A/N: I'm planning to write my version of the second season of the Frontier series and post it. For those who have enjoyed my stories on the series so far and think that I could write an interesting second season, if you're interested in a sneak peak, let me know in a review or in a PM and in the next chapter of this series I'll give you a little summary. Tell me what you think of the summary in a review or send me a PM about your opinion. I want to know what you think about the idea before I start writing it.

But for now enjoy this chapter.

They had wandered for hours in the strange forest, in the hopes of finding a way back to their friends, only to find a vast ocean in their way.

Junpei was wondering if they would ever find their way out. Izumi scolded him for thinking as such stating that they would make it out for sure. Although, deep down, she felt more like she was encouraging herself more than her comerades.

After hours of walking, the group was becoming cranky, tired and paranoid. Bokomon was scorning Neemon for sleeping, while simultaneously doting on Patamon. Junpei was complaining about small things like his height, and Izumi was constantly scorning him for every sound that escaped his mouth.

They had planned on resting, at first, but their anticipation to reach the Venus Rose was too strong. Not to mention that there wasn't anywhere comfortable to rest in sight. The land they treaded on was filled with thorn bushes and the path they walked on was too narrow for them to just sit down. They had no other choice but to continue walking.

They had hoped to find some sort of clearing, something to indicate that they could finally relax, but no such luck. As time passed, the group became more and more irritated, until they stumbled upon something…something that they couldn't believe…

Tomoki and Kouichi found their way to an empty void of a room. There they found two of their missing companions, Takuya and Kouji. Takuya, relieved to see his surrogate little brother safe and sound, rushed to Tomoki's side. The young boy in turn ran as quickly as his feet could allow him. Both were glad to be reunited.

The twins watched the surrogate brothers with envious eyes. Their communication seemed so natural compared to the twins. Deep down, they wanted nothing more than to be so close, but circumstances made it extremely difficult for them to interact with each other at all.

"Are you okay Tomoki?" Takuya asked.

He nodded. "I'm fine. Besides, Kouichi was with me the whole time, you didn't need to worry."

Then, Tomoki glanced at the elder twin with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything in particular," the twin replied, genuinely confused by Tomoki's words of gratitude.

"That's not true," Tomoki insisted, "You were the one who pulled me out of the water. Right?"

Kouichi stared at the young one, surprised, he didn't expect him to remember much of the raging torrent after being unconscious for the most part. Actually, Kouichi had hoped he didn't remember anything of the incident at all. He couldn't tell if he was blushing from embarrassment or guilt. For as long as he could remember, Kouichi didn't enjoy being the center of attention for so long, he was suffering but he knew that those around him were suffering even more than he was. So he kept quiet, being both unsure of himself and those who surrounded his life. If he tried to do anything that could change the way his life already was, he felt like he would trouble everyone and intensify their pain. Unfortunately, his silence eventually increased his own

Takuya interrupted Kouichi's thought. "Izumi and the others aren't with you?"

Kouichi shook his head. "We all got separated in the flood, I don't know where they drifted off to."

"We should start looking for them then," Kouji declared.

The other three nodded in agreement.

Upon their agreement, an opening appeared before them and, having no other options, the three boys quickly made their way through. They found themselves in a land filled with lush greenery, but there was no sign of their friends. Unsure of what to do now, the boys simply continued walking straight, until they found a giant building standing in their way.

It was a grand structure, four stories tall and wider than any house they had ever seen. It looked very much like an old fashioned European house, whitewashed bricks, ivory vines clinging to the outside walls, shutters at every window and doors so ornate that they could have once been part of a palace. At the front of the main gate hung a large banner with the words GRAND OPENING written in bright red.

"I wonder who lives there," Tomoki asked.

Takuya made his way to the front door, confidence filled his stride. "Let's ask if anyone has seen the others." And with that he grabbed the knocker and banged the door just loud enough to be audible.

The door peered open and the humans were greeted by a bird Digimon with short brown feathers, a bone white head, green plumage on the back of its head in the shape of spikes and it walked on two legs much like an ostrich.

"Hello," the Digimon greeted them politely, "my name is Kiwimon* and I welcome you to the Grand Opening of the Tunnel Town Hotel."

"Tunnel Town?" Kouji asked. They were still unfamiliar with the Digital World and little was known about the Darkness Continent to begin with.

"That's right," Kiwimon replied, "the portal openings in the caverns make up an entire town."

The boys were clearly surprised at the fact that there was such a wondrous settlement amongst the dank caverns, but then again, the Digital World held secrets that were unfamiliar to humans.

Kiwimon kindly invited the human children into the hotel, the interior was just as lavish as the outside, a grand spiral staircase at every floor, shining white marble walls and floors and ornate cathedral style tapestries, woven from rich red and gold, draped the windows. The Digimon offered them any sort of refreshment or room, but all the humans really wanted was to find there missing comrades. Then suddenly, the boys heard familiar voices calling their names. They turned their heads to find their friends happily greeting them as they rushed down the stairs to join them.

Izumi was the first to greet them when she tripped down the last step, landing into Kouichi's arms, causing Junpei's face to turn red with rage and jealousy.

"A…are you okay?" Kouichi asked, his face red with embarrasment.

Izumi nodded, happy that Kouichi was socializing with the gang at all. Like his twin he often preferred to be as little involved in social matters as possible. Unlike his brother however, his aloof nature was paired with a shy persona. And with the tension still rising between the two brothers Izumi hoped that having Kouichi open up to the rest of the team would help him feel more comfortable around his brother. After all, Kouji and the others were all good friends, and with his twin joining the group, the team had increased in both strength and numbers. Unfortunately, a true team's power derives from the connection that they share and the eldest twin didn't have such a strong connection with everyone just yet.

Everyone was happy to have found each other again as they were making plans to head back out again. But Kiwimon intervened, "You've all had such a long journey, I think it best for you to rest. Of course, since it's the Grand Opening, your first visit is free." He then called a Digimon that appeared to be concealed in an egg with stubby dinosaur legs and glowing yellow eyes showing out of the large breaks in the shell. "Digitamamon*," Kiwimon addressed the egg-shaped Digimon, "please take our guests to the dining area, while prepare the rooms."

"Yes sir," Digitamamon replied then turned to the guests, "This way please."

They all wanted to protest, but the truth was that they had walked for so long that they had nearly forgotten how tired and hungry they were. So they thanked Kiwimon for his generousity, and followed Digitamamon to the dining area. Naturally, the room was filled with ornate decorations, there were also individual round, wooden tables scattered all over the room, each table draped with a white tablecloth.

Everyone settled down on one table, except for Kouichi, who sat at the farthest table from the group. Kouji watched his brother in his loneliness, he looked so sad and yet he somehow managed to keep such a gentle smile. His smile… It was almost impossible to tell if his brother was really sad, but somehow he could feel it… Feel years of emotions welled up inside. Years of suffering, but what he suffered from he couldn't quite tell. There was still so much about Kouichi that Kouji had yet to discover, and he feared that most of those negative feelings were actually his own doing.

Kouji hadn't forgotten what Cherubimon had said when his brother confronted him, that there was a powerful darkness in his heart. A darkness invoked by his hatred for his twin. Kouichi had said he had grown past that, but the fact that he could still use the Spirit of Darkness at all proved that the darkness in his heart still remained. It was a different kind of darkness, but darkness nonetheless. Kouji couldn't help but wonder what kind of feelings harbored this new kind of darkness.

Kouji's thoughts were interrupted when the food was brought in. A Delumon* (A/N: See episode 13 – Noodle Shop) rolled in a cart full of delectable foods, each dish steaming with tantalizing scents. Everyone's mouths watered instantly at the very sight. Takuya, Izumi, Junpei and Tomoki were fighting for the first bite, while Bokomon was doting on his surrogate child about proper eating habits and Neemon was taking whatever wasn't being devoured by the human children.

Kouichi was given a separate cart, since he was sitting at a different table. He watched as the others happily feasted. It felt nice to see everyone so cheerful, for Kouichi it was a rare sight. His life was filled with so much sadness he couldn't really remember the last time he was actually happy, but seeing other's smile gave him a pleasant feeling even if it wasn't happiness he had felt.

Full from their meal, and seeing as how the sun was setting, the Inheritors of the Spirits and their Digimon companions decided to retire to their assigned room…there was only one problem...

"I'm sorry," said Kiwimon, head bowed, "but I'm afraid one room won't be enough for all of you. One of you will have to sleep in a separate room."

The team was distraught the idea of parting after their reunion was unthinkable even if it was only for one night. Also, they didn't know which one amongst them would sleep on their own.

"I'll take the other room," Kouichi volunteered.

The others looked at the willing candidate with concern. He didn't seem too happy when he offered, the gang was positive that he didn't really want to take the other room.

"Are you sure?" Takuya asked.

Kouichi sensed his friends' concerns and replied, "Its fine. Just take the room and sleep." And with that he followed Kiwimon, who directed him to the other room.

Everyone was too tired to ask any more questions, so they went to their room to sleep. It had been so long since they had slept on an actual bed, it was a welcome feeling. Even if the beds were a bit hard, they had missed the feeling of sleeping on a genuine mattress instead of piling up leaves as a substitute. After they were all re-accustomed, the team drifted into a peaceful slumber, all except Kouji, who was still troubled by his twin.

Hours passed as Kouichi stirred in his bed, all alone, in the dark... He couldn't sleep, there still so much going on, he had finally met his younger twin and he had endured an eternity under the service of a corrupt Digimon against his own will, and yet he seemed to have been forgiven by those he had been sent to destroy. He still couldn't grasp the fact that they were willing to welcome him so eagerly, so he continued to maintain some distance, especially with his brother. He wasn't ready to fully face him just yet, honestly, chances were that Kouji wasn't as ready either. The two had only just met and there was they knew so little about each other. At the beginning, Kouichi wanted nothing more than to meet his twin, only to find that Kouji's life appeared to be far better than his. In fact, Kouji's life seemed so perfect that it seemed as though he would never want or need his brother.

He didn't want to think about that at the moment though, so he was about to drift to sleep, when he heard a knock on his door. Though Kouichi was extremely tired he got out of bed to answer the door, but he wasn't prepared for the one who was on the other side…

"Kou…ji," he breathed, trying to control the tone of his voice. It still felt strange for him to say his name, even though they were- to some extent – family.

The younger twin didn't meet his eyes, at first, yet his mouth was open as if trying to speak but no words escaped. He tried and tried to force himself to say something to no avail. But Kouji wouldn't give up, they were brothers in spite of that they had been practically avoiding each other, ever since their chance encounter. It was understandable, but the younger twin didn't want to spend the rest of their lives this way. They were born together after all and, from the moment he learned the truth, it was Kouji's greatest wish that they would live together.

Kouji had finally mustered the courage to say something when they heard a loud crash coming from the lower levels. It was so loud that the rest of team rushed out of their room to find the source. Everyone rushed downstairs to see if there was any trouble.

They saw Kiwimon and Delumon surrounded by ghost Digimon called Bakemon*. The ghost Digimon swarmed the other Digimon, laughing maliciously as they trashed everything in sight. The victimised Digimon tried to stop them by chasing them away, but, fearing to destroy their precious hotel, they didn't use any of their attacks leaving the vandal Digimon free to destroy as they pleased.

Takuya was the first who wanted to spring into action but before he could even evolve the ghost Digimon vanished, leaving the team baffled.

"Where did they go?" asked Junpei as he and the others searched the room for any trace of the disappeared.

"Looks like they're all gone now," Tomoki assumed.

"But," Izumi wondered, "what were they doing here?"

"No idea," Delumon replied, "the Bakemon are mischievous but they always steal something, when they attack."

"But," Junpei countered, "they didn't take anything. They just broke everything and left."

Suddenly, they all heard a distressed cry that was getting louder. It was Digitammamon, running towards them, panicked.

"It's horrible," he cried, "all of the deserts were stolen from the kitchen."

Everyone followed the egg-shaped Digimon to the kitchen, where they saw the mess the Bakemon had left behind. Plates, cutlery and cooking utensils were scattered about and some of the cooking ingredients stained the walls and floors. It was as though a hurricane had swept in. Surprisingly, the only food that was taken was the deserts.

"Apparently, the Bakemon really like sweets," Izumi noticed.

"That's right," Delumon replied, "they always come out at night and take all of the sweets they can find."

That gave the human-Digimon warriors the idea to set up a trap using a cake as bait. Unfortunately, the hotel's supply of confectionaries was all but taken and the resident chef was exhausted from having to endure the attack, so the human children would have to make a delectable pastry on their own. The problem was that none of them were experienced bakers.

Luckily, cookbooks were available to them. They would each pick something to make and set them out in plain sight, in order for them to sneak up on the ghost Digimon and gain the upper-hand.

And thus they began to prepare their sweet traps. Junpei and Izumi already knew a few things about cooking, so they managed well enough but they soon realized that baking was much more complicated than cooking. Everything had to be precisely right or chances were that the recipe would be completely ruined.

Tomoki enjoyed cooking but he was still a complete novice, while the hamburger he had made impressed an experienced Burgermon chef at the Hamburger Village (see episode 19), his success was accidental. Thankfully, this time he would be assisted by a cookbook.

Takuya and Kouji learned from their experience at the Hamburger Village that they were horrible cooks, but their desire to help paired with their competitive spirits encouraged them to at least try. Too bad every batch they tried gave them upset stomachs.

One pastry in particular made Kouji so sick that he wanted to run to the bathroom. Too bad Kouichi was right in his path. The two brothers slammed into each other, both of them fell to the floor. While he was still nervous to even talk to his twin Kouji quickly tried to apologize, only to be stopped by his brother's voice.

"I'm sorry," he said, quietly, "I shouldn't have gotten in your way."

Kouchi sounded as though he had committed an unforgivable crime, much to Kouji's dismay. While it was understandable for the Inheritor of the Spirit of Darkness to feel guilt for his past actions, the elder twin hadn't actually done anything wrong at this point. Kouichi was standing at that very spot long before Kouji even started to feel sick. Therefore, it was Kouji who should have been apologizing.

Kouji had offered to clean the mess that their collision had caused, albeit nervously, but his twin politely refused, saying that it wasn't too big of a mess. But it was a lie, it seemed to be too big of a mess for one person to clean alone. Kouji wanted to insist but he started to feel sick again…

A few seconds later, he started to feel better, Kouji walked back into the kitchen, this time he would insist on helping, unfortunately he came too late. The mess had already been cleaned up…

Tomoki was trying to separate eggs he had seen his mother do it before, shifting the yoke from one half of the egg shell to the other allowing the white to drip out. But he soon realised it wasn't as easy as it looked. The yoke would sometimes slip out or get poked by the shells' sharp edges, and leak out.

Tomoki's cries of frustration were silent cries as he did not want to burden anyone with his inability. But as he strived to perfect the technique he began to understand that he needed, at least, a week's worth of practice to master it, time that he didn't have.

But, however quiet his frustrations were, Kouichi somehow managed to hear them because he was slowly walking toward the youngest of the Warriors.

"Everything okay," he asked cautiously.

Tomoki nodded. "I'm just separating the eggs," he declared, trying to sound confidant. As proof of his confidence, Tomoki attempted to show Kouichi that he was perfectly capable of the task but wound up spilling the entire contents of the egg on the floor.

Tomoki was disappointed in himself he wanted so badly to prove his worth. As the youngest member of the team there were so many things he couldn't do as well as the others, and considered himself a burden, but during his journey he had managed to prove that, despite his shortcomings, he was capable of handling himself. He had hoped to prove himself again in this situation but that clearly wasn't the case.

The young human went to go get a wet towel to clean up the mess, but when he returned he found that his eggs had already been neatly separated into two bowls. The others praised Tomoki for his work considering that it was his first time baking, but the youngest human knew who really deserved the adulation.

Nightfall was drawing nearer and the most of the team had only managed to make a small pile of pastries, too small to entice a group of hungry Bakemon. Despaired by their measly efforts, the gang of Warriors gathered their resolve to bake another batch when a delightful scent wafted through the air. Everyone who caught a whiff was immediately attracted to the mysterious aroma and roamed towards its source.

They tracked the scent all the way to the end of the kitchen, where they found enough cakes to open a bakery. As they wondered how somehow could have made such a colossal amount of pastries they heard a sharp dinging sound of an oven timer. They turned their heads to the nearest oven, where they saw Kouichi removing a freshly baked cake from the rack.

He noticed that everyone was staring at him, it was uncomfortable and yet he enjoyed the attention, it was strange, for years he had hiding from crowds only to now find himself the center of attention. Since he was Kouji's long lost twin brother, all eyes were mostly on him, as the team tried to make him feel comfortable. However, as reassuring as their presence was, the fact that the brother's still didn't know how to talk to each other quite yet created some tension.

Everyone was amazed at Kouichi's baking skills. His confections were so well decorated and chances were that they tasted just as good.

Curious to find out, Takuya approached the master baker, and said, "They all look so good."

"Thank you," he replied, avoiding eye contact.

"You made all of these?"

Kouichi simply nodded, his eyes shifting slightly towards Takuya.

"Can we try one?" he asked with a heartwarming smile and an eager appetite.

Kouichi was a bit hesitant since they needed these pastried to lure the Bakemon, but he agreed to allow them to try one of his creations.

They picked the biggest cake of the bunch and separated it into equal parts. Neither of them had ever tasted such a delectable pastry in their entire lives. It was so rich and moist, everyone savoured it to the very last bite.

When Kouji took a bite, he wasn't surprised by the incredible taste, he knew Kouichi had culinary talents, which made him depressed because that was the only he knew about his twin at all. And when he ate the cake, it made him feel even worse because it felt as though he was taking advantage of his brother.

Kouji wasn't able to make anything edible, while Kouichi managed to bake so well. It just didn't seem right for him to take something he made without offering something in return. But he couldn't do it, not only because he had nothing to offer, but also because the one thing he could offer Kouichi was so beyond his reach that he could hardly stand it. Kouichi always smiled but Kouji knew better, deep down, they both wanted the same thing.

They set the bait outside, at the front and back entrances of the hotel. They had split into two groups Takuya, Tomoki and Kouji guarded the front, while Izumi, Junpei and Kouichi took guarded the back. Their Digimon companions stayed inside the hotel with the staff as an extra measure.

Everyone was waiting for the Bakemon to emerge, they waited and waited but nothing budged nothing was even out of place. The constant inactivity nearly drove the Warriors to the brink of madness. As daylight began to arrive, the team grew tired, their eyes were heavy from staying up so long. The longer time passed the harder it became for them to stay awake. The humans became so tired to the point where their minds began to drift away from reality every time they blinked.

Soon, they couldn't keep awake at all.

Once the humans finally fell asleep, the Bakemon emerged from the shadows accompanied by Digimon with a similar shape, the only difference was that these new Digimon wore witches hats. These Digimon were known as Soulmon, Digimon who possessed strong magical powers, powers that they used to entrance everyone in the hotel into a quiet slumber.

The ghost Digimon began their hunt by scavenging the pastries at the back entrance. Little did they know that Kouichi had already evolved into Löwemon before the Soulmon's spell took full effect, possibly reducing its hold on him. While the Digimon were collecting their bounty, the Warrior of Darkness stealthily approached them from the rear, and with his spear, he took out the Bakemon with a single strike.

Now, only the Soulmon remained, the sorcerer-ghost Digimon were harder to handle, given their heightened magic. But Löwemon was relentless, he patiently waited for the right moment, and with his speed, he dodged their attacks and struck them all at once. The Warrior of Darkness scanned the ghosts and, as he returned to his human form, he suddenly felt a strong desire to sleep...

Kouichi opened his eyes and found himself in his hotel room, where everyone gathered around him with concerned faces. But the concern quickly faded when he regained consciousness.

The hotel staff expressed their gratitude for ridding them of the pesky ghost Digimon, while his traveling companions voiced their relief of his recovery. It was still strange for him to be surrounded by such concerned faces, seeing as how he had spent his life trying to avoid those very expressions, but there was a sudden change in him, for the first time in his life he felt a welcoming warmth.

With the ghost Digimon gone there was no more reason for the Warriors to stay, so Kiwimon directed the team to the opening that would lead them to the Venus Rose.

"They always come at random times," Kiwimon explained, "but you only need to walk through a couple more of them to reach your destination."

The humans thanked the Digimon before walking towards their next challenge…

A/N: Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please review to your heart's content.