1C$.'

'th4T'S foR 5Ur3,' said Lopmon as he sipped at his mug of tea. 'i'M SuRE W3'D hAve 0 9o cr4Zy IPH wE h4d t0 m3MORIzE jP4N3S3 cu50m$ $ WElL 45 3v3RY 0TH3R CU$oM THT wE $33M to hAV3 comE 4cro55.'

"What kind of language are you speaking?" asked Hiro as he walked out of his room as he stole a glance at Jiro who was looking very confused. "It sounds like English but it's all garbled."

"It's called L33T Speak," said Ken as he lowered the paper. "Although we're sort of ill-equipped to teach it to anyone."

"How can an Internet language be used in day to day conversation?" wondered Jiro as he set down a container of rice and several plates of pickles, fish and other assorted foods.

"It's a long story," said Lopmon. The bunny then grinned and posed. 'pHEr My md N4k3D 5KiLl5!'

Two hands and a mandible bonked or prodded Lopmon with a chorus of 'puT p4N$ 0n Ph00L.'

Jiro and Hiro exchanged bewildered looks before beginning breakfast.