Hey everybody. Sorry about the delay; I was rewatching Frontier and am constantly tutoring my sister in statistics.

Once again, thanks for the reviews. Glad to know you guys are happy.

Chapter Two Recap:

Jake Ladon was attacked by a group of Gazimon while traveling through the city park. Fortunately, a girl named Penelope and two digimon (Monodramon and Lunamon) saved him. After the battle, the digimon revealed that the humans are their partners. Meanwhile, Ryan met his digimon, Cupimon and the two helped Collin and Labramon defeat Goblimon.

Herald

Wednesday, June 7th, 2084

During her shower, Penny reflected on the situation. Digimon, something she had known previously as only a television fantasy, truly existed. Yesterday, she would have easily denied such an absurdity; but now, nothing was clear. The battle with the Gazimon presented a very real threat. Her saviors, Monodramon and Lunamon, could be seen, heard, smelt, and touched. They even displayed emotions such as love, curiosity, and embarrassment. These kinds of creatures were not supposed to exist, and yet denying what she had experienced would be impossible.

But where did they come from? What was their purpose? How did they get here? Why did they want human partners? Penny was bombarded with questions and knew she had to ask Lunamon. Quickly, she stepped out of the shower, toweled off, threw on some clothes, and ran to her room. She found Lunamon sitting on her bed, looking through an assortment of novels Penny was reading.

Surprised, the girl asked "You know how to read?"

"Yes. All digimon do." Before Penny could reply, Lunamon placed her hand on her stomach and said "I'm hungry."

"Well, let's get you some food. Then you can tell me all about the Digital World. Deal?"

Excited, Lunamon jumped up and shouted "Yeah! Sure!"

The two walked into the kitchen and Penny helped Lunamon into a chair. She then went to the refrigerator and threw leftover spaghetti in the microwave. As it heated, she continued questioning Lunamon. "So, you said all digimon know how to read? When do they learn it?"

Lunamon looked confused. "Learn it? We don't learn it. We're just born with it."

"Wait. You don't have to learn how to read? Write? What about speaking?" Penny was amazed by this revelation.

Casually, Lunamon said "Nope. We're born knowing how to do all those things. I thought humans were too, but I guess not."

Penny was jealous. "Lucky. We have to go to school to learn that stuff."

"School? What is that?"

"That's how we learn things. There are these adults called teachers and they...well...teach us things: English, history, science, math. Everything, really."

"That's a lot. How do you find the time for all of it?"

"Uh, well, we spend a lot of time in school. Years and years and years."

Lunamon suddenly looked dismayed. "Oh yeah...they told us that humans get old," she said softly.

"You mean...you don't? Digimon don't age?"

"No. We look the same until we digivolve."

"Wow, that's amazing." The microwave started beeping and Penny retrieved the food. She set aside two plates and grabbed eating utensils for both of them. "Cheer up: food's done!"

Lunamon watched as her partner scooped their food out of the bowl and onto the plates. In the Digital World, plates were exotic and rare; most digimon ate with their hands. Penny placed a fork in front of her, but Lunamon just stared; her hands were not designed to hold a fork. Penny seemed to realize this because her face quickly grew red. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about that..."

Lunamon smiled, "It's okay." She looked down at her food for a moment, as if she were mentally preparing herself. Then, before Penny could stop her, the small digimon began shoveling handfuls of it into her mouth.

Penny, after watching her small friend's eating frenzy, picked up her fork and elegantly ate her meal, as if she were trying to show Lunamon the correct method. However, her companion was too focused on her food. After Penny finished chewing her first bite, she glanced over at Lunamon, whose plate was already empty. From the corner of her eye, she caught Lunamon eyeing her plate.

"Do you want mine too? I'm really not that hungry."

"Are-are you sure?" Penny could tell Lunamon was being gracious. The digimon still wanted more to eat.

"Yup. Go ahead." She slid her plate in front of Lunamon and smiled.

The digimon hastily devoured her second meal while Penny continued questioning her. "Earlier, you said 'they, told us humans get old.' Who are 'they'?"

Lunamon looked at Penny, bewildered. "I'm...not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I came here, I remember someone teaching us about the Human World, but I can't remember who. That's really strange. I'm sorry." Lunamon looked depressed as she apologized.

Penny comforted her, "Oh no, it's okay. I'm sure you'll remember eventually.

Still downhearted, Lunamon, said "It's just so weird. I can remember everything else perfectly..." After a moment of contemplation, she exclaimed, "Maybe Monodramon knows! He was there with me!"

Penny gathered the dirty dishes and replied, "Maybe, but I don't know where Jake lives. Besides, he was pretty rude; he probably doesn't want to talk to us." She walked over to the sink and turned on the water, but immediately shut it off. "Hey, what do you say we test out your water powers? Think you can rinse off this plate for me?"

Lunamon leaped out of her chair and ran to the sink. "Yes! It would be my pleasure!"

Penny kneeled down and held the plate in front of Lunamon. She turned her head away and shouted, "Okay, let it rip!"

Lunamon concentrated and cried, "Tear Shot!" Identical to the last experience, water formed between her antennae and a stream burst toward the plate, cleaning it. Penny laughed as she placed the dish in the dishwasher and grabbed another. Again, Lunamon focused, but this time she was interrupted by the doorbell.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be. Nobody ever visits us." Penny put the plate down and hid Lunamon in the pantry. "You stay here. I'll be right back." Fortunately, the kitchen was located in the rear of the house, so if Lunamon had trouble keeping quiet, it was unlikely the visitor would hear.

Penny unlocked the door and opened it. Standing at her doorstep, approximately four feet tall, was a man dressed completely in wizard garments. On top of his head was situated a blue mage's hat with a skull on the front, which covered the top portion of his face (although a few yellow strands of hair could be seen covering his eyes). He had a cape with an identical color to his hat, which blocked the bottom of his face; additionally, it had chains connecting the two ends of the cape with a skull in the center. He wore a yellow one-piece (with a few areas of red), that was covered in zippers; one of which was open, but led to a seemingly endless void of space. He wore brown boots and brown gloves and carried a staff with a sun.

In a gentle voice, the man said "Hello. I am Wizardmon, and I would like to speak with you, Penelope."

Surprisingly, Penny was not afraid. This digimon had a strange atmosphere around him; one that comforted her. "Sure. Please, come in."

He turned and surveyed the area before stepping inside. "Thank you."

"So, uhh...can I get you something to eat? Digimon seem to eat a lot."

"I hate to intrude, but yes. I may need my strength in the future. Also, would you mind grabbing Lunamon for me?" Wizardmon followed Penny to the kitchen as she freed Lunamon.

"All we have left are some pretzels. I hope that's okay," said Penny.

"That's fine. I'll take anything, really."

Lunamon was staring at Wizardmon. "I know you from somewhere..."

Wizardmon gave a warm smile. "Yes, you do. I am the one who brought you here, to the Human World."

Lunamon's blank stare melted away as her memory came flooding back. "That's right! You told us it was our mission to find human partners!"

Penny remained quiet, listening to Wizardmon intently as he spoke. "You are correct. I am truly excited that you found such a wonderful partner so quickly. I believe the two of you will make an excellent team. However, I fear the others were not so lucky. We must find Monodramon and Cupimon to be certain they have also found suitable tamers."

Lunamon was eager to reunite with her friends. "Yay! It'll be so fun to see them again."

Penny interjected, "Not to be Debbie-downer, but we were just talking about this. I don't know how to find Jake."

Wizardmon smiled wisely, "How do you think I found you? Now come quickly, we must go." He ate the entire bag of pretzels in one mouthful, and motioned for Penny and Lunamon to follow him.

Penny, unprepared for this expedition, checked the house to make sure it was secured, and then followed the two digimon outside. "Ummm...are you sure this is safe? People are going to stare..."

Wizardmon calmly said, "Don't worry. My magic will make Lunamon and I appear as normal humans to the public."

Penny locked the front door and turned to Wizardmon. "Wow, that's amazing."

"Thank you. Now, if you're ready, let's go. I believe Monodramon is closest."

Wizardmon began to step into the street, but Penny stopped him. "Wait. Would it be easier if we drove? I have a car."

"Actually, that is a good idea." Turning to Lunamon, Wizardmon said "You chose an excellent partner."

Lunamon blushed. "Aww, thanks."

Penny positioned Lunamon in the back seat and Wizardmon climbed in the passenger seat. Closing the driver's door, Penny said, "Okay, I'll drive slowly so you can direct me."

"Sounds like a plan." Wizardmon reached into one of his unzippered areas and pulled out a small, blinking device. Glancing at it, he requested, "Turn left out of the driveway..."

...

As Jake parked his mother's car in the garage, he informed Monodramon, "My parents are still home. I'll have to sneak you up to my room and you can stay there until they leave."

Monodramon, still under a box, yelled from the back of the car, "Okay! Let's go!"

Startled, Jake whispered back, "Do you not understand the definition of 'sneak?' Quit yelling!" He was then silent for a moment, listening to discover if his parents had heard the commotion. "Whew. I think we're in the clear."

Monodramon apologized quietly, "I'm sorry." He had lost his normal, excited tone.

Jake was still angry, but Monodramon's childlike nature made it hard to scold him. "Just don't let it happen again."

Monodramon, still hurt, remained quiet.

"My parents are probably in their room, packing. I'll just carry you upstairs. You'll have to stay in the box though, just in case." As he spoke, Jake heaved the box out of the car, grunting. Monodramon weighed more than he had originally thought. "Oof. What have you been eating?"

"...nothing. I swear."

Ignoring the comment, Jake slowly carried Monodramon into the house. "Okay, no talking. We're about to go inside."

During his ride, Monodramon stared up intently at Jake; however, he was too busy watching for his parents to notice.

"Jake, honey, is that you? Do you have the boxes?" From the sound of her voice, Jake could tell his mother was in her bedroom.

He shouted back, "Yeah! I'll bring them to you in a second!" He then muttered to himself, "Good. They're in their room," and continued his mission.

Carrying the box upstairs was difficult, but manageable. Once in his room, Jake removed the box from Monodramon. "All right. I'm going to give this to my parents. You stay here until I finish. Understand?"

Timidly, Monodramon replied, "Yes."

In an effort to leave the digimon alone for as little time as possible, Jake sprinted back downstairs and returned to the garage. He recovered the remaining flattened boxes and brought them to his parents. "Here you go. Sorry about that. I had to use the bathroom real quick," he explained as his father took the opened box.

"Uhh...son... Why are there teeth marks in this one?" Horrified, Jake examined Monodramon's box. On the interior were tiny bite marks, as if someone (or something) had been chewing on it.

"I...uhh...got hungry?" Jake had no idea what to say.

Luckily, his mother interrupted, "It doesn't matter. It's almost time to leave. Here, help us finish packing."

Jake knew that leaving Monodramon alone for any longer would be disastrous. "I can't. I really have to use the bathroom."

His father grew suspicious. "Again? I thought you just went."

"Yeah, well I ate Mexican food. You know..." Before they could stop him, Jake ran back to his room.

"Mexican food and he was still hungry enough to eat the box? Sheesh."

...

After his parents had left, Jake brought Monodramon to the kitchen to feed him. "So, what exactly do you eat?"

"Usually I just find some berries in the forest. They're really good."

"Berries? We don't have any berries."

Aghast, Monodramon cried, "What kind of world is this?"

"...I meant here, in the house. I'm just going to reheat some pizza. You'll like that."

"Okay, if you say so. I trust you."

Jake was surprised at his partner. He had never heard anyone say that to him before, and he did not have a proper response. "Uhh...yeah."

He threw the pizza in the microwave for a minute, during which time he remained silent. Monodramon continued staring at him, smiling. Jake felt strange. The two friends had only met hours ago, but this digimon genuinely trusted him, similar to a relationship between brothers. He wondered if all digimon behaved this way, or perhaps Monodramon was unique.

The microwave's buzzing disrupted his thoughts. He set the pizza on a plate and handed it to his partner.

Monodramon looked confused. "You're not going to have some?"

"No. I'm not hungry. I ate before I left earlier today."

"Okay!" The digimon shoved the entire slice into his mouth, consuming it instantly.

Watching Monodramon eat, Jake asked, "So...umm...how come you chose me? You know, as your partner."

"I'm not sure. When I saw you, I just had some weird feeling, like we were supposed to be a team."

"Huh. Weird."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Before Jake could respond, Monodramon shouted, "Lunamon!" and darted to the door.

"Hey! Come back here!" Jake chased him after him and opened the door.

The girl from earlier, Penny, and her digimon, Lunamon, were standing with a third creature, who said, "Hello Jake. My name is Wizardmon, and I'm sure you remember Penny and Lunamon."

The trio stepped inside and Jake closed the door behind them. Monodramon wrapped his arms around Lunamon in delight. "Lunamon! You're back!"

Gasping for air, Lunamon managed to squeeze out "Yes... now please...get off."

While the two digimon talked, Wizardmon addressed Jake, "I am sorry to be so pressing, but there is not much time."

Jake, still baffled, asked "What are you talking about?"

"There is still one digimon left. We need to find Cupimon and his tamer, which will complete the team of four."

Again, Jake repeated "What are you talking about? Four what?"

Wizardmon spoke with haste, "Penny, will you stay here with Jake? It would not be wise to traverse the city with such a large group of digimon, even with my magic."

Penny barely knew Jake, but she wanted to please Wizardmon. "Yeah, sure. As long as that's okay with him."

Monodramon, answering for Jake, exclaimed, "That's great! Lunamon can meet Jake! This is going to be so much fun!"

Then, before Jake could voice any objections, Wizardmon began to leave. "Excellent. You two remain here. I shouldn't be gone for very long," he said prior to closing the door behind him.

After Wizardmon's departure, Jake turned to Penny. "Can you tell me what's going on here?"

"I don't really know. From what he told me, Wizardmon sent the digimon here, to our world, to find human partners. I'm not sure why, but he seems worried."

"He just let them roam free? That sounds really dumb."

Defensively, Penny replied "Well, maybe it wasn't his fault."

Lunamon, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected. "Penny's right. Wizardmon told us to stay with him, but Cupimon and Monodramon were too excited. They just ran off. I figured Cupimon could take care of himself, so I chased after Monodramon."

Jake glared at Monodramon, who gave a weak chuckle. "I'm not surprised." With more questions, he turned back to Penny. "So why did they come here in the first place?"

"I'm not sure. Wizardmon didn't really tell me much. He's pretty mysterious."

"How so?"

"I don't know. A bunch of stuff. Like, he had some strange blinking device that directed us to your house."

"I guess that's how he's going to get find Cupimon too." Thinking for a moment, he continued, "So he's gathering us. Why? Are we some sort of team?"

"I think so. Apparently there are four of us."

"Four?" Counting on his fingers, Jake listed, "Monodramon, Lunamon, Cupimon, ...and who else?"

"Wizardmon maybe? I honestly don't know much."

"Wait. Maybe this is like that show on t.v."

"I-I guess. That sounds really ridiculous though."

Raising his eyebrows at her doubt, Jake said "Honestly? I mean, look," he gestured toward their digimon. "If they exist, I wouldn't doubt that we're 'digidestined' or whatever it's called."

"Yeah, that's true. I just wish Wizardmon were here so he could answer these questions." Addressing Lunamon, she commented, "It's a shame you can't recall anything else."

In response, Lunamon asked Monodramon, "Can you remember why they sent us here? Earlier, I couldn't even remember who Wizardmon was, but then he appeared and my memory came back."

Monodramon squinted his eyes, thinking hard, but nothing happened. "No, sorry." Not terribly worried about his selective amnesia, the digimon tugged on Jake's sleeve. "Hey, I'm hungry again."

"You just ate like...ten minutes ago. You can't possibly be hungry again."

"But it feels like it's been forever. Pleeeease?"

Lunamon looked at Penny. "I'm hungry too."

Jake was distraught. "If you guys eat like this all the time, there's no way you can stay here. We don't have enough food."

Monodramon put on his saddest face possible. "But Jake, I'm reeeeaaallly hungry."

"Fine." He walked over to the freezer and peered inside. "We have some frozen waffles. That's what you guys are eating."

Before he could put their meal in the microwave, there was a loud uproar above. Everyone jolted their heads upward, watching the ceiling, waiting for more noises. After a few minutes, Jake, feeling a sense of responsibility, stood up and said "Well, whatever's up there is isn't going to go away if we ignore it." Signaling Monodramon and Lunamon, he continued, "You two can fight. Let's go."

Penny followed the group. She was not afraid of being isolated, but instead wanted to keep Lunamon protected. "Just be careful!"

The journey to the second floor was tense. The group tried to stay silent, but the creaky floorboards would not permit it. After stepping on a few of them, Jake gave up on his stealthy approach. "Guys, whoever it is probably knows we're here. Let's just charge him."

Following his advice, Monodramon rushed into Jake's room. The other three entered behind him, scanning the area, but found nothing. Suddenly, the door slammed shot and everyone turned, facing it.

A blue digimon stood there, blocking the only entrance. It was slightly shorter than Penny and had a devious grin on its face. Supporting its body were a number of twisting strands, which combined at its neck, under a pointed yellow collar. The creature had two elongated arms with fingers, but its hands were almost as large as its head. Below its antennae were two black circles, which were likely the digimon's eyes.

Before anyone could react, the creature smirked and screeched "Bug Blaster!" A red sphere formed in its mouth and flew toward Jake. Monodramon jumped in the way and threw his arms up, but he was still thrown backwards and slammed into the wall. Jake ran over to help Monodramon while Lunamon stood in front of the blue digimon.

"Penny, that's a Keramon!" They're only rookies, but they're really dangerous!"

Penny, who was also helping Monodramon, replied, "Be careful!"

Keramon opened his mouth again. "Bug Blaster!"

In retaliation, Lunamon concentrated and shouted "Tear Shot!"

The blue and red orbs collided and instantly bounded off at angled directions. Debris from the damaged roof rained down, giving Jake the cover he needed to grab his backpack. "Penny, get ready! I'm going to distract him. As soon as you get the chance, open the door and get them out of here!"

"You want to fight that thing alone? That's crazy!"

"Stop arguing and just do it!"

"No! It's too dangerous!"

"Bug...Blaster!" Another red globe flew at Jake, but Lunamon's tear shot reflected it again.

Monodramon lunged at Keramon and tackled him. "Run guys!"

Penny grabbed Lunamon and followed Jake into the hall. Once at the top of the stairwell, they turned to watch Monodramon wrestle Keramon through the doorway. Monodramon pinned his enemy's arms to the ground, but Keramon used his multiple legs to wrap around Monodramon and squeezed his abdomen. Monodramon grunted in pain, causing Jake to run back into the room and start kicking Keramon in the head. Distracted, Keramon relinquished his grasp on Monodramon, giving the digimon the strength to yell "Beat Knuckle!" and strike Keramon in the face.

"Yeah, you got him!" yelled Lunamon. As Keramon rose back to his feet, she added, "Uh...never mind. You guys better get over here."

As Jake ran to Lunamon, he created a plan. "Lunamon, if Penny holds you on her shoulders, do you think you can keep stopping Keramon's attacks?"

"I can try!"

"Good. We need to draw him downstairs, where we have more options. Let's go!"

Penny hoisted Lunamon over her back and the three dashed down the stairs. Keramon tried shooting them, but Lunamon's tear shots constantly disrupted him. Cleverly, Keramon leaped over the balcony and intercepted Penny.

Jake commanded, "Monodramon, quickly!"

The digimon yelled "Shadow Wing!" A dark aura formed around him and he sped toward Keramon with his wing exposed. As if it were a blade, the wing sliced through Keramon's skin. He yelped as he grabbed his throbbing wound.

"You got him!" cheered Penny, but her joy was short-lived.

Keramon threw opened his mouth again, and the lights in the house dimmed as the red sphere slowly formed.

Suddenly, someone shouted "Thunder Ball!" Electricity engulfed Keramon as he writhed in pain. Like the Gazimon previously, he slowly dissipated.

Standing behind where the evil digimon evaporated was Wizardmon, who apologized "I knew I shouldn't have left you two here. It wasn't safe. I just didn't think they would find you so quickly."

Furiously, Jake argued, "You think? We could have been killed!"

Wizardmon remained calm. "I am truly sorry."

"Sorry? Tell that to my parents!"

"Please, let me help with this mess." Focusing on his staff, Wizardmon bellowed, "Return!" Stunningly, the entire house healed itself.

Penny, staring, commented "Wow, that's amazing."

Wizardmon smiled. "Thank you. Now please, we must return to the others."

Jake was still upset. "You expect me to follow you? Last time I listened to you, I almost died!"

"I understand your confusion. However, you must come with me. The longer we wait, the more chances they have to attack. I know of a safe place."

Monodramon was delighted. "Jake, come on! Let's go! We'll be fine."

It was Penny's turn to speak. "Well, we can't do any worse with him than by ourselves. He just saved us, after all."

Debating, Jake remained quiet. Penny had a point. The four of them combined could not defeat Keramon, but Wizardmon did it with one blast. "Fine. I'll go."

Wizardmon held his staff high. It began to flash brilliantly as the room twisted and darkened. Soon, only the sun atop the staff could be seen, which acted as a beacon in the otherwise black room. Jake and Penny felt a yanking motion; then everything became numb.

...

"Penny, get up!" Lunamon pulled on her partner's arm, trying to rouse her out of sleep.

Eventually, Penny opened her eyes and saw the digimon standing over her. "Ugh...I have such a headache... What happened?"

"Wizardmon brought us here, to his hideout."

Standing up, Penny looked around. She was standing in the vacated parking lot to an old warehouse. A few yards away, she noticed Jake and Monodramon talking to Wizardmon. She walked over and overheard Jake ask "You could teleport this entire time? Then how come it took you so long to find everyone?"

Wizardmon, striding toward the building, replied "It is not easy. Other travelers add to the strain, and in the human world, I constantly need energy."

Sighing, Jake said "Of course. Why would it be easy? That would just be...too easy."

Disregarding the complaint, Wizardmon opened the door to the warehouse. "We need to get inside. If Keramon was able to find you so easily, others may also."

As they entered, Wizardmon flipped a switchbreaker. Large, hanging lights littering the ceiling became illuminated. Still dazed, Penny's eyes had trouble adjusting. However, she could make out three humans standing across the room, two of which had digimon companions.

Beginning the introductions, Wizardmon said, "Finally, the team is together. Please, introduce yourselves."

Bravely, one of the humans stepped forward and said "Uh...hi... I'm Collin. Nice to meet you..." he trailed off, waiting for someone to respond.

Penny completed his sentence. "...Penelope. But you can just call me Penny. Oh, and this is Lunamon!" she said as she pointed toward her partner.

A small, floating digimon interrupted "Lunamon! Monodramon! I was wondering where you two had run off to! I bet you missed me." Then, flying near his partner, he said "Oh, and this is Ryan. He's kind of shy."

Collin's digimon smirked. "I had no idea!"

"Labramon! Be quiet!"

Jake decided it was his turn to introduce himself. "I'm-"

"Jake! Jake Ladon!" Ryan exclaimed. "You're in my history class."

"Really? You're...uhhh...Enoch, right?"

"Yup." He quickly grew shy again. "Oh. Sorry for interrupting you..."

Annoyed, Jake dismissed him. "Whatever." Then he stared at the fifth person. "And who are you?"

Nervously, the boy replied, "My name's Timothy," then, quoting Penny, he continued, "but you can just call me Tim."

Wizardmon stood proudly at Tim's side. "This is my partner."

Author's Notes:

This chapter took a while to write. I think I may have skimped on the details at the end, but all of the relevant points were covered. Also, I finally am done with the exposition! Yes!

To add to Wizardmon's teleportation: he can only teleport to areas he has seen before. That's why he had to find Jake and Penny on foot.

Not really important, but an interesting fact, Penny fainted from her lack of food. The trip was rough and she hadn't had any lunch.

Hmm...I can't really think of anything else to add here. I will complain, however, that I had trouble writing the dialogue for this chapter. I think it moved too quickly. That may be justified, since Wizardmon is in such a hurry, but whatever.

Anyway, see you next time.